Gravitational probes of dark matter: off the beaten path
2026-02-12 10:00 - 11:00 UTC | Auditorium Vivargent (LAPTh)
Speakers: Kfir Blum (weizmann institute of science)
Many astrophysical and cosmological systems show compelling positive evidence for the existence of dark matter. Yet, as all of this positive evidence is based on gravitational effects, the fundamental particle nature of dark matter remains unknown, hidden behind the veil of the equivalence principle. I will discuss attempts to penetrate this veil, still focusing on gravitational dynamics alone. First, I consider ultralight dark matter, a regime that arises if dark matter particles are so light that their de-Broglie wavelength attains astronomical scales. Dark matter in this regime can be constrained by detailed analyses of stellar distributions in galaxies of various shapes and sizes, and can also leave an imprint in gravitational lensing observations. Second, I consider, more broadly, the phenomenon of gravitational dynamical friction, which offers a probe of dark matter beyond the mean-field level, and — in some systems — provides compelling new evidence for dark matter in galaxies, qualitatively different and independent from traditional stellar kinematics.

https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38255/

Journal Club
2026-02-17 10:00 - 11:00
see https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/NJmNfMtzFBfCkQy
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38461/

Naman Agarwal - Toward an Effective Theory of the Volume Modulus
2026-02-25 15:00 - 16:00
Speakers: Naman Agarwal (University of Manitoba)
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Abstract: In this talk, I will talk about my recent work with collaborators where we investigate the 4-dimensional effective theory of the warped volume modulus in the presence of stabilizing effects from gaugino condensation by analyzing the linearized 10-dimensional supergravity equations of motion. Warping is generally expected to scale down the masses of bulk modes to the IR scale at the tip of a throat. We find that the mass of the warped volume modulus evades expectations and is largely insensitive to the effects of warping, even in strongly warped backgrounds. Instead, the mass is parametrically tied to the 4-dimensional AdS curvature scale m2∼O(1)R^AdSm2∼O(1)R^AdS​, presenting a challenge for scale separation in these backgrounds. We trace this effect to a universal contribution arising from the 10-dimensional equations of motion, and comment on the importance of a 10-dimensional treatment of the warped volume modulus for effective field theories and model building.
Link: Zoom
AnLy: https://sites.google.com/view/anlystringsandfields

https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38783/

Integrable boundary-driven quantum circuits with different geometries
2026-02-26 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium Vivargent (LAPTh)
Speakers: Ana Retore (DESY)
A quantum circuit is a way to simulate the time evolution of many-body operators where the scattering can be factorized into two body scattering operators for the bulk and one body operators for the boundaries. Integrability is a property where the presence of hidden symmetries in a model gives rise to a powerful toolkit to solve this model. This talk brings these two concepts together.
Integrability in a quantum circuit means that the circuit time evolution commutes with the conserved charges of the model giving rise to many tools to solve this model.They present several advantages, including reduced noise propagation when compared to non-integrable circuits, as well as the possibility to use integrability-based techniques to understand transport properties of quantum many-body systems.
These features motivated us to systematically classify integrable quantum circuits with open boundary conditions. In this talk, after an introduction to quantum circuits and their importance, I will present a construction of integrable boundary-driven quantum circuits with different geometries (positions of the gates) and discuss some examples.

https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38028/

Journal Club
2026-03-03 10:00 - 11:00
see https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/NJmNfMtzFBfCkQy
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38462/

Colliders in the Sky: Constraining High-Energy Physics with CMB and LSS Observations
2026-03-05 10:00 - 11:00 | Salle des Sommets (LAPTh)
Speakers: Oliver Philcox (Stanford University)
Inflation is amongst the most mysterious phenomena in physics. With an energy scale potentially reaching 10^13 TeV, its physical description likely lies far beyond the realm of the standard model. This leaves many questions unanswered: what fields were present during inflation? how did they interact with each other? In this talk, I will discuss how modern cosmological datasets can be used to shed light on the early Universe by searching for the tell-tale signs of “primordial non-Gaussianity”. In particular, I will present new searches for inflationary signals in Cosmic Microwave Background and Galaxy Survey data, which allow for a detailed study of the primordial three- and four-point functions. Leveraging an array of theoretical and computational tricks, these methods can place constraints on the microphysics of inflation and directly probe particle scattering processes in the early Universe, acting as a “cosmological collider”. I will close by discussing future avenues of exploration and prospects for upcoming galaxy surveys.
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38090/

2nd UNDARK School: The multi-messenger non-thermal universe
2026-03-09 07:00 - 2026-03-13 17:00 | Auditorium Vivargent (Campus du CNRS)
The UNDARK’s Second Scientific School will be held in Annecy (France) at the LAPTh, a world-class research laboratory just 40 km away from CERN, from the 9th – 13th March 2026.

