Summer Workshops

The Center encourages physicists from distant institutions to meet for intensive research interaction. Separate from the workshops, small informal collaborations of two to six physicists are encouraged and efforts are made to accommodate such Working Groups. Learn more about working groups here.

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.

One component of the Center program is unstructured and concentrates on individual research and the informal exchange of ideas. About 500 physicists and astrophysicists from about 100 institutions participate in the Center's summer program, with 80-90 in residence at any time. (About 40% of the participants attend for the first time.) The research interests of the participants cover a number of fields, including astrophysics, biophysics, condensed matter physics, dynamical systems, elementary particle physics, mathematical physics, and statistical physics. The interactions between participants with different interests and backgrounds are one of the most stimulating aspects of the program. Applicants can be sure that colleagues from other sub-fields of physics will be present throughout the summer.

The original concept for the Center was for individual research. Due to demands by funding agencies and academic institutions, the program has developed with specific workshops at the core. Yet, the Center continues to offer desks to applicants who apply to come to do their own research. When completing your summer application, choose Individual Research rather than a particular workshop. Applicants in this category are given as much consideration as those applying for a workshop.

Organizers:

Bruno De Luca, Stanford University
Moritz Münchmeyer, University of Wisconsin Madison
Sabrina Pasterski, Perimeter Institute
Gary Shiu, University of Wisconsin Madison

Large language models are becoming powerful enough to perform mathematical reasoning in theoretical physics at research level. These models will likely have a significant impact on theoretical physics research in the near future, from assisting with calculations to making novel connections in their vast knowledge base. In this workshop we will explore how AI reasoning models can be used in theoretical physics, how to combine them with our existing computing tools and knowledge base, and how to improve their reliability in our field. We will cover both general reasoning systems and specialized approaches to specific theoretical problems. We will seed the development of benchmarking problems and specialized training data, and identify specific unsolved problems which are promising targets for AI reasoning. While the focus of the workshop is on theory, we also welcome work that uses reasoning models to write scientific code and analyze data in physics. We will also discuss how to ensure that research with these models remains open and accessible to the community, and how their use will affect the future of the theoretical physics community. We encourage computer scientists and mathematicians with an interest in theoretical physics to join this workshop.

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.

Organizers:

Piers Coleman, Rutgers University
Kin Fai Mak, Max Planck Institute, Hamburg
Alex Thomson, University of California, Davis
Justin Wilson, Louisiana State University

Quantum materials—both in bulk and in two-dimensional heterostructures—have become an unparalleled platform to explore new phases of matter, from unconventional superconductivity and correlated insulators to fractional states stabilized by topology and disorder. Woven within these advances is a broader class of “strange matter” that defies conventional paradigms of metals, insulators, and superconductors, appearing in both 2D systems and bulk compounds. These include Planckian strange metals with linear resistivity, anomalous insulators with unexpected quantum oscillations, and re-entrant superconductors that revive at ultrahigh fields. This workshop will unite these sibling developments under one program, emphasizing how correlations, topology, and disorder conspire to produce exotic behavior across materials ranging from moiré graphene and transition-metal dichalcogenides to heavy fermion and cuprate compounds. By bringing together theorists and experimentalists from different communities, the goal is to identify common frameworks, sharpen open questions, and catalyze new approaches to understanding and controlling these novel phases of matter.

Organizers:

Marilena Loverde, University of Washington
Gustavo Marques-Tavares, University of Utah
Sarah Shandera, Pennsylvania State University
Yuhsin Tsai, University of Notre Dame

Collider experiments have shown the need for new physics to address Naturalness problems of the Higgs and neutrino masses, as well as the strong CP problem. Precision cosmological data has also provided strong evidence for new physics related to dark matter, dark energy, and inflation. The Universe serves as a unique laboratory, sensitive to physics at very high energy scales or with minimal interactions with the Standard Model. Such physics includes scenarios with dark forces, secret neutrino interactions, axions and other light fields, dark matter self-interactions, and violent cosmological phase transitions, complementing collider studies. Yet, the framework to fully utilize cosmological observations—from sub-galactic scales to those probed by large-scale structure surveys—in conjunction with terrestrial experiments is missing. As a consequence, we may miss opportunities to jointly detect new physics from the laboratory to the cosmos. Particle physicists and cosmologists must come together to develop fresh phenomenological insights, identify new observables, and craft a new narrative for solving the many outstanding puzzles. This program aims to encourage interdisciplinary interactions across high-energy physics, cosmology, and astrophysics to advance our understanding of the Universe and its underlying laws.

