Number theory

It’s an educated guess, not a proof. But a good conjecture will guide math forward, pointing the way into the mathematical unknown.

By chopping up large numbers into smaller ones, researchers have rewritten a fundamental mathematical speed limit.

A number theorist with programming prowess has found a solution to 33 = x³ + y³ + z³, a much-studied equation that went unsolved for 64 years.

Recent progress on the “sum product” problem recalls a celebrated mathematical result that revealed the power of miniature number systems.

A graduate student has helped illuminate a long-suspected connection between addition and multiplication.

Digital security depends on the difficulty of factoring large numbers. A new proof shows why one method for breaking digital encryption won’t work.

Equations, like numbers, cannot always be split into simpler elements.

Alexander Smith’s work on the Goldfeld conjecture reveals fundamental characteristics of elliptic curves.

A new statistical model appears to undermine long-held assumptions in number theory. How much should it be trusted when all that really matters is proof?