José Enrique Moyal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
José Enrique Moyal
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1 October 1910 Jerusalem, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire
|
| Died | 22 May 1998 (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Supélec University of Paris |
| Known for | Moyal's evolution equation Moyal product Moyal quantization Moyal bracket Kramers–Moyal expansion |
| Spouse(s) |
Susanna Pollack
(div. 1956)Ann Moyal
(m. 1962) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematical physics Mathematics Statistics |
José Enrique Moyal (Hebrew: יוסף הנרי מויאל; October 1, 1910 – May 22, 1998) was an Australian mathematician and mathematical physicist. He made important discoveries in many areas. These included aeronautical engineering, electrical engineering, and statistics.
Contents
Moyal's Scientific Journey
Moyal helped create a new way to understand quantum mechanics in 1949. This method is called the phase space formulation. It connects the tiny world of quantum particles with the larger world of classical physics. This helps scientists compare how things work at different scales.
Understanding Quantum Mechanics
The phase space formulation uses ideas from other famous scientists. These include Hermann Weyl, John von Neumann, Eugene Wigner, and Hip Groenewold. This way of looking at quantum mechanics is like using statistics. It makes a clear link between quantum mechanics and classical statistical mechanics.
This new approach is sometimes called Moyal quantization. It largely avoids using "operators" for quantum measurements. These operators are common in older ways of doing quantum mechanics. How quantum systems change in phase space is described by something called a Moyal bracket.
Early Life and Education
Moyal grew up in Tel Aviv. He went to the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium for school. In the 1930s, he studied in Paris, France. He attended the École Supérieure d'Electricité and the Institut de Statistique. He also studied at the Institut Henri Poincaré.
Work During Wartime
During the 1940s, Moyal worked in England. He was employed at the de Havilland Aircraft company. This was during World War II.
Later Career and Research
Later, Moyal became a professor of mathematics. He taught at the School of Mathematics and Physics at Macquarie University. There, he worked with John Clive Ward. Before that, he worked at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, USA. He also published important work on "stochastic processes." These are processes that involve random changes.
Personal Life
Moyal was married to Susanna Pollack (1912-2000). They had two children, Orah Young and David Moyal. Orah was born in Tel Aviv, and David was born in Belfast. They divorced in 1956. Moyal then married Ann Moyal in 1962. They stayed married until his death.
Works
- J.E. Moyal, "Stochastic Processes and Statistical Physics" Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B, 11, (1949), 150–210.
See also
- Moyal bracket
- Wigner–Weyl transform
- Wigner quasiprobability distribution
