Nobel Laureate Utilises AI to Solve Decade-Old Physics Problem
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has helped the 2021 Nobel Prize laureate in Physics, Giorgio Parisi, solve a mathematical problem in physics that had left scientists at a dead end for more than a decade.
According to the Nobel Prize website, the finding was published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment in early July 2026. Together with physicist Francesco Zamponi of Sapienza University of Rome, Parisi used Claude, a generative AI model developed by Anthropic, to find a mathematical proof that had previously eluded conventional methods.
The success has drawn attention because it demonstrates that AI can play a role in scientific research requiring high-level reasoning.
The story began in 2014, when Parisi and his team studied the phenomenon of jamming, a condition in which a collection of particles changes from moving freely to locking together due to extremely high density. The phenomenon is commonly found in granular materials, glass, and complex particle systems.
In that research, they identified two mathematical parameters, a and b, that always satisfy the equation a + b = 1. Unfortunately, no mathematical explanation could prove why this relationship always holds true.
Separate research by physicist Matthieu Wyart, using a different approach, produced a similar relationship. Although this strengthened the suspicion that an undiscovered physical principle was at work, all attempts to find an analytical proof failed for more than ten years.
After years of stagnation, Parisi tried a different approach by using Claude as a scientific discussion partner. The AI was asked to study the previous research before seeking a mathematical proof of the unsolved equation.
According to a report by Live Science, in only around 40 prompts, Claude managed to propose a new approach. Although it still contained some technical errors, its core idea was deemed correct.
Armed with that idea, Parisi and Zamponi then verified and refined all the calculations, producing a complete proof that was ultimately published in the scientific journal.
Parisi stressed that AI did not replace the role of scientists in this research. Claude merely offered a new perspective that helped open a way out of a problem that had remained unsolved for years. All verification, refinement of calculations, and validation of results were carried out by the researchers.
The achievement serves as an example of how generative AI can function as a research tool for solving highly complex mathematical and physics problems. A number of experts believe that collaboration between humans and AI has the potential to change how research is conducted in the future, from formulating hypotheses to exploring various possible solutions, while scientific decisions remain in the hands of the researchers.