Organizers:

Suvi Gezari, University of Maryland
Andrea Ghez, University of California Los Angeles
Smadar Naoz, University of California Los Angeles
Fred Rasio, Northwestern University

The astrophysics of black holes is entering a golden age, with new observations and theoretical advances revealing their formation, growth, and impact across the mass spectrum—from stellar remnants in clusters to supermassive black holes in the early Universe. This workshop will explore the environments of black holes and the rich astrophysics they host, including stellar-mass black hole interactions, as well as the extreme environments around supermassive black holes that give rise to transients such as tidal disruption events, quasi-periodic eruptions, and extreme mass ratio inspirals. Our Galactic Center offers a unique laboratory for probing these processes, while recent discoveries of compact “Little Red Dots” in the distant Universe provide clues to the earliest stages of black hole growth. By bringing together experts in gravitational waves, stellar and gas dynamics, accretion physics, and multi-wavelength observations, the workshop will foster new connections and chart the path forward in understanding black holes as engines of cosmic evolution.

Organizers:

Jennifer Cano, Stony Brook University
Martin Claassen, University of Pennsylvania
Qimiao Si, Rice University
Maia Vergniory, University of Sherbrooke

There is increasing recognition that the traditionally separate fields of quantum materials, topology and strongly correlations, are rapidly converging into an organic and intertwined single field. The 2D community, historically concerned with topology, is now focused on high temperature superconductivity and heavy fermions. Meanwhile, the bulk correlated community, usually focused on strange metallicity, has trained their sight on correlation-driven metallic topology. Yet, the long-existing barrier continues to impede cross-fertilization.

This workshop will break the barriers between these communities, thereby accelerating the convergence between topology and strongly correlations. Topics include superconductivity and fractional Chern insulators (and their coexistence), correlated topological semimetals, topological heavy fermions, strange metallicity, Mott insulators, and emergent Kondo effects in flat band systems. A central theme will be common theoretical methods and modeling across material platforms.

Organizers:

Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced Study
Cari Cesarotti, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Andrea Guerrieri, City St. George's, University of London
Ian Moult, Yale University

Over the past decade, the LHC has delivered transformative results---culminating in the Higgs discovery, precision tests of QCD, and the identification of exotic hadrons---while formal quantum field theory has undergone its own revolution. New tools such as the geometric formulations of scattering amplitudes, Lorentzian conformal field theory techniques for detector operators, non-perturbative S-matrix bootstrap, and lattice methods for real-time observables are transforming our understanding of particle collisions. Yet, these advances remain largely disconnected from collider phenomenology.

This Aspen program aims to bridge that gap, bringing together experts in amplitudes, bootstrap, lattice QCD, and collider physics to forge new connections between theory and experiment. We seek to redefine precision tests of the Standard Model, explore the consequences of unitarity and analyticity on new classes of Lorentzian observables, and uncover signatures of new physics. The program will chart a path toward a next-generation collider era grounded in first-principles quantum field theory.

Organizers:

Daniel Harlow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Geoff Penington, University of California Berkeley
Julian Sonner, University of Geneva

This workshop will focus on recent conceptual and technical developments in quantum gravity, in particular the proper formulation of observables in dynamical settings such as cosmology and the black hole interior. For example it has recently been understood that certain questions are more tractable when an observer is explictly included as part of the system, and it has also been realized that the algebra of observables available to this observer is a powerful organizing principle. We also intend to explore connections of this perspective to chaos and scrambling, for example in the context of dS horizons and the black hole interior.

