The five day long International Workshop on "Strangeness in Hard Processes 2025" will be held in Frascati, Italy, from 15 to 19 December 2025.
The Strangeness in Hard Processes 2025 workshop, scheduled for December 15-19, 2025, brings together leading theorists and experimentalists to explore the multifaceted role of strangeness, embodied in kaons and other strange hadrons, in hard QCD processes. Participation is by invitation only.
This workshop is the second in the series, following the successful PSHP 2010 workshop at LNF, and aims to build on that foundation by addressing the latest developments in theory, phenomenology, and experiment. At the crossroads of high-precision measurements and cutting-edge theoretical frameworks, the 2025 edition will deepen our understanding of kaon production and fragmentation mechanisms within both inclusive and exclusive reactions. Key themes include insights into kaon parton distribution functions (PDFs), transverse momentum-dependent distributions (TMDs), hadronization dynamics, CP-violating observables, and rare decay channels.
One of the central focuses of the workshop will be the crucial experimental role of kaon identification, which is fundamental to advancing studies of strangeness at many facilities. Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detectors are central to this capability. The program will review the performance and challenges of RICH technologies at CERN experiments (COMPASS, AMBER, LHCb), at Jefferson Lab (CLAS12), and at other facilities, highlighting their complementary contributions to kaon physics. Particular emphasis will be placed on the CLAS12 RICH, whose performance has already shown strong potential for precision kaon measurements. At the same time, important steps remain to fully exploit its capabilities, requiring continued optimization and dedicated analysis efforts. This broader perspective will enable participants to assess both current achievements and the future potential of strangeness measurements made possible by state-of-the-art particle identification systems.
Participants will exchange recent experimental results, theoretical developments, and phenomenological interpretations, as well as identify outstanding challenges and future directions. This workshop serves as a prime opportunity to advance our knowledge of strangeness in high-energy QCD and strengthen the physics case for upcoming facilities and experiments.
The scientific programme of the workshop will be focused on the following topics:
-
Kaon Production Mechanisms
-
Kaon Structure & Distribution Functions
-
Transverse Momentum Distributions (TMDs)
-
Hadronization & Fragmentation Dynamics
-
Theoretical Approaches & Models
-
Experimental Facilities & Techniques
-
Phenomenology & Data-Theory Interface
Workshop Organizers:
H. Avagyan, M. Mirazita, B. Parsamyan, P. Rossi
Our sponsors and partners:
