Mathematics

Freeman Dyson — physicist, mathematician, writer and idea factory — died on February 28, but his vitality lives on.

A landmark proof in computer science has also solved an important problem called the Connes embedding conjecture. Mathematicians are working to understand it.

The laws of physics imply that the passage of time is an illusion. To avoid this conclusion, we might have to rethink the reality of infinitely precise numbers.

Mathematicians have figured out how to expand the reach of a mysterious bridge connecting two distant continents in the mathematical world.

When 50 mathematicians spend a week in the woods, there’s no telling what will happen. And that’s the point.

“Rainbow colorings” recently led to a new proof. It’s not the first time they’ve come in handy.

In our mind’s eye, the universe seems to go on forever. But using geometry we can explore a variety of three-dimensional shapes that offer alternatives to “ordinary” infinite space.

Ronald Rivest helped come up with the RSA algorithm, which safeguards online commerce. Now he’s hoping to make democratic elections more trustworthy.

Finding the best way to approximate the ever-elusive irrational numbers pits the infinitely large against the infinitely small.