Where mathematics and astrophysics meet

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Einstein rings produced by a galaxy behind the lensing galaxy. The sources are actually extended and that is why one sometimes sees arcs rather than complete rings. Credit: Photo credit: NASA ESA and the SLACS Survey team: A. Bolton (HarvardSmithsoni ...
Einstein rings produced by a galaxy behind the lensing galaxy. The sources are actually extended and that is why one sometimes sees arcs rather than complete rings. Credit: Photo credit: NASA, ESA, and the SLACS Survey team: A. Bolton (Harvard/Smithsonian), S. Burles (MIT), L. Koopmans (Kapteyn), T. Treu (UCSB), and L. Moustakas (JPL/Caltech)

The mathematicians were trying to extend an illustrious result in their field, the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. The astrophysicists were working on a fundamental problem in their field, the problem of gravitational lensing. That the two groups were in fact working on the same question is both expected and unexpected: The "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" is well known throughout the sciences, but every new instance produces welcome insights and sheer delight.


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