Claude Itzykson

Claude Georges Itzykson
Born	(1938-04-11)11 April 1938 Paris, France
Died	22 May 1995(1995-05-22) (aged 57) Paris, France
Nationality	French
Education	Lycée Condorcet
Alma mater	École Polytechnique
Known for	Quantum field theory
Awards	Prix Paul-Langevin (1972) Prix Félix-Robin (1988) Ampère Prize (1995)
Scientific career
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Saclay Nuclear Research Centre

Claude Georges Itzykson, (11 April 1938 – 22 May 1995) was a French theoretical physicist who worked in quantum field theory and statistical mechanics.[1][2]

Biography

Separated from his parents by World War II, his father was taken to a Nazi concentration camp and Itzykson is raised in a Jewish orphanage in Maisons-Laffitte.[2] After studying at the Lycée Condorcet Itzykson graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique in 1959. He joined the Theoretical Physics Department of the CEA in Saclay in 1962,[1] then headed by Claude Bloch.[2] He spent most of his career at Saclay, except for numerous visiting positions he held throughout his working life, such as at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.[1][3]

Works

He was a specialist in quantum field theory and applications of group theory in physics.[4] In particular, he worked on the symmetries of the hydrogen atom,[5] the discretization of network gauge theories,[6] the integrals on large matrices[7] and their applications to problems of combinatorics[8] and physics of random surfaces,[9] and conformal field theories and their classification.[10]

His first works were done in collaboration with Maurice Jacob and Raymond Stora.[2] In 1980 he published a treatise on quantum field theory with Jean-Bernard Zuber that became a staple textbook on the subject.[1][11]

Awards

In 1995 Itzykson received the Ampère Prize of the French Academy of Sciences.[2]

Bibliography

Textbooks

• Itzykson, C.; Zuber, J.-B. (1980). Quantum Field Theory (2005 ed.). Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0486445687. LCCN 2005053026. OCLC 61200849.
• Itzykson, C.; Drouffe, J.-M. (1989a). Statistical Field Theory Volume 1. From Brownian Motion to Renormalization and Lattice Gauge Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-34058-6. LCCN 88030162. OCLC 852124007.
• Itzykson, C.; Drouffe, J.-M. (1989b). Statistical Field Theory Volume 2. Strong coupling, Monte Carlo Methods, Conformal Field Theory, and Random Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37012-4. LCCN 88030162. OCLC 852124007.

