Erich_Hecke
Erich Hecke
German mathematician
Erich Hecke (20 September 1887 – 13 February 1947) was a German mathematician known for his work in number theory and the theory of modular forms.
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Erich Hecke | |
|---|---|
 Erich Hecke, date unknown | |
| Born | (1887-09-20)20 September 1887 |
| Died | 13 February 1947(1947-02-13) (aged 59) |
| Alma mater | University of Göttingen |
| Known for | Hecke algebra Hecke operator |
| Awards | Ackermann–Teubner Memorial Award (1938) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | University of Basel University of Göttingen University of Hamburg |
| Doctoral advisor | David Hilbert |
| Notable students | Kurt Reidemeister Heinrich Behnke Hans Petersson |
Hecke was born in Buk, Province of Posen, German Empire (now Poznań, Poland).[1] He obtained his doctorate in Göttingen under the supervision of David Hilbert.[2]
Kurt Reidemeister and Heinrich Behnke were among his students.[2]
In 1933 Hecke signed the Loyalty Oath of German Professors to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist State, but was later known as being opposed to the Nazis.[3]
Hecke died in Copenhagen, Denmark.[4]
André Weil, in the foreword to his text Basic Number Theory[5] says: "To improve upon Hecke, in a treatment along classical lines of the theory of algebraic numbers, would be a futile and impossible task", referring to Hecke's book "Lectures on the Theory of Algebraic Numbers."[6]
His early work included establishing the functional equation for the Dedekind zeta function, with a proof based on theta functions. The method extended to the L-functions associated to a class of characters now known as Hecke characters or idele class characters; such L-functions are now known as Hecke L-functions. He devoted most of his research to the theory of modular forms, creating the general theory of cusp forms (holomorphic, for GL(2)), as it is now understood in the classical setting.
- Segal, Sanford L. (2003). Mathematicians under the Nazis. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. p. 439-442. ISBN 978-0-691-00451-8.
- "Hecke, Erich". ENCYCLOPEDIA.
- Hecke, Erich (1981). Lectures on the theory of algebraic numbers. New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-90595-2. OCLC 7576150.
- Hecke, Erich (1937). "Neuere Fortschritte in der Theorie der elliptischen Modulfunktionen". In: Comptes rendus du Congrès international des mathématiciens: Oslo, 1936. Vol. 1. pp. 140–156.
- Erich Hecke at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Erich Hecke", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews