1. A major challenge for fundamental physics in this
century
We have inherited from the last century two very successful
theories. The quantum theory describes nature
at the level of the molecule, the atom, the nucleus, the
nucleons, the quarks and the electrons. It culminated in
the elaboration of the Standard Model and the discovery
of the gauge and Higgs bosons. It also has found
remarkable applications in condensed matter, as well
as in the physics of cold atoms. The other theory is
general relativity, the theory of gravity. A single equation,
Einstein’s equation, successfully predicts tiny deviations
from classical physics and describes the universe
at large as well as its evolution: