Research starts with PhD students

Chapter 137 This is a big deal!

"Are you kidding me?"

"That's the Fermion Hubbard model, a mathematical model that describes the state of electrons in the superconducting mechanism. You simplified it..."

Qiu Zhichao took the manuscript in a daze. He looked at it carefully and found that it was indeed related to the fermion Hubbard model, but he could not understand some of the content, so he simply handed it back.

He took a deep breath and said, "I believe you. Can you tell me in detail how much simplification you have achieved?"

In fact, the reason why Qiu Zhichao came to ask Zhang Shuo was because it was related to the fermion Hubbert model, which was exactly what they were researching.

Second, he felt that something was wrong.

Zhang Shuo discussed the fermion Hubbard model with others on the Internet and said with certainty that it can be simplified. Why do we do this?

It felt a bit strange that he had such a clear attitude towards a question he didn't understand, so he came over to ask about it out of concern.

Qiu Zhichao was a little confused, and Wang Hui and Qi Zhixiang were also a little confused.

The situation on the Internet is similar to that in reality. Scholars who are familiar with the fermion Hubbard model do not believe that the computational simulation of the model can be simplified.

That kind of mathematical model is so complicated that it is impossible to calculate normally, and we can only do various analyses.

A large number of analytical methods are also unable to provide a clear solution.

There was also Zhong Jingfen in the office, silently watching from the sidelines. She was the deputy administrative director of the Institute of Advanced Studies and, in reality, just a low-ranking administrative staff member.

Although he has a master's degree, he obviously does not understand extremely professional content.

Precisely because she didn't understand, she fully supported Zhang Shuo in her heart. She felt that Zhang Shuo was able to complete a lot of research and publish so many papers in top journals, and that his level was obviously higher than others.

When an academic dispute arises, whoever has a higher level of expertise is naturally right.

When Qiu Zhichao finished his question, Zhang Shuo hadn't spoken yet, so Wang Hui asked, "Can we use conventional computers to do computational simulations?"

"That can't be done."

Zhang Shuo immediately shook his head. "Even if the calculation can be simplified, the amount of calculation is still very large. Conventional computers cannot perform calculation simulations."

"Whoo~~~"

Qiu Zhichao let out a long sigh, "That's good, our research can continue." He then continued to ask, "What is the progress?"

"The numerical solution is achieved through a large number of calculations. The larger the transportation volume, the higher the accuracy of the solution."

Qiu Zhichao was stunned for a moment after hearing this. "Can you say it again?"

Zhang Shuo repeated it again.

This time, not only Qiu Zhichao, but also Wang Hui and Qi Zhixiang gasped.

Wang Hui couldn't help but ask, "Do you know what this means?"

Before Zhang Shuo could say anything, Wang Hui excitedly continued, "If the fermion Hubbard model can be numerically solved, research on various superconducting mechanisms will usher in a series of breakthroughs!"

"Before I came to the High Court, I worked in a superconductivity group doing mathematical work. When analyzing experiments, the biggest problem was solving the mathematical model. I had to use a lot of methods to analyze, but I could only get an approximate result."

"In the study of superconductivity mechanisms, the biggest problem in data analysis is to numerically solve the model."

“If we can achieve numerical solutions, and make them more and more accurate, then all kinds of research will surely usher in many breakthroughs, and the explanation of the mechanism will be more accurate…”

“This is truly amazing!”

Qiu Zhichao also nodded and said, "It's really amazing. Many superconducting experimental groups are concerned about our research progress, hoping to obtain more accurate data through quantum computing."

"The fermion Hubbard model does not necessarily have to be simulated by computation. This is just a general direction. What is more needed at this stage is to use quantum computing to complete the numerical solution of fixed parameters!"

He said depressedly, "If we can use conventional computing methods to solve numerical problems, our research direction will definitely change."

In fact, the impact is much greater than he said.

The ultimate goal of studying the fermion Hubbard model using quantum computing is to achieve computational simulation of the model.

This goal is very big, just like studying nuclear fusion. It is very, very difficult to achieve conventional applications of nuclear fusion.

The interim goal of the research is to use quantum computing to numerically solve the fermion Hubbard model. As long as this can be achieved, spending tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars will be worth it.

This is mainly because the numerical solution of the fermion Hubbard model is very important for the study of superconducting mechanisms, and scholars around the world who are engaged in related research often hold relevant discussions.

Many professional scholars have studied various methods of model analysis, all with the aim of achieving numerical solutions.

As long as numerical solutions can be performed, the state and position of electrons can be calculated in the study of superconducting mechanisms.

In this way, many experiments on superconductivity mechanisms can draw conclusions through analysis.

This is the interim goal of the quantum computing fermion Hubbard model. Even if the interim goal is achieved, because quantum computing is a simulation of physical phenomena, each calculation process is very complicated, just like conducting a small experiment, the calculation cost is very high and it takes a long time.

Zhang Shuo's research uses conventional computing methods to numerically solve the fermion Hubbard model.

In terms of cost and time consumption, the two calculation methods cannot be compared at all.

Of course, using quantum computing to complete the numerical calculation of the model also has significance for the development of quantum computing technology, but for the fermion Hubbard model, the latter is undoubtedly more valuable.

Qiu Zhichao took a deep breath and suddenly understood Tan Zhiming's feelings. He still asked, "Have you finished the paper? Which journal do you plan to submit it to?"

"Superconductivity." Zhang Shuo said the name of an English journal, and then said, "I first considered submitting to a top mathematics journal, but then I thought it was not suitable."

"I don't know how long it will take to review papers for those physics journals, so I just submitted them to domestic journals, and Superconductivity is just the right journal for me."

Qiu Zhichao nodded and said, "Superconductivity is indeed quite good. When you submit your paper, please give me a copy."

“We need to study it carefully and find the next direction based on the content.”

……

In just a few days, the popularity of #Zhang Shuo's amateur speech# has gradually disappeared.

Occasionally, some self-media would try to take advantage of the popularity, but overall it was just a few Weibo messages with dozens or hundreds of comments.

Many people's impression of the topic is that "Zhang Shuo made a statement as an amateur, and was denied by more professional people."

In this hot topic, Yang Chao gained traffic and a solid personal image, while Huang Libo gained fame. Many people know the name of Professor Huang Libo of Xijing University of Science and Technology.

When many people gradually put the matter behind them, the editorial department of the English magazine "Superconductivity" received a 70-page paper submission.

The editorial office of "Superconductivity" is located inside Donggang University of Technology.

This professional journal is published jointly by the Institute of Physics of the Joint Academy of Sciences of Dongguan University of Technology and the Elsevier Group. It is an English international journal focusing on research in the field of superconductivity.

Because of its single direction and the endorsement of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the journal has developed to a certain extent and has a certain influence internationally.

Li Feng is the resident editor of the Superconductivity editorial team.

He holds a Ph.D. in physics and has worked as a postdoctoral fellow in a superconductivity laboratory. He later gave up his front-line research and development work and joined the editorial team of Superconductivity to engage in professional review work.

Li Feng's job is to review manuscripts. His staff will send him very professional papers, and he will serve as the first review editor for the professional papers. This is another ordinary day.

Li Feng opened his work email and saw the papers that had been sent to him. Three papers were sent to him, two of which were short papers of several pages. Similar papers contain a lot of introductions and experimental data, which can be a bit of a headache to read.

After taking a quick glance, he opened another paper with a lot of content.

More than 70 pages!

The number of pages in the paper seems to be even more of a headache. Li Feng feels that the review work may take him a week.

Just when he felt a headache, he noticed the name of the contributor -

Zhang Shuo, researcher/professor, Soochow University?
"Zhang Shuo?"

"Isn't it a duplicate name?"

Li Feng was stunned for a long time, and then he carefully looked at the information of the contributor before he was sure that it was the Zhang Shuo he was thinking of.

He looked at the title of the paper—“The Fermion Hubbard Model: A Multiple Discrete Approach.”

"This is a big deal!"

Li Feng sighed and said that he had also noticed the information on the Internet some time ago, which discussed the computational simplification of the fermion Hubbard model.

Zhang Shuo said it can be simplified.

Various relevant professionals came out to say that it cannot be simplified, and then Zhang Shuo's remarks were described as "layman's remarks".

Now Zhang Shuo has actually submitted a paper on this topic, and it is a paper of more than 70 pages, which obviously shows that his research has achieved results.

Li Feng glanced at the contents of the paper with a sigh and found that some of the content was completely incomprehensible. He thought about it carefully and felt that he was not qualified to review it.

For such a complex mathematical model problem, and the contributor is Zhang Shuo, a top expert in computational mathematics, it is better to let professionals review it.

