Latest Articles
New Algorithm Breaks Speed Limit for Solving Linear Equations
By harnessing randomness, a new algorithm achieves a fundamentally novel — and faster — way of performing one of the most basic computations in math and computer science.
Undergraduates Hunt for Special Tetrahedra That Fit Together
A group of MIT undergraduates is searching for tetrahedra that tile space, the latest effort in a millennia-long inquiry. They’ve already made a new discovery.
Tetrahedron Solutions Finally Proved Decades After Computer Search
Four mathematicians have cataloged all the tetrahedra with rational angles, resolving a question about basic geometric shapes using techniques from number theory.
A Mathematician’s Unanticipated Journey Through the Physical World
Lauren Williams has charted an adventurous mathematical career out of the pieces of a fundamental object called the positive Grassmannian.
Undergraduate Math Student Pushes Frontier of Graph Theory
At 21, Ashwin Sah has produced a body of work that senior mathematicians say is nearly unprecedented for a college student.
Inside the Secret Math Society Known Simply as Nicolas Bourbaki
For almost a century, the anonymous members of Nicolas Bourbaki have written books intended as pure expressions of mathematical thought.
Disorder Persists in Larger Graphs, New Math Proof Finds
David Conlon and Asaf Ferber have raised the lower bound for multicolor “Ramsey numbers,” which quantify how big graphs can get before patterns inevitably emerge.
Building the Mathematical Library of the Future
A small community of mathematicians is using a software program called Lean to build a new digital repository. They hope it represents the future of their field.
At the Math Olympiad, Computers Prepare to Go for the Gold
Computer scientists are trying to build an AI system that can win a gold medal at the world’s premier math competition.