Random matrix theory

For decades, mathematicians have struggled to understand matrices that reflect both order and randomness, like those that model semiconductors. A new method could change that.

According to mathematical legend, Peter Sarnak and Noga Alon made a bet about optimal graphs in the late 1980s. They’ve now both been proved wrong.

Three physicists stumbled across an unexpected relationship between some of the most ubiquitous objects in math.

Mathematicians have found that materials conduct electricity when electrons follow a universal mathematical pattern.

Quanta’s In Theory video series returns with an exploration of a mysterious mathematical pattern found throughout nature.

Scientists are exploring a mysterious pattern, found in birds’ eyes, boxes of marbles and other surprising places, that is neither regular nor random.

A potent theory has emerged explaining a mysterious statistical law that arises throughout physics and mathematics.

All complex correlated systems, from Arctic melt ponds to the Internet, appear to be governed by the same math as a random matrix.