Goro Shimura

Gorō Shimura ( 志村 五郎 , Shimura Gorō, 23 February 1930 – 3

Gorō Shimura
May 2019) was a Japanese mathematician and Michael Henry Strater
Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Princeton University who Born 23 February 1930
worked in number theory, automorphic forms, and arithmetic Hamamatsu, Japan
geometry.[1] He was known for developing the theory of complex Died 3 May 2019
multiplication of abelian varieties and Shimura varieties, as well as
(aged 89)
posing the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture which ultimately led to the
Princeton, New
proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.
Jersey
Nationality Japanese

Contents Alma mater University of Tokyo

Known for Complex
Biography
multiplication of
Research abelian varieties
Other interests Modularity theorem
Works Shimura variety
Mathematical books Shimura subgroup
Non-fiction Awards Guggenheim
Collected papers Fellowship (1970)
Cole Prize (1977)
References
Asahi Prize (1991)
External links
Steele Prize (1996)
Scientific career
Biography Fields Mathematics
Institutions Princeton University
Gorō Shimura was born in Hamamatsu, Japan, on 23 February
1930.[2] Shimura graduated with a B.A. in mathematics and a D.Sc. Doctoral Don Blasius
in mathematics from the University of Tokyo in 1952 and 1958 students Bill Casselman
respectively.[3][2] Melvin Hochster
Robert Rumely
After graduating, Shimura became a lecturer at the University of Alice Silverberg
Tokyo, then worked abroad — including ten months in Paris and a
seven-month stint at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study — before returning to Tokyo, where he married
Chikako Ishiguro.[4][2] He then moved from Tokyo to join the faculty of Osaka University, but growing
unhappy with his funding situation, he decided to seek employment in the United States.[4][2] Through André
Weil he obtained a position at Princeton University itself.[4] Shimura joined the Princeton faculty in 1964 and
retired in 1999, during which time he advised over 28 doctoral students and received the Guggenheim
Fellowship in 1970, the Cole Prize for number theory in 1977, the Asahi Prize in 1991, and the Steele Prize
for lifetime achievement in 1996.[1][5]

Shimura described his approach to mathematics as "phenomenological": his interest was in finding new types
of interesting behavior in the theory of automorphic forms. He also argued for a "romantic" approach,
something he found lacking in the younger generation of mathematicians.[6] Shimura used a two-part process
for research, using one desk in his home dedicated to working on new research in the mornings and a second
desk for perfecting papers in the afternoon.[2]

Shimura had two children, Tomoko and Haru, with his wife Chikako.[2] Shimura died on 3 May 2019 in
Princeton, New Jersey at the age of 89.[1][2]

Research
Shimura was a colleague and a friend of Yutaka Taniyama, with whom he wrote the first book on the complex
multiplication of abelian varieties and formulated the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture.[7] Shimura then wrote a
long series of major papers, extending the phenomena found in the theory of complex multiplication of elliptic
curves and the theory of modular forms to higher dimensions (e.g. Shimura varieties). This work provided
examples for which the equivalence between motivic and automorphic L-functions postulated in the Langlands
program could be tested: automorphic forms realized in the cohomology of a Shimura variety have a
construction that attaches Galois representations to them.[8]

In 1958, Shimura generalized the initial work of Martin Eichler on the Eichler–Shimura congruence relation
between the local L-function of a modular curve and the eigenvalues of Hecke operators.[9][10] In 1959,
Shimura extended the work of Eichler on the Eichler–Shimura isomorphism between Eichler cohomology
groups and spaces of cusp forms which would be used in Pierre Deligne's proof of the Weil
conjectures.[11][12]

In 1971, Shimura's work on explicit class field theory in the spirit of Kronecker's Jugendtraum resulted in his
proof of Shimura's reciprocity law.[13] In 1973, Shimura established the Shimura correspondence between
modular forms of half integral weight k+1/2, and modular forms of even weight 2k.[14]

Shimura's formulation of the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture (later known as the modularity theorem) in the
1950s played a key role in the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by Andrew Wiles in 1995. In 1990, Kenneth
Ribet proved Ribet's theorem which demonstrated that Fermat's Last Theorem followed from the semistable
case of this conjecture.[15] Shimura dryly commented that his first reaction on hearing of Andrew Wiles's proof
of the semistable case was 'I told you so'.[16]

Other interests
His hobbies were shogi problems of extreme length and collecting Imari porcelain. The Story of Imari: The
Symbols and Mysteries of Antique Japanese Porcelain is a non-fiction work about the Imari porcelain that he
collected over 30 years that was published by Ten Speed Press in 2008.[2][17]

