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Theoretical physics

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In the Quantum World, Even Points of View Are Uncertain

November 22, 2024

The reference frames from which observers view quantum events can themselves have multiple possible locations at once — an insight with potentially major ramifications.

Q&A

Can Space-Time Be Saved?

September 25, 2024

Curious connections between physics and math suggest to Latham Boyle that space-time may survive the jump to the next theory of reality.

Physicists Reveal a Quantum Geometry That Exists Outside of Space and Time

September 25, 2024

A decade after the discovery of the “amplituhedron,” physicists have excavated more of the timeless geometry underlying the standard picture of how particles move.

If the Universe Is a Hologram, This Long-Forgotten Math Could Decode It

September 25, 2024

A 1930s-era breakthrough is helping physicists understand how quantum threads could weave together into a holographic space-time fabric.

The #1 Clue to Quantum Gravity Sits on the Surfaces of Black Holes

September 25, 2024

A black hole formula worked out in the 1970s remains the most concrete clue physicists have about the threads of the space-time fabric.

The Thought Experiments That Fray the Fabric of Space-Time

September 25, 2024

These three imagined scenarios lead many physicists to doubt that space-time is fundamental.

The Unraveling of Space-Time

This special issue of Quanta Magazine explores the ultimate scientific quest: the search for the fundamental nature of reality.

Diminishing Dark Energy May Evade the ‘Swampland’ of Impossible Universes

August 19, 2024

The largest-ever 3D map of the cosmos hints that the dark energy that’s fueling the universe’s expansion may be weakening. One community of theoretical physicists expected as much.

‘Metaphysical Experiments’ Probe Our Hidden Assumptions About Reality

July 30, 2024

Experiments that test physics and philosophy "as a single whole" may be our only route to surefire knowledge about the universe.

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