was a Japanese–American
particle physicist
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the scale of protons and ...
and theorist.
While a graduate student at Cornell University, Sakurai independently discovered the V-A theory of weak interactions.
He authored the popular graduate text ''
Modern Quantum Mechanics'' (1985, published posthumously) and other texts such as ''Invariance Principles and Elementary Particles'' (1964) and ''Advanced Quantum Mechanics'' (1967).
Life and career
J. J. Sakurai was born in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
in 1933 and moved to the United States when he was a high school student. He studied physics at Harvard and Cornell, where he proposed his theory of weak interactions. After receiving his PhD from Cornell in 1958 he joined the faculty at University of Chicago, becoming a full professor in 1964.
[J. J. Sakurai, San Fu Tuan. ''Modern Quantum Mechanics'': Revised Edition. Pearson Education, 1994. pg. vii] In 1970, Sakurai moved to the University of California, Los Angeles.
As a graduate student, he proposed the
V−A theory
In nuclear physics and particle physics, the weak interaction, weak force or the weak nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interactions, with the others being electromagnetism, the strong interaction, and gravitation. It is th ...
of weak interactions, independently of
Robert Marshak,
George Sudarshan
Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan (also known as E. C. G. Sudarshan; 16 September 1931 – 13 May 2018) was an Indian American theoretical physicist and a professor at the University of Texas. Prof.Sudarshan has been credited with numerous co ...
,
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...
, and
Murray Gell-Mann
Murray Gell-Mann (; September 15, 1929 – May 24, 2019) was an American theoretical physicist who played a preeminent role in the development of the theory of elementary particles. Gell-Mann introduced the concept of quarks as the funda ...
. In 1960, he published a paper on the theory of strong interactions based on Abelian and non-Abelian (
Yang-Mills) gauge invariance.
In that paper, he also pioneered the
vector meson dominance model of hadron dynamics.
Sakurai died from an
aneurysm
An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...
in 1982 during a visit to CERN.
Textbooks
In addition to his published papers, Sakurai authored several textbooks. These include ''Invariance Principles and Elementary Particles'' (1964), ''Advanced Quantum Mechanics'' (1967), and ''Modern Quantum Mechanics''. The third volume was left unfinished due to Sakurai's sudden death in 1982, but was later edited and completed with the help of his wife, Noriko Sakurai, and colleague San Fu Tuan. ''Modern Quantum Mechanics'' is probably his most well known book and is still widely used for graduate studies today.
Sakurai Prize
In 1984 the family and friends of J. J. Sakurai endowed a prize for theoretical physicists in his honor. The goal of the prize as stated on the
APS website is to encourage outstanding work in the field of particle theory. Recipients receive a $10,000 grant, an allowance for travel to the ceremony, and a certificate citing their contributions to particle physics.
See also
*
Sakurai Prize
The J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics, also commonly referred to as just the Sakurai Prize, is a prize awarded by the American Physical Society. It is presented annually at the Society's April meeting and honors "outstanding a ...
References
Further reading
* Sakurai, J. J, and Jim Napolitano. ''Modern Quantum Mechanics''. 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2017. .
* Townsend, John S. ''A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics''. 2nd ed., University Science Books, 2012. .
External links
University of California: In Memoriam, 1985Scientific publications of J. J. Sakurai
on INSPIRE-HEP
INSPIRE-HEP is an open access digital library for the field of high energy physics (HEP). It is the successor of the Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System (SPIRES) database, the main literature database for high energy physics since the 1 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurai, J.J.
1933 births
1982 deaths
Harvard University alumni
Cornell University alumni
University of Chicago faculty
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
20th-century American physicists
Particle physicists
American academics of Japanese descent
American scientists of Asian descent
Scientists from Tokyo
Japanese emigrants to the United States
People associated with CERN
The Bronx High School of Science alumni
Scientists from New York (state)