Archivo: Quanta

Mathematicians prove a theorem that illuminates the geometry of universes with tiny amounts of mass.

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Some strange mathematical sequences are always whole numbers — until they’re not. The puzzling patterns have revealed ties to graph theory and prime numbers, awing mathematicians.

Three researchers have found a long-sought way to pull information from large databases secretly, moving us closer to fully private internet searches.

What makes a quantum computer more powerful than a classical computer? It’s a surprisingly subtle question that physicists are still grappling with, decades into the quantum age.

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Our galaxy’s stars keep a record of its past. By reading those stories, astronomers are learning more about how the Milky Way came to be — and about the galaxy we live in today.

Modular forms are one of the most beautiful and mysterious objects in mathematics. What are they?

Number theorist Andrew Granville on what mathematics really is — and why objectivity is never quite within reach.

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By treating Earth as a topological insulator — a state of quantum matter — physicists found a powerful explanation for the movements of the planet’s air and seas.

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Mathematicians can often figure out what happens as quantities grow infinitely large. What about when they are just a little big?

Mathematicians probe the limits of randomness in new work estimating quantities called Ramsey numbers.