Physics

Several areas of physics suggest reasons to think that unobservable universes with different natural laws could lie beyond ours. The theoretical physicist David Kaplan talks with Steven Strogatz about the mysteries that a multiverse would solve.

For the first time, mathematicians have proved that planetary orbits in a solar system will always be unstable.

A new theory describes how particle interactions fuel fast magnetic reconnection, the process behind solar flares and other astrophysical jets.

In two landmark experiments, researchers used quantum processors to engineer exotic particles that have captivated physicists for decades. The work is a step toward crash-proof quantum computers.

If we want to understand complex constructions, such as ourselves, assembly theory says we must account for the entire history of how such entities came to be.

A new phase of matter called a “time crystal” plays with our expectations of thermodynamics. The physicist Vedika Khemani talks with Steven Strogatz about its surprising quantum behavior.

A new analysis argues that ubiquitous eruptions in the sun’s corona explain the vast flow of charged particles seen streaming out through the solar system.

So-called “higher symmetries” are illuminating everything from particle decays to the behavior of complex quantum systems.

If the electron’s charge wasn’t perfectly round, it could reveal the existence of hidden particles. A new measurement approaches perfection.