BEYOND 2010

Fifth International Conference on

BEYOND THE STANDARD MODELS OF
PARTICLE PHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTROPHYSICS

Cape Town, South Africa
1 - 6 February 2010

Table Mountain (middle) and Lion's Head (right), Devil's Peak (left), surrounded by Cape Town. Cape Point is barely visible in the background between Table Mountain and Lion's Head.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS

CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION

The international conference on ‘Beyond the Standard Models of Particle Physics, Cosmology and Astrophysics’ is a well-established interdisciplinary conference that has in the past been attracting renowned scientists working at the frontiers of these rapidly developing research fields. As these have become increasingly interdependent in the last decade, the year 2010 offers an excellent opportunity to call for a further conference of this series. The aim of BEYOND 2010 is to discuss, in a way that is accessible also to non-specialists, the experimental, observational and theoretical progress made recently in unravelling the fascinating and tantalizing mysteries of this universe.

The first four BEYOND conferences took place in 1997, 1999 and 2003, at Ringberg Castle, Tegernsee (Germany) and in 2002 in Oulu (Finland). BEYOND 2010 in Cape Town (South Africa) will thus be the first meeting of this series outside Europe. It will take place at the Graduate School of Business on the Breakwater Campus of the University of Cape Town at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Cape Town, which is a prime South African tourist attraction visited by over 20 million people per annum. Arrival date is Sunday, 31 January 2010 and departure date Sunday, 7 February 2010.

The Waterfront, Table Mountain and the Table Cloth

CONFERENCE FORMAT

The conference runs from Monday, 1 February through Saturday, 6 February (inclusive), with Wednesday, 3 February being reserved for a full-day conference excursion through the stunning beauty of the Cape Peninsula, culminating in a visit to Cape Point. The conference banquet will take place at Catharina’s on the Steenberg Estate in Constantia, one of the oldest wine farms in the country, on Friday evening, 5 February. A welcome cocktail party will be held on Monday, 1 February at the conference venue.

A typical conference day may be as follows:

BEYOND 2010 will have only plenary lectures, consisting of a few overview talks, and a much larger number of contributed talks. The number of conference participants is limited to 110 because of the size of the lecture hall. The conference papers will be published in the conference proceedings after review. There will be ample time for informal discussions, not only during the coffee and lunch breaks, but also in the evenings and during the conference excursion.

CONFERENCE TOPICS

The conference topics may include, but are not limited to:

1. SUSY/SUGRA phenomenology, g-2 status. Search for Higgs and SUSY particles at colliders and underground laboratories. Search for proton decay, magnetic monopoles and antimatter. Status and explanations of the PAMELA/ATIC anomaly.

2. Phenomenology of superstrings and Planck scale physics. Inflationary and quantum cosmology. Leptogenesis and baryogenesis. Baryonic matter at high and low densities and temperatures, Quark-gluon and chiral restoration phase transitions. Phase transitions in neutron stars.

3. Cosmological parameters from nucleosynthesis, CMB, Lyα forest, large-scale structure and distant supernovae Ia. Dark energy, baryonic and dark matter in galaxies, clusters of galaxies, filaments and voids. Variability of the fundamental constants in observations and theory.

4. Neutrino masses and mixing parameters from solar, atmospheric, supernova, reactor and accelerator neutrinos. Neutrino data expected from a future supernova at 10 kpc distance. Status of double β-decay. Relic neutrinos from ancient supernovae and big bang.

5. Seesaw mechanism and the νMSM. Search for sterile neutrino decays in the X-ray background and galaxies, and in hadronic decay modes at accelerators. Sterile neutrinos and pulsar kicks. The mystery of the earliest quasars and the formation of supermassive black holes from baryonic and dark matter.

6. Helioseismology and dark matter in the sun. Supernovae Ic, coalescing neutron stars/black holes and gamma-ray bursts. High-energy cosmic rays and GZK effect. Synthesis of heavy and superheavy elements in supernovae and in the laboratory.

7. Fundamental symmetries and their violations CP, T and CPT violations predicted and observed in the lepton and quark sectors. Lorentz invariance and equivalence principle. Tests of General Relativity: binary pulsars/black holes and gravitational waves.

Lion's Head emerging in the mist and the Twelve Apostles in the background

ABOUT CAPE TOWN

Cape Town is, during the summer months from December until March, a prime tourist destination. Therefore, we recommend that the conference participants book their overseas flights about six months in advance. Finding reasonably priced accommodation is also difficult. Hence participants are also urged to make their accommodation bookings as soon as possible.

In February, the temperatures are between 25 and 35 centigrade and there is virtually no rain. As the time is the same as in Europe, the participants from Europe will not suffer from jet lag.

REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS

An updated, detailed alphabetical list of the registered conference participants can be found here.

REGISTRATION

The costs of organizing BEYOND 2010 in Cape Town have to be recovered entirely from the conference fees, because there are very few funding agencies and sponsors in South Africa that could make significant financial contributions towards the costs of this conference. The conference fee is therefore:

• US $630

The conference fee includes lunches (without drinks), welcome cocktail party, coffee breaks, conference excursion, conference banquet, and a copy of the proceedings.

The conference fee does not include transport from and to the airport, transport from the conference venue to the places of accommodation and vice versa, accommodation, breakfast, dinner (except for the conference banquet).