Selected publications

• Balian, R.; Drouffe, J. M.; Itzykson, C. (1974). "Gauge fields on a lattice. I. General outlook". Physical Review D. 10 (10): 3376–3395. Bibcode:1974PhRvD..10.3376B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.10.3376. ISSN 0556-2821.
• Balian, R.; Drouffe, J. M.; Itzykson, C. (1975). "Gauge fields on a lattice. II. Gauge-invariant Ising model". Physical Review D. 11 (8): 2098–2103. Bibcode:1975PhRvD..11.2098B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.11.2098. ISSN 0556-2821.
• Bander, M.; Itzykson, C. (1966). "Group Theory and the Hydrogen Atom (I)" (PDF). Reviews of Modern Physics. 38 (2): 330–345. Bibcode:1966RvMP...38..330B. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.38.330. ISSN 0034-6861.
• Bauer, M.; Di Francesco, Ph.; Itzykson, C.; Zuber, J.-B. (1991). "Covariant differential equations and singular vectors in virasoro representations" (PDF). Nuclear Physics B. 362 (3): 515–562. Bibcode:1991NuPhB.362..515B. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(91)90541-5. ISSN 0550-3213.
• Bessis, D; Itzykson, C; Zuber, J.B (1980). "Quantum field theory techniques in graphical enumeration". Advances in Applied Mathematics. 1 (2): 109–157. doi:10.1016/0196-8858(80)90008-1. ISSN 0196-8858. S2CID 31392310.
• Brezin, E.; Itzykson, C. (1970). "Pair Production in Vacuum by an Alternating Field". Physical Review D. 2 (7): 1191–1199. Bibcode:1970PhRvD...2.1191B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.2.1191. ISSN 0556-2821.
• Brézin, E.; Itzykson, C.; Zinn-Justin, J.; Zuber, J.-B. (1979). "Remarks about the existence of non-local charges in two-dimensional models" (PDF). Physics Letters B. 82 (3–4): 442–444. Bibcode:1979PhLB...82..442B. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(79)90263-6. ISSN 0370-2693.
• Brézin, E.; Gross, David J.; Itzykson, C. (1984). "Density of states in the presence of a strong magnetic field and random impurities". Nuclear Physics B. 235 (1): 24–44. Bibcode:1984NuPhB.235...24B. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(84)90146-9. ISSN 0550-3213.
• Brézin, E.; Itzykson, C.; Parisi, G.; Zuber, J. B. (1993). "Planar Diagrams". The Large N Expansion in Quantum Field Theory and Statistical Physics. pp. 567–583. doi:10.1142/9789814365802_0036. ISBN 978-981-02-0455-6.
• Derrida, B.; De Seze, L.; Itzykson, C. (1983). "Fractal structure of zeros in hierarchical models" (PDF). Journal of Statistical Physics. 33 (3): 559–569. Bibcode:1983JSP....33..559D. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.496.2573. doi:10.1007/BF01018834. ISSN 0022-4715. S2CID 122632661.
• Drouffe, J. M.; Itzykson, C. (1978). Facts and Prospects of Gauge Theories. pp. 203–204. doi:10.1007/978-3-7091-8538-4_5. ISBN 978-3-7091-8540-7.
• Drouffe, J. M.; Itzykson, C. (1984). "Random geometry and the statistics of two-dimensional cells". Nuclear Physics B. 235 (1): 45–53. Bibcode:1984NuPhB.235...45D. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(84)90147-0. ISSN 0550-3213.
• Itzykson, C.; Zuber, J.-B. (1980b). "The planar approximation. II" (PDF). Journal of Mathematical Physics. 21 (3): 411–421. Bibcode:1980JMP....21..411I. doi:10.1063/1.524438. ISSN 0022-2488.
• Itzykson, C.; Pearson, R.B.; Zuber, J.B. (1983). "Distribution of zeros in Ising and gauge models" (PDF). Nuclear Physics B. 220 (4): 415–433. Bibcode:1983NuPhB.220..415I. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(83)90499-6. ISSN 0550-3213.
• Itzykson, C. (1982a). "Ising fermions (I). Two dimensions". Nuclear Physics B. 210 (4): 448–476. Bibcode:1982NuPhB.210..448I. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(82)90173-0. ISSN 0550-3213.
• Itzykson, C. (1982b). "Ising fermions (II). Three dimensions". Nuclear Physics B. 210 (4): 477–498. Bibcode:1982NuPhB.210..477I. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(82)90174-2. ISSN 0550-3213.
• Itzykson, C. (1995). "Counting Rational Curves on Rational Surfaces" (PDF). Perspectives on Solvable Models. pp. 255–276. doi:10.1142/9789812831279_0017. ISBN 978-981-02-2107-2.

References

1. Brezin, E. (1996). "Claude Itzykson". Physics Today. 49 (3): 125–126. Bibcode:1996PhT....49c.125B. doi:10.1063/1.2807560. ISSN 0031-9228.
2. Zuber, J-B (1996). "Claude Georges Itzykson (1938–1995)". www.annales.org. Les Annales des Mines. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
3. "Claude Itzykson". Institute for Advanced Study. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
4. Itzykson, Claude; Drouffe, Jean-Michel; Zuber, Jean Bernard (1997). The mathematical beauty of physics : a memorial volume for Claude Itzykson. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN 978-9810228071. LCCN 97003545. OCLC 36260869.
5. Bander & Itzykson (1966)
6. See for example Balian, Drouffe, and Itzykson (1974, 1975) & Drouffe & Itzykson (1978)
7. See for example Brézin et al. (1993) and Itzykson & Zuber (1980b)
8. Bessis, Itzykson & Zuber (1980)
9. Drouffe & Itzykson (1984)
10. Itzykson & Drouffe (1989b)
11. Itzykson & Zuber (1980)