EdwardWitten is a famous American physicist, a Fields Prize winner and a professor at Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies, CharlesSimonyi. Wilton is one of the most wise and frank advocates of superstring theory. His M theory, which combines all superstring theories (* * * five kinds) and eleven-dimensional supergravity theory, is considered to be the most promising theory to unify the basic particles and four kinds of interaction forces in nature. Before turning to superstring theory, he made many important contributions to particle physics and quantum field theory, especially quantum chromodynamics and high-dimensional theory. As the leader of the second-tier revolution, Wilton was named the sixth most influential person after World War II by American Life magazine. Wheaton has the highest H index among physicists and is generally regarded as the most influential physicist in the contemporary era.

Chinese name: edward witten.

Edward witten

Nationality: USA

Ethnic group: Jews

Place of birth: Baltimore, Maryland

Date of birth:1951August 26th.

Occupation: theoretical physicist, mathematician

Graduate School: brandeis University, Princeton University.

Main achievements: put forward M theory.

Masterpiece: superstring theory

Address: Princeton, New Jersey

Honors: Academician of the National Academy of Sciences, etc.

Awards: IMU Fields Award, Basic Physics Award, etc.

Research fields: theoretical physics, mathematical physics.

Tutor: David Gross.

Growth resume

Witten was born on August 26th, 195 1 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. After graduating from high school, he entered Johns Hopkins University, then transferred to brandeis University, and obtained his bachelor's degree at 197 1. He majored in history at the university and has a strong interest in linguistics and economics. He had planned to be a politician or a journalist. To this end, he worked in the presidential campaign team of Democratic candidate george mcgovern for a period of time from 65438 to 0972. But Wheaton later worried that if he joined politics or journalism, he would easily lose himself.

Enter Princeton University Graduate School from 1973 to study applied mathematics. One year later, he transferred to the Department of Physics, majoring in particle physics, and obtained his master's degree and doctor's degree in 1974 and 1976 respectively. His tutor is Professor David Gross, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics. His doctoral thesis aims at studying deep inelastic photon-photon scattering. After receiving his doctorate, Wheaton went to Harvard University for postdoctoral research. 1980 In September, Wilton was hired as a professor of physics at Princeton University. 1987 Professor at Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies, 1997 Professor CharlesSimonyi.

Princeton University, Ph.D.1976;

HarvardUniversity，JuniorFellow，HarvardSocietyofFellows， 1977 _ 80；

Princeton University, Professor1980 _ 87;

Institute of Advanced Studies, member 1984, professor 1987_97,

charlessimonyiprofessor 1997 _；

MacArthurFellowship 1982

Scientific achievements

Wilton is a world-famous physicist. At the age of 29, he was hired as a professor by the Physics Department of Princeton University because of his superhuman imagination and understanding in quantum field theory. Since then, his research has focused on string theory and gradually became a leading scientist in this field.

String theory, that is, string theory, is a theory in theoretical physics, which indicates the prospect of "great unity" between gravitational field and quantum field. A basic view of string theory is that the basic units of nature are not particles such as electrons, photons, neutrinos and quarks. These things, which look like particles, are actually closed circles of very small chords (called closed chords or closed chords). Different vibrations and movements of closed chords produce various basic particles. Although the scale of string in string theory is very small, the basic principles governing its properties predict that there are several large-scale thin film objects, which are called "films" for short. Intuitively speaking, the space we live in may be a three-dimensional movie in a nine-dimensional space. String theory is the most promising theory to unify the basic particles and four kinds of interaction forces in nature. It also predicted exciting signals such as "atomic instability" and "proton decay" which were not confirmed by experiments.

From 1984 to 1985, the first revolution of string theory took place, the core of which was the discovery of the unified theory of "abnormal freedom"; 1994- 1995, the second revolution took place in string theory, both external and internal, and string theory evolved into M theory. Wilton's M theory synthesizes all superstring theories (* * * five kinds) and eleven-dimensional supergravity theory.

Wheaton's contribution to string theory can be summarized as follows:

(1) Physicists find that the description of particle motion under the concept of "string" is very complicated and difficult to discuss. Therefore, Witton put forward the concept of duality to deal with the model, which made the problem simpler and found a suitable method for obtaining this series of results in the future.

(2) In cooperation with N.Seiberg, Wilton put forward the concept of "supersymmetry" to further describe the characteristics of the microscopic particle "quark", thus getting more and more important achievements, and at the same time creating new disciplines and new directions, showing new hope of finally completing the "great unity". Under the influence of supersymmetry, four-dimensional mathematics, namely quantum geometry, is formed.

(3) Under the idea of supersymmetry, there are five possible universes, and Wilton proved that they are equivalent. He also proved Morse inequality and positive energy theorem with superstring theory.

