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theoretical physics
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Does Time Really Flow? New Clues Come From a Century-Old Approach to Math.
The laws of physics imply that the passage of time is an illusion. To avoid this conclusion, we might have to rethink the reality of infinitely precise numbers.
Axions Would Solve Another Major Problem in Physics
In a new paper, physicists argue that hypothetical particles called axions could explain why the universe isn’t empty.
The Man Making Rwanda Into a Hub for Physics
As the founding director of a new institute for fundamental research in Rwanda, the physicist Omololu Akin-Ojo hopes to stem the brain drain of Africa’s brightest minds.
Wormholes Reveal a Way to Manipulate Black Hole Information in the Lab
A proposal for building wormhole-connected black holes offers a way to probe the paradoxes of quantum information.
The Year in Physics
Physicists saw a black hole for the first time, debated the expansion rate of the universe, pondered the origin of time and modeled the end of clouds.
Why the Laws of Physics Are Inevitable
By considering simple symmetries, physicists working on the “bootstrap” can rediscover the basic form of the known forces that shape the universe.
Black Hole Singularities Are as Inescapable as Expected
For the first time, physicists have calculated exactly what kind of singularity lies at the center of a realistic black hole.
Top Dark Matter Candidate Loses Ground to Tiniest Competitor
Physicists have long searched for hypothesized dark matter particles called WIMPs. Now, focus may be shifting to the axion — an ultra-lightweight particle whose existence would solve two mysteries at once.
Hologram Within a Hologram Hints at Fate of Black Holes
Calculations involving a higher dimension are guiding physicists toward a misstep in Stephen Hawking’s legendary black hole analysis.