Pairs of atoms observed existing in two places at once for the first time

Amazing stuff!

"... "This result confirms the predictions of over a century ago that matter can be in two locations at once, and it can interfere with itself even in those locations," ..."

From the abstract:

"Nonlocal entanglement between pair-correlated particles is a highly counter-intuitive aspect of quantum mechanics, where measurement on one particle can instantly affect the other, regardless of distance. 

While the rigorous Bell’s inequality framework has enabled the demonstration of such entanglement in photons and atomic internal states, no experiment has yet involved motional states of massive particles.

Here we report the experimental observation of Bell correlations in motional states of momentum-entangled ultracold helium atoms. Momentum-entangled pairs are first generated via s-wave collisions. Using a Rarity-Tapster interferometer and a Bell-test framework, we observe atom-atom correlations required for violation of a Bell inequality.

This result shows the potential of ultracold atoms for fundamental tests of quantum mechanics and opens new avenues to studying gravitational effects in quantum states."

Pairs of atoms observed existing in two places at once for the first time (This article was not very helpful!)

Spooky quantum helium atoms give hope for a Theory of Everything (original news release. However webpage did not open properly, see screenshot below)

Bell correlations between momentum-entangled pairs of 4He* atoms (open access)

Fig. 1: Schematic of the experimental procedure in momentum space.

Novel measurement confirms a 50-year-old prediction: Dark points are faster than light

Amazing stuff!

"A research group from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology reports in Nature an unprecedented achievement in electron microscopy: the direct measurement of "dark points" within light waves. By doing so, the researchers were able to confirm a prediction from the 1970s that the speed of these points exceeds the speed of light. ..."

From the abstract:

"Phase singularities—points carrying quantized topological charge—are universal features found across diverse wave systems from superfluids and superconductors to acoustic and optical fields. Ensembles of these singularities exhibit distance correlations resembling particles in liquids, extensively studied for their role in exotic material phases. By contrast, the full correlations in phase space that govern the system evolution have remained unexplored and experimentally inaccessible.

Here we directly measure the ultrafast dynamics of optical singularity ensembles, capturing their full phase-space correlations, presenting the joint distance–velocity distribution.

Our observations show a breakdown of the particle-singularity analogy: phase singularities accelerate towards formally divergent velocities in the moment before annihilation, indicated by measurements of velocities exceeding the speed of light.

These apparent superluminal velocities are paradoxically amplified by the slow group velocity of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in our material platform, hexagonal boron nitride membranes. We demonstrate these phenomena using combined hardware and algorithmic advances in ultrafast electron microscopy, achieving spatial and temporal resolutions, each an order of magnitude below the polaritonic wavelength and cycle period. Our findings deepen our understanding of phase singularities and their universality, enabling to probe topological defect dynamics at previously unattainable timescales."

Novel measurement confirms a 50-year-old prediction: Dark points are faster than light

Superluminal correlations in ensembles of optical phase singularities (no public access)

The origin of magic numbers: Why some atomic nuclei are unusually stable

Amazing stuff!

"For the first time, physicists have developed a model that explains the origins of unusually stable magic nuclei based directly on the interactions between their protons and neutrons. Published in Physical Review Letters, the research could help scientists better understand the exotic properties of heavy atomic nuclei and the fundamental forces that hold them together. ..."

From the abstract:

"Magic numbers lie at the heart of nuclear structure, reflecting enhanced stability in nuclei with closed shells. While the emergence of magic numbers beyond 20 is commonly attributed to strong spin-orbit coupling, the microscopic origin of the spin-orbit potential remains elusive, owing to its dependence on the resolution scale and renormalization scheme of nuclear forces.

Here, we investigate the evolution of nuclear shell structure with varying momentum resolution in nuclear interactions derived from chiral effective field theory, using the similarity renormalization group to link different scales.

We uncover a novel transition from spin symmetry to pseudospin symmetry as the resolution scale decreases, during which magic numbers emerge naturally.

