Two days later, the news that Xu Chuan would teach an open mathematics course at NTU quickly spread throughout the campus.
It has become the most hotly discussed issue on the NTU campus, on the Stone Forum, Penguin, Weixin, various places and software.
Not only students from Nanjing University are discussing, but also lecturers and professors at the school are making preparations. Even some students from other Nanling colleges and universities who have received the news are preparing to take the subway to attend classes.
This is the first opportunity like this in China and should not be missed.
Although the course submitted on the NTU official website is only the most common "Linear Algebra and Spatial Analytical Geometry", which is a course for undergraduates, from the words of a Nobel Prize and Fields Medal winner, it must have its own uniqueness. insights.
In addition, since it is a lecture, it is normal for the people listening in the classroom to raise their doubts to the teacher who is giving the lecture.
For mathematics students, a Fields Medal winner is basically a god in the field of mathematics.
Of course, in addition to mathematics students, Xu Chuan’s teaching also attracted the interest of many student tutors from the School of Physics and the Department of Astronomy.
This elder won the Nobel Prize in Physics through computational astronomy. NTU has already offered this course two years ago. In the second half of last year, it was defined as a required course for students in the astronomy department.
Although there is not much to learn, compulsory courses and minor courses are two completely different concepts.
When it comes to computational astronomy, this elder who is about to start a course can be said to be the originator of computational astronomy.
Betelgeuse is still a key observation object in the astronomical community. Now the astronomical community has confirmed that Betelgeuse has a companion star in its hydrogen envelope, and is currently observing and studying it.
After all, Betelgeuse is too close to the solar system. The originally confirmed supernova explosion poses no threat to the earth. Now with the emergence of the companion star, this has become uncertain again.
If we don't understand it clearly, this may become a problem for many people.
.........
In the villa, after Xu Chuan arranged the courses, he found a manuscript on analytic functions in the study and started reading it.
This manuscript was brought back from Princeton. It was given to him by Deligne and was left behind by his grandfather Grothendieck.
Although he had read it several times when he was at Princeton, the contents were still worth reading.
Since winning the Fields Medal last August, he has not done much research, research and thinking in the field of mathematics.
Now that the nuclear energy beta radiation energy concentration and conversion mechanism project has come to an end for the time being, he can now spare some energy and return to mathematics.
Although he has won the Fields Medal, Xu Chuan does not think that he has reached the pinnacle of mathematics.
This subject is vast and profound. The more in-depth you study it, the more you can understand it and the more you need to learn.
What's more, he still has a goal of controllable nuclear fusion that needs to be conquered in the distant future. In this technology, it is very critical to establish a mathematical model for controlling the ultra-high temperature plasma in the controllable nuclear fusion reactor chamber. step.
There is no doubt that the only way to solve this problem is from mathematics.
The corresponding direction probably falls on the ns equation.
Before returning to China, he had collaborated with Fefferman, the chairman of the mathematics department at Princeton, to study the NS equation. The two had explored the introduction of the NS equation from different angles.
If he was still at Princeton and the two of them continued to collaborate, it might be possible to solve this problem or conduct more in-depth research.
But now he can only figure it out alone.
However, Xu Chuan will not regret it. Being able to come back safely from the United States is already the greatest luck.
.........
In the late winter of January, Xu Chuan was leaning on a wicker chair, flipping through the manuscript in his hand. The orange oven exuded a warm atmosphere, dispelling the coldness in the room.
On the desk, the cell phone rang.
Xu Chuan woke up with a start and took a look at his cell phone. The person calling him was Liu Gaojun, the president of NTU.
"Hey, principal. What can I do for you?" His finger slid slightly on the screen, and he answered the phone and asked with a smile.
"It's like this. Didn't you submit a course yesterday? This has attracted attention both inside and outside the school. Many students and professors have expressed their hope to choose a larger place to teach, so as not to be unable to grab a seat. .”
On the other end of the phone, Liu Gaojun directly stated his purpose: "So we want to adjust the professor for your class from the public classroom No. 1 in the West Building to our auditorium."
Xu Chuan felt ashamed and said, "This is a bit too exaggerated, principal. The public classroom in the West Building is big enough and can seat three to four hundred people."
Liu Gaojun smiled and said: "You underestimate your influence. Students from the Department of Mathematics at NTU have expressed their willingness to participate. There are also many students from the School of Physics and Astronomy who are willing to listen, and even Hehai, Southeast, etc." There are students from Nanli University and Nanli University who are planning to come to attend classes, so the public classrooms in the West Building will definitely not be enough."
Xu Chuan coughed and said, "Forget it if we move to the auditorium. After all, this is a lecture, not a report or speech."
"Besides, this is just a math class. What are the students from the School of Physics and Astronomy doing here? This is too exaggerated."
Liu Gaojun thought for a while and said: "Well, how about we change the classroom to the public classroom No. 1 in Shaw Building? After all, many students want to listen to your lectures, and we can't let people have no place to sit, right?"
Xu Chuan: "Okay, these are all trivial matters."
