SEARCH2025 at CERN

This week I had the pleasure of participating in the new edition of the SEARCH 2025 conference at CERN, a stimulating event exploring the discovery potential and breakthroughs of high-energy physics experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider and its High-Luminosity upgrade, with ample time for joint brainstorming and discussion among the participants.

As part of the “Putting precision and searches together” session, I shared some thoughts on how theory, understood in the broad sense, is shaping the future of particle physics searches. I discussed how the boundary between measurements and searches is increasingly blurred, and how we should exploit this to our advantage. Advances in precision QCD, parton distributions, SMEFT interpretations, and AI-driven observables all play a key role in pushing the LHC’s discovery reach, in most cases well beyond the wildest projections that were on the table when the LHC was first conceived. These are exciting times for high-energy physics, as theory and experiment work more closely than ever to bridge precision and discovery in both directions.

Many thanks to the SEARCH 2025 organizers for an inspiring meeting, and in particular to Monica Dunford and Maurizio Pierini for their kind invitation!