Eighth International Conference on Hyperons,
Charm and Beauty Hadrons
BEACH2008
22 – 28 June 2008
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
http://beach2008.sc.edu
BULLETIN No. 1, November 2007
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Eighth International Conference on Hyperons, Charm and Beauty Hadrons will be held at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, from 22 June to 28 June 2008. This conference continues the BEACH series, which began with a meeting in Strasbourg in 1995. The series now offers a biennial opportunity for both theorists and experimentalists from the high-energy physics community to discuss all aspects of hyperon and heavy-flavor physics. The conferences in 2004 and 2006 attracted more than 100 participants.
The 2008 conference will take place on the main campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, the state capital. The city figures prominently in the history of the US Civil War and features several historic sites from that epoch. The Horseshoe, the lovely center of the University campus, is attractive both for its natural beauty and its early nineteenth century architecture. Attendees at this conference will encounter authentic Southern hospitality and the amenities of a New South urban center.
The conference will begin with a reception on the evening of Sunday 22 June and end with a summary talk at the conclusion of the morning session on Saturday 28 June. No sessions are on the schedule for Wednesday 25 June. On that day a full-day excursion to the charming coastal city of Charleston has been arranged.
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
The following topics exemplify the broad scope of the conference:
CP violation in K and B-meson decays,
Heavy quark physics,
Heavy quarkonium production and decay,
Light meson production and neutrino flux,
Heavy Quark Effective Theory,
Lattice QCD and non-relativistic QCD,
Precise electroweak measurements,
Hyperon physics,
Hadronic-neutrino physics,
Top-quark physics,
New experimental facilities and projects.
The organizers are aiming at a stimulating mix of presentations on both experimental and theoretical work. Presentations on preparation for upcoming experiments will share the podium with recent results. The contributions will include reports from the various experimental projects that relate to the theme of the conference. Continuing the tradition of the BEACH series all of the sessions will be plenary sessions. The program will accommodate review talks of twenty to thirty minutes and short contributions requiring ten to twenty minutes. Presentations will generally fit into one of the following categories:
Recent experimental results,
Recent theoretical results,
Progress reports on approved experiments,
Construction of new detectors and related technology.
To complement the diversity of topics the organizers encourage diversity among the participants in regard both to geography and to professional status. The conference is intended to be a productive experience for graduate students and senior researchers alike. The organizers will foster an informal ambience conducive both to collaboration and to networking.
CONFERENCE WEBSITE
The conference has a website at the URL http://beach2008.sc.edu. This site will provide essentially all pre-conference services including information on the venue, information on the program, submission of abstracts, registration, payment of fees, guidance on travel to Columbia, SC, guidance on obtaining accommodations, and information on tourism. (Some website functionality may be deferred to January 2008.)
REGISTRATION
Participants will register by means of an online form available at the conference website. The registration fee will be $375 for participants who register no later than 19 May 2008. Thereafter the fee will be $435. The registration fee covers the welcome reception, the sessions, coffee breaks, the banquet, and the proceedings. The excursion to Charleston will incur a nominal additional charge. The website will enable the payment of the registration and other fees using VISA, MasterCard, or Discover.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
The deadline for abstract submission is 5 May 2008. The conference website will enable submission of abstracts electronically.
PROCEEDINGS
Contributions to this conference will be peer-reviewed and published in a timely fashion in Nuclear Physics B Proceedings Supplements. Each participant will receive a bound copy of the proceedings at no cost beyond the registration fee.
ACCOMMODATIONS
The principal hotel for the conference will be The Inn at USC. It is a newly renovated three-level structure in a quiet neighborhood about 300 meters from the meeting hall. Reservations made at The Inn prior to 22 May will benefit from the conference inclusive daily rate of $129. Additional space at a lower price will be available in a nearby university dormitory. Details on accommodations are available on the conference website.
BANQUET
Participants and accompanying persons (at additional cost) may enjoy the conference banquet on the evening of Thursday 26 June. Transportation to the banquet venue will be provided.
COMPUTER FACILITIES
A room adjacent to the meeting hall will be furnished with several internet-connected workstations and ample power outlets for laptops belonging to participants. Wireless Internet access is continuously available in the areas surrounding the auditorium. The Inn at USC provides wireless Internet access in all of its rooms at no extra charge. Internet access will be available gratis in the dormitory rooms for participants electing those accommodations.
DEVELOPING NATIONS PARTICIPANTS
Traditionally the organizers of the BEACH conferences have absorbed a portion of the local expenses for a limited number of participants from developing nations. As many as four such fellowships may be awarded for the 2008 conference. They may include a waiver of the registration fee and a subsidy for accommodations. Applications should be directed to the Chair of the organizing committee and must include a cover letter, an abstract, and a letter from the director of the applicant's institution. The letter must stipulate that the home institution will fully underwrite the cost of round-trip transportation to Columbia, South Carolina, meals, and any other necessary expenses not covered by the fellowship. The conference website will provide a link for the submission of these materials.
CONFERENCE HISTORY
1995 Strasbourg, France
1996 Montreal, Canada
1998 Genoa, Italy
2000 Valencia, Spain
2002 Vancouver, Canada
2004 Chicago, USA
2006 Lancaster, UK
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Sanjib R. Mishra, University of South Carolina (Chair)
Marco Bozzo, University of Genoa & INFN Genoa
Calvin Kalman, Concordia University
Roberto Petti, University of South Carolina
Milind V. Purohit, University of South Carolina
Carl Rosenfeld, University of South Carolina
Nickolas Solomey, Wichita State University
Jeffrey R. Wilson, University of South Carolina
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Calvin Kalman, Concordia University, Montreal (Chair)
Guido Altarelli, CERN, Rome
Karl Berkelman, Cornell, Ithaca
Stan Brodsky, SLAC, Stanford University, Palo Alto
Joel Butler, Fermilab, Chicago
Carlo Caso, University of Genoa & INFN Genoa (in memoriam)
Rosanna Cester, University of Torino, INFN Torino
Antonio Ferrer, IFIC, Valencia
David Hitlin, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Michael Kraemer, RWTH Aachen
Laurence Littenberg, BNL, New York
Chris Quigg, Fermilab, Chicago
Gigi Rolandi, CERN, Geneva
Patrick Roudeau, Paris-Sud, Orsay
Marjorie Shapiro, UC Berkeley, LBNL, Berkeley
Teodor Siemiarczuk, Institute for Nuclear Physics, Warsaw
Hirotaka Sugawara, KEK, Japan
Albrecht Wagner, DESY, Hamburg
David Websdale, Imperial College, London
