physics

Werner Nahm

Werner Nahm 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 Werner Nahm rather than just read about it. In short: Werner Nahm (German: [naːm]; born 21 March 1949) is a German theoretical physicist. He has made contributions to mathematical physics and fundamental theoretical physics.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Werner Nahm (German: [naːm]; born 21 March 1949) is a German theoretical physicist. He has made contributions to mathematical physics and fundamental theoretical physics.

Life and work Werner Nahm attended Gymnasium Philippinum Weilburg. After high school he studied from 1966 at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, where he earned his diploma in physics in 1970. He received his doctorate in 1972 at the University of Bonn, his dissertation was titled Analytical solution of the statistical bootstrap model, where he was then to 1975 as a post-doctoral student. From 1976 to 1982 he was a scientist at CERN. From 1982 he was a Heisenberg fellow again at the University of Bonn. In 1986 he became associate professor at the University of California, Davis. 1989 to 2002 he was a full professor at the University of Bonn. Since 2002 he is one of three senior professors at the School of Theoretical Physics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and since 2007 its director. He is a foreign member of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn. In the 1970s he worked with elementary theory, for example, bootstrap models (the subject of his dissertation) and the classification of graded Lie algebras, which are important in supersymmetric theories. After that, he worked mainly on the theory of magnetic monopoles, classification of supersymmetric models, conformal field theories and their algebraic classification, and classification of string models. The Nahm equations (1981) are named after him, used in (for example) for the description of monopoles in Yang–Mills theories, and the Nahm transform. In 1978 he showed that the maximum dimension of supersymmetric theories was d = 11. His predicted eleven-dimensional supergravity theory was constructed shortly after by Eugène Cremmer, Bernard Julia and Joël Scherk. Since supersymmetric theories are now favoured in the context of Kaluza–Klein theories as candidates for unified field theories of elementary particles (M theory), Nahm also determined the maximum number of eligible space-time dimensions. Nahm also conducted research about the Mayan civilisation and their astronomy, for example, the role of Venus (and their phases) in terms of calendar prediction that was important for their planning of wars. In his Mayan research, he also worked with Linda Schele and Nikolai Grube and participated in the ongoing decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs. He also found evidence of supernova events and the observation of Mercury in the Mayan writings. His doctoral and diploma students include Katrin Becker, Melanie Becker, Ralph Blumenhagen, Sayipjamal Dulat, Michael Flohr, Andreas Honecker, Ralph Kaufmann, Johannes Kellendonk, Andreas Malmendier, Andreas Recknagel, Daniel Roggenkamp, and Katrin Wendland in academia, and Holger Eberle, Wolfgang Eholzer, Michael Terhoeven, and Raimund Varnhagen in industry.

Other affiliations Member of the Royal Irish Academy Member of the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz Member (Fellow) of the Royal Society

Prizes and awards 2012 Gothenburg Lise Meitner Prize of TH Chalmers 2013 Max Planck Medal 2014 Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal in Physical and Mathematical Sciences

Works Conformally invariant quantum field theories in two dimensions. World Scientific. 1995. Edited with Ling-Lie Chau: Differential geometric methods in theoretical physics: physics and geometry (18. International Conference on differential geometric methods in theoretical physics, University of California, Davis 1988). Plenum Press. 1990. Edited: Interface between physics and mathematics, (Hangzhou 1993 Konferenz). World Scientific. 1994. Edited: Trieste Conference on topological methods in Quantum Field Theory. World Scientific. 1991. N. Craigie (1986). Mathematical structures underlying monopoles in gauge theories (Theory and detection of magnetic monopoles in gauge theories). World Scientific. Nahm, Werner (1 January 1987). "Quantum field theories in one and two dimensions". Duke Mathematical Journal. 54 (2). Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/s0012-7094-87-05424-x. ISSN 0012-7094. P. Cartier (2007). Conformal field theory and torsion elements of the Bloch group. Frontiers in Number Theory, Physics and Geometry. Vol. 2. Springer Verlag.

References

External links "Werner Nahm", Mathematics Genealogy Project, retrieved 6 January 2014 "Professor Werner Nahm FRS Royal Society "Prof. Dr. Werner Nahm", Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, retrieved 6 January 2014 Scientific publications of Werner Nahm on INSPIRE-HEP

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Werner Nahm

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Werner Nahm 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 Werner Nahm 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 Werner Nahm 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 Werner Nahm

In research: Werner Nahm 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 Werner Nahm 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: Werner Nahm is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1949 births, 20th-century German physicists, 21st-century German physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Werner Nahm 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 Werner Nahm in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Werner Nahm in simple terms?

Werner Nahm (German: [naːm]; born 21 March 1949) is a German theoretical physicist. He has made contributions to mathematical physics and fundamental theoretical physics.

Why does Werner Nahm 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 Werner Nahm?

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 Werner Nahm.