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Four Is Not Enough
How many colors do you need to color an infinite plane so that no points 1 unit apart are the same color?
A Classical Math Problem Gets Pulled Into the Modern World
A century ago, the great mathematician David Hilbert posed a probing question in pure mathematics. A recent advance in optimization theory is bringing Hilbert’s work into a world of self-driving cars.
Mathematicians Disprove Conjecture Made to Save Black Holes
Mathematicians have disproved the strong cosmic censorship conjecture. Their work answers one of the most important questions in the study of general relativity and changes the way we think about space-time.
A Chemist Shines Light on a Surprising Prime Number Pattern
When a crystallographer treated prime numbers as a system of particles, the resulting diffraction pattern created a new view of existing conjectures in number theory.
Three Decades Later, Mystery Numbers Explained
Zeta values seem to connect distant geometric worlds. In a new proof, mathematicians finally explain why.
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.
Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to Amateur Mathematician
By making the first progress on the “chromatic number of the plane” problem in over 60 years, an anti-aging pundit has achieved mathematical immortality.
A Revealer of Secrets in the Data of Life and the Universe
The statistician Donald Richards lives to uncover subtle patterns hiding in real-world data.
Mathematicians Explore Mirror Link Between Two Geometric Worlds
Decades after physicists happened upon a stunning mathematical coincidence, researchers are getting close to understanding the link between two seemingly unrelated geometric universes.