Wonderful opportunities await particle physics over the next decade, with
new instruments and experiments poised to explore the frontiers of high
energy, infinitesimal distances, and exquisite rarity. We look forward to
the Large Hadron Collider at CERN to explore the 1-TeV scale
(extending efforts at LEP and the Tevatron to unravel the nature of
electroweak symmetry breaking) and many initiatives to develop our
understanding of the problem of identity: what makes a neutrino a neutrino
and a top quark a top quark. Here I have in mind the work of the B factories
and the hadron colliders on CP violation and the weak interactions of the b
quark; the wonderfully sensitive experiments around the world
on CP violation and rare decays of kaons; the prospect of
definitive accelerator experiments on neutrino oscillations and the nature
of the neutrinos; and a host of new experiments on the sensitivity frontier.
We might even learn to read experiment for clues about the dimensionality of
spacetime.
Experiments that use natural sources also hold great promise for the decade
ahead. We suspect that the
detection of proton decay is only a few orders of magnitude away in
sensitivity. Astronomical observations
should help to tell us what kinds of matter and energy make up the universe.
The areas already under
development—if not exploitation—include gravity wave detectors,
neutrino telescopes, cosmic microwave
background measurements, cosmic-ray observatories, γ-ray astronomy,
and large-scale optical surveys.
Indeed, the whole complex of experiments and observations that we call
astro/cosmo/particle physics should
enjoy a golden age.
If we are inventive enough, we may be able to follow this rich
menu with the physics opportunities offered by a linear electron-positron collider and a (muon
storage ring) neutrino factory. I expect a remarkable flowering of
experimental particle physics, and of theoretical physics that engages with
experiment.
Our theories of the
fundamental particles and the interactions among them are in a very
provocative state. We have achieved a simple and coherent understanding of
an unprecedented range of natural phenomena, but our new understanding
raises captivating new questions. In search of answers, we have made
far-reaching speculations about the universe that may lead to revolutionary
changes in our perception of the physical world, and our place in it. See
my colloquium, "The Coming Revolutions in Particle Physics."
My work ranges over many topics in particle physics, from electroweak
symmetry breaking and supercollider physics to heavy quarks and the strong
interaction among them to ultrahigh-energy neutrino interactions. The
essential interplay between theory and experiment is a guiding theme.
Because we cannot hope to advance without new instruments, I have devoted
much energy to helping to define the future of particle physics—and
the new accelerators that will take us there.
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