Million-dollar mathematics : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)
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Abstract
This examination explores three of the challenging "Millennium Prize Problems" that were announced in 2000 by the Clay Mathematical Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts. They are offering a $1 million prize for the solution to any one of the seven long-standing mathematical questions as a way to "celebrate mathematics in the new millennium" (www.claymath.org). The first section investigates the zeros of the Zeta Function to consider the Riemann Hypothesis. In the second section, the P versus NP problem is examined to try to determine if these two classes of mathematical problems are actually the same. The third section deals with the Birch and SwinnertonDyer Conjecture, explaining This investigation of these very difficult problems is meant to explain the statements of each problem, provide any background information, and explore related examples to establish a foundation about some of most significant and interesting mathematical problems of the new millennium.