particle physics – Quanta Magazine

Introduction The amplituhedron is a geometric shape with an almost mystical quality: Compute its volume, and you get the answer to a central calculation in physics about how particles interact. Now, a young mathematician at Cornell University named Pavel (Pasha) Galashin has found that the amplituhedron is also mysteriously connected to another completely unrelated subject: origami, the art of pa…

A novel type of neural network is helping physicists with the daunting challenge of data analysis. The post Sparse Networks Come to the Aid of Big Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The strong force holds protons and neutrons together, but the theory behind it is largely inscrutable. Two new approaches show how it works. The post The Mysterious Forces Inside the Nucleus Grow a Little Less Strange first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Puzzling particles, quirky (and controversial) quantum computers, and one of the most ambitious science experiments in history marked the year’s milestones. The post The Year in Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Years of conflicting neutrino measurements have led physicists to propose a “dark sector” of invisible particles — one that could simultaneously explain dark matter, the puzzling expansion of the universe, and other mysteries. The post Is the Great Neutrino Puzzle Pointing to Multiple Missing Particles? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Today’s long-anticipated announcement by Fermilab’s Muon g-2 team appears to solidify a tantalizing conflict between nature and theory. But a separate calculation, published at the same time, has clouded the picture. The post ‘Last Hope’ Experiment Finds Evidence for Unknown Particles first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Frank Wilczek has been at the forefront of theoretical physics for the past 50 years. He talks about winning the Nobel Prize for work he did as a student, his solution to the dark matter problem, and the God of a scientist. The post A Prodigy Who Cracked Open the Cosmos first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Lauren Williams has charted an adventurous mathematical career out of the pieces of a fundamental object called the positive Grassmannian. The post A Mathematician’s Unanticipated Journey Through the Physical World first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Has physics reached the limits of what we can discover — or are the possibilities only just beginning? The post Contemplating the End of Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Physicists plan to leave no stone unturned, checking whether dark matter tickles different types of detectors, nudges starlight, warms planetary cores or even lodges in rocks. The post The Search for Dark Matter Is Dramatically Expanding first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Our new series of articles explores the search for fundamental structure at the edge of science. The post The Hidden Structure of the Universe first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Renormalization has become perhaps the single most important advance in theoretical physics in 50 years. The post How Mathematical ‘Hocus-Pocus’ Saved Particle Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Can we test speculations about how quantum physics affects black holes and the Big Bang? The post Spotting Quantum Black Holes in the Lab first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Researchers say there are three possible explanations for the anomalous data. One is mundane. Two would revolutionize physics. The post Dark Matter Experiment Finds Unexplained Signal first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Collider physicists report that several measurements of particles called B mesons deviate from predictions. Alone, each oddity looks like a fluke, but their collective drift is more suggestive. The post Growing Anomalies at the Large Hadron Collider Raise Hopes first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The first official evidence of a key imbalance between neutrinos and antineutrinos provides one of the best clues for why the universe contains something rather than nothing. The post Neutrino Asymmetry Passes Critical Threshold first appeared on Quanta Magazine

In a new paper, physicists argue that hypothetical particles called axions could explain why the universe isn’t empty. The post Axions Would Solve Another Major Problem in Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Physicists have long searched for hypothesized dark matter particles called WIMPs. Now, focus may be shifting to the axion — an ultra-lightweight particle whose existence would solve two mysteries at once. The post Top Dark Matter Candidate Loses Ground to Tiniest Competitor first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Three physicists stumbled across an unexpected relationship between some of the most ubiquitous objects in math. The post Neutrinos Lead to Unexpected Discovery in Basic Math first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The KATRIN experiment is closing in on the mass of the neutrino, which could point to new laws of particle physics and shape theories of cosmology. The post How the Neutrino’s Tiny Mass Could Help Solve Big Mysteries first appeared on Quanta Magazine