A similar pattern is found in calculations using relativistic one-boson-exchange potentials, underscoring the robustness of the phenomenon.

This establishes a direct connection between realistic nuclear forces with a high resolution scale and effective nuclear forces at coarse-grained scales, offering a first-principles explanation for the origin of magic numbers and pseudospin symmetry in nuclear shell structure and new insights into the structure of exotic nuclei far from stability."

The origin of magic numbers: Why some atomic nuclei are unusually stable

From Spin to Pseudospin Symmetry: The Origin of Magic Numbers in Nuclear Structure (no public access)

From spin to pseudospin symmetry: The origin of magic numbers in nuclear structure (preprint, open access)

Why some dark matter researchers think neutrinos are the worst | Even Bananas

Recommendable!

X-ray four-wave mixing captures elusive electron interactions inside atoms and molecules

Amazing stuff!

"Scientists at the X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL have realized a long-pursued experimental goal in physics: to show how electrons dance together. The technique, known as X-ray four-wave mixing, opens a new way to see how energy and information flow within atoms and molecules. In the future, it could illuminate how quantum information is stored and lost, eventually aiding the design of more error-tolerant quantum devices. ..."

"... In many quantum technologies – not least quantum computing – information is stored in delicate patterns of these interactions, known as coherences. When these coherences are lost, information disappears – a process known as decoherence. Learning how to understand and ultimately control such fleeting states is one of the major challenges facing quantum technologies today. ...

Scientists  ... have now developed a way to access them using a technique known as X-ray four-wave mixing. ...

Conceptually, X-ray four-wave mixing is similar to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which today is used daily in hospitals for MRI scans. Both techniques use multiple pulses to create and read out coherences in matter.  ...

X-rays bring this same kind of powerful approach to a smaller scale and allow us to step into the world of the electrons. “Whereas other approaches tell us about how atoms or molecules as a whole interact with each other or with their surroundings, with X-rays we can zoom right in to the electrons,” ..."

From the abstract:

"Coherent nonlinear light–matter interaction with X-rays gives access to a regime in ultrafast spectroscopy in which atomic resolution meets femtosecond and attosecond timescales.

Particularly, X-ray four-wave mixing, involving several resonant transitions in a single coherent nonlinear process, has the potential to provide information on the electronic states coupling, coherent electron motion, correlation and dynamics, with state and site selectivity.

Here we demonstrate coherent, background-free four-photon interactions with core-shell electrons using single broadband X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser. The all-X-ray four-wave mixing signals, measured in gaseous neon, arise from doubly resonant nonlinear processes involving Raman transitions, including X-ray coherent anti-Stokes electronic Raman scattering.

The 2D spectral maps (photon-in/photon-out) represent a step towards multidimensional correlation spectroscopy at the atomic scale.

Using a multicolour time-delayed X-ray pulse scheme, we further demonstrate the feasibility of extending the proposed methodology to the ultrafast time domain. These results reveal potential for studying localized electron dynamics in multiple systems, from biomolecules to correlated quantum materials, with applications in areas such as energy conversion, biomedical imaging and quantum information technologies."

X-ray four-wave mixing captures elusive electron interactions inside atoms and molecules

Swiss X-ray laser reveals the hidden dance of electrons (original news release) "Scientists at the X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL have realised a long-pursued experimental goal in physics: to show how electrons dance together. The technique, known as X-ray four-wave mixing, opens a new way to see how energy and information flow within atoms and molecules. In the future, it could illuminate how quantum information is stored and lost, eventually aiding the design of more error-tolerant quantum devices. The findings are reported in Nature."

Coherent nonlinear X-ray four-photon interaction with core-shell electrons (no public access)

Coherent all X-ray four wave mixing at core shell resonances (preprint, open access)

Figure 1:Scheme of the experimental setup and spatial characterization of the XFWM signal

CERN accepts $1bn from private donors towards Future Circular Collider

Good news!

