AI just discovered new physics in the fourth state of matter
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AI just discovered new physics in the fourth state of matter
AI just helped physicists spot new laws of nature hiding in a chaotic particle system—and it might work everywhere.
Date:
April 23, 2026
Source:
Emory University
Summary:
Physicists have taken a major step toward using AI not just to analyze data, but to uncover entirely new laws of nature. By combining a specially designed neural network with precise 3D tracking of particles in a dusty plasma—a strange “fourth state of matter” found from space to wildfires—the team revealed hidden patterns in how particles interact. Their model captured complex, one-way (non-reciprocal) forces with over 99% accuracy and even overturned long-held assumptions about how these forces behave.
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A new AI approach has revealed surprising, previously hidden rules governing how particles interact in a plasma. Even better, it challenges long-standing assumptions and could help scientists uncover laws in complex systems across physics and biology. Credit: AI/ScienceDaily.com
Physicists have used a machine learning approach to reveal unexpected details about how particles interact in complex systems. Their work focuses on non-reciprocal forces, where one particle influences another differently than it is influenced in return.
The findings, published in PNAS, come from a collaboration between experimental and theoretical physicists at Emory University. By combining a custom neural network with laboratory data from a dusty plasma, the team showed that artificial intelligence can do more than analyze data or make predictions. It can help uncover entirely new physical laws.
"We showed that we can use AI to discover new physics," says Justin Burton, an Emory professor of experimental physics and senior co-author of the paper. "Our AI method is not a black box: we understand how and why it works. The framework it provides is also universal. It could potentially be applied to other many-body systems to open new routes to discovery."
High-Precision Insights Into Dusty Plasma Forces
The study offers one of the most detailed descriptions to date of the physics governing dusty plasma. This system consists of ionized gas filled with interacting charged particles, including tiny grains of dust.
Using their AI model, the researchers were able to describe non-reciprocal forces with more than 99% accuracy. These forces are notoriously difficult to measure and model.
"We can describe these forces with an accuracy of more than 99%," says Ilya Nemenman, an Emory professor of theoretical physics and co-senior author of the paper. "What's even more interesting is that we show that some common theoretical assumptions about these forces are not quite accurate. We're able to correct these inaccuracies because we can now see what's occurring in such exquisite detail."
The team believes this method could be applied broadly to systems made up of many interacting components. These range from industrial materials such as paint and ink to groups of living cells.
The study's first author is Wentao Yu, who worked on the project as an Emory PhD student and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Co-author Eslam Abdelaleem also contributed as an Emory graduate student and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Georgia Tech.
The research was primarily supported by the National Science Foundation, with additional funding from the Simons Foundation.
"This project serves as a great example of an interdisciplinary collaboration where the development of new knowledge in plasma physics and AI may lead to further advances in the study of living systems," says Vyacheslav (Slava) Lukin, program director for the NSF Plasma Physics program. "The dynamics of these complex systems is dominated by collective interactions that emerging AI techniques may help us to better describe, recognize, understand and even control."
The Fourth State of Matter Explained
Plasma is often called the fourth state of matter. In this state, gas becomes ionized, meaning electrons and ions move freely and create unique properties such as electrical conductivity. Plasma makes up about 99.9% of the visible universe, from the solar wind streaming from the Sun to lightning strikes on Earth.
Dusty plasma includes additional charged dust particles and appears in many environments, from the rings of Saturn to the Earth's ionosphere.
On the Moon, weak gravity allows charged dust to hover above the surface. "That's why when astronauts walk on the moon their suits get covered in dust," Burton explains.
On Earth, dusty plasma can form during wildfires when soot mixes with smoke. These charged particles can disrupt radio signals, making communication more difficult for firefighters.
Tracking Particle Motion in 3D
Burton's lab studies dusty plasma and similar materials by recreating them in controlled