I've managed to write a simple Maxima program to compute the zeta function
of a real quadratic field at -1. This uses Siegel's theorem, which expresses
the value as a sum of values of the function sigma1(x), which is the sum
of the divisors of x if x is a positive integer and is 0 otherwise.
Before I get too involved in writing other programs of this kind, I'd
like to know whether anyone has already done it. I'm aware of packages
such as Kant and pari-gp. I'm just curious about what it is like to do
it in Maxima.
Here are some concrete examples:
(1) compute a fundamental unit for a real quadratic field K.
(2) compute the continued fraction expansion of a number from K and
identify its repeating and nonrepeating parts.
(3) compute the class number of K.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston.