Physics

In order to fully understand the quantum world, we may have to develop a new realm of mathematics.

For decades, researchers believed that violent supernovas forged gold and other heavy elements. But many now argue for a different cosmic quarry.

Top women in mathematics and physics discuss how they got to where they are — and why there aren’t more of them.

Computational physicist Sharon Glotzer is uncovering the rules by which complex collective phenomena emerge from simple building blocks.

A new class of quantum particle is about to emerge from the tangled considerations of quantum statistics.

A decades-old method called the “bootstrap” is enabling new discoveries about the geometry underlying all quantum theories.

Physicists are closing the door on an intriguing loophole around the quantum phenomenon Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.”

Life was long thought to obey its own set of rules. But as simple systems show signs of lifelike behavior, scientists are arguing about whether this apparent complexity is all a consequence of thermodynamics.

Life might have originated in droplets that behave surprisingly like living cells.