Peierls, Rudolph

Peierls was born in Berlin into a Jewish family. He studied at the universities of Berlin , Munich and Leipzig . He taught at the Zurich Polytechnic Institute (1929-1932), then moved to England , where he decided to stay after Hitler came to power in Germany (received British citizenship in 1940 ). He worked at Manchester (1933-1935), Cambridge (1935-1937), Birmingham (1937-1963), Oxford (1963-1974), and Washington University (1974-1977).

During the Second World War he participated in the Manhattan project , often visited New York and Los Alamos . Peierls was the initiator of the invitation to the project of Klaus Fuchs , who turned out to be a Soviet spy. Subsequently, Peierls was an active participant in the Pugwash movement .

He was knighted in 1968 ( Bachelor Knight ).

Since 1931, he was married to Evgenia Nikolaevna Kannegiser (1908-1986) - the daughter of gynecologist Nikolai Samuilovich Kannegiser (1863-1909), the stepdaughter of the translator I. B. Mandelstam , whom he met in Odessa ; had from her three daughters and one son. E.N. Kannegiser was a niece to engineer A.S. Kannegiser and journalist D.A. Levin , a cousin to the poet Leonid Kannegiser .

Peierls' scientific works are devoted to quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics , nuclear physics , solid-state physics , questions of magnetism, and mathematical physics .

In 1929, he proposed the concept of hole conductivity of semiconductors (independently of Jacob Frenkel ). In 1930 he proved the theorem on the partition function of a quantum statistical system ( Peierls theorem ). In 1931 he built the quantum theory of thermal conductivity of non-metallic crystals . He developed a general theory of diamagnetism , studied the features of the behavior of electrons in crystals (together with Felix Bloch ), introduced the idea of ​​the intermediate state of superconductors (together with Fritz London ), and in 1933 developed a qualitative theory of the de Haas - van Alfven effect . He examined the motion of dislocations in crystals and the force acting on them ( Peierls-Nabarro force ). Peierls is considered one of the pioneers of the theory of excitons and modern ideas about magnetism .

In 1930, together with Leo Landau, he analyzed the restrictions imposed on the quantum description of the system when taking into account the effects of the theory of relativity ^[6] . Subsequently, he was engaged in the development of the theory of classical electrodynamics , including the nonlocal type (1954), in questions of the theory of scattering .

In the field of nuclear physics, Peierls' work, carried out jointly with Hans Bethe , on the theory of inverse beta decay and proton-neutron interaction (1934-1935), is known. In 1939, together with Niels Bohr and Georg Plachek, he studied the mechanism of nuclear reactions induced by neutrons on the basis of the optical theorem formulated by them and ideas about the compound nucleus . In 1940, together with Otto Frisch, he estimated the critical mass of uranium-235 , which was not as great as previously thought. This result was set forth in the so-called Frisch-Peierls memorandum, which largely initiated large-scale studies of the possibility of creating nuclear weapons . Peierls also participated in the computation of the characteristics of chain reactions and the development of isotope separation methods.

• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1945)
• Rutherford Medal and Prize (1952)
• Royal Medal (1959)
• Lorenz Medal (1962)
• Max Planck Medal (1963)
• Guthrie Medal and Award (1968)
• Enrico Fermi Award (1980)
• Matteucci Medal (1982)
• Copley Medal (1986)
• Dirac Medal (1991)

Books

• R. Peierls. Electronic theory of metals. - M .: Publishing house of foreign countries. literature, 1947.
• R. Peierls. Quantum theory of solids. - M .: Publishing house of foreign countries. literature, 1956.
• R. Peierls. Nature laws. - M .: Fizmatgiz, 1962.
• R. Peierls. Surprises in theoretical physics. - M.: Science, 1988.
• R. Peierls. Bird of Passage: Recollections of a Physicist. - Princeton University Press, 1985.

Articles

• R. Peierls. Atomic nuclei // Usp . Fiz . - 1959. - T. 68 , no. 6 . - S. 307-321 .
• R. Peierls. Construction of physical models // UFN . - 1983 .-- T. 140 , no. 6 . - S. 315-332 .
• R. Peierls. Momentum and quasimomentum of light and sound // Usp . Fiz . - 1991 .-- T. 161 , no. 9 . - S. 161-176 .
• Selected Scientific Papers of Sir Rudolf Peierls. - World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics. - Vol. 19.
• R. Peierls. Selected Private and Scientific Correspondence: Vol. 1 , Vol. 2 . - World Scientific.

• Temples Yu. A. Peierls Rudolf Ernst (Sir Peierls Rudolf Ernst) // Physicists: Biographical Reference / Ed. A.I. Akhiezer . - Ed. 2nd, rev. and add. - M .: Nauka , 1983 .-- S. 204. - 400 p. - 200,000 copies. (in per.)
• Robert McG. Thomas jr. Rudolph Peierls, 88, Atomic Physicist, Dies in England // New York Times . - 1995. - Vol. 22 Sept. - S. B7 .

• Profile of Rudolf Peierls on the official website of the RAS
• Peierls Questionnaire for Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Peierls at atomicarchive.com
• Peierls at nndb.com