Definition:Abelian Function
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Definition
An Abelian function is an inverse function of an Abelian integral.
Source of Name
This entry was named for Niels Henrik Abel.
Historical Note
The foundations for the theory of Abelian functions were laid in Abel's paper Mémoire sur une Propriété Générale d'une Classe Très-Étendue de Fonctions Transcendantes.
Bernhard Riemann studied Abelian functions by applying Dirichlet's Principle for Harmonic Functions combined with geometric reasoning.
The work on extending our understanding of them continued with Karl Weierstrass, working alone with no contact with other mathematicians.
He took up their study as his life's work.
Sources
- 1992: George F. Simmons: Calculus Gems ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text {A}.33$: Weierstrass ($\text {1815}$ – $\text {1897}$)