Chapter 189 The Whole World Comes for You

After returning to the dormitory with questions from Deligne, Xu Chuan locked himself in this room of less than 20 square meters again.

Although Deligne told him that there was no problem with the core of the proof paper, only some minor issues, he did not dare to relax at all.

Not to mention him, Wiles, who proved Fermat's conjecture, was troubled by a "small problem" for a full eight months.

Moreover, for mathematics, or for science, rigor is the most necessary thing. Any science with problems is unscientific.

So before formally submitting this paper and holding a mathematics conference, he had to make the paper as perfect as possible.

When Xu Chuan revised and improved the problems found by the two mentors in the proof paper, more than ten days had passed since he posted the paper on the arxiv website.

Whether it was his own attention or word of mouth from friends, most scholars who paid attention to the Hodge conjecture or the seven millennium problems, or the melon-eating crowd on the Internet, had already known the news.

Almost everyone who has access to it has downloaded the more than 100 pages of papers posted on the arxiv preprint website.

But unfortunately, not everyone can understand this more than 100 pages of papers.

Or, only a very small number of people can understand this more than 100 pages of papers.

Most people can't even understand the most basic algebraic clusters and group mapping tools in it.

Therefore, there are constant debates on the Internet, especially in the mathematics community. In a certain professional forum:

[Hey, have you read the paper on Arxiv that proves the Hodge conjecture? Is there anyone who knows about it who can explain whether the Hodge conjecture has been proved. ]

[I have read it, but I can't understand it at all. ]

[Incredible, is there really hope to solve the Hodge conjecture? ]

[You think too much. This is one of the seven millennium problems. So far, only the Poincaré conjecture has been solved. This is the result of the joint efforts of countless people over the past century. Perelman also stood on the shoulders of giants to solve the three-dimensional Poincaré conjecture. And what about the Hodge conjecture? Not to mention the shoulders of giants, there is not even a ladder now. ]

[More importantly, such an important proof paper was posted on a garbage website like arxiv. Isn't the implication obvious? ]

[But the person who proved this paper is the winner of the Crafford Prize in Mathematics and Astronomy, the genius boy Xu Chuan. He has solved the Weyl-Berry conjecture before, so he must have a certain degree of confidence. Moreover, he also had the habit of posting papers on the arxiv website before. ]

[But the Weyl-Berry conjecture and the Hodge conjecture are not problems of the same level at all. The former is not well-known in the mathematical community, while the latter is a century-old problem. More importantly, how long has it been since he solved the Weyl-Berry conjecture? Less than two years, right? In two years, he solved one of the seven millennium problems. Do you believe it? ]

[I remember that it took Professor Wiles seven years to solve the Fermat conjecture, and Perelman took a full eight years to prove the Poincare conjecture. Is it possible to solve the Hodge conjecture in less than two years? Perhaps this paper will soon be verified by the mathematical community as having major flaws, and the Hodge conjecture will still be on top. 】

There is no peer review on arxiv. If the papers on it have not been verified, no one knows whether they are correct.

Everyone is talking about the proof paper of Hodge's conjecture that Xu Chuan uploaded.

Some think that Hodge's conjecture has a chance to be solved. After all, the person who uploaded it is a genius mathematician and a hot candidate for the Fields Medal. It can even be said that he is the winner of the Fields Medal. After all, he only needs to wait for a while before the Fields Medal.

It is already November 2017, and there are only eight or nine days before the International Mathematical Congress in August next year.

Of course, more people do not believe that Hodge's conjecture has been solved.

Whether it is from the perspective of time, age, or other aspects, this is a bit unreliable.

The seven millennium problems are not records that have not been solved, but in less than two years, one of them can be solved. No one will believe it.

The time is too short.

Moreover, the prover is so young that it is really unbelievable.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, he will be 20 years old in two months. Even if he has solved a world-class mathematical conjecture before that, not many people think he can continue to solve a millennium problem.

After all, most people are skeptical about people who are too young, whether they are scholars or in other fields.

