M. Shifman – författare

In the last decade methods and techniques based on supersymmetry have provided deep insights in quantum chromodynamics and other non-supersymmetric gauge theories at strong coupling. This book summarizes major advances in critical solitons in supersymmetric theories, and their implications for understanding basic dynamical regularities of non-supersymmetric theories. After an extended introduction on the theory of critical solitons, including a historical introduction, the authors focus on three topics: non-Abelian strings and confined monopoles; reducing the level of supersymmetry; and domain walls as D-brane prototypes. They also provide a thorough review of issues at the cutting edge, such as non-Abelian flux tubes. The book presents an extensive summary of the current literature so researchers in this field can understand the background and related issues. First published in 2009, this title has been reissued as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.

In the last decade methods and techniques based on supersymmetry have provided deep insights in quantum chromodynamics and other non-supersymmetric gauge theories at strong coupling. This book summarizes major advances in critical solitons in supersymmetric theories, and their implications for understanding basic dynamical regularities of non-supersymmetric theories. After an extended introduction on the theory of critical solitons, including a historical introduction, the authors focus on three topics: non-Abelian strings and confined monopoles; reducing the level of supersymmetry; and domain walls as D-brane prototypes. They also provide a thorough review of issues at the cutting edge, such as non-Abelian flux tubes. The book presents an extensive summary of the current literature so researchers in this field can understand the background and related issues. First published in 2009, this title has been reissued as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.

This volume is a compilation of works which, taken together, give a complete and consistent presentation of instanton calculus in non-Abelian gauge theories, as it exists now. Some of the papers reproduced are instanton classics. Among other things, they show from a historical perspective how the instanton solution has been found, the motivation behind it and how the physical meaning of instantons has been revealed. Other papers are devoted to different aspects of instanton formalism including instantons in supersymmetric gauge theories. A few unsolved problems associated with instantons are described in great detail. The papers are organized into several sections that are linked both logically and historically, accompanied by extensive comments.

This volume is a compilation of works which, taken together, give a complete and consistent presentation of instanton calculus in non-Abelian gauge theories, as it exists now. Some of the papers reproduced are instanton classics. Among other things, they show from a historical perspective how the instanton solution has been found, the motivation behind it and how the physical meaning of instantons has been revealed. Other papers are devoted to different aspects of instanton formalism including instantons in supersymmetric gauge theories. A few unsolved problems associated with instantons are described in great detail. The papers are organized into several sections that are linked both logically and historically, accompanied by extensive comments.

This is the fourth and last volume of the invaluable publication At the Frontier of Particle Physics: Handbook of QCD. In this volume the reader will find three important sections. The first is devoted to QCD-based phenomenology. It covers issues deeply woven into the fabric of particle physics: weak interactions of light quarks (J Bijnens) and heavy quarkonium physics (A Hoang). The second section is a report on recent advances in the understanding of confinement in three dimensions in the Georgi–Glashow model (I Kogan and A Kovner). The third section deals with lattice QCD (A Kronfeld) and loop equations (A Dubin and Yu Makeenko).The five reviews in Volume 4, together with the 33 reviews in Volumes 1–3, constitute a full encyclopedia, covering all aspects of quantum chromodynamics as we know it today. The articles have been written by recognized experts in this field. Combining features of a handbook and a textbook, this is the most comprehensive source of information on the current status of QCD. It is intended for students as well as physicists — both theorists and experimentalists.

This groundbreaking work features two essays written by the renowned mathematician Ilan Vardi. The first essay presents a thorough analysis of contrived problems suggested to “undesirable” applicants to the Department of Mathematics of Moscow University. His second essay gives an in-depth discussion of solutions to the Year 2000 International Mathematical Olympiad, with emphasis on the comparison of the olympiad problems to those given at the Moscow University entrance examinations.The second part of the book provides a historical background of a unique phenomenon in mathematics, which flourished in the 1970s–80s in the USSR. Specially designed math problems were used not to test students' ingenuity and creativity but, rather, as “killer problems,” to deny access to higher education to “undesirable” applicants. The focus of this part is the 1980 essay, “Intellectual Genocide”, written by B Kanevsky and V Senderov. It is being published for the first time. Also featured is a little-known page of the Soviet history, a rare example of the oppressed organizing to defend their dignity. This is the story of the so-called Jewish People's University, the inception of which is associated with Kanevsky, Senderov and Bella Subbotovskaya.

