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https://www.quantamagazine.org/crucial-computer-program-for-particle-physics-at-risk-of-obsolescence-20221201/>
"Recently, I watched a fellow particle physicist talk about a calculation he
had pushed to a new height of precision. His tool? A 1980s-era computer program
called FORM.
Particle physicists use some of the longest equations in all of science. To
look for signs of new elementary particles in collisions at the Large Hadron
Collider, for example, they draw thousands of pictures called Feynman diagrams
that depict possible collision outcomes, each one encoding a complicated
formula that can be millions of terms long. Summing formulas like these with
pen and paper is impossible; even adding them with computers is a challenge.
The algebra rules we learn in school are fast enough for homework, but for
particle physics they are woefully inefficient.
Programs called computer algebra systems strive to handle these tasks. And if
you want to solve the biggest equations in the world, for 33 years one program
has stood out: FORM.
Developed by the Dutch particle physicist Jos Vermaseren, FORM is a key part of
the infrastructure of particle physics, necessary for the hardest calculations.
However, as with surprisingly many essential pieces of digital infrastructure,
FORM’s maintenance rests largely on one person: Vermaseren himself. And at 73,
Vermaseren has begun to step back from FORM development. Due to the incentive
structure of academia, which prizes published papers, not software tools, no
successor has emerged. If the situation does not change, particle physics may
be forced to slow down dramatically."
Via Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
