Symmetry

For centuries, mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers. Now they’re investigating the unintended consequences of that tinkering.

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

The theoretical particle physicist Helen Quinn has blazed a singular path from the early days of the Standard Model to the latest overhaul of science education in the United States.

A hint that neutrinos behave differently than antineutrinos suggests an answer to one the biggest questions in physics.

By blasting a stack of minerals with a four-meter-long gun, scientists have found a new clue about the backstory of a very strange rock.

Nature’s laws are beautiful because they strike a compromise between boring symmetry and confusing asymmetry, physicists say.

The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in dimensions eight and 24.

The irreversibility of time may be a clue as to what makes up the universe’s dark matter.

Three years ago, a solitary mathematician released an impenetrable proof of the famous abc conjecture. At a recent conference dedicated to the work, optimism mixed with bafflement.