Number-theoretic expressions obtained through analogy between prime   factorization and optical interferometry
  Prime factorization is an outstanding problem in arithmetic, with important consequences in a variety of fields, most notably cryptography. Here we employ the intriguing analogy between prime factorization and optical interferometry in order to obtain, for the first time, analytic expressions for closely related functions, including the number of distinct prime factors. 
Gabriel Seiden
math-ph math.MP