Latest Articles
Old Problem About Mathematical Curves Falls to Young Couple
Eric Larson and Isabel Vogt have solved the interpolation problem — a centuries-old question about some of the most basic objects in geometry. Some credit goes to the chalkboard in their living room.
‘Post-Quantum’ Cryptography Scheme Is Cracked on a Laptop
Two researchers have broken an encryption protocol that many saw as a promising defense against the power of quantum computing.
Mathematicians Crack a Simple but Stubborn Class of Equations
Ever since Archimedes, mathematicians have been fascinated by equations that involve a difference between squares. Now two mathematicians have proven how often these equations have solutions, concluding a decades-old quest.
For His Sporting Approach to Math, a Fields Medal
With Hugo Duminil-Copin, thinking rarely happens without moving. His insights into the flow-related properties of complex networks have earned him the Fields Medal.
He Dropped Out to Become a Poet. Now He’s Won a Fields Medal.
June Huh wasn’t interested in mathematics until a chance encounter during his sixth year of college. Now his profound insights connecting combinatorics and geometry have led to math’s highest honor.
Graduate Student’s Side Project Proves Prime Number Conjecture
Jared Duker Lichtman, 26, has proved a longstanding conjecture relating prime numbers to a broad class of “primitive” sets. To his adviser, it came as a “complete shock.”
Elegant Six-Page Proof Reveals the Emergence of Random Structure
Two young mathematicians have astonished their colleagues with a full proof of the Kahn-Kalai conjecture — a sweeping statement about how structure emerges in random sets and graphs.
Deep Learning Poised to ‘Blow Up’ Famed Fluid Equations
For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler’s fluid equations can produce nonsensical answers. A new approach to machine learning has researchers betting that “blowup” is near.
In Music and Math, Lillian Pierce Builds Landscapes
Lillian Pierce wants to transform access to the world of mathematics, while making headway on problems that bridge the discrete and continuous.