AI Pushes the Boundaries of Theoretical Physics

In a breakthrough that highlights the future of academic research, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has developed a new mathematical formula in theoretical physics. The discovery shows that certain particle interactions, once considered impossible, can actually occur under specific conditions.

Research Published on arXiv

Researchers shared the findings in a preprint titled “Single-minus gluon tree amplitudes are nonzero” on arXiv. The study focuses on gluons, the particles that carry the strong nuclear force. This force binds quarks inside protons and neutrons and keeps atomic nuclei stable. Without it, the universe would not exist in its current form.

GPT-5.2 Spent 12 Hours Solving the Problem

An internal version of GPT-5.2 worked for nearly 12 hours on the complex mathematical challenge. The model generated the new formula and provided a formal proof. Scientists were studying a key concept in particle physics known as scattering amplitude.

Challenging a Long-Held Assumption

For decades, physicists assumed that one specific gluon interaction had zero amplitude. In simple terms, they believed the interaction could not happen.

The research team — Alfredo Guevara (Institute for Advanced Study), Alex Lupsasca (Vanderbilt University and OpenAI), David Skinner (University of Cambridge), Andrew Strominger (Harvard University), and Kevin Weil (OpenAI) — aimed to find a general formula for interactions involving any number (n) of gluons. They manually calculated results up to n = 6.

AI Simplifies Complex Equations

The team produced extremely complex mathematical expressions. However, they struggled to simplify them. GPT-5.2 stepped in and created a cleaner, more practical formula that works for the general case.

Analytical Verification of the Formula

Researchers later verified the equation through analytical checks. They confirmed that it satisfies the Berends–Giele recursion relation, a standard method that builds multi-particle tree amplitudes step by step.

They also tested the formula against the soft theorem. This theorem explains how amplitudes behave when a particle’s energy becomes very small. The formula passed both checks.

Extending the Results Beyond Gluons

With GPT-5.2’s help, researchers extended the results from gluons to gravitons. The team continues to explore further generalizations. They plan to publish additional AI-assisted findings in future research papers.