OKC Palooza

by Archil Kobakhidze (The University of Sydney), Ivan Esteban (University of the Basque Country)

Tuesday 27 May 2025, 09:30 → 14:30 Europe/Stockholm

Observatory outdoor area floor 6 (AlbaNova Main Building)

Welcome Fika and Jamboree

We start the day with coffee and waffles. Everyone brings a 1-slide introduction (in Google Slides) including:

• What you’re working on
• What you’re interested in
• What you’d like to discuss

 

-> Add your slide to the deck!

Slides will be shown informally in the background. During the fika, participants are randomly invited to say a few words about their slide (about one minute each).

Colloquium Talks
Two invited speakers give 45-minute talks followed by Q&A. The morning talk can be more introductory in style, suitable for a broad audience.

Pizza Lunch and Jamboree Continued
We share lunch and continue the Jamboree, allowing more people to present their slides or follow up on earlier discussions. Optional discussion tables by topic are possible.

Wrap-up
No formal ending. People are welcome to stay and chat or continue discussions informally.

Event link here: https://su.bmc.nu/Modules/Event/Public/Event.aspx?EventId=948&EventGuid=cc024d97-8046-4bbe-92c4-f1262bc309a4

Colloquium Talks:

Archil Kobakhidze: 

Title: New physics within the Standard Model

Abstract:
The search for physics beyond the Standard Model is typically guided by theoretical frameworks that describe local interactions between known matter and hypothetical new particles. In contrast to this prevailing paradigm, I propose that the global (topological) features of the vacuum—the lowest energy quantum state—hold essential insights into the particle spectrum and potential new interactions. Specifically, the existence of fermionic vacuum condensates and the emergence of new particle states can be understood in a general, model-independent way in theories with a topologically non-trivial θ-vacuum structure. When applied to the electroweak sector of the Standard Model, this perspective predicts the spontaneous breaking of the anomalous B+L symmetry, giving rise to a novel emergent (pseudo)Goldstone boson: the electroweak ηw. This particle can be viewed as the electroweak analogue of the QCD η’ meson.

Ivan Esteban

Title: Neutrino masses: exploring new physics in the lab and the cosmos

Abstract:
The Standard Model of Particle Physics is one of our most successful theories of Nature. However, the discovery in the late 90s of neutrino oscillations showed that it must be extended. In this talk, I will overview our current evidence for neutrino masses and mixing, and discuss the yet-to-discover unknowns.
A striking feature of neutrino masses is that they leave measurable imprints on the evolution of the Universe. Neutrinos may indeed be the first particle whose absolute mass scale is first measured outside laboratories. In the second part of the talk, I will also review the cosmological impact of neutrino masses, current bounds, and comment on their robustness.

Dietary requirements and feedback:
If you have any input regarding the event or specific dietary requirements, please send us an email.

Contact for the event:
jens.jasche@fysik.su.se