Theoretical problems

The following problems are either fundamental theoretical problems, or theoretical ideas
which lack experimental evidence and are in search of one, or both, as most of them are.
Some of these problems are strongly interrelated. For example, extra dimensions or
supersymmetry may solve the hierarchy problem. It is thought that a full theory of
quantum gravity should be capable of answering most of these problems (other than the
Island of stability problem).

[edit] Quantum gravity, cosmology, and general relativity

Vacuum catastrophe
Why does the predicted mass of the quantum vacuum have little effect on the
expansion of the universe?
Quantum gravity
How can quantum mechanics and general relativity be realized as a fully
consistent quantum field theory?[1] Is spacetime fundamentally continuous or
discrete? Would a consistent theory involve a force mediated by a hypothetical
graviton, or be a product of a discrete structure of spacetime itself (as in loop
quantum gravity)? Are there deviations from the predictions of general relativity
at very small or very large scales or in other extreme circumstances that flow from
a quantum gravity theory?
Black holes, black hole information paradox, and black hole radiation
Do black holes produce thermal radiation, as expected on theoretical grounds?
Does this radiation contain information about their inner structure, as suggested
by Gauge-gravity duality, or not, as implied by Hawking's original calculation? If
not, and black holes can evaporate away, what happens to the information stored
in them (quantum mechanics does not provide for the destruction of information)?
Or does the radiation stop at some point leaving black hole remnants? Is there
another way to probe their internal structure somehow, if such a structure even
exists?
Extra dimensions
Does nature have more than four spacetime dimensions? If so, what is their size?
Are dimensions a fundamental property of the universe or an emergent result of
other physical laws? Can we experimentally "see" evidence of higher spatial
dimensions?
Cosmic inflation
Is the theory of cosmic inflation correct, and if so, what are the details of this
epoch? What is the hypothetical inflaton field giving rise to inflation? If inflation
happened at one point, is it self-sustaining through inflation of quantum-
mechanical fluctuations, and thus ongoing in some impossibly distant place?
Multiverses
Are there physical reasons to expect other universes that are fundamentally non-
observable? For instance: Are there quantum mechanical "alternative histories" or
"many worlds"? Are there "other" universes with physical laws resulting from
alternate ways of breaking the apparent symmetries of physical forces at high
 energies, possibly incredibly far away due to cosmic inflation? Is the use of the
anthropic principle to resolve global cosmological dilemmas justified?
The cosmic censorship hypothesis and the chronology protection conjecture
Can singularities not hidden behind an event horizon, known as "naked
singularities", arise from realistic initial conditions, or is it possible to prove some
version of the "cosmic censorship hypothesis" of Roger Penrose which proposes
that this is impossible?[2] Similarly, will the closed timelike curves which arise in
some solutions to the equations of general relativity (and which imply the
possibility of backwards time travel) be ruled out by a theory of quantum gravity
which unites general relativity with quantum mechanics, as suggested by the
"chronology protection conjecture" of Stephen Hawking?
Arrow of time
What do the phenomena that differ going forward and backwards in time tell us
about the nature of time? How does time differ from space? Why are CP
violations observed in certain weak force decays, but not elsewhere? Are CP
violations somehow a product of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, or are they
a separate arrow of time? Are there exceptions to the principle of causality? Is
there a single possible past?
Locality
Are there non-local phenomena in quantum physics? If they exist, are non-local
phenomena limited to transfers of information, or can energy and matter also
move in a non-local way? Under what circumstances are non-local phenomena
observed? What does the existence or absence of non-local phenomena imply
about the fundamental structure of spacetime? How does this relate to quantum
entanglement? How does this elucidate the proper interpretation of the
fundamental nature of quantum physics?
Future of the universe
Is the universe heading towards a Big Freeze, a Big Rip, a Big Crunch or a Big
Bounce ? Is our universe part of an infinitely recurring cyclic model?