Felix Berezin was an outstanding Soviet mathematician who in the 1960s and 70s was the driving force behind the emergence of the branch of mathematics now known as supermathematics. The integral over the anticommuting Grassmann variables that he introduced in the 1960s laid the foundation for the path integral formulation of quantum field theory with fermions, the heart of modern supersymmetric field theories and superstrings. The Berezin integral is named for him, as is the closely related construction of the Berezinian, which may be regarded as the superanalog of the determinant.This book features a masterfully written memoir by Berezin's widow, Elena Karpel, who narrates a remarkable account of Berezin's life and his struggle for survival under the totalitarian Soviet regime. Supplemented with recollections by his close friends and colleagues, Berezin's accomplishments in mathematics, his novel ideas and breakthrough works, are reviewed in two articles written by Andrei Losev and Robert Minlos.

This captivating book is a story of the friendship between a genius physicist Wolfgang Pauli and Charlotte Houtermans whose career in physics was not as glamorous. They met in the late 1920s in Germany, at the very onset of the quantum era and personally knew all the major players in the emergent quantum world that was very much part of central Europe: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Denmark and Switzerland. And Charlotte was a student at Göttingen that was right at the heart.Caught between two evils — Soviet Communism and German National Socialism — she would have probably perished if it were not for the brotherhood of physicists: Niels Bohr, Wolfgang Pauli, Albert Einstein, James Franck, Max Born, Robert Oppenheimer and many other noted scientists who tried to save friends and colleagues (either leftist sympathizers or Jews) who were in mortal danger of being entrapped in a simmering pre-WWII Europe.Using newly discovered documents from the Houtermans family archive: twenty three Pauli's letters to Charlotte Houtermans, her correspondence with other great physicists, Charlotte's diaries, interviews with her children, almost all documents presented in this book are published for the first time.

This captivating book is a story of the friendship between a genius physicist Wolfgang Pauli and Charlotte Houtermans whose career in physics was not as glamorous. They met in the late 1920s in Germany, at the very onset of the quantum era and personally knew all the major players in the emergent quantum world that was very much part of central Europe: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Denmark and Switzerland. And Charlotte was a student at Göttingen that was right at the heart.Caught between two evils — Soviet Communism and German National Socialism — she would have probably perished if it were not for the brotherhood of physicists: Niels Bohr, Wolfgang Pauli, Albert Einstein, James Franck, Max Born, Robert Oppenheimer and many other noted scientists who tried to save friends and colleagues (either leftist sympathizers or Jews) who were in mortal danger of being entrapped in a simmering pre-WWII Europe.Using newly discovered documents from the Houtermans family archive: twenty three Pauli's letters to Charlotte Houtermans, her correspondence with other great physicists, Charlotte's diaries, interviews with her children, almost all documents presented in this book are published for the first time.

This book tells captivating stories of misadventures of two renowned theoretical physicists in the Soviet Union. The first part is devoted to Friedrich (Fritz) Houtermans, an outstanding Dutch–Austrian–German physicist who was the first to suggest that the source of stars' energy is thermonuclear fusion, and also made a number of other important contributions to cosmochemistry and geochemistry. In 1935, Houtermans, a German communist, in an attempt to save his life from Hilter's Gestapo, fled to the Soviet Union. He took up an appointment at the Kharkov Physico-Technical Institute, working there for two years with the Russian physicist Valentin P Fomin. In the Great Purge of 1937, Houtermans was arrested in December by the NKVD (Soviet Secret Police, KGB's predecessor). He was tortured, and confessed to being a Trotskyist plotter and German spy, out of fear of threats against his wife Charlotte. However, Charlotte had already escaped from the Soviet Union to Denmark, after which she went to England and finally the USA. As a result of the Hilter–Stalin Pact of 1939, Houtermans was turned over to the Gestapo in May 1940 and imprisoned in Berlin.The second part consists of two essays that narrate the life story of Yuri Golfand, one of the codiscoverers of supersymmetry, a major discovery in theoretical physics in the 20th century. In 1973, just two years after the publication of his seminal paper, he was fired from the Lebedev Physics Institute in Moscow. Because of his Jewish origin he could find no job. Under such circumstances, he applied for an exit visa to Israel, but his application was denied. Yuri Golfand became a refusnik and joined the Human rights movement, along with two other prominent physicists, Andrei Sakharov and Yuri Orlov. To earn his living, he had to do manual work, repeatedly being intimidated by KGB. Only 18 years later, shortly before the demise of the Soviet Union, did he obtain permission to leave the country, emigrating to Israel in 1990.These personal life stories of two outstanding theorists are interwined with the tragedies of the 20th century and make for compelling reading.

