Explainers

In 2023, mathematicians improved bounds on Ramsey numbers, a central measure of order in graphs; found a new aperiodic monotile; and discovered a new upper bound to the size of sets without 3-term arithmetic progressions.

In 2023, physicists found the gravitational wave background that’s made by supermassive black hole collisions, teleported quantum energy in the lab, and puzzled over JWST’s potentially cosmology-breaking discoveries.

In 2023, computer scientists made progress on a new vector-driven approach to AI, fundamentally improved Shor’s algorithm for factoring large numbers, and examined the surprising and powerful behaviors that can emerge from large language models.

During 2023, Quanta turned a spotlight on important research progress into the nature of consciousness, the origins of our microbiomes and the timekeeping mechanisms that govern our lives and development, among many other discoveries.

Is it possible to invent a computer that computes anything in a flash? Or could some problems stump even the most powerful of computers? Computational complexity theorists study these questions and others in the hopes of determining the limits of a computer’s powers.

Alexei Efros describes how he combines massive online data sets with machine learning algorithms to understand, model and re-create the visual world.

The trailblazing work of the biochemist Carrie Partch has revealed crucial details about how clock proteins in our cells produce our daily circadian rhythm.

Cynthia Chiang describes the experiments she hopes will illuminate the early universe.

Andrew Granville muses on how artificial intelligence could profoundly change math.