New Challenges for Early Universe Cosmologists

Description and aim

By the summer of 2013, we will all be informed about the latest constraints on cosmological parameter space through the results of Planck, ACTpol and SPTpol. Given the new data, this workshop is intended to answer some of the following questions:

-What is currently the most likely model of the early Universe in light of the current data?

-What is the best approach (theoretical and observational) to further reduce our model space?

-What are the outstanding theoretical issues in our understanding of the early universe?

-Are there other observables, beyond the one we know of, that probe the physics of the early universe?

For this purpose we have invited an international group of experts in the fields of theoretical and observational cosmology and high energy physics, with a good balance of senior and junior scientists. The workshop features ample time for discussions as well as keynote presentations on the physics of the early Universe, Large Scale Structures and cosmological observations. By the end of the workshop we aim to have established a picture of our current understanding of the early universe and a clear path for further progress.