Organizers:

Andrew Jordan, Chapman University
Kater Murch, Washington University in St. Louis
David Weld, University of California, Santa Barbara

This workshop explores the emerging frontier of "quantum interactive matter," where measurement and feedback fundamentally reshape the properties and dynamics of many-body quantum systems. Moving beyond the traditional paradigm of isolating quantum systems from their environment, we examine how controlled measurement and real-time feedback can serve as powerful resources for quantum state engineering. Recent theoretical breakthroughs in monitored quantum dynamics and experimental advances in quantum gas microscopy, superconducting circuits, and trapped ions have opened unprecedented opportunities to implement sophisticated measurement and feedback protocols that create and stabilize novel quantum phases. The workshop will bring together experimental and theoretical physicists to establish foundational principles for this discipline, focusing on how the interplay of unitary evolution, projective measurements, and adaptive feedback can generate structured quantum matter beyond conventional approaches. Key topics include quantum trajectory inference, measurement-induced phase transitions, feedback-stabilized entanglement, and the development of new theoretical frameworks for understanding measurement-driven quantum control. Through collaborative discussions, we aim to define the key scientific questions, identify the most promising experimental platforms, and develop a roadmap for advancing our understanding of how measurement and feedback can be harnessed to create entirely new forms of interactive quantum matter with applications spanning quantum simulation, sensing, and fundamental physics.

Organizers:

Tzer Han Tan,University of California San Diego
Jasmine Nirody, University of Chicago
Asja Radja, Bryn Mawr College
Suraj Shankar, University of Michigan

Biological systems exhibit complex functions, often utilizing collective behaviors and nonequilibrium phenomena that facilitate information sensing and processing. Recent discoveries using data-driven methods, field measurements, and active matter modeling have identified novel interactions and emergent behavior in diverse biological systems, from bird flocks and firefly swarms to growing plants. The aim of this workshop is to bring together a diverse interdisciplinary group of physicists, engineers, biologists, and computer scientists to explore how feedback, control, and optimization of information flow interplays with nonequilibrium physics to generate novel functions in living matter. The diverse ways in which biological collectives address common physical problems create a fertile ground for discovering unifying principles. Moving beyond traditional active systems, the workshop will foster new connections, identify key challenges, and uncover opportunities in multiscale, multicomponent, and multiphase active matter, revealing nonequilibrium physics principles that govern functions and adaptation in living systems across scale.

Organizers:

Esra Bulbul, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Chihway Chang, University of Chicago
Elisabeth Krause, University of Arizona
Vikram Ravi, California Institute of Technology

This workshop will address one of the central open questions in astrophysics and cosmology: how cosmic baryons are distributed around and between galaxies, and how feedback processes shape their physical conditions. By combining complementary probes, we aim to break degeneracies that limit each method individually and build a coherent picture of baryons across a wide halo mass range. Cross-correlation techniques with large-scale structure, weak lensing, X-rays, fast radio burst (FRB) and CMB secondary anisotropies will be a central focus, offering robust tools to characterize feedback physics and its cosmological impact. The three-week program will bring together observers and theorists across these traditionally separate communities to develop a shared modeling framework, identify key cross-correlation observables, and chart a roadmap for exploiting upcoming datasets from SRG/eROSITA, DSA-2000, CHIME/outriggers, CHORD, Rubin LSST, Euclid, Roman, SPT-3G and Simons Observatory. Ultimately, the workshop aims to advance our understanding of baryonic physics, sharpen cosmological constraints, and prepare the community to fully leverage the next generation of surveys.

Organizers:

Thomas Iadecola, Pennsylvania State University
Henry Lamm, Fermilab
Norman Tubman, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Quantum computers are making steady progress towards the simulation of classically intractable quantum many-body systems. Such simulations are of interest to a broad swath of the physics community, ranging from nuclear and high-energy physicists hoping to perform first-principles simulations of quantum chromodynamics, to condensed matter physicists trying to understand the emergent phases of quantum matter in and out of equilibrium, to quantum chemists aiming to unravel the structure and reactions of complex molecules. While each of these communities has made substantial progress towards near-term implementations striking at these larger goals, communication between them has been limited. This workshop will bring together theoretical physicists from the above-mentioned fields as well as experimentalists who are pushing the frontiers of digital and analog quantum hardware. In promoting robust interactions between these various groups, it will help to shed light on several crucial crosscutting questions, including 1) how to integrate quantum simulation with early-fault-tolerant approaches tailored to emerging hardware, 2) how quantum computing architectures moving beyond qubits can be harnessed for more resource-efficient simulations, and 3) how error mitigation, mid-circuit measurements and feedback, and engineered dissipation can be used to engineer more robust simulations before full error correction is achieved.