GPT-5.2 conjectures, and an OpenAI model proves, that ‘single-minus’ gluon tree amplitudes are nonzero
Disputed
The takeaway
A preprint by Guevara, Lupsasca, Skinner, Strominger and OpenAI’s Kevin Weil showed that tree-level single-minus gluon amplitudes, long assumed to vanish, are nonzero in a ‘half-collinear’ region of (2,2)-signature kinematics.
Status
- Claim
Disputed
- Our reporting
- Medium confidence
- Verification
- Expert-checked
- Importance
- 3 of 5
- Last verified
- 29 September 2026
Your AI and this story
- GPT-6 AstraIn its training data
- Claude Opus 5.5In its training data
- Gemini 4 HydrogenIn its training data
- Grok 4.7In its training data
It happened before the cutoffs of all four assistants, so it can be in their training data.
Key facts
- GPT-5.2 Pro guessed the closed-form all-n formula from small cases; an internal model proved it in ~12 hours
- Follow-up (4 Mar 2026): extension to gravitons, with the paper drafted by GPT-5.2 Pro
- Critique (Hugging Face blog): the physics framing was human work; the result applies only in non-physical (2,2) signature on a measure-zero kinematic slice; the loophole may have been noted by Witten in 2003
What happened
Leading amplitude theorists used OpenAI models to guess and prove a general formula in a corner of gauge-theory kinematics.
Why it matters
It is a showcase of LLMs as conjecture engines in theoretical physics, though critics dispute its physical significance and the AI’s share of the insight.
Sources
4 sources from 3 sites. Numbers match the chips in the text.
4 sources: 2 primary, 1 press, 1 reaction
Primary
- OpenAI: New result in theoretical physicsopenai.com, official
- OpenAI: Extending single-minus amplitudes to gravitonsopenai.com, official
Press
- The Quantum Insider: AI spots what physicists missed in gluon scatteringthequantuminsider.com, press
Reactions
- Hugging Face blog: critical look at GPT and single-minus gluonshuggingface.co, discussion
Changes
- Filed