Convergence

Convergence is a new kind of physics conference providing a "big picture" overview of fundamental physics and its future.

The time is right. The LHC, our most powerful-ever microscope, has discovered the Higgs but, so far, nothing else. The Planck satellite, our most powerful telescope, has mapped the entire visible universe, discovering a remarkably simple pattern of large scale structure. In both cases, the measurements revealed simplicity which theory has yet to explain. These, and other key observations such as the detection of dark energy, represent both a huge challenge and a huge opportunity for basic theory.

At the same time, our understanding of the quantum properties of matter on everyday scales has leapt forward, with an appreciation of the role of entanglement in new quantum phases of matter, bringing new opportunities for quantum materials and technologies.

Convergence will also coincide with the centenaries of Noether’s discovery of the connection between symmetries and conserved quantities, which underpins modern particle physics, and Einstein’s discovery of general relativity, the basis for modern cosmology. These centenaries will be celebrated with two commemorative lectures by world-leading experts.