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Contributions to mathematics and physics

Noether's work in abstract algebra and topology was influential in mathematics, while Noether's theorem has widespread consequences for theoretical physics and dynamical systems. Noether showed an acute propensity for abstract thought, which allowed her to approach problems of mathematics in fresh and original ways. Her friend and colleague Hermann Weyl described her scholarly output in three epochs:

(1) the period of relative dependence, 1907–1919

(2) the investigations grouped around the general theory of ideals 1920–1926

(3) the study of the non-commutative algebras, their representations by linear transformations, and their application to the study of commutative number fields and their arithmetics

In the first epoch (1907–1919), Noether dealt primarily with differential and algebraic invariants, beginning with her dissertation under Paul Gordan. Her mathematical horizons broadened, and her work became more general and abstract, as she became acquainted with the work of David Hilbert, through close interactions with a successor to Gordan, Ernst Sigismund Fischer. Shortly after moving to Göttingen in 1915, she proved the two Noether's theorems, "one of the most important mathematical theorems ever proved in guiding the development of modern physics".

In the second epoch (1920–1926), Noether devoted herself to developing the theory of mathematical rings. In the third epoch (1927–1935), Noether focused on noncommutative algebra, linear transformations, and commutative number fields. Although the results of Noether's first epoch were impressive and useful, her fame among mathematicians rests more on the groundbreaking work she did in her second and third epochs, as noted by Hermann Weyl and B. L. van der Waerden in their obituaries of her.

In these epochs, she was not merely applying ideas and methods of the earlier mathematicians; rather, she was crafting new systems of mathematical definitions that would be used by future mathematicians. In particular, she developed a completely new theory of ideals in rings, generalizing the earlier work of Richard Dedekind. She is also renowned for developing ascending chain conditions – a simple finiteness condition that yielded powerful results in her hands. Such conditions and the theory of ideals enabled Noether to generalize many older results and to treat old problems from a new perspective, such as elimination theory and the algebraic varieties that had been studied by her father.