The strong CP problem related to the absence of a neutron electric dipole moment is a strong hint for physics beyond the Standard Model. Possible solutions to this problem include the quantum chromodynamics axion, which could also explain the dark matter abundance in the universe, or additional symmetries and particle content. Excitingly, many of these models predict observable signatures that will be probed in the coming years either through precision astrophysical probes, laboratory experiments, or collider searches.
A fascinating aspect of the strong CP problem is that its proposed solutions hint at deep properties of how nature functions at its most microscopic level. For example, axions are now understood to play fundamental roles in quantum gravity and string theory. This workshop will bring together experts working on the foundational theoretical aspects of axions together with researchers focused on astrophysical and laboratory probes of the particles. At the same time, recently a number of compelling non-axion solutions to the strong-CP problem have also been proposed, and we invite researchers working in these directions as well. This workshop is especially timely given the rapid theoretical progress in understanding the ultraviolet origin of axion and non-axion solutions to the strong-CP problem together with the equally rapid experimental and observational developments of novel tests that may soon shed light on the origin of the neutron’s mysteriously absent electric dipole moment.
All of this to be set againts the backdrop of the medieval town of Pollica, in Southwestern Italy (Cilento region). The workshop will take place June 16-27, 2025.
Scientific and organizing committee:
Benjamin R. Safdi, University of California, Berkeley
Claudio Andrea Manzari, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
JiJi Fan, Brown University
Matthew Reece, Harvard University
Andrea Caputo, CERN and Sapienza University of Rome
Chiara Salemi, Stanford University and SLAC 4.
Sponsored by:
