- OpenAI's ChatGPT derived a new formula in theoretical physics.
- The formula and its proof were generated after 12 hours of GPT-5.2 reasoning.
- Scientists verified the equation analytically using Berends-Giele recursion and the soft theorem constraints
In what could provide a glimpse into the future of academics, OpenAI's ChatGPT has derived a new formula in theoretical physics, showing that certain particle interactions previously deemed impossible can actually occur under specific conditions. The preprint, titled 'Single-minus gluon tree amplitudes are nonzero', available on arXiv, focuses on gluons, the particles that carry the strong nuclear force, which is the force that binds quarks together inside protons and neutrons. Without this essential force, atomic nuclei and the universe as we know it could not exist.
An internal scaffolded version of GPT-5.2 spent approximately 12 hours reasoning through the problem to generate the formula and a formal proof of its validity. The scientists were focusing on a central concept in particle physics called a scattering amplitude.
For decades, one specific gluon interaction was widely treated as having zero amplitude, meaning it was assumed not to occur. 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) -- the authors of the preprint sought to find the correct formula for interactions involving any number n of gluons, going up to n=6 by hand.
However, they obtained complicated expressions that they sought to simplify, without success. This is where GPT-5.2 came into the picture and produced a simplified formula for the general case.
"The equation was subsequently verified analytically to solve the Berends-Giele recursion relation, a standard step-by-step method for building multi-particle tree amplitudes from smaller building blocks. It was also checked against the soft theorem, which constrains how amplitudes behave when a particle becomes soft," the preprint highlighted.
"With the help of GPT-5.2, these amplitudes have already been extended from gluons to gravitons, and other generalisations are also on their way. These AI-assisted results, and many others, will be reported on elsewhere."
'Will Inspire Future Developments'
Reacting to the novel result, Grek Brockman, president and co-founder of OpenAI, pointed out that "there is great promise in the potential of AI to benefit people by accelerating science".
"I am already thinking about this preprint's implications for aspects of my group's research program. This is clearly journal-level research advancing the frontiers of theoretical physics, and its novelty will inspire future developments and subsequent publications," said Nathaniel Craig, professor of physics at the University of California.
