Winter Conference
Paving the Way to New Discoveries in Particle Physics
February 1–6, 2026
Organizers:
Marcela Carena, Perimeter Institute & University of Chicago/Fermilab
Greg Landsberg, Brown University
Matthias Neubert, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and MITP & Cornell University
Giulia Zanderighi, Max Planck Institute for Physics and Technical University Munich
Particle physics is living through exciting times, questioning paradigms of past decades. The 2026 Aspen Winter Physics Conference “Paving the Way to New Discoveries in Particle Physics” will provide a forum to discuss novel theoretical and experimental ideas and techniques addressing the challenges posed by the vast amount of recent data. The program focuses on precision electroweak physics including Higgs bosons and top quarks, QCD at high energies and in heavy-ion collisions, dark matter and messengers to the dark sector, direct and indirect searches for new particles and interactions, recent developments in theory, science at future accelerator facilities, the interplay of particle physics and cosmology, advances based on artificial intelligence, and the role of quantum devices, quantum algorithms, and entanglement in particle physics. A dedicated poster session will highlight research at the intersection of machine learning, quantum science, and particle physics.
Winter Conferences
From December through April each year, the Aspen Center for Physics hosts between six and eight one-week winter conferences. These single-session meetings, with typical attendance of about 80, are focused on the latest developments in the core physics areas of the Center. The details of the format vary, but most have a set of invited speakers, additional speakers drawn from the conference participants, and poster sessions that give an opportunity for all participants to present and discuss their work.