Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics
Encyclopedia
The is a research institute in the field of theoretical physics
, attached to Kyoto University
in Japan
. It was inaugurated in 1952.
While the center is often referred to as "YITP", this can be confusing as YITP also stands for the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics
at Stony Brook University in the United States.
ese theoretical physicist Hideki Yukawa
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
. He became the first Japanese citizen to receive the Nobel Prize
. To commemorate this historic event, the president of Kyoto University
immediately proposed to create a memorial hall on campus for Yukawa. In 1950, the Science Council of Japan unanimously resolved a request to the central government to allocate a special funding for the promotion of research in theoretical physics. Enthusiastic discussions among Japanese physicists followed in support for the idea of creating a new institution, similar to the Niels Bohr Institute
in Copenhagen
or the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton, New Jersey
.
Yukawa Hall was inaugurated in 1952 and in 1953, it became the Research Institute for Fundamental Physics (RIFP). Hideki Yukawa was appointed as the first director of the institute. He led the institute until his retirement in 1970.
with its facilities open for use for research collaborations by the entire community of theoretical physicists in Japan
. The institute adopted a new system for its operation. Although it formally belongs to Kyoto University
, its basic policy has been discussed and decided by the representatives of physicists elected from all over the country together with institute's own academic staffs. One of the unique roles played by the institute was to provide a forum for physicists on various problems at the forefront of research in theoretical physics. Many physicists participated in the organization of topical workshops and international conferences at RIFP and stayed at the institute for some periods to work in collaboration with others. These traditions are still carried by the Yukawa Institute.
The Institute started with four academic staffs including Yukawa himself. The institute grew gradually in size and it possessed thirteen academic positions in 1961. The research activity of the institute extended over numerous areas of theoretical physics. Those areas were condensed matter theory, field theory, nuclear theory, particle theory
, statistical mechanics
, and nuclear and relativistic astrophysics
. In 1980 it added two more academic positions for new research areas such as non-equilibrium statistical physics and non-linear physics. During this period, one visiting professor position was created to invite distinguished foreign physicists for an extended period.
and Research Institute for Fundamental Physics (RIFP).
RITP of Hiroshima University was founded in 1944 by Yoshitaka Mimura for the research of mathematical foundations of theoretical physics. On August 6, 1945, it lost two faculty members and a supporting staff, together with all its facilities, by the blast of the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima.
RITP was re-established in 1948 in Takehara, a quiet suburban town of Hiroshima near the water, and stayed there until it was dissolved by the unification in 1990.
A major expansion of the institute took place in 1990 when Research Institute for Fundamental Physics (RIFP) was joined by all academic staff members of the Research Institute for Theoretical Physics (RITP) of Hiroshima University. At the time of the unification, RITP had ten academic staffs and its research area had expanded to include cosmology
, general relativity
, field theory, and particle theory
.
In 1995, the completion of the new building of the Yukawa Institute, constructed next to Yukawa Hall, ended this inconvenient situation of having two geographically separated facilities of the institute. The Uji Research Center was closed at this time. The new building now houses the offices of all 22 academic staffs as well as those for visitors, postdoctoral fellows, students and supporting staffs in addition to the new large library and computing facilities. Yukawa Hall is still used for research conferences and workshops organized by the Yukawa Institute besides use for its administrative offices, including Director's, and for the editorial office of the Progress of Theoretical Physics
, a journal of theoretical physics founded by Yukawa in 1946.
Every year, YITP host a number of workshops on various topics in fundamental physics, and accommodate domestic visitors from various institutions as well as those from foreign countries.
The activity of YITP covers a wide range of fields in contemporary theoretical physics: particle physics
, field theory, nuclear physics
, astrophysics
, statistical physics
, condensed matter physics
and biophysics
. YITP also encourage activities in creating a new interdisciplinary field of research at the forefront of modern theoretical physics.
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
, attached to Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was inaugurated in 1952.
While the center is often referred to as "YITP", this can be confusing as YITP also stands for the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics
C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics
The C. N. Yang Institute of Theoretical Physics is a research center at Stony Brook University. In 1965, it was the vision of then University President J.S. Toll and Physics Department chair T.A...
at Stony Brook University in the United States.
Early history
In 1949, JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese theoretical physicist Hideki Yukawa
Hideki Yukawa
né , was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate.-Biography:Yukawa was born in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto. In 1929, after receiving his degree from Kyoto Imperial University, he stayed on as a lecturer for four years. After graduation, he was interested in...
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
. He became the first Japanese citizen to receive the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
. To commemorate this historic event, the president of Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
immediately proposed to create a memorial hall on campus for Yukawa. In 1950, the Science Council of Japan unanimously resolved a request to the central government to allocate a special funding for the promotion of research in theoretical physics. Enthusiastic discussions among Japanese physicists followed in support for the idea of creating a new institution, similar to the Niels Bohr Institute
Niels Bohr Institute
The Niels Bohr Institute is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics and biophysics....
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
or the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
.
Yukawa Hall was inaugurated in 1952 and in 1953, it became the Research Institute for Fundamental Physics (RIFP). Hideki Yukawa was appointed as the first director of the institute. He led the institute until his retirement in 1970.
