This workshop intends to foster discussion across all fields relevant to the motivation and discovery of light scalar fields. Scalar fields are predicted by many extensions of the Standard Model and can address a variety of open fundamental questions in particle physics and cosmology. The workshop will bring together experts from the theoretical and experimental communities for a joint brainstorming on the status of this research, identify areas for improvements, as well as set new promising directions to further their detection.
The topics that will be covered include:
- Axions and axion-like particles
- Relaxion
- Scalar-tensor theories
- Light dilaton
- Cosmological constant
- Dark matter
- Stringy connections and Swampland
- Inflation
- Searches at collider/beam-dump experiments
The workshop will take place at the Centro de Ciencias de Benasque Pedro Pascual (http://benasque.org/) located in Benasque (Spain), between April 7 and April 13, 2019. Benasque is a beautiful village with a famous ski resort, located in the heart of the Pyrenees, close to the Spanish border with France. In addition to the auditorium, the Center offers desk space, ubiquitous black boards and several meeting areas. To ensure a productive workshop, attendance will be limited to a maximum of 60 participants. The agenda will also be kept light, with two overview talks on specific topics in the morning and open discussions during the rest of the day.
