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Nathan Rosen

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Nathan Rosen
BornMarch 22, 1909
Brooklyn,New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 18, 1995 (age 86)
Haifa,Israel
NationalityIsraeli–American
CitizenshipIsrael
United States
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Known forEPR paradox
Einstein–Rosen bridge
Einstein–Rosen metric
Rosen–Morse potential
Bimetric gravity
Sticky bead argument
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsInstitute for Advanced Study
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Ben Gurion University
ThesisCalculation of energies of diatomic molecules
Doctoral advisorJohn Clarke Slater
Other academic advisorsAlbert Einstein
Doctoral studentsMoshe Carmeli
Asher Peres
Joshua Zak

Nathan Rosen(Hebrew:נתן רוזן;March 22, 1909 – December 18, 1995) was an American and Israeli physicist noted for his study on the structure of the hydrogen molecule and his collaboration withAlbert EinsteinandBoris Podolskyon entangled wave functions and theEPR paradox.He is also remembered for the Einstein–Rosen bridge, the first known kind ofwormhole.

Background[edit]

Nathan Rosen was born into aJewishfamily inBrooklyn,New York.He attendedMITduring theGreat Depression,where he received a bachelor's degree in electromechanical engineering and later a master's and a doctorate in physics. As a student he published several papers of note, one being "The Neutron," which attempted to explain the structure of the atomic nucleus a year before their discovery byJames Chadwick.[1]He also developed an interest in wave functions, and later, gravitation, when he worked as a fellow at theUniversity of MichiganandPrinceton University.[2]

State of science[edit]

At the beginning of the 20th century science was progressing quickly and the inner workings of the atom were just beginning to be discovered. In 1900,Max Planckproposed thequantum theory,the idea that allenergymoves in discrete amounts calledquanta.In 1905, Albert Einstein published his theory ofspecial relativity,which would be instrumental in the progression of physics and the understanding of the universe. Around 1927,Niels BohrandWerner Heisenberg,collaborating with many other physicists, developed theCopenhagen interpretationof quantum theory, determining the probabilities of the movement of particles. These breakthroughs provided the model for the structure and workings of the atom and drove the revolution that would sweep up Nathan Rosen.

Work with Einstein[edit]

In 1932 with a ScD degree[3]from MIT, he went to do research at Princeton University. In 1934 he became Albert Einstein's assistant at TheInstitute for Advanced StudyinPrinceton, New Jersey,and continued in that position until 1936.[1]In July 1935[4]Einstein and Rosen published an article developing a concept of folded space time in parallel layers connected by a bridge, using only General Relativity and Maxwell Equation. Earlier while working with Einstein, Rosen had pointed out the peculiarities of Einstein's studies involving entangled wave functions, and, in coordination withBoris Podolsky,a paper was drafted and published in May 1935[5]helping to develop a theoretical basis for the July 1935 publication. The May 1935 paper, entitled "Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?" labeled these effects the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox orEPR paradox.Einstein helped Rosen to continue his career in physics with a letter to Molotov in The Soviet Union resulting in a temporary position during which in 1937 Einstein and Rosen published an article "On Gravitational Waves"[6]in which they further developed the concept of folded space time caused by rotating cylinders.

After leaving Princeton, Rosen continued to publish on relativity with "General Relativity and Flat Space"[7][8]in 1940 and "Energy and momentum of cylindrical gravitational waves"[9]in 1958, further developing work on theoretical structures of space-time. This concept, known today as anEinstein-Rosen bridge,was shown in a 1962 paper by theoretical physicistsJohn A. WheelerandRobert W. Fullerto be unstable.[10]Other researchers further developed this work; "Robert Hjellming in 1971 presented a model in which a black hole would draw matter in while being connected to a white hole in a distant location, which expels this same matter." "In a 1988 paper, physicistsKip ThorneandMike Morrisproposed that such a wormhole could be made stable by containing some form of negative matter or energy. "This later work is not attributable to Rosen.

Between 1940 and 1989 Rosen published a series of articles on his versions ofbimetric gravity,an attempt to improve on General Relativity by removing singularities and replacing pseudo-tensors with tensors to eliminate nonlocality. The effort eventually failed in 1992 with conflicting pulsar data.

