physics

George M. Fuller

George M. Fuller is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand George M. Fuller rather than just read about it. In short: George Michael Fuller (born December 25, 1953, in Los Angeles) is an American theoretical physicist, known for his research on nuclear astrophysics involving weak interactions, neutrino flavor-mixing, and quark matter, as well as the hypothetical nuclear matter. Education and career He graduated in physics with a BS in 1976 and a PhD in 1981 from California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

George Michael Fuller (born December 25, 1953, in Los Angeles) is an American theoretical physicist, known for his research on nuclear astrophysics involving weak interactions, neutrino flavor-mixing, and quark matter, as well as the hypothetical nuclear matter.

Education and career He graduated in physics with a BS in 1976 and a PhD in 1981 from California Institute of Technology (Caltech). His PhD thesis entitled Nuclear weak interaction rates during stellar evolution and collapse was supervised by William A. Fowler. Fuller was from 1981 to 1983 a Robert R. McCormick Fellow at the University of Chicago (where he worked with Schramm and Arnett) and from 1983 to 1984 a postdoctoral visiting research astrophysicist at UC Santa Cruz's Lick Observatory (where he worked with Woosley). Fuller was from 1985 to 1986 a research assistant professor at the University of Washington's Institute for Nuclear Theory and from 1986 to 1988 a staff member in the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) astrophysics group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In the department of physics of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) he was from 1988 to 1992 an associate professor and is since 1992 a full professor. At UCSD he is now a distinguished professor of physics and the director of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science (CASS). He was one of six UCSD scientists (including Brian Keating) involved in the early stages of the international collaboration for the POLARBEAR experiment.

Fuller's work has revolved around the interplay of the weak interaction, nuclei, and gravitation in the cosmos. The recent focus of his work has been on neutrino physics, in particular the role of neutrino mass and flavor mixing in the early universe and in core collapse supernovae, the synthesis of the light and heavy nuclei, and cosmology. He was elected in 1994 a fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2013 he was awarded the Hans A. Bethe Prize with citation:

For outstanding contributions to nuclear astrophysics, especially his seminal work on weak interaction rates for stellar evolution and collapse and his pioneering research on neutrino flavor-mixing in supernovae.

Selected publications

Articles Fuller, G. M.; Fowler, W. A.; Newman, M. J. (1982). "Stellar weak interaction rates for intermediate mass nuclei. III - Rate tables for the free nucleons and nuclei with A = 21 to A = 60". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 48: 279. Bibcode:1982ApJS...48..279F. doi:10.1086/190779. S2CID 119485901. (over 500 citations) Fuller, G. M.; Fowler, W. A.; Newman, M. J. (1985). "Stellar weak interaction rates for intermediate-mass nuclei. IV - Interpolation procedures for rapidly varying lepton capture rates using effective log (Ft)-values". The Astrophysical Journal. 293: 1. Bibcode:1985ApJ...293....1F. doi:10.1086/163208. S2CID 121413911. (over 500 citations) Alcock, C.; Fuller, G. M.; Mathews, G. J. (1987). "The quark-hadron phase transition and primordial nucleosynthesis". The Astrophysical Journal. 320: 439. Bibcode:1987ApJ...320..439A. doi:10.1086/165560. S2CID 119758640. Fuller, G. M.; Mathews, G. J.; Alcock, C. R. (1988). "Quark-hadron phase transition in the early Universe: Isothermal baryon-number fluctuations and primordial nucleosynthesis". Physical Review D. 37 (6): 1380–1400. Bibcode:1988PhRvD..37.1380F. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.37.1380. PMID 9958827. S2CID 31053837. Qian, Yong-Zhong; Fuller, George M.; Mathews, Grant J.; Mayle, Ron W.; Wilson, James R.; Woosley, S. E. (1993). "Connection between flavor-mixing of cosmologically significant neutrinos and heavy element nucleosynthesis in supernovae". Physical Review Letters. 71 (13): 1965–1968. Bibcode:1993PhRvL..71.1965Q. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.1965. PMID 10054549. S2CID 41193046. Shi, Xiangdong; Fuller, George M. (1999). "New Dark Matter Candidate: Nonthermal Sterile Neutrinos". Physical Review Letters. 82 (14): 2832–2835. arXiv:astro-ph/9810076. Bibcode:1999PhRvL..82.2832S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.2832. S2CID 11707302. (over 750 citations) Sneden, Christopher; Cowan, John J.; Ivans, Inese I.; Fuller, George M.; Burles, Scott; Beers, Timothy C.; Lawler, James E. (2000). "Evidence of Multiple r-Process Sites in the Early Galaxy: New Observations of CS 22892−052". The Astrophysical Journal. 533 (2): L139–L142. arXiv:astro-ph/0003086. Bibcode:2000ApJ...533L.139S. doi:10.1086/312631. PMID 10770709. S2CID 30502. Abazajian, Kevork; Fuller, George M.; Tucker, Wallace H. (2001). "Direct Detection of Warm Dark Matter in the X-Ray". The Astrophysical Journal. 562 (2): 593–604. arXiv:astro-ph/0106002. Bibcode:2001ApJ...562..593A. doi:10.1086/323867. S2CID 14738694. (over 600 citations) Duan, Huaiyu; Fuller, George M.; Qian, Yong-Zhong (2006). "Collective neutrino flavor transformation in supernovae". Physical Review D. 74 (12) 123004. arXiv:astro-ph/0511275. Bibcode:2006PhRvD..74l3004D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.74.123004. S2CID 39990557. Duan, Huaiyu; Fuller, George M.; Qian, Yong-Zhong (2007). "Simple picture for neutrino flavor transformation in supernovae". Physical Review D. 76 (8) 085013. arXiv:0706.4293. Bibcode:2007PhRvD..76h5013D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.76.085013. S2CID 119711361. Duan, Huaiyu; Fuller, George M.; Qian, Yong-Zhong (2010). "Collective Neutrino Oscillations". Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science. 60: 569–594. arXiv:1001.2799. Bibcode:2010ARNPS..60..569D. doi:10.1146/annurev.nucl.012809.104524. S2CID 118656162. (over 500 citations) Patwardhan, Amol V.; Fuller, George M.; Kishimoto, Chad T.; Kusenko, Alexander (2015). "Diluted equilibrium sterile neutrino dark matter". Physical Review D. 92 (10) 103509. arXiv:1507.01977. Bibcode:2015PhRvD..92j3509P. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.92.103509. S2CID 117730973. Grohs, Evan B.; Richard Bond, J.; Cooke, Ryan J.; Fuller, George M.; Meyers, Joel; Paris, Mark W. (2019). "Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and Neutrino Cosmology". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 51 (3): 412. arXiv:1903.09187. Bibcode:2019BAAS...51c.412G. Takhistov, Volodymyr; Fuller, George M.; Kusenko, Alexander (2021). "Test for the Origin of Solar Mass Black Holes". Physical Review Letters. 126 (7) 071101. arXiv:2008.12780. Bibcode:2021PhRvL.126g1101T. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.071101. PMID 33666480. S2CID 221377306.

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with George M. Fuller

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what George M. Fuller claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to George M. Fuller before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about George M. Fuller ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of George M. Fuller

In research: George M. Fuller appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses George M. Fuller in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: George M. Fuller is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1953 births, 20th-century American physicists, 21st-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for George M. Fuller outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study George M. Fuller in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is George M. Fuller in simple terms?

Why does George M. Fuller matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study George M. Fuller?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on George M. Fuller.