Physicists are encouraged
to apply as individual researchers to work
on their own projects for up to five weeks
at any time during the summer. We provide
a serene atmosphere to complete work. The
individual researcher may also choose to
attend any workshop meetings or chat with
other scientists in residence in addition
to working on his or her own research.
Click here for more
information.
Organizers: B Helen Burgess,
University of St. Andrews
*James Cho, Flatiron Institute
Albion Lawrence, Brandeis
University
Jane Wang, Cornell University
Astrophysical, geophysical, and
biophysical fluids are rapidly developing,
high-impact fields with a wealth of new
data, computational challenges, and
conceptual puzzles. Outstanding
problems in these fields include
investigating new fluid analogues for
gravitational systems and quantum fields,
modeling atmospheres of tidally-locked
exoplanets, understanding climate response
to active tracers, predicting the scale
and strength of jets, vortices, and
magnetic islands in geophysical and
astrophysical fluids, and understanding
the interaction between flow and structure
in bio-locomotion. Such
“real-universe” systems can reside in
parameter regimes (eg. strong rotation,
stratification, viscosity, or
magnetization) that allow analytical
control. They are thus amenable to
quantitatively accurate applications of
modern geometric and field-theoretic
techniques, such as asymptotic methods for
path integrals, renormalization group and
effective field theory approaches,
generalized symmetries, holographic
“gauge/gravity” duality, geometric phases,
and topologically protected
excitations. Many of these
field-theoretic techniques have seen
significant recent advances, presenting
opportunities to develop their
applications to fluid systems. In
return, specific fluid systems can also
provide a context for new formal
developments in classical, quantum, and
statistical field theories. Hence,
the goal of this workshop is to bring
together an interdisciplinary group of
scientists studying astrophysical and
geophysical fluid dynamics, climate
science, theoretical fluid and plasma
physics, biological physics, turbulence,
and field theory to form new connections
that will drive these fields forward.
Organizers: *Maissam Barkeshli, University
of Maryland Andrey Gromov, Brown
University
Alexander Maloney, McGill
University
Dan Roberts, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology **Eva Silverstein, Stanford
University **James Sully, Anthropic **Sho Yaida, Meta AI
The rapid growth in the popularity of
deep learning has been fueled by
transformational advances in the
capabilities of artificial intelligence.
There is also considerable interest in
applications of machine learning and
optimization dynamics to a wide variety
of scientific and mathematical problems,
including data analysis, novel numerical
approaches to partial differential
equations, wavefunction approximation in
condensed matter and AMO physics, and
the discovery and verification of
mathematical theorems. We invite
applications from scientists interested
in research at the intersection of
physics and artificial intelligence, and
in particular on the construction of
physics-inspired models of statistical
machine learning, the dynamics of
optimization, and the workings of deep
neural networks. We welcome applications
from across the physics community,
including high energy, condensed matter
and statistical physicists, as well as
computer scientists, machine learning
researchers, and mathematicians.
June 4 - July 2
Exotic Phases, Gauge
Field Theories and
Dynamics in Systems with Constraints
Organizers: Hannes Bernien, University of
Chicago *Anushya Chandran, Boston
University
Roderich Moessner, Max Planck
Institute for the Physics of Complex
Systems Andriy Nevidomskyy, Rice
University
Physical systems incorporating constraints
on the microscopic degrees of freedom
arise in several subfields of quantum and
classical physics. In gauge theories,
Gauss' law can be thought of as such a
constraint, and emergent gauge theories
have become plentiful as low-energy
theories of topological quantum matter,
such as in the emergent QED of quantum
spin ice or higher-rank gauge
theories with the resultant `fractonic'
mobility-restricted quasiparticles
resulting from dipole moment conservation.
Consequences for static and dynamic
observables are manifold and profound.
This interdisciplinary workshop will bring
together experts from quantum materials,
ultracold atoms, quantum dynamics,
high-energy and field-theory communities,
with the goal of establishing the common
canvas of theories with constrained field
configurations and to identify and tackle
the outstanding open questions. The
workshop will cover a broad list of
topics, both theoretically and
experimentally motivated, including
frustrated magnetism and spin liquids,
quantum dimer and link models,
lattice gauge theories, kinetically
constrained models, Rydberg atom
engineering of strongly entangled quantum
systems, fracton phases of matter, and
quantum dynamics in systems with
constraints.
