Jean-Pierre Vigier (16 January 19204 May 2004) was a French
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 ...
, known for his work on the foundations of physics, in particular on his
stochastic interpretation of quantum physics.
Education
A native of Paris, Vigier earned his PhD in mathematics from
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...
in 1946 with a study on ''Infinite Sequences of
Hermitian {{Short description, none
Numerous things are named after the French mathematician Charles Hermite (1822–1901):
Hermite
* Cubic Hermite spline, a type of third-degree spline
* Gauss–Hermite quadrature, an extension of Gaussian quadrature me ...
Operators''.
In 1948 he was appointed assistant to
Louis de Broglie
Louis Victor Pierre Raymond, 7th Duc de Broglie (15 August 1892 – 19 March 1987) was a French theoretical physicist and aristocrat known for his contributions to quantum theory. In his 1924 PhD thesis, he postulated the wave nature of elec ...
, a position he held until the latter's retirement in 1962. Vigier was professor emeritus in the Department of Gravitational Physics at ''
Pierre et Marie Curie University'' in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He authored more than 300 scientific papers, and co-authored and edited a number of books and conference proceedings. He was a member of the editorial board of ''
Physics Letters A
''Physics Letters'' was a scientific journal published from 1962 to 1966, when it split in two series now published by Elsevier
Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its ...
''.
Vigier was a proponent of the stochastic
interpretation of quantum mechanics
An interpretation of quantum mechanics is an attempt to explain how the mathematical theory of quantum mechanics might correspond to experienced reality. Quantum mechanics has held up to rigorous and extremely precise tests in an extraordinarily b ...
, which was based on the ideas of de Broglie and
David Bohm
David Joseph Bohm (; 20 December 1917 – 27 October 1992) was an American scientist who has been described as one of the most significant Theoretical physics, theoretical physicists of the 20th centuryDavid Peat Who's Afraid of Schrödinger' ...
. Politically, Vigier was an active supporter of
communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
throughout his life.
Vigier was invited to be
Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
's assistant; but at the time because of his political controversy related to
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
would not allow him entry into the United States.
Vigier died in 2004 in Paris.
Family
Vigier's father was a professor of English, such that Vigier became fluent in English and French, his native language.
References
Publications
;Books:
* Myron W. Evans, Jean-Pierre Vigier: ''The Enigmatic Photon'' (series in several volumes), Kluwer Academic, 1996,
* Louis de Broglie, P A M Dirac, Eugene Paul Wigner, A O Barut, Alwyn Van der Merwe, Jean-Pierre Vigier: ''Quantum, space, and time — the quest continues: studies and essays in honour of Louis de Broglie, Paul Dirac, and Eugene Wigner'', Cambridge Monographs on Physics, . Originally published in Foundations of physics, 1982-1983.
* Yann Fitt, Alexandre Faire, Jean Pierre Vigier: ''The world economic crisis: U.S. imperialism at bay'', Zed Press, 1980,
* Jean-Pierre Vigier: ''France's May revolution: an analysis of the French May revolt'', Sydney: International Publications, 1968
* Louis de Broglie; Jean Pierre Vigier: ''Introduction to the Vigier theory of elementary particles: with a chapter by Jean-Pierre Vigier'', Elsevier, 1963
* Pierre Hillion, Jean-Pierre Vigier: ''Les Ondes associées à une structure interne des particules. Sur les équations d'ondes associées à la structure des bosons. Sur les équations d'ondes associées à la structure des fermions'' (''On wave equations associated with an internal structure of particles''), Annales de l'Institut Henri Poincaré, vol. 17, no. 3, 1962
* Jean-Pierre Vigier: ''Recherches sur l'interprétation causale de la théorie des quanta'' (''Research on the causal interpretation of quantum theory''), Thèse d'Etat, Université de Paris, Faculté des sciences, 1954. Published by Gauthier-Villars, 1955.
Conference proceedings in honour of Jean-Pierre Vigier
* G. Hunter, S. Jeffers, J. P. Vigier: ''Causality and Locality in Modern Physics'', Proceedings of a symposium held in honour of Jean-Pierre Vigier at York University, Toronto, Canada, in August 1997, Springer, 1998,
* S. Jeffers, J. P. Vigier, S. Roy: ''The present status of the quantum theory of light: Proceedings of a symposium in honour of Jean-Pierre Vigier'', Proceedings of a symposium held in honour of Jean-Pierre Vigier in Toronto, Canada, in August 1995, Kluwer Academic, 1996,
Articles (selection)
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Further reading
*
Peter Holland''Jean-Pierre Vigier at seventy-five: La lutte continue'' Foundations of Physics, invited papers dedicated to Jean-Pierre Vigier, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 1–4,
* Jean-Pierre Vigier, selected and edited by Stanley Jeffers, Bo Lehnert, Nils Abramson, Lev Chebotarev
Apeiron, 2000,
References
*Articles on NASA ADS Abstract
AbstractsFull text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigier, Jean-Pierre
French physicists
French probability theorists
1920 births
2004 deaths
Communist members of the French Resistance