physics

Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger

Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger 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 Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger rather than just read about it. In short: Joaquin (Quin) Mazdak Luttinger (December 2, 1923 – April 6, 1997) was an American physicist well known for his contributions to the theory of interacting electrons in one-dimensional metals (the electrons in these metals are said to be in a Luttinger-liquid state) and the Fermi-liquid theory. He received his BS and PhD in physics from MIT in 1947.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Joaquin (Quin) Mazdak Luttinger (December 2, 1923 – April 6, 1997) was an American physicist well known for his contributions to the theory of interacting electrons in one-dimensional metals (the electrons in these metals are said to be in a Luttinger-liquid state) and the Fermi-liquid theory. He received his BS and PhD in physics from MIT in 1947. His brother was the physical chemist Lionel Luttinger (1920–2009) and his nephew is the mathematician Karl Murad Luttinger (born 1961).

See also Negative mass Schrieffer–Wolff transformation Wiener sausage Fermi liquid Many-body problem Anomalous magnetic moment Effective mass theory k·p perturbation theory

Notes

Some publications (Note: For a complete list, see J. Stat. Phys. 103, 641 (2001).)

W. Kohn, and J. M. Luttinger, Quantum Theory of Electrical Transport Phenomena, Physical Review, Vol. 108, pp. 590–611 (1957). APS W. Kohn, and J. M. Luttinger, Quantum Theory of Electrical Transport Phenomena. II, Physical Review, Vol. 109, pp. 1892–1909 (1958). APS J. M. Luttinger, Theory of the Hall Effect in Ferromagnetic Substances, Physical Review, Vol. 112, pp. 739–751 (1958). APS W. Kohn, and J. M. Luttinger, Ground-State Energy of a Many-Fermion System, Physical Review, Vol. 118, pp. 41–45 (1960). APS J. M. Luttinger, and J. C. Ward, Ground-State Energy of a Many-Fermion System. II, Physical Review, Vol. 118, pp. 1417–1427 (1960). APS J. M. Luttinger, Fermi Surface and Some Simple Equilibrium Properties of a System of Interacting Fermions, Physical Review, Vol. 119, pp. 1153–1163 (1960). APS J. M. Luttinger, Analytic Properties of Single-Particle Propagators for Many-Fermion Systems, Physical Review, Vol. 121, pp. 942–949 (1961). APS J. M. Luttinger, Theory of the de Hass-van Alphen Effect for a System of Interacting Fermions, Physical Review, Vol. 121, pp. 1251–1258 (1961). APS J. M. Luttinger, Derivation of the Landau Theory of Fermi Liquids. I. Formal Properties, Physical Review, Vol. 127, pp. 1423–1431 (1962). APS J. M. Luttinger, Derivation of the Landau Theory of Fermi Liquids. II. Equilibrium Properties and Transport Equation, Physical Review, Vol. 127, pp. 1431–1440 (1962). APS J. M. Luttinger, An exactly solvable model of a many-fermion system, Journal of Mathematical Physics, Vol. 4, No. 9, pp. 1154–1162 (1963). doi:10.1063/1.1704046 W. Kohn, and J. M. Luttinger, New Mechanism for Superconductivity, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 15, No. 12, pp. 524–526 (1965). APS R. Friedberg, and J. M. Luttinger, Density of electronic energy levels in disordered systems, Physical Review B, Vol. 12, pp. 4460–4474 (1975). APS J. M. Luttinger, Density of electronic energy levels in disordered systems. II, Physical Review B, Vol. 13, pp. 2596–2600 (1976). APS R. Tao, and J. M. Luttinger, Exact evaluation of Green's functions for a class of one-dimensional disordered systems, Physical Review B, Vol. 27, pp. 935–944 (1983). APS

Obituary Philip W. Anderson, Richard M. Friedberg, and Walter Kohn, Joaquin M. Luttinger, Physics Today, December 1997, pp. 89–90 (PDF). Note: This obituary is reprinted with permission in Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol. 103, Nos. 3/4, pp. 413–415 (2001) (Link).

External links Photograph of J.M. Luttinger: [1]. Robert Nelson, Leading Physicist Joaquin Luttinger, 73, April 18, 1997, Columbia University, New York, [2]. Walter Kohn, "Joaquin M. Luttinger", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2014) Clary, David C., Walter Kohn: From Kindertransport and Internment to DFT and the Nobel Prize, World Scientific Publishing (2024).

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger 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 Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger 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 Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger 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 Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger

In research: Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger 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 Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger 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: Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1923 births, 1997 deaths, 20th-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger in simple terms?

Why does Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger 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 Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger?

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 Joaquin Mazdak Luttinger.