Works

Mathematical books
Shimura, Goro; Taniyama, Yutaka (1961), Complex multiplication of abelian varieties and its
applications to number theory, Publications of the Mathematical Society of Japan, 6, Tokyo:
The Mathematical Society of Japan, MR 0125113 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr
=0125113) Later expanded and published as Shimura (1997)
Shimura, Goro (1968). Automorphic Functions and Number Theory (https://www.springer.com/
mathematics/book/978-3-540-04224-2). Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Vol. 54 (Paperback ed.).
Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-04224-2.
 Shimura, Goro (1 August 1971). Introduction to the Arithmetic Theory of Automorphic Functions
(http://press.princeton.edu/titles/5530.html) (Paperback ed.). Princeton University Press.
ISBN 978-0-691-08092-5. - It is published from Iwanami Shoten in Japan.[18]
Shimura, Goro (1 July 1997). Euler Products and Eisenstein Series (https://archive.org/details/e
ulerproductseis0093shim). CBMS Regional Conference Series in Mathematics
(Paperback ed.). American Mathematical Society. ISBN 978-0-8218-0574-9.
Shimura, Goro (1997). Abelian Varieties with Complex Multiplication and Modular Functions (ht
tp://press.princeton.edu/titles/6242.html) (Hardcover ed.). Princeton University Press.
ISBN 978-0-691-01656-6.[19] An expanded version of Shimura & Taniyama (1961).
Shimura, Goro (22 August 2000). Arithmeticity in the Theory of Automorphic Forms.
Mathematical Surveys and Monographs (Paperback ed.). American Mathematical Society.
ISBN 978-0-8218-2671-3.[20]
Shimura, Goro (1 March 2004). Arithmetic and Analytic Theories of Quadratic Forms and
Clifford Groups (http://www.ams.org/bookstore-getitem/item=SURV-109). Mathematical Surveys
and Monographs (Hardcover ed.). American Mathematical Society. ISBN 978-0-8218-3573-9.
Shimura, Goro (2007). Elementary Dirichlet Series and Modular Forms (https://www.springer.co
m/mathematics/numbers/book/978-0-387-72473-7). Springer Monographs in Mathematics
(Hardcover ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-72473-7.
Shimura, Goro (28 December 2009). Elementary Dirichlet Series and Modular Forms.
Springer Monographs in Mathematics (Paperback ed.). Springer New York. ISBN 978-1-
4419-2478-0.
Shimura, Goro (15 July 2010). Arithmetic of Quadratic Forms (https://www.springer.com/mathe
matics/algebra/book/978-1-4419-1731-7). Springer Monographs in Mathematics
(Hardcover ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-1-4419-1731-7.

Non-fiction
Shimura, Goro (1 June 2008). The Story of Imari: The Symbols and Mysteries of Antique
Japanese Porcelain (http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=978158008896
1) (Hardcover ed.). Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1-58008-896-1.
Shimura, Goro (5 September 2008). The Map of My Life (https://www.springer.com/mathematic
s/history+of+mathematics/book/978-0-387-79714-4) (Hardcover ed.). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
ISBN 978-0-387-79714-4. MR 2442779 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=244277
9).
Shimura, Goro (28 December 2009). The Map of My Life (Paperback ed.). Springer New
York. ISBN 978-1-4419-2724-8.