Later years[edit]

Later in his life, Nathan Rosen turned his attentions to teaching and the establishment of new universities. After briefly working for two years in theSoviet Unionat theUniversity of Kievstarting in 1936, he returned to the United States, where he taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1941 to 1952. In 1953, after permanently moving to Israel, he joined theTechnioninHaifa,Israel. During this time Rosen was advisor toAsher Peres.Technion now has a lecture series named for him. He was President of theBen-Gurion University of the Negevin the 1970s and commuted between the two institutions from his home in Haifa. Additionally, Nathan Rosen helped found theIsrael Academy of Sciences and Humanities,the Physical Society of Israel (serving as president from 1955 to 1957), and theInternational Society on General Relativity and Gravitation(president 1974-77). He was very active in encouraging the founding of higher educational institutions in Israel.

He died on December 18, 1995, at his home in Haifa at the age of 86.[11]

Contributions to physics[edit]

Rosen made a number of contributions to modern physics. One of the most lasting discoveries Rosen brought to physics was his formulation of the structure of thehydrogenmolecule, a molecule where none of theelectronshave a definitequantum number,but the pair of electrons has apure state.Rosen used what he called "entangled" wave functions to represent the molecule's structure.

He also developed a theoretical analysis of the neutron as a combination of proton and electron in a 1931 article in thePhysical Review.[12]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Einstein, A; B Podolsky; N Rosen (1935-05-15)."Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality be Considered Complete?"(PDF).Physical Review.47(10): 777–780.Bibcode:1935PhRv...47..777E.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.47.777.
  • Einstein, Albert & Rosen, Nathan (1935)."The Particle Problem in the General Theory of Relativity".Physical Review.48(1): 73.Bibcode:1935PhRv...48...73E.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.48.73.
  • Einstein, Albert & Rosen, Nathan (1937). "On Gravitational waves".Journal of the Franklin Institute.223:43–54.Bibcode:1937FrInJ.223...43E.doi:10.1016/S0016-0032(37)90583-0.
  • Rosen, Nathan (1958). "Energy and momentum of cylindrical gravitational waves".Physical Review.110(1): 291.Bibcode:1958PhRv..110..291R.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.110.291.S2CID122137402.
  • Rosen, Nathan & Virbhadra, KS (1993). "Energy and momentum of cylindrical gravitational waves".General Relativity and Gravitation.25(4): 429–433.Bibcode:1993GReGr..25..429R.doi:10.1007/BF00757123.S2CID128145567.
  • Rosen, Nathan (1940). "General Relativity and Flat Space. I".Physical Review.57(2): 147.Bibcode:1940PhRv...57..147R.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.57.147.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Peres, Asher." Nathan Rosen. "Technion Physics Department. 8 June 2009"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 15 March 2016.Retrieved16 February2016.
  2. ^Saxon, Wolfgang. "Nathan Rosen, 86, of Israel; Physicist Worked With Einstein."The New York Times23 Dec. 1995, sec. 1: 28.
  3. ^Pais, Abraham (1982).Subtle Is the Lord(first ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 494.ISBN0-19-853907-X.
  4. ^Albert Einstein and, Nathan Rosen (1 July 1935)."The Particle Problem in the General Theory of Relativity".Physical Review.48(73): 73–77.Bibcode:1935PhRv...48...73E.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.48.73.
  5. ^Albert Einstein; Boris Podolsky; Nathan Rosen (15 May 1935)."Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?".Physical Review.47(777): 777–780.Bibcode:1935PhRv...47..777E.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.47.777.
  6. ^Pais, Abraham (1982).Subtle Is The Lord(first ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 495.ISBN0-19-853907-X.
  7. ^Rosen, Nathan (1940). "General Relativity and Flat Space. I".Physical Review.57(2): 147–150.Bibcode:1940PhRv...57..147R.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.57.147.
  8. ^Rosen, N. (1940). "General Relativity and Flat Space. II".Physical Review.57(2): 150–153.Bibcode:1940PhRv...57..150R.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.57.150.
  9. ^Rosen, Nathan (1 April 1958). "Energy and Momentum of Cylindrical Gravitational Waves".Physical Review.110(1): 291.Bibcode:1958PhRv..110..291R.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.110.291.S2CID122137402.
  10. ^Jones, Andrew Zimmerman."Definition of Wormhole - Theory of Relativity".Retrieved22 August2019.
  11. ^Wolfgang Saxon (December 23, 1995)."Nathan Rosen, 86, of Israel; Physicist Worked With Einstein".The New York Times.
  12. ^Langer, R. M.; Rosen, N. (1931). "The Neutron".Physical Review.37(12): 1579–1582.Bibcode:1931PhRv...37.1579L.doi:10.1103/PhysRev.37.1579.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

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