Dudley E. Littlewood
Encyclopedia
Dudley Ernest Littlewood (7 September 1903, London
–
6 October 1979, Llandudno
) was a British
mathematician
known for his work in group representation theory.
He read mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge
where his tutor was J.E. Littlewood
(they were not related). He was a lecturer at University College, Swansea from 1928 to 1947, and in 1948 took up the chair of mathematics at University College of North Wales, Bangor, retiring in 1970.
He worked on invariant theory and group representation theory, especially of the symmetric group
, often in collaboration with Archibald Read Richardson
of Swansea. They introduced the immanant of a matrix
, studied Schur functions and developed the Littlewood-Richardson rule for their multiplication. Littlewood was also interested in the application of representation theory to quantum mechanics
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
–
6 October 1979, Llandudno
Llandudno
Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...
) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
known for his work in group representation theory.
He read mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
where his tutor was J.E. Littlewood
John Edensor Littlewood
John Edensor Littlewood was a British mathematician, best known for the results achieved in collaboration with G. H. Hardy.-Life:...
(they were not related). He was a lecturer at University College, Swansea from 1928 to 1947, and in 1948 took up the chair of mathematics at University College of North Wales, Bangor, retiring in 1970.
He worked on invariant theory and group representation theory, especially of the symmetric group
Symmetric group
In mathematics, the symmetric group Sn on a finite set of n symbols is the group whose elements are all the permutations of the n symbols, and whose group operation is the composition of such permutations, which are treated as bijective functions from the set of symbols to itself...
, often in collaboration with Archibald Read Richardson
Archibald Read Richardson
Archibald Read Richardson was a British mathematician known for his work in algebra.He collaborated with Dudley E. Littlewood on invariants and group representation theory...
of Swansea. They introduced the immanant of a matrix
The immanant of a matrix
In mathematics, the immanant of a matrix was defined by Dudley E. Littlewood and Archibald Read Richardson as a generalisation of the concepts of determinant and permanent....
, studied Schur functions and developed the Littlewood-Richardson rule for their multiplication. Littlewood was also interested in the application of representation theory to quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
.