Prof. Jun Li, jointly with Huailiang Chang (HKUST) and Shuai Guo (Beijing U.) has published a research paper “Polynomial structure of Gromov–Witten potential of quintic 3-folds”in Annals of Mathematics. This is the fourth research paper authored by researchers in Shanghai Center for Mathematical Sciences  appeared in one of the top-four mathematical journals this year. The mentioned paper appear online at https://annals.math.princeton.edu/articles/18162.

The research paper proved an important conjecture in the subject of Mirror Symmetry. Mirror Symmetry is a recently thriving subject in mathematics, influenced by mathematical physics. It originated from the mirror conjecture on the counting of genus zero curves in a Calabi-Yau threefold and the period integral on its mirror partners. Its all-genus counting is the core of the Gromov-Witten invariants. Through a study of Feynman integral, the leading physicist Vafa and his collaborators Bershadsky-Cecotti-Ooguri discovered a structural result of these invariants, and predicted that the potential function of such invariants have certain finite generation property. Based on this heuristic reasoning, Yamaguchi-Yau conjectured a polynomial structure for the Gromov-Witten potential function for quintic Calabi-Yau threefolds. In the mentioned paper, using the NMSP theory they developed, Chang, Guo and Li proved the finite generatedness property predicted by physicists BCOV and the polynomiality conjecture of Yamaguchi-Yau. Due to the significance of the result proved, the paper is published in the journal  Annals of Mathematics.

Prof. Li received his bachelor's degree from Fudan University in 1982; received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1989. After, he joined Stanford University, and became a professor in 1998. In 2019, Prof. he returned to Fudan University, becoming a chair professor and the director at Shanghai Center for Math. Sci.. He is also the co-director of Shanghai National Applied Mathematics Center.