The Fields Medal winners are (from left to right): Hong Wang, Jacob Tsimerman, John Pardon, and Yu Deng.
Credit: Simmons Foundation
Mathematicians Yu Deng, John Pardon, Jacob Tsimerman, and Hong Wang have been honored with the prestigious International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The four awardees excel in various fields of mathematics, ranging from number theory to mathematical physics. All were anticipated contenders for this biennial medal, awarded to mathematicians under 40 years of age every four years.
While all recipients currently work in North America, two, Deng and Wang, hail from China. They are the second and third Chinese individuals to achieve the Fields Medal, following Yau Xintong, who won the award in 1982. Notably, Wang also becomes the third female recipient in the award’s 90-year history, joining the ranks of the late Mariam Mirzakhani (2014) and Marina Wiazowska (2022).
Irreversible Fluid Dynamics
Yu Deng, 37, raised in Shenzhen, obtained his doctorate from Princeton University in New Jersey. Currently, he teaches at the University of Chicago, specializing in differential equations pivotal for depicting physical phenomena. Upon winning, Deng expressed his joy not only for himself but also for the mathematical field he represents.
Deng’s significant contribution revolves around a challenge posed by German mathematician David Hilbert during his historic ICM address in 1900, which questioned the reconciliation of fluid behavior with the atomic theory of matter.
With collaborators1, Deng established rigorous evidence that the chaotic movement of numerous particles, akin to billiard balls, leads to the differential equations that describe fluids, formulated in the 1800s.
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This discovery resolved a significant paradox: microscopic physics exhibits time-reversal symmetry, making it challenging to discern the directional nature of molecular interactions. However, in bulk fluids, irreversibility prevails; for example, mixing cold and hot gases never results in spontaneous separation.
Contact Geometry and String Theory
John Pardon, 37, born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, studies at Stony Brook University, NY. His mathematical journey began in junior high with a basic query regarding loop geometry2, leading to published research during his undergraduate tenure at Princeton, where he also pursued Chinese and performed as a cellist in the university orchestra.
While completing his PhD at Stanford University, Pardon contributed significantly to Hilbert’s problems3 and concentrated on symplectic and contact geometry, fundamental for understanding physical motion phenomena.
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Pardon’s dissertation was a pivotal work that devised a method to differentiate between two contact spaces, applying this technique to solve key challenges in both symplectic and contact geometry, including issues related to string theory.4
Mathematics Resonates with Reality
Jacob Tsimerman, 38, a Russian-born Canadian currently at the University of Toronto, traces his mathematical enthusiasm back to age three. “I’ve been captivated by mathematics for as long as I can remember,” he shares.
His primary research focus lies in number theory, especially the integer solutions to specific equations known as Diophantine equations, which connect closely with algebraic geometry. This field explores multi-dimensional structures called Shimura manifolds, also relevant to the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem—one of the groundbreaking mathematical findings of the late 20th century.
One intriguing aspect of Tsimerman’s research reveals that if Shimura varieties could oscillate like physical entities, each unique resonant frequency would correspond to a specific Diophantine equation. In 2021, Tsimerman and his collaborators validated a crucial assertion in Shimura variety theory, known as the Andre Oort conjecture, named after the two mathematicians who proposed it, along with another significant conjecture from Philip Griffiths of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.5 6
Source: www.nature.com