https://phys.org/science-news/mathematics en-us The latest news on mathematics, math, math science, mathematical science and math technology. Economics and physics are distinct fields of study, yet some researchers have been bridging the two together to tackle complex economics problems in innovative ways. This resulted in the establishment of an interdisciplinary research field, known as econophysics, which specializes in solving problems rooted in economics using physics theories and experimental methods. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-validation-lillo-mike-farmer-large.html Mathematics Economics & Business Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:56:53 EST news620560608 Newly published research reexamines the evaluation of scientific findings, proposing a network-based methodology for contextualizing a publication's impact. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-effective-method-impact-scientific.html Mathematics Other Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:51:20 EST news619721473 What influences the choices we make, and what role does the behavior of others have on these choices? These questions underlie many aspects of human behavior, including the products we buy, fashion trends, and even the breed of pet we choose as our companion. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-master-chess-players-gambits.html Mathematics Social Sciences Thu, 16 Nov 2023 09:49:05 EST news619350541 Math experts have developed new ways to provide further evidence for human-caused global heating and predict how close Earth is to reaching dangerous climate tipping points. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-climate-easier-math-breakthrough.html Mathematics Fri, 03 Nov 2023 09:06:04 EDT news618221161 We've all been there: staring at a math test with a problem that seems impossible to solve. What if finding the solution to a problem took almost a century? For mathematicians who dabble in Ramsey theory, this is very much the case. In fact, little progress had been made in solving Ramsey problems since the 1930s. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-math-problem-century.html Mathematics Tue, 31 Oct 2023 14:45:03 EDT news617982301 A pair of mathematicians, Kevin Course and Prasanth Nair at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies, has developed a new state-estimation method to create efficient forecasts without the need for the details of an underlying model. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-state-estimation-method-efficient-underlying.html Mathematics Thu, 12 Oct 2023 11:21:57 EDT news616328514 A large team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions across Europe, has found evidence backing up work by Persi Diaconis in 2007 in which he suggested tossed coins are more likely to land on the same side they started on, rather than on the reverse. The team conducted experiments designed to test the randomness of coin flipping and posted their results on the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-flipped-coins-fair-thought.html Mathematics Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:10:01 EDT news616244808 Researchers Jayne Spiller and Camilla Gilmore at the Center for Mathematical Cognition, University of Loughborough, U.K., have investigated the intersection of sleep and mathematical memory, finding that sleep after learning improves recall. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-mathematical-bedtime-stories-memory.html Mathematics Education Tue, 03 Oct 2023 10:20:02 EDT news615547087 Tens of thousands of handwritten pages by one of the 20th century's greatest mathematicians, Alexander Grothendieck, many of which the eccentric genius penned while living as a hermit, were unveiled in France on Friday. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-hermit-eccentric-french-math-genius.html Mathematics Fri, 29 Sep 2023 12:54:05 EDT news615210840 Patterns of chemical interactions are thought to create patterns in nature such as stripes and spots. A new study shows that the mathematical basis of these patterns also governs how sperm tail moves. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-sperm-patterns-believed-dictate-zebra.html Mathematics Wed, 27 Sep 2023 05:00:01 EDT news614966476 It seems there's a five-letter word describing what many players of the wildly popular Wordle puzzle do daily as they struggle to find a target word within six tries. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-wordle-users-mathematics-expert.html Mathematics Social Sciences Mon, 25 Sep 2023 15:40:01 EDT news614874725 New research has used machine learning to find the properties of atomic pieces of geometry, in pioneering work that could drive the development of new results in mathematics. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-machine-unravels-mysteries-atomic-geometry.html Mathematics Mon, 25 Sep 2023 12:21:58 EDT news614863315 Have you ever tried to do a brainteaser in which you have to connect the dots to make the outline of a house in one continuous stroke without going back over your lines? Or perhaps you've clicked on Facebook's friend recommendations or played Settlers of Catan. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-dots-mathematicians-hot-problem.html Mathematics Mon, 18 Sep 2023 13:57:08 EDT news614264224 A major new study has revealed that American teenagers are more likely than any other nationality to brag about their math ability. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-teenagers-exaggerate-math-abilities.html Mathematics Education Thu, 14 Sep 2023 19:00:01 EDT news613915822 Richard Schwartz, a mathematician at Brown University has found a solution to the problem of how small a Möbius band can be made without intersecting itself—at least for a smooth piece of paper. The paper is published on the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-mathematician-mbius-band-aspect-ratio.html Mathematics Wed, 13 Sep 2023 09:22:08 EDT news613815720 Getting in sync can be exhilarating when you're dancing in rhythm with other people or clapping along in an audience. Fireflies too know the joy of synchronization, timing their flashes together to create a larger display to attract mates. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-fireflies-brain-cells-dancers-synchronization.html Mathematics Thu, 07 Sep 2023 10:48:08 EDT news613302482 Knots are used in all sorts of ways, every day. They ensure safety both indoors and for outdoor activities such as boating or sailing, are used as surgical sutures, as decorations, and they can even be found at nanoscales in nature, for example in DNA molecules. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-team-thousands.html Mathematics Tue, 05 Sep 2023 15:02:03 EDT news613144916 In a remarkable breakthrough in the field of mathematical science, Professor Kyudong Choi from the Department of Mathematical Sciences at UNIST has provided an irrefutable proof that certain spherical vortices exist in a stable state. This discovery holds significant implications for predicting weather anomalies and advancing weather prediction technologies. The research is published in the journal Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-mathematical-proof-reveals-insights-typhoon.html Mathematics Tue, 05 Sep 2023 10:06:02 EDT news613127161 Calculus is the study of change. Calculus teaching methods, however, have changed little in recent decades. Now, FIU research shows a new model could improve calculus instruction nationwide. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-revamped-calculus.html Mathematics Education Fri, 01 Sep 2023 10:25:27 EDT news612782721 Exciting a brain region using electrical noise stimulation can help improve mathematical learning in those who struggle with the subject, according to a new study from the Universities of Surrey and Oxford, Loughborough University, and Radboud University in The Netherlands. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-brain-key-boosting-math.html Mathematics Education Thu, 31 Aug 2023 14:22:18 EDT news612710532 The instability of Stokes waves (steady propagating waves on the surface of an ideal fluid with infinite depth) represents a fundamental challenge in the realm of nonlinear science. A team of researchers recently identified the origin of breaking oceanic waves in a recent publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-oceanic-fundamental-nonlinear-science-mathematicians.html Mathematics Mon, 28 Aug 2023 11:30:04 EDT news612441002 With mass shootings happening randomly every year in the United States, it may seem that there is no way to predict where the next horrific event is most likely to occur. In a new study published by the journal Risk Analysis, scientists at Iowa State University calculate the annual probability of a mass shooting in every state and at public places such as shopping malls and schools. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-method-annual-probability-mass.html Mathematics Political science Tue, 22 Aug 2023 10:30:02 EDT news611915977 Life's random rhythms surround us–from the hypnotic, synchronized blinking of fireflies…to the back-and-forth motion of a child's swing… to slight variations in the otherwise steady lub-dub of the human heart. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-life-random-rhythms-team-universal.html Mathematics Tue, 15 Aug 2023 09:46:21 EDT news611311576 A team of physicists and mathematicians at the Institute for Basic Science's Center for Soft and Living Matter, in South Korea, working with a colleague from the University of Geneva, has developed an algorithm that can be used to find the shape of an object to cause it to roll down a ramp following a desired path. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-algorithm-ramps-desired-path.html Mathematics Sat, 12 Aug 2023 13:00:01 EDT news610977358 Terry Loring, distinguished professor of mathematics and statistics, published and co-authored a new research piece involving his research on K-theory with the major advances in applications to critical problems in physics. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-mathematics-formula-k-theory-advance-topological.html Mathematics Fri, 11 Aug 2023 07:33:03 EDT news610957977 Across the animal kingdom there are creatures that move through their environments not by walking or running or climbing but instead by simply changing the shape of their bodies. This kind of locomotion is found in snakes as they slither, in stingrays as they swim, and even in cats as they twist themselves to land on their feet as they fall. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-jellyfish-cat-snake-astronaut-common.html Mathematics Thu, 10 Aug 2023 08:59:30 EDT news610876760 Mathematicians at The University of Manchester have answered the question: How many lottery tickets do you need to buy to guarantee wining something on the U.K. National Lottery? https://phys.org/news/2023-08-lottery-tickets-buy-mathematicians.html Mathematics Thu, 03 Aug 2023 13:21:02 EDT news610287656 Number theory, the study of the properties of positive integers, is perhaps the purest form of mathematics. At first sight, it may seem far too abstract to apply to the natural world. In fact, the influential American number theorist Leonard Dickson wrote, "Thank God that number theory is unsullied by any application." https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-uncover-theory-evolutionary-genetics.html Mathematics Tue, 01 Aug 2023 12:26:44 EDT news610111601 Around the world, political violence increased by 27% last year, affecting 1.7 billion people. The numbers come from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), which collects real-time data on conflict events worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-method-armed-conflicts.html Mathematics Political science Tue, 01 Aug 2023 12:26:35 EDT news610111592 In addition to describing biological interactions, evolutionary theory has also become a valuable tool to make sense of the dynamics of social norms. Social norms determine which behaviors should be regarded as positive, and how community members should act towards each other. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-evolution-double-sided-social-norms-cooperative.html Mathematics Social Sciences Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:05:18 EDT news609678315