Bjorn Poonen
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
March 27, 2009 from 16:00 to 18:00 (Montreal/EST time) On location
Colloquium presented by Bjorn Poonen (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Hilbert's Tenth Problem asked for an algorithm that, given a multivariable polynomial equation with integer coefficients, would decide whether there exists a solution in integers. Around 1970, Matiyasevich, building on earlier work of Davis, Putnam, and Robinson, showed that no such algorithm exists. But the answer to the analogous question with integers replaced by rational numbers is still unknown, and there is not even agreement among experts as to what the answer should be.
Address
UQAM, Pav. Sherbrooke, 200, rue Sherbrooke O., room SH-3420