Research Institute for Fundamental Physics (1953-1990)
Research Institute for Fundamental Physics was a new type of national research center for theoretical physicsTheoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
with its facilities open for use for research collaborations by the entire community of theoretical physicists in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The institute adopted a new system for its operation. Although it formally belongs to Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
, its basic policy has been discussed and decided by the representatives of physicists elected from all over the country together with institute's own academic staffs. One of the unique roles played by the institute was to provide a forum for physicists on various problems at the forefront of research in theoretical physics. Many physicists participated in the organization of topical workshops and international conferences at RIFP and stayed at the institute for some periods to work in collaboration with others. These traditions are still carried by the Yukawa Institute.
The Institute started with four academic staffs including Yukawa himself. The institute grew gradually in size and it possessed thirteen academic positions in 1961. The research activity of the institute extended over numerous areas of theoretical physics. Those areas were condensed matter theory, field theory, nuclear theory, particle theory
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics or statistical thermodynamicsThe terms statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics are used interchangeably...
, and nuclear and relativistic astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
. In 1980 it added two more academic positions for new research areas such as non-equilibrium statistical physics and non-linear physics. During this period, one visiting professor position was created to invite distinguished foreign physicists for an extended period.
Unification with the RITP in Hiroshima (1990)
The new English name, the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, was adopted after the unification of two institutions: the Research Institute for Theoretical Physics (RITP) of Hiroshima UniversityHiroshima University
, located in the Japanese cities of Higashihiroshima and Hiroshima, was established 1949 by the merger of a number of national educational institutions.-History:Under the National School Establishment Law, Hiroshima University was established on May 31, 1949...
and Research Institute for Fundamental Physics (RIFP).
RITP of Hiroshima University was founded in 1944 by Yoshitaka Mimura for the research of mathematical foundations of theoretical physics. On August 6, 1945, it lost two faculty members and a supporting staff, together with all its facilities, by the blast of the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima.
RITP was re-established in 1948 in Takehara, a quiet suburban town of Hiroshima near the water, and stayed there until it was dissolved by the unification in 1990.
A major expansion of the institute took place in 1990 when Research Institute for Fundamental Physics (RIFP) was joined by all academic staff members of the Research Institute for Theoretical Physics (RITP) of Hiroshima University. At the time of the unification, RITP had ten academic staffs and its research area had expanded to include cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, 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...
, field theory, and particle theory
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
.
Present YITP
By the expansion of 1990, the size of the institute almost doubled in terms of the number of its own academic staffs. Unfortunately Yukawa Hall had no extra office or library space to accommodate the new members of the institute and the library assets from RITP. Temporary settings for new offices and library was arranged in the Uji campus of Kyoto University which is located about 20 km south of Yukawa Hall. Thus, Yukawa Institute became distributed over two distantly located buildings, Yukawa Hall on the Kitashirakawa campus and the Uji Research Center on the Uji campus.In 1995, the completion of the new building of the Yukawa Institute, constructed next to Yukawa Hall, ended this inconvenient situation of having two geographically separated facilities of the institute. The Uji Research Center was closed at this time. The new building now houses the offices of all 22 academic staffs as well as those for visitors, postdoctoral fellows, students and supporting staffs in addition to the new large library and computing facilities. Yukawa Hall is still used for research conferences and workshops organized by the Yukawa Institute besides use for its administrative offices, including Director's, and for the editorial office of the Progress of Theoretical Physics
Progress of Theoretical Physics
Progress of Theoretical Physics is a monthly scientific journal published in Japan. The first issue was in July 1946, eleven months after the surrender of Japan. It was founded by Hideki Yukawa who received Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949. Currently, publishing and managing is supported by the...
, a journal of theoretical physics founded by Yukawa in 1946.
Activity of YITP
YITP has been playing a major role in leading the research in theoretical physics and also providing research and collaborative facilities in Japan.Every year, YITP host a number of workshops on various topics in fundamental physics, and accommodate domestic visitors from various institutions as well as those from foreign countries.
The activity of YITP covers a wide range of fields in contemporary theoretical physics: particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, field theory, nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
, astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, statistical physics
Statistical physics
Statistical physics is the branch of physics that uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the mathematical tools for dealing with large populations and approximations, in solving physical problems. It can describe a wide variety of fields with an inherently stochastic...
, condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics deals with the physical properties of condensed phases of matter. These properties appear when a number of atoms at the supramolecular and macromolecular scale interact strongly and adhere to each other or are otherwise highly concentrated in a system. The most familiar...
and biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
. YITP also encourage activities in creating a new interdisciplinary field of research at the forefront of modern theoretical physics.
List of Director
- Hideki YukawaHideki Yukawané , was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate.-Biography:Yukawa was born in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto. In 1929, after receiving his degree from Kyoto Imperial University, he stayed on as a lecturer for four years. After graduation, he was interested in...
(1953.8.1 - 1970.3.31) - Ziro Maki (1970.4.1 - 1976.3.31)
- Humitaka Sato (1976.4.1 - 1980.3.31)
- Ziro Maki (1980.4.1 - 1986.3.31)
- Kazuhiko NishijimaKazuhiko Nishijima-Awards:*Nishina Memorial Prize*Japan Academy Prize*Order of Culture of Japan*Guggenheim Fellowship-Further reading:...
(1986.4.1 - 1990.3.31) - Yosuke Nagaoka (1990.4.1 - 1997.3.31)
- Toshihide MaskawaToshihide Maskawais a Japanese theoretical physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."-Biography:A native of Aichi...
(1997.4.1 - 2003.3.31) - Taichi Kugo (2003.4.1 - 2007.3.31)
- Tohru Eguchi (2007.3.31 - 2011.3.31)
- Taichi Kugo(2011.3.31 - present)