Oswald Teichmüller
Encyclopedia
Oswald Teichmüller was a German
mathematician
who introduced quasiconformal mapping
s and differential geometric methods into complex analysis
.
. He grew up in Sankt Andreasberg
and earned his Abitur
in 1931. In the same year he started studying mathematics at the University of Göttingen. Among his professors were Richard Courant
, Hermann Weyl
, Otto Neugebauer, Gustav Herglotz
, and Edmund Landau
. Teichmüller received his doctorate in 1935 under Helmut Hasse
.
He joined the NSDAP in July 1931 and became a member of the Sturmabteilung
in August 1931. In 1933 he organized the boycott of his Jewish professor Edmund Landau
. In 1936 and 1937 he attended lectures by Nevanlinna
, who sympathized with the Third Reich, where he was a guest professor and, like Brouwer
was also considered by the Nazis as "politically reliable" (Rudolf Heß was in charge of the assessment). Under the influence of Nevanlinna he specialized in geometric function theory. Upon personal authorisation from the Führer, he joined the Wehrmacht
in 1939 and was killed fighting on the Eastern Front.
s (a moduli space
theory for Riemann surface
s) was developed by Lars Ahlfors, Lipman Bers
and others.
The Teichmüller representative or Teichmüller character is a construction with p-adic number
s.
Much of Teichmüller's work was published in Deutsche Mathematik
, a highly ideological journal founded by Ludwig Bieberbach
that contained not only scholarly articles but also race propaganda.
Because of the nature of the journal, his papers were hard to find in modern libraries before the publication of his collected works.
:
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
who introduced quasiconformal mapping
Quasiconformal mapping
In mathematical complex analysis, a quasiconformal mapping, introduced by and named by , is a homeomorphism between plane domains which to first order takes small circles to small ellipses of bounded eccentricity....
s and differential geometric methods into complex analysis
Complex analysis
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is useful in many branches of mathematics, including number theory and applied mathematics; as well as in physics,...
.
Life
Teichmüller was born in NordhausenNordhausen
Nordhausen is a town at the southern edge of the Harz Mountains, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Nordhausen...
. He grew up in Sankt Andreasberg
Sankt Andreasberg
Sankt Andreasberg is a town and a former municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2011, it is part of the town Braunlage. It is situated in the Harz, approximately 7 km west of Braunlage proper, and 20 km east of Osterode am Harz.- History :Sankt...
and earned his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
in 1931. In the same year he started studying mathematics at the University of Göttingen. Among his professors were Richard Courant
Richard Courant
Richard Courant was a German American mathematician.- Life :Courant was born in Lublinitz in the German Empire's Prussian Province of Silesia. During his youth, his parents had to move quite often, to Glatz, Breslau, and in 1905 to Berlin. He stayed in Breslau and entered the university there...
, Hermann Weyl
Hermann Weyl
Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl was a German mathematician and theoretical physicist. Although much of his working life was spent in Zürich, Switzerland and then Princeton, he is associated with the University of Göttingen tradition of mathematics, represented by David Hilbert and Hermann Minkowski.His...
, Otto Neugebauer, Gustav Herglotz
Gustav Herglotz
Gustav Herglotz was a German mathematician. He is best known for his works on the theory of relativity and seismology....
, and Edmund Landau
Edmund Landau
Edmund Georg Hermann Landau was a German Jewish mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory and complex analysis.-Biography:...
. Teichmüller received his doctorate in 1935 under Helmut Hasse
Helmut Hasse
Helmut Hasse was a German mathematician working in algebraic number theory, known for fundamental contributions to class field theory, the application of p-adic numbers to local classfield theory and diophantine geometry , and to local zeta functions.-Life:He was born in Kassel, and died in...
.
He joined the NSDAP in July 1931 and became a member of the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
in August 1931. In 1933 he organized the boycott of his Jewish professor Edmund Landau
Edmund Landau
Edmund Georg Hermann Landau was a German Jewish mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory and complex analysis.-Biography:...
. In 1936 and 1937 he attended lectures by Nevanlinna
Rolf Nevanlinna
Rolf Herman Nevanlinna was one of the most famous Finnish mathematicians. He was particularly appreciated for his work in complex analysis.- The Nevanlinna family :...
