Edward Witten facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edward Witten
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Witten in 2008
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| Born | August 26, 1951 |
| Education | |
| Known for | M-theory Seiberg–Witten theory Seiberg–Witten map Seiberg–Witten invariants Wess–Zumino–Witten model Weinberg–Witten theorem Gromov–Witten invariant Hořava–Witten domain wall Vafa–Witten theorem Witten index BCFW recursion Topological quantum field theory (Witten-type TQFTs) Topological string theory CSW rules Witten conjecture Witten zeta function Hanany–Witten transition Twistor string theory Chern–Simons theory Positive energy theorem Witten–Veneziano mechanism |
| Spouse(s) | Chiara Nappi |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship (1982) Albert Einstein Medal (1985) ICTP Dirac Medal (1985) Alan T. Waterman Award (1986) Fields Medal (1990) Dannie Heineman Prize (1998) Nemmers Prize (2000) National Medal of Science (2002) Harvey Prize (2005) Henri Poincaré Prize (2006) Crafoord Prize (2008) Lorentz Medal (2010) Isaac Newton Medal (2010) Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2012) Kyoto Prize (2014) Albert Einstein Award (2016) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Theoretical physics Mathematical physics Superstring theory |
| Institutions | Institute for Advanced Study Harvard University< Oxford University California Institute of Technology Princeton University |
| Thesis | Some Problems in the Short Distance Analysis of Gauge Theories (1976) |
| Doctoral advisor | David Gross |
| Other academic advisors | Sidney Coleman Michael Atiyah |
| Doctoral students | Jonathan Bagger (1983) Cumrun Vafa (1985) Xiao-Gang Wen (1987) Dror Bar-Natan (1991) Shamit Kachru (1994) Eva Silverstein (1996) Sergei Gukov (2001) |
Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American theoretical physicist who has made huge contributions to our understanding of the universe. He is especially known for his work on string theory, a complex idea that tries to explain everything in physics. He is a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
Witten's research focuses on advanced topics like quantum gravity (how gravity works at tiny scales) and supersymmetry (a theory that suggests every particle has a "superpartner"). His ideas have also greatly influenced pure mathematics. In 1990, he became the first physicist ever to win the Fields Medal. This is one of the highest awards in mathematics, like a Nobel Prize for math! He received it for his deep mathematical insights in physics, including his proof of the positive energy theorem in general relativity. He is also seen as the main founder of M-theory, a big idea that connects different string theories.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Edward Witten was born on August 26, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Louis Witten, was also a theoretical physicist who studied gravity and general relativity. So, science was in his family!
Edward went to the Park School of Baltimore. He then studied history and linguistics at Brandeis University, earning his degree in 1971.
Before becoming a physicist, he was interested in journalism and politics. He even wrote articles for magazines like The New Republic and The Nation. In 1972, he worked for six months on George McGovern's campaign for president.
He tried studying economics at the University of Michigan for a short time but then decided to switch paths. In 1973, he joined Princeton University to study applied mathematics, and later moved to physics. He earned his PhD in physics in 1976. His main teacher for his PhD was David Gross, another famous physicist.
Amazing Discoveries and Ideas
Edward Witten's work has changed how many scientists think about physics and mathematics. He often finds deep connections between these two fields.
The Fields Medal and His Big Ideas
In 1990, Witten was given the Fields Medal, which is like the Nobel Prize for mathematicians. He was the first physicist to ever receive this honor.
One of his important ideas was topological quantum field theory. This is a way to connect physics with the shapes and forms of mathematical objects, like knots. He showed that a physics theory called Chern–Simons theory could help understand the math of knots and 3D shapes. Even though his work used some ideas that were not fully proven mathematically at first, mathematicians were able to build on his ideas and create new theories.
Another reason he won the Fields Medal was for his proof of the positive energy theorem in general relativity in 1981. This theorem says that the total energy of a system with gravity is always positive. It can only be zero if space-time is completely flat. This idea helps show that our flat space-time is a stable state for gravity.
