Period (algebraic geometry)

In algebraic geometry, a period is a number that can be expressed as an integral of an algebraic function over an algebraic domain. Sums and products of periods remain periods, such that the periods form a ring.

For a more frequently used sense of the word "period" in mathematics, see Periodic function.

Maxim Kontsevich and Don Zagier gave a survey of periods and introduced some conjectures about them. Periods also arise in computing the integrals that arise from Feynman diagrams, and there has been intensive work trying to understand the connections.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.