Journal of Mathematical Physics Editor Named Henri Poincaré Prize Laureate

Jan Philip Solovej has received the prestigious award for his achievements in mathematical physics.

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Aug 02, 2021, 10:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Association of Mathematical Physics has recognized Jan Philip Solovej, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Mathematical Physics, by AIP Publishing, as a 2021 laureate of the Henri Poincaré Prize. The prize is awarded by the International Association of Mathematical Physics to three to four individuals every three years to recognize and support contributions to the field of mathematical physics.

Solovej was honored "for outstanding contributions to the analysis of quantum many-body problems ranging from the electronic structure of large atoms to the Lee-Huang-Yang asymptotics of the ground state energy of dilute Bose gases."

"This is maybe the most prestigious award in the field of mathematical physics. Being selected for the prize by the international community is a fantastic recognition of the work I have done," he said.

The citation points to results from two of Solovej's papers, "The ionization conjecture in Hartree-Fock theory" and "The energy of dilute Bose gases."

In the first paper, Solovej addressed a longstanding puzzle about the size, ionization energy, and maximal negative ionization of atoms. Regardless of atomic number, these three quantities remain largely constant.

"Explaining this amazing universal behavior of the structure of atoms is not easy," Solovej said. "Of course, quantum chemists can calculate properties of atoms with certain accuracy and see the phenomenon, but this does not really explain it from a conceptual point of view."

The second paper answers the question, can the energy of dilute gasses be approximated by extending calculations done between pairs of particles within the gas, as conjectured by T. D. Lee, Kerson Huang, and C. N. Yang in 1957?

"Ever since, mathematicians and physicists have tried to confirm this prediction both experimentally but also analytically," Solovej said.

Though several experiments have verified the prediction, it wasn't until 2020 that Solovej and his former student, Søren Fournais, succeeded in affirming the results analytically. Their validation also confirms aspects of the theory of superfluidity.

Solovej will be presented the award at the International Congress of Mathematical Physics, which takes place Aug. 2-7, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland.

"Many of the past recipients of the prize are pioneers in the field of mathematical physics, and I am incredibly proud to have my name added to that list," said Solovej.

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Journal of Mathematical Physics publishes research that connects the application of mathematics to problems in physics, as well as illustrates the development of mathematical methods for such applications and for the formulation of physical theories. See https://aip.scitation.org/journal/jmp

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SOURCE AIP Publishing