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Prime gaps

A prime gap of length is a run of consecutive composite numbers between two successive primes. Therefore, the difference between two successive primes and bounding a prime gap of length is , where is the th prime number. Since the prime difference function(1)is always even (except for ), all primes gaps are also even. The notation is commonly used to denote the smallest prime corresponding to the start of a prime gap of length , i.e., such that is prime, , , ..., are all composite, and is prime (with the additional constraint that no smaller number satisfying these properties exists).The maximal prime gap is the length of the largest prime gap that begins with a prime less than some maximum value . For , 2, ..., is given by 4, 8, 20, 36, 72, 114, 154, 220, 282, 354, 464, 540, 674, 804, 906, 1132, ... (OEIS A053303).Arbitrarily large prime gaps exist. For example, for any , the numbers , , ..., are all composite (Havil 2003, p. 170). However, no general method..

Random matrix

A random matrix is a matrix of given type and size whoseentries consist of random numbers from some specified distribution.Random matrix theory is cited as one of the "modern tools" used in Catherine'sproof of an important result in prime number theory in the 2005 film Proof.For a real matrix with elements having a standard normal distribution, the expected number of real eigenvalues is given by(1)(2)where is a hypergeometric function and is a beta function (Edelman et al. 1994, Edelman and Kostlan 1994). has asymptotic behavior(3)Let be the probability that there are exactly real eigenvalues in the complex spectrum of the matrix. Edelman (1997) showed that(4)which is the smallest probability of all s. The entire probability function of the number of expected real eigenvalues in the spectrum of a Gaussian real random matrix was derived by Kanzieper and Akemann (2005) as(5)where(6)(7)In (6), the summation runs over all partitions..

Sphere eversion

Smale (1958) proved that it is mathematically possible to turn a sphere inside-out without introducing a sharp crease at any point. This means there is a regular homotopy from the standard embedding of the 2-sphere in Euclidean three-space to the mirror-reflection embedding such that at every stage in the homotopy, the sphere is being immersed in Euclidean space. This result is so counterintuitive and the proof so technical that the result remained controversial for a number of years.In 1961, Arnold Shapiro devised an explicit eversion but did not publicize it. Phillips (1966) heard of the result and, in trying to reproduce it, actually devised an independent method of his own. Yet another eversion was devised by Morin, which became the basis for the movie by Max (1977). Morin's eversion also produced explicit algebraic equations describing the process. The original method of Shapiro was subsequently published by Francis and Morin (1979).The..

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