This night was destined to be a sleepless one for the Huaxia academic community.
In the capital of Huaxia, where the most academic resources were also gathered, Yanbei and Huaqing, two institutions of higher learning, were naturally the first to learn that a nineteen-year-old from Huaxia had completed the proof of existence for the Yang-Mills Equations. Reactions varied vastly.
Especially for Zhang Hongcai, who was utterly stunned when he first received the news over the phone.
Could it be that he had taken the advice to heart?
He had personally confirmed this matter with Qiao Ze, and thinking about it carefully, this paper might indeed have been specially written by Qiao Ze after heeding his advice.
But in Zhang Hongcai's view at the time, Qiao Ze should only have had a proof concept. To offer a complete proof would surely take some time, even one or two years, which would have been extremely efficient already.
But who could have imagined that Qiao Ze's "almost there" actually meant he had already completed that step of the proof?
Actually, completing the proof is one thing; that the mathematical community could experience such a farce is another.
Claiming to have proved a difficult problem, but in the end being ignored, with no one recognizing it.
So, what truly shocked Zhang Hongcai was the fact that, in such a short time, Qiao Ze's paper could be recognized by the mainstream academic world!
Reviewers, including Edward Whitten, passed it directly, even without suggesting any need for revisions, which was enough to illustrate how beautiful and splendid the proof presented in the paper was!
How could this be possible?!
Thankfully, the guy didn't directly provide a general solution to the equation.
But given the efficiency Qiao Ze had shown in this period, Zhang Hongcai suspected that it probably wouldn't take too long to completely solve the problem, right?
When Zhang Hongcai's phone rang again, he was in a daze.
This time the call was from Zhang Mingrui. As the executive vice president of the Mathematical Society and also the chairperson nominated by the Huaxia Science Academy's School of Mathematics for this term, Zhang Hongcai naturally didn't dare to neglect it.
In fact, the two had always been on good terms.
Zhang Mingrui had also graduated from Yanbei University for his undergraduate studies, not only were they alumni, but they had also cooperated on research regarding Quantum Groups and non-commutative geometry.
The video of Qiao Ze's lecture at the Yanbei University Centennial Lecture Hall was also sent to Zhang Mingrui by Zhang Hongcai.
Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. If the Huaxia mathematical community also had its factions, the profoundly historical Yanbei could definitely stand as one on its own.
"Have you heard? Qiao Ze has already proved the existence of solutions to the Yang-Mills Equations?"
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As soon as the call connected, Zhang Mingrui got straight to the point.
"I just heard about it. Academician Lu called me, saying that Professor Witten personally called to inform him," Zhang Hongcai quickly replied.
"Didn't you say last time that Qiao Ze only had an idea? Is this what you call just having an idea? How can one go from an idea to completing a proof so quickly?" the other side asked.
Zhang Hongcai was silent.
He couldn't answer that question. It's not like he had a worm in Qiao Ze's belly; he knew Qiao Ze was efficient, but this was universally recognized as one of the world's most difficult problems in the theoretical academic realm—how could he have expected Qiao Ze to come up with a proof so quickly?
"Let's not talk about that. What are the admissions officers at Yanbei University doing? How could this kind of talent have slipped through to Xilin University of Technology? Even if Yanbei's scouting system completely failed, they shouldn't have missed this kind of kid, right?"
"This... if you interact with Qiao Ze a few times, you'll probably understand," Zhang Hongcai said with a bitter smile in response to this question.
Honestly, after returning from Xilin, Zhang Hongcai had made a point to understand the admissions situation for South Lake Star City. After learning about Qiao Ze's performance in high school, he really couldn't blame the admissions officer for negligence.
It was a complete failure at the high school level.
Such a promising talent had gone unnoticed by any teacher throughout high school.
The move to Xilin University of Technology was recommended by the headteacher whose parents had sought out the university themselves.
Really, Qiao Ze's arduous academic journey sounded like a fantasy tale to Zhang Hongcai.
He really couldn't understand how Qiao Ze, during his high school years, could be so introverted as to make everyone too lazy to explore the substantial content in the kid's brain.
"Of course, interacting is necessary. But now the most important thing is that, regarding the proof of the Yang-Mills Equations, it is very necessary to hold an international academic conference. You can imagine how high the standard can be. The Hua Academy of Sciences here has already proposed it, but I think it would be best if it could be organized at Yanbei University. However, ultimately it will still depend on Qiao Ze's preference."
"I was just thinking about this issue," Zhang Hongcai's tone also became eager.
Hosting a high-standard, high-quality international academic conference is definitely one of the most effective ways to enhance the academic influence of universities and research institutes.
But such a conference isn't something you can just hold on a whim.
Theoretical mathematicians and physicists are very busy; without a special reason, no matter how many times you invite them, they won't come.
Take academic giants like Edward Witten, for example.
It's not about money that could invite them, and even if you could pay for their presence, it's meaningless if word got out.
Qiao Ze's paper serves as the best reason.
The proof of the existence of the Yang-Mills Equations is not only indicative of a breakthrough in solving the mass gap problem but it also means that many physical theories built on Yang-Mills Theory, such as Quantum Field Theory, now have a mathematical foundation.