Unknown Mathematician Solves a Major Problem in Number Theory

Here is one of the coolest stories reported this week (h/t: @DanGraur).

On April 17, a paper arrived in the inbox of Annals of Mathematics, one of the disciplines preeminent journals. Written by a mathematician virtually unknown to the experts in his field a 50-something 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 primes conjecture.

Editors of prominent mathematics journals are used to fielding grandiose claims from obscure authors, but this paper was different. Written with crystalline clarity and a total command of the topics current state of the art, it was evidently a serious piece of work, and the Annals editors decided to put it on the fast track.

Just three weeks later a blink of an eye compared to the usual pace of mathematics journals Zhang received the referee report on his paper.

The main results are of the first rank, one of the referees wrote. The author had proved a landmark theorem in the distribution of prime numbers.

The discovery was surprising for several reasons. It is usually believed that if a mathematician does not shine by age 30, he will never shine. In contrast, Yitang Zhang was over 50. Moreover, he did not come up with a completely new way to solve the problem, but continued on a path that other established mathematicians discarded.