The Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP) at Durham University is asking for five more years of funding to keep running the UK’s national centre for interpreting particle physics data. Without this centre, experimental results from the Large Hadron Collider and other facilities would lack the theoretical analysis needed to turn raw measurements into discoveries about the fundamental building blocks of matter. The IPPP provides open-source software and calculations that help physicists worldwide understand what their experiments actually mean, and it maintains HEPData, the primary public repository for particle physics data. It also organises 15 workshops and conferences each year, including the Annual Theory Meeting and the Young Experimentalists and Theorists Institute, to train the next generation of scientists and keep the UK community connected internationally. This is fundamental science: it does not aim for a direct commercial product. But the same kind of theoretical infrastructure that underpinned the discovery of the Higgs boson could, over decades, lead to unforeseen technologies—just as quantum mechanics, once purely theoretical, now underpins every computer chip.
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This application aims to rejuvenate the strategic partnership between Durham University and STFC in maintaining an internationally visible and impactful National Institute. This model has been successful and has been emulated in institutions in Pittsburgh and Odense. We propose that IPPP's Core contains the service commitments that are mission-critical to the National Centre for UK's wider particle physics community. To deliver on our strategic objectives as a National Centre, we bid to extend funding for IPPP's Core to a 5-year cycle. Further, we propose the following as core tasks of the IPPP, the National Centre for Particle Phenomenology and Research Institute at Durham University: Provide theory support for particle physics experiments: With its critical mass of internationally recognised experts in particle phenomenology, the IPPP provides services for the community and cutting edge advice on the interpretation and qual- ity control of experimental measurements. This includes the open-source provision and maintenance of software and calculations in support of the research goals of the experimental and theoretical research community. The currently supported research areas are collider, neutrino and flavour physics, but the required support will evolve as the UK experimental programme changes; Support for preservation and open-access availability of high-level experimental data: The IPPP will provide user support, software development and managerial over- sight for HEPData. HEPData is the primary repository for publication-related data from particle physics experiments. It is a significant element in fulfilling the STFC and UKRI policies for the management and sharing scientific data and thus provides a solution to modern data management concerns; Initiation, organisation and maintenance of workshops, conferences and a post- graduate school programme in collaboration with the UK's particle phenomenol- ogy community: The IPPP will act as a coordinator for a broad range of workshop and conference programmes. Due to its several decades-long expertise as a National Cen- tre and its international recognition, it is ideally placed to provide a cost-effective venue and support in selecting topics and speakers for an outcome-oriented scientific pro- gramme. To ensure comprehensive coverage of all areas of particle physics, the IPPP currently organises 15 workshops and conferences of varying sizes per year. These meetings play a crucial role in disseminating the latest developments to the UK commu- nity and enabling UK scientists to play a more prominent role on the international stage. Presently organised conferences, workshops and schools include the Annual Theory Meeting (ATM), the Young Experimentalists and Theorists Institute (YETI), the Young Theorists Forum (YTF), the UK HEP Forum and the annual Higgs-Maxwell Meeting. These meetings attract outstanding speakers and lecturers, which provides prestige to the University and presents unique learning opportunities for Durham's students; Engagement with the particle physics community in the UK and worldwide: The IPPP is internationally recognised as a National Centre and is often the first point of contact for international scientists within the UK. It currently supports a vibrant Associ- ateship and Senior Experimental Fellowship programme, strengthening the collabora- tion between the IPPP and all particle physics groups in the UK (theory or experiment) and allowing other groups to access IPPP's scientific expertise. Further, the IPPP sup- ports the DIVA programme, which provides an attractive opportunity for internationally recognised scientists to conduct long-term visits to the UK's particle physics groups. This extensive set of programs facilitates close collaboration between the IPPP and the larger UK particle physics community.
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