Gerhart Lüders (25 February 1920 – 31 January 1995) was a German theoretical physicist who worked mainly in

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and ...

and was well known for the discovery and a general proof of the

CPT theorem Charge, parity, and time reversal symmetry is a fundamental symmetry of physical laws under the simultaneous transformations of charge conjugation (C), parity transformation (P), and time reversal (T). CPT is the only combination of C, P, and ...

. This theorem is also called the ''Pauli-Lüders theorem'' and is one of the most fundamental rules of

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

Life and works

Lüders was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He received his physics doctorate in 1950 at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

and his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

degree in 1954 at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. In the same year, he proved the

in the particular form that for a relativistic quantum field theory the validity of parity invariance necessarily implies the validity of CT invariance. (

Wolfgang Pauli Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (; ; 25 April 1900 – 15 December 1958) was an Austrian theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, after having been nominated by Albert Einstein, Pauli received the Nobel Prize in Physics fo ...

, who like John Bell formulated this theorem independently of Lüders, gave a little later a more general proof.) With

Bruno Zumino Bruno Zumino (28 April 1923 − 21 June 2014) was an Italian theoretical physicist and faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley. He obtained his DSc degree from the University of Rome in 1945. He was renowned for his rigorous pro ...

, Lüders in 1958 gave a rigorous proof of the so-called

spin–statistics theorem In quantum mechanics, the spin–statistics theorem relates the intrinsic spin of a particle (angular momentum not due to the orbital motion) to the particle statistics it obeys. In units of the reduced Planck constant ''ħ'', all particles that ...

and once again a proof of the CPT theorem, this time from general field theoretical axioms of the relativistic quantum field theory. He was from 1957 to 1960 group leader at the

Max Planck Institut The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

for physics in Munich (he remained an affiliated member of the institute from 1961) and from 1960 to his retirement in 1982 professor in Göttingen. Lüders also mathematically investigated the quantum mechanical measurement process and worked on

superconductivity Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in certain materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic flux fields are expelled from the material. Any material exhibiting these properties is a superconductor. Unlike ...

.''The method of the correlation function in superconductivity''. Springer 1971 He received in 1959 the physics prize of the

Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen A German Akademie is a school or college, trade school or another educational institution. The word Akademie (unlike the words Gymnasium or Universität) is not protected by law and any school or college may choose to call itself Akademie. A Somm ...

and in 1966 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, ...

. Since 1962 he was a member of the Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen.

References

20th-century German physicists 1920 births 1995 deaths Winners of the Max Planck Medal University of Hamburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Göttingen {{Germany-physicist-stub

Life and works

See also

References