The search for quantum gravity is the next big step in physics, as researchers seek to unify the physics of the very small ...

Mean-field theory and semiclassical methods constitute vital frameworks in contemporary quantum mechanics. By replacing the intricate web of particle interactions with an average or “mean” field, mean ...

Create a Physics World account to get access to all available digital issues of the monthly magazine. Your Physics World account is sep ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. If you wanted to answer the question of what's truly fundamental in ...

This is a preview. Log in through your library . Abstract I analyse the conceptual and mathematical foundations of Lagrangian quantum field theory (QFT) (that is, the 'naive' (QFT) used in mainstream ...

Even in an incomplete state, quantum field theory is the most successful physical theory ever discovered. Nathan Seiberg, one of its leading architects, talks about the gaps in QFT and how ...

Two leading scientists discuss the future of their field. Credit...Ariel Davis Supported by By Dennis Overbye The future belongs to those who prepare for it, as scientists who petition federal ...

Glassy state: a new field theory describes amorphous materials such as glass beads. (Courtesy: iStock/schmidt-z) Many common materials such as glass, compacted sand and toothpaste have a solid’s ...

String theory strutted onto the scene some 30 years ago as perfection itself, a promise of elegant simplicity that would solve knotty problems in fundamental physics—including the notoriously ...