Number-theoretic expressions obtained through analogy between prime factorization and optical interferometry
Number-theoretic expressions obtained through analogy between prime factorization and optical interferometry
Prime factorization is an outstanding problem in arithmetic with important consequences in a variety of fields, most notably cryptography. Here I employ the intriguing analogy between prime factorization and optical interferometry in order to obtain analytic expressions for closely related functions, including the number of distinct prime factors.