Atle Selberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Atle Selberg
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| Born | 14 June 1917 Langesund, Norway
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| Died | 6 August 2007 (aged 90) Princeton, New Jersey, United States
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| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Alma mater | University of Oslo |
| Known for | Critical line theorem Local rigidity Parity problem Weakly symmetric space Chowla–Selberg formula Maass–Selberg relations Rankin–Selberg method Selberg class Selberg's conjecture Selberg's identity Selberg integral Selberg trace formula Selberg zeta function Selberg sieve |
| Spouse(s) | Hedvig Liebermann (m. 1947 - died 1995) Betty Frances ("Mickey") Compton (m. 2003 - 2007) |
| Awards | Abel Prize (honorary) (2002) Fields Medal (1950) Wolf Prize (1986) Gunnerus Medal (2002) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | |
| Influences | Srinivasa Ramanujan |
Atle Selberg (born June 14, 1917 – died August 6, 2007) was a famous Norwegian mathematician. He was known for his important work with numbers and shapes. He especially connected these ideas to something called spectral theory. Selberg won the Fields Medal in 1950 and an honorary Abel Prize in 2002. These are two of the highest awards a mathematician can receive.
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Early Life and Studies
Atle Selberg was born in Langesund, Norway. His father, Ole Michael Ludvigsen Selberg, was also a mathematician. Two of Atle's three brothers, Sigmund and Henrik, also became mathematicians. His other brother, Arne, was a professor of engineering. It seems math ran in the family!
Even when he was still in school, Atle was inspired by the work of another great mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan. Selberg found a special formula for something called the partition function. This function helps count how many ways you can break a number into smaller parts.
He went on to study at the University of Oslo. He earned his PhD degree there in 1943.
Working During World War II
During World War II, Norway was occupied by Germany. This meant Selberg often worked alone. After the war, people learned about his amazing discoveries. For example, he proved that a good number of the special "zeros" of the Riemann zeta function are found on a certain line. This was a big deal in mathematics.
Selberg also fought against the German invasion. He was even put in prison several times during the war.
Discoveries After the War
After the war, Selberg started working on something called sieve theory. This was a topic that many mathematicians had not paid much attention to. Selberg's work made it very important. In 1947, he created the Selberg sieve. This method helps mathematicians find and understand prime numbers. It also helped with other big results, like Chen's theorem.
In 1948, Selberg showed that he could prove important theorems about prime numbers using simpler methods. Before this, many people thought you needed very advanced math to prove these things. He proved theorems about how prime numbers are spread out. This surprised many mathematicians.
His work led to a friendly competition with another mathematician, Paul Erdős. They both found ways to prove the prime number theorem using simpler steps. For all his amazing work in the 1940s, Selberg received the 1950 Fields Medal.
Life in the United States
Later, Selberg moved to the United States. He first worked at Syracuse University. Then, in the 1950s, he settled at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. This institute is a famous place where very smart people do research. He stayed there for the rest of his life.
In the 1950s, he started connecting spectral theory with number theory. This led to his most famous discovery, the Selberg trace formula. This formula helps show a connection between the shapes of surfaces and the special numbers related to them. It's a bit like finding a link between prime numbers and the zeros of the zeta function.
Selberg received many awards for his work. He won the 1986 Wolf Prize in Mathematics. He also received an honorary Abel Prize in 2002. He was a member of several important science academies around the world.
In 1972, he received an honorary degree from the Norwegian Institute of Technology.
Atle Selberg's first wife, Hedvig, passed away in 1995. They had two children, Ingrid and Lars. In 2003, Atle Selberg married Betty Frances ("Mickey") Compton.
He passed away at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on August 6, 2007, from heart failure.
Selected Publications
- Atle Selberg Collected Papers: 1 (Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg), ISBN: 0-387-18389-2
See Also
In Spanish: Atle Selberg para niños
