Giorgio Parisi
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Giorgio Parisi (born 4 August 1948) is an Italian
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 ...
, whose research has focused on
quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...
,
statistical mechanics In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. Sometimes called statistical physics or statistical thermodynamics, its applicati ...
and
complex systems A complex system is a system composed of many components that may interact with one another. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication s ...
. His best known contributions are the
QCD In theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in ...
evolution equations for parton densities, obtained with Guido Altarelli, known as the Altarelli–Parisi or DGLAP equations, the exact solution of the
Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model In condensed matter physics, a spin glass is a magnetic state characterized by randomness, besides cooperative behavior in freezing of Spin (physics), spins at a temperature called the "freezing temperature," ''T''f. In Ferromagnetism, ferroma ...
of spin glasses, the
Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation In mathematics, the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang (KPZ) equation is a non-linear stochastic partial differential equation, introduced by Mehran Kardar, Giorgio Parisi, and Yi-Cheng Zhang in 1986. It describes the temporal change of a height field h(\ve ...
describing dynamic scaling of growing interfaces, and the study of whirling flocks of birds. He was awarded the 2021
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 ...
jointly with
Klaus Hasselmann Klaus Ferdinand Hasselmann (; born 25 October 1931) is a German oceanographer and climate mathematical model, modeller. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Hamburg and former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. He wa ...
and
Syukuro Manabe is a Japanese– American physicist, meteorologist, and climatologist, who pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change and natural climate variations. He was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Klaus Has ...
for groundbreaking contributions to theory of
complex system A complex system is a system composed of many components that may interact with one another. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication sy ...
s, in particular "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales".


Early life and education

Giorgio Parisi received his degree from the
University of Rome La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...
in 1970 under the supervision of
Nicola Cabibbo Nicola Cabibbo (10 April 1935 – 16 August 2010) was an Italian physicist best known for his work on the weak interaction, particularly his introduction of the Cabibbo angle. Interested in science from a young age, he studied physics at the Sap ...
.


Career

He was a researcher at the
Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati The INFN National Laboratory of Frascati (LNF) was founded in 1954 with the objective of furthering particle physics research, and more specifically to host the 1.1 GeV electrosynchrotron, the first accelerator ever built in Italy. The La ...
(1971–1981) and a visiting scientist at the
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
(1973–1974),
Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques The Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHÉS; English: Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies) is a French research institute supporting advanced research in mathematics and theoretical physics (also with a small theoretical biology g ...
(1976–1977), and
École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...
(1977–1978). From 1981 until 1992 he was a full professor of Theoretical Physics at the
University of Rome Tor Vergata University of Rome Tor Vergata, also known as the University of Tor Vergata (), is a public research university located in Rome, Italy. Located in the southeastern suburb of Rome, the university combines a liberal arts tradition with emphasis on ...
and he is now professor of Quantum Theories at the
Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...
. He was a member of the Simons Collaboration "Cracking the Glass Problem". From 2018 until 2021 he was the president of the
Accademia dei Lincei The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), anglicised as the Lincean Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. Founded in ...
and in 2023 he was elected Fellow of
The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) is a North–south research partnerships, merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting more than 1,400 scientists in some 1 ...
.


