GOAL OF PPC2007 (Poster)
-
Recent advances in observational astronomy have brought a new
focus on
the potential connections between new fundamental particles and
our understanding of their impact on the early universe and its
evolution.
With the content of the universe well known from WMAP,
supernoave and
balloon observations, a key aspect is that 23% of the universe
appears to
consist of dark matter. If current theories are correct, the
particle
physics candidate for this matter may well be observed in
ongoing direct
and/or indirect dark matter detection experiments or at the
Large Hadron Collider (LHC) which begins operation next year.
With its observation,
a vigorous program to understand this new particle(s) and
confirm its
role as the dark matter will shepherd in a golden era of
discovery.
In addition, about 70% of the universe, the dark energy,
however,
still remains a significant mystery that major theoretical
attempts
are trying to understand. The observations of more distant
supernovae are expected
to shed light in solving this mystery.
The upcoming experiments at the LHC, PLANCK and many direct and indirect detection experiments are motivations behind organizing this workshop on particle physics and cosmology. In this workshop, we plan to discuss various issues related to the realization of the well-motivated connection between these two areas. Since the models are intricate and the experiments are complicated, we plan to examine possible avenues through which the connection can be explored. The workshop will involve particle theorists, experimentalists, cosmologists and observational astronomers. The talks will address major theoretical models, current experimental data, the upcoming future experiments, and future possible experiments and accelerators that are at the proposal stage (e.g., SNAP, JDEM, the Giant Magellan Telescope, ILC, CLIC, muon collider, etc.). Talks will be geared to be comprehensible to both particle physicists and astronomers. Panel discussions involving the key leaders in these areas will be arranged to highlight the important issues that straddle the boundaries of these intersecting topics.