{"title":"Topographs for binary quadratic forms and class numbers","authors":"Cormac O'Sullivan","doi":"10.1112/mtk.70042","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this work, we study in greater detail than before, J.H. Conway's topographs for integral binary quadratic forms. These are trees in the plane with regions labeled by integers following a simple pattern. Each topograph can display the values of a single form, or represent an equivalence class of forms. We give a new treatment of reduction of forms to canonical equivalence class representatives by employing topographs and a novel continued fraction for complex numbers. This allows uniform reduction for any positive, negative, square, or nonsquare discriminant. Topograph geometry also provides new class number formulas, and short proofs of results of Gauss relating to sums of three squares. Generalizations of the series of Hurwitz for class numbers give evaluations of certain infinite series, summed over the regions or edges of a topograph.</p>","PeriodicalId":18463,"journal":{"name":"Mathematika","volume":"71 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Mathematika","FirstCategoryId":"100","ListUrlMain":"https://londmathsoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1112/mtk.70042","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"数学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MATHEMATICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In this work, we study in greater detail than before, J.H. Conway's topographs for integral binary quadratic forms. These are trees in the plane with regions labeled by integers following a simple pattern. Each topograph can display the values of a single form, or represent an equivalence class of forms. We give a new treatment of reduction of forms to canonical equivalence class representatives by employing topographs and a novel continued fraction for complex numbers. This allows uniform reduction for any positive, negative, square, or nonsquare discriminant. Topograph geometry also provides new class number formulas, and short proofs of results of Gauss relating to sums of three squares. Generalizations of the series of Hurwitz for class numbers give evaluations of certain infinite series, summed over the regions or edges of a topograph.
期刊介绍:
Mathematika publishes both pure and applied mathematical articles and has done so continuously since its founding by Harold Davenport in the 1950s. The traditional emphasis has been towards the purer side of mathematics but applied mathematics and articles addressing both aspects are equally welcome. The journal is published by the London Mathematical Society, on behalf of its owner University College London, and will continue to publish research papers of the highest mathematical quality.