The 45th International Conference on Physics in Collision on Tuesday. — Photo courtesy

GIA LAI — Particle physicists from 20 countries and territories gathered in coastal Quy Nhơn Ward, Gia Lai Province on Tuesday for the 45th International Conference on Physics in Collision, a forum for the latest experimental and theoretical results in the field.

The meeting, known as PIC 2026, is co-organised by Rencontres du Vietnam and the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE).

The programme covers recent findings in Higgs and electroweak physics, quantum chromodynamics, and searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. It also includes neutrino and heavy-ion research, dark matter searches, gravitational waves and cosmology.

Invited speakers come from institutions in the US, France, Chile, Germany, South Korea and China. They include Greg Landsberg of Brown University and Elisabetta Gallo of the DESY accelerator laboratory in Hamburg.

Phan Hồ Giang, deputy director of the science and technology department of Gia Lai, told the opening session that particle physics is basic research that deepens understanding of the structure of matter and the fundamental forces of nature.

Phan Hồ Giang, deputy director of the science and technology department of Gia Lai, speaks at the forum. — Photos courtesy of ICISE

He said ICISE has hosted more than 19,000 scientists from 62 countries since 2013, including 19 Nobel laureates. Provincial leaders regard science and education as a strategic path to development, he said.

"We are committed to creating the most favorable conditions for ICISE to fulfill its mission as a bridge between Vietnamese and international scientists," Phan said.

Organisers said the event is also meant to build ties between Vietnamese and foreign researchers, particularly among younger research groups.

The PIC series began in 1981 in Blacksburg, Virginia, and has since become an established gathering for the particle physics community. This is the second time the conference has been held at ICISE, after the 36th edition in 2016. — VNS