The office in the Jin Ling University mathematics department.
Schultz stood in front of four whiteboards with a look of disbelief on his face.
Even though he knew Lu Zhou was good at solving proof-type mathematical problems, seeing it with his own eyes was still shocking.
During the month he was working in this research project, he and Perelman often talked about solving a complex proposition. But out of nowhere, Lu Zhou listed three possible proof ideas on the whiteboard and even tried solving the problem using one of the ideas.
He prided himself on his calculation and thinking abilities.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have won three IMO gold medals.
But even then, when he witnessed Lu Zhou’s computation abilities, he was shocked.
When he was still trying to use one of the possible pathways to solve the proposition, Lu Zhou was already able to give a conclusive result on the proposition.
However, this wasn’t the whole story.
Proving a mathematical conjecture in a week.
Completely changing his knowledge of algebraic geometry…
As well as everyone’s knowledge of algebraic geometry…
Schultz stared at the proof process on the whiteboard. After a while, he looked at Lu Zhou and said, “Did you install a computer chip in your head or something?”
Lu Zhou put away the marker and said, “… Why do you say that?”
“… Because your calculation speed is beyond incredible,” Schultz said. “Even I have to take some time to solve these problems… Seriously, do you not need a draft paper?”
Lu Zhou said, “Not all problems require a draft paper. Some problems can be solved by mathematical intuition. Thinking about abstract problems can have unexpected results… Of course, if the calculation is large, most of the time I write on draft papers. Maybe you didn’t notice.”
Schultz coughed and said, “Okay, maybe you were writing so fast I couldn’t see.”
Lu Zhou: “Thanks, and if I ever put a chip in my brain, I’ll give you one as well.”
Faltings looked at the whiteboard and said, “Let’s continue.”
Lu Zhou nodded and spoke.
“… As shown from above, the Beilinson-Bloch-Kato conjecture is valid, which means, rank(K2(E))=1+spl(E).
Faltings looked at the calculations on the whiteboard and said, “From this, we get a general cohomology theory, which can be applied to the Abel Jacobi theorem.”
“Correct, this is exactly what we needed to solve the problem!”
Lu Zhou snapped his fingers and looked at the whiteboard as he said, “We have already extracted the numbers and shapes in terms of motive theory and Langlands program, so all we have to do now is combine the two.”
The ultimate proposition since the era of Archimedes!
The holy grail that had stood for thousands of years.
Everyone held their breath.
The students and assistants watched the masters work…
The silence lasted for five minutes or so.
Faltings looked at Lu Zhou and spoke.
“It doesn’t look like this can be solved by usual methods.”
“It seems that you have also noticed.”
“… I suggest using the Princeton method to solve it.”
“I had the same idea.”
Perelman didn’t understand what they were talking about, but Schultz seemed to understand. Chen Yang, on the other hand, hesitated for a second and asked, “What is the Princeton method?”
“It’s to do independent research and discuss with others occasionally.” Schultz smiled and said, “For talented individuals, working on groundbreaking problems with others often decreases efficiency.”
Lu Zhou nodded and spoke in a serious manner.
“Correct. The framework has already been established, the rest is all groundbreaking work. This part cannot be done by collaboration. I propose to hold meetings and exchange opinions on a weekly or monthly basis. The rest of the time… should be allocated to independent research.”
Their research had far deviated from the initial framework.
What they needed to solve this problem wasn’t a group of smart people, but one individually outstanding person… and a moment of inspiration.
Not only did this inspiration break through the temporary darkness, but it would change science forever, illuminating civilization.
This was why people said mathematicians were individual heroes.
Because without the light of mathematics, some problems would never be solved, and they would continue to stay in the dark for a long, long time.
Faltings nodded and spoke.
“I have some things to do at the Fritz Haber Institute, I’ll return mid next month… Maybe the end of the month. I’ll come back here, and we’ll have a meeting.”
“Then I might as well go back to the University of Bonn.” Schultz smiled and said, “I can’t just leave my students alone, I need to find something for them to do. Maybe they can come up with interesting ideas.”
Lu Zhou looked at Perelman and asked, “What about you?”
Without thinking, Perelman said, “I told my parents that I’ll go back after I solve this problem. I don’t have anything else to do, so I’ll just stay here.”
You might as well just move your parents to Jin Ling.
In the end, Lu Zhou didn’t say this out loud.
Even though it was a good suggestion, it was none of his business.
This reminded Lu Zhou of his own parents.
This was just like how his parents were still unwilling to move to Jin Ling. Old people became attached to their hometowns.
Lu Zhou looked at the whiteboard and spoke.
“… I plan on publishing the proof on the Beilinson-Bloch-Kato conjecture to the Future Mathematics journal, is that fine?”
Everyone in the office looked at each other.
“Sure…” Schultz shook his head and said, “You did the proof basically on your own, so you decide… However, I prefer Inventiones Mathematicae.”
Faltings nodded.
“I agree with Schlutz.”
