After completing his explanation, Xiao Yi turned to look at the physicists present.
But the conference room at CERN fell into silence, and no one made a sound.
Obviously, for most people, the shock brought by this news still makes them unable to recover for a while.
Therefore, from now on, their physics studies will have one more research object, X field?
Gee, this name has a bit of a science fiction flavor, just like M-theory.
However, think back to the three characteristics summarized by Xiao Yi just now...
Everyone's eyes couldn't help but widen.
The third point seems to be saying that this X field may even be the medium between the strong interaction force and the weak interaction force?
Frank Wilczek couldn't sit still and finally asked, "You mean, X field can help us unify the strong and weak interactions?"
Xiao Yi glanced at the old man and recognized him quickly. Six months ago, when CERN and Institute of High Energy Physics held an online meeting, he also took a look and knew the identity of the old man.
He replied, "Hello Professor Wilczek, regarding this issue, I just said that it may be a unified medium, but it is not necessarily the case."
Wilczek nodded slightly, and after thinking for a moment, asked, "What does your inference come from? If we only rely on our current observations, we cannot see that X field has any positive effect on unifying the strong and weak interactions."
Xiao Yi smiled, pointed at his brain, and said, "If I insist on making an inference, it probably comes from intuition."
"Intuition?"
Everyone present was stunned.
Good guy, for such an important thing, is it possible for you to judge it by intuition?
In response, Xiao Yi just shrugged and said with a smile, "Isn't there a lot of emphasis on intuition in physics? Sometimes I quite like physics. After all, compared to the rigorous logical inferences of mathematics, physics can sometimes be guided by your own feelings."
"As R. Feynman said originally, physics is applied rather than purely abstract, and the 'poor' mathematicians have no intuitive guidance, only rigorous and cautious precise mathematical arguments."
Hearing this explanation from Xiao Yi, everyone present was dumbfounded.
Okay, physics is like this. For top physicists, intuition is indeed a very useful thing.
Discussions on this point are common in the history of Scientific Community.
However, Xiao Yi continued at this time, "Of course, in physics, if it is explained directly, it is obviously a bit rogue. We still have to try to reflect this intuition through mathematics or experiments."
"Therefore... the explanation for my intuition will appear after a period of time, maybe a long time, or maybe not long ago. Everyone can look forward to it."
When he said this, everyone present became curious.
An explanation of why X field may be a unified medium for weak and strong interactions?
How to explain this?
Everyone present wanted to know.
But at this moment, Edward Witten, who had been silent just now, suddenly spoke up, "Are you trying to prove the mass gap problem of the Yang-Mills equation?"
Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows, surprised that his purpose was actually seen. At this time, he turned to look at the old physicist, and then smiled, "It turns out to be Professor Witten. If you can see it, I won't be surprised, but I am still curious how you saw it?"
Edward Witten smiled, and like Xiao Yi just now, he pointed at his brain and said, "Here, it comes from the intuition of a physicist."
Xiao Yi suddenly burst into laughter.
The chat between the two once again shocked everyone present.
What?
Xiao Yi Are you studying the mass gap problem of the Yang-Mills equation?
And the following chat between the two revealed news that they couldn't believe.
"It seems that about X field, you should have discovered it during the research process." Edward Witten asked, "Really?"
Xiao Yi nodded. "Yes, when I used Topological Quantum Field Theory to study the mass gap problem, I accidentally derived such a strange field."
"I didn't know what this field did at first, but it wasn't until some time ago that I reanalyzed a large number of W boson mass, and I suddenly realized the meaning behind this strange field."
"That's what I just said."
Xiao Yi smiled, "So, this fully demonstrates that for subjects like physics, it is very important to combine theory and experiment for research."
Witten took a deep look at Xiao Yi and said, "So... you are now very close to proving the existence of the mass gap?"
Xiao Yi pondered for a moment and finally said, "To a certain extent, that's true. At least I'm very close to the final answer."
Witten laughed, "It seems that it is necessary for me to go to this year's International Congress of Mathematicians. Maybe I can see the birth of such a great theory at this conference."
Xiao Yi immediately couldn't laugh or cry, "Don't say it... I'm not 100% sure yet!"
Witten smiled heartily, "I believe you."
Xiao Yi suddenly shook his head helplessly.
Trust from Professor Edward Witten?
Hmm...
It sounds really exciting.
The two of them were here, separated by a screen, chatting as if no one else was around. In the conference room, other researchers at CERN, when they learned that Xiao Yi was very close to proving the mass gap problem, they finally couldn't control themselves and began to discuss it.
The entire conference room became noisy.
"Is the quality gap problem really something that can be proven in our time?"
"Didn't Professor Witten also say at the beginning that the mass gap problem is too difficult for now?"
"Oh my Jesus, I can't believe this!"
"Professor Donald, I remember you don't study mathematical physics? How far have you studied the mass gap problem in mathematical physics?"
