ITN, Marie Curie Initial Training Network "UNILHC" PITN-GA-2009-237920
(Oct. 2009 - Sept. 2013)
Unification in the LHC era
Project overview:
The main research theme of the network is the theoretical interpretation of
results coming from LHC (Large Hadron Collider) and other experimental and
observational sources. The aim is to identify the physics Beyond the Standard
Model of strong, weak and electromagnetic forces and ultimately to provide a
fully unified description of the fundamental states of matter and their
interactions. Basic topics of investigation are the nature of electroweak
symmetry breaking, the origin of masses and their hierarchies and the
quantization of the gravitational interaction. The methodology is
based on three main ingredients: Symmetry, including supersymmetry and symmetries
related to flavor, string unification and new space dimensions.
The research objectives are: (a) Probing the origin of mass at the LHC;
(b) search for supersymmetry; (c) the physics of flavor in the LHC era;
(d) exploring extra dimensions; (e) cosmological and astrophysical
challenges for physics beyond the Standard Model; (f) string theory, string
phenomenology and quantum gravity. The network will enhance the current
collaboration amongst the participating
European institutions, playing a leading role across the whole spectrum of the
physics involved, from theoretical aspects of string theory to the
phenomenological analysis of experimental data, and it will
stimulate interdisciplinary interactions.
The main network goal is to offer excellent initial training to young
researchers. It will appoint 456 person-months of Early-Stage Researchers (often Ph. D. students) and 108
person-months of Experienced Researchers (often postdocs), and develop a training
program both at the individual and at the network-wide level. The network is
structured to develop the research and complementary skills of the young
researchers, to ensure their mobility and to widen their
career prospects. In this way, it is hoped to increase the pool of European
researchers at the highest
level of scientific excellence, and to make a significant contribution to the
development of European fundamental research.
Description of partnership:
All research teams in the
network have been already involved in joint research in the past and their
members have co-authored a large number of publications. They have participated to
the FP6 European Program (contract no. MRTN-CT-2004-503369) on "The Quest For
Unification: Theory Confronts Experiment". Some of them have also
collaborated in the previous SCIENCE EU programme (contract no.
SC1*-CT92-0792) on string phenomenology, and
the Human Capital and Mobility network (contract no. CHRX-CT93-0132) on
flavour dynamics. The majority of the teams participated also in the FP4
Training and Mobility of Researchers network (contract no.
ERBFMRX-CT96-0090) on Physics Beyond the Standard Model, and in the FP5
Improving Human Potential network (contract no. HPRN-CT-2000-00148) on
Physics Across the Present Energy Frontier.
Finally, members of the network started an annual international
conference circulated among locations of the participating nodes on
"Physics from Planck to Electroweak Scale" (Warsaw 98, Bonn 99, Il
Ciocco 00, La Londe 01, Kazimierz 02, Madrid 03, Bad Honnef 04,
Trieste 05, Paris 06, Warsaw 07, Barcelona 08, Padova 09).
Centre de Physique
Théorique, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, FRANCE.
Extended team with the APC (fédération de recherche AstroParticules et Cosmologie), LPTHE (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Hautes Energies de l'université Paris 6) and LPTENS (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure).
The industrial associated partner Medialab will be part of the management board and provide
complementary training to the Ph. D. students and postdocs at both local and network-wide level. Topics include
communication, management, research policy, exploitation of scientific results, advanced informatics and visual techniques.
Contact person for Medialab : E. Balli.
Ph. D. and postdoctoral positions:
The partition of the 456 person-months of Early-Stage Researchers
(ESR are often Ph. D. students) and 108 person-month of Experienced
Researchers (ER are often postdocs) among the nodes is as follows: Polytechnique (36 ESR, 12 ER), CEA (36 ESR, 12 ER), Bonn (36 ESR, 24 ER), Thessaloniki (36 ESR), INFN (36 ESR, 24 ER), ICTP (36 ESR), Lisbon (36 ESR), Madrid (24 ESR, 24 ER), Valencia (36 ESR), Oxford (36 ESR, 12 ER), Warsaw (36 ESR) and CERN (72 ESR).
An ER position to start in fall 2012 is offered in the node of Oxford.
The rules for recruitment of ESR's and ER's are (see p. 11-13 of this document):
Early Stage Researchers are defined as those in the first four years (full-time
equivalent) of their research careers, starting at the date of obtaining the degre which would formally entitle them to embark on a doctorate, either in the country
in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the research training
is provided, irrespective of whether or not a doctorate is envisaged.
Experienced Researchers must, at the time of recruitment (i) be in possession
of a doctoral degree, independently of the time taken to acquire it, or (ii) have at
least four years of full-time equivalent research experience, including the period
of research training, after obtaining the degree which formally allowed them to
embark on a doctorate in the country in which the degree/diploma was obtained
or in the host country (irrespective of whether or not a doctorate was envisaged).
The research experience of an ER may not
exceed 5 years at the time of the appointment.
Researchers can be nationals of ANY country other than the country of the premises of the
host organisation where they will carry out their project.
Researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity in the country of the
host for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment.
Visiting scientists:
Each node will have two weeks of visiting scientist during the contract
duration. Thus, each visiting scientist who is expected to spend at least one month within the network
(in several visits), will have to visit at least two different nodes. Such pairs of nodes are expected to
be Polytechnique-CEA, Bonn-Warsaw, INFN-ICTP, Lisbon-Valencia, Madrid-Oxford and CERN-Thessaloniki.
Network schools and meetings:
The first network meeting was organized at CERN and was part of the annual international conference Planck 2010: From the Planck scale to the electroweak scale, 31 May-4 June 2010.
A one-week stay for the ESR and ER was organized in SISSA Medialab, 20-26 March
2011.
The second network meeting was organized in Lisbon, as part of the international conference Planck 2011: From the Planck scale to the electroweak scale, 30 May-3 June 2011.
The GrahamFest meeting to celebrate the contributions of Graham Ross to theoretical physics took place in Oxford, 29-30 September 2011.
The workshop HEP-2012, "Recent Developments in High Energy Physics and Cosmology", jointly organized by the Physics Department of the University of Ioannina
and the "Greek Society for the Study of High Energy Physics", is partially funded by the network and will take place in Ioannina, 4-7 April 2012.
The third network meeting took place in Warsaw, 31 May, during the international conference Planck 2012: From the Planck scale to the electroweak scale, 28 May-1 June 2012.
The second summer school of the network was organized in Valencia, August 27-September 6, 2012.
The 16th annual international conference "From the Planck scale to the electroweak scale", PLANCK 2013, will take place in Bonn in May 20th to May 24th, 2013.
The 2013 advanced course in science communication will take place in SISSA Medialab on 13-15 of March (for the fellows who have followed it before), with an extra day of introductory course on 12 March for the new ER and ESR.
