Tullio Regge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1931-07-11)11 July 1931 Turin, Italy |
| Died | 23 October 2014(2014-10-23) (aged 83) Orbassano, Italy |
| Alma mater | University of Turin |
| Known for | |
| Awards | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Theoretical physics |
| Institutions | |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Marshak |
Tullio Eugenio Regge (Italian:[ˈtulljoˈrɛddʒe]; 11 July 1931 – 23 October 2014) was an Italiantheoretical physicist.[1]
Regge obtained thelaurea inphysics from theUniversity of Turin in 1952 under the direction ofMario Verde andGleb Wataghin, and aPhD in physics from theUniversity of Rochester in 1957 under the direction ofRobert Marshak. From 1958 to 1959 Regge held a post at theMax Planck Institute for Physics where he worked with Werner Heisenberg. In 1961 he was appointed to the chair of Relativity at the University of Turin. He also held an appointment at theInstitute for Advanced Study from 1965 to 1979. He was an emeritus professor at thePolytechnic University of Turin while contributing work atCERN as a visiting scientist. Regge died on 23 October 2014.[2] He was married to Rosanna Cester, physicist, by whom he had three children: Daniele, Marta and Anna.
In 1959, Regge discovered a mathematical property of potential scattering in theSchrödinger equation—that the scattering amplitude can be thought of as an analytic function of the angular momentum, and that the position of the poles determines power-law growth rates of the amplitude in the purely mathematical region of large values of the cosine of the scattering angle (i.e., requiring complex angles).[3][4][5][6][7][8] This formulation is known asRegge theory.
In the early 1960s, Regge introducedRegge calculus, asimplicial formulation ofgeneral relativity. Regge calculus was the first discrete gauge theory suitable for numerical simulation, and an early relative oflattice gauge theory. In 1968 he and G. Ponzano developed a quantum version of Regge calculus in three space-time dimensions now known as the Ponzano-Regge model.[9] This was the first of a whole series of state sum models forquantum gravity known asspin foam models. In mathematics, the model also developed into the Turaev-Viro model, an example of aquantum invariant.
In the mid-1960s he was approached byRadical period furniture manufacturerGufram, for whom he "transformed a mathematical quartic function into a volume with intentionally ergonomic characteristics" to create the design for his 1968 Detecma seat.[10]
Married to the physicist Rosanna Cester, whom he met in the USA in 1954, the couple had three children, Daniele, Marta and Anna.
He died at the San Luigi hospital inOrbassano on 23 October 2014 at the age of 83 due to complications frompneumonia.[11] The civil funeral rite took place in the Farewell Hall of the Monumental Cemetery of Turin, where the body was cremated.[12]
Along withPiero Angela, in 1990 he co-founded theCICAP, covering the role of scientific senior consultant in place ofEdoardo Amaldi.
According to his daughter Anna, Tullio Regge spoke seven languages:English,German,French,Spanish,Russian andHebrew because he would like to read the Bible in its original language, while discussing with theJehovah Witnesses.[13]
He is considered to be the most influential Italian physicist of the 20th century, afterEnrico Fermi.[14]
He had shared the hypothesis (without affirming it) that "the laws of nature that we discover, or believe we discover, are actually an 'emergent property' of the Universe, that is, they do not exist from the beginning as objective rules that are progressively revealed by us, but instead derive from a self-organizingChaos."[15]
He received theDannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics in 1964, theCittà di Como prize in 1968, theAlbert Einstein Award in 1979,[16] and the Cecil Powell Medal in 1987.
Regge was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1982.[17]
In 1989, Regge was elected to theEuropean Parliament as a candidate of theItalian Communist Party and served until 1994. Regge served as president of the Turin section of the Association for Research in Handicap Prevention (AIRH).
He was awarded theDirac Medal in 1996,[18] the Marcel Grossmann Award in 1997,[19] and the Pomeranchuk Prize in 2001.[20] The asteroid3778 Regge has been named after him.
Regge theory, a theory of strong interaction phenomenology at high energies, andRegge calculus are named after him.
