Pavel Galashin’s discovery links origami patterns to the amplituhedron, a geometric shape in physics that predicts how particles interact. This connection helps resolve an open question about the amplituhedron’s structure and has implications for computing scattering amplitudes.
In physics, the amplituhedron is used to calculate probabilities of particle interactions. However, this calculation becomes increasingly complex as the number of particles increases. To simplify this process, Galashin found a connection between origami patterns and the amplituhedron. This discovery allows him to define points in high-dimensional space using crease patterns, which correspond to regions within the amplituhedron.
The result is significant because it resolves an open question about the triangulation conjecture, which questions whether the amplituhedron can be subdivided into simpler building blocks without gaps or overlaps. Galashin’s work demonstrates that this is possible and provides a new way of thinking about the shape.
This breakthrough has implications for computing scattering amplitudes in particle physics. Instead of breaking down complex calculations into smaller pieces, researchers may be able to use origami patterns to directly compute the volume of the amplituhedron, leading to more efficient calculations.
Source: https://www.quantamagazine.org/origami-patterns-solve-a-major-physics-riddle-20251006