Mathematical physics sits at the fascinating intersection where abstract equations meet the fundamental laws of our universe. This field uses rigorous mathematical tools to model everything from the behavior of subatomic particles to the curvature of spacetime, turning complex theories into testable predictions. It is the language through which physicists describe reality, bridging the gap between pure mathematics and physical observation.

On Gist.Science, we process every new preprint published in this category on arXiv to make these dense studies accessible to everyone. Whether you are a specialist or a curious reader, you will find both plain-language overviews and detailed technical summaries for each paper. Below are the latest mathematical physics papers from arXiv, curated to help you explore the cutting edge of theoretical science.

A Family of Instanton-Invariants for Four-Manifolds and Their Relation to Khovanov Homology

This paper reviews a gauge-theoretic framework generalizing Witten's proposal by defining a one-parameter family of instanton Floer homology groups for four-manifolds through dimensional reductions of the Haydys-Witten equations, ultimately establishing a precise restatement of Witten's conjecture that identifies the specific case of HFπ/2HF^\bullet_{\pi/2} on a knot-blowup four-manifold with Khovanov homology.

Michael Bleher2026-03-25🔢 math-ph

Isometries of spacetimes without observer horizons

This paper demonstrates that for non-compact Lorentzian manifolds satisfying the "no observer horizons" condition, the group of time orientation-preserving isometries acts properly, leading to the existence of an invariant Cauchy temporal function and a structural decomposition of the isometry group into a compact subgroup and a time-translation component restricted to the trivial group, Z\mathbb{Z}, or R\mathbb{R}.

Leonardo García-Heveling, Abdelghani Zeghib2026-03-25🔢 math-ph

Second-gradient models for incompressible viscous fluids and associated cylindrical flows

This paper introduces a mathematically well-posed second-gradient framework for incompressible viscous fluids with pressure-dependent viscosity that ensures ellipticity of the governing pressure equation, and demonstrates that explicit solutions for steady cylindrical flows converge to classical Navier-Stokes results as characteristic length scales vanish.

C. Balitactac, C. Rodriguez2026-03-25🔬 cond-mat.mtrl-sci