Chapter 132: A Carnival in the Field of Number Theory

As Deligne's excited voice broke the original calm, it immediately attracted the attention of others.

Everyone, including Holt, gathered around.

"Professor Deligne, are the results in the paper valid?"

Holt, who was exhausted just now, now seemed to be excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood, and started asking about the issues that concerned him most.

"From my verification process, there is no problem with the two sieving methods and the proof process used in the paper."

“It should be established.”

"First, Zhang Yitang successfully proved the twin prime conjecture to a positive value less than 4200 million. Later, Xu Yuan improved the sieve method and reduced the value to 246. Although he failed to achieve the final positive number 2, it was a major breakthrough in the twin prime conjecture."

“This paper should be published as quickly as possible, and the good news should be announced to the mathematics community.”

Deligne tried to calm his excitement and told his conclusion truthfully.

These words were also affirmed by other professors present, who immediately spoke up to express their opinions.

"The paper used two new sieving methods. In particular, the sieving method improved by Xu Yuan reduced the positive value from 4200 million to 246. This span is something I have never seen before."

"With the publication of this paper, we are now one step closer to winning the title of the twin prime conjecture."

"I also agreed to publish the paper and release the news to the mathematical community."

"After so many years since the twin prime conjecture was proposed, there has finally been a breakthrough. This will be a carnival for the number theory community."

……

Holt listened to everyone's words, and when he saw that Deligne and Witten both gave supporting conclusions, he couldn't help but become more excited.

Given their authority in the mathematics community, they can say this to basically confirm that the paper is valid.

I can't help but feel delighted when I think about the sensation that this paper will cause in the mathematical community after it is published in the Annals of Mathematics.

Suddenly there was an urge to get going.

I can't wait to publish the paper in the latest issue of the journal.

Even though the paper had just arrived in his mailbox.

After taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm himself down, Holt continued.

"I feel relieved with your verification. I will arrange the publication of the paper as soon as possible."

After making this matter completely certain, he did not forget to care about everyone.

"Professors, you have worked hard today. Now that the thesis has been concluded, go and have a rest."

After all, it is already the late night and there is not much time left before dawn.

In a way, it is no different from staying up all night. Given the age of professors such as Delinewitten, it is indeed not suitable for them to continue staying here to research their papers.

On the other hand, Deligniewitten and others were enjoying it at the moment and did not feel tired at all.

The main reason is that this is the only grand event in the number theory community that happens once in many years. As witnesses, they have not yet calmed down, so how could they feel tired and in a hurry to go to bed and rest?

It is no exaggeration to say that even if they were asked to lie down in bed right now, they probably would not be able to fall asleep.

It was because Xu Yuan was not here at the moment, otherwise they would have to keep talking for a few more hours.

However, as Holt said, their task is completed once they have verified the process results in the paper, and the subsequent process can be handed over to the editorial board of the Annals of Mathematics.

There is really no need to stay any longer for this, after all, there will be plenty of time to study the screening method in the paper later.

But Deligne seemed to have an idea at this time and immediately made a proposal to Holt.

“In addition to publishing a paper to announce this news to the mathematics community, I hope to hold an international number theory academic conference in the name of the Annals of Mathematics and invite them to personally report the proof to the number theory community.”

"At the same time, we hope to attract more scholars to participate in the proof of the twin prime conjecture, so that this difficult problem can be completely solved as soon as possible."

Deligne never had the opportunity to communicate with Xu Yuan face to face and truly witness this rare mathematical genius.

Now that Xu Yuan has made a breakthrough in the twin prime conjecture, it is a good opportunity to hold a meeting, during which we can discuss the sieving method and proof process in the paper together.

When Holt heard this, he couldn't help but feel moved.

I think it is indeed feasible.

After all, with the Annals of Mathematics as the organizer of the academic conference, coupled with the popularity brought by this paper proving the twin prime conjecture, there will definitely be many well-known scholars in the field of mathematics participating. While invisibly expanding the influence of the Annals of Mathematics in the field of mathematics, it will surely become easier to commission articles in the future.

I quickly went over these thoughts in my mind and immediately made up my mind.

But before he could open his mouth, he heard other professors nearby expressing their support for the proposal.

"This is indeed a good thing. Now that the mathematical community has just found a new direction in the study of the twin prime conjecture, we should seize the opportunity to strive to prove the twin prime conjecture thoroughly."

"From 246 to 2 is within reach, and we really shouldn't give up."

“This academic conference can be held.”

Holt had already made up his mind, and now that he heard what others said, he naturally would not refuse.

"Then I will discuss the details of this academic conference first, and then send out invitations." After saying this, the matter was temporarily settled, and then everyone left one after another to go home and rest.

