Snowmass 2021 identified ten frontiers: "energy; neutrino physics; rare processes and precision measurements; cosmic; theory; accelerator; instrumentation; computation; underground facilities; and community engagement".
[12][13] The outcomes of the Snowmass 2021 process, which extended into 2022, were determined at a final meeting held in July 2022 in Seattle, Washington that had 743 in-person attendees and 654 virtual participants.
[15] [16] The title of the Scientific American article, "Physicists Struggle to Unite Around Future Plans", summed up the problem of convergence of opinion.
[16] The articles report that two major problems stymied the field: lack of observation of new particles and rocketing costs of ongoing projects.
[17] Although LHC will continue to run with modest upgrades, this lack of discovery leaves no clear focus for the next decade of high energy searches, and may also point to a "nightmare-scenario" where the Standard Model that forms the present basis of particle physics is complete up to the Planck scale (an energy level far beyond the ability of any conceivable experiment to probe) and particle physics "wheeze[s] to its end".
[18] An alternative if the world-wide competition for an electron-positron machine is too stiff would be to invest in a Muon collider that could act as a Higgs factory with an approach that is unique worldwide.