Methods of finding n-th roots of integers and their connection with Cryptography
Prof. S. A. Katre is a retired Professor of Mathematics from Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India. During 2018-2023 he was Lokmanya Tilak Chair Professor at S. P. Pune University. He is associated with the Mathematics Institution in Pune named Bhaskaracharya Pratishthana and also to some Mathematical Societies in India viz. The Indian Mathematics Consortium, Indian Academy of Industrial and Applicable Mathematics, Indian Society for History of Mathematics, as an office bearer.
Aryabhata in his Ganitapada written in 499 AD, gives a systematic method of finding square root and cube root of a given perfect square or a perfect cube. This method is amenable to generalization to finding n-th root. The Indian Human Computer Shakuntaladevi, while finding 23rd root of a 201-digit number apparently used a method which relates to modular arithmetic used in RSA-Cryptography. We shall discuss these methods in the talk.
