Nature Does Not Waste Beautiful Ideas: Searching for Features of Nuclear Physics in the Wild

by Dr Konstantinos Koutrolikos (University of Maryland)

Friday 13 Feb 2026, 15:00 → 16:00 Europe/Athens

Quantum Chromodynamics and nuclear physics provide a uniquely rich laboratory of nontrivial phenomena. Many of the mechanisms realized in these systems have, at various times, been regarded as speculative—or even rejected—when proposed in other areas of theoretical physics. Yet in QCD and nuclear physics they are not matters of taste or interpretation; they are experimentally verified facts.

This talk uses QCD and nuclear physics as a proof of existence that such “unfashionable” ideas are not only consistent but realized in Nature. Taking seriously the historically well-founded mantra that Nature does not waste clever ideas, I will argue that once a mechanism is known to exist in one physical context, it is natural—and often fruitful—to seek its echoes elsewhere.

I will highlight concrete lessons drawn from QCD and nuclear physics and discuss how these concepts can be transferred to other domains of high-energy physics. These examples illustrate how reusing successful theoretical structures can sharpen our intuition, enrich our conceptual toolkit, and potentially shed light on currently open problems across different areas of fundamental physics.

 

Videoconference via     https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82249348474