New Mathematical Object Revealed

A new mathematical object was revealed yesterday during a lecture at the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM). Two researchers from the University of Bristol exhibited the first example of a third degree transcendental L-function. These L-functions encode deep underlying connections between many different areas of mathematics.

"This breakthrough opens a door to the study of higher degree L-functions," said Dennis Hejhal, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota and Uppsala University.

"I thought we were years away from doing this. The geometry of what you have to do and the scale of the computation are orders of magnitude harder."

"It's a big step toward our understanding the 'world of L', which is where most of the secrets of number theory are kept." said Brian Conrey, Director of AIM.