Samarendra Nath Biswas (1 May 1926 – 4 January 2005) was an Indian theoretical physicist
specialized in theoretical
high energy 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 ...
,
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 ...
and
mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematics, 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 t ...
and is known for his work in several diverse areas.
Life, education and career
Samarendra Nath Biswas (1 May 1926 – 4 January 2005)
was born in the undivided Bengal now part of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and had his education there till the graduate level graduating from Pabna Edward college. He obtained his DPhil degree (1951) from the
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...
and PhD degree (under the supervision of
Herbert S. Green
Herbert Sydney Green (17 December 1920 – 16 February 1999) was a British–Australian physicist. Green was a doctoral student of the Nobel Laureate Max Born at Edinburgh, with whom he was involved in the development of the modern kinetic theor ...
) (1958) from the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. He worked in
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 ...
, specializing in
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 ...
. He was a Fellow at the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the D ...
, Mumbai (1958–64).
Professor of Physics, Centre for Advanced Study in Physics, Department of Physics and Astrophysics,
University of Delhi
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...
(1969–91),
during which he also headed the Department for a period of three years (1977-1979). He was Dean, School of Environmental Science,
Jawahar Lal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
, Delhi (1974–76).
Scientific research
Biswas worked in several diverse areas of theoretical
high energy 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 ...
and
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 ...
,
that includes his early work in collaboration with
Herbert S. Green
Herbert Sydney Green (17 December 1920 – 16 February 1999) was a British–Australian physicist. Green was a doctoral student of the Nobel Laureate Max Born at Edinburgh, with whom he was involved in the development of the modern kinetic theor ...
on the
Bethe-Salpeter equation and its solution, several investigations in
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 ...
phenomenology, two-dimensional
quantum electrodynamics
In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and spec ...
, analysis of
anharmonic oscillator
In classical mechanics, anharmonicity is the Deviation (statistics), deviation of a system from being a harmonic oscillator. An oscillator that is not oscillating in simple harmonic motion, harmonic motion is known as an anharmonic oscillator w ...
in
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
,
scattering theory
In mathematics and physics, scattering theory is a framework for studying and understanding the scattering of waves and particles. Wave scattering corresponds to the collision and scattering of a wave with some material object, for instance sunli ...
, study of
dispersion relations
In the physical sciences and electrical engineering, dispersion relations describe the effect of dispersion on the properties of waves in a medium. A dispersion relation relates the wavelength or wavenumber of a wave to its frequency. Given the d ...
in collision processes of
elementary particles
In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. Particles currently thought to be elementary include electrons, the fundamental fermions (quarks, leptons, antiqu ...
based on unitarity and analyticity,
geometric phase In classical and quantum mechanics, geometric phase is a phase difference acquired over the course of a cycle, when a system is subjected to cyclic adiabatic processes, which results from the geometrical properties of the parameter space of the Ha ...
s of
wave function
A wave function in quantum physics is a mathematical description of the quantum state of an isolated quantum system. The wave function is a complex-valued probability amplitude, and the probabilities for the possible results of measurements mad ...
in
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
and
quantum optics
Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics dealing with how individual quanta of light, known as photons, interact with atoms and molecules. It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons. Photons have b ...
,
equation of state
In physics, chemistry, and thermodynamics, an equation of state is a thermodynamic equation relating state variables, which describe the state of matter under a given set of physical conditions, such as pressure, volume, temperature, or internal ...
of neutron stars, quark stars, weak interaction processes, weak decays involving neutral currents, processes involving stellar energy loss,
supersymmetry
In a supersymmetric theory the equations for force and the equations for matter are identical. In theoretical and mathematical physics, any theory with this property has the principle of supersymmetry (SUSY). Dozens of supersymmetric theories e ...
in weak currents, chiral anomalies, super-propagator for a non-polynomial field,
phase transitions
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 ...
in
gauge theories
In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian (and hence the dynamics of the system itself) does not change (is invariant) under local transformations according to certain smooth families of operations (Lie groups ...
, development of supersymmetric classical mechanics, supersymmetric quantum mechanics,
stochastic quantization In theoretical physics, stochastic quantization is a method for modelling quantum mechanics, introduced by Edward Nelson in 1966, and streamlined by Parisi and Wu.
Details
Stochastic quantization serves to quantize Euclidean field theories, and ...
, quark stars, continued fraction theory, role of
parastatistics
In quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics, parastatistics is one of several alternatives to the better known particle statistics models (Bose–Einstein statistics, Fermi–Dirac statistics and Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics). Other alte ...
in
statistical mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. It does not assume or postulate any natural laws, but explains the macroscopic be ...
,
Biswas has written over 90 scientific articles, which have received a large number of citations.
Authored books
*''Classical Mechanics'' ()
*''Quantum Mechanics'' ()
Awards and honors
*Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (1958–64)
*UGC National Lecturer (1974)
*Senior Associate Member of International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (1976–81)
*Fellow, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi
*Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore
*Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad
References
External links
Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi ProfileIndian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru, Fellow ProfileInspirehep Publications ProfileResearch Gate Publications ProfileFormer faculty, department of physics and astrophysics, University of Delhi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biswas, Samarendra Nath
1926 births
2005 deaths
University of Adelaide alumni
Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
Bengali physicists
Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian particle physicists
Indian theoretical physicists
20th-century Indian physicists
21st-century Indian physicists