Origami Patterns Solve a Major Physics Riddle | Quanta Magazine

A geometric shape known as the amplituhedron, crucial for calculating how particles interact, has been found to be deeply connected to origami. Mathematician Pavel Galashin discovered that patterns in paper folding can be translated into points forming the amplituhedron. This unexpected link not only provides a new way to understand the shape but also helped resolve a decade-old conjecture about the amplituhedron's internal structure, confirming it can be cleanly subdivided into building blocks corresponding to physics calculations. The finding bridges seemingly disparate fields and opens new avenues for research in particle physics and other areas.