Advances in number theory inspired by physics
He&#x27;s not alone in applying physics math to number theory.  One thing that makes mathematicians leery of physics-inspired proofs is that physicists accept mathematical transformations that produce correct experimental results but that have not been proven axiomatically.<p>For example, here is a proof of the Riemann Hypothesis:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;aip.scitation.org&#x2F;doi&#x2F;10.1063&#x2F;1.5012170" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;aip.scitation.org&#x2F;doi&#x2F;10.1063&#x2F;1.5012170</a><p>It uses operations on an analytic continuation of the zeta function. Are they OK?  I don&#x27;t know.  If they are, it&#x27;s Fields Medal material.<p>But this is nothing new.  Oliver Heaviside revolutionized differential equation solving with the Heaviside Operator, which gives correct answers to electromagnetic problems.  Nowadays we call it the Laplace Transform, because Laplace had used what turned out equivalent, for other purposes.