Professor Donald, who was asked the question, showed a sweaty expression. "If you ask me, who should I ask? Mathematical physics does not only study the mass gap problem, not to mention, in our mathematical physics community, we can count on two hands the people who dare to study this problem."
In addition, there are also some people present who will attend International Congress of Mathematicians in July this year. After all, the relationship between mathematics and physics is quite close, and International Congress of Mathematicians also has reports on mathematical physics.
Listening to the conversation between Xiao Yi and Witten, these people heard something from the words: Xiao Yi will probably use the mass gap problem of the Yang-Mills equation as the theme of the report at the conference in more than four months, and kill another Millennium Prize Problems in front of everyone!
For a time, they all looked forward to the grand gathering of the mathematics community in a few months.
Xiao Yi, can it succeed?
In addition to these CERN researchers, they also received various inquiries from Institute of High Energy Physics people who came from China.
These questions made them sweat, especially the director Tang Yifang.
"Professor Tang, Xiao Yi is from your research institute. I have never heard of you talking about it before. You guys hide it so well!"
"Professor Tang, I didn't expect that you Institute of High Energy Physics are so researched on this kind of mathematical physics problem. Maybe you can have a cooperation and exchange with us Max Planck Society Physics Research Institute. What do you think?"
"Professor Tang, Xiao Yi is from your institute. You should know to what extent he has researched this issue, right?"
"Professor Tang..."
Faced with various problems, Tang Yifang can be said to be the first and the second.
How deep are they Institute of High Energy Physics hiding?
It's obviously Xiao Yi that's hidden deep inside, okay?
I have a rough relationship with them.
They Institute of High Energy Physics have been cooperating with CERN for the past six months to process those one million sets of data. Don't you people at CERN know?
There are also Max Planck Society Institute of Physics. If it is exchange and learning, they Institute of High Energy Physics express a hundred welcome, but...
The field of mathematical physics is still no longer needed.
Da baa baa.
They Institute of High Energy Physics are really not familiar with mathematics and physics. If you really want to communicate, you should go to Theoretical Physics. They are familiar with this!
What else...Xiao Yi is one of ours, so we know how far he has studied this mass gap issue?
Not to mention that Xiao Yi was not one of theirs at all... In fact, he almost became one of Institute of High Energy Physics's. It was a pity that when Tang Yifang was communicating with Xiao Yi, he completely ignored his status as a student. Needless to say, he remembered that Xiao Yi was going to graduate school in the second half of last year.
But even if Xiao Yi was from Institute of High Energy Physics, Tang Yifang had no idea that this young man was actually studying the quality gap issue.
It has even been studied to this extent, and it has reached the final critical moment...
At this time, Tang Yifang felt incredulous and unbelievable, and he just wanted to say one thing to these people: Don't ask me, I don't know anything!
After some exchanges with Professor Witten, Xiao Yi looked at the time and then said, "Okay, it's getting late in China, so I won't disturb everyone at CERN anymore. My suggestion is It has been given, and I cannot interfere with your decision whether to accept it or not. After all, no one can say for sure about high-energy physics. Maybe one of the tens of millions of collisions can allow us to find evidence of the existence of X field?"
"Well, that's all. Goodbye, everyone."
Fabiola Gianotti also came to his senses at this time and said, "Thank you for your advice, I wish you a good sleep."
The video ended and the big screen went black again.
After taking a look at the still noisy scene, which was like a vegetable market, Fabiola Gianotti clapped his hands and said, "Okay, everyone, be quiet, please be quiet."
Soon, silence returned to the venue, and everyone looked at the Director General.
"So, since Xiao Yi has given us suggestions, the current topic returns to the previous topic, [about whether to make the W boson mass verification subject the next primary scientific goal of CERN]. Now everyone thinks, do we need to change our previous decision?"
Fabiola Gianotti said.
The researchers outside the field looked at me and I looked at you, until finally, someone shouted, "No change!"
As the first person spoke up, more and more people spoke up, "No change!"
That's right, even though Xiao Yi gave them advice that it was pointless to continue spending the collider's resources on this, they still chose to continue.
In fact, they are even more enthusiastic than before.
If it is just a matter of verifying that W boson mass is overweight, it may not be enough to make them so excited, but if it becomes a matter of verifying whether X field exists, then they have to be willing to take a gamble.
Now everyone can see how significant X field is. If they can really discover it, the Nobel Prize and other things will not be a problem at all, right?
Even Frank Wilczek, the Nobel Prize winner, was not in a calm mood at this time. He stood up and said, "I think this topic can be renamed, that is [verifying whether W boson is overweight due to the influence of X field], and [finding whether X field exists]."
Others expressed their opinions. "Yes! yes! yes!"
"In addition, it is necessary to upgrade the LHC again, especially the transmission equipment. The greater the energy of the collision, the more likely we are to discover X field."
