Quantum field theory (QFT) is a research area in theoretical physics that formulates fundamental interactions in terms of quantized fields defined over spacetime, unifying special relativity and quantum mechanics. It treats particles as excitations of underlying fields and employs operator- or path-integral-based frameworks to compute scattering amplitudes, correlation functions, and vacuum structure. QFT underpins the Standard Model of particle physics, gauge theories, and renormalization methods, and provides the language for describing phenomena such as spontaneous symmetry breaking, anomalies, and topological phases. Research in QFT also interfaces with quantum gravity, conformal field theory, and nonperturbative techniques such as lattice formulations and bootstrap approaches.
A simplified cosmological model suggests that decoherence can suppress quantum tunneling, effectively locking fields into the vacuum state they have reached.
General Physics
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A team led by University at Buffalo physicists has found a mathematical solution that shows how a frustrated quantum magnet can transition from ultraslow behavior to ultrafast, highly entangled behavior resembling that of ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 22, 2026
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Quasiparticles arise from the complex interaction of many particles in solids; for example, we describe lattice vibrations in crystals as phonons. Fractons are exotic quasiparticles that occur at the vertices of magnetic ...
Condensed Matter
Aug 21, 2026
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When different materials transition from one phase to another, such as water coming to a boil or a magnet losing its ability to attract metals, something remarkable can happen: They begin to behave identically, following ...
General Physics
Aug 19, 2026
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In Goethe's ballad "Erlkönig," immortalized in Schubert's fevered 1815 setting, a dying boy riding through the night sees a spectral king beckoning from the darkness. His father calms him: "Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif"—my ...
General Physics
Aug 7, 2026
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For most theories in physics, the order of operations has little impact on the result. When setting a dial to a certain position, for example, it doesn't matter whether it's turned clockwise or counterclockwise—the result ...
Imagine holding one of our most precise quantum devices at a fixed position outside a black hole. A Josephson junction—two superconductors separated by an ultrathin barrier—can turn a voltage into a quantum oscillation with ...
One of the deepest ambitions in modern physics is understanding how the fabric of space and time could emerge from fundamental quantum degrees of freedom to establish a quantum theory of gravity.
General Physics
Jul 21, 2026
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By remotely accessing an IBM quantum computer, a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has successfully simulated a key process in particle physics: hadronization. Although based on a simplified model ...
General Physics
Jun 30, 2026
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Modern physics theories highlight the key role of horizons—boundaries beyond which information cannot reach an observer—in a variety of cosmological and gravitational phenomena. Two renowned examples of these boundaries are ...
