Mathematics of monsters

Researching for a science fiction novel. My character loves math + I have dyscalculia = Problem. Therefore, I need your help.

In my story, there are aliens we can see, but we can't hear or touch. They appear like ghostly monsters to us.

Somehow these aliens became trapped 'on' earth in a so-called parallel dimension. They want to go home, but they need our help. If you watched Star Trek, you might consider this a Tykins Rift or Gravity Well. However, it doesn't affect humans/earth, only the aliens' so-called dimension.

My mathematician character needs to find a way to send these guys home using math (and tech of course, but the foundation of the solution has to come from math).

Can you think of a semi-plausible mechanism for both what is trapping the aliens on earth, and what mathematical solutions my character could come up with to help them get home?

Links to interesting hard-science and math theories are good. You'll get A+ for imagination and super-cool jargon. Extra bonus points for anything that would make an actual mathematician laugh when reading the story (not laughing AT me, but laughing WITH me).

I appreciate your time in advance.

Cheers!

EDIT:

After reading the answers to my question so far (which are really great, thank you), I have come to realize it's probably not possible for JUST math to fix this. Maybe my character needs to be interested in another science as well as math (probably physics). Because math is theoretical. (I just loved the image of the astronauts having all these "computers" in the 1950s and 60s and my character madly doing math and coming up with something that actually sends the beings home. haha!)

So my edited question would be: if there was a dimensional rift (wormhole), and the aliens needed to be blasted away from earth (not violently, but in a friendly way) by some kind of machine -- what could the science behind something like that look like? Thank you!

posted almost 6 years ago

Shalon Sims‭

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