July 16th, 2024

'Sensational' Proof Delivers New Insights into Prime Numbers

Mathematicians James Maynard and Larry Guth set new limits on exceptions to the Riemann hypothesis, improving prime number approximations. Their innovative approach highlights interdisciplinary collaboration's importance in solving mathematical problems.

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'Sensational' Proof Delivers New Insights into Prime Numbers

Mathematicians James Maynard and Larry Guth have made a breakthrough in number theory by establishing new limits on exceptions to the Riemann hypothesis, a famous unsolved problem in mathematics. Their proof sets stricter boundaries on the number of potential counterexamples to the hypothesis, providing deeper insights into prime number distribution. By capping the number of exceptions with a real part of exactly 3/4, Maynard and Guth have improved approximations of prime numbers in short intervals on the number line. Their innovative approach involved using harmonic analysis techniques to tackle the long-standing problem, ultimately leading to a better understanding of prime number patterns. While their work has significant implications for prime number theory, they believe that solving the Riemann hypothesis itself will require a groundbreaking idea from a different mathematical area. The proof not only advances our knowledge of prime numbers but also showcases the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in solving complex mathematical problems.

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Link Icon 4 comments
By @neoneye2 - 3 months
As a hobby project, I did investigate the distribution of prime numbers.

The primes are somewhat evenly spaced with this transformation, I'm the author of it.

A342730: a(n) = floor((frac(e * n) + 1) * prime(n+1)).

https://oeis.org/A342730/a342730.png

Instead of e, I have tried other constants such as pi, but it doesn't look as good. I guess there is another constant that makes the distribution look even nicer.

By @ano-ther - 3 months
This is really well explained. The video helped me to finally understand the connection between zeta function and prime distribution.
By @KolenCh - 3 months
Dup: 'Sensational' Proof Delivers New Insights into Prime Numbers https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40968164
By @klysm - 3 months
I'm curious what the specific bounds were before and after this proof.