Imaging Fundamental Processes (Thought, experiment and the accessible universe)

Prof. Dr. George Sterman, Stony Brook University,

Heinrich Hertz Lecture 2018

The contemporary theory of fundamental forces can be pictured as just a handful of particle species, acting among themselves according to a few simple rules. This theory can in principle account for the richness of the visible universe. It results from a centuries-long process of speculation and investigation, culminating in the language of quantum field theory. Yet every successful theoretical framework defines its own limitations, and suggests new questions and criteria. Looking back and ahead, I'll give a perspective on our current theories and viewpoints, and on how future developments may be influenced by evolving ideas in theoretical physics, by high energy experiments at accelerators, and by exquisite observations of the faintest cosmic signals.