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Memories of a Theoretical Physicist: A Journey across the Landscape of Strings, Black Holes, and the Multiverse
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Description
A groundbreaking theoretical physicist traces his career, reflecting on the successes and failures, triumphs and insecurities of a life cut short by cancer.The groundbreaking theoretical physicist Joseph Polchinski explained the genesis of his memoir this way: “Having only two bodies of knowledge, myself and physics, I decided to write an autobiography about my development as a theoretical physicist.” In this posthumously published account of his life and work, Polchinski (1954–2018) describes successes and failures, triumphs and insecurities, and the sheer persistence that led to his greatest discoveries. Writing engagingly and accessibly, with the wry humor for which he was known, Polchinski gives theoretical physics a very human face. Polchinski, famous for his contributions to string theory, may have changed the course of modern theoretical physics, but he was a late bloomer—doing most of his important work after the age of forty. His death from brain cancer at sixty-three cut short a career at its peak. Working on the memoir after his diagnosis, using a text-to-speech algorithm because he could no longer read words on a page, he was able to recapitulate his entire career, down to the details of problems he had worked on. For Polchinski, physics went deeper than words. This edition includes photographs from Polchinski’s professional and family life, as well as physics explainer boxes, other technical edits, and bibliographic notes by his former student Ahmad Almheiri, a foreword by Andrew Strominger, and an afterword by his wife Dorothy Chun and sons Steven and Daniel.
Additional information
| Weight | 1.95 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 1.96 × 13.37 × 2.32 cm |
| PubliCanadation City/Country | USA |
| by | |
| Format | Paperback |
| Language | |
| Pages | 336 |
| Publisher | |
| Year Published | 2022-5-24 |
| Imprint | |
| ISBN 10 | 0262543443 |
| About The Author | Joseph Polchinski, a physicist known for his groundbreaking work in string theory, was Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for many years and a permanent member of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. He was a recipient of the 2017 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Ahmed Almheiri is a long-termMember at the Institute for Advanced Study and is the recipient of the 2021 New Horizons in Physics Prize from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. |
| Other text | “Joseph Polchinski was a highly influential theoretical physicist, bold in his thinking. His scientific memoir provides a fascinating account of the challenges he faced to reach the top of his profession and should be read by anyone interested in contemporary developments in fundamental physics.”—Edward Witten, Charles Simonyi Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study “This deeply personal book is the best available description of the art, passion, and vicissitudes of undertaking fundamental scientific research as conveyed by the most loved and admired theoretical physicist of his generation. Truly inspirational!”—Fernando Quevedo, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge |
| Table Of Content | Foreword by Andrew Strominger viiEditor's Note by Ahmed Almheiri xiii1 Early Years 12 Caltech, 1971–1975 153 Berkeley, 1975–1980 334 SLAC/Stanford, 1980–1982 555 Harvard, 1982–1984 676 Austin Part 1, 1984–1988 837 Austin Part 2, 1988–1992 1038 D-branes and Orientifolds, 1992–1995 1339 The CC and the Discretuum, 1996–2000 15910 After the End of Physics, 2001–2007 18711 Before the Firewall, 2007–2011 20712 Firewall Days, 2012–2015 22313 Epilogue 243Afterword by Dorothy, Steven, and Daniel Polchinski 245Acknowledgments 251Bibliographic Notes 253Index 299 |
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