Letter from the Director

More than two millennia ago, Eratosthenes, the third director of the ancient library of Alexandria. correctly calculated the circumference of the Earth. He did this by comparing the shadows that objects cast in Alexandria and Syene (present day Aswan). Thus, in a remarkable demonstration of the power of properly posed theory, the scope of our globe was revealed via the judicious use of limited data; Eratosthenes could not have known of the Americas, or of Australia and the vastness of the oceans, but he did theoretically envision the expanses that were later filled by voyages of discovery. Today, the technical tools employed in interrogating the physical world are different - giant particle colliders and orbiting observatories among them- yet we find ourselves in a remarkably similar situation: precise measurements, coupled with powerful theoretical concepts, have revealed the parameters of the universe (its age and total energy content for example), yet the vast majority of its contents remain unknown.

These are exciting times for fundamental physics. Astrophysical observations suggest that about 95 % of the content of our universe is in the form of dark matter and energy. The discovery of dark matter would lead to new physics, possibly as predicted by theoretical models of particle physics; its non-existence, on the other hand, would entail rather radical implications for known physics, particularly for Einsteinian and Newtonian gravity, which would need to be modified. The dark energy driving the accelerated expansion of the universe is of an even more mysterious nature; if it is not represented by the cosmological constant once proposed by Einstein, it could likewise portend radical modifications to known physical law.

At the interface of the very large and very small, discoveries await. Research at the CTP has touched on several aspects of the associated issues. Including the investigation of cosmological models, and of the astrophysics of galaxy formation within the current cold dark matter paradigm and variations thereof; of the phenomenology of particle physics models, and the search for dark matter at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN; of the foundations of gravitational theory, and the implications of modifications to general relativity. This, in addition to several additional lines of activity, including plasma physics and applied electromagnetic theory. This work is done in collaboration with colleagues from institutions in Egypt as well as overseas. We hope that our work will contribute towards creating links between the Egyptian physics community and its international counterpart, in intensely researched domains at the frontiers of knowledge, where local research is less developed (and known to the outside world) as could be.

The CTP is a rare example of a research centre hosting fundamental theoretical research in Egypt. A recurring question in this context concerns the relevance of such endeavours in a country with apparently more pressing practical problems. But theoretical thinking has always been at the foundation of genuine advancement, not least through the development of rigorous methodology leading to conceptual progress, precisely of the type that is much in need in Egypt. As one CERN promotional documentary puts the matter: no amount of applied research on the candle could have lead to the electric light bulb. And as the case of collider at CERN itself demonstrates, progress in basic science often requires the deployment of formidable technical knowhow, far exceeding what is normally sought by most industries.

The applied electromagnetic theory group at the CTP is involved in basic research with potential of immediate practical applications.

Other research involves interaction with advanced technical and computational aspects essential to the apprehension of technology and its development. Examples include the analysis of LHC data and the simulations of its detectors, as well as astrophysical simulations and analysis of large scale cosmological ones. One of the central aims of the CTP involves the training of graduate students, in the process conveying conceptual as well as technical tools with a wide variety of applications. The promotion of public understanding of science and its methodology is also among our aims. We believe that the dissemination of the methods and discoveries of science is of paramount importance to this society; and topics that tackle the primary questions regarding the physical world are those that most effectively attract attention to the structure of scientific inquiry, especially among the young.

The CTP is also special in that it is hosted by a young private university. Over the years, we have benefited from grants offered by Egyptian public agencies, namely the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and the Science and Technology Development Fund. We gratefully acknowledge their generous support. Yet, at time when public funding for fundamental research is relatively scarce, as funding is increasingly prioritised to meet direct developmental needs, the sponsorship of the British University in Egypt has been indispensable. It reflects a vision embodying the conviction that the production of knowledge is invaluable in its own right; and that genuine technical development is necessarily constrained when the idiom of basic science is entirely absent. For this, we are grateful.