This Summer School will take place at the Institut d'Etudes Scientifiques de Cargèse in Corsica, France. It is aimed at advanced doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and junior researchers working in the field of high energy theory. It is the 2026 edition in a biennial series of Advanced Summer Schools in High Energy Theoretical Physics, which have been held traditionally in Cargèse or Les Houches. Recent developments in string theory, quantum gravity and quantum field theory will be reviewed in pedagogical fashion, along with emerging relations to quantum information, quantum many body systems, cosmology, etc.
Lecturers:
- Micha Berkooz, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot :
"Quantum Chaos and Quantum Gravity in the Double Scaled SYK model" - Scott Collier, Syracuse University, USA:
“3d gravity, averaged holography, and Virasoro TQFT” - Zohar Komargodski, Simons Center of Geometry and Physics, Stony Brook, USA:
“Defects in Quantum Field Theory and Many Body Systems: RG flows, Generalized Symmetries, and Exotic Dynamics" - Hong Liu, Massachussets Institute of Technology, Boston, USA :
"Wormholes and closed universes in AdS/CFT" - Guilherme Pimentel, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy:
"Theory of cosmological fluctuations" - Ashoke Sen, ICTS-TIFR, Bangalore, India: "Why supergravity needs string theory"
- Joaquin Turiaci, University of Washington, Seattle, USA:
"Quantum effects in near-extremal black holes" - Irene Valenzuela, CERN Geneva and Universitad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain: "Aspects of the Swampland Distance Conjecture"
- Sasha Zhiboedov, CERN Geneva: "Introduction to conformal collider physics"
Organizing Committee:
- J. de Boer, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
- M. Guica, CERN and EPFL, Switzerland and IPhT, CEA/Saclay, France
- B. Pioline, LPTHE, Sorbonne Université, France
- J. Sonner, University of Geneva, Switzerland
- P. Tourkine, LAPTH, Annecy, France
- B. van Rees, Ecole Polytechnique, France
- E. Verlinde, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Administrative Organizer: Elena Gianolio, CERN
Applications:
The school can accommodate approximately 65 selected participants. PhD students and first-year postdocs should arrange for a letter of recommendation from their advisor to be sent to Cargese2026.references@cern.ch by March 20 (please ask them to indicate your name in the email subject). Registration is now closed.
Participants are expected to cover their own travel expenses. The registration fee is 650 Euros, covering accommodation on shared room basis, lunches and coffee breaks (single room accommodation is possible for additional 150 Euro fee). Funding is available on specific request (in the registration form).
Students are expected to attend the school for its full duration. The arrival date is Monday June 22, while the departure date is Saturday July 4th, except for special arrangements.