Li Feng immediately contacted the Superconductivity Laboratory and found Professor Zhu Zhilong, the deputy director. "Professor Zhu, there is a paper that will definitely interest you. I guarantee it."

“It is related to the study of the fermion Hubbard model. If the paper is approved, there may be a new method for the computational analysis of the model.”

“But I’m not sure because I can’t understand the content and I don’t know what the specific progress is.”

Li Feng's statement aroused Zhu Zhilong's interest. He immediately read the content of the paper, and then found that he couldn't understand it either.

This is mainly because there are a lot of complex mathematical methods involved.

Zhu Zhilong is a professor who studies superconductivity mechanisms. His research also involves computational mathematics, but I don’t understand why it involves very advanced fields.

However, it doesn't matter.

Zhu Zhilong immediately went to the Institute of Applied Mathematics and found Academician Yuan Hua, one of the top experts in applied mathematics in the country.

Yuan Hua is already 63 years old and is still doing research in applied mathematics on the front line. He can be said to be a very remarkable person.

Yuan Hua knew about the paper and was very interested in it, but he had not done any research on the fermion Hubbard model.

While reading the paper, there are some questions that you need to ask Zhu Zhilong.

The two of them did research together.

It took them an entire afternoon to finally finish reading the first two pages.

In fact, the difficulty of the paper is not particularly high, it is almost equivalent to the computational simulation of the NS equation, but the key is that the content of the paper spans the two fields of computational mathematics and superconducting physics, and also involves some mathematical methods that are difficult to understand.

Zhu Zhilong does not understand profound computational mathematical methods.

Yuan Hua does not understand the fermion Hubbard model and the related particle physics mechanisms.

The two people's knowledge is complementary, but their cooperation is obviously not that tacit, and they only understand a little bit of the content after spending a lot of time.

Yuan Hua flipped through the remaining papers, sighed and said, "I thought about it again and felt that there was no need to review it again."

"No more trial?" Zhu Zhilong was also a little discouraged, but he didn't understand what Yuan Hua meant.

Yuan Hua said, "This paper is the research of Professor Zhang Shuo of Soochow University. Zhang Shuo is an internationally recognized genius in computational mathematics, so why is there any need for review?"

"Who is more professional than Zhang Shuo in the field of computational mathematics? Will it be convincing for the two of us to pass or fail the paper?"

Zhu Zhilong was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt that it made sense.

Peer review is an important stage in paper review. At the same time, who does the review is also very important.

When it comes to top-level mathematical and physics research, only Fields Medalists and Nobel Prize winners can be persuasive as peer reviewers; scholars with little international fame have no persuasive power at all.

For such a major research, their level is not enough.

Even if two people reviewed the paper and gave it a pass, it would be meaningless and not even as convincing as the author of the paper, 'Zhang Shuo'.

Why review it? Just publish it!

……

Yuan Hua's statement was not only recognized by Zhu Zhilong, but also by several academicians of mathematics and physics.

After they learned about the matter, they all felt that what Yuan Hua said was right.

With achievements of this level, it is necessary to find the world's top scholars to be convincing, preferably winners of international academic awards.

In mathematics, we can still find Fields Medalists, but in the field of computational mathematics combined with superconductivity, we cannot find any top international scholars at all.

At least, not in China.

Since we can't find top scholars to review the paper, we might as well just publish it directly.

The editorial department of Superconductivity did not make a direct decision, but communicated with Zhang Shuo via email to ask whether peer review was required.

This is to ask Zhang Shuo whether he has confidence in the research.

Zhang Shuo is of course very confident that it doesn't matter if the paper has not been peer reviewed, it can just be published in the next issue.

A week later, Superconductivity released a new issue.

This issue was published very suddenly, because the previous issue was published a month ago. "Superconductivity" is defined as a monthly magazine, but in fact, it is normal to publish it several months apart, mainly because there are not enough research papers in a single direction.

Now a new issue is suddenly released, and there are only three papers in one issue, which feels very sudden.

After seeing the first paper, scholars in related fields also understood the reason.

"The Fermion Hubbard Model: A Multidiscrete Analysis Approach?"

"The author is Professor Zhang Shuo of Soochow University?"

When many people saw the title and author of the paper, their reaction was the same as Li Feng from the editorial department: "This is a big deal!"

(End of this chapter)