"The CERN particle-physics lab near Geneva has received $1bn from private donors towards the construction of the Future Circular Collider (FCC). The cash marks the first time in the lab’s 72-year history that individuals and philanthropic foundations have agreed to support a major CERN project. If built, the FCC would be the successor to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), where the Higgs boson was discovered. ..."

CERN accepts $1bn in private cash towards Future Circular Collider – Physics World "Mark Thomson takes the reins at the CERN particle-physics lab, which recently received $1bn in private donations for its next collider project"

This Particle (neutrino) Solved Everything. We Just Found Out It Isn't Real with Matt O'Dowd

Very recommendable!

Anyons may be at the root of surprising quantum experiments and a new form of superconductivity

Amazing stuff!

"In the past year, two separate experiments in two different materials captured the same confounding scenario: the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism. Scientists had assumed that these two quantum states are mutually exclusive; the presence of one should inherently destroy the other. ...

proposes that under certain conditions, a magnetic material’s electrons could splinter into fractions of themselves to form quasiparticles known as “anyons.” In certain fractions, the quasiparticles should flow together without friction, similar to how regular electrons can pair up to flow in conventional superconductors. ...

introduce an entirely new form of superconductivity — one that persists in the presence of magnetism and involves a supercurrent of exotic anyons rather than everyday electrons. ...

For decades, it was thought that superconductivity and magnetism should not co-exist; superconductivity is a delicate state, and any magnetic field can easily sever the bonds between Cooper pairs. But earlier this year, two separate experiments proved otherwise. In the first experiment, ... discovered superconductivity and magnetism in rhombohedral graphene — a synthesized material made from four or five graphene layers. ...

Shortly after, a second team reported similar dual states in the semiconducting crystal molybdenium ditelluride (MoTe2). Interestingly, the conditions in which MoTe2 becomes superconductive happen to be the same conditions in which the material exhibits an exotic “fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect,” or FQAH — a phenomenon in which any electron passing through the material should split into fractions of itself. These fractional quasiparticles are known as “anyons.” ...

Their work revealed that superconducting anyons can emerge at certain electron densities. What’s more, they found that when superconducting anyons first emerge, they do so in a totally new pattern of swirling supercurrents that spontaneously appear in random locations throughout the material. This behavior is distinct from conventional superconductors and is an exotic state that experimentalists can look for as a way to confirm the team’s theory. If their theory is correct, it would introduce a new form of superconductivity, through the quantum interactions of anyons. ..."

From the abstract:

"Motivated by the experimental discovery of the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect, we develop a theory of doping-induced transitions out of the = 2/3 lattice Jain state in the presence of quenched disorder.

We show that disorder strongly affects the evolution into the conducting phases described in our previous work. The delocalization of charge 2/3 anyons leads to a chiral superconductor through a direct second-order transition for a smooth random potential with long-wavelength modulations. The longitudinal resistance has a universal peak at the associated quantum critical point.

Close to the transition, we show that the superconducting ground state is an “Anomalous Vortex Glass” stabilized in the absence of an external magnetic field. For short-wavelength disorder, this transition generically splits into three distinct ones with intermediate insulating topological phases.

If instead, the charge 1/3 anyon delocalizes, then at low doping the resulting phase is a Reentrant Integer Quantum Hall state with xy = h/e 2 .

At higher doping this undergoes a second transition to a Fermi liquid metal. We show that this framework provides a plausible explanation for the complex phase diagram recently observed in twisted MoTe2 near = 2/3 and discuss future experiments that can test our theory in more detail."

Anything-goes “anyons” may be at the root of surprising quantum experiments | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology "MIT physicists say these quasiparticles may explain how superconductivity and magnetism can coexist in certain materials."

