European Centre for Atomic Energy Experiments.

A collision meeting was held here, arranging the work of the LHC for the next six months.

"If there are no objections, the work arrangement for the second half of this year from July 15 to December 1 will be carried out according to the form in your hands."

In the empty conference room, David Gross, the chairman of the LHC Council with rimless glasses, lifted his glasses and glanced at the entire conference room.

In fact, these work arrangements have been discussed and debated for a long time, and it is just a process to revisit them at the council meeting.

After all, LHC is one of the largest large strong particle colliders in the world today, and every time it runs and collides with each experiment, it has the potential to bring Nobel Prize-level results.

Coupled with the large number of member states, it can be said that the interests involved are extremely complex.

In the conference room, applause rang out. David Gross smiled a funny-looking smile, not on purpose, but because he did.

"Alright, that's all for today's meeting, everyone adjourned."

The sound of rustling sounded, and many council members and participants left one after another.

"Hey, Witten, let's have a coffee?"

After David Gross, the chairman of the board of directors, cleaned up the meeting materials on the table, he saw Edward Witten who had not left yet, and he was looking at something intently at the moment.

Hearing the voice, Edward Witten replied without raising his head: "You go, I still have something to do here." ”

"Look at what, so seriously."

Witten's preoccupied appearance aroused the curiosity of David Gross, and the chairman of the LHC walked over.

However, he didn't look at the things on the computer without permission, after all, everyone has their own privacy and secrets, and some of them cannot be shared with others.

Leaning on the conference table, David Gross didn't care if Witten would answer his question, and then asked, "I heard that you accepted a student, why didn't you bring the rising knowledge this time?" ”

"He's studying math with Deligne right now."

"Deligne? Viscount Pierre de Ligne? David Gross asked, surprised.

Witten nodded, "Hmm." ”

David Gross was curious: "But isn't he your student?" ”

Witten shrugged his shoulders and said, "He's also a student of Deligne. ”

Hearing this, David Gross became even more curious, and asked with a surprised face: "It's incredible, you two actually accepted the same person as a student, what is his origin?" ”

Witten: "The Weyl-Berry conjecture, the most important discovery in mathematics last year, was proved by him. ”

In addition, he is the result of the method of calculating celestial parameters, which is currently being reviewed in the journal Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, which is the greatest interest of the astrophysical community today.

"It turned out to be him, a genius boy from that eastern country."

David Gross suddenly understood why Witten and Deligne would take one person as a student at the same time.

For others, it's almost impossible, but it's nothing for a genius who can solve world-class mathematical conjecture puzzles at the age of eighteen.

"Mr. President, I need to apply for the medium-sized proton synchrotron in the experimental institute center this month." Witten spoke.

"SPS?"

Witten nodded and said, "Yes, does it have any experimental arrangements for this month?" ”

David Gross thought for a moment and said, "There must be an arrangement, there is an application for an experiment from the University of Oxford, where the sun never sets, and there is also an accelerated experiment from New Zealand, but it is not a very important experiment. ”

After a pause, he asked with interest: "Do you have a new plan for scientific research experiments?" ”

Witten shook his head and said, "It's not me, it's my newly recruited student." ”

"You're requesting equipment for your students?" David Gross asked curiously.

Witten nodded and said, "Yes, he just sent me a very interesting paper, which is a method for calculating the radius of protons from first principles, in which he analyzed the previous proton radius data and finally determined the radius result of the proton. ”

"With the help of this paper, we may be able to get a more accurate proton radius, instead of the current situation where it is difficult to choose between several values."

David Gross asked in surprise, "How to calculate the proton radius from first principles?" He can do that too. ”

Witten: "It's not completely first-principles, it's mixed with a lot of previous proton observations, and I don't get a new proton radius data, but the previous controversial data is determined." ”

"That's pretty good, too." David Gross exclaimed.

But then he remembered something and asked, "Didn't you just say that you, a student, are studying math with Deligne?" How did you suddenly make a physical result? ”

Witten smiled, took off his glasses and wiped them with the cloth he had with him, and continued, "That's right, he is learning some math with Deligne now, and this achievement is actually part of what he did before he came to Princeton. ”

"He has a very high talent in particle physics, and he can study independently without being taught, and he can also integrate mathematics into physics, and use mathematics to study physics, which is very rare."

"When he came to Princeton, he struck me with this paper that was not finished at that time, and I told him that if he could complete the calculation in a month and a half, then I could help him apply for a proton accelerator to check it."

"Oh? Can I take a look at the paper you were talking about? ”

When Witten said this, David Gross was also a little moved in his heart.

"Absolutely." Witten nodded and gave up his place.

Although the paper sent to him by Xu Chuan has not yet been officially published, Witten does not mind letting David Gross read it.

In front of him, plagiarism is impossible to happen, there are things like mailbox records and original manuscript paper, even if it is published by someone else in advance, he has the ability to make any journal in the world reject the manuscript, and let the plagiarist be punished with the most severe punishment.

Moreover, it is impossible for a Nobel laureate in physics to do such a thing.

Witten stepped out of the way, and David Gross sat down.

On the computer display of the conference table, Xu Chuan's calculation method was opened, and Gross pulled it to the top and watched it from scratch.

After a long time, David Gross lifted his glasses and stood up again.

He sighed a little and said: "This paper is indeed the essence, especially the mathematical methods and mathematical abilities shown, no wonder you choose to be his teacher, his mathematical ability, I am afraid that few people in the entire physics community can compare." ”

Witten smiled and said, "Yes, it's rare for a physicist to have such mathematical ability. ”

Hearing this, David Gross laughed and said, "Not necessarily, didn't he originally study mathematics?" Or how difficult it is for a mathematician to have such physical abilities? ”

Witten shrugged his shoulders and didn't speak again.

