Herbert Wagner (physicist)
Encyclopedia
Herbert Wagner is a German theoretical physicist, who mainly works in statistical mechanics
. He is a professor emeritus of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
, with whom he worked on magnetism.
As a postdoc at Cornell University
, he and David Mermin
(and independently of Pierre Hohenberg
) proved a "no-go theorem", otherwise known as the Mermin–Wagner theorem. The theorem states that continuous symmetries cannot be spontaneously broken
at finite temperature in systems with sufficiently short-range interactions in dimensions
.
Wagner is the academic father of a generation of statistical physicists. Many of his students and junior collaborators now occupy chairs in German universities, including Hans Werner Diehl (Essen), Siegfried Dietrich (Wuppertal, then Stuttgart), Klaus Mecke (Erlangen), Reinhard Lipowsky (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Berlin), Hartmut Löwen (Düsseldorf) and Udo Seifert (Stuttgart).
by the University of Essen
(now University of Duisburg-Essen
).
Statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics or statistical thermodynamicsThe terms statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics are used interchangeably...
. He is a professor emeritus of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Biography
Wagner was one of the last students of German theoretical physicist and Nobel prize winner Werner HeisenbergWerner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
, with whom he worked on magnetism.
As a postdoc at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, he and David Mermin
David Mermin
Nathaniel David Mermin is a solid-state physicist at Cornell University best known for the eponymous Mermin-Wagner theorem and his application of the term "Boojum" to superfluidity, and for the quote "Shut up and calculate!"Together with Neil W...
(and independently of Pierre Hohenberg
Pierre Hohenberg
Pierre C. Hohenberg is a French-American theoretical physicist, who works primarily on statistical mechanics....
) proved a "no-go theorem", otherwise known as the Mermin–Wagner theorem. The theorem states that continuous symmetries cannot be spontaneously broken
Spontaneous symmetry breaking
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is the process by which a system described in a theoretically symmetrical way ends up in an apparently asymmetric state....
at finite temperature in systems with sufficiently short-range interactions in dimensions
.Wagner is the academic father of a generation of statistical physicists. Many of his students and junior collaborators now occupy chairs in German universities, including Hans Werner Diehl (Essen), Siegfried Dietrich (Wuppertal, then Stuttgart), Klaus Mecke (Erlangen), Reinhard Lipowsky (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Berlin), Hartmut Löwen (Düsseldorf) and Udo Seifert (Stuttgart).
Awards
In 1992, Wagner was awarded an honorary degreeHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
by the University of Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
(now University of Duisburg-Essen
University of Duisburg-Essen
The University Duisburg-Essen is a public university in Duisburg and Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a member of the new founded University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr....
).