Question Corner and Discussion Area
Has a complete proof of fermat's last theorem been published? If so when was it published and has it stood up to scrutiny?Yes, a complete proof of Fermat's Last Theorem has been published. The original proof announced by Andrew Wiles had a gap, but that gap was closed in joint work by Wiles and Richard Taylor.
The complete proof consists of two papers:
Both papers were published in the May 1995 issue of the journal Annals of Mathematics. The second paper (much shorter than the first) contains the corrected proof of the step in the argument where Wiles's original work was flawed. The first paper contains the rest of the argument. Together they constitute a complete proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, which has stood up to the scrutiny of every expert in the field. In fact, other people upon reading the proofs have come up with generalizations and simplifications of much of it.
Go backward to How To Express A Repeating Decimal Number As A Fraction
Go up to Question Corner Index
Go forward to The n=4 Case of Fermat's Last Theorem
Switch to text-only version (no graphics)
Access printed version in PostScript format (requires PostScript printer)
Go to University of Toronto Mathematics Network
Home Page