Comments on: Panning for Gold

By: Don Lapre Lover

Don Lapre Lover — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 22:30:37 +0000

Interesting Summer Program. I haven’t been to one of those type of events in a long time. I’m sure it’s not the same though. I changed my major in college from Physics to Philosophy. Regret it sometimes but I love what I do. I still dabble in complex theories though. The String theory is a fascinating one that I love to talk about but perhaps another time. Take care and good luck. Will visit this site in future to see updates and discussions I may be apart of.

Laura
Don Lapre Lover
http://www.lauraglydaband.com

By: End of the summer school season | Cosmic Variance

End of the summer school season | Cosmic Variance — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 22:10:14 +0000

[...] Hey, Lufthansa has wireless in the sky â€“ how cool is that! So here I am at roughly 38,000 ft, somewhere over Canada, 6.5 hours into the flight with 4.5 hours left to goâ€¦. Iâ€™m on my way home from the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, where one of the last summer schools of the season just finished. The topic was Expecting LHC, which was the hot topic for summer schools this year. In fact, everybody who is anybody had one. The LHC is turning on next year and everyone wants the new crop of graduate students to be prepared! [...]

By: Most Surprising LHC Discovery? | Cosmic Variance

Most Surprising LHC Discovery? | Cosmic Variance — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 23:23:09 +0000

[...] in sync with this year’s Institute theme. The contestents were warned that a simple and obvious answer such as “Supersymmetry” would most likely not garner the prize. We had 35 rather diverse entries in the end, which were judged by a panel of distinguished experts. [...]

By: Plato

Plato — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 15:35:48 +0000

Gold Nuggets. You got to know how ot look for them. Some people, sit by streams, and this induces good thought production.

One man’s opinion about the landscape?

I think people are really having a hard time of pinpointing where strings fit into this “Arrow of Time?” “Outside the box” is “inside” the box? It’s really confusing sometimes.

If you say “Microseconds, Microstate,” it’s still implies after the big bang. You see?

By: Uncle Enzo

Uncle Enzo — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 21:41:31 +0000

Forget the LHC. Part of the money should go to Italia and her soccer team so that Italia can win all the future world cups. Forza Italia!

By: spyder

spyder — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:14:13 +0000

JoAnne, you have not mentioned the wine list as yet. What new finds did you discover to serve to your personal guests this year, those staying with you to attend the conference???

By: Uncle Enzo

Uncle Enzo — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 18:32:39 +0000

“AND the fact that it is not seen at the energy levels at the LHC does not mean it would not be seen at some higher energy levels at sometime in the future.”

Right, and if future accelerators don’t see susy, that just means susy exists at higher energies not yet probed. And if those accelerators don’t see susy, that just means it exists at even higher energies not yet probed, and so on.

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 16:46:17 +0000

Elliot, you got it. Exactly. Regarding TeV scale strings, specific signatures have been calculated and are included in the standard set of searches performed at colliders. Who knows, the LHC may surprise us!

Spatulated, a student should talk to their advisor about sending them to a summer school. A good advisor will send their students without prompting.

By: Spatulated

Spatulated — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:39:38 +0000

So out of curiosity, how does a student go about getting involved with the seemingly ultra cool physics summer schools?

Anyways… Fascinating stuff, I wish I understood more of whatâ€™s going on

By: Elliot

Elliot — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 13:12:50 +0000

Joanne,

Thank you for your response. So bottom line is that seeing the Higgs at the terascale really doesn’t rule in or out any of these fundamental theories and if susy is seen at this energy levels its would confirm one of the necessary conditions for string theory BUT susy could be true without strings AND the fact that it is not seen at the energy levels at the LHC does not mean it would not be seen at some higher energy levels at sometime in the future. You mentioned TEV scale strings. Are there specific experiments being designed to look for them or is this one of those things that might show up unexpectedly as a byproduct of other activities.

This information is extremely helpful.

Thanks,

Elliot

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:00:14 +0000

Elliot,

As you might guess, it’s complicated. Essentially, any discovery or non-discovery at the LHC has zero implications for strings or LQG. This is particularly true for the Higgs. The only true exception is if TeV scale strings are discovered - that has obvious implications for string theory. Some will claim victory for string theory if supersymmetry is discovered. However, TeV scale supersymmetry can exist quite happily on its own merits without strings, so the discovery of supersymmetry at the LHC does not imply that string theory is correct. Proof of the existence of supersymmetry is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for proof of the existence of strings. Also, keep in mind that string theory does not require that supersymmetry be present at the TeV scale.

By: Elliot

Elliot — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 02:57:07 +0000

Layperson’s questions

What are the implications for the various approaches to fundamental theories such as strings, branes, LQG, twistors etc. if the Higgs is or is not detected at the LHC?

Also what if evidence/no evidence of supersymmetry shows up what ar the implications for these various theories (if any)

Thanks,

Elliot