ZetaGrid was at one time the largest

distributed computing A distributed system is a system whose components are located on different computer network, networked computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions by message passing, passing messages to one another from any system. Distributed com ...

project, designed to explore the non-trivial

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s of the

Riemann zeta function The Riemann zeta function or Euler–Riemann zeta function, denoted by the Greek letter (zeta), is a mathematical function of a complex variable defined as \zeta(s) = \sum_^\infty \frac = \frac + \frac + \frac + \cdots for \operatorname(s) > ...

, checking over one billion roots a day. Roots of the zeta function are of particular interest in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, since the presence of even a single one that is out of line with the rest would disprove the

Riemann hypothesis In mathematics, the Riemann hypothesis is the conjecture that the Riemann zeta function has its zeros only at the negative even integers and complex numbers with real part . Many consider it to be the most important unsolved problem in ...

, with far-reaching consequences for all of mathematics. So far, every single one of them has failed to provide a counterexample to the Riemann hypothesis. The project ended in November 2005 due to instability of the hosting provider. Over 10¹³ first zeroes were checked.Ed Pegg Jr
''«Ten Trillion Zeta Zeros»''
/ref> After the results were analyzed, the project administrator were posted on the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

website.

References

External links

Home page (Web archive)
Grid computing Zeta and L-functions Hilbert's problems Experimental mathematics {{Mathanalysis-stub