ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Mumford vanishing theorem

Okay kiddo, let me explain the Mumford Vanishing Theorem to you in a way that you can easily understand.

Imagine you have some blocks of different shapes and sizes, like squares, triangles and circles. You want to build a tower with these blocks, but you can only put certain shapes on top of each other. For example, you can put a square on top of another square or a triangle on top of a circle, but you can't put a triangle on top of a square.

Now, let's say you have a bunch of these blocks and you want to build the tallest tower possible. But you have a rule that says you can only use a certain number of each shape of block. For example, you can only use two squares, three triangles and four circles.

The Mumford Vanishing Theorem is kind of like this tower-building game. It's a rule that mathematicians use when they're working with something called algebraic geometry. They're trying to build a theory using blocks of different shapes and sizes, just like we were building a tower.

In this case, the blocks are something called cohomology groups. These groups are like building blocks that mathematicians use to build their theories. The Mumford Vanishing Theorem says that if you have certain conditions, then some of these building blocks will disappear, or "vanish", and you don't have to worry about using them.

This might not make a lot of sense right now, but the important thing to remember is that the Mumford Vanishing Theorem is a rule that helps mathematicians build their theories more efficiently. Just like how our tower-building game had rules to make it more challenging, the Mumford Vanishing Theorem has rules to help mathematicians solve more complicated problems.