"Yes! yes! yes!"
Another echo.
It was as if it had become the scene of a certain country's parliament.
Faced with this scene, Director General Fabiola Gianotti said helplessly, "If we want to upgrade again, we don't have enough money in our account."
Wilczek shrugged and said, "Just keep making money. This is X field! A new physical field that can interact with the Higgs field and directly affect the mass-conferring results! Tell them then... Well, this discovery is worth at least 10 Nobel Prizes, and they will definitely make money."
Anyway, he, Lao Wei, is a man of the white flag of the United States. He was born in the spring breeze and grew up under the stars and stripes. He spends EU money to achieve his own results without feeling bad!
"Yes! yes! yes!"
There was another roar in the venue.
Fabiola Gianotti is speechless, 10 Nobel Prizes?
How dare you say it!
Let's not say that it is difficult for them to produce results in high-energy physics. Just like what Yang Zhenning said at the beginning, "the party is over", this is why high-energy physics is gradually being left out in the High Energy Physics world. On the other hand, Condensed Matter Physics is gradually becoming more popular.
Even if X field is really discovered by them now, it will only win the Nobel Prize for Xiao Yi in the end. As for other people's Nobel Prizes, there is a high probability that they will have to discover other important physical laws through X field, such as the opportunity to unify the strong interaction force and the weak interaction force revealed by Xiao Yi.
But...
Fabiola Gianotti didn't say anything either.
Being able to get more funds would only bring benefits to her as the director-general, but no harm!
"Then, the topic is passed! At the same time, [About whether to make the W boson mass verification topic as the next primary scientific goal of CERN] is replaced by [Verifying whether W boson is overweight due to the influence of X field], and [Searching for the existence of X field]!"
Finally, she announced her decision.
Xiao Yi, who is far away on the other side of the Eurasian continent, does not know the final decision made by CERN.
Of course, he doesn't care whether the other party listens to him or not. The reason for raising this reminder is just to stop the High Energy Physics community from blindly looking for reasons like headless flies.
Compared to this matter, he is now more concerned about the last problem he is currently encountering regarding the quality gap.
He moved the laptop he had just used to play the video aside and focused his eyes on the scratch paper again.
There is a question written on it.
[Suppose G is a compact, simple Lie group, and A is a Yang-Mills field on G. On the four-dimensional sphere S^4, if there is a non-zero Chern number c, then the lowest energy excited state of the Yang-Mills field A has a strictly positive mass gap.]
This is a theorem, maybe it can also be simply named Xiao's Theorem.
However, the question now is how to prove that this theorem is correct.
Therefore it can also be called a conjecture for the time being.
This conjecture is equivalent to the mass gap problem of the Yang-Mills equation, which means that proving it is equivalent to proving the existence of the mass gap.
As for Xiao Yi, it is now difficult to prove the existence of this non-zero Chern number c.
"Now I have constructed the anti-self-dual field, but next, I need to prove that the energy E of the Yang-Mills field with non-zero Chern number has a strictly positive lower bound, that is, E≥E0>0."
"What should we do next?"
He knocked on his head and fell into deep thought.
"Anti-self-dual field...Hodge dual operator..."
Thinking inadvertently in his mind, he suddenly wrote a few lines on the scratch paper.
[Specify that V is a non-singular projective surface, and let H be the divisor class on the hyperplane section V of V in the given projective embedding...]
[H·H=d]
Looking at these things he accidentally wrote, Xiao Yi began to scratch his chin.
Then, he continued to write.
Finally, his eyes showed a little surprise.
"It turned out to be...Hodge standard conjecture?"
[For a non-singular projective algebraic variety X and the algebraic cycle Z above it, define an operator L(Z) induced by Z. If we consider the role of this operator on the intermediate homology group of]
He never expected that studying this thing would actually lead him to another question.
Hodge standard conjecture is not Hodge Conjecture. Although the two are related, they are more specific and technical.
Now, he can clearly see that as long as he proves Hodge standard conjecture, he can easily prove the Xiao's Theorem he just proposed.
But obviously, trying to prove this Hodge standard conjecture is no less than proving Hodge Conjecture.
Let him prove two Millennium Prize Problems at the same time?
Cheating is not that outrageous.
However, at this moment, perhaps a flash of inspiration occurred. From the definition of Hodge standard conjecture in front of him, he realized another key.
"Vertex Algebra and Homology Algebra!"
In an instant, the methods he had understood while studying conformal field theory and String Theory came into play at this moment.
Compare Hodge standard conjecture, and Quantum Field Theory...
"Incorporate them all into a generalized normative theory!"
"Yes, that's it!"
The mind that was almost at a standstill now stirred up a storm again.
The corners of his mouth curved slightly, he sat up straight, then picked up the pen and began to spread his wisdom on the paper.
The secrets of the universe are explained in this small dormitory.
Accompanied by this is the passage of time.