Related papers: A.P. Balachandran: Living in Physics
We sketch briefly the essentials of the quantum groups and their application to the dynamics of a q-deformed simple harmonic oscillator moving on a quantum line, defined in the q-deformed cotangent (momentum phase) space. In this endeavour,…
The question as to whether the integrality of the spectrum of observed electric charges is due to a quantum effext has fascinated theoretical physicists throughout the last century. It leads to unanswered questions at the heart of quantum…
A comparative study is undertaken that brings to light the two different methods of how to treat the many-body problem in quantum field theory. The two main researchers who published the first versions of how to quantize a many-body…
This article gives a sketch of teachers and colleagues who have had strong influence on my becoming a particle physicist.
Dealing with Eugene Wigner's ideas on the measurement procedure in quantum physics and unearthing the controversy that pitted him against supporters of the interpretation of complementarity, I will show how Wigner and his followers…
This article is a summary of a talk about Richard Feynman, given at a conference Polymaths across the Eras organized in November 2023 by the St Cross Centre for the History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP) in Oxford. It describes Feynman as…
Einstein's contributions to statistical mechanics and quantum theory are reviewed. We also provide a detailed discussion of his thesis on suspensions that led to a good value of the Avogadro number.
Mermin's "shut up and calculate!" somehow summarizes the most widely accepted view on quantum mechanics. This conception has led to a rather constraining way to think and understand the quantum world. Nonetheless, a closer look at the…
I review some of the scientific work of George Papadopoulos in the context of the Greek cultural tradition and modern theoretical physics. The main emphasis is on his works on path integrals and their applications. The review is closed by…
Quantum physics and biology have long been regarded as unrelated disciplines, describing nature at the inanimate microlevel on the one hand and living species on the other hand. Over the last decades the life sciences have succeeded in…
Kenneth G. Wilson made deep and insightful contributions to statistical physics, particle physics, and related fields. He was also a helpful and thoughtful human being.
The possibility of a quantum system to exhibit properties that are akin to both the classically held notions of being a particle and a wave, is one of the most intriguing aspects of the quantum description of nature. These aspects have been…
I give a pedagogical and historical introduction to axion physics, and briefly review the present status of axions in our understanding of particle physics and cosmology. This is a contribution to Continuous Advances in QCD 2002/Arkadyfest,…
Jonathan M. Borwein (1951-2016) was a prolific mathematician whose career spanned several countries (UK, Canada, USA, Australia) and whose many interests included analysis, optimisation, number theory, special functions, experimental…
Feyerabend frequently discussed physics. He also referred to the history of the subject when motivating his philosophy of science. Alas, as some examples show, his understanding of physics remained superficial. In this respect, Feyerabend…
Quantum computing exposes the brilliance of quantum mechanics through computer science and, as such, gives oneself a marvelous and exhilarating journey to go through. This article leads along that journey with a historical and current…
p-Mechanics is a consistent physical theory which describes both quantum and classical mechanics simultaneously. We continue the development of p-mechanics by introducing the concept of states. The set of coherent states we introduce allow…
This paper is devoted to Poincar\'e's work in probability. Though the subject does not represent a large part of the mathematician's achievements, it provides significant insight into the evolution of Poincar\'e's thought on several…
These notes offer a basic introduction to the primary mathematical concepts of quantum physics, and their physical significance, from the operator and Hilbert space point of view, highlighting more what are essentially the abstract…
In this thesis we deal with different aspects of quantum field theory, particularly in non-perturbative but also perturbative regimes, applied to the intellectual construction that is the Standard Model for Particle Physics (SM), but also…