Prospects in Theoretical Physics 2026

Program Schedule

Program Announcements

• REMINDER: all posters are now located in Rubenstein Commons Meeting Room 4 at the luggage drop off.  Please do not forget to take your poster with you when you depart.
   
• REMINDER: everyone must have all of their personal belongings out of their apartment before the first lecture on Friday, July 31st.  You may leave your ID card (not your PiTP name badge) in your apartment.
   
• On Friday, July 31st, a luggage drop will be available in Rubenstein Commons Meeting Room 4 beginning at 9:00am.  Please have a luggage tag or other way to easily identify your luggage!  Your luggage must be picked up before 5:00pm.
   
• Poster Session 1 Participants - please pick up your posters in Rubenstein Commons Meeting Room 4 on Friday, July 24th after 10:30am.  Thank you!
   
• Please check your email and the notice board in Wolfensohn Hall regularly for updates to the poster session and gong show presentation lists.  Any questions, please email [email protected] or stop by the information desk in Wolfensohn Hall.
   
• Poster Sessions: All poster titles should be emailed to [email protected] by Tuesday, July 21st.  Posters should be dropped off at the information desk in Wolfensohn Hall or Rubenstein Commons Meeting Room 4 before Wednesday, July 22 at 3:30pm.
   
• Gong Shows: All slides should be emailed to [email protected] by Tuesday, July 21st.
   
• The lecture recordings are now available to view - see under Program Information (right sidebar) 
   
• REMINDER - Afternoon tea for all PiTP participants is being held in Rubenstein Commons in the same location as the morning coffee break (not in Fuld Hall.)  Thank you!
   
• The daily lunch menu is available here: https://www.ias.edu/dining/lunch.  Lunch includes a drink, choice of main meal and a dessert.  (Any dietary restrictions can be discussed with the chef).  Note that lunch begins at 1:00pm in Simons Hall.  The servery line closes at 1:30pm promptly!
   
• Lost and Found: please note that there is a small table in Wolfensohn Hall lobby with lost and found items.
   
• If you missed the Monday, July 20th morning registration - please stop by the PiTP information desk in Wolfensohn Hall before going to breakfast in Simons Hall (9:00am-9:30am). Your registration badge is required for all meals.  
   
• IMPORTANT: due to the weather forecast for Wednesday, July 29th, the pizza party has been moved to Rubenstein Commons. 
   
• For Thursday, July 30th - a group photo will be taken at 10:45am behind Full Hall after the first lecture.  In case of rain, an alternate location will be selected.
   
• Campus-wide fire alarm testing will take place between 7:00am-9:00am on Tuesday, July 21st and Wednesday, July 22nd. This is not a fire drill, and no one is required to leave a building. The sounding of the alarm will take place between 7:00am-9:00am to limit disruption, while the rest of the system testing will take place after 9:00 a.m. 
   
• Information regarding weekend activities, public transportation, local restaurants and grocery stores is available on the sidebar under "General Information."

Program Description

PiTP is an intensive two-week summer program designed for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. The program will be held from July 20-31, 2026 at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ. The program will chart the search for a flat-space hologram. Beginning with a bootcamp on Celestial Holography, participants will develop a working understanding of how scattering amplitudes, asymptotic symmetries, and twistor methods combine to define a holographic description of flat spacetime. The program will then build bridges to recent advances in amplitudes, bootstrap techniques, and string theory constructions.  

PiTP Program Details

The APPLICATION deadline is Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 11:59 pm (Eastern Standard Time). If you have not received your PhD, one letter of recommendation from your thesis advisor is required and should be uploaded with the application or with this reference form.

For housing, meals, travel, and other administrative PiTP information please see the FAQ page. 

Preliminary Topics:

• Intro to Celestial Holography
• Asymptotic Symmetries and Scattering
• IR and Collinear Structure of Amplitudes  
• A Primer on Self Dual Theories  
• Twisted Holography  
• Lorentzian CFTs  
• Energy Correlators
• The BFSS Matrix Model
• Beyond Celestial Holography

 Preliminary Program Lecturers:

• Nima Arkani-Hamed (Institute for Advanced Study)
• Roland Bittleston (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)
• Kasia Budzik (Harvard University)
• Simon Caron-Huot (McGill University)
• Jordan Cotler (Harvard University)
• Lance Dixon (Stanford University)
• Mina Himwich (Princeton University, PCTS)
• Henry Lin (Princeton University)
• Ian Moult (Yale University)
• Sabrina Pasterski (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics) 

Organizing Committee

Nima Arkani-Hamed (Institute for Advanced Study); Jordan Cotler (Harvard University); Sabrina Pasterski (Perimeter Institute) 

If you have questions regarding the PiTP program, please send an email to: [email protected].