Hugh Osborn is a British theoretical high-energy physicist and a professor emeritus at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
,
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
.
He is known for his work on
Conformal Field Theory
A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations. In two dimensions, there is an infinite-dimensional algebra of local conformal transformations, and conformal field theories can sometimes ...
and
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 ...
.
Education
Osborn obtained his PhD in 1967 from the
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. His PhD advisor was
Sigurd Zienau.
Career and research
After
postdoctoral research
A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...
positions at the
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
and
Queen Mary University of London
, mottoeng = With united powers
, established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College
, type = Public researc ...
, he became a professor first at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
and then in 1971 moved to the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
where he remained ever since. He is a fellow of
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
. In April 2020 he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
.
In 1989, Osborn obtained the first proof of the four-dimensional
C-theorem
In quantum field theory the ''C''-theorem states that there exists a positive real function, C(g^_i,\mu), depending on the coupling constants of the quantum field theory considered, g^_i, and on the energy scale, \mu^_, which has the following p ...
, which was conjectured one year earlier by
John Cardy
John Lawrence Cardy FRS (born 19 March 1947, England)Guggenheim Foundation: Annual Report 1985. is a British-American theoretical physicist at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for his work in theoretical condensed matter ...
. Osborn's proof was applicable to
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 ...
flows which are perturbative, that is do not deviate far from the free
quantum field theories
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 was valid to all orders in
perturbation theory
In mathematics and applied mathematics, perturbation theory comprises methods for finding an approximate solution to a problem, by starting from the exact solution of a related, simpler problem. A critical feature of the technique is a middle ...
. It provided a strong hint that the four-dimensional
C-theorem
In quantum field theory the ''C''-theorem states that there exists a positive real function, C(g^_i,\mu), depending on the coupling constants of the quantum field theory considered, g^_i, and on the energy scale, \mu^_, which has the following p ...
must be universally valid, but a nonperturbative proof of this fact was found only in 2011 by
Zohar Komargodski
Zohar Komargodski (born 10 March 1983) is an Israeli theoretical physicist who works on quantum field theory, including conformal field theories, gauge theories and supersymmetry.
Komargodski received his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute in ...
and
Adam Schwimmer
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
.
In 2001 and 2004, Osborn, in collaboration with
Francis Dolan, obtained explicit expressions for the
conformal blocks in four dimensional
conformal field theories
A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations. In two dimensions, there is an infinite-dimensional algebra of local conformal transformations, and conformal field theories can sometime ...
. Starting from 2008, these results found many important applications within the
conformal bootstrap
The conformal bootstrap is a non-perturbative mathematical method to constrain and solve conformal field theories, i.e. models of particle physics or statistical physics that exhibit similar properties at different levels of resolution.
Overview
U ...
approach to
conformal field theories
A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations. In two dimensions, there is an infinite-dimensional algebra of local conformal transformations, and conformal field theories can sometime ...
.
Former PhD students
His former PhD students include:
*
Francis Dolan
*
Johanna Erdmenger, professor at the
University of Würzburg
The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...
*
Ian Jack
Ian Grant Jack (7 February 1945 – 28 October 2022) was a British reporter, writer and editor. He edited the ''Independent on Sunday'', the literary magazine ''Granta'' and wrote regularly for ''The Guardian''.
Early life
Jack was born in Fa ...
, professor at the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
*
Tassos Petkou, professor at the
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
*
Jeong-Hyuck Park, professor at
Sogang University
Sogang University (SU, Hangul: 서강대학교 Hanja: 西江大學校, literally "West River University") is one of the most prestigious private research universities in Seoul, South Korea. It was established in 1960 by the Wisconsin Province of ...
References
External links
Scientific publications of Hugh Osbornon
INSPIRE-HEP INSPIRE-HEP is an open access digital library for the field of high energy physics (HEP). It is the successor of the Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System (SPIRES) database, the main literature database for high energy physics since the 1970 ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Hugh
British physicists
Quantum physicists
Living people
Theoretical physicists
Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
Year of birth missing (living people)
Fellows of the Royal Society