Francesco Iachello
Encyclopedia
Francesco Iachello is an Italian theoretical physicist, who works mainly on nuclear and molecular physics. He and his collaborator Akito Arima
are the creators of the "Interacting Boson Model
".
Iachello attained a doctorate 1964 as a nuclear technology engineer at the polytechnic institute in Turin
and 1969 a doctorate in physics at MIT. Since 1978 he has been at Yale University
, where he is at present J. W. Gibbs professor for physics and chemistry.
Iachello received the Chiaudano prize in 1968 and was a Fulbright Fellow in 1964. He was awarded in 1990 the Wigner Medal, in 1991 both the Taormina Prize and the Dutch AKZO Prize, and in 1993, along with Akito Arima, the Tom W. Bonner Prize
of the American Physical Society
. He is a member of the Dutch and Croatian Academy of Sciences. In 1997 he received the Centennial Prize of the Italian Physical Society. In 2002 he received the Meitner Prize of the European Physical Society. He has honorary doctorates from the University of Ferrara
, the University of Seville
, and the Chung Yuan University in China.
Iachello is famous for the application of algebraic methods (Lie algebras) to the investigation of the spectra of atomic nuclei and molecules. In 1974 with Akito Arima he introduced the "Interacting Boson Model" into nuclear physics. This important model describes collective nuclear states with the help of the unitary group U(6). The underlying concept is to derive a model with pairs of neutrons and protons instead of unpaired nucleons. The pairs are treated as boson
s with different quantum spin (s- and d- bosons, as named according to spin 0 and 2). In an extension of the model, the analogous effect with unpaired fermion
s has a description using supersymmetrical
algebras.
In recent times he has worked mainly on the investigation of the quantum mechanical dynamics of molecules (e.g. quantum phase transitions, polymer dynamics) with algebraic methods, on which Iachello already began to work in 1981 (Vibron Model).
Akito Arima
is a Japanese nuclear physicist, known for the interacting boson model.Arima was born 1930 in Osaka. He studied at the University of Tokyo, where he received his doctorate in 1958. He became a research associate at the Institute for Nuclear Studies, the University of Tokyo in 1956. He became a...
are the creators of the "Interacting Boson Model
Interacting boson model
The interacting boson model is a model in nuclear physics in whichnucleons pair up, essentiallyacting as a single particle with boson properties, withintegral spin of 0, 2 or 4....
".
Iachello attained a doctorate 1964 as a nuclear technology engineer at the polytechnic institute in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and 1969 a doctorate in physics at MIT. Since 1978 he has been at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he is at present J. W. Gibbs professor for physics and chemistry.
Iachello received the Chiaudano prize in 1968 and was a Fulbright Fellow in 1964. He was awarded in 1990 the Wigner Medal, in 1991 both the Taormina Prize and the Dutch AKZO Prize, and in 1993, along with Akito Arima, the Tom W. Bonner Prize
Tom W. Bonner Prize
The Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics is an annual prize awarded by the American Physical Society's Division of Nuclear Physics. Established in 1964, and currently consisting of $7,500 and a certificate, the Bonner Prize was founded in memory of physicist Tom W. Bonner...
of the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
. He is a member of the Dutch and Croatian Academy of Sciences. In 1997 he received the Centennial Prize of the Italian Physical Society. In 2002 he received the Meitner Prize of the European Physical Society. He has honorary doctorates from the University of Ferrara
University of Ferrara
The University of Ferrara is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of the free universities in Italy...
, the University of Seville
University of Seville
The Universidad de Sevilla or University of Seville, in English, is a top-ranked European university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505, the University of Seville, with a student body of over 50,000, is one of the top-ranked universities in the country...
, and the Chung Yuan University in China.
Iachello is famous for the application of algebraic methods (Lie algebras) to the investigation of the spectra of atomic nuclei and molecules. In 1974 with Akito Arima he introduced the "Interacting Boson Model" into nuclear physics. This important model describes collective nuclear states with the help of the unitary group U(6). The underlying concept is to derive a model with pairs of neutrons and protons instead of unpaired nucleons. The pairs are treated as boson
Boson
In particle physics, bosons are subatomic particles that obey Bose–Einstein statistics. Several bosons can occupy the same quantum state. The word boson derives from the name of Satyendra Nath Bose....
s with different quantum spin (s- and d- bosons, as named according to spin 0 and 2). In an extension of the model, the analogous effect with unpaired fermion
Fermion
In particle physics, a fermion is any particle which obeys the Fermi–Dirac statistics . Fermions contrast with bosons which obey Bose–Einstein statistics....
s has a description using supersymmetrical
Supersymmetry
In particle physics, supersymmetry is a symmetry that relates elementary particles of one spin to other particles that differ by half a unit of spin and are known as superpartners...
algebras.
In recent times he has worked mainly on the investigation of the quantum mechanical dynamics of molecules (e.g. quantum phase transitions, polymer dynamics) with algebraic methods, on which Iachello already began to work in 1981 (Vibron Model).
Works
- Arima; Iachello "Interacting boson model of collective states", Part 1 (the vibrational limit) Annals of physics Vol. 99, 1976, pp. 253–317, Part 2 (the rotational limit) ibid. Vol. 111, 1978, pp. 201–38, Part 3 with Scholten (the transition from SU(5) to SU(3)), ibid. Vol. 115, 1978, pp. 325–66, Part 4 (the O(6) limit) ibid. Vol. 123, 1979, pp. 468–92