What does David Gross think about the future of particle physics?
The future of particle physics is both exciting and uncertain. We have the Standard Model, which is remarkably successful, but it leaves deep questions unanswered: What is dark matter? Why is the Higgs mass so light? How do we unify gravity with quantum mechanics? The Large Hadron Collider has not found new physics beyond the Standard Model, which tells us that nature is more subtle than we hoped. We need to think more deeply about effective field theories and the role of symmetry. I advocate for a diversified approach: building higher-energy colliders, but also investing in neutrino physics, dark matter direct detection, and precision measurements. String theory may guide us, but we must remain open to surprises. Asymptotic freedom taught us that the universe can be counterintuitive—we must be guided by experiment and first principles, not by fashion.
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