Galois Groups in the work of Mira Fernandes

TL;DR

This paper reviews the historical development of Galois theory, focusing on Mira Fernandes's work, and discusses its profound impact on mathematics and physics since its inception in the 19th century.

Contribution

It provides a historical narrative connecting Mira Fernandes's writings to the evolution of Galois theory and its influence on modern science.

Findings

Galois theory evolved over centuries before formalization.

Mira Fernandes contributed to the understanding of Galois groups.

Galois theory significantly impacted mathematics and physics.

Abstract

In connection to a review of the writings on Galois Theory of the Portuguese mathematician Aureliano Mira Fernandes at turn of the XXth century a brief narrative is presented on how the group theory concepts discovered by Galois are connected to previous work that took centuries to evolve, and how fast they changed the landscape of theoretical and applied mathematics and physics since its publication. From the conference "Mira Fernandes and his age - An historical Conference in honour of Aureliano de Mira Fernandes (1884-1958)", IST Lisbon, June 2009