Rationale
High fidelity simulations are a foundational component of fundamental physics (particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, cosmology) research. However, these simulations are often too slow or are limited in key ways. As a result, deep generative models have shown great promise for replacing or augmenting various aspects of data analysis in fundamental physics. In the spirit of the likelihood-free inference workshop held about a year ago at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS), we are gathering (virtually) at BIDS for an afternoon to exchange problems, ideas, and techniques in the area of deep generative modeling for fundamental physics (co-hosted with the ML group in the Physics Division at Berkeley Lab). Here is an incomplete list of topics we would like to cover:
- Applications of generative modeling to fundamental physics
- Physics-informed models
- Practicalities of training and inference (mode collapse, generation speed, staticial power, …)
- Method comparisons (flows, autoencoders, GANs, …)
- Implicit versus explicit density models (our focus is on generation and not density estimation, but interesting to know if the latter helps with the former)
- …
Registration is free but we ask you to please register at this link.
We aim to make this meeting a collaborative and productive event, and in that spirit we invite participants to propose topics for discussion by clicking this button:
Proposed sessions can be found at this link, please comment on the proposals to indicate your interest.
Important dates
- Februrary 17, 2021 : Opening registration
- March 3, 2021 : Schedule finalized
- March 17, 2021 : Workshop
Organizing Committee
- Ellianna Abrahms, Department of Astronomy, UC Berkeley
- Vanessa Boehm, Department of Physics, UC Berkeley
- Aishik Ghosh, UC Irvine / Physics Division, Berkeley Lab
- Yue Shi Lai, Nuclear Science Division, Berkeley Lab
- Mustafa Mustafa, NERSC, Berkeley Lab
- Ben Nachman, Physics Division, Berkeley Lab
- Giuseppe Puglisi, Space Science Laboratory, UC Berkeley
Code of Conduct
We are committed to making the meeting productive and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, nationality or religion. We will not tolerate harassment of participants in any form. Please follow these guidelines:
Behave professionally. Harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary comments or jokes are not appropriate. Harassment includes sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, sexual attention or innuendo, deliberate intimidation, stalking, and photography or recording of an individual without consent. It also includes offensive comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race or religion. All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Participants asked to stop any inappropriate behavior are expected to comply immediately. Attendees violating these rules may be asked to leave the event at the sole discretion of the organizers.
Any participant who wishes to report a violation of this policy is asked to speak, in confidence, to any of the meeting organizers.