31st SLAC Summer Institute:
The physics of the very large and the very small share deep connections.
Particles and the forces that govern them have shaped the evolution and
present state of the universe. Cosmological questions such as what is the
dark matter, what is the underlying mechanism responsible for electroweak baryogenesis, and is spacetime extra dimensional can be studied directly at
laboratories. A revolution in experimental cosmology has changed our picture
of the universe in the last decade, and is sharpening important questions in
The 2003 SLAC Summer Institute will explore these cosmological
connections in a manner which is accessible to an audience with a particle
physics background. Lectures will cover the basic principles of astrophysics
and cosmology, including the cosmic microwave background, inflation, dark
matter candidates and searches, the structure formation of the universe, and
high energy cosmic rays. The school will be followed by a two-and-a-half day
topical conference that surveys the latest results in particle astrophysics,
cosmology, and high energy physics.