This is almost the same in any country.

In addition, according to confirmed news, no journal in the mathematics community has received the submission of this proof paper.

In other words, this young scholar has not formally submitted his paper to a mathematics journal except for posting it on arxiv.

For today's academic community, this does not seem to be a formal solution to a major conjecture.

So many people are wondering if this is a joke.

In addition to the discussion, many people are looking forward to Princeton or the prover of the paper to respond to this matter.

After all, this is the Hodge conjecture, one of the seven millennium problems.

No matter what you say about such a major conjecture, the prover should come out and explain it.

At least, a press conference should be required.

If you want to completely confirm the Hodge conjecture, the prover is obliged to explain his theory and answer all questions.

Unless, this is just a huge joke played by this young scholar to the whole world, a joke made on his own reputation and future.

However, many people are still willing to believe this young scholar on this point. After all, he had already solved a world-class problem before.

Therefore, the mathematics community is waiting for the report meeting, and many mathematicians have even contacted Princeton University specifically, hoping that Xu Chuan can stand up and deal with the doubts from the outside world.

It's just that Xu Chuan doesn't know these things at this moment. At this time, he is revising his thesis and solving the problems raised by Professor Deligne and Professor Witten when they checked the paper.

After locking himself in the dormitory for five full days, Xu Chuan finally completed the revision of his thesis.

In fact, the two instructors Deligne and Witten raised not many questions, only two questions + three suggestions in total.

It's just that in order to solve these problems perfectly, he conceived and repeated each one many times.

And after he solved the problem perfectly, he rechecked the paper twice, which took several days.

To be honest, in a proof paper that is more than 100 pages long, two top mathematics experts only checked two problems, which shows how excellent this paper is.

With the revised thesis, Xu Chuan found two mentors. After verification and discussion, the three of them finally confirmed the perfection of the proof.

At the same time, the long-awaited response from the outside world finally arrived.

That afternoon, Princeton University’s official website updated an important mathematics conference information.

Five days later, that is, next Monday, Princeton University will hold a mathematics lecture. The lecturer is Xu Chuan. The content of the lecture is a proof paper of Hodge's conjecture.

With the announcement of this conference information, the entire mathematics community is excited.

From the time the proof paper of Hodge's conjecture appeared on the arxiv website to the time when the prover held a relevant report meeting, the mathematics community waited for twenty days.

Such a long period of time was unprecedented in the past, and it also caused the outside world's doubts about this paper to reach its peak.

But now, all doubts and discussions will come to an end.

Mathematicians who were interested in this matter bought tickets one after another.

As the mathematics conference information was updated on Princeton University’s official website, many mathematicians began to flock to Princeton.

This quiet town gradually became lively.

Xu Chuan actually didn't worry about the report on the proof of Hodge's conjecture.

Whether it was the convening of the lectures, the arrangements for external scholars, the media reporters, or the evening parties and dances after the lectures, Princeton University helped.

The only thing he had to do was to prepare his report materials and consider in advance the questions that many mathematicians might ask at the report meeting.

Even if the two masters Deligne and Witten had helped with the proof paper beforehand, at the report meeting, facing mathematicians from all over the world, he might still face some fatal or unexpected problems. question.

So he had to make more preparations before the report meeting was held.

Time passed day by day, and soon came the day before the report meeting.

In Rockefeller Residential College, Xu Chuan put down the ballpoint pen in his hand, got up and went into the kitchen and took out a bottle of yogurt from the refrigerator. Before he could take a sip, there was a knock on the door.

Somewhat curious about who came to find him at this time, he opened the door of the dormitory and was stunned by the person standing at the door.

"Teacher, Dean Rong, Academician Zhang, why are you here?"

Standing at the door were Chen Zhengping, a tutor from Nanjing University, Rong Zhizhuan, dean of the School of Mathematics, and Zhang Weiping from Sun Moon University.

