THEORETICAL PARTICLE AND ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS IN FRANCE Stéphane Lavignac (SPhT, CEA-Saclay) Resctricted ECFA meeting – Open session Paris, May 12, 2006
Outline • description of the particle / astroparticle theory community • working groups, collaboration with experimentalists, tools • research activities and connection with the experimental programme
How to define the particle / astroparticle theory community? • exclude string theory (well represented in France), apart from a few individuals working at the interface of string theory/extra dimensions • exclude people working on pure astrophysical/cosmological problems (stars, structure formation, extraction of cosmological parameters...) • exclude nuclear physics and low-energy hadronic physics • mainly people publishing on hep-ph, hep-lat and astro-ph. Includes “hardcore” phenomenology (precise computation of processes or physical quantities for particle/astroparticle physics experiments); model- oriented phenomenology (model-building, construction and study of new theoretical frameworks and of their possible experimental signatures); particle physics models for cosmology (dark matter; dark energy; inflation and gravitational waves; baryon asymmetry)
Size of the particle/astroparticle theory community (permanent positions) • Counting only people publishing on hep-ph and hep-lat (thus excluding a part of the astroparticle community): CNRS 60 (from a document on the future University 24 of particle theory in France by CEA 7 G. Bélanger and O. Pène) Total 91 • Between 2002 and 2005, there have been 21 retirements (15 CNRS and 6 University) and 17 new recruitments (10 CNRS, 5 University, 2 CEA) • Between 2005 and 2009, there will be 20 retirements (18 CNRS and 2 CEA), i.e. 22% of the whole hep-ph + hep-lat community • Size estimate of the particle/astroparticle theory community (hep-ph + hep-lat + astro-ph): 68 CNRS + 32 University + 7 CEA = 107
Comparison with other european countries (hep-ph + hep-lat only) Position UK Germany Italy France 0 19 45 60 Research 78 61 85 31 University 78 80 130 91 Total permanent Postdocs and 55 78 50 12 Research Assoc. 132 158 180 103 Total (from a document on the future of particle theory in France by G. Bélanger and O. Pène) Main differences: proportion of research/University permanent positions; number of postdocs and research associates (expected to increase in the next years due to the new funding agency ANR)
Postdocs and PhD students • Up to now, the number of postdoctoral positions funded by french institutions was very limited. This is going to change with the recently created ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche), whose role is to fund projects submitted by teams of researchers, including the hiring of postdocs. The first ANR projects are just starting Sources of funding: ANR (new), CNRS, CEA (only for SPhT), Marie Curie fellowships, european RTN networks, (non-french) national grants Present number of postdocs in particle/astroparticle theory (not including ANR projects): 15 • There are also 1-year teaching assistent positions in Universities (ATER) Present number of ATER in particle/astroparticle theory: 3 • The number of PhD students is traditionally smaller in France than in other european countries Present number of PhD students in particle/astroparticle theory: 40
Distribution of theorists in french institutes (permanent positions) • The majority of (astro)particle theorists are working in theoretical physics (CNRS or CEA) institutes where other fields of theoretical physics are represented (condensed matter, mathematical physics...): LPT Orsay (19) - SPhT Saclay (13) - LAPTH Annecy (13) CPT Marseille (8) - CPhT Polytechnique (7) - LPTHE Paris (6) IHES Bures (2) - LPT -ENS (1) - LPT Strasbourg (1) • A smaller number of them are working in theory divisions of experimental HEP (IN2P3) or astrophysics institutes: APC Paris (9) - LPTA Montpellier (8) - SUBATECH Nantes (5) IAP Paris (5) - IPN Lyon (4) - IPN Orsay (4) - LPSC Grenoble (4) LPC Clermont (3) - LPNHE Paris (3) • since 2005, IN2P3 provides financial support for selected research projects submitted by members of these theory groups (includes many nuclear theorists not considered above)
