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Modular forms

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Math Is Still Catching Up to the Mysterious Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan

October 21, 2024

Born poor in colonial India and dead at 32, Ramanujan had fantastical, out-of-nowhere visions that continue to shape the field today.

Behold Modular Forms, the ‘Fifth Fundamental Operation’ of Math

September 21, 2023

Modular forms are one of the most beautiful and mysterious objects in mathematics. What are they?

New Proof Distinguishes Mysterious and Powerful ‘Modular Forms’

March 9, 2023

Using “refreshingly old” tools, mathematicians resolved a 50-year-old conjecture about how to categorize important functions called modular forms, with consequences for number theory and theoretical physics.

In Times of Scarcity, War and Peace, a Ukrainian Finds the Magic in Math

July 5, 2022

With her homeland mired in war, the sphere-packing number theorist Maryna Viazovska has become the second woman to win a Fields Medal in the award’s 86-year history.

John Conway Solved Mathematical Problems With His Bare Hands

April 20, 2020

The legendary mathematician, who died on April 11, was curious, colorful and one of the greatest problem-solvers of his generation.

Out of a Magic Math Function, One Solution to Rule Them All

May 13, 2019

Mathematicians used “magic functions” to prove that two highly symmetric lattices solve a myriad of problems in eight- and 24-dimensional space.

A Master of Numbers and Shapes Who Is Rewriting Arithmetic

August 1, 2018

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.”

Moonshine Link Discovered for Pariah Symmetries

September 22, 2017

A type of symmetry so unusual that it was called a “pariah” turns out to have deep connections to number theory.

The Oracle of Arithmetic

June 28, 2016

At 28, Peter Scholze is uncovering deep connections between number theory and geometry.

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