"What, aren't you welcome?" Academician Zhang Weiping from Sun Moon University asked with a smile.

Xu Chuan was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He quickly opened the door and welcomed the three of them into the dormitory, saying, "Quick, please come in."

"You really did something big this time, proving Hodge's conjecture, the seven millennium problems, tsk tsk, I've never heard you say that you are researching anything in this area before."

The three of them entered the dormitory. Dean Rong Zhi Zhuanrong of the School of Mathematics at NTU looked at the room, looked at Xu Chuan with a smile and sighed.

Xu Chuan smiled and said: "I was inspired by chance, so I tried to study this aspect. As for whether it can really prove the Hodge conjecture, we have to wait for the conclusion of the mathematical community."

Hearing this, Rong Zhizhuan smiled and shook his head and said, "You are still so humble. You haven't changed at all during the time you have been living abroad."

After a pause, he continued: "Before you came here, we went to see Professor Deligne, and he spoke very highly of your paper. And he and Witten have verified it, and there is nothing wrong with it. question."

On the side, Chen Zhengping interjected: "How are you preparing for tomorrow's report meeting?"

Xu Chuan: "I am definitely prepared. I have thought about everything I can think of, but I just don't know what questions others will ask tomorrow."

Nodding, Chen Zhengping took out a thin stack of rolling paper from his pocket and came over.

"Here are some ideas from some mathematics professors in China after studying your proof paper. There are ideas and suggestions, which may be helpful to you."

Hearing this, Xu Chuan was stunned for a moment, and quickly took the roll of paper and opened it to read.

He really didn't expect Chen Zhengping to bring him such a gift. There is no doubt that this is quite precious.

Rong Zhizhuan said on the side: "You have to thank Academician Zhang Weiping for this. He took the lead in holding a small discussion meeting in China and invited some top mathematics professors at home and abroad to help discuss it."

Xu Chuan was stunned again, looked at Zhang Weiping, and sincerely thanked him: "Thank you."

Zhang Weiping waved his hand and smiled: "With your current mathematical ability, these ideas and suggestions are nothing to you."

The three of them didn't stay in the dormitory for long. After saying hello and presenting a gift, they left without even drinking a cup of hot tea.

After all, the proof report meeting of Hodge's conjecture will start tomorrow, and everyone knows how busy Xu Chuan will be.

The next day, two o'clock in the afternoon.

The Alexander Auditorium of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton was packed with people.

In addition to the scholars invited to attend this academic report, there were also many mathematicians who came on their own, as well as students who came with their mentors.

In particular, the number of mathematicians and mathematics students from China even accounted for nearly one-fifth of the entire report meeting, and the vast majority of them were students who came with their mentors to see the world.

There were so many people attending the report meeting that the Alexander Auditorium, which could accommodate more than 500 people, could not accommodate them. Many people who did not grab a seat could only sit or stand in the corridor.

Standing behind the auditorium, Xu Chuan sat steadily on a wooden chair with a smile on his face.

His calm demeanor made the staff member beside him curious, and he asked with a smile: "You don't look nervous at all."

Xu Chuan joked: "That's because you didn't see how fast my heartbeat was."

The staff member smiled and said: "This is different. I have worked here for many years and have seen many outstanding young people. No matter who they are, they almost have to use various means to suppress their excitement before going on stage to give a report."

"Even Schultz relied on continuous deep breathing to regulate his emotions at the beginning, not to mention the proof report of such a major conjecture."

After a pause, the staff member looked Xu Chuan up and down, and then said: "You look much calmer, I don't see much nervousness from you."

Xu Chuan smiled and said: "Going on stage to give a report is not more difficult than proving a mathematical conjecture, right?"

Hearing this, the staff member also laughed, opened his mouth, and when he was about to say something, another young staff member trotted in.

"Mr. Xu Chuan, it's already 1:55. Everything outside is ready. Do you need to prepare anything else?"

Xu Chuan stood up and said, "Thank you. I'm ready."

After that, he walked towards the stage outside.