Read article 'The quintessence of cosmology'
The most striking recent development in cosmology has come from supernova studies, which reveal how the expansion rate of the universe changes with time. Rather than slowing down, the universe is ex...
Read article 'In hot pursuit of CP violation'
Gerry Bauer explains the background to CP violation and points out how a range of new experiments to explore the phenomenon in a new setting should see much larger effects.
Read article 'What’s the quark matter?'
Careful analysis of data collected by the NA50 experiment studying high-energy heavy-ion collisions at CERN shows clear signs of new behaviour, suggesting that under these conditions the colliding nu...
Read article 'Superstrings, black holes and gauge theories'
Finding a quantum field theory that includes gravity has eluded the best minds of physics. Yaron Oz of CERN explains how the theory of superstrings modifies classical geometry, and how the secrets of...
Read article 'The quest for gravitational waves'
The gravitational waves emitted by accelerated masses were predicted by Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity as long ago as 1916, but so far remain undetected.
Read article 'Challenging the Big Bang: a longer history of time'
Conventional dogma says that the Big Bang was the beginning of everything. Here, Gabriele Veneziano of CERN challenges this view. He believes that the Big Bang is the biggest thing that the universe ...
Read article 'Electron–positron pioneer'
In 1960 Bruno Touschek gave a talk on electron-positron collisions that would change the face of physics. Last November, 20 years after his death, physicists gathered to celebrate Touschek's work.
Read article 'More light on the Cherenkov effect'
Cherenkov radiation is one of the main techniques for particle identification, but details of the underlying theory are still under debate.
Read article 'The prospects for particle physics'
The second of two articles, in which as his five-year mandate as Director-General of CERN nears its end, Chris Llewellyn Smith reflects on what particle physics has achieved, and where it may be go...