Anyon delocalization transitions out of a disordered fractional quantum anomalous Hall insulator (no public access)

Anyon delocalization transitions out of a disordered fractional quantum anomalous Hall insulator (open access)

Scientists rule out fourth neutrino particle in search for new physics

Amazing stuff!

"An international team, including researchers ... working on the MicroBooNE experiment at the US Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, has found no evidence of a long-suspected fourth type of neutrino, known as the ‘sterile neutrino’.

Their results ... rule out the single sterile neutrino model with 95% certainty.

Ruling out this long-suspected particle sharpens the search for physics beyond the Standard Model, bringing scientists a step closer to uncovering the true nature of neutrinos and the fundamental laws that govern the universe. ...

With sterile neutrinos now ruled out, the mystery of neutrinos remains. MicroBooNE is continuing the search for new physics and delivering vital data on how neutrinos behave in liquid argon, crucial knowledge for future experiments, including the next-generation Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) for which Cambridge researchers continue to lead development. ..."

From the abstract:

"The existence of three distinct neutrino flavours, νe, νμ and ντ, is a central tenet of the Standard Model of particle physics. Quantum-mechanical interference can allow a neutrino of one initial flavour to be detected sometime later as a different flavour, a process called neutrino oscillation.

Several anomalous observations inconsistent with this three-flavour picture have motivated the hypothesis that an additional neutrino state exists, which does not interact directly with matter, termed as ‘sterile’ neutrino, νs. This includes anomalous observations from the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) experiment and Mini-Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE), consistent with νμ → νe transitions at a distance inconsistent with the three-neutrino picture.

Here we use data obtained from the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber in two accelerator neutrino beams to exclude the single light sterile neutrino interpretation of the LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies at the 95% confidence level (CL).

Moreover, we rule out a notable portion of the parameter space that could explain the gallium anomaly. This is one of the first measurements to use two accelerator neutrino beams to break a degeneracy between νe appearance and disappearance, which would otherwise weaken the sensitivity to the sterile neutrino hypothesis. We find no evidence for either νμ → νe flavour transitions or νe disappearance that would indicate non-standard flavour oscillations.

Our results indicate that previous anomalous observations consistent with νμ → νe transitions cannot be explained by introducing a single sterile neutrino state."

Scientists rule out fourth neutrino particle in search for new physics | University of Cambridge

MicroBooNE finds no evidence for a sterile neutrino

Search for light sterile neutrinos with two neutrino beams at MicroBooNE (open access)

CERN: Antimatter Explained - Ep. 1

Recommendable!

ICARUS at Fermilab: The search for new physics based on neutrinos

Recommendable!

The Gravity Particle Should Exist. So Where Is It? with Matt O'Dowd

Very recommendable!

LHC sets a new world record of luminosity in 2025!

Good news! The physicists at CERN seem to be very excited!

Why Antimatter Engines Could Launch In Your Lifetime with Matt O'Dowd

Very recommendable! This time it again easier to follow Matt's discourse! 😊

With a new molecule-based method, physicists peer inside an atom’s nucleus

Amazing stuff! However, can this approach be transferred to atoms of other elements?

"Physicists at MIT have developed a new way to probe inside an atom’s nucleus, using the atom’s own electrons as “messengers” within a molecule.

In a study appearing today in the journal Science, the physicists precisely measured the energy of electrons whizzing around a radium atom that had been paired with a fluoride atom to make a molecule of radium monofluoride. They used the environments within molecules as a sort of microscopic particle collider, which contained the radium atom’s electrons and encouraged them to briefly penetrate the atom’s nucleus. ... 

The team’s new molecule-based method offers a table-top alternative to directly probe the inside of an atom’s nucleus.

Amazing stuff!

Within molecules of radium monofluoride, the team measured the energies of a radium atom’s electrons as they pinged around inside the molecule. They discerned a slight energy shift and determined that electrons must have briefly penetrated the radium atom’s nucleus and interacted with its contents. As the electrons winged back out, they retained this energy shift, providing a nuclear “message” that could be analyzed to sense the internal structure of the atom’s nucleus.