This book tells captivating stories of misadventures of two renowned theoretical physicists in the Soviet Union. The first part is devoted to Friedrich (Fritz) Houtermans, an outstanding Dutch–Austrian–German physicist who was the first to suggest that the source of stars' energy is thermonuclear fusion, and also made a number of other important contributions to cosmochemistry and geochemistry. In 1935, Houtermans, a German communist, in an attempt to save his life from Hilter's Gestapo, fled to the Soviet Union. He took up an appointment at the Kharkov Physico-Technical Institute, working there for two years with the Russian physicist Valentin P Fomin. In the Great Purge of 1937, Houtermans was arrested in December by the NKVD (Soviet Secret Police, KGB's predecessor). He was tortured, and confessed to being a Trotskyist plotter and German spy, out of fear of threats against his wife Charlotte. However, Charlotte had already escaped from the Soviet Union to Denmark, after which she went to England and finally the USA. As a result of the Hilter–Stalin Pact of 1939, Houtermans was turned over to the Gestapo in May 1940 and imprisoned in Berlin.The second part consists of two essays that narrate the life story of Yuri Golfand, one of the codiscoverers of supersymmetry, a major discovery in theoretical physics in the 20th century. In 1973, just two years after the publication of his seminal paper, he was fired from the Lebedev Physics Institute in Moscow. Because of his Jewish origin he could find no job. Under such circumstances, he applied for an exit visa to Israel, but his application was denied. Yuri Golfand became a refusnik and joined the Human rights movement, along with two other prominent physicists, Andrei Sakharov and Yuri Orlov. To earn his living, he had to do manual work, repeatedly being intimidated by KGB. Only 18 years later, shortly before the demise of the Soviet Union, did he obtain permission to leave the country, emigrating to Israel in 1990.These personal life stories of two outstanding theorists are interwined with the tragedies of the 20th century and make for compelling reading.

The story of the discovery of supersymmetry is a fascinating one, unlike that of any other major de-velopment in the history of science. This engaging book presents a view of the process, mainly in the words of people who participated. It combines anecdotal descriptions and personal reminiscences with more technical accounts of the trailblazers, covering the birth of the theory and its first years — the origin of the idea, four-dimensional field theory realization, and supergravity. The eyewit-nesses convey to us the drama of one of the deepest discoveries in theoretical physics in the 20th century. This book will be equally interesting and useful to young researchers in high energy physics and to mature scholars — physicists and historians of science.The First Edition of this book was released in 2000, just before the symposium "Thirty Years of Su-persymmetry" was held at the William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute (FTPI) of the University of Minnesota. Remarkably, it was at this event that many of the early pioneers of the field met face-to-face for the first time. Since then 23 years have elapsed and significant changes happened in su-persymmetry (SUSY), prompting this second edition.

This invaluable volume is dedicated to the memory of Yuri Golfand, one of the discoverers of supersymmetry. Together with his student, he constructed in 1970 the superextension of the Poincaré algebra and obtained the first four-dimensional supersymmetric field theory, a version of supersymmetric QED. Golfand died in 1994 in Israel.Did the pioneers of supersymmetry — Neveu, Schwarz, Ramond, Golfand, Volkov, Wess, Zumino and others — foresee in the early 1970's that they would be opening to us the gates of the superworld? The superworld will become one of the most important components of our understanding of Nature — a component that will stay with us forever.This book is a compilation of the original papers and review articles, devoted to various aspects of supersymmetry, written by the outstanding researchers in the field, theorists whose work shaped the present day theory and continues to make a profound impact on the frontier directions of the current development. A wide range of topics is covered — from subtle results in the superstring theory to supersymmetry-based phenomenology. Most of the articles have been prepared specifically for this volume.The first part of the book consists of the Editor's essay presenting the basic stages of Golfand's life and work, the memoirs of his widow, Mrs N Koretz-Golfand and of his student, Dr E Likhtman. Also included is the article of Prof. M Marinov “Revealing the Path to the Superworld”, outlining the main ideas that paved the way to the discovery of supersymmetry. The historical part of the book concludes with the English translation of the Golfand-Likhtman paper on supersymmetry published in 1972 in the Tamm Memorial Volume.

This book consists of reviews covering all aspects of quantum chromodynamics as we know it today. The articles have been written by recognized experts in this field, in honor of the 75th birthday of Professor Boris Ioffe. Combining features of a handbook and a textbook, this is the most comprehensive source of information on the present status of QCD. It is intended for students as well as physicists — both theorists and experimentalists.Each review is self-contained and pedagogically structured, providing the general formulation of the problem, telling where it stands with respect to other issues and why it is interesting and important, presenting the history of the subject, qualitative insights, and so on. The first part of the book is historical in nature. It includes, among other articles, Boris Ioffe's and Yuri Orlov's memoirs on high energy physics in the 1950's, a note by B V Geshkenbein on Ioffe's career in particle physics, and an essay on the discovery of asymptotic freedom written by David Gross.

