The motivation for this workshop began with the discovery of the Higgs boson three
years ago, and the realisation that many problems remain in particle physics, such as
why there is more matter than anti-matter, better determining the still poorly measured
parameters of the strong force, explaining possible sources for dark matter, naturalness
etc. While the newly discovered Higgs boson seems to be compatible with the Standard
Model, current experimental accuracy is far from providing a definitive statement with
regards to the nature of this new particle. There is a lot of room for physics
beyond the
Standard Model to emerge in the exploration of the Higgs boson. Recent measurements
in high-energy heavy ion collisions at the LHC have shed light on the complex dynamics
that govern high-density quark-gluon interactions. An array of results from the ALICE
collaboration have been highlighted in a recent issue of CERN courier. The physics
program of high-energy heavy ion collisions promises to further unveil the intricacies of
high-density quark-gluon plasma physics.
The great topicality of high energy physics research has also seen a rapid increase
in the number of researchers in South Africa pursuing such studies, both experimentally
through the ATLAS and ALICE colliders at CERN, and theoretically. Young researchers
and graduate students largely populate these research groups, with little experience
in presenting their work, and few support structures (to their knowledge) to share
experiences with. Whilst many schools and workshops have sought to educate these
students on the theories and tools they will need to pursue their research, few have
provided them with a platform to present their work. As such, this workshop discussed
the various projects being pursued by graduate students and young researchers in South
Africa, enabling them to develop networks for future collaboration and discussion.
The workshop took place at the iThemba Laboratories - North facility, in Gauteng,
from the 11th to the 13th of February 2015, where excellent conference facilities with
outdoors and indoor tea areas for discussions and interactions were provided, along
with a state-of-the-art remote access to the conference venue such that those who were
unable to attend the workshop in person could also be present. The laboratory is located
next door to the Wits Professional Development Hub (on the corner of Jan Smuts
Avenue and Empire Road), which provided the catering for this workshop. A morning
plenary session, followed 15+10 minute presentations, was the format across our three
days. The topics covered being in high-energy theory and phenomenology (heavy ions,
pp, ep, ee collisions), ATLAS physics and ALICE physics. The workshop website is
http://hep.wits.ac.za/HEPPW2015.php