ICTS

While the LHC at CERN is slowly gearing towards an era of high luminosity after discovering the Higgs boson, plans for future colliders (ILC in Japan, CLIC and FCC at CERN, and CEPC in China) are already at an advanced stage. The data from these colliders will be crucial in deciding the direction the field of particle physics will take in future. In parallel, the areas of cosmology and astroparticle physics have entered a precision era. Along with advancements in our understanding in astrophysics, particle physicists are looking for clues of fundamental physics in the data of CMB, large scale structure, and even in gravitational waves.  

The lack of any definitive signature of new physics at the electroweak scale and any unambiguous signal for dark matter at the colliders suggests that we need to critically analyze our theoretical prejudices in order to plan the possible road ahead. It is imperative to address issues such as naturalness -- the fundamental ansatz/belief that has guided the era of model building over the last few decades; to expand the quest for particle physics properties of dark matter from traditional direct/indirect/collider searches to CMB/LSS/stellar-evolution data to more novel ideas; and to re-examine the tantalizing but scattered hints emerging from the intensity frontier and cosmological measurements to move towards a fundamental organizing principle.

The purpose of the discussion meeting is to bring together a small group of experts in theoretical and experimental high energy physics to discuss the abovementioned topics. This meeting will be built around the Infosys-ICTS Chandrasekhar Lecture to be delivered by Prof. Gian Giudice, the head of the CERN theory division, on the theme, “Unsolved questions and future directions of particle physics”.

Eligibility criteria: Postdocs and senior graduate students can apply to this program. Ph.D or have spent at least 3 years in the Ph.D program are encouraged to apply.

ICTS is committed to building an environment that is inclusive, non-discriminatory and welcoming of diverse individuals. We especially encourage the participation of women and other under-represented groups.