Although M theory has achieved fruitful results, it cannot be tested by experimental means due to the limitation of experimental conditions. There are two main reasons why it can't be proved by experiments so far: one is that no one knows enough about string theory to make a correct prediction; The other is that the existing high-speed particle accelerators are not powerful enough. Scientists use the existing and new generation of high-speed particle accelerators in preparation to try to find the superparticles predicted by the main supersymmetry theory in superstring theory. There are indications that the deepest mystery of M theory remains to be revealed, and what the true face of M theory is is still an unsolved mystery. In order to fully understand it, Wheaton thought it necessary to invent new mathematical tools.

As a physicist, Wilton has extraordinary mathematical ability. He is not only proficient in physics and mathematics, but also closely combines the two subjects. He specializes in quantum field theory, string theory and related topology and geometry. The main contributions include the proof of positive energy theorem of general relativity, supersymmetry and Morse theory, topological quantum field theory, superstring compactness, mirror symmetry, supersymmetry gauge field theory, and conjecture about the existence of M theory. The methods and approaches he advocated had a great influence in the scientific community. Therefore, he enjoys high honors in the fields of physics and mathematics. Because he solved some mathematical problems under the guidance of theoretical physics, especially his outstanding contribution to superstring theory, Wilton won the Fields Medal at the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Tokyo in 1990. Wilton is also the only physicist who has won the Fields Prize so far. His work focuses on theoretical physics and mathematical physics, and he is one of the few scientists who can make first-class achievements in both mathematics and physics.

prize

Einstein Prize, 1985

Dirac prize, 1985 (international theological center, DiracPrizeandMedal 1985)

Arante. WatermanAward, 1986 (National Science Foundation, Alant. Wortmann Prize 1986).

Fields Medal, 1990

Danny Heinemann Prize, 1998 (American Society of Physical Medicine and american physical society, Danny Heinemann Prize in Mathematics 1998).

National Science Medal in 2003

Henri Poincare Award, 2006

2008 crafoord Prize in Mathematics

Lorenz Prize, 20 10 (Lorenz Medal, Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences, 20 10).

Isaac Newton medal, 20 10 (Instituteofphysics, Isaac Newton medal 20 10).

Basic Physics Award, 20 13 (Milner Foundation, Basic Prize 20 13).

Main honor

Academician of American Academy of Science and Art, 1984 was elected.

Academician of the National Academy of Sciences, 1988 was elected.

Foreign member of the Royal Society, 1998 was elected.

Foreign academician of French Academy of Sciences, elected in 2000.

Job evaluation

String theory has been published for nearly 40 years, during which it was satirized and questioned by some people, but it was also warmly praised and touted. StevenWeinberg and AbdusSalam SheldonGlashow, three physicists who won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics for putting forward the weak unified theory of electricity, have different attitudes towards string theory.

Salam turned his attention to superstring theory in his later years. Although he personally does not believe in such an all-encompassing theory, he believes that "in any case, we should not believe it outside a theoretical range that can be tested." In the foreseeable future, we can't directly test superstring theory, only indirect test is possible. The superstring theory is exciting because of its inherent advantages. At least we found a real substitute for the point particle field theory. It is this concept of point particles that makes our past quantum gravity theory encounter insurmountable difficulties. This gives us hope to establish a quantum theory of gravity-this is the first time, this is a victory, whether we get an all-encompassing final theory or not. This gravitational theory also unifies quarks and gauge particles, which is an additional privilege, but even without this unification, I would think superstring is a major development. "

Weinberg is a passionate and eloquent supporter of superstring theory. Weinberg believes that "a person can only do what he can-this is the first principle of physics." Only by doing what you can, can you achieve something. I think string theory is a good idea, and it is very meaningful to continue working in this field. I don't support you to engage in string theory, but superstring theory is giving graduate students a strong taste of mathematics exercise. Learning all these maths is good for them. Whether superstring theory is a good theory depends on the conclusion it can draw. String theory is beautiful and promising. Without knowing how to deduce the information related to gravity, some qualitative results are obtained. However, the difficulties in mathematics are of course terrible and may appear from time to time as in the past. In the next few years, it will certainly be fun to do this work well. "

Scientifically and philosophically, Grassio is a complete opponent of superstring theory, saying that he is "waiting for the rupture of superstring". He once said in a speech that physicists seem to be divided into two camps: alchemists and medieval theologians. He said, "I am particularly annoyed with friends who study string theory because they can't explain anything about the objective physical world. Some of them are convinced that their theory is beautiful, unique and correct. So since the theory is unique and correct, it naturally includes a description of the whole physical world. In their view, there is no need to use any experiment to prove such a self-evident truth, so they began to attack the value of the experiment. " Grasshaw hopes that the experimenter will become the winner of establishing a unified theory of the world, so that "the old tradition of observing and understanding the world will continue, and we will never be able to successfully solve the problems in basic particle physics with pure theory itself." "There are often some friends of string theory who preach in my ear that string theory will dominate physics in the next half century, and edward witten also said so. I want to correct this statement, and it will become: String theory will rule physics in the next 50 years like Klein-Kaluza theory, that is, it will not rule physics at all.

