Abstract
The discovery of the (or better, “a”) Higgs boson in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) marked a historic milestone in our understanding of the fundamental forces and particles that form the universe.

However, its discovery was just the beginning of a longer journey. The Higgs boson remains one of the least understood particles, and its study is crucial for deepening our understanding of nature at its most fundamental level.

Precision measurements of the Higgs boson properties, such as its mass and couplings, production processes and decay channels, are essential to determining whether it behaves precisely as predicted by the Standard Model or exhibits deviations that could point to new physics.

Moreover, we still do not know if the Higgs sector is implemented in nature in its minimal form, or if other Higgs bosons exist as well, as predicted by several well motivated Beyond the SM scenarios.

In light of this, the study of the Higgs boson will play a preeminent role in the field of high-energy physics during this century, as highlighted by strategic efforts such as the US P5, or the European Strategy for Particle Physics, whose update will be an important moment for the European community for the next couple of years.

The goal of the "Higgs @ GGI 2026" theory-experiment workshop is to exploit the exceptional environment of the Galileo Galilei Institute to foster new collaborations between theorists and experimentalists, and to boost the activities that will lead us to a deeper understanding of the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking.

Topics
• week 1 (28th September - 4th October): school + conference week (with poster session)
• week 2 (5th - 11th October): Going beyond, non-standard Higgs sectors: how to probe BSM Higgs sectors, both on the theory/pheno side (deviations from the SM predictions for the state at 125 GeV; extended Higgs sectors; model building) and on the experimental side (how to improve the ability to detect non-SM behavior, search for BSM states).
• week 3 (12h - 18th October): Going forward, the Higgs program in light of the ESPPU: Higgs physics at future colliders; summary and discussion of the outcome of the update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics, possible news from abroad (USA, China), and the impact of these developments for the study of the Higgs sector.
• week 4 (19h - 23th October): Characterization of the Higgs at 125 GeV including EFT-based ones; precise predictions and measurements: highly sophisticated calculations, and advanced analyses, that are required to characterize the state observed at 125 GeV.

We hope that the third week, focused on the Higgs physics program across different colliders in light of the ESPPU effort, will serve as common ground for both those working on BSM physics (i.e. topics assigned to week 2), and those interested in the characterization of the Higgs @ 125 GeV (i.e. topics of week 4), providing an opportunity for discussion and exchange.

Organizers
- Emanuele Bagnaschi (INFN LNF, theory) -- emanuele.angelo.bagnaschi@lnf.infn.it
- Maria Cepeda (CIEMAT, CMS) -- maria.cepeda@cern.ch
- Paolo Francavilla (U. Pisa, ATLAS) -- Paolo.Francavilla@cern.ch
- Ramona Gröber (U. Padova, theory) -- ramona.groeber@unipd.it

Application: To submit your application, please click the Apply button above and complete the registration form. The minimum stay is one week; however, participants are strongly encouraged to stay for several weeks to make the most of the program. The application deadline is April 30, 2026.

Accommodation: Selected participants will have the opportunity to book accommodation through GGI, ensuring access to the best available rates at local hotels. A limited number of participants may receive support from GGI to cover local expenses. If you wish to be considered for such support, please indicate this in your application.

Contact
higgs-ggi.2026-organizers@lists.ggi.infn.it

Related events
Higgs @ GGI 2026 - school (Mini School) - Sep 28, 2026

Higgs @ GGI 2026 - school (Mini School) - Sep 28, 2026

Higgs @ GGI 2026 - conference (Mini Conference) - Oct 01, 2026