The team’s method offers a new way to measure the nuclear “magnetic distribution.” In a nucleus, each proton and neutron acts like a small magnet, and they align differently depending on how the nucleus’ protons and neutrons are spread out. The team plans to apply their method to precisely map this property of the radium nucleus for the first time. What they find could help to answer one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology: Why do we see much more matter than antimatter in the universe? ..."

From the editor's summary and the abstract:

"Editor’s summary

Precision molecular spectroscopy is increasingly being used to probe symmetry violations relevant to fundamental physics studies. Of particular interest are molecules containing heavy radioactive nuclei, such as the pear-shaped radium isotope 225Ra. Wilkins et al. performed laser spectroscopy measurements of the hyperfine structure of the radium monofluoride molecule, which is especially challenging given the molecule’s short lifetime. In combination with calculations, the researchers were able to test models of magnetization distribution inside the radium nucleus. Their findings may lead to improved tests of fundamental symmetries. ...

Abstract

Precise experimental control and interrogation of molecules and calculations of their structure are enriching the investigation of nuclear and particle physics phenomena. Molecules containing heavy, octupole-deformed nuclei, such as radium, are of particular interest.

Here, we report precision laser spectroscopy measurements and theoretical calculations of the structure of the radioactive radium monofluoride molecule 225Ra19F.

Our results reveal fine details of the short-range electron-nucleus interaction, indicating the high sensitivity of this molecule to the distribution of magnetization, within the radium nucleus.

These results provide a stringent test of the description of the electronic wave function inside the nuclear volume, highlighting the suitability of these molecules for investigating subatomic phenomena."

With a new molecule-based method, physicists peer inside an atom’s nucleus | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology "An alternative to massive particle colliders, the approach could reveal insights into the universe’s starting ingredients."

Observation of the distribution of nuclear magnetization in a molecule (no public access)

Observation of the distribution of nuclear magnetization in a molecule (open access)

High-intensity bunches for the HL-LHC

Recommendable!

Top quarks pair up with their antimatter counterparts in a quasi-bound state called toponium

Amazing stuff! The scientists refer to their discovery as an "elusive dance". What were they smoking? Just kidding! 😊

"... For decades, physicists believed that the top quark, the heaviest known subatomic particle, was too short-lived to form a temporary pair with its antimatter partner. Unlike lighter quarks, which can combine to form protons, neutrons, or longer-lived quark–antiquark pairs, the top quark decays almost instantly. This made the idea of a top–antitop bound state – a fleeting association held together by the strong force – seem impossible. But now, the CMS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has found the first evidence of such a state, which is dubbed toponium. ..."

"An unforeseen feature in proton-proton collisions previously observed by the CMS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has now been confirmed ... The result ... suggests that top quarks – the heaviest and shortest-lived of all the elementary particles – can momentarily pair up with their antimatter counterparts to produce a “quasi-bound-state” called toponium. 

Further input based on complex theoretical calculations of the strong nuclear force -- called quantum chromodynamics (QCD) -- will enable physicists to understand the true nature of this elusive dance. ...

Basing itself on a simplified toponium production hypothesis, CMS measured the cross section for the top quark–antiquark excess to be 8.8 picobarns (pb) with an uncertainty of about 1.3 pb. This passed the “five sigma” level of certainty required to claim a discovery in particle physics and made it extremely unlikely that the excess over the background-only prediction is just a statistical fluctuation.

“The observation of a non-relativistic QCD effect that was thought to be too difficult to detect is a great triumph for the LHC experiment programme,” ..."

From the abstract:

"A search for resonances in top quark pair () production in final states with two charged leptons and multiple jets is presented, based on proton–proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC at , corresponding to 138 fb−1.

The analysis explores the invariant mass of the  system and two angular observables that provide direct access to the correlation of top quark and antiquark spins.

