Gravitation as a research area investigates the fundamental interaction responsible for the attraction between masses, spanning classical, relativistic, and quantum regimes. It encompasses the study of Newtonian gravity for weak-field, low-velocity systems, general relativity for strong-field and cosmological phenomena, and experimental and observational tests across scales from laboratory to astrophysical and cosmological. The field also includes gravitational wave physics, black hole and neutron star dynamics, precision tests of the equivalence principle, alternative and modified gravity theories, and efforts toward quantum gravity, such as loop quantum gravity, string-inspired models, and semiclassical approaches, with strong connections to cosmology and high-energy theory.
A multi-institutional team of physicists is proposing an experiment to test whether gravity behaves as a quantum entity when measured. They published a description of their experiment in the journal Physical Review Letters ...
Black holes continue to captivate scientists: they are purely gravitational objects, remarkably simple, yet capable of hiding mysteries that challenge our understanding of natural laws. Most observations thus far have focused ...
Astronomy
Nov 1, 2024
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A new study has mapped out the gravitational basins of attraction in the local universe, offering fresh insights into the large-scale cosmic structures that shape the movement of galaxies. The study has been published in ...
Astronomy
Sep 27, 2024
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A new study published in Physical Review Letters (PRL) proposes using gravitational wave detectors like LIGO to search for scalar field dark matter.
Gravity is no longer a mystery to physicists—at least when it comes to large distances. Thanks to science, we can calculate the orbits of planets, predict tides, and send rockets into space with precision. However, the theoretical ...
General Physics
Sep 16, 2024
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A team led by Stevens professor Igor Pikovski has just outlined how to detect single gravitons, thought to be the quantum building blocks of gravity—and making that experiment real should be possible with quantum technology, ...
General Physics
Aug 27, 2024
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Researchers at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, University of Massachusetts, and Instituto de Física Teórica at Universidade Estadual Paulista in Brazil recently introduced an alternative approach ...
A team of researchers led by Philip Walther at the University of Vienna carried out a pioneering experiment where they measured the effect of the rotation of Earth on quantum entangled photons. The work, published in Science ...
General Physics
Jun 14, 2024
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In a development at the intersection of quantum mechanics and general relativity, researchers have made significant strides toward unraveling the mysteries of quantum gravity. This work sheds new light on future experiments ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 5, 2024
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When speaking of our universe, it's often said that "matter tells spacetime how to curve, and curved spacetime tells matter how to move." This is the essence of Albert Einstein's famous general theory of relativity, and describes ...
General Physics
Jun 4, 2024
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