Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After Lu Zhou got back from Brazil, he began his research on the plasma turbulence phenomenon.
Although he didn’t go on another retreat, his lifestyle was very regular. He would either be in his bedroom, Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, or the PPPL.
Researching the plasma turbulence phenomenon wasn’t much easier than solving the Navier–Stokes equation.
They were at a different kind of difficulty.
The latter was equivalent to using abstract mathematical tools to prove whether a smooth solution existed. The latter was equivalent to finding a special case and solution of the Navier–Stokes equation.
Until now, there had only been a hundred special Navier–Stokes equation solutions discovered in the mathematics world; most of them did not include the time dimension or were limited to two spatial dimensions.
For the people that did computational fluid dynamics or applied mathematics, most of their special solutions were done using observational models with empirical formulas and parameters; it didn’t provide much reference value for Lu Zhou.
This meant that Lu Zhou had to do this daunting task entirely by himself as he didn’t even have any literature to research.
Of course, he still had some tools.
For example, his L Manifold Navier–Stokes equation topology object was a very useful theoretical tool.
Not just that, but after coming back from the conference, his mathematics level went from Level 6 to Level 7, and he was only three levels away from the maximum Level 10. His intuition and talent in mathematics had grown exponentially over the past few weeks.
Lu Zhou wasn’t 100% certain, but he was 90% certain he could solve this problem.
All he needed was time…
Three weeks after returning to Princeton and near the end of August, Lu Zhou finally received an email from the Clay Institute.
[Dear Professor Lu Zhou, I am James Carlson, the chairman of the scientific advisory board for the Clay Mathematics Institute.
[Based on the anonymous evaluation of 12 reviewers and the comments from the International Mathematical Union, we believe you have proved the existence of a smooth Navier–Stokes equation.
[The solution to this problem will greatly enhance the development and application of mathematical theory. We sincerely thank you for your contribution to the mathematics and scientific world.
[Based on the recommendation from your partner, Professor Fefferman, we are confident that your project work was crucial. After a vote by the Clay Institute board of directors, we have decided to grant you the one million dollar prize money in advance…]
Normally, solving a Millennium Prize Problem didn’t mean one could immediately receive the price money.
According to the official rules, any solution had to be published in a reputable journal for at least two years and recognized by the mathematics community. Only then, could the Clay Mathematics Institute decide on whether or not to issue the million-dollar prize money.
However, this rule was malleable.
For example, Perelman’s thesis had never been published in a reputable journal, and Carlson, the president of the Clay Mathematics Institute, didn’t wait two years before heading over to St Petersberg to visit this hermit…
However, Carlson wasn’t able to meet Perelman.
Because Lu Zhou’s report was held in the form of a special report at the International Congress of Mathematicians, and that Lu Zhou had answered all of the questions at the report sessions, there was no need to wait for the academic community to reach a consensus.
Therefore, the Clay Institute made this decision.
In the email, the Clay Institute also attached the conditions for receiving the award.
As an age-old proposition announced at the Millennium Conference, Carlson hoped that this award ceremony would be grandiose.
The award ceremony location was at the Collège de France, which was also where the Clay Mathematics Institute first announced the Millennium Prize Problems. The million-dollar special award ceremony would be held by the Clay Mathematics Institute and European Mathematical Society.
No one knew what kind of ceremony it would be.
This was because Perelman, the mathematician that proved the Poincaré conjecture, was a peculiar person that didn’t enjoy public attention. Even though he proved the conjecture over a decade ago, an award ceremony was never held.
If Carlson sent the invitation a month ago, Lu Zhou would be happy to buy a plane ticket and attend the award ceremony. After all, a million dollars was a million dollars.
But now that his research on plasma turbulence phenomenon had entered a critical stage, he was neither willing nor interested in traveling long distances.
Lu Zhou thought for a moment before he responded politely to the invitation. He said that his research was in a critical stage, and he couldn’t find the time to fly to Paris. In addition, he said he didn’t want to refuse the million dollars and even attached his bank account details in the email.
Which meant that Lu Zhou just wanted a wire transfer.
As for the medals or certificates, Lu Zhou didn’t mind if they sent it to him by postage…
When Carlson read this email, he nearly spat on the computer screen.
This was almost more irritating than when Perelman refused to accept the award.
If that weirdo doesn’t want the award, then it’s fine! But what the hell is this bank transfer!
Why are all of these Millennium Prize Problem solvers so eccentric?!
Carlson wrote a response and told Lu Zhou it would be impossible to wire the money to him.
The reason was simple!
Two Millennium Prize Problems had already been solved, but the Clay Institute had never even hosted an award ceremony. If Lu Zhou wanted the prize, he had to come to Paris.
Of course, in Carlson’s reply, he also wrote in a respectful manner where he stated that he understood the importance of a scholar’s research.
If Lu Zhou really wasn’t available, Carlson was willing to arrange a suitable award ceremony date with him.
When Lu Zhou read Professor Carlson’s reply, he felt annoyed by the formalism of this guy.
The Clay Institute was located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it wasn’t too far from where Lu Zhou lived. Lu Zhou could even get there without flying. He could do so just by driving in his Ford Explorer.
However, these people weren’t happy to hold the award ceremony in their own country; they had to hold it across the pond at the Collège de France.
Attending the award ceremony would waste at least a week of Lu Zhou’s time.
Lu Zhou had an interesting research project going on right now; therefore, this was unacceptable.
Lu Zhou thought for a bit before he wrote a reply.
[… I can’t give you an accurate date. Maybe only after my research results on the plasma turbulence phenomenon is out that I might be able to take the time to accept the prize.]
After writing the email, Lu Zhou hit “Send”. He closed his email tab and continued to study his half a year old experimental data that was sitting in his computer.
Professor Carlson, who was at the Clay Institute in Massachusetts, read Lu Zhou’s email. He didn’t say a word. Instead, he looked at his secretary, Daft.
Daft sighed and patted Professor Carlson’s back as he said, “… That was probably the most euphemistic rejection we could’ve gotten.”
Daft didn’t study fluid mechanics; he wasn’t even in academia. However, working at the Clay Institute had exposed him to many cutting edge research advances.
The turbulent flow was a well-known type of a chaotic system; it was also a problem that many mathematicians and physicists struggled with.
Not to mention, Lu Zhou’s research object was on plasma…
In Daft’s opinion, Lu Zhou’s letter might as well have been a direct rejection.
Carlson took off his glasses and rested his arms on the table. He then pinched his glabella.
“I don’t understand… Why? It’s free money, why is it so hard to give?”
He was tired from the inside out.
He had experienced this feeling when he was the institute director, and now that he was the chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board, this feeling hadn’t changed a bit.
All he wanted to do before retirement was to grant a million-dollar prize bonus and medal to the solver of the Millennium Prize Problem at the grand hall of the Institut de France.
But why was this wish so difficult to achieve even though two Millennium Prize Problems had already been solved…
