In Appreciation Julian Schwinger: From Nuclear Physics and Quantum Electrodynamics to Source Theory and Beyond

Abstract

Julian Schwinger's influence on twentieth century science is profound and pervasive. Of course, he is most famous for his renormalization theory of quantum electrodynamics, for which he shared the Nobel Prize with Richard Feynman and Sin-itiro Tomonaga. But although this triumph was undoubtedly his most heroic work, his legacy lives on chiefly through subtle and elegant work in classical electrodynamics, quantum variational principles, proper-time methods, quantum anomalies, dynamical mass generation, partial symmetry, and more. Starting as just a boy, he rapidly became the pre-eminent nuclear physicist in the late 1930s, led the theoretical development of radar technology at MIT during World War II, and then, soon after the war, conquered quantum electrodynamics, and became the leading quantum field theorist for two decades, before taking a more iconoclastic route during his last quarter century.

Impedance matching to axion dark matter: considerations of the photon-electron interaction

“…However, our calculations have provided no physical intuition as to why the match is poor. As Schwinger and Dicke point out [36][37][38][39], equivalent circuits are powerful tools for understanding the physics of electromagnetic systems. The equivalent circuits of the receivers may readily be derived using standard techniques [39][40][41].…”

My years with Julian Schwinger: From source theory through sonoluminescence

“…For much more information about the life and work of Julian Schwinger, please see the biography 110, updated in Ref. 111. This presentation grew out of Ref.…”

Schwinger’s approach to Einstein’s gravity and beyond

“…(For biographical information about Schwinger see Refs. [1,2].) He was always deeply appreciative of Einstein's contributions to relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravitation, and late in his career wrote a popularization of special and general relativity called Einstein's Legacy [3], based on an Open University course.…”