[edit] High energy physics/Particle physics

See also: Beyond the Standard Model

Higgs mechanism
Does the Higgs particle exist? What are the implications if it does not?
Hierarchy problem
Why is gravity such a weak force? It becomes strong for particles only at the
Planck scale, around 1019 GeV, much above the electroweak scale (100 GeV, the
energy scale dominating physics at low energies). Why are these scales so
different from each other? What prevents quantities at the electroweak scale, such
as the Higgs boson mass, from getting quantum corrections on the order of the
Planck scale? Is the solution supersymmetry, extra dimensions, or just anthropic
fine-tuning?
Magnetic monopoles
Do particles that carry "magnetic charge" exist? The existence of magnetic
monopoles would explain charge quantization.
Proton decay and unification
How do we unify the three different quantum mechanical fundamental
interactions of quantum field theory? As the lightest baryon, are protons
absolutely stable? If not, then what is the proton's half-life?
Supersymmetry
Is spacetime supersymmetry realized in nature? If so, what is the mechanism of
supersymmetry breaking? Does supersymmetry stabilize the electroweak scale,
preventing high quantum corrections? Does the lightest supersymmetric particle
comprise dark matter?
Generations of matter
Are there more than three generations of quarks and leptons? Why are there
generations at all? Is there a theory that can explain the masses of particular
quarks and leptons in particular generations from first principles?
Fundamental symmetries and Neutrinos
What is the nature of the neutrinos, what are their masses, and how have they
shaped the evolution of the universe? Why is there now more detectable matter
than antimatter in the universe? What are the unseen forces that were present at
the dawn of the universe but disappeared from view as the universe evolved?

[edit] Nuclear physics

Quantum chromodynamics
What are the phases of strongly interacting matter, and what roles do they play in
the cosmos? What is the internal landscape of the nucleons? What does QCD
predict for the properties of strongly interacting matter? What governs the
transition of quarks and gluons into pions and nucleons? What is the role of
gluons and gluon self-interactions in nucleons and nuclei? What determines the
key features of QCD, and what is their relation to the nature of gravity and
spacetime?
Nuclei and Nuclear astrophysics
What is the nature of the nuclear force that binds protons and neutrons into stable
nuclei and rare isotopes? What is the origin of simple patterns in complex nuclei?
What is the nature of neutron stars and dense nuclear matter? What is the origin of
the elements in the cosmos? What are the nuclear reactions that drive stars and
stellar explosions?
Island of stability
What is the heaviest possible stable or metastable nucleus?

[edit] Other problems

Quantum mechanics in the correspondence limit (sometimes called Quantum chaos)

Is there a preferred interpretation of quantum mechanics? How does the quantum
description of reality, which includes elements such as the superposition of states
and wavefunction collapse or quantum decoherence, give rise to the reality we
perceive? Another way of stating this is the Measurement problem - what
 constitutes a "measurement" which causes the wave function to collapse into a
definite state?
Physical information
Are there physical phenomena, such as black holes or wave function collapse,
which irrevocably destroy information about their prior states?
Theory of everything
Is there a theory which explains the values of all fundamental physical constants?
[3]
Is there a theory which explains why the gauge groups of the standard model
are as they are, why observed space-time has 3 + 1 dimensions, and why all laws
of physics are as they are? Do "fundamental physical constants" vary over time?
Are any of the particles in the standard model of particle physics actually
composite particles too tightly bound to observe as such at current experimental
energies? Are there fundamental particles that have not yet been observed and if
so which ones are they and what are their properties? Are there unobserved
fundamental forces implied by a theory that explains other unsolved problems in
physics?

