内容来源：https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-physics-20251217/

内容总结：

量子理论百年庆典：一场关于现实本质的激烈辩论

今年夏天，数百名世界顶尖量子物理学家齐聚北海，前往量子力学的诞生地——黑尔戈兰岛，参加该理论问世一百周年的历史性会议。自维尔纳·海森堡在黑尔戈兰岛的崎岖悬崖上成功构建量子理论框架以来，这一理论已彻底改变了世界。然而，一个世纪过去了，物理学家们对其深层含义及所揭示的现实本质仍争论不休、困惑不已。会议期间，关于量子理论各种诠释的激烈辩论甚至在渡轮上就已展开，生动体现了该领域仍处于“一团乱麻”的探索状态。

暗能量可能正在减弱？新证据引发宇宙学关注

在基础物理学领域，今年最重要的进展再次指向暗能量。暗能量光谱仪（DESI）项目于2024年4月发布宇宙地图，首次暗示这种推动宇宙膨胀的神秘排斥力可能随时间减弱。今年3月，DESI团队基于对1500万个星系（去年为600万）的观测发布了更强大的证据，进一步支持了这一可能性。同期，另一项“暗能量巡天”项目也报告了类似迹象。尽管当前数据的统计显著性尚不足以宣告“发现”，但已强烈指向暗能量性质或许并非恒定。未来十年，智利新投入运行的薇拉·鲁宾天文台将对200亿个星系进行测绘，有望最终解答暗能量是否变化这一根本问题。

韦伯望远镜发现“裸”黑洞，挑战早期宇宙认知

詹姆斯·韦伯空间望远镜对早期宇宙的观测取得重大突破。它发现了一个存在于宇宙诞生初期、质量相当于5000万个太阳的巨型黑洞。该黑洞独特之处在于，它孤独地存在于年轻宇宙中，仅被极稀薄的气体笼罩，周围未见宿主星系。这一发现颠覆了传统认知——即黑洞通常形成于星系之后，由恒星坍缩并合并增长而来。这个“裸”黑洞的存在，迫使科学家重新思考早期宇宙中黑洞的形成机制，甚至引发其是否可能源自宇宙大爆炸本身的猜想。

气候建模：人类预见未来的非凡科学征程

回顾气候科学的发展，气候建模的历程堪称一项史诗级成就。过去60年间，科学家致力于构建地球的计算机模型，以预测未来气候。其本质在于求解描述全球流体运动的庞大方程组。这一过程体现了科学的精髓：从自然无限复杂性中提炼关键要素，构建人类可理解的自然叙事。尽管模型给出的未来图景严峻，但其成功构建本身已是人类智慧的非凡见证。

AI涉足物理研究：设计诡异实验与生成“学术垃圾”并存

人工智能在物理学中的应用呈现两面性。一方面，AI展现出设计物理实验的独特能力，它能构思出人类难以想到、却行之有效的诡异实验方案。另一方面，AI的滥用也带来新问题。例如，聊天机器人被用于生成看似合理实则毫无意义的计算和证明，导致大量“AI学术垃圾”试图涌入预印本网站。有网站管理员指出，这类由“半专业人士”产生的低质内容提交量自2023年起急剧上升，对学术交流的既有筛选机制构成了“生存性威胁”。

中文翻译：

卡洛斯·阿罗霍为《量子杂志》撰稿
《“一团乱麻”：量子理论百年诞辰庆典的烧脑之旅》
今年物理学界最让我难忘的一幕，发生在今年夏天——当《量子杂志》特约撰稿人查理·伍德在北海一艘满载物理学家的渡轮上晕船时。但这绝不代表我对查理本人有任何意见。
当时，查理与数百位世界顶尖量子研究者正前往量子力学的诞生地——黑尔戈兰岛，参加一场纪念该理论百年诞辰的历史性会议。自维尔纳·海森堡在黑尔戈兰嶙峋的峭壁间成功构建量子理论以来的一百年间，量子力学已彻底改变了世界。然而物理学家们对其内涵及其揭示的现实本质仍困惑不已、分歧重重。查理对黑尔戈兰会议的生动记述，梳理了当前量子诠释理论盘根错节的现状。
激烈的争论在乘客登船后不久便已展开。随着船身颠簸摇晃，查理开始感到恶心，此时一位物理学家冲着另一人喊道：“你这话到底什么意思？”