RichardFeynman, winner of 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics, is regarded by many as the greatest physicist born in the United States in the 20th century. He once won a wide range of ordinary readers with his humorous autobiography "Stop it, Mr. Feynman". As one of the elders of physics in the 20th century, his doubts about superstring theory are particularly pertinent. Feynman's attitude is clear. "I don't like them not to do any calculations. I don't like that they don't test their ideas, and I don't like anything that doesn't conform to the experiment. They pieced together an excuse-saying, "Well, maybe it's right. "

Smalling, the founder of Canadian Institute of Circular Theory Physics, believes that string theory has failed as a scientific theory. Because it attracts a lot of resources and the best minds, it seriously hurts young physicists who pursue other routes. So it also slows down the progress of other physics.

Einstein devoted himself to the unification of electromagnetic theory and gravitational theory in his later years, but he never achieved really satisfactory success, but his idea of establishing a unified theory has always attracted thousands of physicists. M theory can be said to have achieved the original intention of unified field theory to a certain extent, although there is no strong experimental evidence to support it so far. In recent years, the evidence supporting M theory is increasing day by day, and exciting progress has been made. In addition, M- theory (string theory) has greatly promoted the development of mathematics, and this theory has created fields such as Riemannian surfaces, infinite dimensional Lie algebras, quantum geometry, etc., which is why Wheaton was able to win the Fields Prize, the highest honor in mathematics. Whatever the final result, Wheaton's contribution to physics will be a bright spot in the history of physics.

Personality assessment

Witten has profound physical intuition and superb mathematical ability, which is widely appreciated by his peers.

Michael Atia, a famous British mathematician and Fields Prize winner, once said:

"Although he must be a physicist, few mathematicians can compare with him in terms of his mastery of mathematics. His outstanding views on physics led to one new and deeper mathematical theorem after another, which surprised the mathematical community. He has a great influence on modern mathematics, and his physics has once again become a rich source of mathematical inspiration and intuition. "

Professor JocelynBellBurnell, the current president of the British Physical Society, said at the 20 10 Newton Medal Award Ceremony: "Professor Witton's originality, physical intuition and mathematical ability have brought revolutionary changes to physics. He is a creative and prolific theoretical physicist. His work in the fields of quantum field theory, general relativity and superstring theory has had a great influence on other physicists. "

Roger penrose, professor emeritus of mathematics at RouseBall, Oxford University, UK, wrote in his book The Road to Reality:

"Usually people think that he is the most authoritative figure who has led string theory (and M theory) since 1980s. I have already talked about his role in the "second superstring revolution" initiated by 1995. Since then, he has established his leading position by opening several major advances (not always obvious) in string theory and other fields related to string theory. There have been several "tour guides" in the 30-year history of string theory, and Wheaton is always the most outstanding one in any way. Wherever he goes, there is jubilation. "

classic quotations

"I believe that 2 1 century is the golden age of biology, but I also believe that 2 1 century is also the golden age of physics."

"String theory is the physics of 265,438+0 century that happened in the 20th century."

"String theory has many interesting mathematical by-products, because many mathematical discoveries have been re-applied by physicists in recent years. They are the applications of various mathematical structures produced in string theory.

Explain yourself.

"My scientific interest has changed several times; From a 10-year-old doll to a 2 1 year-old devoted to physics, I considered many subjects in college, including history, linguistics and economics. I think that maybe only the challenges of physics and mathematics can stimulate my enthusiasm and give play to my talents. "

"I often think, what would happen if I grew up in other environments? In any case, I was lucky enough to get an excellent opportunity to study mathematics and science, and I gained fruitful results from it; Although I have experienced some twists and turns, compared with many other young people, I am undoubtedly extremely lucky. This luck should be attributed to the flexible and pragmatic education system in the United States-it makes it possible for me to choose to be a scientist until 2 1 year old. In this respect, although some countries can provide superior mathematics and science education, the relatively rigid system may make people like me unable to decide to join physics before 2 1 year old. Of course, if I grew up in those countries, I might have been included in mathematics or physics from the beginning, without having to go through these difficulties as I did in the United States. However, the lack of active choice is not necessarily a good thing. "

"In fact, my choice was not a whim, but gradually strengthened my confidence with the deepening of my understanding of string theory. When JohnSchwarz and MichaelGreen revived string theory and achieved great success, my goal became clearer-to unify the string theory of particle interaction. This is an ambitious and hopeful journey of exploration. "

"About 20 years ago, a senior physicist I respected told me that the key for a successful old scientist to keep scientific vitality is to be able to study the questions raised by others without reservation. Now that I am 50 years old, it is time to listen to other people's opinions calmly. "