Giorgio Parisi (born 4 August 1948) is an Italian
theoretical physicist
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 experime ...
, whose research has focused on
quantum field theory,
statistical mechanics and
complex systems. His best known contributions are the
QCD evolution equations for parton densities, obtained with
Guido Altarelli, known as the Altarelli–Parisi or
DGLAP equations, the exact solution of the
Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model of spin glasses, the
Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation describing dynamic scaling of growing interfaces, and the study of whirling
flocks of birds. He was awarded the 2021
Nobel Prize in Physics
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, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
jointly with
Klaus Hasselmann
Klaus Ferdinand Hasselmann (, born 25 October 1931) is a German oceanographer and climate modeller. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Hamburg and former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. He was awarded the 2021 ...
and
Syukuro Manabe for groundbreaking contributions to theory of
complex systems, in particular "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and
fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales."
Career
Giorgio Parisi received his degree from the
University of Rome La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...
in 1970 under the supervision of
Nicola Cabibbo
Nicola Cabibbo (10 April 1935 – 16 August 2010) was an Italian physicist, best known for his work on the weak interaction.
Life
Cabibbo, son of a Sicilian lawyer, was born in Rome. He graduated in theoretical physics at the Università di Rom ...
. He was a researcher at the
Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati
The INFN National Laboratory of Frascati (LNF) was founded in 1954 with the objective of furthering particle physics research, and more specifically to host the 1.1 GeV electrosynchrotron, the first accelerator ever built in Italy. The Labo ...
(1971–1981) and a visiting scientist at the
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(1973–1974),
Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques
The Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHÉS; English: Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies) is a French research institute supporting advanced research in mathematics and theoretical physics. It is located in Bures-sur-Yvette, jus ...
(1976–1977), and
École Normale Supérieure (1977–1978). From 1981 until 1992 he was a full professor of Theoretical Physics at the
University of Rome Tor Vergata and he is now professor of Quantum Theories at the
Sapienza University of Rome
The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...
. He is a member of the Simons Collaboration "Cracking the Glass Problem".
From 2018 until 2021 he was the president of the
Accademia dei Lincei.
Research
Parisi's research interests are broad and cover
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 mathematical tools for dealing with large populations and approxim ...
,
field theory,
dynamical systems,
mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The '' Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the developme ...
and
condensed matter physics, where he is particularly known for his work on
spin glasses and related statistical mechanics models originating in
optimization theory
Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfi ...
and biology. In particular, he made significant contributions in terms of systematic applications of the replica method to disordered systems, even though the replica method itself was originally discovered in 1971 by Sir
Sam Edwards.
He has also contributed to the field of
elementary 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) and b ...
, in particular to
quantum chromodynamics and
string theory. Together with Guido Altarelli, he introduced the so-called Dokshitzer–Gribov–Lipatov–Altarelli–Parisi equations. In the field of
fluid dynamics he is known for having introduced, together with
Uriel Frisch
Uriel Frisch (born in Agen, in France, on December 10, 1940) is a French mathematical physicist known for his work on fluid dynamics and turbulence.
Biography
From 1959 to 1963 Frisch was a student at the École Normale Supérieure. Early in his ...
, multifractal models to describe the phenomenon of
intermittency in turbulent flows. He is also known for the
Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation modelling stochastic aggregation. From the point of view of complex systems, he worked on the collective motion of animals (such as swarms and flocks). He also introduced, together with other Italian physicists, the concept of
stochastic resonance in the study of climate change.
Honors and awards
Giorgio Parisi is a foreign member of the
French Academy of Sciences, the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, and the United States
National Academy of Sciences.
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Feltrinelli Prize The Feltrinelli Prize (from the Italian "Premio Feltrinelli", also known as "International Feltrinelli Prize" or "Antonio Feltrinelli Prize") is an award for achievement in the arts, music, literature, history, philosophy, medicine, and physical and ...
, 1986.
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Boltzmann Medal
The Boltzmann Medal (or Boltzmann Award) is a prize awarded to physicists that obtain new results concerning statistical mechanics; it is named after the celebrated physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. The Boltzmann Medal is awarded once every three years ...
, 1992.
::"The Boltzmann Medal for 1992 is awarded to Giorgio Parisi for his fundamental contributions to statistical physics, and particularly for his solution of the mean field theory of spin glasses."
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Dirac Medal of the ICTP, 1999.
::"Giorgio Parisi is distinguished for his original and deep contributions to many areas of physics ranging from the study of scaling violations in deep inelastic processes (
Altarelli–Parisi equations), the proposal of the superconductor's flux confinement model as a mechanism for quark confinement, the use of supersymmetry in statistical classical systems, the introduction of multifractals in turbulence, the stochastic differential equation for growth models for random aggregation (the
Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation) and his groundbreaking analysis of the replica method that has permitted an important breakthrough in our understanding of glassy systems and has proved to be instrumental in the whole subject of Disordered Systems."