, who sympathized with the Third Reich, where he was a guest professor and, like Brouwer
Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer
Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer FRS , usually cited as L. E. J. Brouwer but known to his friends as Bertus, was a Dutch mathematician and philosopher, a graduate of the University of Amsterdam, who worked in topology, set theory, measure theory and complex analysis.-Biography:Early in his career,...
was also considered by the Nazis as "politically reliable" (Rudolf Heß was in charge of the assessment). Under the influence of Nevanlinna he specialized in geometric function theory. Upon personal authorisation from the Führer, he joined the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
in 1939 and was killed fighting on the Eastern Front.
Mathematics
The theory of Teichmüller spaceTeichmüller space
In mathematics, the Teichmüller space TX of a topological surface X, is a space that parameterizes complex structures on X up to the action of homeomorphisms that are isotopic to the identity homeomorphism...
s (a moduli space
Moduli space
In algebraic geometry, a moduli space is a geometric space whose points represent algebro-geometric objects of some fixed kind, or isomorphism classes of such objects...
theory for Riemann surface
Riemann surface
In mathematics, particularly in complex analysis, a Riemann surface, first studied by and named after Bernhard Riemann, is a one-dimensional complex manifold. Riemann surfaces can be thought of as "deformed versions" of the complex plane: locally near every point they look like patches of the...
s) was developed by Lars Ahlfors, Lipman Bers
Lipman Bers
Lipman Bers was an American mathematician born in Riga who created the theory of pseudoanalytic functions and worked on Riemann surfaces and Kleinian groups.-Biography:...
and others.
The Teichmüller representative or Teichmüller character is a construction with p-adic number
P-adic number
In mathematics, and chiefly number theory, the p-adic number system for any prime number p extends the ordinary arithmetic of the rational numbers in a way different from the extension of the rational number system to the real and complex number systems...
s.
Much of Teichmüller's work was published in Deutsche Mathematik
Deutsche Mathematik
Deutsche Mathematik was a mathematics journal founded by Ludwig Bieberbach and Theodor Vahlen in 1936. It is also the name of a movement closely associated with the journal whose aim was to promote "German mathematics" and eliminate "Jewish influence", similar to the Deutsche Physik movement...
, a highly ideological journal founded by Ludwig Bieberbach
Ludwig Bieberbach
Ludwig Georg Elias Moses Bieberbach was a German mathematician.-Biography:Born in Goddelau, near Darmstadt, he studied at Heidelberg and under Felix Klein at Göttingen, receiving his doctorate in 1910. His dissertation was titled On the theory of automorphic functions...
that contained not only scholarly articles but also race propaganda.
Because of the nature of the journal, his papers were hard to find in modern libraries before the publication of his collected works.
Quotation
Friedrich L. BauerFriedrich L. Bauer
Friedrich Ludwig Bauer is a German computer scientist and professor emeritus at Technical University of Munich.-Life:...
:
- " ... he was a genius but as an extreme Nazi shamefully stood out with his agitation against LandauEdmund LandauEdmund Georg Hermann Landau was a German Jewish mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory and complex analysis.-Biography:...
and CourantRichard CourantRichard Courant was a German American mathematician.- Life :Courant was born in Lublinitz in the German Empire's Prussian Province of Silesia. During his youth, his parents had to move quite often, to Glatz, Breslau, and in 1905 to Berlin. He stayed in Breslau and entered the university there...
." (in: Entzifferte Geheimnisse. Methoden und Maximen der Kryptologie. English title: Decrypted Secrets: Methods and Maxims of Cryptology)
External links
- Papadopoulos, Athanase, ed. (2007), Handbook of Teichmüller theory. Vol. I, IRMA Lectures in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, 11, European Mathematical Society (EMS), Zürich, doi:10.4171/029, ISBN 978-3-03719-029-6, MR2284826
- Papadopoulos, Athanase, ed. (2009), Handbook of Teichmüller theory. Vol. II, IRMA Lectures in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, 13, European Mathematical Society (EMS), Zürich, doi:10.4171/055, ISBN 978-3-03719-055-5, MR2524085