[net.math] Mordell conjecture proved

markp@tekmdp.UUCP (Mark Paulin) (07/15/83)

I've heard that the Mordell conjecture has been proved by Gerd Faltings at
Wuppertal, West Germany.  This places limits on the number of rational roots
of certain diophantine equations of degree greater than three, and moreover
applies to the Fermat problem in the following way -- if there is some
integer n for which there is a nontrivial integral solution (x, y, z) to
the equation x^n + y^n = z^n then there can be only finitely many such
solutions.

Do any of you math types out there have anything to say about this?  Perhaps
someone could post the exact Mordell conjecture and give more detail with
regard to its significance?


May Fermat be vindicated in *your* lifetime,

Mark Paulin