Michael Peskin
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Michael Edward Peskin (born October 27, 1951,
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
) is 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 currently a professor in the theory group at the
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, Ca ...
. Peskin has been recognized for his work in proposing and analyzing unifying models of elementary particles and forces in theoretical elementary particle physics, and proposing experimental methods for testing such models. He is also known for his textbooks, ''An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory'', is a widely used textbook in graduate physics. Peskin–Takeuchi parameters are named after him.


Education

Michael Peskin is a fourth generation descendent of Jewish Lithuanian emigrants from the
Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...
. Both of his parents became medical doctors. Peskin attended
Lower Merion High School Lower Merion High School is a public high school in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, in the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia. It is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other one is Harriton High School. Lower Merion serves ...
in the
Philadelphia area The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...
and later New Trier West in the Chicago suburbs. Peskin was an
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. He obtained his
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in 1978 at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
studying under Kenneth Wilson. He was a junior fellow at the
Harvard Society of Fellows The Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginnings of their careers by Harvard University for their potential to advance academic wisdom, upon whom are bestowed distinctive opportunities to foster their individual and intellect ...
from 1977–1980.


Career

After receiving his Ph.D. from Cornell University, Peskin served as a junior fellow of the
Harvard Society of Fellows The Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginnings of their careers by Harvard University for their potential to advance academic wisdom, upon whom are bestowed distinctive opportunities to foster their individual and intellect ...
from 1977 to 1980. He also held postdoctoral appointments at
Saclay Nuclear Research Centre The CEA Paris-Saclay center is one of nine centers belonging to the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Following a reorganization in 2017, the center consists of multiple sites, including the CEA Saclay site (formerly a ...
(1979–1980) and Cornell (1980–1982). In 1982, Peskin joined the faculty of the
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, Ca ...
at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. In 2000, Peskin was elected to 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 ...
. He was appointed a co-editor of the journal ''
Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science The ''Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes review articles about nuclear and particle science. As of 2024, ''Journal Citation Reports'' lists the journal's 2023 impact factor as 9.1, ra ...
'' as of 2023. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Annual Reviews.


Research

Peskin has worked on many aspects of quantum field theory and elementary particle physics, exploring and going beyond the
Standard Model The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...
of particle physics to explore technicolor theories. Peskin and Daniel V. Schroeder's widely used textbook 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 ...
, ''
An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory ''An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory'' is a standard graduate textbook on quantum field theory and particle physics, written by Michael Peskin and Daniel V. Schroeder. Commonly known as ''Peskin and Schroeder'' for short, it was originally p ...
'' (1995, 2018) is considered a classic in the field. More recently, he has written ''Concepts of Elementary Particle Physics'' (2019), a textbook on the Standard Model. In 1990, Peskin and Tatsu Takeuchi proposed the parameterization of a set of three measurable quantities, called ''S'', ''T'', and ''U'', that are used to describe and simplify precision electroweak fits. These parameters are sensitive to new physics which contributes to oblique corrections. They are now called the
Peskin–Takeuchi parameter In particle physics, the Peskin–Takeuchi parameters are a set of three measurable quantities, called ''S'', ''T'', and ''U'', that parameterize potential new physics contributions to electroweak radiative corrections. They are named after physic ...
s. Peskin uses high energy colliders to search for new physical interactions on the basis of high-precision observations and measurements of elementary particles, including the W and Z bosons, the top quark, and the Higgs boson. He is interested in modelling dark matter and is a noted advocate of building a future
linear collider A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear beam ...
, a “Higgs factory”.


Selected publications

* Second Edition, 2018. * * *


References


External links


Talks by Michael Peskin
PIRSA {{DEFAULTSORT:Peskin, Michael 21st-century American physicists New Trier High School alumni Harvard University alumni Cornell University alumni Stanford University SLAC faculty Living people 1951 births Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences