The German Wikipedia entry for Ernst Witt https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Witt has a photo of his grave in Hamburg. The bottom part has a visible text "Artin Brueche" (Artin fractions) but the numbers are obscured. Does anyone know what the numbers are, why they are called Artin fractions, and why Witt wanted to have them on his gravestone.
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asked Dec 22, 2015 at 19:16
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3$\begingroup$ One of them seem to read 36/65. BTW I'm also surprised to see the Chinese characters on the top-right, which reads "I love Jesus". $\endgroup$– Fan ZhengCommented Dec 22, 2015 at 19:29
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11$\begingroup$ The Chinese inscription I can explain: it was a song Witt remembered from his childhood in China (where his father was a missionary) $\endgroup$– Andrew RanickiCommented Dec 22, 2015 at 19:30
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1 Answer
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I have the impression that this "Artin fraction" is the Artin symbol, introduced by Helmut Hasse. Both Hasse and Emil Artin were teachers of Ernst Witt.
The inscription higher up on the grave stone shows a Witt vector, perhaps in reference to the Artin-Schreier-Witt theory. My guess would be that the inscription at the bottom explains the notation of the formula above it. Perhaps someone in the vicinity of Hamburg can make a trip to the cemetery and provide a full exposure of the grave stone?
answered Dec 22, 2015 at 19:36
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$\begingroup$ The inscription top left is by Nietzsche. The Witt vector formulae are from Harder's essay on Witt vectors in Witt's collected papers (on p. 169) - thanks to Ina Kersten and Gunter Harder for this information, But they don't know what Artin fractions are either. A photo of the fractions would help! $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 20:28