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Euler Four-square Identity
Alternate name
Definition
The amazing polynomial identity (a_1^2 + a_2^2 + a_3^2 + a_4^2)(b_1^2 + b_2^2 + b_3^2 + b_4^2) = (a_1 b_1 - a_2 b_2 - a_3 b_3 - a_4 b_4)^2 + (a_1 b_2 + a_2 b_1 + a_3 b_4 - a_4 b_3)^2 + (a_1 b_3 - a_2 b_4 + a_3 b_1 + a_4 b_2)^2 + (a_1 b_4 + a_2 b_3 - a_3 b_2 + a_4 b_1)^2, communicated by Euler in a letter to Goldbach on April 12, 1749 (incorrectly given as April 15, 1705--before Euler was born--in Conway and Guy 1996, p. 232). The identity also follows from the fact that the norm of the product of two quaternions is the product of the norms.
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Associated person
Leonhard Euler