WORKSHOP: Amplitudes 2010

Scattering amplitudes are fundamental quantities in gauge theory and in gravity. The standard method for calculating these quantities is the perturbative expansion of the path integral in terms of Feynman diagrams, which involves complex calculations. However the results are often surprisingly simple, which suggests strongly that there is unknown structure to be discovered in these theories. This may revolutionise the way we understand quantum field theory and possibly string theory, and lead to novel and efficient methods for calculating physical observables.This Workshop will be devoted to reviewing progress made in this area, highlight the fascinating connections to twistors and integrability, and stimulate interaction and collaboration among the participants.

The research which will be the subject of this Workshop is concerned with the laws of physics at their most fundamental level and their underlying principles and formulation. As such, the results are relevant to the theoretical physics community in particular, and in the longer-term to practitioners in particle physics phenomenology and experimentalists. Moreover, the fundamental questions addressed at the Workshop have always been of interest to a wider audience including students, teachers, scientists in other fields and lay audiences. General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and String Theory have become topics of mainstream interest and knowledge because most people are interested in the answers to big questions, such as where does our universe come from, how will it evolve, what is matter made of, how does it interact, and so forth. In broad terms, a primary aim of this Workshop will be to help discovering and developing new, efficient methods to calculate the scattering amplitudes of elementary particles. Very precise knowledge of Standard Model amplitudes will be required in forthcoming experiments at the LHC in order to disentangle new physics from the background, and for this we need accurate knowledge of scattering amplitudes at the quantum level. Improving the effectiveness of the LHC will advance our knowledge of fundamental science. Although very difficult to foresee, the potential impact of such fundamental research should not be underestimated, as it underpins every technological advance which has been made. There will also be one or more talks on the recent advances in computer simulations and programmes, with further potential benefits to wider problems and possible future impact. The talks at this Workshop will be disseminated through a website which has already been set up at the address http://www.strings.ph.qmul.ac.uk/~theory/Amplitudes2010 , where slides of all seminars will be made available to researchers worldwide.