Great Country Academician

Jinling, Nanda.

In the office, Xu Chuan didn't know that the two mentors who were thousands of miles away were already preparing to join forces to compete with him.

But even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care. Maybe he would be even more excited?

After all, doing research alone can sometimes be a bit too lonely.

If there are other groups of people on the other side of the planet who can move towards a certain goal with him, to use the words of Xianxia novels to describe it, this probably means that I am not alone in my path.

After explaining some core ideas about the quality gap problem with Chen Zhengping and Yu Yongwang, the three of them chatted in the office.

"Speaking of which, you have solved the Yang-Mills existence and mass gap problems. So how is your research on the problem of strong electric unification going? Do you have any ideas?"

On the sofa, Chen Zhengping looked at Xu Chuan with a teacup in his hand.

The Yang-Mills existence and mass gap problems have always been considered in the physics community as the threshold for the unification of the strong and weak electric forces. If anyone solves this problem, there is hope to complete the unification of strong electricity.

Now that he has solved the two problems of existence and mass gap, the unification of strong electricity is probably not too far away.

Hearing this question, Xu Chuan gently shook his head and said: "Although I have some ideas, I don't know how long it will take to solve this problem. It is far more difficult than I thought."

Hearing this, Chen Zhengping looked over in surprise and asked curiously: "You think it's difficult?"

Xu Chuan nodded and said, "Well, it's more difficult than expected."

After a slight pause, he continued: "Quantum chromodynamics, which describes the strong force, and the electroweak unified theory, which describes the electromagnetic force and weak force, together constitute the standard model of particle physics."

"In this model, although the strong force is theoretically unified with the other two forces, it is not actually unified like the weak electricity. It is just pieced together."

“Because we cannot find the spontaneous symmetry breaking energy level for hadrons, nor do we know how quarks and gluons constitute hadrons, nor can we find a coupling constant that can make these fields correspond under the mathematical system. Particles can interact and unify."

"There are many, many problems facing this puzzle. Yang-Mills existence and quality gaps can solve some of the basic parts of these problems, but to continue to move forward, more building blocks are needed."

"If I were to evaluate the difficulty of unifying strong electricity, among all the problems I have encountered, it would not necessarily rank first, but it would rank at least in the top three, even as difficult as the original controllable nuclear fusion. problem."

"Solving this problem requires not only more building blocks, but also a little bit of luck."

If he has an idea, Xu Chuan doesn't mind sharing it. He is very confident. He is confident that even if the idea in his mind is made public, others will not be able to solve the problem of strong power unification before him.

However, he is also confused now.

Just like when we first solved the problem of the first wall material in controllable nuclear fusion.

At that time, he knew that combating neutron irradiation could be studied using the atomic cycle-grain boundary reconstruction theory he had previously studied, but he did not know how long it would take to solve it.

The zirconia carbon composite material behind, that is, the first wall material, is a combination of theory and luck.

Now facing the unification of strong electricity, he is the same. He is very clear about the problems on this road and knows how to take this road, but he cannot guarantee whether it can be solved.

At the very least, he needs to first calculate the spontaneous breaking energy level of the strong electric unity symmetry and find a coupling constant that allows the particles corresponding to these fields to interact and unify under a mathematical system.

If these two problems are not solved, the unification of strong power supply will be far away.

Hearing what Xu Chuan said, Chen Zhengping frowned.

When he first saw the mass gap paper, he thought that after the Yang-Mills existence and mass gap problems were solved, it would not be long before he could see the strong electric unification paper.

In the entire physics community, there are probably not a few physicists who hold such ideas.

But now it seems that the problem of unification of strong electricity is probably more difficult than he and most physicists thought.

At least he knows the character of his student. If it is something he is sure of, he will definitely answer it.

Now he says that the difficulty of this problem exceeds expectations. I am afraid that the difficulty of unifying strong electricity is indeed beyond imagination.

At least it was beyond his imagination. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to solve this problem.

The number of physicists in the world who are capable of studying this most cutting-edge issue in physics is probably only in the double digits.

And he himself is 100% not among these people.

Because it would take him a long time to even understand Yang-Mills' paper on the existence and quality gap.

But looking at the student in front of him, Chen Zhengping's frown quickly relaxed. He smiled and said, "At least there is direction and hope, right?"

Hearing this, Xu Chuan also smiled and said: "That's true, the end point is right there, just move towards it."

Chen Zhengping smiled, with some approval and some emotion: "The unified theory of strong electricity is the Holy Grail of physics in the 21st century. You have already taken off the crown of the Yang-Mills existence and mass gap problems, and you must be close to the Holy Grail. Far. If you can complete it, your name will go down in history with it."

"If we can complete the unification of strong electricity, or even find a way to the final unification, then the name engraved in the river will undoubtedly shine even more brightly."

When he followed Liu Gaojun to Baling, southern Hunan, and accepted this student, he never imagined that one day this student would bring such earth-shaking changes to the academic world.

Whether it is mathematics or the physics he is familiar with, they are all moving forward rapidly.

Even if we look at the entire history, there are only a few who can compare with the achievements he has created in his twenties.

This is the shining light of the long history of science, and it is also the pinnacle of another breakthrough of the human mind.

After sending Chen Zhengping and Yu Yongwang away, Xu Chuan sat back at his desk again.

He took out the manuscript paper from the drawer and after thinking for a moment, he continued to study the paper on the unified theory of strong electricity.

This road is difficult, but he cannot give up.

Only by completing the unified theory of strong electricity can he or the physics community be qualified to touch the most mysterious gravity and complete the final unification.

Perhaps it will take decades, hundreds of years or even longer for the achievements of theoretical physics to be transformed into applied science.

