John Clayton Taylor | |
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| Born | (1930-08-04)4 August 1930 (age 95)[2] |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge[2][3] |
| Known for | Slavnov–Taylor identities |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Renormalisation and Related Topics in Quantum Field Theory (1956[1]) |
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John Clayton TaylorFRS (born 4 August 1930) is a Britishmathematical physicist. He is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Physics at theDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics of theUniversity of Cambridge and an Emeritus Fellow ofRobinson College.[4][5] He is the father of mathematicianRichard Taylor.
Taylor earned his PhD from theUniversity of Cambridge in 1956, under the supervision of Richard J. Eden andAbdus Salam. His thesis was entitledRenormalisation and Related Topics in Quantum Field Theory.[3][1]
Taylor has made contributions toquantum field theory and the physics ofelementary particles. His contributions include: the discovery (also made independently byLev Landau) of singularities in the analytical structure of theFeynman integrals for processes in quantum field theory, the PCAC nature of radioactive decay of the pion and the discovery in 1971 of the so-calledSlavnov–Taylor identities, which controlsymmetry andrenormalisation ofgauge theories.
With various collaborators, in 1980 he discovered that real and virtualinfrared divergences do not cancel inQCD as they do inQED. They also showed how these infrared divergences exponentiate. In addition, they contributed to theresummation programme in thermal QCD, simplifying the "hard" part of theeffective action. Later, they studied complications arising from the non-polynomial nature of the QCDHamiltonian in the (unitary)Coulomb gauge.[6]
Taylor was elected aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1981.[6] His certificate of election reads:
Distinguished for his contributions to the Quantum Theory of Fields and the Physics of Elementary Particles. His important works concern (a) the discovery (also made independently by L.D. Landau) of singularities in the analytical structure of the Feynman integrals for processes in Quantum Field Theory, and (b) the discovery of the so-called Slavnov–Taylor identities in Gauge Theories. He has made significant contributions to Quantum Chromodynamics where his use of the axial gauge has made possible recent advances in "perturbative Q.C.D.". He has also contributed toweak interaction theory, over a long period, and most recently to the elucidation of the gauge structure of theunified weak and electromagnetic interaction.[7]
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