Speaker: DAVID BORTHWICK (Emory University)

Title: Riemann's Zeros and the Rhythm of the Primes

Abstract: Just 150 years ago, Riemann published a short paper (in German) called "On the Number of Primes Less Than a Given Magnitude." In it, he speculated that the zeros of the zeta function all lie on a certain line in the complex plane. This conjecture, now called the Riemann Hypothesis, is universally regarded as the greatest unsolved problem in all of mathematics. In this talk we'll introduce the Hypothesis and try to explain why mathematicians find this arcane-sounding problem so compelling. We'll also explore some fascinating connections between Riemann zeros and quantum physics.