YITP International School 2026

Overview

Purpose

    This international school is intended for graduate students and early-career researchers with a strong interest in fundamental studies in particle and nuclear physics—particularly in areas relevant to the upcoming next-generation U.S. experiment, the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The school is designed to provide participants with a solid foundation in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the fundamental theory of the strong interaction, and to offer a platform for exploring and discussing the latest developments in QCD dynamics.
    The program will begin with an overview of the EIC experiment. Then, six theoretical topics in high-energy QCD will be featured, which have rapidly developed into standard frameworks in recent years. These topics will be directly connected to phenomena relevant to the EIC and provide broader insights into particle and nuclear physics. We envision this school as a unique opportunity for participants to engage with researchers from Japan and around the world. In particular, we aim to support early-career researchers in building international networks through close interaction with invited lecturers. We hope this school will help cultivate the next generation of researchers contributing to EIC physics.

Featured Topics

  • Transverse Momentum Dependent Distributions (TMDs): 3D momentum structure of quarks and gluons inside hadrons
  • Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs): Tool for 3D tomography of nucleon structure
  • Small-x Physics: QCD dynamics at high energy and high gluon density
  • Soft Collinear Effective Theory (SCET): EFT for processes involving multiple energy scales in QCD
  • Large Momentum Effective Theory (LaMET): EFT for computing parton distributions on the lattice
  • Hadron Structure from Lattice QCD: First-principle calculations of hadron and nuclear structure

Date

    March 2, 2026 - March 13, 2026

Place

    Panasonic Hall, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University [Google Map] 　

Confirmed Invited Lecturers

  • Constantia Alexandrou (The Cyprus Institute/University of Cyprus)
  • Abhay Deshpande (Stony Brook University/Brookhaven National Laboratory)
  • Yoshitaka Hatta (Brookhaven National Laboratory)
  • Zhongbo Kang (University of California)
  • Anna Stasto (Penn State University)
  • Iain Stewart (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
  • Yong Zhao (Argonne National Laboratory)

Registration information

    Please register from the indico page here.

    The registration deadlines:

  • November, 30, 2025 for onsite participants requesting VISA or financial support
  • January 15, 2026 for onsite participants without any support
  • March 13, 2026 for online participants

Financial support

    To encourage early-career participation, we can offer financial support only for local expenses to a limited number of participants, especially to students. To apply for early-career financial support, please check the relevant box in the registration form.

Accommodation

    If you arrange your own accommodation, please refer to here. We can also assist participants in booking accommodation. If you wish to request a room we have reserved, please check the relevant box in the registration form. As availability is limited, we encourage you to make a request as early as possible.

Request for Acknowledgment

    We would be grateful if you could acknowledge this international school (workshop number YITP-W-25-16) in any papers that were initiated—or whose completion was facilitated—by discussions during the school. Below are two suggested examples:

  • The authors thank the YITP International School 2026 (YITP-W-25-16), “International School on EIC Physics at Kyoto”, where this work was initiated [completed].
  • The authors thank the YITP International School 2026 (YITP-W-25-16), “International School on EIC Physics at Kyoto”. Discussions during the school were useful to complete this work.

Organizers

  • Yasumichi Aoki (RIKEN R-CCS)
  • Takumi Doi (RIKEN iTHEMS)
  • Kenji Fukushima (The University of Tokyo)
  • Yoshimasa Hidaka (YITP, Kyoto University/RIKEN iTHEMS)
  • Masaru Hongo (Niigata University/RIKEN iTHEMS)
  • Shinsuke Yoshida (South China Normal University)
  • Kazuhiro Watanabe (Tohoku University)

Sponsors

This workshop is primarily sponsored by Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics (Kyoto University) with co-sponsorship from RIKEN iTHEMS, RIKEN Fundamental Quantum Science Program, Quark Nuclear Science Institute (The University of Tokyo), and Center for Frontiers in Nuclear Science (Stony Brook University/Brookhaven National Laboratory) .