Scientists seeking the secrets of the universe would like to make a model that shows how all of nature’s forces and particles fit together. It would be nice to do it with Legos. But perhaps a better ...

Differential cohomology has emerged as a pivotal tool in modern mathematical physics, providing a refined framework that unites topological invariants with differential geometric data. In the realm of ...

Mathematicians are exploring a string duality between F-theory and heterotic string theory in eight dimensions. Simply put, string theory is a proposed method of explaining everything. Actually, there ...

An illustration of two black holes about to merge and emitting copious gravitational waves. And as the numbers of gravitational-wave observations have increased, physicists’ careful modeling is ...

But despite its extraordinary popularity among some of the smartest people on the planet, string theory hasn’t been embraced by everyone–and now, nearly 30 years after it made its initial splash, some ...

String theory proposes that the fundamental constituents of the universe are one-dimensional “strings” rather than point-like particles. What we perceive as particles are actually vibrations in loops ...

The number pi (π) appears in the most unlikely places. It can be found in circles, of course—as well as in pendulums, springs and river bends. This everyday number is linked to transcendental ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. String theory captured the hearts and minds of many physicists decades ago because of a beautiful simplicity. Zoom in far enough on a ...

1. Name the German physicist who is widely credited with first studying the general theory of relativity in five dimensions, creating the precursors of some ideas that later appeared in string theory.