Where are we? Where are we going? Where should we be going? Condensed matter systems have proven capable of existing in a marvelous variety of physical states that exhibit fundamental phenomena of interest even outside our subfield, particluarly in elementary particle physics. Will this continue or are the different subfields beginning to lose touch with each other as they mature? It is already clear that a large and unfortunate communication gulf has developed even inside our own community between the soft matter and electronic materials camps.
Most members of our community have been proud to celebrate the technological relevance of our subfield. The past few decades have seen a marvelous synergy in which advances in condensed matter physics have led to technological advances. These in turn have permitted explorations of new realms and allowed new fundamental physics advances. Will this synergy continue or are we in danger of becoming technologically irrelevant?
It is clear that we are entering a new era of confluence between atomic/molecular/optical physics and condensed matter physics. It is less clear but quite possible, that we are at the dawn of an age in which we will spin off a new subfield of quantum electrical engineering and quantum computation.
Can we develop a useful understanding of complex materials?
Whither nano-scale physics? Our colleagues in other
subfields of physics seem to be better at communicating the
excitement of their research to the public. What can we do
on this front? I do not have answers to all these questions,
but will at least attempt to make a few observations on
them.
[F1.002] The Future of Particle and Nuclear Physics
Frank Wilczek (MIT)
The standard model of particle physics is extremely successful, but incomplete. Its mathematical structure suggests how it might be derived from a more comprehensive unified theory. The arguments are both aesthetic and quantitative. They predict specific new phenomena observable which will be observable at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Recent results on neutrino masses confirm and encourage this line of thought. Another problem within the standard model, the so-called strong CP problem, is one of a number of reasons to suspect the existence of a radically new class of very light, very weakly interacting particles. All these ideas have important implications for cosmology; in particular, they provide plausible, testable candidates for the ``dark matter''.
For nuclear physics, the future is QCD. This theory opens
new possibilities for understanding hadronic matter at
extreme temperatures (as in the big bang, and at RHIC) and
extreme density (as in neutron star interiors). Recent
insights concerning color superconductivity are especially
beautiful, and shed penetrating new light on the problem of
quark confinement. Another lively frontier is the direct
solution of the QCD equations using the full power of modern
parallel computing.
[F1.003] Dreams for the Future of Physics: Astrophysics and Cosmology
Michael S. Turner (The University of Chicago and Fermilab)
Our understanding of the Universe and the objects within is
in the midst of a revolution powered by technology and
ideas. The richness of the opportunities and the deep
connections to physics are illustrated by the questions
astrophysicists are trying to answer: What is the dark
matter that holds galaxies together? What is the frequency
of planetary systems like ours and how do they form? How did
the Universe begin? What are the highest energy particles in
the Universe and how were they accelerated? How does
superconductivity work at ten billion degrees and what other
states of exotic matter exist in neutron stars? Do black
holes work the way Einstein's theory predicts? What is the
nature of the dark energy that is causing the expansion of
the Universe to speed up? How does the nuclear deflagration
of a white dwarf star proceed and produce a supernova? What
is the origin of the ubiquitous magnetic fields in the
Universe and how do they power phenomena such as stellar
coronae?
[F1.004] The Future of Physics in Biology
Albert Libchaber (Detlev W. Bronk Professor, The Rockefeller University, NYC and Fellow, NEC Research Institute, Princeton, NJ)
There is an apparent conflict between the search for
universality in physics and the intricate and necessary
search for details in biology, between formal theory and
story telling. Research in genomes and gene networks tends
to reduce this contradiction. Also, implementation of
computational aspects of biology into physical processes
leads to stimulating interchange. A theory of information
and computation as a natural phenomenon is in limbo and
needs to be extended. Finally, the development of new tools
and techniques is a very active ground for research.
[F1.005] The Future of String Theory
David Gross (Univ. Calif. / Santa Barbara)