It is worth mentioning that after sending Delinewitten and others away, Holt did not go back, but returned to his office and turned on the computer.

Then I wrote an email to Xu Yuan personally.

In the email, in addition to informing that the paper has passed verification and will be published in the latest issue of the journal, he also congratulated Xu Yuan on his breakthrough in proving the twin prime conjecture. He also talked about the international number theory academic conference that was to be held, and hoped that the two authors of the paper, Xu Yuan and Zhang Yitang, would be able to attend.

Although the time of this meeting has not been officially confirmed, it allows Xu Yuan to prepare in advance.

Only after he clicked send and finished all these, did he rub his eyes and neck and feel sleepy.

It is said that Xu Yuan's paper was submitted only one day ago, but he has already received a response, which can be said to have broken the record of the Annals of Mathematics.

However, outsiders can't say anything about this matter, because Xu Yuan solved the twin prime conjecture problem.

……

Due to the time difference between the two places, it was still afternoon in Yanjing when Holt sent the email.

So naturally I knew it at the first time.

"Xu Yuan."

“There’s a reply from the Mathematics Yearbook!”

In the afternoon, Xu Yuan and Zhang Yitang were both in the office that the department had arranged for Xu Yuan in advance.

Probably because Zhang Yitang had already planned to return to China, he was not in a hurry to go back. He still stayed in Xu Yuan's office during the day to study the screening method improved by Xu Yuan in his paper.

He was well aware that Xu Yuan's improved screening method was more sophisticated and worthy of his repeated study.

Maybe in the future we can completely prove twin prime numbers and reduce the positive numbers less than 246 to the final 2.

But when he accidentally caught a glimpse of the computer screen next to him, he suddenly had an idea and quickly called out to Xu Yuan who was not far away.

"So fast?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan took the initiative to break away from his deep learning state and asked a question casually.

He knew very well that the paper had just been submitted, so it was surprising to receive a reply from the Annals of Mathematics so soon.

After all, this is not his first time submitting a paper to the Annals of Mathematics. Even if he had been efficient in the past, it would have taken at least a month. However, despite his doubts, the most urgent task was to confirm the content of the paper.

What if it has nothing to do with the paper submission, then all my happiness would be in vain.

Of course, he was 100% confident in this paper, and there was no way the Annals of Mathematics would reject it.

The thought stayed here. He no longer hesitated and quickly shouted to Lao Zhang.

"Open it quickly and take a look."

In fact, without Xu Yuan's reminder, Lao Zhang had already sat in front of the computer, moving the mouse to click on the email content, and checking it very seriously.

Since this was his first time publishing a paper in the Annals of Mathematics, he was inevitably more excited than Xu Yuan.

At this time, Xu Yuan also stopped what he was doing, stood up and walked to Lao Zhang, asking him about the contents of the email.

"What did the email say?"

Zhang Yitang watched and spoke as he heard this, the joy on his face never disappearing.

"This is the reply from Mr. Holt, the editor-in-chief of the Annals of Mathematics. He said that our paper has been accepted. Ten professors including Deligne and Witten from the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton have verified the paper. The paper will be published in the latest journal."

"The Annals of Mathematics is also going to hold a number theory conference, and they hope we can attend and give a lecture."

After listening to Lao Zhang's words, Xu Yuan did not show any surprise at the acceptance of his paper. Instead, he was a little surprised that Holt had found so many mathematical authorities to verify the paper.

But this will further ensure the authority of this paper and will not be questioned by others in the academic community.

As for the remaining number theory academic conferences, although they are hosted by the Annals of Mathematics, the venue will definitely be Princeton University.

Thinking back to the previous joint meeting held by Qinghua and Yenching University, the other party also sent representatives to participate.

It would be inappropriate to refuse this time, especially since they are the protagonists of this exchange meeting.

In addition, Xu Yuan also thought of Professor Deligne. As an authority in mathematics, his main research areas are number theory and algebraic geometry. If he participated, he could ask him questions about Qiu Chengtong's conjecture, which might help him prove the conjecture faster.

Quickly sorting out the thoughts in his mind, Xu Yuan smiled and said to Lao Zhang:
"professor Zhang."

"Looks like we need to get ready to go to Princeton."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhang raised his eyes and smiled back. He would naturally not refuse such an academic conference that he had never had the opportunity to participate in before.

Xu Yuan didn't know that while they were thinking about the meeting, Holt, who was far away overseas, was working overtime.

I want to publish this paper as soon as possible and at the same time arrange the work related to the number theory academic conference.

In the blink of an eye, it was already late September. With the publication of the latest issue of the Annals of Mathematics, the news of a major breakthrough in the twin prime conjecture spread rapidly throughout the mathematical community.

……

(End of this chapter)