Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Quantum Physics and Pure Math Creeping Toward One Another


Seed Magazine has just re-run a fascinating 2006 piece from Marcus du Sautoy on a possible deep connection between the mystery of prime numbers and the quantum physics of atomic structure:

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/prime_numbers_get_hitched/

It relates back to one of my favorite 'Sunday reflections' here involving a famous encounter between Freeman Dyson and Hugh Montgomery.

Here is a more recent longish piece (2013) on the same subject from Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study that brings quasi-crystals into the discussion:
https://www.ias.edu/about/publications/ias-letter/articles/2013-spring/primes-random-matrices

And a whole lot more from this 2013 John Baez posting over at n-Category Cafe blog:
https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2013/06/quasicrystals_and_the_riemann.html
(again, technical stuff!)

Matthew Watkins' trilogy of books on prime numbers, for a more general audience, also relates to this discussion.

One gets the feeling there is something very fundamental going on here... verrrrry fundamental... but, can the human brain unravel it!?


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