The conference fee must be paid in US $ only. Payment can be made via credit card (VISA and MASTER CARD only) or by telegraphic bank transfer to the conference account. Cheques will not be accepted.

The deadline for registration and submission of abstracts is 30 November 2009. The registration is valid as soon as the conference fee has been received. The deadline for payment is 31 December 2009. Kindly note that no payment can be accepted after this date. The registration form can be found here:

beyond2010-regform.doc

Please complete this form or as much of it as possible and email it to joan.parsons@uct.ac.za or Fax it to +27 21 650 3352

Please update this form and resend as further information becomes available.

ACCOMMODATION

The Breakwater Lodge belongs to the Graduate School of Business of the University of Cape Town, and is run as a commercial venture providing accommodation and conference facilities. Sixty rooms at the Lodge have already been block-booked, and the participants are expected to contact the Lodge directly to confirm their bookings on or before the deadline of 30 November 2009. After this date, the block booking will no longer be available, and booking requests will depend on availability. To secure a booking, participants must provide the Lodge with a credit card number, expiration date, the last three digits on the signature panel at the back of the card, and state the BEYOND 2010 booking code 740700.

Reservations: Ms Uneeda Botha
Reservation fax number: +27 21 406 1070
Telephone number: +27 21 406 1911
Email: events@bwl.co.za
Website: http://www.proteahotels.com/breakwaterlodge

The exchange rate of today can be found here.

The following sixty rooms have been block-booked from 31 January until 7 February 2010

	THE BREAKWATER LODGE	PER ROOM PER NIGHT
ROOMS	BREAKFAST IS INCLUDED IN PRICES QUOTED	SINGLE OCCUPANCY	DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
18	Standard Double en-suite (one double bed and bath with overhead shower)	R860	R1135
2	Standard Twin en-suite (two single beds and bath with overhead shower)	R860	R1135
8	Deluxe Rooms (king-sized bed and bath with overhead shower)	R1130	R1405
17	Double Business Suites (one double bed and a shower only)	R1075	R1350
13	Twin Business Suites (two single beds and a shower only)	R1075	R1350
2	Studios (single bed and a bath with overhead shower)	R765

Cancellation Policy:

Should a reservation be cancelled less than 48h from the date of arrival, a cancellation fee of the rate applicable for one night's accommodation and all levies will be charged.

In the event of an in-house GUEST checking out prior to the guaranteed departure date, the hotel reserves the right to charge for the full duration of the original booking.

Please note that all cancellations are to be made in writing and proof of the cancellation is required before processing refunds.

No-Show Policy:

A no-show is the non arrival of a GUEST without notification in writing. In this case a no-show fee of the rate applicable for the entire stay and all levies will be charged.

Please note that the above refers to all bookings guaranteed by cash deposit, credit card payment and travel agent/company voucher

Participants not wishing to stay at the Breakwater Lodge, or unable to secure a booking there, may consider the places of accommodation listed below which are within walking distance of the Breakwater Lodge.

Kindly contact the venue directly. Prices per night are:

CAR RENTAL

BUDGET CAR HIRE advises prospective clients to book on line. Prices start at approximately R250 per day (including insurance and 200 km free per day) for the smallest car, picked up at the Cape Town Airport and returned to the same depot or another one of your choice upon departure. Make a reservation online: http://www.budget.co.za or reservations@budget.co.za or telephone +27 11 398 0123. You may also look at http://allenscarhire.co.za Please note that in South Africa you have to drive on the left side of the road.

Breakwater Lodge parking costs are R30 per night per vehicle. Enquire at the Hotel Reception.

MEALS

In order to facilitate informal discussions, the participants are expected to have lunch together at the conference site. The costs of lunches for participants at the conference site are therefore included in the conference fees. Participants may make lunch or dinner bookings for themselves and accompanying persons from the Breakwater Lodge Hotel Reception at R155 per person, 24 hours in advance.

Participants will be free in the evenings to visit e.g. one of the many restaurants at the Waterfront. The cost of an evening meal per person can range from R70 for fast-food/pizza, to R200 for a top 3-course dinner at a restaurant. Many restaurants allow patrons to bring their own wine which can be purchased at the Waterfront. Some restaurants may charge a corkage fee of R25 to R45.

TRANSPORT ON ARRIVAL

Participants and accompanying persons, who will arrive at the Cape Town International Airport, located some twenty minutes (or 25 km) from the Breakwater Lodge, may select the Magic Bus, Randy's International Airport Shuttle, Excite Taxis (please book on line with flight details), or private taxis displaying the TAXI logo on the roof of the car. Current prices from the airport to the Waterfront will also apply when returning to the Cape Town International Airport as follows:

http://magicbus.co.za

http://www.randystours.co./transfers.html

http://www.excitetaxis.co.za

COMPUTER AND INTERNET FACILITIES

The Breakwater Lodge Hotel has a transit lounge that is set up with 4 PC's. Wireless connectivity is available in the bedrooms and in all the conference rooms. Full details are available at the Hotel Reception. 

PRE-AND POST-CONFERENCE HOLIDAYS

If you want to spend some time on pre-or post-conference holidays in South Africa, we suggest that you contact

Lois Gibbs e-mail address: lois@travelwiz.co.za