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Representation theory was initially dismissed. Today, it’s central to much of mathematics.
Explore our surprisingly simple, absurdly ambitious and necessarily incomplete guide to the boundless mathematical universe.
In a major mathematical achievement, a small team of researchers has proven Zimmer’s conjecture.
New findings are fueling an old suspicion that fundamental particles and forces spring from strange eight-part numbers called “octonions.”
A type of symmetry so unusual that it was called a “pariah” turns out to have deep connections to number theory.
To begin to understand what mathematicians and physicists see in the abstract structures of symmetries, let’s start with a familiar shape.
For centuries, mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers. Now they’re investigating the unintended consequences of that tinkering.
The physicist-mathematician Miranda Cheng is working to harness a mysterious connection between string theory, algebra and number theory.
The mathematician John Horton Conway’s myriad accomplishments — including the Game of Life, sprouts and the surreal numbers — are the product of a mind at play.