Two physicists have come across infinitely many novel equations for pi while trying to develop a unifying theory of the fundamental forces

In January 2024, physicists Arnab Priya Saha and Aninda Sinha at the Indian Institute of Science discovered a new formula for calculating pi while studying string theory interactions[1]. Their research, published in Physical Review Letters, presents a series representation that converges much faster than historical methods - requiring only 30 terms to reach 10 decimal places, compared to 5 billion terms needed for the 15th century Madhava series[1:1][2].

The formula emerged unexpectedly while the researchers were developing models to understand quantum particle scattering using string theory, which treats fundamental particles as tiny vibrating strings[1:2]. “Our efforts, initially, were never to find a way to look at pi,” said Sinha. “We were excited when we got a new way to look at pi.”[3]

The discovery has sparked debate in the mathematics community. While some highlight its theoretical significance, others like mathematician Peter Woit argue the findings have been over-hyped in media coverage[4]. The formula’s key innovation is a free parameter λ that allows for infinitely many representations of pi, with Madhava’s historical series emerging as a special case when λ approaches infinity[1:3].

  1. Scientific American - String Theorists Accidentally Find a New Formula for Pi ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Physical Review Letters - Field theory expansions of string theory amplitudes ↩︎

  3. IISc - IISc Physicists Find a New Way to Look at Mathematics’ Pi ↩︎

  4. Columbia Math - Latest Breakthrough From String Theory ↩︎

  • Zerush@lemmy.mlOP
    9·
    6 hours ago

    Pi is certainly a strange thing, not only a number to calculate circles, Pi is also found almost everywhere in the nature, in trigonometry and even in Heisenbergs uncertainty principle.