DESI合作项目
暗能量正在减弱？新证据强化了这一观点
今年基础物理学界最大的新闻，其实也是去年最大的新闻。2024年4月，暗能量光谱仪（DESI）发布的宇宙图谱暗示，推动空间膨胀的排斥力——暗能量——正随时间逐渐减弱。这发现有趣得令人难以置信，但今年3月，DESI的物理学家带着更庞大的宇宙图谱（此次包含1500万个星系，而非之前的600万个）和更确凿的结论重返讲台。“我们比去年更加确信，这绝对是真实存在的现象。”一位DESI成员告诉《量子杂志》。同月，另一项研究“暗能量巡天”也报告了暗能量正在减弱的证据。
暗能量稀薄地弥漫在整个空间，每立方米仅相当于几个原子的质量；它可以被视为空间本身的能量。但其来源为何、为何如此弥散，至今无人能解。如果暗能量密度真的在数十亿年间持续下降，那将指向与“密度恒定”假设完全不同的理论解释。
2025年的数据在统计上仍不足以构成确凿发现，需要更多观测资料。幸运的是，今年夏季在智利投入运行的维拉·C·鲁宾天文台将在未来十年绘制200亿个星系的位置图。这应能帮助研究者最终确认暗能量是否真的在变化。

《量子杂志》；资料来源：JWST/NASA/ESA/CSA及卢卡斯·弗塔克
一个“赤裸”的黑洞改写了宇宙历史
提到旗舰级望远镜，詹姆斯·韦伯空间望远镜在早期宇宙研究方面取得了重大发现。在这台望远镜几年前发射之前，我们对宇宙最初十亿年的景象几乎一无所知。此后，韦伯望远镜在婴儿期的宇宙中发现了恰如其名的“小红点”。如今物理学家已确认其中某个红点的真身：它是一个质量相当于5000万个太阳的巨大黑洞，独自存在于年轻宇宙中，仅包裹着极稀薄的气体帷幕。
我们此前也曾探测到黑洞，但这个“赤裸”的黑洞却独一无二。它凭一己之力颠覆了人们对早期宇宙的认知。传统理论认为黑洞仅在星系形成后出现——恒星在引力作用下坍缩成黑洞，再通过合并逐渐增长。但这个新发现的巨无霸周围却不见星系的踪影。或许星系是后来才在其周围形成的。这个赤裸黑洞（以及其他类似天体）如何在早期宇宙中形成——它是否可能源自宇宙大爆炸本身——仍有待探究。“这令人极度兴奋，且极具启发性。”参与其身份确认的物理学家如是说。

马克·贝兰为《量子杂志》撰稿
气候科学家如何预见未来
今年9月，作为《量子杂志》气候科学特辑《认知地球之路》的组成部分，扎克·萨维茨基讲述了气候建模的史诗历程：过去60年间，人类为构建地球计算机模型以预测未来所付出的努力——这很大程度上是一场成功的探索。
答案令人忧心，但成就却震撼人心。
气候建模本质上等同于求解描述流体如何在全球流动的庞大方程组。而确定建模方法——哪些因素需纳入模型、哪些可以忽略——的过程，正是整个科学研究的缩影。认知始终源于对关键因素的精准把握与对冗余信息的舍弃，源于将自然无穷的复杂性压缩成人类可理解的宇宙叙事。

塞尼奥尔·萨尔梅为《量子杂志》撰稿
AI设计出怪异的物理实验，但它们确实可行
随着今年AI成为焦点，人们自然会好奇：这些号称聪明的新机器伙伴，是否正在助力我们最深奥的学术探索？7月，阿尼尔·阿南塔斯瓦米报道了AI迄今对物理学产生的影响。值得注意的是，计算机似乎擅长构思怪异的物理实验——这些人类难以想到的设计，却往往行之有效。
AI的另一影响是：越来越多聊天机器人被用于生成看似合理实则胡言乱语的计算式和证明。今年6月，我难以判断某篇发布在物理学预印本网站arxiv.org的论文是否真如其所称，解决了杨-米尔斯质量间隙问题（这项关于强力的计算难度极高，悬赏金额达100万美元）。事实证明并未解决。论文中的公式是AI生成的胡诌，却通过了arxiv.org的自动过滤。“自2023年以来，论文拒稿率急剧上升，近几个月更是持续飙升，这完全是由半专业人士的AI垃圾内容导致的。”网站管理员、物理学家保罗·金斯帕格告诉我。他表示，这种劣质内容“对arxiv的运行机制构成了生存威胁”。

