Arthur B. Komar (March 26, 1931 – June 3, 2011) was a

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 experim ...

, specializing in

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. ...

and the search for

quantum 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 gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the v ...

. Arthur Komar made a significant contribution to physics as an educator, research scientist, and administrator. He had wide interests in numerous other subjects.

Education

Arthur attended

Midwood High School , motto_translation = The True, the Good, and the Beautiful , address = 2839 Bedford Avenue , city = Brooklyn , state = New York , zipcode = 11210 , country ...

in Brooklyn. He was a capable student and chose to specialize in physics.

Research

Princeton

Arthur's interests in physics ranged over numerous fundamental and applied concepts, including

conserved quantities In mathematics, a conserved quantity of a dynamical system is a function of the dependent variables, the value of which remains constant along each trajectory of the system. Not all systems have conserved quantities, and conserved quantities are ...

space and time Space and Time or Time and Space, or ''variation'', may refer to: * '' Space and time'' or ''time and space'' or ''spacetime'', any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single interwoven continuum * Philosophy of space and time S ...

, and

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws o ...

, notably he pursued the problem of

observable In physics, an observable is a physical quantity that can be measured. Examples include position and momentum. In systems governed by classical mechanics, it is a real-valued "function" on the set of all possible system states. In quantum phys ...

s in general relativity and in quantum theory. As a graduate student, he worked on the problem of

invariant Invariant and invariance may refer to: Computer science * Invariant (computer science), an expression whose value doesn't change during program execution ** Loop invariant, a property of a program loop that is true before (and after) each iteratio ...

s in general relativistic spacetimes. In 1956, he gained his Ph.D. in physics at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

with a thesis on the classical

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary partic ...

– a topic suggested by

Fritz Rohrlich Fritz Rohrlich (May 12, 1921 – November 14, 2018) was an American theoretical physicist and educator who published in the fields of quantum electrodynamics, classical electrodynamics of charged particles, and the philosophy of science. Life and ...

. His PhD dissertation was supervised by

John Archibald Wheeler John Archibald Wheeler (July 9, 1911April 13, 2008) was an American theoretical physicist. He was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in e ...

, titled ''Some Consequences of Mach's Principle for General Relativity''. While at Princeton, he *held the

Hibben scholarship Hibben is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Frank C. Hibben (1910–2002), American archaeologist *Gil Hibben (born 1935), American knife maker *Helene Hibben (1882–1969), American artist *John Grier Hibben (1861–1933), Amer ...

, *wrote for the

Nassau literary magazine Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 * Nassau Street (Winnipeg) ...

, *was a four-year member of the Whig-Clio senate. *was elected to the

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

at the end of the junior year. It's said that John Wheeler arranged a tea-time visit for his class, which to Arthur's pleasure had the company of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

. Throughout his scientific career, Arthur remained fond of Princeton.

Niels Bohr institute and Syracuse

His career as a physicist began at the

Niels Bohr Institute The Niels Bohr Institute (Danish: ''Niels Bohr Institutet'') is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, cele ...

in Copenhagen, and was a Fellow of the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Later in 1957, he went to

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

as a postdoc to research quantum gravity - collaborating with

Peter Bergmann Peter Gabriel Bergmann (24 March 1915 – 19 October 2002) was a German-American physicist best known for his work with Albert Einstein on a unified field theory encompassing all physical interactions. He also introduced primary and secondar ...

, and remained at Syracuse as assistant professor and associate professor, until 1963 when he left to join the Physics Department at Yeshiva University in New York City. He is known for formulating the

Komar mass The Komar mass (named after Arthur Komar) of a system is one of several formal concepts of mass that are used in general relativity. The Komar mass can be defined in any stationary spacetime, which is a spacetime in which all the metric compon ...

and Komar superpotential.

Yeshiva and National Science Foundation

From 1962 until his retirement in 1997, he was on the faculty of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

. During *1982–83 and 1986–87, he served as program director for gravitational physics. *1991–92, he served as a consultant with specific responsibility for the

LIGO The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool. Two large o ...

project to observe and analyze

gravitational radiation Gravitational waves are waves of the intensity of gravity generated by the accelerated masses of an orbital binary system that propagate as waves outward from their source at the speed of light. They were first proposed by Oliver Heaviside in 1 ...

. *1968–78, he was Dean of the Yeshiva's Belfer graduate school of science, *1978–1982, he served as chairman of the physics department, *1983–86, he was chairman of the division of natural science, *1984–1997, he served as an adjunct professor at NYU. Still associated with Yeshiva, Arthur took leave on three occasions to work with the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

, as program director for gravitational physics there.

Retirement

A year following his retirement, Arthur returned to Syracuse to live with his wife, Alice Honig.

Selected works

Physics

Quantum theory and relativistic theory

Conserved quantities and laws in general relativity

* * *

Observables in general relativity

* *

Singularities in general relativity

References