Columnist Natalie Wolchover checks in with particle physicists more than a decade after the field entered a profound crisis.

The Standard Model of Particle Physics accounts for four fundamental forces—strong, weak, electromagnetism, and gravity—but for decades, scientists have wondered if an elusive fifth force might be at ...

A new theory proposes that the universe’s fundamental forces and particle properties may arise from the geometry of hidden extra dimensions. These dimensions could twist and evolve over time, forming ...

At the heart of every atomic nucleus, the strong interaction quietly dictates the structure of matter, yet for decades one of its simplest products refused to fit the script. The way fragile “light ...