In lead collisions at the LHC, some of the strongest electromagnetic fields in the universe bombard the inside of the beam pipe with radioactive gold. By following the collision fragments, John Jowett ...

The briefing book of the 2026 update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics was published in October. Paris Sphicas highlights key takeaways from each of its 10 themes in fundamental science ...

Subatomic physics has shaped both the conduct of war and the treatment of cancer. Joseph Rotblat, who left the Manhattan Project on moral grounds and later advanced radiotherapy, embodies this dual ...

The ALICE collaboration recently obtained the first direct measurement of the attraction between a proton and a ρ 0 meson – a particle of particular interest due to its fleeting lifetime and close ...

Orthodox quantum mechanics is empirically flawless, but founded on an awkward interface between quantum systems and classical probes. In this feature, Carlo Rovelli – himself the originator of the ...

David Wallace argues for the ‘decoherent view’ of quantum mechanics, where at the fundamental level there is neither probability nor wavefunction collapse – and for its purest incarnation, the ...

Automated space telescopes are inspiring a new generation of particle accelerators that are primarily operated by AI. Verena Kain highlights four ways machine learning is already making the LHC more ...

3D map A slice of DESI’s first three years of data. Each dot represents a galaxy, with colour indicating redshift. Credit: DESI Collaboration and KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF ...

Vivian Poulin asks if the tension between a direct measurement of the Hubble constant and constraints from the early universe could be resolved by new physics. On large scales the dominant motion of ...

Patrick Koppenburg and Marco Pappagallo survey the 23 exotic hadrons discovered at the LHC so far. Twenty-three exotic states Five pentaquarks and 18 tetraquarks have been discovered so far at the LHC ...

Marek Karliner and Jonathan Rosner ask what makes tetraquarks and pentaquarks tick, revealing them to be at times exotic compact states, at times hadronic molecules and at times both – with much still ...

Alexander Lenz argues that the charm quark is an experimental and theoretical enigma that has the potential to shed light on the matter–antimatter asymmetry in the universe. Threading the needle The ...