It is an exciting time to investigate the dark components of the Universe, with large new astronomical surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES) reaching maturity. I will discuss the theory and practice of cosmological probes which we use with DES, such as strong/weak gravitational lensing and galaxy clustering. I will then describe the latest results from DES for these probes (including some of the interplay between them), and discuss the resulting cosmological constraints and their implications. Finally, I will look forward to the next generation of surveys and consider how they can make qualitatively new contributions to our understanding of the dark Universe.

 

Some recent experimental highlights of the LHC are presented and
perspectives for the future are discussed.

This talk will present some prospects for probing new physics indirectly and searching for it directly during future runs of the LHC and at possible future colliders.

A key aspect in understanding a quantum system is describing how quantum information is localized and how it evolves.  Quantum gravity presents unique features, departing from traditional finite quantum theories or quantum field theory, and raising the question of what mathematical structure describes subsystems in which information can be localized.  Aspects of this structure and its implications for foundational properties of quantum gravity will be discussed.  If a black hole is a quantum subsystem in which information can be localized, unitary decay of a black hole requires transfer of this information to its environment.  Interactions accomplishing this transfer can be parameterized, given a very simple set of assumptions, and can be surprisingly weak.  An important question is whether such interactions can impact black hole observations using VLBI or gravitational waves.

The Kerr hypothesis is that astrophysical black hole candidates are well described by the Kerr metric. Theoretically, this hypothesis is based on the uniqueness theorems for electro-vacuum. But in the presence of other types of matter or modified gravity are there any viable alternatives? In this talk I will provide examples of black holes with hair that could be dynamically viable via two different scalarisation mechanisms and I will comment on their phenomenological viability.

Implications of the exciting hints for lepton-nonuniversality seen in ratios of rare B-decays into muons and electrons at the LHCb-experiment  are discussed. If indeed true and confirmed with more data in the future at the LHC (CERN, Switzerland) and Belle II (KEK, Japan), this would constitute a spectacular breakdown of the standard model:
i) it would tell us that leptons are more different from each other than we thought and ii) there is an intriguing link to the flavor puzzle. Leptoquarks provide natural explanations of the anomalies as they carry lepton and quark flavor charges and thus generically can induce 
nonuniversality, and lepton flavor violation. B-physics  data point to masses from just around the corner, at the present search limits, to
the few multi-TeV range, while viable flavor models suggest masses of a  few TeV. Search strategies for colliders and  next steps  are discussed.

In this review talk, I will make a trip along the universe's expansion history exploring the signatures of cosmic neutrino masses and abundances, and I will be  presenting the most recent constraints on those quantities from cosmological data. The implications from the strong degeneracy between the dark energy equation of state and the neutrino mass will also be discussed. I hope the participants will enjoy this cosmo-neutrino-hunting Christmas trip!

TBA

I argue that if the EDGES anomaly will be confirmed by future experiments, its most natural explanation is the existence of soft photon background
beyond the standard cosmology. I discuss how this can be created by dark matter and which are the needed dark matter properties for this to happen.

In this talk I will review our strategy for the determination of the fundamental parameters of the standard model in terms of hadronic input via lattice simulations, with an emphasis on the determination of the strong coupling constant. I will focus on the concepts, key ideas and recent developments that allows this strategy to obtain accurate and precise results for the fundamental parameters of the standard model.

TBA

The LIGO Virgo Consortium achieved the first detection of gravitational waves. A century after the fundamental predictions of Einstein, we report the first direct observations of binary black hole systems merging to form single black holes. The detected waveforms match the predictions of general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. Our observations provide unique access to the properties of space-time at extreme curvatures: the strong-field and high velocity regime. It allows unprecedented tests of general relativity for the nonlinear dynamics of highly disturbed black holes. Last year the gravitational waves from the merger of a binary neutron star were observed. This discovery marks the start of multi-messenger astronomy and the aftermath of this merger was studied by using 70 observatories on seven continents and in space, across the electromagnetic spectrum.

 

The scientific impact of the recent detections will be explained. In addition key technological aspects will be addressed, such as the interferometric detection principle, optics, and sensors and actuators. Attention is paid to the largest challenges in the field, including plans for Einstein Telescope, an instrument that will allow us to observe black hole coalescence in the entire visible Universe. Einstein Telescope will be an underground observatory housing multiple (cryogenic) interferometers for gravitational waves science.