Ludwig Biermann German astronomer Date of Birth: 13.03.1907 Country: Germany

1. Early Life and Education
2. Academic Career
3. Research in Astrophysics
4. Solar and Cometary Research
5. Honors and Recognition

Early Life and Education

Ludwig Biermann was born in Hamm, Westphalia, Germany. He pursued his education in astronomy at Munich University (1925-1927), Freiburg University (1927-1928), and Göttingen University (1929-1932).

Academic Career

In 1934-1937, Biermann taught at the University of Jena. Subsequently, from 1937-1945, he was at the University of Berlin. After World War II, he became professor at the University of Hamburg from 1945-1947.

From 1947-1958, Biermann served as the director of the Institute of Physics in Göttingen. In 1958, he became the director of the Institute of Astrophysics within the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Munich. In 1971, he was appointed director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics, a position he held until 1975. He remained an honorary member of the institute thereafter.

Research in Astrophysics

Biermann's primary research interests focused on the internal structure of stars and cosmic plasma physics. In the 1930s, he developed stellar models that incorporated the role of convection in energy transfer and first proposed the possibility of fully mixed stars.

Biermann calculated the opacity of stellar matter caused by different elements, accounting for their ionization. He also tabulated line intensities for various transitions in light ions relevant to stellar structure theory and atmospheres.

He investigated the dynamic stability of stars and its connection to their chemical composition. This work led to a model for the eruption of novae.

Solar and Cometary Research

Biermann predicted the existence of constant corpuscular radiation from the sun, now identified as the solar wind. He studied the interaction of this radiation with comet tails and demonstrated that their structure was influenced by corpuscular radiation, not radiation pressure.

In 1964, Biermann theorized that cometary heads should be surrounded by extensive shells of neutral hydrogen. This was confirmed in 1969 with observations of Bennet's comet.

Biermann also conducted research on the solar chromosphere and corona. He calculated coronal temperatures based on element ionization levels. Independently of M. Schwarzschild, he proposed a mechanism for heating the chromosphere and corona through acoustic waves generated in the photosphere's convective zone.

Honors and Recognition

Biermann was a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Natural Scientists "Leopoldina," and the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. He received numerous awards, including the Bruce Medal (1967), the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1974), and the Wichert Medal of the German Geophysical Society (1973). Asteroid 73640 is named in his honor.