Sir Thomas Walter Bannerman Kibble (; 23 December 1932 – 2 June 2016) was a British

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 ...

, senior research investigator at the

Blackett Laboratory The Blackett Laboratory is part of the Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences and has housed the Department of Physics at Imperial College London since its completion in 1961. Named after experimental physicist Patrick Blackett who establ ...

and Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

. His research interests were in

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 ...

, especially the interface between high-energy

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

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

. He is best known as one of the first to describe the

Higgs mechanism In the Standard Model of particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is essential to explain the Mass generation, generation mechanism of the property "mass" for gauge bosons. Without the Higgs mechanism, all bosons (one of the two classes of particles ...

, and for his research on

topological defect In mathematics and physics, solitons, topological solitons and topological defects are three closely related ideas, all of which signify structures in a physical system that are stable against perturbations. Solitons do not decay, dissipate, dispe ...

s. From the 1950s he was concerned about the

nuclear arms race The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuc ...

and from 1970 took leading roles in promoting the social responsibility of the scientist.

Early life and education

Kibble was born in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, on 23 December 1932. He was the son of the statistician Walter F. Kibble, and the grandson of William Bannerman, an officer in the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

, and the author Helen Bannerman. His father was a mathematics professor at

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

, and Kibble grew up playing on the grounds of the college and solving mathematics puzzles his father gave him. He was educated at Doveton Corrie School in Madras and then in Edinburgh, Scotland, at Melville College and at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a BSc in 1955, MA in 1956 and a

PhD 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 1958.

Career

Kibble worked on mechanisms of

symmetry breaking In physics, symmetry breaking is a phenomenon where a disordered but Symmetry in quantum mechanics, symmetric state collapses into an ordered, but less symmetric state. This collapse is often one of many possible Bifurcation theory, bifurcatio ...

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 ...

and the

s (monopoles, cosmic strings or domain walls) that can be formed. He is most noted for his co-discovery of the

and

Higgs boson The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the excited state, quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the field (physics), fields in particl ...

with

Gerald Guralnik Gerald Stanford "Gerry" Guralnik (; September 17, 1936 – April 26, 2014) was the Chancellor’s Professor of Physics at Brown University. In 1964, he co-discovered the Higgs mechanism and Higgs boson with C. R. Hagen and Tom Kibble (GHK). As ...

and C. R. Hagen. As part of

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 ...

50th anniversary celebration, the journal recognised this discovery as one of the milestone papers in PRL history. He was awarded the American Physical Society's 2010 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics. While Guralnik, Hagen, and Kibble are widely considered to have authored the most complete of the early papers on the Higgs theory, they were controversially not included in the 2013

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

. In 2014, Nobel Laureate

Peter Higgs Peter Ware Higgs (29 May 1929 – 8 April 2024) was a British theoretical physicist, professor at the University of Edinburgh,Griggs, Jessica (Summer 2008The Missing Piece ''Edit'' the University of Edinburgh Alumni Magazine, p. 17 and Nobel ...

expressed disappointment that Kibble had not been chosen to share the Nobel Prize with

François Englert François, Baron Englert (; born 6 November 1932) is a Belgian theoretical physicist and 2013 Nobel Prize laureate. Englert is professor emeritus at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he is a member of the Service de Physique Thé ...

and himself. Kibble pioneered the study of topological defect generation in the early universe. The paradigmatic mechanism of defect formation across a second-order

phase transition 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 ...

is known as the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. His paper on cosmic strings introduced the phenomenon into modern cosmology. He was one of the two co-chairs of an interdisciplinary research programme funded by the

European Science Foundation The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes science in Europe. It was e ...

(ESF) on Cosmology in the Laboratory (COSLAB) which ran from 2001 to 2005. He was previously the coordinator of an ESF Network on Topological Defects in Particle Physics, Condensed Matter & Cosmology (TOPDEF).

