Counting from infinity yitang zhang and the twin prime conjecture 2015 documentary duration. By yitang zhang abstract it is proved that liminf n. An unknown mathematician, yitang zhang, has revolutionized his field and helped move forward a 2,000yearold conjecture about prime numbers. Yitang tom zhang department of mathematics uc santa barbara. But he possessed the knowledge of the most sophisticated areas of analytic number theory, and he could use it all with ease.
He was a math instructor, not a tenuretrack professor, at the university of new hampshire from 1999 to 20, teaching prealgebra and calculus yitang zhang on rat. Zhang, yitang i i 2s i zhang, yitang 1955 yitang zhang is a chinese american mathematician who catapulted from obscurity into professional and public prominence in 20 with the publication of his research related to the famous twin primes conjec ture in number theory. Yitang zhang recently published a new attack on the twin primes conjecture. Yitang zhang university of california, santa barbara, ca. His counterintuitive findings show that special pairs. Jul 18, 2016 counting from infinity yitang zhang and the twin prime conjecture 2015 documentary duration. May 14, 20 first proof that infinitely many prime numbers come in pairs. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Yitang zhang should at least provide a respective comment at his arxivarticle wherehow incomplete the paper is. Zhangs original bound here was 70 million, but it has since been cut down to 246 thanks to the efforts of james maynard and an online collaborative polymath project. Bounded gaps between primes andrew granville abstract. Students stopped zhang on the unh campus to ask for his autograph.
Written by a mathematician virtually unknown to the experts in his field a 50something lecturer at the university of new hampshire named yitang zhang the paper claimed to have taken a huge step forward in understanding one of mathematics oldest problems, the twin. Yitang zhang bounded gaps between primes 2014 youtube. Zhang, yitang zhang, yi tang 1nhndm bounded gaps between primes. Zhang became an overnight sensation among mathematicians and in the popular media. Editors of prominent mathematics journals are used to fielding grandiose claims from obscure authors, but this paper. To complete the story started as a rumour report in primes gotta stick together and confirmed in primes really do stick together, here we report that annals of mathematics has posted the pdf of bounded gaps between primes by yitang zhang on its to appear in forthcoming issues page. It began in april 20 when yitang tom zhang, a virtually unknown mathematician working as an adjunct professor at the university of new hampshire, submitted a paper. How yitang tom zhang proved a theorem that had stumped. Please join the simons foundation and our generous member organizations in supporting arxiv during our giving campaign september 2327.
In a 20 interview with nautilus magazine, zhang said he did not get a job after graduation. First proof that infinitely many prime numbers come in pairs. The paper s referees wrote that zhang, who had been unknown to established mathematicians, had proved a landmark theorem in the distribution of prime numbers. Nov 01, 2007 spie journal paper 1 february 2007 multipolar inserting zeros code and its application in optical code division multiple access systems ming xin, xiangfei chen, yitang dai, shizhong xie.
It concerned another famous problem, the landausiegel zeros conjecture, and he left it up because he hopes to correct it. Zhang became famous in 20 when he submitted a proof to the annals of mathematics which established the first finite bound on gaps between twin prime numbers, a feat many. Written by a mathematician virtually unknown to the experts in his field a 50something lecturer at the university of new hampshire named yitang zhang the paper claimed to have taken a huge step forward in understanding one of mathematics oldest. Jun 15, 2017 the paper s referees wrote that zhang, who had been unknown to established mathematicians, had proved a landmark theorem in the distribution of prime numbers. Yitang zhang and the twin prime conjecture zala films. After graduation, zhang had a hard time finding an academic position. During the cultural revolution, he and his parents were sent to the countryside to work in the fields. Zhang s original bound here was 70 million, but it has since been cut down to 246 thanks to the efforts of james maynard and an online collaborative polymath project.
He gave talks around the world and was awarded the ostrowski prize, the cole prize, the rolf. Yitang zhang, an unknown mathematician who worked at subway while trying to find an academic position earlier in his career, has written a paper that makes significant progress towards understanding the twin prime conjecture, one of mathematics oldest problems. First proof that infinitely many prime numbers come in. Celebrity mathematician joins ucsb faculty the daily nexus. Zhang yitang made a major advancement to the twin prime con jecture as verified by prof. Zhang yitang made a major advancement to the twin prime conjecture as veri ed by prof. May 19, 20 on april 17, a paper arrived in the inbox of annals of mathematics, one of the disciplines preeminent journals. So using the k 0tuple suggested by zhang actually yields. While working for the university of new hampshire as a lecturer, zhang submitted an article to the annals of mathematics in 20 which established the first finite bound on the least gap between consecutive primes that is attained infinitely. This can be seen as a massive breakthrough on the subject of twin primes and other. Yitang zhang proves landmark theorem in distribution of.
It began in april 20 when yitang tom zhang, a virtually unknown mathematician working as an adjunct professor at the university of new hampshire, submitted a paper to the annals of mathematics. Yitang zhang was not wellknown to specialists in number theory before his fantastic paper on prime numbers was recognized by the annals of mathematics three weeks ago. He worked as a laborer for ten years and was unable to attend high school. Frankly put, not being fully transparent about the state of this work and thus have other people spend their time on it not knowing where it is lacking is absolutely ridiculous. And so it came to pass, that an almost millenial quest found a safe resting place like all analytic number theorists, ive been amazed to learn that yitang zhang has proved that there exist infinitely many pairs of prime numbers with bounded by. A primenumber proof and a world of persistence an exciting breakthrough by an academic little known before last year is firing up mathematicians. Yitang zhang was born on february 5, 1955 in shanghai, china, and lived there until he was years old. Counting from infinity yitang zhang and the twin prime conjecture a film by george csicsery in april 20, a lecturer at the university of new hampshire submi ed a paper to the annals of mathema cs within weeks word spread. Yitang zhang and the twin prime conjecture a film by george csicsery in april 20, a lecturer at the university of new hampshire submi ed a paper to the annals of mathema cs. They had not only been more careful in several difficult arguments in zhang s original paper, they had also developed zhang s techniques to be both more powerful and to allow a much simpler proof and forms the basis for the proof presented herein. On april 17, a paper arrived in the inbox of annals of mathematics, one of the disciplines preeminent journals.
Bounded gaps between primes yitang zhang it is proved that liminf n. Zhang yitang born 1955 is a chineseborn american mathematician working in the area of number theory. The unassuming mathematician, who spends pretty much every free waking momentand many sleeping ones as wellpondering intractable math problems, became famous overnight. If you have additional information or corrections regarding this mathematician, please use the update form. While working for the university of new hampshire as a lecturer, zhang submitted an article to the annals of mathematics in 20 which established the first finite bound on gaps between prime numbers, which lead to a 2014. Renowned mathematician yitang zhang will be joining uc santa barbaras mathematics faculty this fall, a development many hope will add further prestige to the university. Is the outline in the annals the preprint or the full accepted paper. Mathematician yitang zhang has outlined a proof of a weak version of the twin prime conjecture. Are there any experts here who can explain the proof. Hes not a known expert, but he succeeded where all the experts had failed.
Jan 28, 2015 yitang zhang s mathematical discovery starring. Bounded gaps between primes by yitang zhang now available. Bounded gaps between primes yitang zhang abstract it is proved that liminf n. Yitang zhangs pursuit of beauty in math the new yorker. Yitang tom zhang and fame in mathematics hacker news. Some people are curious about yitangs life as a graduate student at purdue university. Yitang tom zhang department of mathematics uc santa. Zhang posted a paper in 2007 that fell short of a proof. To submit students of this mathematician, please use the new data form, noting this. Recently, yitang zhang proved the existence of a nite bound bsuch that there are in nitely many pairs p n. Aperiodic to complete the story started as a rumour report in primes gotta stick together and confirmed in primes really do stick together, here we report that annals of mathematics has posted the pdf.
Also, he was able to make a breakthrough where many. Spie journal paper 1 february 2007 multipolar inserting zeros code and its application in optical code division multiple access systems ming xin, xiangfei chen, yitang dai. Frankly put, not being fully transparent about the state of this work and thus have other people spend their time on it not knowing where. The big experts in the field had already tried to make this approach work, granville said. During that period it was difficult to find a job in academics. Has anybody read yitang zhangs paper on prime gaps. Department of mathematics south hall, room 6607 university of california santa barbara, ca 931063080. Last year, in a breakthrough work of yitang zhang, it was shown that there were infinitely many gaps between primes of bounded size. To submit students of this mathematician, please use the new data form, noting this mathematicians mgp id of 16848 for the advisor id. May 29, 20 to complete the story started as a rumour report in primes gotta stick together and confirmed in primes really do stick together, here we report that annals of mathematics has posted the pdf of bounded gaps between primes by yitang zhang on its to appear in forthcoming issues page.