Witten also connected supersymmetry (a theory about particles) with Morse theory, which is a part of mathematics that studies shapes using functions. His work offered a new way to prove some classic mathematical results using physics ideas.
M-theory: Unifying the Universe
By the mid-1990s, physicists had developed five different versions of string theory. String theory suggests that tiny, vibrating strings are the basic building blocks of the universe, not point-like particles. Scientists thought that only one of these five theories could be the correct "theory of everything."
In 1995, Witten made a surprising suggestion. He proposed that these five string theories were not separate at all! Instead, he believed they were different ways of looking at a single, bigger theory. He called this new, overarching theory M-theory. His idea was based on "dualities," which are like hidden connections that show how these different theories are actually related. This idea led to a huge burst of new research, known as the "second superstring revolution."
Other Important Work
Witten also contributed to the idea of gauge/gravity duality. In 1997, another physicist named Juan Maldacena came up with the AdS/CFT correspondence. This idea connects certain quantum field theories (which describe particles and forces) with theories of quantum gravity. Witten's work helped explain this important relationship even further.
Working with Nathan Seiberg, Witten also made big discoveries in quantum field theories. They studied how string theory relates to "noncommutative geometry" and also looked at supersymmetric gauge theory. Their work led to new ways of understanding the shapes of 4D spaces in mathematics.
Witten has published many influential papers on various topics in physics and mathematics. His ideas have had a huge impact on fields like string theory, quantum gravity, and even the study of materials. He also worked with Ruth Britto on a method called BCFW recursion relations, which helps calculate how particles scatter off each other.
Awards and Honors
Edward Witten has received many awards and honors for his groundbreaking work. Some of the most notable include:
- The MacArthur Fellowship (1982)
- The Fields Medal (1990)
- The National Medal of Science (2002)
- The Crafoord Prize (2008)
- The Isaac Newton Medal (2010)
- The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2012)
- The Kyoto Prize (2014)
He is also a member of many important scientific groups, including the Royal Society in London and the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI even appointed him as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 2004, Time magazine included him in their list of the 100 most influential people.
In an informal survey at a science conference in 1990, many scientists named Witten as "the smartest living physicist."
Personal Life
Edward Witten is married to Chiara Nappi, who is also a physics professor at Princeton University. They got married in 1979 and have three children. Their daughters, Ilana B. Witten and Daniela Witten, are also successful scientists. Ilana is a neuroscientist at Princeton, and Daniela is a biostatistician at the University of Washington.
Witten supports efforts for peace in the Middle East and has been involved with groups that work towards a two-state solution. He lived in Israel for a year when he was younger, in the 1960s.
Selected Publications
- Some Problems in the Short Distance Analysis of Gauge Theories. Princeton University, 1976. (His PhD paper.)
- Roman Jackiw, David Gross, Sam B. Treiman, Edward Witten, Bruno Zumino. Current Algebra and Anomalies: A Set of Lecture Notes and Papers. World Scientific, 1985.
- Green, M., John H. Schwarz, and E. Witten. Superstring Theory. Vol. 1, Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988. ISBN: 978-0-521-35752-4.
- Green, M., John H. Schwarz, and E. Witten. Superstring Theory. Vol. 2, Loop Amplitudes, Anomalies and Phenomenology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988. ISBN: 978-0-521-35753-1.
- Quantum fields and strings: a course for mathematicians. Vols. 1, 2. Material from the Special Year on Quantum Field Theory held at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, 1996–1997. Edited by Pierre Deligne, Pavel Etingof, Daniel S. Freed, Lisa C. Jeffrey, David Kazhdan, John W. Morgan, David R. Morrison and Edward Witten. American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI; Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Princeton, NJ, 1999. Vol. 1: xxii+723 pp.; Vol. 2: pp. i–xxiv and 727–1501. ISBN: 0-8218-1198-3, 81–06 (81T30 81Txx).
Images for kids
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Witten in 2008
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Edward Witten (left) with mathematician Shigefumi Mori in 1990.
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Edward Witten (center) with David Gross and Stephen Hawking in 2001.
See also
In Spanish: Edward Witten para niños