A significant excess of events is observed near the kinematic  threshold compared to the non-resonant production predicted by fixed-order perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD).

The observed enhancement is consistent with the production of a color-singlet pseudoscalar () quasi-bound toponium state, as predicted by non-relativistic quantum chromodynamics. Using a simplified model for  toponium, the cross section of the excess above the pQCD prediction is measured to be ."

Top quarks embrace in quasi-bound toponium – Physics World

Elusive romance of top-quark pairs observed at the LHC (original news release) "The CMS and ATLAS experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider have observed an unforeseen feature in the behaviour of top quarks that suggests that these heaviest of all elementary particles form a fleeting union."

Observation of a pseudoscalar excess at the top quark pair production threshold (open access)

Physicists devise an idea for lasers that shoot beams of neutrinos

Amazing stuff!

"... Now ... physicists propose a much more compact and efficient way to generate neutrinos that could be realized in a tabletop experiment.

In a paper ... the physicists introduce the concept for a “neutrino laser” — a burst of neutrinos that could be produced by laser-cooling a gas of radioactive atoms down to temperatures colder than interstellar space. At such frigid temps, the team predicts the atoms should behave as one quantum entity, and radioactively decay in sync.

The decay of radioactive atoms naturally releases neutrinos, and the physicists say that in a coherent, quantum state this decay should accelerate, along with the production of neutrinos. This quantum effect should produce an amplified beam of neutrinos, broadly similar to how photons are amplified to produce conventional laser light. ..."

From the abstract:

"Superradiance emerges from collective spontaneous emission in optically pumped gases, and is characterized by photon emission enhancements of up to 1/4 ⁢𝑁2 in an 𝑁 atom system.

The gain mechanism derives from correlations developed within the decay medium rather than from stimulated emission as in lasing, so an analog of this process should be possible for fermionic final states.

We introduce here the concept of superradiant neutrino emission from a radioactive Bose Einstein condensate, which can form the basis for a superradiant neutrino laser.

A plausible experimental realization based on a condensate of electron-capture isotope  83 Rb could exhibit effective radioactive decay rates accelerated from 86.2 days to minutes in viably sized rubidium condensates of 106 atoms."

Physicists devise an idea for lasers that shoot beams of neutrinos | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology "Super-cooling radioactive atoms could produce a laser-like neutrino beam, offering a new way to study these ghostly particles — and possibly a new form of communication."

Envisioning a Neutrino Laser "A Bose-Einstein condensate of radioactive atoms could turn into a source of intense, coherent, and directional neutrino beams, according to a theoretical proposal."

Superradiant Neutrino Lasers from Radioactive Condensates (open access)

A Bose-Einstein condensate of radioactive atoms could turn into a source of intense, coherent, and directional neutrino beams, according to a theoretical proposal.

World’s most sensitive scintillation neutrino detector comes online in China

Good news!

"... the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), the largest and most sensitive scintillation detector yet. Built by the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the observatory started taking data yesterday.

Neutrinos are the most abundant matter particles in the universe, but they are fiendishly difficult to observe. ..."

"The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) has successfully completed filling its 20,000-tons liquid scintillator detector and begun data taking on August 26. After more than a decade of preparation and construction, JUNO is the first of a new generation of very large neutrino experiments to reach this stage. Initial trial operation and data taking show that key performance indicators met or exceeded design expectations, enabling JUNO to tackle one of this decade’s major open questions in particle physics: the ordering of neutrino masses—whether the third mass state (ν₃) is heavier than the second (ν₂). ...

Located 700 meters underground near Jiangmen city in the Guangdong Province, China, JUNO detects antineutrinos produced 53 kilometers away by the Taishan and Yangjiang nuclear power plants and measures their energy spectrum with record precision. Unlike other approaches, JUNO’s determination of the mass ordering is independent of matter effects in the Earth and largely free of parameter degeneracies. JUNO will also deliver order‑of‑magnitude improvements in the precision of several neutrino‑oscillation parameters and enable cutting‑edge studies of neutrinos from the Sun, supernovae, the atmosphere, and the Earth. It will also open new windows to explore unknown physics, including searches for sterile neutrinos and proton decay. ..."

