Organizers:
Naomi Gendler, Harvard University
Jakob Moritz, University of Wisconsin Madison
Enrico Pajer, University of Cambridge
Matthew Reece, Harvard University
This workshop will be focused on making contact between developments in string theory and phenomenological particle physics and cosmology. The current experimental and observational landscape is ripe with ongoing and planned observations searching for dark matter, the nature of dark energy, and the history of the universe. At the same time, theoretical and computational advances in string theory have made it possible to ascertain the phenomenology of effective theories derived from string theory in the weakly coupled regime. By bringing together experts in particle phenomenology, cosmology, and string theory, this workshop aims to identify the most promising upcoming experiments and observations that will shed light on fundamental questions, and to develop new directions and strategies for string theory research in the coming decade, in anticipation of such data-driven insights.
Summer Workshops
The summer program, running for 16 weeks from late-May to mid-September, emphasizes exciting open problems at the cutting edge. Two or three concurrent workshops, each with a specific focus selected for timeliness and the potential for breakthroughs and of two to five weeks in length, establish the main themes of each week, with twelve or thirteen different workshops each summer, balanced across fields including particle physics, string theory, astrophysics and hard and soft condensed matter physics, as well as emerging areas including biological physics, ultra-cold atom physics, quantum information, and physical mathematics. Additional researchers participate in small working groups or as individual researchers. This framework is designed to maximize informal interactions and free discussion within each area and to promote cross-fertilization between different areas via the common language of theoretical physics. Participation in the summer program of the Aspen Center for Physics is by application and subsequent invitation only. View past workshops.
