Basilis C. Xanthopoulos
Encyclopedia
Basilis C. Xanthopoulos was a Greek
theoretical physicist, well known in the field of general relativity
for his contributions to the study of colliding plane waves.
Xanthopoulos was born in Drama
. After majoring in mathematics at the University of Thessaloniki he moved to the University of Chicago
, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1978. During this time, he collaborated with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
on colliding plane waves. In particular, they discovered an exact solution which models two gravitational plane wave
s which collide, interact nonlinearly, and create in the interaction zone a curved region of spacetime which is locally isometric to the Kerr vacuum
. This is now called the Chandrasekhar-Xanthopoulos colliding plane wave model.
Xanthopoulos and his colleague Stephanos Pnevmatikos were murdered by a 32-year old disgruntled post-graduate student, named Giorgos Petrodaskalakis (who later committed suicide), on the evening of November 27, 1990 at the University of Crete
.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
theoretical physicist, well known in the field of general relativity
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
for his contributions to the study of colliding plane waves.
Xanthopoulos was born in Drama
Drama, Greece
Drama , the ancient Drabescus , is a town and municipality in northeastern Greece. Drama is the capital of the peripheral unit of Drama which is part of the East Macedonia and Thrace periphery. The town is the economic center of the municipality , which in turn comprises 53.5 percent of the...
. After majoring in mathematics at the University of Thessaloniki he moved to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1978. During this time, he collaborated with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, FRS ) was an Indian origin American astrophysicist who, with William A. Fowler, won the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics for key discoveries that led to the currently accepted theory on the later evolutionary stages of massive stars...
on colliding plane waves. In particular, they discovered an exact solution which models two gravitational plane wave
Gravitational plane wave
In general relativity, a gravitational plane wave is a special class of a vacuum pp-wave spacetime, and may be defined in terms of Brinkmann coordinates byds^2=[a+2bxy]du^2+2dudv+dx^2+dy^2...
s which collide, interact nonlinearly, and create in the interaction zone a curved region of spacetime which is locally isometric to the Kerr vacuum
Kerr metric
The Kerr metric describes the geometry of empty spacetime around an uncharged axially-symmetric black-hole with an event horizon which is topologically a sphere. The Kerr metric is an exact solution of the Einstein field equations of general relativity; these equations are highly non-linear, which...
. This is now called the Chandrasekhar-Xanthopoulos colliding plane wave model.
Xanthopoulos and his colleague Stephanos Pnevmatikos were murdered by a 32-year old disgruntled post-graduate student, named Giorgos Petrodaskalakis (who later committed suicide), on the evening of November 27, 1990 at the University of Crete
University of Crete
The University of Crete ' is the principal higher education institution on the island of Crete, Greece.The University of Crete, is a multi-disciplinary, research- oriented institution, located in the cities of Rethymno and Heraklion...
.