Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Edward-Witten and Shen Qi discussed the article "Defect topology based on spherical stable homotopy groups".

"Crystals that exist in the real world, people look at their internal structure with a microscope and think they are flawless, but in our physicists' opinion, defects are always there, from microscopic to macroscopic, from cells to the universe. Witten's opening remarks are as lofty as ever, and he looks at the earth from the perspective of the universe.

"Yes, there is a difference between what is seen by a physicist and what is seen by ordinary people. Shen Qi quickly switched to physics mode, and there may be only one person on Earth who has the ability to accept him as a disciple.

"Odd, we all know that the real crystal can be regarded as a real space, which contains defects such as singular points or singular lines, and we cannot completely eliminate the defects at this stage, all we can do is define the defects and label the defects. The problem is that the traditional physical methods define defects in the continuum and crystals that rely too much on physical intuition. ”

Witten flipped through a thick book boringly, and then handed it to Shen Qi: "Qi, you see, this is the condensed matter physics textbook of the Princeton Physics Department, which says that if the γ is continuously distorted in real space, and it does not pass through those strange lines or points, then these closed loops have a common feature, that is, they are surrounded by the same defects...... What uncreative dogmatism. ”

Shen Qi took the book, he had already finished studying the book.

The title of the book is Advanced Condensed Matter Physics, and the author is Philip Warren Anderson.

Anderson is a Nobel Laureate in Physics and a leading figure in the field of contemporary condensed matter physics.

Anderson has a lot of experience, having graduated from Harvard, spent time in the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, worked at Bell Labs, was a professor at Cambridge, and is currently the Joseph Henry Professor of Physics at Princeton.

The Joseph Henry Professor of Physics at Princeton is an honorary title, similar to that of Professor Lucas at Cambridge, and is conferred on only one person at a time.

Professor Anderson's textbook is a classic, but it is a little bland in some parts, such as defects in continuum and crystals. Professor Anderson's textbook on condensed matter physics rested on his desk and said, "Edward, this is the purpose of my study of defect topology based on spherical stable homotopy groups, and I think that through rigorous mathematical means, this prosaic part can be improved and made more exciting and attractive." ”

Witten had already printed out the electronic version of the paper sent by Shen Qi, and he flipped through Shen Qi's paper and was full of praise: "Very beautiful mathematical processing methods, extremely ingeniously conceived! You have improved on the basis of the Adams spectrum sequence, and in the process of solving the homotopy group, you have calculated an amazing result, h0b1^4∈E2^9, 4p^2q+q is a permanent cycle in the Adams spectrum sequence. Qi, you know, I'm not bad at math, I can understand your logic, I agree with your thinking. ”

"So my physics paper has passed your review?" Shen Qi asked.

"I need a small change in the description of physics, but I was amazed at how quickly you have progressed in physics, and you can't write such a condensed matter physics paper with just a deep knowledge of mathematics. Witten drew circles and crosses on Shen Qi's paper, indicating the parts that needed to be changed.

Shen Qi understood what Witten meant, and he quickly completed the revision of the thesis in two days.

"The thesis has been approved, and the Department of Physics of the Institute for Advanced Study welcomes you. Witten has the right to admit Shen Qi as a Ph.D. student in the physics department of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), and he is the Charles Shimoni Professor of Mathematical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study ---in Princeton.

"It's great, Edward, it's an honor to be your student and learn physics with you. ”

Shen Qi, the new Fields Medal winner, has become a student of the Philippine Prize's old-timer Witten, and the two Philippine Medal bigwigs are studying physics.

"Now that your paper is complete, submit it to a journal, and it is necessary to let the physics community know about your research results. Witten said.

"Okay. ”

After leaving the Institute for Advanced Study, Shen Qi submitted his paper "Research on Defect Topology Based on Spherical Stable Homotopy Groups" to Science.

Science is an academic journal sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, covering the whole discipline, published once a week, and the current IF value is 32.182, which is more than 20 times the IF value of most mathematics journals.

A scholar can publish a paper in Science or Nature, enough to be swaying for years.

Shen Qi has published a total of five papers in the four major journals of mathematics, and the mathematics journals have been blown up by him, and then brushing down is just a simple accumulation of numbers, and he no longer needs to rely on the papers of the four major journals to consolidate his position in the mathematical community.

People always have to change their mood and experience a colorful life in a variety of ways.

However, only a week later, Shen Qi was poured cold water on Science.

Shen Qi's manuscript of his paper on condensed matter physics was rejected by Science.

The explanation of the editorial board of Science is:

"Professor Shen, thank you very much for your submission. ”

"Your outstanding achievements in the field of mathematics are obvious to all, and all of the staff of our journal are your fans. ”

"It was a great surprise to find that you entered the field of physics, and we are sure that you will shock the world again. ”

Unfortunately, your physics paper "A Study of Defect Topology Based on Spherical Stable Homotopy Groups" is too theoretical. ”

We fully agree with the academic significance of this physics paper, but again, it is too theoretical and too esoteric to be a purely academic discourse that is not suitable for most readers of Science. ”

"It's not fair to paying readers if they pay to subscribe to an article that 99% of the content doesn't understand. ”

"So I hope you understand, and I look forward to your next submission. ”

Shen Qi asked Cangtian speechlessly, he knew that "Science" was aimed at the general public, and many readers were not full-time scientific researchers, but belonged to the nature of science enthusiasts.

Shen Qi's paper on condensed matter physics sent to Science was carefully processed, omitting a lot of complex and esoteric theoretical expositions, and expounding the results of defect topology based on homotopy groups in as simple and clear language as possible.

Even so, Science rejected Shen Qi's manuscript.

"It seems that I have never had a chance with Science and Nature in my life. ”

Shen Qi is also thinking about a problem sometimes, the theoretical research is getting deeper and deeper, and in the end, no one in the world may be able to understand what he writes.