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Asymmetry Detected in the Distribution of Galaxies
Two new studies suggest that certain tetrahedral arrangements of galaxies outnumber their mirror images, potentially reflecting details of the universe’s birth. But confirmation is needed.
Crucial Computer Program for Particle Physics at Risk of Obsolescence
Maintenance of the software that’s used for the hardest physics calculations rests almost entirely with a retiree. The situation reveals the problematic incentive structure of academia.
Physicists Create a Holographic Wormhole Using a Quantum Computer
The unprecedented experiment explores the possibility that space-time somehow emerges from quantum information.
Why This Universe? A New Calculation Suggests Our Cosmos Is Typical.
Two physicists have calculated that the universe has a higher entropy — and is therefore more likely — than alternative possible universes.
How to Think About Relativity
Albert Einstein’s ideas about space-time aren’t exactly intuitive, and they aren’t exactly Einstein’s, either.
The Enduring Mystery of the Dragonfly 44 Galaxy
A growing catalog of huge but dim galaxies such as Dragonfly 44 is forcing astronomers to invent new theories of galactic evolution.
A Dream of Discovering Alien Life Finds New Hope
For Lisa Kaltenegger and her generation of exoplanet astronomers, decades of planning have set the stage for an epochal detection.
Brightest-Ever Space Explosion Reveals Hints of Dark Matter
A recent gamma-ray burst known as the BOAT — “brightest of all time” — appears to have produced a high-energy particle that shouldn’t exist. For some, dark matter provides the explanation.
Experiments Spell Doom for Decades-Old Explanation of Quantum Weirdness
Physical-collapse theories have long offered a natural solution to the central mystery of the quantum world. But a series of increasingly precise experiments are making them untenable.