Philip Candelas facts for kids

Philip Candelas, a British physicist and mathematician, was born in London, UK, on October 24, 1951. He is well-known for his important work in string theory. He taught at the University of Texas at Austin for 20 years. Later, he became the Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford until 2020. He is also a Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford.

Learning and Early Career

Philip Candelas studied at Christ's College, Cambridge and Wadham College, Oxford. He was a student of Dennis Sciama starting in 1972. In 1973, he earned his bachelor's degree. He then became a research fellow at Balliol College, Oxford in 1975. From 1976 to 1977, he worked at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1977, he received his DPhil (a type of PhD) from Oxford. His research focused on quantum gravity, which studies gravity using quantum mechanics.

Contributions to Science

After getting his DPhil, Candelas continued his work at the University of Texas. He became an assistant professor in 1977. He was promoted to associate professor in 1983 and full professor in 1989.

He also spent time at other famous research places. From 1993 to 1994, he was at the Institute for Advanced Study. He visited CERN, a large particle physics lab, from 1991 to 1993. In 1995, he was a visiting professor at Princeton University. From 1999 to 2020, he was the Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at Oxford. He also led the Mathematical Physics Group there.

Understanding String Theory

Philip Candelas is most famous for his work in 1985. He worked with other scientists like Edward Witten. They helped develop a key idea in string theory. String theory suggests that tiny, vibrating strings are the basic building blocks of the universe.

Candelas and his team showed how extra dimensions could be "compactified." This means these extra dimensions are curled up very small. They used special shapes called Calabi–Yau manifolds to describe these hidden dimensions. This work was a big step in making string theory more complete.

Other Important Research

Candelas also made important contributions to quantum field theory (QFT). This field studies how particles behave. He especially looked at how QFT works near black holes. Black holes are areas in space where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape.

He also helped us understand how quantum fields act near boundaries. This research has uses in understanding the Casimir effect. The Casimir effect describes a force between two uncharged plates due to quantum fields. His work also relates to quark confinement, which explains why quarks (tiny particles inside protons and neutrons) are always found together.

Awards and Recognition

In 2010, Philip Candelas was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.

Personal Life

Philip Candelas holds citizenship in both the United Kingdom and the United States. He is married to Xenia de la Ossa, who is also a mathematics professor. They have two daughters.