Research

Parisi's research interests are broad and cover
statistical physics In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. Sometimes called statistical physics or statistical thermodynamics, its applicati ...
, field theory,
dynamical system In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a Function (mathematics), function describes the time dependence of a Point (geometry), point in an ambient space, such as in a parametric curve. Examples include the mathematical models ...
s,
mathematical physics Mathematical physics is the development of mathematics, mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the de ...
and
condensed matter physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid State of matter, phases, that arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms and elec ...
, where he is particularly known for his work on spin glasses and related statistical mechanics models originating in
optimization theory Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criteria, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfiel ...
and biology. In particular, he made significant contributions in terms of systematic applications of the replica method to disordered systems, even though the replica method itself was originally discovered in 1971 by Sir
Sam Edwards Sam George Edwards (May 26, 1915 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor. His most famous role on television was as banker Bill Anderson on ''Little House on the Prairie''.D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card completed on October 16, ...
. He has also contributed to the field of
elementary particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the scale of protons and neutrons, while the stud ...
, in particular to
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Together with Guido Altarelli, he introduced the so-called Dokshitzer–Gribov–Lipatov–Altarelli–Parisi equations. In the field of
fluid dynamics In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in motion ...
he is known for having introduced, together with
Uriel Frisch Uriel Frisch (born in Agen, in France, on December 10, 1940) is a French mathematical physicist known for his work on fluid dynamics and turbulence. Biography From 1959 to 1963 Frisch was a student at the École Normale Supérieure. Early in his ...
, multifractal models to describe the phenomenon of
intermittency In dynamical systems, intermittency is the irregular alternation of phases of apparently periodic and chaotic dynamics ( Pomeau–Manneville dynamics), or different forms of chaotic dynamics (crisis-induced intermittency). Experimentally ...
in turbulent flows. He is also known for the
Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation In mathematics, the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang (KPZ) equation is a non-linear stochastic partial differential equation, introduced by Mehran Kardar, Giorgio Parisi, and Yi-Cheng Zhang in 1986. It describes the temporal change of a height field h(\ve ...
modelling stochastic aggregation. From the point of view of complex systems, he worked on the collective motion of animals (such as swarms and flocks). He also introduced, together with other Italian physicists, the concept of
stochastic resonance Stochastic resonance (SR) is a behavior of non-linear systems where random (stochastic) fluctuations in the micro state cause deterministic changes in the macro state. This occurs when the non-linear nature of the system amplifies certain (reso ...
in the study of climate change.


Honors and awards

Giorgio Parisi is a foreign member of the
French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
, the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
, and the United States
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 ...
. *
Feltrinelli Prize The Feltrinelli Prize (from the Italian "Premio Feltrinelli", also known as "International Feltrinelli Prize" or "Antonio Feltrinelli Prize") is an award for achievement in the arts, music, literature, history, philosophy, medicine, and physical a ...
, 1986. *
Boltzmann Medal The Boltzmann Medal (or Boltzmann Award) is a prize awarded to physicists that obtain new results concerning statistical mechanics; it is named after the celebrated physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. The Boltzmann Medal is awarded once every three years ...
, 1992. ::"The Boltzmann Medal for 1992 is awarded to Giorgio Parisi for his fundamental contributions to statistical physics, and particularly for his solution of the mean field theory of spin glasses." * Dirac Medal of the ICTP, 1999. ::"Giorgio Parisi is distinguished for his original and deep contributions to many areas of physics ranging from the study of scaling violations in deep inelastic processes ( Altarelli–Parisi equations), the proposal of the superconductor's flux confinement model as a mechanism for quark confinement, the use of supersymmetry in statistical classical systems, the introduction of multifractals in turbulence, the stochastic differential equation for growth models for random aggregation (the
Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation In mathematics, the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang (KPZ) equation is a non-linear stochastic partial differential equation, introduced by Mehran Kardar, Giorgio Parisi, and Yi-Cheng Zhang in 1986. It describes the temporal change of a height field h(\ve ...
) and his groundbreaking analysis of the replica method that has permitted an important breakthrough in our understanding of glassy systems and has proved to be instrumental in the whole subject of Disordered Systems." *
Enrico Fermi Prize The Enrico Fermi Prize, first awarded in 2001, is given by the Italian Physical Society (Società Italiana di Fisica). It is a yearly award of €30,000 honoring one or more Members of the Society who have "particularly honoured physics with thei ...
, 2002. ::"For his contributions to field theory and statistical mechanics, and in particular for his fundamental results concerning the statistical properties of disordered systems." *
Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics is an award given each year since 1959 jointly by the American Physical Society and American Institute of Physics. It is established by the Heineman Foundation in honour of Dannie Heineman. As of 201 ...
, 2005. ::"For fundamental theoretical discoveries in broad areas of elementary particle physics, quantum field theory, and statistical mechanics; especially for work on spin glasses and disordered systems." * Nonino Prize “An Italian Master of our Time”, 2005. ::"World-famous theoretic physicist, Giorgio Parisi is an investigator of the unpredictable, this means of all that happens in the real world and of its probable laws. A pioneer of complexity, his research of rules and balances inside chaotic systems hypothesizing mathematical instruments, may take to great discoveries in all the fields of human knowledge, from immunology to cosmology. His is a research of the next “Ariadne's thread” of the labyrinth of our existence." * Microsoft Award, 2007. ::"He has made outstanding contributions to elementary particle physics, quantum field theory and statistical mechanics, in particular to the theory of
phase transition In physics, chemistry, and other related fields like biology, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic Sta ...
s and replica symmetry breaking for spin glasses. His approach of using computers to corroborate the conclusions of analytical proofs and to actively motivate further research has been of fundamental importance in his field." *
Lagrange Prize The Lagrange-CRT Foundation Prize is an annual International award created by the Fondazione CRT, CRT Foundation with the scientific coordination of the Institute for Scientific Interchange, ISI Foundation. The prize is awarded for scientific res ...
, 2009. Awarded to scientists who have contributed most to the development of the science of
complexity Complexity characterizes the behavior of a system or model whose components interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to non-linearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence. The term is generally used to c ...
in various areas of knowledge. *
Max Planck Medal The Max Planck Medal is the highest award of the German Physical Society , the world's largest organization of physicists, for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics. The prize has been awarded annually since 1929, with few exceptions ...
, 2011. ::“For his significant contributions in theoretical elementary particle physics and quantum field theory and statistical physics, especially of systems with frozen disorder, especially spin glasses."
Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science – Italy
2013 Lifetime achievement award. The Prize is awarded annually to a different country by the scientific journal "
Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
". * High Energy and Particle Physics Prize – EPS HEPP Prize, 2015. ::“For developing a probabilistic field theory framework for the dynamics of quarks and gluons, enabling a quantitative understanding of high-energy collisions involving hadrons”. *
Lars Onsager Prize The Lars Onsager Prize is a prize in theoretical statistical physics awarded annually by the American Physical Society. Prize recipients receive a medal, certificate, and $10,000. It was established in 1993 by Drs. Russell and Marian Donnelly in m ...
, 2016. ::“For groundbreaking work applying spin glass ideas to ensembles of computational problems, yielding both new classes of efficient algorithms and new perspectives on phase transitions in their structure and complexity”. *
Pomeranchuk Prize The Pomeranchuk Prize is an international award for theoretical physics, awarded annually since 1998 by the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP) from Moscow. It is named after Russian physicist Isaak Yakovlevich Pomeranchuk, wh ...
, 2018. ::“For outstanding results in quantum field theory, statistical mechanics and particle theory”. * Honorary Doctorate in Science, the
University of Extremadura University of Extremadura (in ) is a Spanish public university in Extremadura (Badajoz and Cáceres). It was founded in 1973 by Decree 991/1973, May 10 ( BOE May 18) of the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain. Currently the University ...
(2019). *
Wolf Prize The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of natio ...
, 2021. ::“For ground-breaking discoveries in disordered systems, particle physics and statistical physics. The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded to Giorgio Parisi for being one of the most creative and influential theoretical physicists in recent decades. His work has a large impact on diverse branches of physical sciences, spanning the areas of particle physics, critical phenomena, disordered systems as well as optimization theory and mathematical physics.”. *Inserted in
Clarivate Citation Laureates Clarivate Citation Laureates, formerly Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates, is a list of candidates considered likely to win the Nobel Prize in their respective field. The candidates are so named based on the citation impact of their published rese ...
, 2021. ::"For ground-breaking discoveries in quantum-chromodynamics and in the study of complex disordered systems.". *
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 ...
, 2021. ::“For the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.”. * Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI, 2021


Activism

Since 2016, Giorgio Parisi has been leading the movement "Salviamo la Ricerca Italiana" to put pressure on the Italian and European governments to start funding basic research above the subsistence level.


Selected publications

* * * * *


See also

*
Asymptotic safety in quantum gravity Asymptotic safety (sometimes also referred to as nonperturbative renormalizability) is a concept in quantum field theory which aims at finding a consistent and predictive quantum theory of the gravitational field. Its key ingredient is a nontrivi ...
* Cavity method * Euclidean random matrix * Parisi–Sourlas stochastic quantization procedure * p-adic quantum mechanics * Renormalon * Self-consistency principle in high energy physics * Stochastic quantization


References


Further reading


External links


Giorgio Parisi home pageGiorgio Parisi google scholar pageProfile
at the
Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...
* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parisi, Giorgio 1948 births 20th-century Italian physicists 21st-century Italian physicists Columbia University faculty Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Italian Nobel laureates Living people Italian mathematical physicists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Nobel laureates in Physics Sapienza University of Rome alumni Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Scientists from Rome Italian theoretical physicists Academic staff of the University of Rome Tor Vergata Winners of the Max Planck Medal Members of the American Philosophical Society Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Statistical physicists Italian Freemasons Recipients of the Boltzmann Medal