High Energy Physics and Computational Science

  A substance called antimatter is at the heart of one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. We know that every particle has an antimatter companion that is virtually identical to itself, but with the opposite charge. When a particle and its antiparticle meet, they annihilate each other—disappearing in a burst of light. Our current understanding of physics predicts that equal quantities of matter and antimatter should have been created during the formation of the universe. But this doesn’t seem to have happened as it would have resulted in all particles annihilating right away. Instead, there’s plenty of matter around us, yet very little antimatter—even deep in space. This enigma has led to a grand search to find flaws in the theory or otherwise explain the missing antimatter. One such approach has focused on gravity. Perhaps antimatter behaves differently under gravity, being pulled in the opposite direction to matter? If so, we might simply be in a part of the universe from ...

  The study of quantum fields is central to particle physics, but it has also led to breakthroughs in condensed-matter, statistical physics, and gravitational studies. Many physicists hear the words “quantum field theory,” and their thoughts turn to electrons, quarks, and Higgs bosons. In fact, the mathematics of quantum fields has been used extensively in other domains outside of particle physics for the past 40 years. The 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics has been awarded to two theorists who were instrumental in repurposing quantum field theory for condensed-matter, statistical physics, and gravitational studies. “I really want to stress that quantum field theory is not the preserve of particle physics,” says John Cardy, a professor emeritus from the University of Oxford. He shares the Breakthrough Prize with Alexander Zamolodchikov from Stony Brook University, New York. The Breakthrough Prize is perhaps the “blingiest” of science awards, with $3 million being given...