We count the number$S$($x$) of quadruples $ {\left( {x_{1} ,x_{2} ,x_{3} ,x_{4} } \right)} \in \mathbb{Z}^{4} $ for which $$ p = x^{2}_{1} + x^{2}_{2} + x^{2}_{3} + x^{2}_{4} \leqslant x $$ is a prime number and satisfying the determinant condition:$x$_{1}$x$_{4}−$x$_{2}$x$_{3}= 1. By means of the sieve, one shows easily the upper bound$S$($x$) ≪$x$/log$x$. Under a hypothesis about prime numbers, which is stronger than the Bombieri–Vinogradov theorem but is weaker than the Elliott–Halberstam conjecture, we prove that this order is correct, that is$S$($x$) ≫$x$/log$x$.

We use the signal function from RLWE key exchange to derive an efficient zero knowledge authentication protocol to validate an RLWE key p=as+e with secret s and error e in the Random Oracle Model (ROM). With this protocol, a verifier can validate that a key presented to him by a prover P is of the form p=as+e with s,e small and that the prover knows s. We accompany the description of the protocol with proof to show that it has negligible soundness and completeness error. The soundness of our protocol relies directly on the hardness of the RLWE problem. The protocol is applicable for both LWE and RLWE but we focus on the RLWE based protocol for efficiency and practicality. We also present a variant of the main protocol with a commitment scheme to avoid using the ROM.

We formulate and prove a log-algebraicity theorem for arbitrary rank Drinfeld modules dened over the polynomial ring Fq[\theta]. This generalizes results of Anderson for the rank one case. As an application we show that certain special values of Goss L-functions are linear forms in Drinfeld logarithms and are transcendental.

The first part of this paper describes some important underlying themes in the mathematical theory of continuum mechanics that are distinct from formulating and analyzing governing equations. The main part of this paper is devoted to a survey of some concrete, conceptually simple, pretty problems that help illuminate the underlying themes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the crucial role of invariant constitutive equations in computation.

The action of the mapping class group of the thrice-punctured projective plane on its GL(2,C) character variety produces an algorithm for generating the simple length spectra of quasi-Fuchsian thrice-punctured projective planes. We apply this algorithm to quasi-Fuchsian representations of the corresponding fundamental group to prove: a sharp upper-bound for the length its shortest geodesic, a McShane identity and the surprising result of non-polynomial growth for the number of simple closed geodesic lengths.