A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 167 Inspiration from Academicians

In the end, Chen Hui added this computer science genius on WeChat and agreed to contact him again after arriving in Budapest.

After finishing his meal, Chen Hui, carrying his tray, said goodbye to Yin Hao and Zhang Xia before leaving the cafeteria.

As soon as Chen Hui came out of the plum garden, he saw an old man walking towards him.

"Young friend Chen Hui!"

"What a coincidence!"

Academician Zheng Nanning also saw Chen Hui, immediately turned around, and walked towards Chen Hui with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Zheng."

Chen Hui responded warmly and greeted him, but he felt a little strange. This Academician Zheng Nanning was working in Chang'an, so he didn't know why she would appear in Jiangcheng.

"I came here specifically to see you."

Zheng Nanning smiled warmly and said, "Your paper on fractal structures can be published!"

Clearly, the strategic objectives have been achieved quite well.

"Regarding the mathematical model paper, I hope we can wait a little longer. Of course, the higher-ups won't treat you unfairly. You already provided your card number last time, so I expect two million will be deposited into your account soon. Don't worry about where it comes from, just accept it."

"Don't think it's too little. We all know that if you use this invention and technology to make a profit, you can obtain wealth far exceeding this amount. But you also know that this kind of funding application is not easy. This amount is already very generous, and it is an honor in itself."

"How could that be? I don't have high material demands. As long as I can meet my basic needs, that's enough."

Hearing this number, Chen Hui didn't react much. Back when Professor Xiao Meng mentioned patent dividends, he had already anticipated that this discovery would bring him considerable wealth, and his expectations were even far higher than this figure.

However, as he said, he doesn't have high demands for material things, and two million is not a small amount.

He is now completely absorbed in the Yang-Mills equations. Compared to a life of extravagance and debauchery, pursuing the mysteries of truth is obviously much more interesting.

"Don't worry, the motherland will not forget your contributions. This is just the beginning, and there will be more compensation in the future."

Zheng Nanning was in a very good mood, and her eyes were full of satisfaction when she looked at Chen Hui. With his extraordinary talent and deep concern for his country, he was a true pillar of China.

"By the way, I heard you're applying for the Excellent Young Scientists Fund recently?"

"Yes," Chen Hui nodded. He didn't know what kind of funding his research needed, but since his teacher had asked him to apply, he wouldn't refuse.

"Your choice of topic is quite bold!"

Zheng Nanning asked with a serious expression, "Are you confident you can make it?"

The defense of the Outstanding Young Scientists Project is about to begin, and as one of the judges, Zheng Nanning has a responsibility to understand it.

"I don't have any clue yet. I don't know when I can finish it, but as long as you give me time, I will definitely be able to finish it."

Chen Hui gave an affirmative answer.

"Ah."

Zheng Nanning nodded, and after a moment of contemplation, she said again, "Okay, I believe you!"

Logically speaking, Chen Hui should have received at least 20 million in project funding, let alone 2 million.

They can give Chen Hui a 20 million yuan reward, but they cannot use that as an excuse to falsify data and allow a hopeless project to pass the review and receive funding for the Excellent Young Scientists Fund. That would be irresponsible.

If someone else had applied for this research project and said something like that, Zheng Nanning would have immediately called security to kick them out.

But if this person is Chen Hui, he is willing to give this kid a chance. Who can be sure that a kid who can publish a mathematics journal in his freshman year can not solve this Millennium Problem?
He believed that this young man was not the type to apply for research projects and scam funding!
When Yin Hao and his group came out of the cafeteria, they saw Chen Hui chatting with Zheng Nanning.

Who is that old man?

Zhang Xia asked curiously. Although they did not know the old man, they could sense from his demeanor that he was no ordinary person.

"Teacher Wong."

Yan Yi suddenly looked to the other side.

A middle-aged man in a suit hurried past, nodded to Yan Yi, and walked straight ahead, seemingly in a hurry.

"This is your teacher?"

Chen Yu asked curiously, as the "You Qing" her boyfriend mentioned was much younger than she had imagined.

"Professor Yan Yi is an Outstanding Young Scientist, you know him, right?"

"We can apply for a project fund of two million!"

"Yan Yi gets paid for his work and publishing articles, eight hundred a month!"

Upon seeing Teacher Yan Yi, Chen Yu, who had just been outshone by Chen Hui, suddenly perked up and enthusiastically introduced him.

