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Guido Altarelli

Guido Altarelli 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 Guido Altarelli rather than just read about it. In short: Guido Altarelli (12 July 1941 – 30 September 2015) was an Italian theoretical physicist. Biography Altarelli graduated in Physics from the Sapienza University of Rome in 1963 with Raoul Gatto whom he followed to the University of Florence (1965–68).

Guido Altarelli — main illustration
Guido Altarelli — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Guido Altarelli belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Guido Altarelli to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Guido Altarelli from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Guido Altarelli (12 July 1941 – 30 September 2015) was an Italian theoretical physicist.

Biography Altarelli graduated in Physics from the Sapienza University of Rome in 1963 with Raoul Gatto whom he followed to the University of Florence (1965–68). He held positions at New York University (1968–69), the Rockefeller University (New York, 1969–70), the École Normale Superieure in Paris (1976–77, 81) and Boston University (1985–86). In 1970-92 he held a faculty position at the Sapienza University of Rome (full professor of theoretical physics since 1980). He was Director of the Rome Section of the INFN (1985–87). In 1992 he moved to the newly established University of Roma Tre. In 1987-2006 he was a Senior Staff Physicist at the Theory Division of CERN, and was Theory Division Leader from 2000-04. At CERN he had a leading role in the interpretation of SppS results, in the preparation of LEP and the LHC and in the theoretical analysis of the experimental results. In 2011 Altarelli gave a talk The Mystery of Neutrino Mixing at the international symposium on subnuclear physics held in Vatican City. His best known contribution, obtained with Giorgio Parisi in 1977, is the derivation of the QCD evolution equations for parton densities, known as the Altarelli- Parisi or DGLAP equations.

Awards Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences 2011: Julius Wess Award for Outstanding Achievements in Elementary Particle and Astroparticle Physics - The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 2012: J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics - The American Physical Society 2015: High Energy and Particle Physics Prize - EPS HEPP Prize

References

External links Scientific publications of Guido Altarelli on INSPIRE-HEP

Illustrations

Guido Altarelli illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Guido Altarelli

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Guido Altarelli 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 Guido Altarelli 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 Guido Altarelli 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 Guido Altarelli

In research
Guido Altarelli 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 Guido Altarelli 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
Guido Altarelli is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1941 births, 2015 deaths, 20th-century Italian physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Guido Altarelli 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 Guido Altarelli in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Guido Altarelli means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Guido Altarelli out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Guido Altarelli in simple terms?

Guido Altarelli (12 July 1941 – 30 September 2015) was an Italian theoretical physicist. Biography Altarelli graduated in Physics from the Sapienza University of Rome in 1963 with Raoul Gatto whom he followed to the University of Florence (1965–68).

Why does Guido Altarelli 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 Guido Altarelli?

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 Guido Altarelli.

Tags

  • 1941 births
  • 2015 deaths
  • 20th-century Italian physicists
  • 21st-century Italian physicists
  • Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome
  • Italian physicist stubs
  • J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics recipients
  • People associated with CERN
  • Sapienza University of Rome alumni

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