Understanding Our Place in the Universe: Math Professor Verifies Centuries-Old Conjecture About Formation of the Solar System - SciTechDaily

September 26, 2020.

WPI mathematical physicist Mayer Humi has been studying the solar system for decades.

Using a limited set of mathematical equations, Worcester Polytechnic Institute mathematical sciences professor Mayer Humi said he has confirmed a 224-year-old math conjecture about the origins of our solar system, providing insights about the process that leads to the formation of solar systems across the universe.

“The science community is aware by now that there are thousands of solar systems in the galaxy.

But what is not known is how these solar systems came into existence,” said Humi.

Humi, a mathematical physicist working on the development and application of mathematical methods to astrophysics, atmospheric research, and satellite orbits, has been studying this question for more than 20 years.

It is a mystery that has fascinated many generations of scientists, and an inquiry that became more pertinent as observations confirmed that solar systems and exoplanets are abundant in our galaxy.

A conjecture, Humi noted, is a mathematical statement that has not been proven?

“We want to know how our solar system will evolve as time goes by,” said Humi.

In 1796, the French mathematical physicist Pierre-Simon Laplace conjectured that the first step for the formation of a solar system from a primordial celestial cloud of gas requires the creation of rings of condensed matter within a cloud.

Even with its intuitively appealing contents, Humi said, this conjecture remained unverified for more than two centuries despite many efforts.

Humi was able to use a time-dependent model (based on Euler-Poisson equations) for the evolution of a primordial gas cloud and confirmed—for what Humi believes is the first time—that, under proper conditions, Laplace’s conjecture is correct.

Humi noted that there has been a surge of interest in Laplace’s conjecture in recent years due to the actual discovery of ring structures around the star HL Tau in the constellation Taurus.

Reference: “On the evolution of a primordial interstellar gas cloud” by Mayer Humi, 15 September 2020, Journal of Mathematical Physics

September 24, 2020