Only then did Yin Hao and his companions begin to respect the teacher in the suit and tie; the teacher's image instantly became much more imposing in their eyes.

Just then, they saw the teacher heading straight towards Chen Hui and his companion.

"Professor Zheng, what brings you to Jiangcheng University!"

Wang Huanyu made no attempt to hide his excitement and went up to greet him; Yan Yi probably learned this from him.

The person in front of us is not just an academician with a nominal title, but a pioneer and founder of China's artificial intelligence science development. Even Chang'an Jiaotong University became the only leading university in the "Artificial Intelligence 101 Plan" because of him, leading the domestic artificial intelligence education and scientific research innovation.

Such a person possesses far more power than a mere outstanding young talent like himself.

“Wang Huanyu, I attended your lecture at Chang’an Jiaotong University just last month. I was deeply impressed and benefited greatly from it.”

Seeing Zheng Nanning's puzzled expression, Wang Huanyu introduced himself.

"Oh, Xiao Wang!"

Zheng Nanning suddenly realized that she had a good impression of the young man who had asked a question at the lecture. This kid was quick-witted and would surely achieve great things in the future.

He still really likes this kind of young person.

Wang Huanyu's smile widened even more. "Professor Zheng, would you like to visit our research office sometime?"

"Our video generation model has recently yielded some good results. Would you like to take a look, Professor Zheng? We can demonstrate it for you."

Zheng Nanning said with some regret, "I'm sorry, I have something I want to discuss with my friend Chen Hui, so I'm afraid I won't have time to go."

“I’m also quite interested in your research. You can send it to me via email, or we can arrange a time for you to come to Chang’an so we can all exchange ideas.”

Zheng Nanning wasn't lying; he was indeed interested in Wang Huanyu's research, but he had more important matters to attend to. "That's a real shame. I won't disturb you any longer, Professor Zheng. Please continue with your work."

Wang Huanyu glanced at Chen Hui with a look of regret, a hint of confusion deep in his eyes.

He had heard of the young man who had recently gained fame in the School of Mathematics, but he couldn't understand why, even if Chen Hui published a mathematics journal, it shouldn't have anything to do with Professor Zheng, since Chen Hui's research had nothing to do with artificial intelligence.

However, seeing Chen Hui's face, which was almost too young, he understood; Chen Hui really was too young!

"Old Zheng?"

Yin Hao and his group, who were not far away, stood there dumbfounded, then looked at Yan Yi with blank expressions.

Just now, they witnessed firsthand the way that Youqing treated the old man; to put it bluntly, it could be described as fawning.

Yan Yi felt a chill run down his spine.

Although he was only a sophomore, he had attended some meetings with his teachers. The last person his teacher addressed in that way was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences!
Could it be that the elderly man chatting with Chen Hui is also an academician?
I'm still a freshman in Makka Pakka, and this guy is already contacting academicians?

If one can become a student of an academician, the resources available to them are unimaginable, and their future will undoubtedly be bright...

"Existence and quality gaps, which direction do you plan to start with?"

After Wang Huanyu left, Zheng Nanning continued speaking to Chen Hui. The two of them strolled leisurely around the campus like a grandfather and granddaughter.

"The mass gap is as fascinating as a treasure hidden in a black hole in the universe, but existence is the foundation of everything. I plan to prove the existence problem first, and then proceed slowly."

Chen Hui answered honestly.

Zheng Nanning nodded and continued, "Currently, there are three cutting-edge research directions in Yang-Mills. Which direction do you think is most likely to achieve a breakthrough?"

Chen Hui hadn't really thought about this question before, but having just learned about these three directions, it seemed like it was time to consider it.

The mathematical structure of the reconstruction direction of topological quantum field theory is clear and has strong anti-interference ability. Based on the topological invariants of non-Abelian gauge fields, such as Chern number and instanton number, it can be directly related to the classification of mode space and physical state in Yang-Mills theory.

However, current research focuses on two-dimensional/four-dimensional manifolds. Higher-dimensional extensions require breakthroughs in gauge field compactification techniques, and the correspondence between topological states and gauge fields in the Standard Model is not yet fully clear, raising doubts about experimental observability.

