VI.51 Émile Léonard Mathieu

b. Metz, France, 1835; d. Nancy, France, 1890
Student at the École Polytechnique; Docteur és sciences with
thesis on transitive functions (1859); Professor of Mathematics:
Besançon (1869-74), Nancy (1874-90)


Mathieu is known for the functions that take his name, which he discovered while solving the two-dimensional wave equation for the vibrations of an elliptical membrane. These functions, which are special cases of the hypergeometric function, are particular solutions of Mathieu’s equation:

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where a and q are constants that depend on the physical problem.

Mathieu is also known for his discovery of the five Mathieu groups. These were the first SPORADIC SIMPLE GROUPS [V.7] (meaning that they did not fit into one of the known infinite families of simple groups) to be found. It is now known that there are twenty-six such groups altogether, although it was almost a century after Mathieu before a sixth one was found.

 

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