English

Modular forms, projective structures, and the four squares theorem

Number Theory 2021-08-17 v1 Differential Geometry

Abstract

It is well-known that Lagrange's four-square theorem, stating that every natural number may be written as the sum of four squares, may be proved using methods from the classical theory of modular forms and theta functions. We revisit this proof. In doing so, we concentrate on geometry and thereby avoid some of the tricky analysis that is often encountered. Guided by projective differential geometry we find a new route to Lagrange's theorem.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2108.06433,
  title  = {Modular forms, projective structures, and the four squares theorem},
  author = {Michael Eastwood and Ben Moore},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2108.06433},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

24 pages

R2 v1 2026-06-24T05:06:32.613Z