2016 Summer Program at Center for Theoretical Underground Physics and Related Areas (CETUP*)

Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi TX

Investigators

Abstract

This award will provide support for the sixth CETUP* (Center for Theoretical Underground Physics and Related Areas) summer program that is planned to take place on June 6 - July 16, 2016 in Lead/Deadwood, SD. The main goal of CETUP* is to bring together people with different expertise to address the most exciting questions in particle and nuclear physics, astrophysics, cosmology and geosciences. This year's program will focus on Dark Matter, Neutrino Physics and Unification, bringing together experts in dark matter, neutrino physics, particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Basic research impacts many areas of science and technology. In particular, understanding neutrino properties better could have significant implications in astrophysics and cosmology, and may offer solutions to the current puzzles such as the abundance of matter over antimatter, and better knowledge of the potential connections between new fundamental particles will allow the determination of their impact on the early universe. The CETUP* program will offer a stimulating environment for research collaborations between scientists of varying ages and nationalities and the training of young scientists, including undergraduate and graduate students and under-represented groups. The award will provide travel support for the early career scientists and students to participate in this summer program. Scientists invited to participate in the program will not only provide theoretical support to the underground science, but they will also examine the underlying universal questions including: What is the nature of dark matter? What is the origin of neutrino masses? How have neutrinos shaped the evolution of the universe? How were the elements from iron to uranium made in the early universe? What is the origin and thermal history of the Earth? How do supernovae explode? What is the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe? What are the fundamental underlying symmetries of the Universe? and Is there a Grand Unified Theory of the Universe? The 2016 CETUP* will consist of a 6-week long program. The two-week long session on Physics and Instrumentation of the Near Detector for the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiments will be followed by the two-week long Neutrino Physics/Unification session: "From Grand Unification to String Theory and Back" and the program will end with a two-week long session on Dark Matter.