Ray Streater
Encyclopedia
Ray F. Streater is a British
physicist
, and professor emeritus of Applied Mathematics at King's College London
. He is best known for co-authoring a text on quantum field theory
, the 1964 "PCT, Spin and Statistics and All That."
in the parish of Worth
, Sussex
, England
, United Kingdom
, the second son of Frederick Arthur Streater (builder) (1905-1965) and Dorothy Beatrice Streater, née Thomas (17 December 1907 - 16 December 1994). He married Mary Patricia née Palmer on 19 September 1962, and they had three children: Alexander Paul (1963); Stephen Bernard
(1965); Catherine Jane Mary (1967).
Professor Streater's career may be summarised as follows.
, reprinted as
He has also become interested in the dynamics of quantum systems that are not in a pure state, but are large. This is expressed in
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...
physicist
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and professor emeritus of Applied Mathematics at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. He is best known for co-authoring a text on quantum field theory
Quantum field theory
Quantum field theory provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of systems classically parametrized by an infinite number of dynamical degrees of freedom, that is, fields and many-body systems. It is the natural and quantitative language of particle physics and...
, the 1964 "PCT, Spin and Statistics and All That."
Life
Ray Streater was born on 21 April 1936 in Three BridgesThree Bridges
Three Bridges is a neighbourhood within the town of Crawley, in the county of West Sussex in England.-History:Three Bridges was a tiny hamlet, which first began to grow with the coming of the London and Brighton Railway in 1841...
in the parish of Worth
Worth, West Sussex
The civil parish of Worth, which includes the villages of Copthorne, West Sussex and Crawley Down, covers an area of and has a population of 9888 persons. The ecclesiastical parish was one of the larger West Sussex parishes, encompassing the entire area along the West Sussex/Surrey border between...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
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...
, the second son of Frederick Arthur Streater (builder) (1905-1965) and Dorothy Beatrice Streater, née Thomas (17 December 1907 - 16 December 1994). He married Mary Patricia née Palmer on 19 September 1962, and they had three children: Alexander Paul (1963); Stephen Bernard
Stephen B. Streater
Dr. Stephen Bernard Streater is a British technology entrepreneur.Stephen Streater was born in Boston Lying-In Hospital, Massachusetts, United States...
(1965); Catherine Jane Mary (1967).
Professor Streater's career may be summarised as follows.
- Jan.-Sep. 1960 – Research Fellow, CERNCERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
, Geneva, Switzerland - 1960-1961 – Instructor in Physics, Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, NJ, USA - 1961-1964 – Assistant Lecturer in Physics, Imperial College, London
- 1964-1967 – Lecturer in Physics, Imperial College, London
- 1967-1969 – Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, Imperial College, London
- 1969-1984 – Professor of Applied Mathematics, Bedford College, London
- 1984-2001 – Professor of Applied Mathematics, King's College LondonKing's College LondonKing's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
- Oct. 2001 on – Emeritus Professor, King's College LondonKing's College LondonKing's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
Key works
Streater co-authored a classic text on mathematical quantum field theoryQuantum field theory
Quantum field theory provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of systems classically parametrized by an infinite number of dynamical degrees of freedom, that is, fields and many-body systems. It is the natural and quantitative language of particle physics and...
, reprinted as
- PCT, Spin and Statistics and All That (written jointly with Wightman, A. S.Arthur WightmanArthur Strong Wightman is an American mathematical physicist. He is one of the founders of the axiomatic approach to quantum field theory, and originated the set of Wightman axioms....
), 2000, Princeton University Press, Landmarks in Mathematics and Physics (ISBN 0-691-07062-8 paperback); first published in 1964 by W. A. Benjamin. The title is an homage to 1066 and All That1066 and All That1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates is a tongue-in-cheek reworking of the history of England. Written by W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman and illustrated by John Reynolds, it first...
.
He has also become interested in the dynamics of quantum systems that are not in a pure state, but are large. This is expressed in
- Statistical Dynamics: A Stochastic Approach to Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics, 1995, Imperial College Press (ISBN 1-86094-002-1 hardback, ISBN 1-86094-004-8 paperback). This work was simplified and extended in the second edition, published in 2009.