Nine Mathematical Challenges: An Elucidation

Book excerpt: This volume stems from the Linde Hall Inaugural Math Symposium, held from February 22–24, 2019, at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California. The content isolates and discusses nine mathematical problems, or sets of problems, in a deep way, but starting from scratch. Included among them are the well-known problems of the classification of finite groups, the Navier-Stokes equations, the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, and the continuum hypothesis. The other five problems, also of substantial importance, concern the Lieb–Thirring inequalities, the equidistribution problems in number theory, surface bundles, ramification in covers and curves, and the gap and type problems in Fourier analysis. The problems are explained succinctly, with a discussion of what is known and an elucidation of the outstanding issues. An attempt is made to appeal to a wide audience, both in terms of the field of expertise and the level of the reader.