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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 experi ...
. He is known for his
bootstrap theory Bootstrapping is a self-starting process that is supposed to proceed without external input. Bootstrapping, bootstrap, or bootstraps may also refer to: * Bootstrap (front-end framework), a free collection of tools for creating websites and web ap ...
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 land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
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, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
. Between 1950 and 1956, he was a physics faculty member at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
. In addition, Chew was a member of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...
as well as the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) 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 other ...
.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 and naturalized American physicist, renowned for being the creator of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project ...
. 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. ...
, one of the winners of the 2004
Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
, and
John H. Schwarz John Henry Schwarz ( ; born November 22, 1941) is an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist. Along with Yoichiro Nambu, Holger Bech Nielsen, Joël Scherk, Gabriele Veneziano, Michael Green (physicist), Michael Green, and Leonard Sussk ...
, 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 intera ...
.


Work

Chew was known as a leader of the S-matrix approach to the
strong interaction In nuclear physics and particle physics, the strong interaction, also called the strong force or strong nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interaction, fundamental interactions. It confines Quark, quarks into proton, protons, 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. 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 is a matrix that 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 ...
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 gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the v ...
. 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 () 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, the ...
s fall into families (straight-line
Regge trajectories In quantum physics, Regge theory ( , ) is the study of the analytic properties of scattering as a function of angular momentum, where the angular momentum is not restricted to be an integer multiple of '' ħ'' but is allowed to take any complex val ...
) where the square of the mass of a meson is linearly proportional to the
spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
(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 A bound state is a composite of two or more fundamental building blocks, such as particles, atoms, or bodies, that behaves as a single object and in which energy is required to split them. In quantum physics, a bound state is a quantum state of a ...
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 study 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 of ...
, 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 intera ...
. Within string theory,
Edward Witten Edward Witten (born August 26, 1951) is an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist known for his contributions to string theory, topological quantum field theory, and various areas of mathematics. He is a professor emeritus in the sc ...
reinterpreted S-matrix theory as a flat-space statement of the
holographic principle The holographic principle is a property of 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 ...
discussions. He stated that an "appeal to
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
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 created the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which has been applied in a wide variety of disciplines, inclu ...
.Physics and Whitehead Workshop
, August 5–6, 1998


Awards

Chew received the Hughes Prize of the American Physics Society for his
bootstrap theory Bootstrapping is a self-starting process that is supposed to proceed without external input. Bootstrapping, bootstrap, or bootstraps may also refer to: * Bootstrap (front-end framework), a free collection of tools for creating websites and web ap ...
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 Institute ...
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. American theoretical physicists Manhattan Project people