Organizers: Masha Baryakhtar, University
of Washington Tao Han, Universityof Pittsburgh Zhen Liu, University of
Minnesota *Jessica Turner, Durham
University
New physics is highly
expected to be not far from the
electroweak scale, particularly the
physics of the Higgs boson and dark
matter. While ensuring that established
new physics searches remain powerful in
the complex high-luminosity LHC
environment, the community is increasing
efforts on challenging signatures as
exotic Higgs decays and long-lived
particles. Specialized detectors
positioned off of the collision point have
opened exciting opportunities. In
parallel, ongoing revolutions in quantum
information science, neutrino physics,
astroparticle physics, and precision and
cosmological probes of the dark sector
have brought new questions and
perspectives. This program aims to foster
interdisciplinary interactions among the
energy, neutrino, precision, and cosmic
frontiers and open new frontiers in our
explorations of particle physics.
June
18 - July 16 Quantum Materials:
Experimental Enigmas
and Theoretical Challenges
Organizers: *Erez Berg, Weizmann
Institute of Science Premala Chandra, Rutgers
University **Harold Hwang, Stanford University
Srinivas Raghu, Stanford
University
**Suchitra Sebastian, University
of Cambridge
Quantum condensed matter
physics thrives on unexpected experimental
observations of emergent quantum
systems. The past few years have
witnessed impressive progress both in the
development of new materials that display
unforeseen electronic behavior, and in
ground-breaking experiments that shed new
light on long-standing problems in the
field. In this program we will bring
together leading researchers,
experimentalists and theorists, at
different stages of their scientific
careers to brainstorm about experimental
enigmas that will inform and drive new
theoretical directions in the years to
come.
A large fraction of
stars are found in binaries (and higher
multiplicity systems) that interact over
the course of their evolution. Mass
transfer plays a key role in understanding
phenomena as diverse as supernovae, X-ray
binaries, gamma ray bursts, kilonovae,
tidal disruption events, novae,
intermediate luminosity optical
transients, and gravitational-wave
mergers. With rapidly growing
data sets, significant theoretical
advances, and the exciting developments of
new surveys, now is an opportune time to
bring together observers and modelers.
We will discuss, among other topics,
the observational constraints and
theoretical models of mass transfer;
binary mergers and their signatures;
nebulae as the aftermath of mass-transfer
events; supernovae with signatures of
binary interaction; X-ray binaries and
gravitational-wave sources; spins in stars
and compact objects; tidal disruption
events; and population-wide models and
observational comparisons.
July 16 - August 6 New Directions on Strange
Metals
in Correlated Systems
Organizers: Hae-Young Kee, Universityof Toronto Alessandra Lanzara, University of
California
*Qimiao Si, Rice
University Senthil Todadri, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Extensive recent advances have been made
on the topic of strange metals, which
characterize the physics of strongly
correlated systems that goes beyond the
standard description in terms of
quasiparticles. This workshop will bring
together physicists working on this
subject in a variety of platforms, with
the aim of cross-fertilization. The
platforms to be covered include:
Copper- and iron-based
high-temperature superconductors
Heavy-fermion metals
Metallic systems in proximity to
quantum spin liquids
Moiré structures
Ultracold atomic systems
One focus of the workshop
is to survey the prominent strange-metal
properties. These include a
scale-invariant spectrum illustrated by a
dynamical Planckian (ℏω over kBT) scaling,
a T-linear electrical resistivity,
striking singularities in thermodynamic
quantities and, often, an accompanying
“large” to “small” Fermi-surface
reconstruction with implications for a
localization-delocalization transition.
Another focus concerns how the amplified
quantum fluctuations of the strange metals
drive the formation of novel phases, with
high-temperature superconductivity being
the most notable candidate.