Although this is a bit poignant, what Gross said is true, Xu Chuan's grades in mathematics are far higher than those in physics.

........

arxiv preprint server.

Xu Chuan's paper attracted the attention of many people at the first time.

The question of the proton radius has been a hot topic in physics in recent years, and not only particle physicists, but also many other physicists have maintained their attention.

After all, the radius of the proton is related to the base of the edifice of physics.

If there were a significant change in its precise information, it could affect the entire physical community.

It's a big deal.

Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Luhida Callas, professor of particle physics and nuclear physics, is browsing Arxiv's website.

Finding useful things from the arxiv preprint server is one of his favorite things to do.

While there is no peer-reviewed Arxiv website where the quality is mixed, the vast majority are of little value.

But once in a while, something good will come up that catches the eye.

And finding these good things will give Luhida a kind of harvest pleasure of panning for gold in the sand.

Flipping through the papers and ideas in the areas of particle physics and nuclear physics, Lu Xida pinched the bridge of his nose, a little disappointed.

Today was another day of little gain.

But this couldn't be more normal.

After all, even if you can find some good things on arxiv preprint this website, it is not every day, and most of the time it has knowledge dross.

Shaking his head, Luhida moved his mouse to the upper right corner, ready to fork off the web page for lunch.

However, at this moment, on his personal page, he suddenly received a reminder message from the arxiv website itself, which came from the tag he followed - particle physics.

This indicates that someone has uploaded a new paper or idea related to particle physics.

In the end, Lu Xida still couldn't hold back, and clicked on the message, ready to go to dinner after reading this new thing.

The Mystery of Proton Radius: A New Method for Calculating Proton Radius and Its Extended Significance

Seeing the title, Luhida shook her head.

Although the problem of the 'mystery of the proton radius' is one of the hottest research objects in the physics world today, it is of little use to a simple calculation paper or something.

The only way to solve this problem is to conduct experiments by major physical experimental research institutes using equipment such as proton accelerators or proton colliders.

A mere calculation is of little use to solve this problem.

Unless it is a first-principles calculation, it is indeed possible to calculate the radius of a proton directly bypassing physical experiments.

But it's clear that this thing posted on the arxiv website can't be a first-principles computational method, because no one in the entire physics community can do that.

Unless it is Newton's resurrection, there is a slight possibility.

Because it's actually a math problem, not a physics problem.

Although physics also requires mathematics, not every physicist has the same advanced mathematics as Witten.

In fact, the vast majority of physicists' mathematical abilities are basically limited to applying the mathematical tools they need to solve their own physical problems, and many are not even able to do so.

So Lu Xida was not very optimistic about this paper, but he still chose to open it.

I've already seen it anyway, and it won't take long to take a look, so I'll go to dinner after reading it.

Then, he read the paper for the whole afternoon.

Not to mention lunch, he didn't even care about dinner.........

........

At Princeton University, Xu Chuan did not wait for a reply from Edward Witten, but waited for a call from the other side of the world.

The caller was his mentor at NTU, Chen Zhengping.

"That paper you sent me, the one about the mystery of the proton radius, you've solved it? Got the exact radius of the proton? ”

The phone was connected, and Chen Zhengping asked hurriedly.

Xu Chuan smiled: "It's not so easy to solve the mystery of the proton radius, and the exact radius of the proton is not so easy to get." I just did some analysis based on the previous experimental data to determine which of those experimental data was more accurate. ”

On the other end of the phone, Chen Zhengping sighed: "That's not easy." ”

After a pause, he continued: "I suggested that you try to solve this problem, just to get you to pay attention to physics, but I didn't expect you to actually make achievements in this area. ”

Hearing this, Xu Chuan smiled, he followed Chen Zhengping to learn physics at that time, and as a result, he learned to run to do mathematics, and also proved a mathematical problem, which must have made Chen Zhengping feel melancholy.

"Have you read this paper to your mentor, Witten? What he said. ”

On the other end of the phone, Chen Zhengping continued to ask.

Xu Chuan naturally knew that he had two mentors, and he was happy about it at the beginning, after all, whether it was Witten or Deligne, they were both top bulls.

One won a Fields Medal as a physicist, and the other was a Grand Slam winner in mathematics, neither of them could be sought by others, let alone Xu Chuan's mentor at the same time.

】

Chen Zhengping estimated that when Xu Chuan returned from his studies, the time might have to be delayed for two or three years, after all, these two people can teach a lot of things.

But that's not a bad thing, it's important to learn more.

Xu Chuan nodded and said, "I sent it to him, but he is now in a meeting at the LHC and has not replied to my email yet." ”

"Well, then you just wait for him to reply to the message, oh, by the way, speaking of LHC, the time on my side has been set, and the experiment will start on the 18th of this month, you remember to ask for leave and buy tickets in advance."

On the other end of the phone, Chen Zhengping answered, and then explained the collision experiment plan in the middle of this month.

Xu Chuan nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go over on time." ”

Even if Witten had already agreed to apply for a proton accelerator for him to improve the mystery of the proton radius, Xu Chuan still didn't want to miss the experiment on Chen Zhengping's side.

This kind of access to first-hand collision experiment data is not available to everyone.

The data and spectral images that came out of the collider hide endless secrets, and if you can find one, you will benefit for a lifetime.

........