Participation in international working groups • participation in WGs of the ECFA study on e+e- linear colliders: - Higgs physics: P . Binétruy (APC) - F. Boudjema (Annecy) - A. Deandrea (Lyon) - A. Djouadi (Orsay) - J.-L. Kneur, G. Moultaka (Montpellier) - Supersymmetry [G. Bélanger (Annecy), co-convener]: F. Boudjema, M. Mühlleitner (Annecy) - A. Djouadi (Orsay) - M. Klasen (Grenoble) - J.-L. Kneur, G. Moultaka (Montpellier) - Loop-Verein (precision calculation of higher-order processes): P . Aurenche, G. Bélanger, F. Boudjema (Annecy) - M. Cacciari (Jussieu) - M. Fontannaz (Orsay) - LC connections to cosmology [A. Djouadi (Orsay), co-convener] • organization by the LAPTH (Annecy) of the series of international workshops “Physics at TeV Colliders” in Les Houches (last session: 2005) • participation in other working groups, e.g. at CERN or HERA
National working groups (GDRs) • GDRs (Groupements de Recherche) play an important rôle in bringing together theorists and experimentalists from different institute to interact and collaborate on common issues of interest: - GDR Supersymmetry (1997-2003: P . Binétruy; 2005-2008: J. Orloff) - GDR “Subatomic Physics and Lattice Calculations” (2005-2008, J. Carbonell) - GDR “High Energy Cosmic Phenomena” (2000-2007, B. Degrange) - GDR Neutrino (2005-2008, M. Dracos and C. Cavata) • as an example, the GDR Supersymmetry helped creating a community of experimentalists and theorists collaborating on the phenomenology of and experimental search for supersymmetry - active collaborations in the first WGs on the MSSM, NMSSM, tools, R-parity violation, dark matter - extension at the european level: Euro-GDR Supersymmetry (2001-2004) - currently four active WGs: tests of supersymmetric models at colliders; common methods and tools; dark matter and colliders; extra dimensions
Collaborations with experimentalists • some theorists are members of experimental collaborations, mainly in astroparticle physics (Auger, Virgo, Planck) • local interactions between theory and experimental institutes: common seminars, local associations (e. g. Fédération de Recherche “Fundamental Interactions” between LPNHE, LPT -ENS and LPTHE in Paris) • apart from common work in WGs, many examples of individual collaborations between theorists and experimentalists: - CPT Marseille: participation in the CKMfitter group (package tool for a global CKM matrix analysis) with members of BABAR and LHCb - LPT Orsay: interactions lattice group / LAL members of BABAR - LPTA Montpellier: collaboration on indirect dark matter detection between theorists and experimentalists from CELESTE, AMS and HESS - SPhT Saclay: collaboration with DAPNIA members of D0 on diffractive Higgs boson production at the Tevatron / LHC - LAPTH Annecy: collaboration with LAPP members of AMS and HESS on direct and indirect detection of supersymmetric dark matter
Tools for HEP and astroparticle experiments • many french theorists are involved in the development of new methods for data analysis and in the writing of numerical tools for experiments: - CPT Marseille (in collaboration with the CPPM group “Renoir”): development of tools for analysis of future data from SNIa, CMB, large scale structures, weak lensing and comparison with dark energy models - SPhT Saclay: new method based on multiparticle cumulants for analyzing correlations between detected particles in heavy ion collisions (used by the NA49, STAR and PHENIX collaborations - new analysis of SPS data with NA49) - SUBATECH Nantes: simulation tools for heavy ion collisions - LAPTH Annecy / LPT Orsay: development of NLO partonic event generators (PHOX family) for inclusive processes like h h → γ (h) γ (h) X and γ (h) jet X - codes for supersymmetric models (Annecy, Montpellier and Orsay): HDECAY (Higgs decays in the SM/MSSM), NMHDECAY (Higgs decays in the NMSSM), SDECAY (superpartner decays), Micromegas (relic density of the LSP), SloopS (1- loop calculations in the MSSM applicable to collider physics and astrophysics)... • international workshop “T ools for Susy and the New Physics” (June 06) organized by LAPTH and LAPP (previous sessions: 1998, 1999, 2000)
Research activities 1. QCD and hadronic physics - QCD as a tool for SM measurements and for Higgs and new physics searches - high density and high energy regimes of QCD 2. Flavour physics and CP violation, neutrino physics 3. Higgs physics and collider physics - Higgs physics and alternative scenarios for EWSB - Collider signals of new physics scenarios (supersymmetry, X-dim...) 4. Astroparticle physics - dark matter - high energy cosmic rays - gravitational waves - particle physics scenarios for dark energy and inflation
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