Hilbert Symbol

In mathematics, given a local field K, such as the fields of reals or p-adic numbers, whose multiplicative group of non-zero elements is K×, the Hilbert symbol is an algebraic construction, extracted from reciprocity laws, and important in the formulation of local class field theory. As the name suggests, it was in some sense introduced by David Hilbert, although it would be anachronistic to say that of the local field formulation.

Explicitly, it is the function (–, –) from K× × K× to {−1,1} defined by

Read more about Hilbert Symbol:  Properties, Interpretation As An Algebra, Hilbert Symbols Over The Rationals, Kaplansky Radical

Famous quotes containing the word symbol:

    A pool is, for many of us in the West, a symbol not of affluence but of order, of control over the uncontrollable. A pool is water, made available and useful, and is, as such, infinitely soothing to the western eye.
    Joan Didion (b. 1934)