Theoretical understandings based on exotic
metallic quantum criticality will be
discussed. Potential connections to black
holes through the holographic
correspondence will also be examined. The
workshop promises to set future directions
of research for this foundational topic of
quantum condensed matter physics.
July
30 - August 20 Traversing the Particle
Physics Peaks -
Phenomenology to Formal
Organizers: Clay Cordova, Universityof
Chicago
Isabel Garcia Garcia, New York
University and Institute for Advanced
Study *Patrick Meade, Yang Institute
for Theoretical Physics
Shu-Heng Shao, Stony Brook
University
This workshop aims to bring together
theoretical physicists from the formal and
particle physics communities in order to
present recent advances and explore
opportunities for synergy and
collaboration. The focus will be on
harnessing recent progress in formal
theory to address outstanding problems in
the Standard Model. In particular,
we will explore how advances in the areas
of generalized global symmetries,
supersymmetric quantum field theories,
conformal field theory, and new
perspectives on confining gauge theories
may lead to new ideas about the dynamics
behind spontaneous symmetry breaking in
the electroweak sector, color confinement,
the absence of P and CP-violation in the
QCD sector, finite temperature phase
transitions, and many other outstanding
questions.
August 6 - 27
Statistical Physics and Adaptive Immunity
Organizers: Vijay Balasubramanian, University of
Pennsylvania
Serena Bradde, City University of New
York
**Curtis Callan, Princeton University *Andreas Mayer, University College
of London
Armita Nourmohammad, University of
Washington
To defend against
threats from rapidly evolving pathogens
organisms across the tree of life make use
of adaptive immune mechanisms, which
specifically target pathogens through a
learning-and-memory approach. Vertebrates
implement such rapid adaptation in their
adaptive immune system, which produces
diverse antibodies and T cells through
genetic recombination, and then selects
effector and memory cells when they bind
to invaders. Likewise, some bacteria and
archaea maintain snippets of previously
encountered phages in their genomes to
identify recurring infections via the
CRISPR-Cas system. Over the last decade,
statistical physicists have made
significant contributions to the theory of
adaptive immunity, from first principles
mastery of the sequence level statistics
of the players in vertebrate immune
system, to theories of the diversity and
organization of CRISPR immune repertoires.
With rapid advances in data collection at
scale and a rapidly expanding body of
theoretical work, now is an opportune time
to bring together experimentalists and
theorists. We will discuss questions and
progress guiding the field, and will chart
a path forward to understanding the
dynamics of the whole coupled system of
defenders, invaders, and their
coevolution. We will also discuss where
results from our nascent field are having
an impact in biology, medicine and
biotechnology, and how we can further such
broader interactions.
Organizers: *Dmitry Abanin, University of
Geneva
**Immanuel Bloch, Max Planck
Institute ofQuantum Dynamics
Vedika Khemani, Stanford University
Rahul Nandkishore, University of
Colorado Boulder
Quantum
dynamics is a rapidly evolving field of
research spanning the condensed matter,
AMO, quantum information and high energy
theory communities. Key recent
developments include the study of random
circuit dynamics, hybrid dynamics
involving unitary gates and projective
measurements, quantum many body scars and
attendant ergodicity breaking, anomalous
transport in Lindblad dynamics and the
associated Kraus maps, new dynamical
universality classes in driven dissipative
systems, and generalized hydrodynamics and
KPZ universality in near integrable
systems. In parallel with these conceptual
developments, recent years have also
witnessed an explosion in our experimental
capabilities for analog and digital
simulation of many body quantum dynamics,
across a range of platforms. This
cross-disciplinary program will bring
together physicists with a range of
backgrounds, both theorists and
experimentalists, to discuss the latest
developments on the frontiers of quantum
dynamics, and to chart a path forward for
the field.
