combinatorics
Mystery Math Whiz and Novelist Advance Permutation Problem
A new proof from the Australian science fiction writer Greg Egan and a 2011 proof anonymously posted online are now being hailed as significant advances on a puzzle mathematicians have been studying for at least 25 years.
quantum computing
Graduate Student Solves Quantum Verification Problem
Urmila Mahadev spent eight years in graduate school solving one of the most basic questions in quantum computation: How do you know whether a quantum computer has done anything quantum at all?
number theory
Titans of Mathematics Clash Over Epic Proof of ABC Conjecture
Two mathematicians have found what they say is a hole at the heart of a proof that has convulsed the mathematics community for nearly six years.
2018 Fields Medal and Nevanlinna Prize
A Number Theorist Who Bridges Math and Time
Akshay Venkatesh, a former prodigy who struggled with the genius stereotype, has won a Fields Medal for his “profound contributions to an exceptionally broad range of subjects in mathematics.”
2018 Fields Medal and Nevanlinna Prize
A Poet of Computation Who Uncovers Distant Truths
The theoretical computer scientist Constantinos Daskalakis has won the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize for explicating core questions in game theory and machine learning.
2018 Fields Medal and Nevanlinna Prize
A Master of Numbers and Shapes Who Is Rewriting Arithmetic
The 30-year-old math sensation Peter Scholze is now one of the youngest Fields medalists for “the revolution that he launched in arithmetic geometry.”
computational complexity
First Big Steps Toward Proving the Unique Games Conjecture
The latest in a new series of proofs brings theoretical computer scientists within striking distance of one of the great conjectures of their discipline.
Abstractions blog
The Infinite Primes and Museum Guard Proofs, Explained
A simple, step-by-step breakdown of two “perfect” math proofs.
Q&A
In Search of God’s Perfect Proofs
The mathematicians Günter Ziegler and Martin Aigner have spent the past 20 years collecting some of the most beautiful proofs in mathematics.