Samarendra Nath Biswas (1 May 1926 – 4 January 2005) was an Indian theoretical physicist
specialized in theoretical
high energy 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 stu ...
,
particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
and
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 is known for his work in several diverse areas.
Life, education and career
Samarendra Nath Biswas (1 May 1926 – 4 January 2005)
was born in the undivided Bengal now part of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and had his education there till the graduate level graduating from Pabna Edward college. He obtained his DPhil degree (1951) from the
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
and PhD degree (under the supervision of
Herbert S. Green
Herbert Sydney Green (17 December 1920 – 16 February 1999) was a British–Australian physicist. Green was a doctoral student of the Nobel Laureate Max Born at Edinburgh, with whom he was involved in the development of the modern kinetic theor ...
) (1958) from the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. He worked 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 contrast to experimental p ...
, specializing in
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 ...
. He was a Fellow at the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a leading research Institute under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is a public deemed university located at Navy Nagar, Colaba in Mumbai. It also has a centres in ...
, Mumbai (1958–64).
Professor of Physics, Centre for Advanced Study in Physics, Department of Physics and Astrophysics,
University of Delhi
The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...
(1969–91),
during which he also headed the Department for a period of three years (1977-1979). He was Dean, School of Environmental Science,
Jawahar Lal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...
, Delhi (1974–76).
Scientific research
Biswas worked in several diverse areas of theoretical
high energy 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 stu ...
and
particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
,
that includes his early work in collaboration with
Herbert S. Green
Herbert Sydney Green (17 December 1920 – 16 February 1999) was a British–Australian physicist. Green was a doctoral student of the Nobel Laureate Max Born at Edinburgh, with whom he was involved in the development of the modern kinetic theor ...
on the
Bethe-Salpeter equation and its solution, several investigations in
particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
phenomenology, two-dimensional
quantum electrodynamics
In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the Theory of relativity, relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quant ...
, analysis of
anharmonic oscillator
In classical mechanics, anharmonicity is the deviation of a system from being a harmonic oscillator. An oscillator that is not oscillating in harmonic motion is known as an anharmonic oscillator where the system can be approximated to a harmo ...
in
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
,
scattering theory
In physics, scattering is a wide range of physical processes where moving particles or radiation of some form, such as light or sound, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by localized non-uniformities (including particles and radiat ...
, study of
dispersion relations
In the physical sciences and electrical engineering, dispersion relations describe the effect of dispersion on the properties of waves in a medium. A dispersion relation relates the wavelength or wavenumber of a wave to its frequency. Given the d ...
in collision processes of
elementary particles
In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. The Standard Model presently recognizes seventeen distinct particles—twelve fermions and five bosons. As a con ...
based on unitarity and analyticity,
geometric phase
In classical and quantum mechanics, geometric phase is a phase difference acquired over the course of a cycle, when a system is subjected to cyclic adiabatic processes, which results from the geometrical properties of the parameter space of the ...
s of
wave function
In quantum physics, a wave function (or wavefunction) is a mathematical description of the quantum state of an isolated quantum system. The most common symbols for a wave function are the Greek letters and (lower-case and capital psi (letter) ...
in
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
and
quantum optics
Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum chemistry that studies the behavior of photons (individual quanta of light). It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons and their interaction ...
,
equation of state
In physics and chemistry, an equation of state is a thermodynamic equation relating state variables, which describe the state of matter under a given set of physical conditions, such as pressure, volume, temperature, or internal energy. Most mo ...
of neutron stars, quark stars, weak interaction processes, weak decays involving neutral currents, processes involving stellar energy loss,
supersymmetry
Supersymmetry is a Theory, theoretical framework in physics that suggests the existence of a symmetry between Particle physics, particles with integer Spin (physics), spin (''bosons'') and particles with half-integer spin (''fermions''). It propo ...
in weak currents, chiral anomalies, super-propagator for a non-polynomial field,
phase transitions
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 ...
in
gauge theories
In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian, and hence the dynamics of the system itself, does not change under local transformations according to certain smooth families of operations (Lie groups). Formally, t ...
, development of supersymmetric classical mechanics, supersymmetric quantum mechanics,
stochastic quantization, quark stars, continued fraction theory, role of
parastatistics
In quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics, parastatistics is a hypothetical alternative to the established particle statistics models (Bose–Einstein statistics, Fermi–Dirac statistics and Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics). Other alterna ...
in
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 ...
,
Biswas has written over 90 scientific articles, which have received a large number of citations.
Authored books
*''Classical Mechanics'' ()
*''Quantum Mechanics'' ()
Awards and honors
*Fellow, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (1958–64)
*UGC National Lecturer (1974)
*Senior Associate Member of International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (1976–81)
*Fellow, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi
*Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore
*Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad
References
External links
Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi ProfileIndian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru, Fellow ProfileInspirehep Publications ProfileResearch Gate Publications ProfileFormer faculty, department of physics and astrophysics, University of Delhi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biswas, Samarendra Nath
1926 births
2005 deaths
University of Adelaide alumni
Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
Bengali physicists
Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian particle physicists
Indian theoretical physicists
20th-century Indian physicists
21st-century Indian physicists