Inside an activity room in the Princeton University Library.
Vera pushed open the door and rushed in. She had a look of joy on her face as she threw herself on the table. She opened her mouth for a long time before she finally said a complete sentence.
"He's researching the Riemann conjecture!"
Molina, who was sitting in front of her desk, didn't even look up. Even if she didn't look up, she could imagine the "infatuated" look on Lu Zhou's face.
"The thesis on arXiv? I already know about it, what's the big deal … "
It could be said that Molina's sense of urgency intensified because she knew about this.
Lu Zhou had never failed a problem before. Even Millennium Prize Problems like the Navier – Stokes equations and the Yang-Mills equations had failed in front of him.
Because he was an academic leader, he rarely appeared in the mathematics world. He didn't attend any large or small academic conferences. However, the mathematics world had never forgotten about his legend.
Even today, there were still "myths" about him circulating around the Princeton campus.
There was no doubt that Lu Zhou was a powerful opponent.
She had been working on this conjecture for several years. If Lu Zhou took the lead, she wasn't sure if she would collapse …
"Molina …"
Molina looked at Vera with a strange expression. She blinked and asked, "What?"
Vera smiled shyly and asked, "How far do you think his research has progressed?"
Molina looked at her blushing cheeks and said, "How would I know? Why don't you just ask him? I remember you have his email address. "
"I …" Vera played with her index finger and blushed. She looked away from Molina and looked at the ivy hanging by the window. She said, "I'm not good enough for him."
I can't take it anymore!
Ahhhh, I can't take it anymore!
With both hands on the table, Molina suddenly stood up and hugged Vera's shoulders. She stared at Vera's averted eyes and said seriously.
"Listen, my dear Miss Pulyuy, although I know he is your idol and even your ideal lover, you must know that he is now our enemy! They are our enemies! You mustn't do — "
Molina's words were interrupted by Vera without hesitation.
"I will not become his enemy!"
In those elk-like eyes, there was a rare resolute look that dispelled the bewilderment.
"… Okay, let me put it another way." Molina slapped her forehead and thought for a long time. Finally, her eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers. "Don't you have an agreement with him about the Fields Prize?"
“！”
Upon hearing this, Vera's expression immediately tensed up.
Molina captured this moment and smiled. She patted the girl's shoulder and spoke.
"Do your best. If we solve the Riemann's conjecture, forget about the Fields Prize, we can even win the Fields Medal ten times."
Holding her breath, Vera clenched her fists and muttered to herself in a low voice.
She whispered to herself, "If I solve the Riemann's conjecture … He will notice me."
Molina gave the girl an encouraging look and said in a positive tone, "That's right, not just him, but the whole world will notice you."
Vera's face turned even redder. She lowered her head and stared at her toes, smiling shyly.
"Forget about the whole world …
"Just him is enough."
…
For the mathematics community, which lacked information, a famous person like Lu Zhou researching the Riemann's conjecture was obviously a big deal. From the Mathoverflow mathematics exchange website to the Princeton campus, the news of Professor Lu researching the Riemann's conjecture had become the hottest topic.
Not only were the students talking about it, but the professors were also talking about it.
A big event like this obviously did not escape the ears of the head of the mathematics department, Professor Fefferman.
While Vera was happily telling Molina the news, Professor Fefferman also brought the printed thesis to Professor Deligné's office.
When he arrived at the office, Deligné was sitting at his desk, doing some calculations on a piece of draft paper.
The old man noticed the footsteps at the door and looked at the stack of theses in Professor Fefferman's hand. He then looked away and spoke without any expression.
"I'm guessing you're holding the preprint that guy posted on arXiv."
"Looks like you've already read it," said Professor Fefferman. He threw the printed thesis aside and said, "I didn't expect you to be so well-informed."
"I'm still open to new things. I've been using the Internet for 20 years …" Professor Deligné pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked away from the draft paper on the table. He said, "You came to me for this?"
"What do you mean by this?" Professor Fefferman made a face of disbelief and joked, "Haven't you heard of that legend? Whoever proves the Riemann conjecture will become immortal. Not just in the abstract sense, but in the real sense. "
This legend came from a long time ago. At the end of the 19th century, the French mathematician Hadamard and the Belgian mathematician Poussin made the first substantial progress in the Riemann conjecture. They lived to be 98 years old and 96 years old, respectively.
In that era when medical conditions were not abundant, it was already quite amazing to be able to live to nearly a hundred years of age. Therefore, there was a saying that whoever could prove the Riemann conjecture would become immortal in the physical sense.
Of course, this was just a joke, and it had been around for almost a century.
When Deligné heard this old joke, he snorted and spoke.
"… This is an old joke from hundreds of years ago, and people still believe it. Bohr and Landa, who proved the Bohr-Landau theorem, made a much greater contribution than Hadamard. If I remember correctly, the two of them died in their sixties. "
"Okay then, it seems like God doesn't care about everyone." Professor Fefferman smiled and shrugged. He said, "Don't you think his thesis is interesting?"
Professor Deligné: "I refuse to comment before the formal proof comes out."
Professor Fefferman smiled and said, "I'm not asking if you think he's a good candidate, I'm just curious about his idea of solving the Riemann zeta function from the π (x) function. I tried to study his ideas, but I didn't find any interesting clues … I'm curious, how do you think he will solve this problem? "
Professor Fefferman: "What do you think he will do?"
Professor Deligné glanced at him and said, "You've worked with him on the Navier – Stokes equation, don't you know him?"
Professor Fefferman made a helpless expression and said, "Actually, I don't know much about him. He's used to being a loner."
After hearing this, Professor Deligné went silent for a second.
He was probably lost in his memories. After five minutes, he slowly opened his mouth to speak.
"The Riemann conjecture isn't the kind of problem that can be solved just by finding a direction. In fact, I can think of at least ten research ideas that might solve this problem, but so far, none of them have really given me hope. The π (x) function is a relatively new idea, but it's only 90% new. You know, it's not like no one has tried this before. "
Professor Fefferman nodded.
This wasn't the first time he heard someone try this direction. He even talked to people in the cafe downstairs.
"He's a scholar who is good at using tools, and he's also a scholar who is good at creating tools. Regardless of whether he can learn anything from the π (x) function, I believe he will be able to find a suitable tool for us to solve this problem. "
Professor Fefferman: "The Group Structure Method?"
"Not necessarily." Professor Deligné had a rare smile on his face. He said, "After all, this is a problem that has troubled the mathematics community for a century and a half. Maybe he will tailor a new method for it, and this method will help us better understand and use the Riemann zeta function."
He paused for a second and continued.
"Looks like we can look forward to next year's International Congress of Mathematicians."
Professor Fefferman shrugged and said, "He might not even come."
Deligné shook his head.
"Trust me, he will definitely come."
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