Breakthroughs in physics sometimes require an assist from the field of mathematics—and vice versa. In 1912, Albert Einstein, then a 33-year-old theoretical physicist at the Eidgenössische Technische ...

Mathematicians are working to bring quantum field theory (QFT) into mainstream mathematics. In this illustration, three exotic particles called “anyons” circle around each other in a process called ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. When it comes to describing the physical world, we can do it ...

At the frontiers of theoretical physics, many of the most popular ideas have one thing in common: they begin from a mathematical framework that seeks to explain more things than our currently ...

Mathematics is full of weird number systems that most people have never heard of and would have trouble even conceptualizing. But rational numbers are familiar. They’re the counting numbers and the ...

This article is the first part of a series about quantum field theory published by Quanta Magazine. Other stories in the series can be found here. Over the past century, quantum field theory has ...

Many books about science are meant to be pleasure reading. Such books attempt to convey the wonder and fascination and excitement of science, and ideally some of the substance as well. After all, good ...

In a recent X exchange, Telegram founder Pavel Durov urged students to study math for its logic and problem-solving power. Elon Musk replied, advocating for physics—with math. Their posts have ...

Early in his new book, physics historian Graham Farmelo quotes Nima Arkani-Hamed, a theoretical physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, N.J.: “We can eavesdrop on nature not ...

His unifying disparate theoretical realms helped revolutionize our understanding of the most basic structure of the universe. By Julie Rehmeyer Isadore Singer, who unified large areas of mathematics ...