"Then let's just say it, I won't bother you anymore." Liu Gaojun hung up the phone with a smile.
Xu Chuan shook his head and put the phone back on the desk.
Just as he was about to continue reading, the phone rang again. This time the person calling him was Deligne, his mentor at Princeton.
"Sir Atiyah passed away. The funeral will be in a week. Can you attend?"
When the call was connected, Professor Deligne broke the shocking news.
Xu Chuan opened his mouth but stopped talking.
Sir Atiyah, a mathematician whose sun never sets, winner of the Fields Medal, and former president of the Royal Society, is known as one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century.
He established a cooperative relationship with Ishadur Singh and jointly proved the Atiya-Singh indicator theorem, which is one of the most important mathematical results of the twentieth century.
In addition, he has many outstanding achievements in the fields of topology, differential equations, mathematical physics, algebra and other fields.
In 2018, that is, in September last year, Sir Atiyah stated that he had proved the Riemann Hypothesis, and later posted a preprint that proved the Riemann Hypothesis (conjecture).
At that time, Xu Chuan also received review invitations from many journals such as "New Advances in Mathematics" and "Journal of the Mathematical Society", hoping that he could review or comment on Sir Atiyah's paper.
Although the mathematical community at that time was not very optimistic about Sir Atiyah's proof, Sir Atiyah was a Fields Medal winner after all, and some top journals would still selectively bet on it; of course, some would also join in the fun.
However, he was busy at the time, and because of his rebirth, he knew that Sir Atiyah's proof of the Riemann Hypothesis was wrong, so he did not accept these review invitations.
The people who handled this paper were Professor Peter Schulz, who also won the Fields Medal with him in August, and another mathematician from Sakura Country.
The two disclosed errors in Sir Atiyah's paper in December, such as contradictions in the limiting conditions when using the zeta function, inaccuracy of the fine structure constant α, etc.
This announcement directly stated that this certification failed.
Speaking of which, this is actually not the first time Sir Atiyah has publicly stated that he has proved a certain problem or a certain conjecture.
Prior to this, Lord Atiyah had published his proofs several times in the fields of mathematical physics, differential equations, etc., but unfortunately, these proofs were later proven unsuccessful.
This has made this great scholar "stained" in the minds of some people, who feel that he is no longer safe in his later years.
But for Xu Chuan, Sir Atiyah still deserves everyone's respect.
In any case, it is not easy to still be engaged in mathematical research at the age of 89.
Just like Einstein publicly stated many times in his later years that he had found a way to unify the four forces. This was a great scholar's pursuit of dreams and science.
This alone deserves everyone's respect.
.......
After suddenly hearing the news of Sir Atiya's death, Xu Chuan was stunned for a moment. The memories in his mind quickly turned over. After a while, he sighed.
Judging from the memories of his previous life, Sir Atiyah really passed away at the beginning of 2019.
Shaking his head, he sighed: "My condolences, I may not be able to go abroad to attend Sir Atiya's funeral. Teacher, please bring me a bouquet of flowers."
Deligne nodded and said, "Yes, I understand."
After a pause, he then asked: "Have you been researching anything sensitive recently? People from the CIA came to Princeton some time ago to investigate something related to you."
Xu Chuan opened his mouth, hesitated, and then asked: "Didn't you cause any trouble to everyone?"
Deligne shook his head and said: "That's not the case. Princeton still has some say. It will not be affected here, but I am more worried about you."
Hearing this, Xu Chuan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's fine. I don't have to worry here. If I don't go abroad, there will be no problem."
"As for what I'm studying..." After a pause, he continued: "For now, I can only tell you that it has something to do with nuclear energy and energy."
"More specific, I can't disclose it for the time being due to confidentiality restrictions, but it may be made public in this period of time, and you will know then."
Xu Chuan couldn't say much about his research. Although he trusted his mentor, the best way to keep it secret was to say nothing.
Deligne: "Well, I will pay attention to it, but I still suggest that you don't get too involved in political things. For a scholar, this is a very demoralizing thing."
Xu Chuan nodded and said, "I will remember it."
"By the way, tutor, do you have any research manuscripts or information on the ns equation?" he asked, jumping away from the topic of nuclear energy.
"NS equation?" Deligne pondered for a moment, then said: "My teacher still has some information on nonlinear partial differential equations and Euler equations, which are all his previous research. If you need it, I can I’ll take a copy for you.”
"But regarding the NS equation, it's best for you to find Fefferman. He has been studying this aspect since you studied it with him in the second half of last year."
Xu Chuan said: "Then I'll trouble the instructor. I'll make a call to Fefferman."
........
After hanging up the phone, Xu Chuan stood up and looked out the window.
In late winter in January, the trees and grass in the courtyard were all withered and yellow.
The death of Sir Atiyah made him feel slightly blocked.
Although he doesn't want to remember it, as time goes by, some of his older friends who are still alive in the world will also leave in the near future.
Time is long, it can take away everything and heal everything.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, Xu Chuan sighed, turned and left the study.
He probably can't stand the book in the afternoon anymore. Let's go for a walk.
.........
