It was the coldest time of the year in New Jersey, white snowflakes danced outside the frosty windows, forming a thick layer on top of the roofs. The Oxford-style campus buildings felt like a fairy tale castle.
Vera sat quietly in front of her computer in a library room. The snow outside the window was so majestic it felt like a painting.
Vera’s soft blonde hair rested on her shoulders, and her sapphire-like eyes gave off a sense of peace and determination.
Lu Zhou’s reply was on the screen in front of her.
His email was concise, straight to the point.
[I read your email.
[The idea of using an irreducible unitary representation of the octal Heisenberg group, as well as incorporating Fourier transformations, is an interesting idea.
[Well done, the idea you came up with indirectly answered a question I had. Remember what I said a long time ago? Riemann’s hypothesis is an analytic number theory problem, but its essence is still a complex analysis problem. We should be able to solve it using complex analysis, but we shouldn’t limit our methods.
[My suggestion is to start with a Plancherel formula on a class of single-connected nilpotent Lie groups G_n and find the sub-elliptic properties of the left-invariant differential operator on G_n. You should be able to find something surprising.
[Oh yeah, I suggest you tidy up the things you sent to me and write a thesis. It also makes it easier for me to reference this way.]
“Not limited to complex analysis tools? You haven’t changed one bit.”
After reading the email, Vera gradually smiled.
However, her smile disappeared, and the little girl pondered for a long time. She then picked up a pen and wrote down Lu Zhou’s ideas.
She also implemented some of her own ideas.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a woman in a big trench coat quickly walked in.
Molina brushed off the snowflakes on her body and hung her coat on the door. She walked next to Vera with two cups of coffee and sandwiches in her hand.
“Take a break, work after lunch. I brought you your favorite tuna sandwich. And a mint coffee. Also, who puts mint in coffee?”
“Thanks, Molina.” Vera grabbed the warm cup of coffee and smiled sincerely at Molina. She then said, “They don’t put the mint in the coffee. They dip it in mint leaves and take it out. Kind of like tea…”
“Regardless, I think it’s weird… What are you reading?”
“Professor Lu’s reply…” Vera blushed and said, “I was studying his hyperelliptic curve analysis method and it reminded me of the irreducible unitary Heisenberg group representation theory. Then I did some research… It seems like my research is coming in handy.”
Molina stared at the email and felt a little unhappy.
“Hey, don’t be a quisling! You should be on our side.”
“Professor Lu isn’t our enemy.” Vera stared at Molina bravely and said, “Why can’t we solve this problem together? Solving Riemann’s hypothesis isn’t something that can be done by one person alone.”
Molina looked at Vera’s stubborn face; she was speechless.
She knew that she was being petty and selfish, but who wouldn’t?
If they proved Riemann’s hypothesis together, everyone would assume that Lu Zhou did 99% of the work.
It was just like how no one remembered Hardy’s co-authors or Hilbert’s co-authors.
Unless Hardy and Hilbert worked on a problem together.
Whenever there was a strength gap, people would always remember the stronger one and forget about the weaker, lesser-known person.
Mathematics was Molina’s passion and hobby, but she had to let the Abel name live on.
However, seeing how Vera wasn’t budging, she had nothing to say.
“What do I do with you…” Molina sighed and scratched her head as she said, “If you think it’s that simple, then continue doing what you’re doing.”
“Thanks,” Vera said with a smile.
“You’re welcome… Speaking of which, is your body okay?” Molina stared at the trash can, which was filled with draft paper. “You were coughing all day yesterday, and you don’t look great.”
Vera shook her head and said, “I’m doing fine, no need to worry about me.”
Molina hesitated for a second and said, “How about… I’ll do the St. Petersburg report for you, you should get some rest.”
“No, I’ll have to go…” Vera blushed and shook her head. “He’s looking forward to my report. I won’t let him down.”
Molina took a deep breath and finally asked, “Can I ask, what’s really going on with your health?”
Vera’s hands gently trembled as she shook her head and spoke softly, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
However, Molina wasn’t convinced at all.
Molina started to get more and more worried.
She suddenly snatched the draft paper out of Vera’s hand and grabbed her shoulder.
“Listen, you need rest! You need to rest if you—”
“I’m fine, give it back…” Vera grabbed the draft paper back from Molina and said, “I don’t need rest, trust me, I know what I need.”
There’s not much time left…
I have no time to waste.
Molina finally compromised and let go of Vera’s shoulder.
“I’m done with you!”
She turned around, grabbed her coat, and left the room.