Collected papers
Shimura, Goro (2002). Collected Papers (https://www.springer.com/mathematics/algebra/book/
978-0-387-95406-6). I: 1954–1965 (Hardcover ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-95406-6.
Shimura, Goro (2002). Collected Papers (https://www.springer.com/mathematics/algebra/book/
978-0-387-95416-5). II: 1967–1977 (Hardcover ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-95416-5.
Shimura, Goro (2003). Collected Papers (https://www.springer.com/mathematics/algebra/book/
978-0-387-95417-2). III: 1978–1988 (Hardcover ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-95417-2.
Shimura, Goro (2003). Collected Papers (https://www.springer.com/mathematics/algebra/book/
978-0-387-95418-9). IV: 1989–2001 (Hardcover ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-95418-9.
References
1. "Professor Emeritus Goro Shimura 1930—2019" (https://www.math.princeton.edu/news/profess
or-emeritus-goro-shimura-1930-2019). Princeton University Department of Mathematics. 3 May
2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
2. Fuller-Wright, Liz (8 May 2019). "Goro Shimura, a 'giant' of number theory, dies at 89" (https://w
ww.princeton.edu/news/2019/05/08/goro-shimura-giant-number-theory-dies-89). Princeton
University Department of Mathematics. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
3. Goro Shimura (https://mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=18860) at the Mathematics Genealogy
Project
4. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Goro Shimura" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.
ac.uk/Biographies/Shimura.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St
Andrews.
5. "The Asahi Prize" (http://www.asahi.com/shimbun/award/asahi/english.html). The Asahi
Shimbun Company. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
6. Shimura, Goro (5 September 2008). The Map of My Life (https://www.springer.com/mathematic
s/history+of+mathematics/book/978-0-387-79714-4) (Hardcover ed.). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
ISBN 978-0-387-79714-4. MR 2442779 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=244277
9).
7. Shimura, Goro (1989). "Yutaka Taniyama and his time. Very personal recollections". The
Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society. 21 (2): 186–196. doi:10.1112/blms/21.2.186 (http
s://doi.org/10.1112%2Fblms%2F21.2.186). ISSN 0024-6093 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/002
4-6093). MR 0976064 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=0976064).
8. Langlands, Robert (1979). "Automorphic Representations, Shimura Varieties, and Motives. Ein
Märchen" (http://www.sunsite.ubc.ca/DigitalMathArchive/Langlands/pdf/autoreps-ps.pdf) (PDF).
In Borel, Armand; Casselman, William (eds.). Automorphic Forms, Representations, and L-
Functions: Symposium in Pure Mathematics. XXXIII Part 1. Chelsea Publishing Company.
pp. 205–246.
9. Shimura, Goro (1958). "Correspondances modulaires et les fonctions ζ de courbes
algébriques". Journal of the Mathematical Society of Japan. 10: 1–28. doi:10.4099/jmath.10.1
(https://doi.org/10.4099%2Fjmath.10.1) (inactive 15 January 2021). ISSN 0025-5645 (https://w
ww.worldcat.org/issn/0025-5645). MR 0095173 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=0
095173).
10. Piatetski-Shapiro, Ilya (1972). "Zeta functions of modular curves". Modular functions of one
variable II. Lecture Notes in Mathematics. 349. Antwerp. pp. 317–360.
11. Shimura, Goro (1959). "Sur les intégrales attachées aux formes automorphes". Journal of the
Mathematical Society of Japan. 11: 291–311. doi:10.4099/jmath.11.291 (https://doi.org/10.409
9%2Fjmath.11.291) (inactive 15 January 2021). ISSN 0025-5645 (https://www.worldcat.org/iss
n/0025-5645). MR 0120372 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=0120372).
12. Deligne, Pierre (1971). "Formes modulaires et représentations l-adiques". Séminaire Bourbaki
vol. 1968/69 Exposés 347-363 (http://www.numdam.org/item?id=SB_1968-
1969__11__139_0). Lecture Notes in Mathematics. 179. Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag.
doi:10.1007/BFb0058801 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBFb0058801). ISBN 978-3-540-05356-9.
13. Shimura, Goro (1971). Introduction to the arithmetic theory of automorphic functions.
Publications of the Mathematical Society of Japan. 11. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. Zbl 0221.10029
(https://zbmath.org/?format=complete&q=an:0221.10029).
14. Shimura, Goro (1973). "On modular forms of half integral weight". Annals of Mathematics.
Second Series. 97 (3): 440–481. doi:10.2307/1970831 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1970831).
ISSN 0003-486X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0003-486X). JSTOR 1970831 (https://www.jsto
r.org/stable/1970831). MR 0332663 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=0332663).
15. Ribet, Kenneth (1990). "From the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture to Fermat's last theorem" (htt
p://www.numdam.org/item?id=AFST_1990_5_11_1_116_0). Annales de la Faculté des
Sciences de Toulouse. Série 5. 11 (1): 116–139. doi:10.5802/afst.698 (https://doi.org/10.5802%
2Fafst.698).
16. "Nova Episode: The Proof" (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/proof/).
17. Shimura, Goro (1 June 2008). The Story of Imari: The Symbols and Mysteries of Antique
Japanese Porcelain (http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=978158008896
1) (Hardcover ed.). Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1-58008-896-1.
18. Goldstein, Larry Joel (1973). "Review of Introduction to the Arithmetic Theory of Automorphic
Functions by Goro Shimura" (https://doi.org/10.1090%2FS0002-9904-1973-13177-5). Bull.
Amer. Math. Soc. 79: 514–516. doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-1973-13177-5 (https://doi.org/10.109
0%2FS0002-9904-1973-13177-5).
19. Ogg, A. P. (1999). "Review of Abelian varieties with complex multiplication and modular
functions by Goro Shimura" (https://doi.org/10.1090%2FS0273-0979-99-00784-3). Bull. Amer.
Math. Soc. (N.S.). 36: 405–408. doi:10.1090/S0273-0979-99-00784-3 (https://doi.org/10.1090%
2FS0273-0979-99-00784-3).
20. Yoshida, Hiroyuki (2002). "Review of Arithmeticity in the theory of automorphic forms by Goro
Shimura" (http://www.ams.org/journals/bull/2002-39-03/S0273-0979-02-00945-X). Bull. Amer.
Math. Soc. (N.S.). 39: 441–448. doi:10.1090/s0273-0979-02-00945-x (https://doi.org/10.1090%
2Fs0273-0979-02-00945-x).

External links
Quotations related to Goro Shimura at Wikiquote
Goro Shimura (https://mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=18860) at the Mathematics Genealogy
Project
Goro Shimura, a ‘giant’ of number theory, dies at 89 / Princeton University (https://www.princeto
n.edu/news/2019/05/08/goro-shimura-giant-number-theory-dies-89)
The New York Times, Goro Shimura, 89, Mathematician with Broad Impact, Is Dead Princeton
University, Professor Emeritus Goro Shimura 1930–2019 (https://www.ias.edu/scholars/goro-sh
imura)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goro_Shimura&oldid=1000441034"

This page was last edited on 15 January 2021, at 03:28 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.