ScienceAdviser

China’s new underground lab could answer long-standing neutrino mystery "Physicists hope to pin down relative masses of wispy particles that change “flavors” on the fly"

JUNO Completed Liquid Filling and Begins Data Taking (original news release)

Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO)

Bird's eye view of the JUNO neutrino detector with its photomultiplier tubes installed inside the empty water pool.

Fig.2 The central acrylic sphere and PMTs.

Fig.4 Prompt signal of a reactor neutrino event detected on August 24, with energy of ~5.7MeV.

The shape of the universe revealed through algebraic geometry

Amazing stuff! The theory of the nature of everything in the universe is forthcoming!

"How can the behavior of elementary particles and the structure of the entire universe be described using the same mathematical concepts? This question is at the heart of recent work ...

To the point:

• Bridging mathematics and physics: The study explores how algebraic and one of the key players in the flourishing field of positive geometry unify physics from subatomic particles to galaxies.
• Beyond Feynman diagrams: Positive geometry offers a complementary perspective to traditional quantum field theory methods - providing a geometric framework for describing particle interactions alongside Feynman diagrams.
• From particle collisions to the big bang: Tools from algebraic geometry, D-module theory, and combinatorics drive this interdisciplinary progress - helping to decode the fundamental structures of particle interactions and the universe’s earliest states.

...

In their article, the authors explore how algebraic structures and geometric shapes can help us understand phenomena ranging from particle collisions ... to the large-scale architecture of the cosmos. Their research is centered around algebraic geometry. Their recent undertakings also connect to a field called positive geometry – an interdisciplinary and novel subject in mathematics driven by new ideas in particle physics and cosmology. This field was inspired by the geometrical concept of positive geometry which expands the standard Feynman diagram approach in particle physics by representing interactions as volumes of high-dimensional geometric objects, such as the amplituhedron, as introduced by the theoretical physicists Nima Arkani-Hamed and Jaroslav Trnka in 2013. It carries a rich combinatorial structure and offers an alternative, potentially simpler way to compute scattering amplitudes, from which one can derive probabilities of scattering events. ...

In cosmology, scientists are using the faint light of the cosmic microwave background and the distribution of galaxies to infer what shaped the early universe. Similar mathematical tools are now being applied. For instance, cosmological polytopes, which are themselves positive geometries, can represent correlations in the universe's first light and help reconstruct the physical laws that governed the birth of the cosmos.

A Geometry for the Universe

The article highlights that positive geometry is not a niche mathematical curiosity but a potential unifying language for form branches of theoretical physics. These geometric frameworks naturally encode the transfer of information between physical systems, for example, by mapping concrete, sensory-based concepts to abstract structures, a process that mirrors how humans metaphorically understand the world. ..."

From the abstract:
"In recent years, the intersection of algebra, geometry, and combinatorics with particle physics and cosmology has led to significant advances.

Central to this progress is the twofold formulation of the study of particle interactions and observables in the universe: on the one hand, Feynman’s approach reduces to the study of intricate integrals; on the other hand, one encounters the study of positive geometries.

This article introduces key developments, mathematical tools, and the connections that drive progress at the frontier between algebraic geometry, the theory of $D$-modules, combinatorics, and physics. All these threads contribute to shaping the flourishing field of positive geometry, which aims to establish a unifying mathematical language for describing phenomena in cosmology and particle physics. ..."

The shape of the universe revealed through algebraic geometry

The Shape of the Universe — Revealed Through Algebraic Geometry (original news release)

Algebraic and Positive Geometry of the Universe: From Particles to Galaxies (open access)

N.B. Schwinger parameters like swinging parameters