Organizers: *Michael Maseda, University
of Wisconsin
Allison Strom, Northwestern
University
Risa Wechsler, Stanford
University
L.Y. Aaron Yung, NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center
Since beginning science
operations in Summer 2022, the James Webb
Space Telescope (JWST) has already
revealed unexpected details about the
high-redshift universe, including evidence
for relatively massive and enriched
galaxies at very early times. There will
undoubtedly be more surprises as the
community leverages both new and improved
observing modes in the near- and
mid-infrared to extend studies of galaxy
demographics, abundances, and kinematics
to previously inaccessible populations. To
confidently interpret these novel
observations, we must first confront the
unique data reduction and analysis
challenges presented by JWST, and one goal
of this workshop is to provide a venue for
discussing best practices for handling the
data.
It is also critical to build new
connections: between studies of galaxy
populations across cosmic time (which may
use similar methods to investigate
different samples) and between theory and
observations (which use different methods
to investigate the same phenomena).
Ultimately, this will require
collaboration between experts in imaging,
spectroscopy, stellar population
synthesis, photoionization modeling, and
semi-analytical and hydrodynamic
simulations. To facilitate these efforts,
this workshop focuses on areas where new
observations from JWST represent a
substantial step forward in studying
high-redshift galaxies, how we understand
the physics of their assembly, and the
connection between observations, theory,
and simulations.
Topics that will be explored at the
workshop include:
Data reduction and analysis
techniques for NIRCam, NIRSpec, MIRI,
and NIRISS observations
The detailed chemical abundance
patterns and physical conditions in
galaxies across cosmic time
The spatially-resolved properties of
larger, more diverse, and more
representative samples of
high-redshift galaxies
The properties of low-mass galaxies
and their stellar populations
Groups and
Clusters of Galaxies at the Crossroad
between Astrophysics and Cosmology
Organizers: Boris Bolliet, Cambridge
University
Stefano Borgani, University of
Trieste
Stefano Ettori, INAF - OAS
Bologna *Elena Pierpaoli, University
of Southern California
The study of galaxy clusters and groups,
as the largest gravitationally-bound, dark
matter-dominated structures formed in the
universe, is expected to play
a crucial role
in validating the
standard cosmological
model. Clusters will shed light on
current tensions in the estimate of
cosmological parameters, in a way which is
complementary to other cosmological
probes.
Ongoing and forthcoming surveys in the
optical, infrared, X-ray and
microwave bands will reach unprecedented
sensitivity, allowing for the
detection of smaller and more
distant objects, and therefore yielding a
larger and more diverse data set.
In order to better interpret these objects
within the current cosmological scenario,
there is an urgent need for a better
understanding of the physical processes
driving formation
and evolution of galaxy clusters
and groups. Motivated by this fact,
observers and theorists are
developing new ways to study galaxy
clusters at different wavelengths and
use them as a precise cosmological
probe.
The workshop will focus on the aspects at
the interface between astrophysics and
cosmology of galaxy clusters and groups,
bringing together specialists in various
areas of cluster studies:
theoretical/numerical modeling,
observations of the galaxy population
and of the intra-cluster
medium, cosmology, and data
analysis/inference
methods. Specific topics of
discussion will include:
The physical components of galaxy
clusters and their interactions;
The statistical description of the
clusters’ physical properties;
Emergent
Phenomena of Strongly-Interacting
Conformal Field Theories and Beyond
Organizers: *Anna Hasenfratz, University
of Colorado Boulder
Ethan Neil, University of
Colorado Boulder
**Cenke Xu, University ofCalifornia Santa Barbara
New phases and emergent symmetries found
in strongly-coupled QFTs are highly
interesting, both for understanding
4-dimensional QFT and the phenomenology of
physics beyond the Standard Model, as well
as in lower dimensions for application to
condensed matter systems. Symmetric
mass generation (SMG) is a key example,
observed in low-dimensional systems such
as the 1+1d Fidkowski-Kitaev model.
SMG phases may have deep connections to
topological phases and states, and could
be relevant for realization of lattice
chiral gauge theories in 4 dimensions
along the lines of Eichten and
Preskill. In addition to symmetric
mass generation, other relevant directions
may include emergent conformal symmetry in
QCD_4 and QED_3, or emergence of
higher-form or generalized symmetries at
strong coupling. This program will
bring together condensed matter and
high-energy theorists, along with experts
in both analytic and numerical methods, in
order to understand these important open
questions in QFTs at strong coupling.
