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SLAC Summer Institute Committee

The SLAC Summer Institute (SSI) is an annual two-week-long Summer School tradition since 1973. The theme of the 52st SLAC Summer Institute is “The Art of Precision: Calculations & Measurements”. Precision measurements and theoretical predictions are often critical to illuminating the physics governing the universe we live in. Comparing a precise measurement with a precise prediction is a window to new physics, often at energy scales beyond what can otherwise be probed. Similarly, pushing the precision and sensitivity of searches for new phenomenon opens new avenues for direct discoveries. The lectures at the 52nd SLAC Summer Institute in 2024 will discuss the many ways that precision plays a key role in our attempts to better understand the fundamental workings of our universe. The Institute lectures are primarily aimed at senior graduate students and postdocs. Presentation of topical results, participant projects, Q&A sessions, poster sessions, and social events supplement the lectures to create an invigorating environment for all participants. Please connect with SSI on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SLACSummerInstitute

SSI Committee;     Phone: [650-926-4482];     Email: ssi@slac.stanford.edu

Theory, HEP, Experiment, Precision, Calculations, Measurements

Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara

The 21st century has seen tremendous progress towards understanding the elementary constituents of matter, the forces that bind them, and the organizing principles that unite them. Concerted experimental and theoretical efforts have culminated in the discovery of the Higgs boson and the observation of gravitational waves, while also excluding countless proposed new phenomena. Today the central questions of particle physics are sharper than ever – from the nature of dark matter and dark energy, to the patterns of flavor and unification, to the origin of mass and the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking -- but answering them will require both the energetic synthesis of existing methods and the genesis of entirely new ones.

Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara

Generalized symmetries have recently emerged as a unifying theme in high energy theory, phenomenology, condensed matter physics, mathematics, and quantum gravity. This field has witnessed a literal explosion of new results within all these different areas. This program will bring together experts from this diverse set of fields, to first consolidate recent progress and more importantly, to find common ground to explore, across disciplines, the exciting physical implications of generalized symmetries. To date, the isolated development has led to several related concepts being developed independently, in different contexts and without much cross-interaction. The program aims to consolidate these divergent approaches and foster interactions between researchers in high energy, condensed matter physics and mathematics, hopefully identifying synergies that drive future joint developments. Due to the truly interdisciplinary character of this subject, this program will convene scientists to discuss 1. Generalized Symmetries: hep-th meets cond-mat 2. Non-Invertible Symmetries 3. Topological Order 4. Generalized Symmetries in String Theory, Holography and Quantum Gravity 5. Phenomenological Applications, and, 6. Mathematics, in particular Higher Category Theory.

UC Santa Barbara, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics

Over the past ten years tremendous progress has been achieved in quantum field theory thanks to the realization that symmetries can be interpreted in terms of the action of topological defects on the space of operators. This gives a generalization of the notion of symmetries, explicitly realized in many instances exploiting Lagrangian field theory techniques, uncovering a rich and unexpected landscape of physical effects in condensed matter, high energy physics, and quantum gravity. This conference will bring together the major experts in the subject, and strives to be an opportunity for participants to quickly get up to speed with the most recent advances and open problems in the field.

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology,    Condensed Matter Physics and Materials