The pioneering work of French mathematician Pierre de Fermat has attracted the attention of mathematicians for over 350 years. This book was written in honor of the 400th anniversary of his birth, providing readers with an overview of the many properties of Fermat numbers and demonstrating their applications in areas such as number theory, probability theory, geometry, and signal processing. This book introduces a general mathematical audience to basic mathematical ideas and algebraic methods connected with the Fermat numbers.

This book provides a mathematical and numerical analysis of many problems which lead to paradoxes in contemporary cosmology, in particular, the existence of dark matter and dark energy. It is shown that these hypothetical quantities arise from excessive extrapolations of simple mathematical models to the whole physical universe. Written in a completely different style to most books on General Relativity and cosmology, the important results take the form of mathematical theorems with precise assumptions and statements. All theorems are followed by a corresponding proof, or an exact reference...