Geoffrey Chew
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Geoffrey Foucar Chew (; June 5, 1924 – April 12, 2019) was an American
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 experimen ...
. He is known for his bootstrap theory of strong interactions.


Life

Chew worked as a professor of physics at the
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
since 1957 and was an emeritus since 1991. Chew held a PhD in theoretical particle physics (1944–1946) from 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 ...
. Between 1950 and 1956, he was a physics faculty member at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
. In addition, Chew was a member of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
as well as the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
.Faculty: Geoffrey F. Chew
Physics at Berkeley, Department of Physics University of California (accessed April 2, 2012)
He was also a founding member of the International Center for Transdisciplinary Research (CIRET). Chew was a student of
Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian (later naturalized American) physicist and the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1. He has been called the "architect of the nuclear age" and ...
. His students include
David Gross David Jonathan Gross (; born February 19, 1941) is an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. Gr ...
, one of the winners of the 2004
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 " ...
, and
John H. Schwarz John Henry Schwarz (; born November 22, 1941) is an American theoretical physicist. Along with Yoichiro Nambu, Holger Bech Nielsen, Joël Scherk, Gabriele Veneziano, Michael Green, and Leonard Susskind, he is regarded as one of the founders of s ...
, one of the pioneers 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 ...
.


Work

Chew was known as a leader of the S-matrix approach 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 ...
and the associated bootstrap principle, a theory whose popularity peaked in the 1960s when he led an influential theory group at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. S-matrix theorists sought to understand the strong interaction by using the analytic properties of the
scattering matrix In physics, the ''S''-matrix or scattering matrix relates the initial state and the final state of a physical system undergoing a scattering process. It is used in quantum mechanics, scattering theory and quantum field theory (QFT). More forma ...
to calculate the interactions of bound-states without assuming that there is a point-particle field theory underneath. The S-matrix approach did not provide a local space-time description. Although it was not immediately appreciated by the practitioners, it was a natural framework in which to produce a
quantum theory of gravity Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics; it deals with environments in which neither Gravity, gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as ...
. Chew's central contribution to the program came in 1961: along with collaborator
Steven Frautschi Steven C. Frautschi (; born December 6, 1933) is an American theoretical physicist, currently professor of physics emeritus at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He is known principally for his contributions to the bootstrap theory ...
, they noted that the
meson In particle physics, a meson ( or ) is a type of hadronic subatomic particle composed of an equal number of quarks and antiquarks, usually one of each, bound together by the strong interaction. Because mesons are composed of quark subparticles ...
s fall into families (straight-line
Regge trajectories Regge may refer to * Tullio Regge (1931-2014), Italian physicist, developer of Regge calculus and Regge theory * Regge calculus, formalism for producing simplicial approximations of spacetimes * Regge theory, study of the analytic properties of sc ...
) where the square of the mass of a meson is linearly proportional to the
spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
(in their scheme, spin is plotted against mass squared on a so-called Chew–Frautschi plot), with the same constant of proportionality for each of the families. Since
bound state Bound or bounds may refer to: Mathematics * Bound variable * Upper and lower bounds, observed limits of mathematical functions Physics * Bound state, a particle that has a tendency to remain localized in one or more regions of space Geography *B ...
s in quantum mechanics naturally fall into families of this sort, their conclusion, quickly accepted, was that none of the strongly interacting particles were elementary. The conservative point of view was that the bound states were made up of elementary particles, but Chew's more far-reaching vision was that there would be a new type of theory which describes the interactions of bound-states which have no point-like constituents at all. This approach was sometimes called ''nuclear democracy'', since it avoided singling out certain particles as elementary.


Legacy

Although the S-matrix approach to the strong interactions was largely abandoned by the particle physics community in the 1970s in favor 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 ...
, a consistent theory for the scattering of bound-states on straight-line trajectories was eventually constructed and is nowadays known as
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 ...
. Within string theory,
Edward Witten Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American mathematical and theoretical physicist. He is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Witten is a researcher in string theory, q ...
reinterpreted S-matrix theory as a flat-space statement of the
holographic principle The holographic principle is an axiom in string theories and a supposed property of quantum gravity that states that the description of a volume of space can be thought of as encoded on a lower-dimensional boundary to the region — such as a ...
. Professor Chew participated in
religion and science The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern u ...
discussions. He stated that an "appeal to
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
may be needed to answer the 'origin' question, 'Why should a quantum universe evolving toward a semiclassical limit be consistent?'" Chew investigated into models in which the concept of ''happenings'' or ''(pre-)events'' play a fundamental role, not only ''particles''. He saw similarities among his approach and the notion of ''occasion'' of
Alfred North Whitehead Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found applicat ...
.Physics and Whitehead Workshop
, August 5–6, 1998


Awards

Chew received the Hughes Prize of the American Physics Society for his bootstrap theory of strong interactions in 1962. He also won the Lawrence Prize in 1969 and
Majorana Prize The ''Electronic Journal of Theoretical Physics'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that was established in 2003. It covers all aspects of theoretical physics. The editors-in-chief are Ammar Sakaji (International Institut ...
in 2008.


References


External links


2016 Video Interview with Geoffrey Chew by the Atomic Heritage Foundation
Voices of the Manhattan Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Chew, Geoffrey 1924 births Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 2019 deaths 21st-century American physicists University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty University of Illinois faculty University of Chicago alumni Scientists from Washington, D.C. Theoretical physicists Manhattan Project people