ICTS

DARK MATTER AND THE SEARCH FOR PHYSICS BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL

"Darkness is your candle. Your boundaries are your quest."- Jalal-ud-din Rumi of Balkh (1207 - 1273)

High energy Physics today has, in a sense, literally entered into a Dark Age. We know for about two decades that the Universe is mainly dark, with more than a quarter being Dark Matter, and roughly two-thirds being Dark Energy. It is only the remaining five percent or so of the Universe which we have been able to investigate thoroughly, and even here all that we have is a very successful  phenomenological model – which we proudly call the Standard Model – which itself has plenty of loopholes. At the moment, both on the theoretical and experimental front, therefore, high energy physicists are essentially groping in the dark for answers to these puzzles. This is a good moment, therefore, to introspect, and it is in this context that the thought-provoking words quoted above become especially relevant, for it is by probing the present darkness that we will have to find the way forward. This discussion meeting is therefore called ‘Candles of Darkness’, for it is our hope to further the cause of introspection and out-of-the-box thinking which is the need of the day. A highlight of the meeting will be the three Infosys-ICTS Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar lectures, which will be delivered by Professor John Ellis of King's College, London, UK, doyen of the high energy phenomenologist community. Other eminent speakers will review more specific topics and share their insights and perspective. 

For logistic reasons, participation in this discussion meeting is limited. You are, therefore, encouraged to apply early.