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Abstract In 1900, the great mathematician David Hilbert gave a talk at the International Congress of Mathematicians. In this talk, Hilbert proposed 23 problems. The tenth problem in this list is: Finding an algorithm that, given an arbitrary polynomial p(x1, . . . , xn) with integer coefficients, decides (YES or NO) whether the polynomial equation p(x1, . . . , xn) = 0 has a solution in integers? In this paper I will give a survey of the result that Hilbert’s tenth problem is undecidable. In Chapter 1, I will introduce several concepts related to Diophantine equations (that is, polynomial equations with integer coefficients) and the relationship between them. In Chapter 2 and 3, the exponential function and the factorial function are shown to be Diophantine. Basic logical operation like "or" , "and" , "exist" , and "bounded for all" are discussed in Chapter 1 and 4. In Chapter 5, I will introduce the concept of recursive enumerability and show that every recursively enumerable relation is Diophantine. In addition, in Chapter 6 we will construct a recursive enumerable relation but it is not recursive. Finally, Hilbert’s tenth problem is shown to be undecidable.
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