Awards and honours

Kibble was an elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1980, One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

(1991), and of Imperial College London (2009). He was also a member of the American Physical Society (1958), the

European Physical Society The European Physical Society (EPS) is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to promote physics and physicists in Europe through methods such as physics outreach, supporting physicists to engage in the design and implementation of European s ...

(1975) and the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

(2000). In 2008, Kibble was named an Outstanding Referee by the American Physical Society. In addition to the Sakurai Prize, Kibble has been awarded the

Hughes Medal The Hughes Medal is a silver-gilt medal awarded by the Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. T ...

(1981) of the Royal Society, the Rutherford (1984) and Guthrie Medals (1993) of the Institute of Physics, the

Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac ( ; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English mathematician and theoretical physicist who is considered to be one of the founders of quantum mechanics. Dirac laid the foundations for both quantum electrodyna ...

Medal (2013), the

Albert Einstein Medal The Albert Einstein Medal is an award presented by the Albert Einstein Society in Bern. First given in 1979, the award is presented to people for "scientific findings, works, or publications related to Albert Einstein" each year. Recipients ...

(2014) and the Royal Medal of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

(2014). He was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1998 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppleme ...

and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens ...

for services to physics. Kibble was posthumously awarded the

Isaac Newton Medal The Isaac Newton Medal and Prize is a gold medal awarded annually by the Institute of Physics (IOP) accompanied by a prize of £1,000. The award is given to a physicist, regardless of subject area, background or nationality, for outstanding con ...

by the Institute of Physics for his outstanding lifelong commitment to the field.

Publications

In 1966 Kibble authored a textbook, ''Classical Mechanics'',Kibble T W B (1966) ''Classical Mechanics''.

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, London. from the 3rd edition onwards with Frank H. Berkshire. which as of 2016 is still in print and is now in its 5th edition.Kibble, T W B and Berkshire, F H (2004) ''Classical Mechanics''.

, London.

Personal life and voluntary roles

Kibble was married to Anne Allan from 1957 until her death in 2005. Kibble had three children. In the 1950s and 1960s, Kibble became concerned about the nuclear arms raceSGR Sponsors
/ref> and from 1970 he took leading roles in several organisations promoting scientists' social responsibility. In the period 1970–1977, he was a national committee member, then treasurer, then chair of the

British Society for Social Responsibility in Science The British Society for Social Responsibility in Science (BSSRS) was a science movement most active in the 1970s. The main aims of the BSSRS was to raise awareness of the social responsibilities of scientists, the political aspects of science an ...

; from 1976 he was a trustee of the Science and Society Trust; from 1981 to 1991 he was a national coordinating committee member, then vice-chair, then chair of Scientists against Nuclear Arms; he was a sponsor of Scientists for Global Responsibility; and from 1988 he was chair, and later a trustee, of the Martin Ryle Trust. He was chair of the organising committee of the Second International Scientists' Congress, held at Imperial College in 1988, and was a co-editor of the proceedings.Hassard, John; Kibble; Tom and Lewis, Patricia; (eds) (1989) ''Ways Out of the Arms Race: from the nuclear threat to mutual security''. World Scientific, Singapore. In retirement, Kibble chaired the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

branch of the

Ramblers Association The Ramblers' Association, branded simply as the Ramblers, is Great Britain's walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path network. T ...

. He died in London on 2 June 2016 at the age of 83.

References

External links

* Imperial College People
2010 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics RecipientPapers written by T. Kibble in the INSPIRE-HEP database

T. W. B. Papers written by T. Kibble on the Mathematical Reviews website

Papers written by T. Kibble in Physical Review

Physical Review Letters – 50th Anniversary Milestone Papers

Imperial College London on PRL 50th Anniversary Milestone Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kibble, Tom W. B. 1932 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Indian physicists Academics of Imperial College London Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Anglo-Indian people British theoretical physicists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English physicists Fellows of the Royal Society Indian particle physicists Indian theoretical physicists J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics recipients Albert Einstein Medal recipients Knights Bachelor People educated at Stewart's Melville College Scientists from Chennai