Just like the Maxwell equations established by James Clerk Maxwell in the 19th century, it was only in the 20th century and even the 21st century that people developed modern power technology and electronic technology based on this.

The same goes for what the unification of the three forces of strong and weak electricity brings. Perhaps in this century, he simply cannot see the hope of transforming this theory into applied technology, but he still has to do it.

Because this is the future of mankind.

For the theoretical physics community, 2022 is definitely the most exciting year since the 21st century.

First, the strongly correlated electron system was unified, and then the competition in the field of large strong electron collider attracted the attention of countless physicists.

Immediately afterwards, in less than two months, papers proving the solution and existence of the Yang-Mills equation and proving the existence of the mass gap were published, driving the development of the entire theoretical physics community.

The theoretical physics community, which was originally almost stagnant, has been pushed hard twice by the same person in this year, and it has jumped forward a lot, so that the focus of the physics community recently has been almost all on on that person.

Even the mathematical community next door cast curious glances here.

For example, on MathOverflow, the largest and most professional mathematics forum in the mathematics world, the most popular topics discussed are the Yang-Mills existence and mass gap problems.

[Hodge's conjecture, NS equation, Yang-Mills existence and mass gap, tsk tsk, he has solved three of the seven millennium problems by himself. Guess the next three, will he be interested? interest? 】

[It’s so scary. If you had told me before that someone could solve the three millennium problems, I would never have believed it. 】

[Speaking of which, four of the seven Millennium Problems have been solved, but the Clay Mathematics Institute’s bonus has not been paid out at all. Is it really like the rumor that people who have solved the Millennium Problems have lost money? Interested? 】

[Compared to one million meters of gold, I am more curious about when strong electricity will be unified. This is the greatest Holy Grail in theoretical physics in the 21st century! 】

[Hasn’t strong electricity been unified long ago? Isn't that what Yang's theory is all about unifying this? Why are they unified again? 】

[The Yang-Mills theory is just a framework theory. There is no unification of strong electricity, it is just theoretical compatibility. The real unification is mathematical unification rather than understanding or conceptual unification. 】

[Speaking of which, the International Congress of Mathematicians is coming soon. Will this year’s Fields Medal be an exception and be awarded to him? 】

[When it comes to mathematical achievements, that is definitely enough, but the Fields Medal is different from the Nobel Prize and should not be awarded again. 】

[Not sure, maybe the International Mathematical Union will give a Fields Special Medal? 】

While discussions continued on the MathOverflow forum, Hua Guo, Beijing.

The staff villa area on the Shuimu University campus.

Holding a paper in his hand, Qiu Chengtong pressed and pressed the doorbell of the villa in front of him with his fingers.

The sound of ding-dong-ding-dong kept ringing rapidly inside the villa. After a while, a middle-aged woman rushed out and opened the courtyard door of the villa.

A familiar scene was once again staged in Shengyinyuan.

But the difference this time is that there was no need for his notification, and the corresponding papers were already placed on the coffee table in the living room.

"coming."

Looking at his old friend who walked in, Yang Zhenhuan, who was sitting on the sofa, raised his head and said hello with a smile.

"It seems you already know."

Looking at his old friend sitting peacefully on the sofa, Qiu Chengtong smiled and his eyes fell on the paper on the coffee table.

Mr. Yang nodded and said with a smile: "Of course, how can I not pay attention to such an important achievement."

Mr. Qiu sat down with a smile and joked: "Do you remember what I said last time at the International Society of High Energy Physics?"

"I remember I said at the time, if you work hard and live for two more years, maybe within these two years, that person will fulfill your wish? Now that your wish has been fulfilled, how does it feel?"

Yang Zhenhuan smiled and said with some emotion and some praise: "In one and a half months, I'm afraid only he can do this kind of thing. His speed is much faster than I imagined."

Qiu Chengtong glanced at him curiously and asked, "Then how long did you expect it would take him to resolve the quality gap?"

Hearing this question, Yang Zhenhuan looked up and stared at the TV opposite, thought for a while, and said, "One year? Two years? To be honest, I don't know either."

"What I was thinking at the time was just hoping to live a few more years and see my dreams come true."

Qiu smiled and said, "Speaking of which, from your point of view, after the problem of Yang Mills' existence and quality gap is solved, how long will it take for him to complete the unification of strong electricity?"

After hearing this question, Mr. Yang thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"Although there have been rumors in the physics community that solving the Yang-Mills existence and mass gap problems will hopefully lead to the unification of strong electricity, but who can be sure that they will be able to solve this cutting-edge problem in academia? "

"And the unification of strong power supply is not a simple problem. There are a lot of troubles to solve."

Hearing this, Qiu Chengtong smiled and said, "Do you want to make a bet? Although I don't know much about the unified theory of strong electricity, I bet that he can solve this within a year."

Hearing this, Yang Zhenhuan looked up at him and asked, "Why are you starting to get better at this?"

There are many scholars who like to bet in academia, especially in the physics community, which is well-known.

The most famous among them is Frank Wilzek. Sometimes he makes bets regardless of who the target is, and he has even lost to 'Minke'.

However, there are not that many gamblers in the mathematics world. Maybe mathematicians are more paranoid and will do what they believe in no matter what others say.

Qiu Chengtong smiled and said: "It's not that I like betting, but I want to see where his limit is."

"If there are some reference theories and directions for the problem of mass gap, then there are not so many things for him to see in the unification of strong electricity. This can be said to be an almost brand-new field. If he can still do it at such a fast speed Once this problem is solved, it is no exaggeration to say that his wisdom is the pinnacle of human history."

As he said that, he smiled slightly and looked at the world outside the window: "I'm looking forward to this!"