[edit] Empirical phenomena lacking clear scientific

explanation
[edit] Cosmology and astronomy

Baryon asymmetry
Why is there far more matter than antimatter in the observable universe?
Cosmological constant problem
Why doesn't the zero-point energy of the vacuum cause a large cosmological
constant? What cancels it out?
Dark energy
What is the cause of the observed accelerated expansion (deSitter phase) of the
Universe? Why is the energy density of the dark energy component of the same
magnitude as the density of matter at present when the two evolve quite
differently over time; could it be simply that we are observing at exactly the right
time? Is dark energy a pure cosmological constant, or are models of quintessence
such as phantom energy applicable?
Dark matter
What is dark matter?[4] Is it related to supersymmetry? Do the phenomena
attributed to dark matter point not to some form of matter but actually to an
extension of gravity?
Entropy (arrow of time)
Why did the universe have such low entropy in the past, resulting in the
distinction between past and future and the second law of thermodynamics?[5]
Horizon problem
Why is the distant universe so homogenous, when the Big Bang theory seems to
predict measurable anisotropies of the night sky larger than those observed?
 Possible approaches to a solution are inflation and the variable speed of light
hypothesis.
Ecliptic alignment of CMB anisotropy
Some large features of the microwave sky, at distances of over 13 billion light
years, appear to be aligned with both the motion and orientation of the Solar
System. Is this due to systematic errors in processing, contamination of results by
local effects, or an unexplained violation of the Copernican principle?
Shape of the Universe
What is the 3-manifold of comoving space, i.e. of a comoving spatial section of
the Universe, informally called the "shape" of the Universe? Neither the curvature
nor the topology is presently known, though the curvature is known to be "close"
to zero on observable scales. The cosmic inflation hypothesis suggests that the
shape of the Universe may be unmeasurable, but since 2003, Jean-Pierre Luminet
et al. and other groups have suggested that the shape of the Universe may be the
Poincaré dodecahedral space. Is the shape unmeasurable, the Poincaré space, or
another 3-manifold?

[edit] High energy physics/Particle physics

Electroweak symmetry breaking

What is the mechanism responsible for breaking the electroweak gauge
symmetry, giving mass to the W and Z bosons? Is it the simple Higgs mechanism
of the Standard Model,[6] or does nature make use of strong dynamics in breaking
electroweak symmetry, as proposed by Technicolor?
Neutrino mass
What is the mechanism responsible for generating neutrino masses? Is the
neutrino its own antiparticle? Or could it be an antiparticle that simply cannot join
and annihilate with a normal particle because of its irregular state?
Inertial mass/gravitational mass ratio of elementary particles
According to the equivalence principle of general relativity, the ratio of inertial
mass to gravitational mass of all elementary particles is the same. However, there
is no experimental confirmation for many particles. In particular, we do not know
what the weight of a macroscopic lump of antimatter of known mass would be.
Proton spin crisis
As initially measured by the European Muon Collaboration, the three main
("valence") quarks of the proton account for about 12% of its total spin. Can the
gluons that bind the quarks together, as well as the "sea" of quark pairs that are
continually being created and annihilating, properly account for the rest of it?
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) in the non-perturbative regime
The equations of QCD remain unsolved at energy scales relevant for describing
atomic nuclei, and, amoung others, mainly numerical approaches seem to begin to
give answers at this limit. How does QCD give rise to the physics of nuclei and
nuclear constituents?
Confinement
 Why has there never been measured a free quark or gluon, but only objects that
are built out of them, like Mesons and Baryons? How does this phenomenon
emerge from QCD?
Strong CP problem and axions
Why is the strong nuclear interaction invariant to parity and charge conjugation?
Is Peccei-Quinn theory the solution to this problem?
Hypothetical particles
Which of the hypothetical particles predicted by supersymmetric theories and
other fairly well-known theories actually occur in nature?