英文来源：

Carlos Arrojo for Quanta Magazine
‘It’s a Mess’: A Brain-Bending Trip to Quantum Theory’s 100th Birthday Party
It in no way reflects my feelings toward Quanta staff writer Charlie Wood that my favorite moment of the year in physics happened when he got seasick this summer aboard a ferry full of physicists on the North Sea.
Charlie and hundreds of the world’s top quantum researchers were en route to Helgoland, the island birthplace of quantum mechanics, for a historic conference to mark the theory’s centennial. In the hundred years since Werner Heisenberg successfully formulated quantum theory while scrambling over Helgoland’s rugged cliffsides, quantum mechanics has transformed the world. Yet physicists remain confused and divided over the theory’s meaning and what it implies about the nature of reality. Charlie’s rip-roaring account of the Helgoland conference surveys the tangled web of quantum interpretations that are in play.
The heated debate got underway not long after the passengers embarked. “What do you mean, what do I mean?” one physicist yelled at another, as the boat pitched and rolled and Charlie’s queasiness set in.
DESI Collaboration
Is Dark Energy Getting Weaker? New Evidence Strengthens the Case.
The biggest news this year in fundamental physics was also the biggest news last year. In April 2024, a map of the cosmos released by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) hinted that dark energy, the repulsive agent that’s driving the expansion of space, has been weakening over time. It seemed too interesting to be true, but this March, DESI physicists returned to the podium with an even bigger cosmological map (15 million galaxies this time, rather than 6 million) and a stronger conclusion. “We are much more certain than last year that this is definitely a thing,” one DESI member told Quanta. The same month, a second effort, the Dark Energy Survey, also reported evidence that dark energy is losing steam.
Dark energy is spread thinly throughout space, amounting to a few atoms’ worth of mass per cubic meter; it can be thought of as the energy of space itself. But where it comes from, and why it is so diffuse, no one can say. If dark energy’s density really is dropping from one gigayear to the next, that points to a totally different explanation than if it were holding steady.
The 2025 results are still not statistically strong enough to constitute a discovery. More data is needed. Luckily, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a powerful new telescope in Chile that began operations this summer, will map the locations of 20 billion galaxies over the next decade. That ought to be enough for researchers to say for sure whether dark energy is varying or not.
Quanta Magazine; source: JWST/NASA/ESA/CSA and Lukas Furtak
A Single, ‘Naked’ Black Hole Rewrites the History of the Universe
Speaking of flagship telescopes, the James Webb Space Telescope yielded a major discovery about the early universe. We could barely see anything from the first billion years until the Webb launched a few years ago. Since then, the telescope has spotted aptly named “little red dots” all over the infant cosmos. Now physicists have worked out the identity of one of the dots: It’s an enormous black hole weighing 50 million suns, sitting alone in the young universe, shrouded by the thinnest veil of gas.
We’ve detected black holes before, but this “naked” one is unique. It singlehandedly upends notions about the young universe. Black holes were thought to have come along only after the formation of galaxies, once stars gravitationally collapsed into black holes that then merged and grew. But this newfound behemoth exists with no galaxy in sight. Perhaps a galaxy took shape around it later. How this naked black hole (and any others like it) formed in the early universe — and whether it might even be primordial, originating from the Big Bang itself — has yet to be determined. “It’s terribly exciting. It’s highly informative,” said one of the physicists who worked out its identity.
Mark Belan/Quanta Magazine
How Climate Scientists Saw the Future Before It Arrived
In September, as part of How We Came To Know Earth, Quanta’s special issue on climate science, Zack Savitsky told the epic story of climate modeling: an account of humanity’s largely successful quest over the past 60 years to build a computer model of Earth in order to ask what the future holds.
The answer is dire. But the achievement is awe-inspiring.
Climate modeling essentially amounts to solving an enormous set of equations describing how fluids slosh around the globe. The process of figuring out how to do that — what to put in the model and what to leave out — serves as a synecdoche for science as a whole. Always, understanding comes from pinpointing the relevant factors and forgetting the rest, from compressing nature’s endless intricacies into a human-readable story about the universe.
Señor Salme for Quanta Magazine
AI Comes Up With Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work.
With all the attention on AI this year, it’s natural to wonder whether our purportedly clever new machine friends are helping with our headiest human pursuits. In July, Anil Ananthaswamy reported on the impact AI is having on physics so far. Notably, the computers seem to have a knack for concocting bizarre physics experiments — designs that humans wouldn’t think of, which nevertheless work.
Another impact of AI is the growing use of chatbots to generate calculations and proofs that look legitimate but are gibberish. In June, I had trouble telling whether someone really had solved the Yang-Mills mass gap problem — a calculation pertaining to the strong force that’s so difficult, it comes with a $1 million reward — as claimed in a paper posted to the physics preprint site arxiv.org. They had not. The formulas in the paper were AI-generated claptrap, but the paper had slipped through arxiv.org’s automatic filters. “The rejected-submission rate has risen dramatically since 2023 and has continued spiking upward in recent months, all driven by AI slop from quasi-technical people,” site administrator and physicist Paul Ginsparg told me. This dreck, he said, “poses an existential threat to arxiv methodology.”