Franz Joachim Wegner (born 15 June 1940) is emeritus professor for

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

Education

Franz Wegner attained a doctorate in 1968 with thesis advisor Wilhelm Brenig at the

Technical University Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

with the thesis, "Zum Heisenberg-Modell im paramagnetischen Bereich und am kritischen Punkt" ("On the Heisenberg model within the paramagnetic range and at the critical point"). Subsequently, he did research with a post-doctoral position at

Forschungszentrum Jülich Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ here for short) is a national research institution that pursues interdisciplinary research in the fields of energy, information, and bioeconomy. It operates research infrastructures with a focus on supercomputers. C ...

, in the group of Herbert Wagner and at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

with

Leo Kadanoff Leo Philip Kadanoff (January 14, 1937 – October 26, 2015) was an American physicist. He was a professor of physics (emeritus from 2004) at the University of Chicago and a former President of the American Physical Society (APS). He contributed t ...

. Since 1974 he is a professor at Heidelberg..

Research

The emphasis of Wegner's scientific work is

statistical physics Statistical physics is a branch of physics that evolved from a foundation of statistical mechanics, which uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the Mathematics, mathematical tools for dealing with large populations ...

, in particular the theory of

phase transition In chemistry, thermodynamics, and other related fields, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states of ...

s and the

renormalization group In theoretical physics, the term renormalization group (RG) refers to a formal apparatus that allows systematic investigation of the changes of a physical system as viewed at different scales. In particle physics, it reflects the changes in the ...

. The eponymous "Wegner exponent" is of fundamental importance for the purpose of describing corrections to asymptotic scale invariance in close proximity to phase transitions. Wegner also "invented" the foundational lattice gauge theoretical models. The method developed from Wegner's foundational work is nowadays intensively used in simulations of

quantum chromodynamics In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interaction between quarks mediated by gluons. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up composite hadrons such as the proton, neutron and pion. QCD is a type ...

Accolades

Wegner won the

Walter Schottky prize The Walter Schottky Prize is a scientific prize awarded by the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, German Physical Society for outstanding research work of young academics in the field of solid-state physics. Since 1973 the prize is generally awar ...

in 1976 for his work on phase transitions and elementary particles. He has also been elected to the Heidelberger Academy of Sciences and won the

Max Planck medal The Max Planck medal is the highest award of the German Physical Society , the world's largest organization of physicists, for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics. The prize has been awarded annually since 1929, with few exceptions, ...

among other awards and recognitions. He won the

Lars Onsager prize The Lars Onsager Prize is a prize in theoretical statistical physics awarded annually by the American Physical Society. Prize recipients receive a medal, certificate, and $10,000. It was established in 1993 by Drs. Russell and Marian Donnelly in m ...

from

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

in 2015 for his contributions to Statistical mechanics.

Selected works of Wegner

* * * :Reprinted in Claudio Rebbi (ed.), ''Lattice Gauge Theories and Monte Carlo Simulations'', World Scientific, Singapore (1983), p. 60–73.
Abstract.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wegner, Franz Technical University of Munich alumni 20th-century German physicists 1940 births Living people Winners of the Max Planck Medal