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Enrico Fermi Prize, 2002.
::"For his contributions to field theory and statistical mechanics, and in particular for his fundamental results concerning the statistical properties of disordered systems."
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Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics
Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics is an award given each year since 1959 jointly by the American Physical Society and American Institute of Physics. It is established by the Heineman Foundation in honour of Dannie Heineman. As of 20 ...
, 2005.
::"For fundamental theoretical discoveries in broad areas of elementary particle physics, quantum field theory, and statistical mechanics; especially for work on spin glasses and disordered systems."
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Nonino Prize “An Italian Master of our Time”, 2005.
::"World-famous theoretic physicist, Giorgio Parisi is an investigator of the unpredictable, this means of all that happens in the real world and of its probable laws. A pioneer of complexity, his research of rules and balances inside chaotic systems hypothesizing mathematical instruments, may take to great discoveries in all the fields of human knowledge, from immunology to cosmology. His is a research of the next
“Ariadne’s thread” of the labyrinth of our existence."
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Microsoft Award, 2007.
::"He has made outstanding contributions to elementary particle physics, quantum field theory and statistical mechanics, in particular to the theory of phase transitions and replica symmetry breaking for spin glasses. His approach of using computers to corroborate the conclusions of analytical proofs and to actively motivate further research has been of fundamental importance in his field."
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Lagrange Prize, 2009. Awarded to scientists who have contributed most to the development of the science of
complexity in various areas of knowledge.
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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, ...
, 2011.
::“For his significant contributions in theoretical elementary particle physics and quantum field theory and statistical physics, especially of systems with frozen disorder, especially spin glasses."
Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science – Italy 2013 Lifetime achievement award. The Prize is awarded annually to a different country by the scientific journal "
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
".
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High Energy and Particle Physics Prize – EPS HEPP Prize, 2015.
::“For developing a probabilistic field theory framework for the dynamics of quarks and gluons, enabling a quantitative understanding of high-energy collisions involving hadrons”.
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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 ...
, 2016.
::“For groundbreaking work applying spin glass ideas to ensembles of computational problems, yielding both new classes of efficient algorithms and new perspectives on phase transitions in their structure and complexity”.
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Pomeranchuk Prize, 2018.
::“For outstanding results in quantum field theory, statistical mechanics and particle theory”.
* Honorary Doctorate in Science, the
University of Extremadura (2019).
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Wolf Prize, 2021.
::“For ground-breaking discoveries in disordered systems, particle physics and statistical physics. The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded to Giorgio Parisi for being one of the most creative and influential theoretical physicists in recent decades. His work has a large impact on diverse branches of physical sciences, spanning the areas of particle physics, critical phenomena, disordered systems as well as optimization theory and mathematical physics.”.
*Inserted in
Clarivate Citation Laureates
Clarivate Citation Laureates formerly Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates is a list of candidates considered likely to win the Nobel Prize in their respective field. The candidates are so named based on the citation impact of their published resear ...
, 2021.
::"For ground-breaking discoveries in quantum-chromodynamics and in the study of complex disordered systems.".
*
Nobel Prize in Physics
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
, 2021.
::“For the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.”.
*
Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI, 2021
Activism
Since 2016, Giorgio Parisi has been leading the movement "Salviamo la Ricerca Italiana" to put pressure on the Italian and European governments to start funding basic research above the subsistence level.
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Selected publications
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See also
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Asymptotic safety in quantum gravity
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Cavity method The cavity method is a mathematical method presented by Marc Mézard, Giorgio Parisi and Miguel Angel Virasoro in 1987 to solve some mean field type models in statistical physics, specially adapted to disordered systems. The method has been used t ...
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Euclidean random matrix
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Parisi–Sourlas stochastic quantization procedure
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p-adic quantum mechanics
''p''-adic quantum mechanics is a collection of related research efforts in quantum physics that replace real numbers with ''p''-adic numbers. Historically, this research was inspired by the discovery that the Veneziano amplitude of the open boso ...
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Renormalon
In physics, a renormalon (a term suggested by 't Hooft) is a particular source of divergence seen in perturbative approximations to quantum field theories (QFT). When a formally divergent series in a QFT is summed using Borel summation, the assoc ...
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Self-consistency principle in high energy physics
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Stochastic quantization
References
External links
Giorgio Parisi home pageGiorgio Parisi google scholar page*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Parisi, Giorgio
1948 births
20th-century Italian physicists
21st-century Italian physicists
Columbia University faculty
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Italian Nobel laureates
Living people
Mathematical physicists
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Nobel laureates in Physics
Sapienza University of Rome alumni
Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome
Scientists from Rome
Theoretical physicists
Academic staff of the University of Rome Tor Vergata
Winners of the Max Planck Medal
Members of the American Philosophical Society
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic