OpenAI's GPT-5.2 conjectured a physics formula that its authors later proved correct
A preprint reports the AI model spotted a pattern in gluon scattering amplitudes and proposed a general formula after humans computed specific cases by hand.
OpenAI's GPT-5.2 Pro proposed a formula for a gluon scattering amplitude that the human authors of a new preprint subsequently proved and verified, the company said.
The paper, titled "Single-minus gluon tree amplitudes are nonzero," is authored by Alfredo Guevara of the Institute for Advanced Study, Alex Lupsasca of Vanderbilt University and OpenAI, David Skinner of the University of Cambridge, Andrew Strominger of Harvard University, and Kevin Weil of OpenAI.
The preprint studies a scattering amplitude configuration in which one gluon, a subatomic particle that mediates the strong nuclear force, has negative helicity while the remaining gluons have positive helicity, a case that has generally been treated as vanishing at tree level under generic momenta.
According to the paper, the authors identify a precisely defined half-collinear slice of momentum space where standard textbook arguments do not apply and the amplitude does not vanish.
The human researchers first worked out amplitudes for specific cases up to six gluons by hand, producing complicated expressions.
GPT-5.2 Pro then provided simpler forms, spotted a pattern across those cases and posited a general formula.
An internal scaffolded version of GPT-5.2 subsequently spent roughly 12 hours reasoning through the problem and produced a formal proof, the paper reports.
The resulting equation was verified analytically to solve the Berends-Giele recursion relation and checked against the soft theorem.
"To me, finding a simple formula has always been fiddly, and also something that I have long felt might be automatable by computers," Nima Arkani-Hamed, professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study specialising in theoretical high-energy physics, said in the release.
Related reading
- OpenAI says its Codex AI agent wrote every line of code in new product repository
- OpenAI to deploy ChatGPT on Pentagon's secure AI platform
- DeepClaw lets users create a personal AI phone agent with a single call
The paper also notes that extensions to gravitons and other generalisations are underway, and says additional AI-assisted results will be reported elsewhere.
The preprint is available on arXiv and is being submitted for publication, with the authors welcoming feedback from the community.
The Recap
- GPT‑5.2 proposed a formula for a nonzero single-minus gluon amplitude.
- An internal model proved the formula and authors verified it.
- The preprint is on arXiv and being submitted for publication.
