Thomas Hartman, assistant professor of physics, studies high-energy theoretical physics. His goal, he explains in this article in Cornell Research, is to bring to light the fundamental properties of nature, which derive from the subatomic world of quantum physics.
“Comprehending the fundamental theory of spacetime is linked to the problem of understanding the constituents of matter and how they interact, especially gravity and how it fits in with everything else,” he explains in the piece.
Tenbergen/Creative Commons license 4.0
A sun dog and 22 degree halo appearing over Winnipeg, Canada. Sun dogs and other visual effects occur when icy crystals in Earth’s atmosphere align in certain ways; Cornell astronomers predict that similar effects can appear when starlight interacts with quartz crystals in exoplanet atmospheres.