Top Student at Their Peak

This also made Lott Degen eager to see how Qiao Yu articulated his ideas. So his hand was already on the keyboard, planning to reply to Qiao Yu and affirm his thoughts.

However, just as he typed "Dear," Lott Degen suddenly noticed that this email was sent about forty minutes ago.

Coincidentally, Beijing time is exactly twelve hours ahead of Princeton, so you don't even need to calculate carefully to realize it's only half past eight in the evening in Huaxia...

Obviously, for a student, this is not an inappropriate or impolite time to make a call. So, Lott Degen simply picked up the phone on his desk and directly dialed Qiao Yu.

Compared to email, apparently, a phone call is more convenient and is a better way to pass the wisdom of the elder to the next generation of mathematicians.

The call connected quickly, in less than three seconds, Lott Degen heard Qiao Yu's enthusiastic voice.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Young man, maybe you should note down my office phone number. It's on the business card I gave you."

"Oh, I recognize it, Professor Dugen, hello. I'll definitely record this number on my phone later. Did you see my email?"

Upon hearing this response, Lott Degen couldn't help but slightly smile.

"Yes, I just finished reading your email. To be honest, I'm very interested in the general modal number theory system that you mentioned. As for the question you raised, well...

In fact, I think it's acceptable. For instance, the first paper could introduce the core ideas of the framework, the axiomatic system, and its potential applications.

As long as people can see that your system indeed serves as a bridge between number theory and geometry, that's enough.

As for the second paper, the main content could be the verification of geometric structures within this specific framework, convincing people that the logic of this axiomatic system is indeed coherent.

However, for the sake of completeness, it would be best if these two papers could be published simultaneously in the same issue of the journal. If you and your team can complete them at around the same time, that would be the best choice."

Lott Degen nodded in agreement with Qiao Yu's idea.

Indeed, this serious and traditional big shot in the math world automatically blocked from his mind the question of why, if the two papers can be completed at around the same time, they cannot be combined into one.

Since Qiao Yu wants to publish two papers, he must have his reasons. Obviously, Qiao Yu did not intend to hide this.

"Great, Professor Dugen. You've helped me solve a major problem. You know, in Huaxia, the various aspects of academic review put more emphasis on the first author.

If the papers couldn't be split into two, it would be quite unfair to some of my team collaborators. After all, although I proposed this idea, the verification work was done by them.

So splitting into two papers for publication better reflects the contributions of individuals within our team. Oh, and there's another issue, this system is very complex, and I can't explain it comprehensively in one go.

So I plan to use multiple papers to construct this axiomatic system. The first paper might only cover the basic properties of the system, along with some relatively simple definitions and axiomatic structures.

The second paper will involve the mathematical properties of modal space, including space structures, characteristics, modal convolution operations, and such. Then the third paper... I estimate it will take about eight to ten papers to complete this topic.

Of course, each paper would also follow the same pattern as the first paper, split into a theory and verification paper to validate the overall structure. What do you think of this approach?"

After hearing Qiao Yu's description, Lott Degen experienced a short brain freeze...

After all, very few mathematicians would do it this way.

Just like the proof of the Geometric Langlands Conjecture before, although it also took five papers to complete, the research group released it all at once.

Qiao Yu's idea seems to be proving a complete proposition in stages?

After a moment of contemplation, Lott Degen asked, "Are you saying just like J.K. Rowling publishes books?"

"Huh? Who is J.K. Rowling?"

Lott Degen explained, "She is a very famous bestselling author, her representative work being the seven-book 'Harry Potter' series written over ten years. Okay, sorry, perhaps I should have used a familiar Huaxia author as an example."

"Professor Dugen, I must say your analogy is quite accurate, that's exactly what I mean. I will set up a framework and then gradually flesh it out, but surely it won't take as long as ten years, after all, in ten years I'll be in my twenties!

Trust me, I won't waste such a long time on constructing a framework. After all, the purpose of designing this axiomatic system is to resolve some number theory issues that have been troubling everyone."

After a brief pause, Lott Degen spoke, "I think perhaps it's worth a try. Of course, the premise is that the first two papers of this series can pass peer review. Here, I must earnestly remind you...

At this point, Lott Degen increased his volume, sounding more solemn: "Qiao Yu, I won't lower the standards of the articles just because I have high expectations for you. So the most important thing is still the quality of the papers and whether your design truly, as you say, can build a bridge between number theory and geometry."

"Thank you so much, Professor Dugen, your requirement is exactly what I don't worry about! To be honest, my mentor and Mr. Yuan Zhengxin both said that I should apply for a key mathematics project.