This book consists of reviews covering all aspects of quantum chromodynamics as we know it today. The articles have been written by recognized experts in this field, in honor of the 75th birthday of Professor Boris Ioffe. Combining features of a handbook and a textbook, this is the most comprehensive source of information on the present status of QCD. It is intended for students as well as physicists — both theorists and experimentalists.Each review is self-contained and pedagogically structured, providing the general formulation of the problem, telling where it stands with respect to other issues and why it is interesting and important, presenting the history of the subject, qualitative insights, and so on. The first part of the book is historical in nature. It includes, among other articles, Boris Ioffe's and Yuri Orlov's memoirs on high energy physics in the 1950's, a note by B V Geshkenbein on Ioffe's career in particle physics, and an essay on the discovery of asymptotic freedom written by David Gross.

This book consists of reviews covering all aspects of quantum chromodynamics as we know it today. The articles have been written by recognized experts in this field, in honor of the 75th birthday of Professor Boris Ioffe. Combining features of a handbook and a textbook, this is the most comprehensive source of information on the present status of QCD. It is intended for students as well as physicists — both theorists and experimentalists.Each review is self-contained and pedagogically structured, providing the general formulation of the problem, telling where it stands with respect to other issues and why it is interesting and important, presenting the history of the subject, qualitative insights, and so on. The first part of the book is historical in nature. It includes, among other articles, Boris Ioffe's and Yuri Orlov's memoirs on high energy physics in the 1950's, a note by B V Geshkenbein on Ioffe's career in particle physics, and an essay on the discovery of asymptotic freedom written by David Gross.

This book consists of reviews covering all aspects of quantum chromodynamics as we know it today. The articles have been written by recognized experts in this field, in honor of the 75th birthday of Professor Boris Ioffe. Combining features of a handbook and a textbook, this is the most comprehensive source of information on the present status of QCD. It is intended for students as well as physicists — both theorists and experimentalists.Each review is self-contained and pedagogically structured, providing the general formulation of the problem, telling where it stands with respect to other issues and why it is interesting and important, presenting the history of the subject, qualitative insights, and so on. The first part of the book is historical in nature. It includes, among other articles, Boris Ioffe's and Yuri Orlov's memoirs on high energy physics in the 1950's, a note by B V Geshkenbein on Ioffe's career in particle physics, and an essay on the discovery of asymptotic freedom written by David Gross.

This groundbreaking work features two essays written by the renowned mathematician Ilan Vardi. The first essay presents a thorough analysis of contrived problems suggested to “undesirable” applicants to the Department of Mathematics of Moscow University. His second essay gives an in-depth discussion of solutions to the Year 2000 International Mathematical Olympiad, with emphasis on the comparison of the olympiad problems to those given at the Moscow University entrance examinations.The second part of the book provides a historical background of a unique phenomenon in mathematics, which flourished in the 1970s–80s in the USSR. Specially designed math problems were used not to test students' ingenuity and creativity but, rather, as “killer problems,” to deny access to higher education to “undesirable” applicants. The focus of this part is the 1980 essay, “Intellectual Genocide”, written by B Kanevsky and V Senderov. It is being published for the first time. Also featured is a little-known page of the Soviet history, a rare example of the oppressed organizing to defend their dignity. This is the story of the so-called Jewish People's University, the inception of which is associated with Kanevsky, Senderov and Bella Subbotovskaya.

Felix Berezin was an outstanding Soviet mathematician who in the 1960s and 70s was the driving force behind the emergence of the branch of mathematics now known as supermathematics. The integral over the anticommuting Grassmann variables that he introduced in the 1960s laid the foundation for the path integral formulation of quantum field theory with fermions, the heart of modern supersymmetric field theories and superstrings. The Berezin integral is named for him, as is the closely related construction of the Berezinian, which may be regarded as the superanalog of the determinant.This book features a masterfully written memoir by Berezin's widow, Elena Karpel, who narrates a remarkable account of Berezin's life and his struggle for survival under the totalitarian Soviet regime. Supplemented with recollections by his close friends and colleagues, Berezin's accomplishments in mathematics, his novel ideas and breakthrough works, are reviewed in two articles written by Andrei Losev and Robert Minlos.