But this is the most suitable direction for Chen Hui. He has a solid foundation in mathematics and physics, and he is also adept at algebraic topology and category theory. He can easily get started and conduct in-depth research, and he may soon be able to bring the research in this direction to a new level.

Machine learning-assisted proofs are undoubtedly a weak area for Chen Hui, but they are also a very interesting area that is likely to yield results. Today, young scientists in the mathematics community, such as Schultz and Tao, are actively promoting the application of artificial intelligence in mathematical research.

Its powerful computing capabilities can improve the efficiency of instantaneous solution calculation by 300 times. When dealing with high-dimensional problems, neural networks can fit the complex solution space of nonlinear partial differential equations, such as the instantaneous modulus space of the Yang-Mills equations.

However, it also has the biggest problem: black box models are difficult to provide rigorous mathematical proofs, rely on data quality and training set design, and numerical solutions may deviate from physical reality.

The exploration of gauge-gravitational duality draws on the AdS/CFT duality in string theory, mapping the Yang-Mills equations to the gravitational theory of anti-de Sitter space to solve the problem of strong coupling.

However, its duality effectiveness is limited to a specific dimension. The matching problem between the graviton mass and the gauge field coupling has not been solved, and it will fail in the low-energy limit.

String theory was a completely new field for Chen Hui, and learning it alone required a lot of his time.

In short, the current situation is like having many roads leading to the truth, but each road is riddled with traps and holes, and we can't even see what the end of the road is.

"Machine learning is a good topic. Perhaps you could consider it. It's a direction where it's easy to achieve results."

Perhaps seeing that Chen Hui had been deep in thought for too long, Zheng Nanning made a suggestion.

"Why not integrate the three approaches and leverage their strengths to compensate for their weaknesses?"

Suddenly, Chen Hui spoke.

He seemed to have vaguely sensed something, but this time it was different from the previous times.

He only vaguely sensed a glimmer of light hidden deep in the darkness; he hadn't even seen its radiance yet.

He needs to walk a few more steps to see it more clearly. Of course, he might only realize after walking a few steps that it's just a reflection of a puddle of swill on the ground.

Chen Hui was not discouraged; on the contrary, he was somewhat excited. This problem, which had troubled the entire academic community for decades, could not possibly be solved by him so easily, but at least it was a good sign!

Zheng Nanning didn't say anything more; he saw something unbelievable in Chen Hui's eyes.

This is truly a good sign!

Zheng Nanning was somewhat excited.

Your math level has improved from 3 (32%) to 33%.

Your physics rating has increased from level 3 (21%) to 22%.

The comments popped up and disappeared in front of Chen Hui's eyes, but Chen Hui ignored them completely, his eyes unfocused, immersed in his sea of ​​consciousness.

About half an hour later, Chen Hui finally came to his senses. Zheng Nanning stayed with him as they wandered aimlessly around the campus.

"Sorry, something suddenly came to mind and I became fascinated without even realizing it."

Chen Hui said apologetically to Zheng Nanning.

"It's alright. If possible, I'd like you to be captivated for a longer time. I'm willing to wait as long as I can!"

As a fellow researcher, he naturally understood how remarkable Chen Hui's state of mind was.

If what he said is true, and Chen Hui can immerse himself in the task for a longer period of time, he might actually be able to solve that problem.

However, it seems that the little guy is still making some progress.

How to integrate these three approaches and leverage their respective strengths to compensate for their weaknesses?

Over the years, scientists have come up with the idea, but how to integrate them is a problem no less difficult than the Yang-Mills equations. Of course, this is another major significance of studying the Millennium Problem.

That's tough. I hope he succeeds!
After chatting with Academician Zheng Nanning about the Yang-Mills equations, the two parted ways. Chen Hui wanted to continue studying and improving his proficiency, hoping to take a few more steps forward and see if the hidden light in the darkness was a real treasure or just a dream.

Academician Zheng Nanning also has her own things to do.

Although Academician Zheng Nanning is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, his theoretical knowledge is not weak. Even in the area of ​​Yang-Mills equations, which he is not good at, he can have a good chat with Chen Hui and even put forward some unexpected views.

This made Chen Hui feel a deep respect for the old man.

"You weren't in the library? That's incredible! The sun must have risen in the west!"

"I've been looking for you for ages!"

Not long after Zheng Nanning left, Wang Qiming found Chen Hui. Judging from his bright and sunny smile, it must be something good.

(End of this chapter)