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 ...

Cosmic strings are artifacts of what the universe looked like in the moments before it rapidly changed from a high-energy to low-energy environment—the Big Bang. Today, scientists believe cosmic ...

One of the most striking consequences of this quantum space-time, as predicted by string theory, is that it naturally leads to cosmic acceleration. Moreover, the researchers found that the rate at ...

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 ...

Theoretical physicists use machine-learning algorithms to speed up difficult calculations and eliminate untenable theories—but could they transform what it means to make discoveries? Theoretical ...

Ronald Mallett has dedicated a majority of his life to finding a way to travel through time — and while one may assume his passion was spurred by movies like “Back to the Future,” Mallett’s motivation ...