[edit] Astronomy and astrophysics

Accretion disc jets

Why do the accretion discs surrounding certain astronomical objects, such as the
nuclei of active galaxies, emit relativistic jets along their polar axes? Why are
there Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in many accretion discs? Why does the period
of these oscillations scale as the inverse of the mass of the central object? Why
are there sometimes overtones, and why do these appear at different frequency
ratios in different objects?
Coronal heating problem
Why is the Sun's Corona (atmosphere layer) so much hotter than the Sun's
surface? Why is the magnetic reconnection effect many orders of magnitude
faster than predicted by standard models?
Gamma ray bursts
How do these short-duration high-intensity bursts originate?[7]
Supermassive black holes
What is the origin of the M-sigma relation between supermassive black hole mass
and galaxy velocity dispersion?[8]
Observational anomalies
Hipparcos anomaly: What is the actual distance to the Pleiades?
Pioneer anomaly[4]: What causes the small additional sunward acceleration of the
Pioneer spacecraft?[9][10]
Flyby anomaly: Why is the observed energy of satellites flying by earth different
by a minute amount from the value predicted by theory?
Galaxy rotation problem: Is dark matter responsible for differences in observed
and theoretical speed of stars revolving around the center of galaxies, or is it
something else?
Supernovae: What is the exact mechanism by which an implosion of a dying star
becomes an explosion?
Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray[4]
Why is it that some cosmic rays appear to possess energies that are impossibly
high (the so called OMG particle), given that there are no sufficiently energetic
cosmic ray sources near the Earth? Why is it that (apparently) some cosmic rays
emitted by distant sources have energies above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin
limit?[11][12]
Pulsar Time Dilation
 Why do the emissions from pulsars at great cosmological distances fail to exhibit
the predicted time dilation properties?
Rotation rate of Saturn
Why does the magnetosphere of Saturn exhibit a (slowly changing) periodicity
close to that at which the planet's clouds rotate? What is the true rotation rate of
Saturn's deep interior? [13]

[edit] Condensed matter physics

Amorphous solids
What is the nature of the glass transition between a fluid or regular solid and a
glassy phase? What are the physical processes giving rise to the general properties
and the physics of glasses?[14]
Cryogenic electron emission
Why does the electron emission in the absence of light increase as the temperature
of a photomultiplier is decreased?[15][16]
High-temperature superconductors
What is the mechanism that causes certain materials to exhibit superconductivity
at temperatures much higher than around 50 kelvin?[17]
Sonoluminescence
What causes the emission of short bursts of light from imploding bubbles in a
liquid when excited by sound?
Turbulence
Is it possible to make a theoretical model to describe the statistics of a turbulent
flow (in particular, its internal structures)?[18] Also, under what conditions do
smooth solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations exist? This is probably the last
unsolved problem in Classical or Newtonian Physics .

[edit] Biological problems approached with physics

These fields of research normally belong to biology, and traditionally were not included
in physics but are included here because increasingly it is physicists who are researching
them using methods and tools more popular in physics research than biology.[19][20]
Synaptic plasticity
It is necessary for computational and physical models of the brain, but what
causes it, and what role does it play in higher-order processing outside the
hippocampus and visual cortex?
Axon guidance
How do axons branching out from neurons find their targets? This process is
crucial to nervous system development, allowing the building up of the brain.
Stochasticity and robustness to noise in gene expression
How do genes govern our body, withstanding different external pressures and
internal stochasticity? Certain models exist for genetic processes, but we are far
from understanding the whole picture, in particular in development where gene
expression must be tightly regulated.
Quantitative study of the immune system
 What are the quantitative properties of immune responses? What are the basic
building blocks of immune system networks? What roles are played by
stochasticity?

[edit] Problems solved in recent decades

Long-duration gamma ray bursts (2003)
Long-duration bursts are associated with the deaths of massive stars in a specific
kind of supernova-like event commonly referred to as a collapsar.
Solar neutrino problem (2002)
Solved by a new understanding of neutrino physics, requiring a modification of
the Standard Model of particle physics—specifically, neutrino oscillation.
Age Crisis (1990s)
The estimated age of the universe was around 3 to 8 billion years younger than
estimates of the ages of the oldest stars in our galaxy. Better estimates for the
distances to the stars and the addition of dark energy into the cosmological model
reconciled the age estimates.
Quasars (1980s)
The nature of quasars was not understood for decades[21]. They are now accepted
as a type of active galaxy where the enormous energy output results from matter
falling into a massive black hole in the center of the galaxy[22].