was a Japanese-American
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
and professor at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. Known for his contributions to the field of
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 ...
, he was awarded half of the
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 " ...
in 2008 for the discovery in 1960 of the mechanism of
spontaneous broken symmetry in
subatomic
In physical sciences, a subatomic particle is a particle that composes an atom. According to the Standard Model of particle physics, a subatomic particle can be either a composite particle, which is composed of other particles (for example, a prot ...
physics, related at first to the
strong interaction
The strong interaction or strong force is a fundamental interaction that confines quarks into proton, neutron, and other hadron particles. The strong interaction also binds neutrons and protons to create atomic nuclei, where it is called the n ...
's
chiral symmetry
A chiral phenomenon is one that is not identical to its mirror image (see the article on mathematical chirality). The spin of a particle may be used to define a handedness, or helicity, for that particle, which, in the case of a massless particle, ...
and later to the
electroweak interaction
In particle physics, the electroweak interaction or electroweak force is the unified description of two of the four known fundamental interactions of nature: electromagnetism and the weak interaction. Although these two forces appear very differe ...
and
Higgs mechanism
In the Standard Model of particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is essential to explain the generation mechanism of the property "mass" for gauge bosons. Without the Higgs mechanism, all bosons (one of the two classes of particles, the other bein ...
.
The other half was split equally between
Makoto Kobayashi and
Toshihide Maskawa
was a Japanese theoretical physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three famili ...
"for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."
Early life and education
Nambu was born in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan, in 1921. After graduating from the then
Fukui Secondary High School in
Fukui City
is the capital city of Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,217, and a population density of 69.2 persons per km2, in 102,935 households. Its total area is . Most of the population lives in a small central area; ...
, he enrolled in the
Imperial University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
and studied physics. He received his Bachelor of Science in 1942 and Doctorate of Science in 1952.
[ In 1949 he was appointed to associate professor at ]Osaka City University
, abbreviated to , is a public university in Japan. It is located in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka. It is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan regarding Applied Linguistics.
The university will merge with Osaka Prefecture University to form ...
[ and promoted to professorship the next year at the age of 29.]
In 1952, he was invited by the Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
, United States, to study. He moved to the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1954 and was promoted to professor in 1958. From 1974 to 1977 he was also Chairman of the Department of Physics. He became a United States citizen in 1970.
Career in physics
Nambu proposed the "color charge" 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 ...
,
having done early work on spontaneous symmetry breaking
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a spontaneous process of symmetry breaking, by which a physical system in a symmetric state spontaneously ends up in an asymmetric state. In particular, it can describe systems where the equations of motion or the ...
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 ...
,
and having discovered that the dual resonance model
In theoretical physics, a dual resonance model arose during the early investigation (1968–1973) of string theory as an S-matrix theory of the strong interaction.
Overview
The dual resonance model was based upon the observation that the amplitud ...
could be explained as a quantum mechanical theory of strings.
He was accounted as one of the founders of string theory
In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interac ...
.
After more than fifty years as a professor, he was Henry Pratt Judson Distinguished Service Professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
at the University of Chicago's Department of Physics and Enrico Fermi Institute
__NOTOC__
The Institute for Nuclear Studies was founded September 1945 as part of the University of Chicago with Samuel King Allison as director. On November 20, 1955, it was renamed The Enrico Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies. The name was s ...
.
The Nambu-Goto action in string theory is named after Nambu and Tetsuo Goto. Also, massless boson
In particle physics, a boson ( ) is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number has an integer value (0,1,2 ...). Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions, which have odd half-integer s ...
s arising in field theories with spontaneous symmetry breaking are sometimes referred to as Nambu–Goldstone bosons.
Death
Nambu died on 5 July 2015 at the age of 94 in Osaka due to a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. His funeral and memorial services were held among close relatives.
Recognition
Nambu won numerous honors and awards including the Dannie Heineman Prize (1970), the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize (1977),
Japan's Order of Culture
The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipien ...
(1978), the U.S.'s National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
(1982), 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, ...
(1985), the Dirac Prize
Distributed Research using Advanced Computing (DiRAC) is an integrated supercomputing facility used for research in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology in the United Kingdom. DiRAC makes use of multi-core processors and provides a variety o ...
(1986), the Sakurai Prize
The J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics, is presented by the American Physical Society at its annual April Meeting, and honors outstanding achievement in particle physics theory. The prize consists of a monetary award ($10,000 U ...
(1994), the Wolf Prize in Physics
The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine and Arts.
...
(1994/1995), and the Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...
's Benjamin Franklin Medal (2005).
He was awarded one-half of the 2008 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 " ...
"for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics".
See also
* List of Japanese Nobel laureates
Since 1949, there have been 29 Japanese laureates of the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was firs ...
* List of Nobel laureates affiliated with the University of Tokyo
This list of Nobel laureates by university affiliation shows the university affiliations of individual winners of the Nobel Prize since 1901 and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences since 1969. The affiliations are those at the time of th ...
References
External links
Oral history interview with Yoichiro Nambu on 16 July 2004, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
* ttp://www.scientificamerican.com/article/profile-yoichiro-nambu/ Profile, Scientific American Magazine
Yoichiro Nambu, Sc.D. Biographical Information
Nambu's most-cited scientific papers
* [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=physicists-in-wartime-japan "A History of Nobel Physicists from Wartime Japan" Article published in the December 1998 issue of Scientific American, co-authored by Laurie Brown and Yoichiro Nambu]
Tribute upon Prof. Nambu passing by former student Dr. Madhusree Mukerjee
Guide to the Yoichiro Nambu Papers 1917-2009
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nambu, Yoichiro
1921 births
2015 deaths
American physicists
National Medal of Science laureates
People from Fukui Prefecture
American string theorists
Wolf Prize in Physics laureates
University of Tokyo faculty
University of Chicago faculty
University of Tokyo alumni
Japanese emigrants to the United States
American academics of Japanese descent
Nobel laureates in Physics
American Nobel laureates
Recipients of the Order of Culture
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars
J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics recipients
Winners of the Max Planck Medal