Joshua Zak (; 26 September 1929 – 14 March 2024) was an Israeli

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 ...

and writer known for the Zak transform, Zak phase and the

Magnetic Translation Group Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, m ...

. He received the 2022

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

and 2014

Wigner medal The International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics (ICGTMP) is an academic conference devoted to applications of group theory to physics. It was founded in 1972 by Henri Bacry and Aloysio Janner. It hosts a colloquium every tw ...

Honors and awards

Wigner Medal The International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics (ICGTMP) is an academic conference devoted to applications of group theory to physics. It was founded in 1972 by Henri Bacry and Aloysio Janner. It hosts a colloquium every tw ...

(2014) *

, for his achievements in physics (2022)Prof. Emeritus Joshua Zak will be awarded the 2022 Israel Prize in the Field of Physics and Chemistry Research
/ref> * The Brown–Zak

fermion In particle physics, a fermion is a subatomic particle that follows Fermi–Dirac statistics. Fermions have a half-integer spin (spin 1/2, spin , Spin (physics)#Higher spins, spin , etc.) and obey the Pauli exclusion principle. These particles i ...

and the Zak transform are named after him.

Selected publications

* Zak J. Berry's phase for energy bands in solids. ''

Physical Review Letters ''Physical Review Letters'' (''PRL''), established in 1958, is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal that is published 52 times per year by the American Physical Society. The journal is considered one of the most prestigious in the field of physics ...

''. 1989 Jun 5;62(23):2747

* J. Zak. Magnetic translation group. ''

Physical Review ''Physical Review'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The journal was established in 1893 by Edward Nichols. It publishes original research as well as scientific and literature reviews on all aspects of physics. It is published by the Ame ...

''. 1964 Jun 15;134(6A):A1602.Joshua Zak
at

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...

, Accessed 21 March 2023 * Zak J, Moog ER, Liu C, Bader SD. A universal approach to magneto-optics. ''

Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials The ''Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers both basic research on magnetism and technological applications including magnetic recording. In addition to full-length research articles, it pub ...

''. 1990 Sep 1;89(1–2):107–2

ref name=GS /> * Zak J, Moog ER, Liu C, Bader SD. Magneto-optics of multilayers with arbitrary magnetization directions. ''

Physical Review B ''Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics'' (also known as PRB) is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal, published by the American Physical Society (APS). The Lead Editor of PRB is Stephen E. Nagler and the Chief Editor is Sarma ...

.'' 1991 Mar 15;43(8):6423. * Zak J. Finite translations in solid-state physics. ''Physical Review Letters''. 1967 Dec 11;19(24):1385.

References

External links

Profile
at the

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public university, public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 by Jews under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the coun ...

website 1929 births 2024 deaths Israel Prize in physics recipients Theoretical physicists Scientists from Vilnius Polish Jews in Israel Israeli physicists Jewish physicists {{Israel-scientist-stub