A massive grid of shifting numbers produced a four-dimensional expanding universe from scratch, proving our reality might just be a mathematical projection.
April 25, 2026
Original Paper
The emergence of (3+1)-dimensional expanding spacetime from complex Langevin simulations of the Lorentzian type IIB matrix model with deformations
arXiv · 2604.19836
The Takeaway
Superstring theory has long predicted that our world is a lower-dimensional structure folded into the reality we see, but proving it has been nearly impossible. This numerical simulation used complex matrix calculations to show that a 3D space plus time naturally emerges and begins to grow on its own. It provides the first concrete evidence that the universe does not need a physical foundation to exist. Mathematics alone can trigger the expansion and structure of everything we observe. This confirms that the complex geometry of string theory can actually create the specific world we inhabit.
From the abstract
The Lorentzian type IIB matrix model is a promising candidate for a nonperturbative formulation of superstring theory. In this model, the eigenvalue distribution of the $N\times N$ bosonic matrices $A_\mu$ $(\mu = 0 , \ldots , 9)$ represents an emergent spacetime, which is determined by the dynamics of the model in the large-$N$ limit. Here we perform numerical simulations of the model overcoming the sign problem by the complex Langevin method with the matrix size $N$ up to $128$. In order to av