Awarded Craford Prize in Mathematics & Astronomy
By Alimat Aliyeva
The Crafoord Prize is one of Sweden's largest scientific prizes, awarded since 1982 by the Swedish Academy of Sciences to laureates in one of four categories: mathematics and astronomy, Earth sciences, biological sciences and research on the treatment of polyarthritis, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets.
The 2024 Craford Prize in Astronomy was awarded to Douglas Gough from the University of Cambridge (UK), Jorgen Christensen-Dalsgaard from Aarhus University (Denmark) and Connie Aerts from the University of Leuven, Belgium.
In the field of mathematics, the prize was awarded to Claire Voisin from the Institut de Jussieu Mathematics (France). The Kraford laureates in the field of astronomy brought new knowledge about phenomena that cannot be perceived by the human eye, developed methods that reveal the secrets inside the Sun and stars. Claire Voisin, in turn, specialized in algebraic geometry, which can be used to describe shapes that cannot be visualized.
"Thanks to the efforts of scientists, we can now study the stars in a completely new way. We have a new method with which we can measure the elements inside stars, which was previously impossible," says Bengt Gustafsson, emeritus professor of theoretical astrophysics at Uppsala University and a member of the Royal Uppsala University.
The new technology allows researchers to measure the radius of stars and the composition of their interior, as well as determine their more accurate age. Thus, it has recently been concluded that the Sun is several hundredths of a percent smaller than previously thought.
New methods are also used in the study of alien planetary systems.
"We have discovered planetary systems ten billion years old, that is, much older than ours," notes Jorgen Christensen-Daalsgaard.
The award will be presented at the Crafford Days in Lund and Stockholm on May 13-16 this year.
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