Scientists are on the trail of a mysterious five-particle structure that could challenge one of the biggest theories in physics: string theory. This rare particle—never seen before and predicted not ...

An illustration conveying the idea of a space-based quantum internet, which would seem, like the hypothetical particle of a tachyon, to outpace light. An illustration ...

UC Santa Cruz physicist Stefano Profumo has put forward two imaginative but scientifically grounded theories that may help solve one of the biggest mysteries in physics: the origin of dark matter. In ...

Scientists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have for the first time observed a fundamental asymmetry in the behavior of baryons, the particles that form the bulk of all visible matter. The ...

Physicists are exploring whether hidden dimensions and the shape of space could help explain why fundamental particles have ...

Dark matter, although not visible, is believed to make up most of the total mass of the universe. One theory suggests that ultralight dark matter behaves like a continuous wave, which could exert ...

A study by Dartmouth researchers proposes a new theory about the origin of dark matter, the mysterious and invisible substance thought to give the universe its shape and structure. They say the ...

The Standard Model of particles and interactions is remarkably successful for a theory everyone knows is missing big pieces. It accounts for the everyday stuff we know like protons, neutrons, ...

A new theory suggests fusion reactors could help scientists search for axions, mysterious particles that may explain dark ...

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures the magnificent starry population of the Coma Cluster of galaxies, one of the densest known galaxy collections in the universe — and where the effect of dark ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. When it comes to understanding the fabric of the universe, most of what scientists think exists is consigned to a dark, murky domain.