Robert Laurence Mills | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Robert Laurence Mills | |
| Born | April 15, 1927 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | October 27, 1999 (aged 72) East Charleston, Vermont, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Known for | Yang–Mills theory |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Theoretical physics,quantum field theory |
| Institutions | Ohio State University |
| Academic advisors | Norman Myles Kroll |
Robert Laurence Mills (April 15, 1927 – October 27, 1999) was an Americanphysicist, specializing inquantum field theory, the theory ofalloys, andmany-body theory.
While sharing an office atBrookhaven National Laboratory,C.N. Yang and Robert Mills formulated in 1954 a theory now known as theYang–Mills theory – "the foundation for current understanding of how subatomic particles interact, a contribution which has restructured modern physics and mathematics."[1]
Mathematically, Yang and Mills proposed atensor equation for what are now calledYang–Mills fields (this equation reduces toMaxwell's equations as a special case; seegauge theory):
Mills was born inEnglewood, New Jersey,[2] son of Dorothy C. and the american economistFrederick C. Mills.[3] He graduated fromGeorge School inPennsylvania in early 1944, and studied atColumbia College from 1944 to 1948, while on leave from the Coast Guard. Mills demonstrated his mathematical ability by becoming aPutnam Fellow in 1948,[4] and by receiving first-class honors in theTripos. Mills, who was still a novice theoretical physicist, met Yang and assisted him in polishing Yang's hypothesis on non-abelian gauge fields, which later became theYang-Mills Theory, the heart ofmodern physics.[5][6][7]
Employing the general field theory developed by him andYang Cheng Ning in the 1950s,H. Fritzsch andH. Leutwyler, together with american physicistMurray Gell-Mann introduced the concept of colour as the source of a "strong field" into the theory ofQCD. Thus,Yang and Robert Mills, together, were key to the progress in thefield, by developing a theory in which the carrier particles of a force can themselves radiate further carrier particles. (This is different fromQED, where thephotons that carry theelectromagnetic force do not radiate furtherphotons).[8][9][10]
The mathematical ability Mills displayed early on was mastered in his eventual career as a full-time theoretical physicist. He earned a master's degree fromCambridge, and aPhD in Physics underNorman Kroll, fromColumbia University in 1955. After a year at theInstitute for Advanced Study inPrinceton, New Jersey, Mills became professor of physics atOhio State University in 1956. He remained at Ohio State University until his retirement in 1995.[1]
Mills andYang shared the 1980Rumford Premium Prize from theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences for their "development of a generalized gauge invariant field theory" in 1954.
Mills was married to Elise Ackley in 1948. Together they had sons Edward and Jonathan, and daughters Catherine, Susan, and Dorothy. The Mills family lived for many years inColumbus, Ohio during Mills' tenure as professor atOhio State University. He was an elder of Indianola Presbyterian Church and active in the international student community in Columbus. The family also spent considerable time during the summer and winter breaks at their property onEcho Lake inCharleston, Vermont,[11] where Robert spent his final months.
The [Yang-Mills] theory, according toThe Scientist, providedthe foundation for current understanding of how subatomic particles interact, a contribution which has restructured modern physics and mathematics.
