December 27, 2023
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI)
On December 8, the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5), chaired by University of California, Berkeley, MacAdams Professor of Physics and Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI) Professor Hitoshi Murayama, issued their final report, a summarization of a year’s worth of townhall meetings and closed meetings with regional community members and young researchers.
The P5 final report is a follow up to the last P5 report from 2014. The report is put together by a panel of US and international particle physicists, who evaluate large- and medium-sized physics research projects, and then provide the US Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation (NSF) with recommendations about how they should commit their high-energy physics research funds for the next decade. The outcome not only has a significant effect on physics research in the US, but to the entire particle physics community around the world.
Their new report mentions several projects, including key projects that Kavli IPMU researchers are involved in, including the Belle II experiment being carried out at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture, and the Super-Kamiokande and Hyper-Kamiokande projects being carried out in an underground laboratory in Kamioka, Gifu prefecture.
The report also mentions the close relationship between particle physics and cosmology, mentioning the cosmic microwave background radiation detection satellite project LiteBIRD, in which Kavli IPMU has a central role.
“The final P5 report is based on feedback from hundreds of physicists who participated in a planning process called Snowmass, sponsored by the American Physical Society. Hundreds of reports were submitted for last year's Snowmass, and the P5 committee worked to distill each of these hopes into a realistic vision for the next 10 years and beyond. This is a true democracy in science. Nevertheless, we had to be realistic in our planning, keeping in mind the financial viability of the report's recommendations. We also had to find a balance between big and small projects, since we knew small projects can have the freedom to think outside the box to produce high-risk, high-return scientific results,” said Murayama.
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Hitoshi Murayama named Chair of P5 Committee
Related links
P5 final report