André Neveu
Encyclopedia
André Neveu is a French
physicist
working on string theory
and quantum field theory
who coinvented the Neveu-Schwarz algebra and the Gross-Neveu model
.
Neveu studied in Paris at the École normale supérieure
(ENS). In 1969 he received his diploma (Thèse de Troisieme Cycle) at Université Paris-Sud 11
in Orsay with Philippe Meyer and Claude Bouchiat and in 1971 he completed his doctorate (Thèse d'Etat) there. In 1969 he and his classmate from ENS and Orsay, Joël Scherk
, together with John H. Schwarz and David Gross
at Princeton University, examined divergences in one-loop diagrams of the bosonic string theory
(and discovered the cause of tachyon divergences). From 1971 to 1974 Neveu was at the Laboratory for High Energy Physics of the University of Paris XI where he and Scherk showed that spin-1 excitations of strings could describe Yang–Mills theories. In 1971, Neveu with John Schwarz in Princeton developed, at the same time as Pierre Ramond
(1971), the first string theory that also described fermions (called RNS String Theory after its three originators). This was an early appearance of the ideas of supersymmetry
which were being developed independently at that time by several groups. A few year later, Neveu, working in Princeton with David Gross, developed the Gross–Neveu model. With Roger Dashen and Brosl Hasslacher, he examined, among other things, quantum-field-theoretic models of extended hadrons and semiclassical approximatons in quantum field theory which are reflected in the DHN method of the quantization of solitons. From 1972 to 1977 Neveu was at the Institute for Advanced Study
while spending half of the time in Orsay. From 1974 to 1983 he was at the Laboratory for Theoretical Physics of the ENS and from 1983 to 1989 in the theory department at CERN
. From 1975 he was Maitre de recherche in the CNRS and from 1985 Directeur de recherche. From 1989 he was at the Institute (Laboratory) for Theoretical Physics of the University of Montpellier II
(now LPTA, the Laboratory for Theoretical and Astroparticle Physics). In 1994/5 he was a visiting professor in the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1973, Neveu received the Paul Langevin Prize of the Société Française de Physique. In 1988 he received the Gentner-Kastler Prize awarded jointly by the Société Française de Physique and the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
(DPG).
Neveu is married and has three children.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
working on string theory
String theory
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...
and quantum field theory
Quantum field theory
Quantum field theory provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of systems classically parametrized by an infinite number of dynamical degrees of freedom, that is, fields and many-body systems. It is the natural and quantitative language of particle physics and...
who coinvented the Neveu-Schwarz algebra and the Gross-Neveu model
Gross-Neveu model
The Gross-Neveu model is a quantum field theory model of Dirac fermions interacting via four fermion interactions in 1 spatial and 1 time dimension. It was introduced in 1974 by David Gross and André Neveu as a toy model for quantum chromodynamics, the theory of strong interactions.It consists of...
.
Neveu studied in Paris at the École normale supérieure
École normale supérieure
An école normale supérieure or ENS is a type of publicly funded higher education in France. A portion of the student body who are French civil servants are called Normaliens....
(ENS). In 1969 he received his diploma (Thèse de Troisieme Cycle) at Université Paris-Sud 11
Paris-Sud 11 University
University of Paris-Sud or University of Paris-Sud or University of Paris XI is a French university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburb of Paris...
in Orsay with Philippe Meyer and Claude Bouchiat and in 1971 he completed his doctorate (Thèse d'Etat) there. In 1969 he and his classmate from ENS and Orsay, Joël Scherk
Joël Scherk
Joël Scherk was a French theoretical physicist who studied string theory and supergravity. Together with John H. Schwarz, he figured out that string theory was a theory of quantum gravity in 1974...
, together with John H. Schwarz and David Gross
David Gross
David Jonathan Gross is an American particle physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. He is currently the director and holder of the Frederick W...
at Princeton University, examined divergences in one-loop diagrams of the bosonic string theory
Bosonic string theory
Bosonic string theory is the original version of string theory, developed in the late 1960s.In the early 1970s, supersymmetry was discovered in the context of string theory, and a new version of string theory called superstring theory became the real focus...
(and discovered the cause of tachyon divergences). From 1971 to 1974 Neveu was at the Laboratory for High Energy Physics of the University of Paris XI where he and Scherk showed that spin-1 excitations of strings could describe Yang–Mills theories. In 1971, Neveu with John Schwarz in Princeton developed, at the same time as Pierre Ramond
Pierre Ramond
Pierre Ramond is a Distinguished Professor of Physics at University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida...
(1971), the first string theory that also described fermions (called RNS String Theory after its three originators). This was an early appearance of the ideas of supersymmetry
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...
which were being developed independently at that time by several groups. A few year later, Neveu, working in Princeton with David Gross, developed the Gross–Neveu model. With Roger Dashen and Brosl Hasslacher, he examined, among other things, quantum-field-theoretic models of extended hadrons and semiclassical approximatons in quantum field theory which are reflected in the DHN method of the quantization of solitons. From 1972 to 1977 Neveu was at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
while spending half of the time in Orsay. From 1974 to 1983 he was at the Laboratory for Theoretical Physics of the ENS and from 1983 to 1989 in the theory department at CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
. From 1975 he was Maitre de recherche in the CNRS and from 1985 Directeur de recherche. From 1989 he was at the Institute (Laboratory) for Theoretical Physics of the University of Montpellier II
Montpellier 2 University
Montpellier 2 University is a French university in the académie of Montpellier. It is one of the three universities formed in 1970 from the original University of Montpellier...
(now LPTA, the Laboratory for Theoretical and Astroparticle Physics). In 1994/5 he was a visiting professor in the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1973, Neveu received the Paul Langevin Prize of the Société Française de Physique. In 1988 he received the Gentner-Kastler Prize awarded jointly by the Société Française de Physique and the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
The Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft is the world's largest organization of physicists. The DPG's worldwide membership is cited as 60,000, as of 2011...
(DPG).
Neveu is married and has three children.