Workshops

A recent analysis of finite temperature lattice QCD data has provided promising estimates on the location of the critical point. This analysis builds upon our improved understanding of the QCD analytic structure in the plane of complex chemical potential, with the Yang-Lee edge singularity serving as a key reference point. The prediction of the QCD critical point position involved tracing and extrapolating the trajectory of the Yang-Lee singularities as a function of temperature. This workshop aims to bring together the lattice QCD and pure theory communities to critically evaluate the reliability of this analysis and develop a strategy to minimize systematic errors in determining the position of the QCD critical point.

Understanding thermalization dynamics of QCD in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions at RHIC and LHC is a largely open question of fundamental importance. Current theoretical understanding is based on progress in simulating time evolution of non-Abelian gauge theories that occurred over the past 15 years. The emerging theoretical picture features prominently two attractor phenomena governing information loss about earlier stages of post-collision evolution of nuclear matter: nonthermal fixed points and hydrodynamic attractors. The first aim of the workshop is to decisively advance the topic of thermalization in ultrarelativistic collisions by discussing cutting edge ideas allowing to extend the attractor-based picture of thermalization beyond its current limitations. The second aim of the workshop is to facilitate interdisciplinary exchange of ideas between the communities of nonthermal fixed points, hydrodynamic attractors and cold quantum gases, which provided a platform to experimentally realize nonthermal fixed points and may realize hydrodynamic attractors in the future.

Superconducting devices have gained increasing attention over the past decade as powerful platforms for quantum optics as well as quantum information processing. In particular, superconducting circuits based on non-linear elements, such as Josephson junctions and high kinetic inductance materials, are opening up a new regime for quantum optics experiments at microwave frequencies and quantum analog simulators. The workshop "Superconducting Quantum Devices for Quantum Optics and Quantum Simulations" will address: (i) microwave quantum optics for circuit-QED experiments, (ii) quantum simulation based on superconducting circuits for nuclear physics applications; and (iii) novel detector concepts for astrophysics and particle physics. The workshop aims at bringing together young and senior researchers in the field, as well as international theoreticians and experimentalists to foster exchange and spark ideas for new projects and collaborations, advancing the field of superconducting quantum devices.

The study of short-lived states, whether at the edge of nuclear stability or just above a reaction threshold, represents a complex and multifaceted domain where few-body physics emerges from the interactions of many nucleons. Recent years have seen a surge in experimental observations that continue to challenge our current models of the nucleus. As instrumentation advances rapidly, a widening gap has emerged between nuclear modeling capabilities and the data being collected.

Neutron capture reactions play a dominant role in several astrophysical processes, in particular for the synthesis of heavy elements. The traditional slow (s) and rapid (r) neutron-capture processes include neutron capture reactions along the valley of stability and all the way out to the extremes of the nuclear chart. Additional processes have been proposed recently to account for astronomical and stardust observations, namely the intermediate (i) process and the n process. Disentangling the contributions from the various processes requires a good handle of the nuclear data input. Neutron-capture reactions are one of the most uncertain properties since the relevant reactions cannot be measured directly on short-lived nuclei. The workshop will bring together astrophysics modelers who identify the important neutron-capture reactions, nuclear theorists who predict their cross sections and experimentalist focusing both on direct and indirect measurements.

This workshop will gather leading international researchers in nuclear physics, statistics, and applied mathematics to explore and discuss how new and existing statistical methods can enable progress on the frontiers of nuclear physics, spawn new directions for the field, and catalyze techniques that ensure maximum & reliable use of data taken in nuclear-physics experiments.

Methods to simulate physics systems simultaneously across a range of temperatures provide a natural way to study thermodynamic phases, phase transitions, and criticality in many systems. These multi-canonical methods already represent a very promising approach for upcoming lattice field theory (LFT) calculations, and ongoing research is working towards achieving state-of-the-art applications. Recently, additional momentum has been generated by new connections to machine learning (ML) methods. This workshop aims to bring together the community of researchers working on developments in multi-canonical methods, both within LFT and in other domains, with the objective of cross-pollinating ideas and identifying future directions for this field. Key topics to be discussed include density-of-states methods, nested sampling, parallel tempering, out-of-equilibrium simulation, and connections to flow and diffusion ML models.