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The IRGAC 2006 conference consists of a series of plenary talks and two series of parallel talks to be held simultaneously in two conference rooms (see the list of topics at the main page).
The venue of the conference will be the Cosmocaixa museum, see the corresponding link.
The plenary talks will take place in the main Auditorium located in the Cosmocaixa building. The three series of parallel talks will be held at the Auditorium and (simultaneously) in the rooms "Agora" and "Gamma" also at Cosmocaixa.
Purpose of the conference:
A few words to clarify the main purpose of this conference.
In the course of the last few years we have witnessed a progressively increasing interaction between "Particle Physics/High Energy Physics"
and "Cosmology/Astrophysics".
IRGAC is a series of international conferences intending to enhance the interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists working in these various fields. The ultimate aim is to combine their efforts to address, in a most efficient way, basic problems in cosmology which at the same time appear as fundamental problems of physics, such as the cosmological constant problem, the nature of the dark energy, and the dark matter problem in the Universe.
A central topic of the conference is to establish what is the current state of the art and outlook for the quantum theories of gravitation and cosmology, in particular the role played by the latest theoretical developments in quantum field theory and string theory (including the general methods of the renormalization group, common to both) in our search for a satisfactory explanation of those fundamental problems.
An important aim of the present edition of the conference is to confront the theoretical status with the current experimental situation, keeping an eye on the future experiments that are planned to gather observational data on the cosmological parameters with unprecedented accuracy.
Parallel talks:
Participants that wish to submit a parallel talk should first of all inform the Chairman; please include in your e-mail your complete identification (name, title and affiliation) and a provisional title and abstract of the proposed talk (IMPORTANT: write all this directly on the text of the mail. NO attached files whatsoever!).
Once the previous step has been accomplished you may later be asked to send your potential talk file to the general e-mail address of the conference, irgac2006@ecm.ub.es. (Subject: Talk IRGAC 06/xxx, where xxx is your name.) Please do NOT send a talk file before making contact with the Chairman (as explained above) as your mail will not be attended due to safety reasons.
Deadline for submitted talks at parallel sessions: May 25 2006.
The number of submitted talks is limited and a selection will be made taking into account the adequacy of the talk to the purpose of the conference and also the time ordering of the proposal. A response will be provided as soon as possible, most likely well before deadline. However, late proposals will be decided at deadline or a bit later, if free slots for parallel talks are still available.
Powerpoint or pdf presentations can be used (but it is strongly adviced to use pdf since it is more universal. Name of the pdf or ppt file: xxx.pdf or xxx.ppt where xxx is your name).
Transparencies can be used, although we do not encourage to use them. We also discourage to use your own computer for presentations, we prefer to have all the files in our computers. Please bring your memory stick with your pdf or ppt presentation. You will have to contact the session chairperson well before your talk takes place such that the file can be loaded into the computer of the corresponding conference room. The session chairpersons for each session and conference room are announced at the Talk Schedule link in the main page
Registration Fee
There is a specific Deadline for Registration: June 1, 2006 (included)
- 250 € -> Early Registration Fee before or at deadline
- 150 € -> Early Reduced Registration Fee before or at deadline (for students,
and local people)
- 300 € -> Late Registration Fee: after Deadline or upon arrival (180 € for late registered students)
- 80 € -> For each accompanying person (see below)
IMPORTANT: Complete registration will be finished ONLY once you have filled out the registration form (see Registration at the main page) and followed the 3-step procedure explained there, which we briefly repeat here (see, however, the detailed instructions in the form):
- First fill in the registration form file and send it attached by e-mail to irgac2006@ecm.ub.es with the Subject: Reg. IRGAC 2006/xxx where xxx is your complete name.
- Please print the registration file and fax it to the fax number included there;
- It is indispensable that you include in the same fax a copy of your Bank receipt as proof of payment of the full registration fee.
The corresponding Fee must be paid by all participants
without exception, and includes:
- Welcome Cocktail.
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Coffee breaks from 11-15 July 2006
- Excursion (with touristic guide) around Barcelona on July 14
- Conference Banquet (dinner) in the harbor area on July 14
- Copy of the proceedings.
The ticket of 80 Euro for accompanying persons covers the
Conference Banquet and the Excursion. It must be payed when
registering, not on-site.
Each day of the conference each participant will be given a free ticket to enter the Cosmocaixa museum, where the conference rooms are located. The participants can use the ticket to visit the museum as many times as they wish. Of course we recommend to do the visit outside the conference program!
Hotel reservation must be arranged on-line by the participants
themselves, using our Hotels link at the main page. Please follow
the detailed instructions that you will find there.
Internet Connection at the conference venue:
A wireless ethernet connection is available in Cosmocaixa
(standard IEEE 802.11b). A few fixed ethernet connections
and terminals will possibly be available during the conference time.
The weather in Barcelona (and in the whole Catalonia area) on
July should be nice, but it can be hot (without excluding the
possibility of occasional or persistent rain). Light clothes and
short sleeves are usually recommended. July is the month where
the first round of summer vacations takes place, so it is high
season. However the most crowded month for beaches is August,
where the second (and dominant) round of summer holidays occurs.
Just three suggestions for summer holidays close to Barcelona:
the Costa Brava,
the Balearic Islands
and the Pyrenean Valleys in
Lleida. See also our link "Turism and activities" in the main
page.
Few Safety Rules: Although Barcelona is a rather safe city,
downtown and the main landmarks (Les Rambles, Beaches,
Maremagnum, Barri Gotic -Gotic Quatier-, etc...) are very crowded
touristic sites, especially in summer time when the conference
will be held. As you may expect crowds always call for
pick-pockets and other little muggers-- an almost unavoidable
fauna typical of a Mediterranean harbor city such as
Barcelona. Not surprising, tourists and city visitors are the
main targeted people. We would recommend you to take a minimum
care of your possessions, especially watch out your pockets,
cameras, mobile phones, hand bags if you go to the most tourist
areas. Don't do things like leaving sensitive items on the floor
or on a chair while drinking something at a bar or on a terrace.
You don't need to get obsessed with that, just a bit careful!
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