[ASA] Workshop announcement: Fundamental Physics, Symmetry and Life

[John O'Byrne]

Subject: Workshop announcement: A Fractured Universe? Fundamental Physics, Symmetry and Life

Registration is now open for "A Fractured Universe? Fundamental Physics, Symmetry and Life", a workshop hosted at the University of Sydney on Thursday 30 November - Friday 1 December, 2017.

http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~luke/2017FTConf/<http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/%7Eluke/2017FTConf/>

Our cosmos displays a curious mixture of symmetry and asymmetry. Why is it that some symmetries hold (electric charge, spin, mass-energy), some almost hold (baryon number, lepton number, parity, cosmic homogeneity), some are broken (chiral symmetry, electroweak gauge symmetry), and some don't hold at all (macroscopic time asymmetry)? Does the answer to these fundamental questions lie in their effect on the creation of observers like us? Or do symmetry principles, as John Wheeler argued, merely summarise while hiding the real machinery of nature?

In light of these challenges, this workshop will bring together physicists, cosmologists, astronomers and philosophers for two days of invited and contributed talks. We invite talks on such topics as:
* the role of symmetries in fundamental laws of nature
* symmetry breaking in cosmology and particle physics
* cosmic and fundamental constants
* physical theories of the multiverse
* the role of probability theory in evaluating fine-tuning and naturalness
* the connection between life and our cosmic environment
* the broader implications of our place in the cosmos.

Venue: Sydney Nanoscience Hub, School of Physics, University of Sydney

Date: Thursday 30 November - Friday 1 December, 2017.

Contact: Luke Barnes, University of Sydney: luke.barnes at sydney.edu.au<mailto:luke.barnes at sydney.edu.au>


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"The standard you walk past is the standard you accept”
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ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JOHN O’BYRNE
Associate Dean (Student Life), Faculty of Science
Secretary, Astronomical Society of Australia Inc.

Sydney Institute for Astronomy
School of Physics | Faculty of Science

THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
Rm 205, Physics Building A28
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E john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au<mailto:john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au>  | W  http://sydney.edu.au/science/people/john.obyrne

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