UNDARK Scientific Schools are week-long events aimed at equipping PhD students in the field of astroparticle physics with theoretical, phenomenological and numerical tools at the forefront of their field of research. The 2nd UNDARK Scientific School will focus on the multi-messenger non-thermal universe, including astrophysics of radio to gamma-ray observations and tests of fundamental physics.
No fee will be charged to participating students. A maximum of 30 students will be accepted. Coffee breaks, lunches and up to two dinners will be offered to the participants.Upon request and depending on funding, a few travel grants will be awarded to students.
The UNDARK consortium, where UNDARK stands for Unravelling the Dark Universe from the Canary islands Observatories, aims at resolving the constituents and the laws which govern this dark side of the universe. The consortium is led by the IAC, in partnership with CERN, IFAE, WIS and LAPTh. More information can be found in the UNDARK’s website.
UNDARK’s first school was organized by IFAE and held at the Benasque Science Center (Benasque, Spain) from March 9 to March 15, 2025.

Graphic design: Ève Barlier, UNDARK, 2025

School Picture 1
School Picture 2

https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/36693/

Journal Club
2026-03-17 10:00 - 11:00
see https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/NJmNfMtzFBfCkQy
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38463/

Victor Franken - Holographic quantum tasks in the static patch
2026-03-18 15:00 - 16:00
Speakers: Victor Franken (Gent Univ.)
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Abstract: In the AdS/CFT correspondence, direct scattering in the bulk may not have a local boundary analog. A nonlocal implementation on the boundary requires O(1/G​) mutual information. This statement is formalized by the connected wedge theorem, which can be proven using general relativity within AdS_3​ but also by applying quantum information theory on the boundary, suggesting that the theorem applies to any holographic duality. We examine scattering within the static patch of asymptotically dS_3 spacetime, which is conjectured to be described by a quantum theory on the stretched horizon in static patch holography. We prove that causality on the horizon should be induced from null infinities to maintain consistency with the theorem. Specifically, signals propagating in the static patch are associated with local operators at null infinity. These results suggest a novel connection between static patch holography and the dS/CFT correspondence.
Link: Visio
AnLy: https://sites.google.com/view/anlystringsandfields

https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/39166/

Journal Club
2026-03-31 09:00 - 10:00
see https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/NJmNfMtzFBfCkQy
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38464/

Abhishek MANIYAR
2026-04-02 09:00 - 10:00 | Auditorium Vivargent (LAPTh)
Speakers: Abhishek Maniyar (CNRS – LAPTh)
TBA
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/39119/

Journal Club
2026-04-14 09:00 - 10:00
see https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/NJmNfMtzFBfCkQy
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38465/

Journal Club
2026-04-28 09:00 - 10:00
see https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/NJmNfMtzFBfCkQy
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38467/

Viktor EISLER
2026-05-07 09:00 - 10:00 | Auditorium Vivargent (LAPTh)
Speakers: Viktor Eisler (Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics TU Graz)
TBA
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38044/

Journal Club
2026-05-12 09:00 - 10:00
see https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/NJmNfMtzFBfCkQy
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38468/

Frank Qu
2026-05-21 09:00 - 10:00 | Auditorium Vivargent (LAPTh)
Speakers: Frank Qu (Stanford University)
TBA
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/39269/

Journal Club
2026-05-26 09:00 - 10:00
see https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/NJmNfMtzFBfCkQy
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38469/

Azadeh MALEKNEJAD
2026-05-28 09:00 - 10:00 | Auditorium Vivargent (LAPTh)
Speakers: Azadeh Maleknejad (Swansea University)
TBA
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38874/

Eric VERNIER
2026-06-04 09:00 - 10:00 | Auditorium Vivargent (LAPTh)
Speakers: Eric Vernier
TBA
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38045/

AnLy 8th in-person Meeting
2026-06-09 06:00 - 17:00 | Auditorium – Grande Galerie (LAPTh)
This is the 8th instance of the in-person AnLy meetings between neighboring institutions (IP2I Lyon, LAPTh Annecy, LPENSL Lyon) on string and field theory topics. It will take place at LAPTh, Annecy, on the 09th June 2026.

Travel: Options between Lyon and Annecy are train (or train + bus), Flixbus, or car (and car-sharing).
Recommended trains: 08:08 (Lyon Part-Dieu) – 10:07 (Annecy) ; 17:43 (Annecy) – 19:52 (Lyon Part-Dieu)

Lunch: It will be provided to registered participants of the meeting.

Registration: It opens on the 15th April and closes on the 15th May 2026.

https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38840/

RAQIS 26
2026-09-07 11:30 - 2026-09-11 12:00 | Auditorium (LAPTh)
Recent Advances in Quantum Integrable Systems 2026
This international meetings aim at bringing in contact people working on various aspects of the Theory of Quantum Integrable Systems. Applications of Integrable Systems, such as string/gauge theories, condensed matter physics or statistical physics are also emphasized.
Fees
The registration fee is 200 EUR up to June 30th. It is 250 EUR for late registration (up to July 31st). Fees include lunches (08-09-10-11/09), coffee-breaks and the conference dinner. Fee payment confirms participation and inscription on the list of participants.
Accomodation
The participants are asked to book their accommodation by themselves. Be aware that Annecy is a very touristic place, book in advance!

Web site addresshttps://indico.in2p3.fr/e/raqis26
https://indico.in2p3.fr/event/38960/
