 |
Yakir AharonovIsraeli theoretical physicist
Date of Birth: 28.08.1932
Country:  Israel |
Content:
Education and Early Career
Israeli theoretical physicist Yakir Aharonov completed his schooling in 1950 and served in the Israeli army from 1950 to 1952. From 1952 to 1956, he earned a bachelor's degree from the Technion in Haifa. He continued his studies at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom under the guidance of David Bohm, where he received his PhD in 1960.
From 1960 to 1961, Aharonov was a postdoctoral fellow at Brandeis University in the United States. He then joined Yeshiva University in 1961, where he worked as an Assistant Professor from 1961 to 1964 and an Associate Professor from 1964 to 1967.
Academic Career
In 1967, Aharonov became a professor at both Yeshiva University and Tel Aviv University. From 1973 to 2006, he was a professor at Tel Aviv University and the University of South Carolina. From 2006 to 2008, he held a professorship at George Mason University in the United States. Since 2008, Aharonov has been a professor at Chapman University in the United States.
Scientific Contributions
Aharonov's research interests lie in nonlocal and topological effects in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. He has also explored issues related to the interpretation of quantum mechanics.
In 1959, he co-authored with his supervisor, David Bohm, a theoretical prediction of a nonlocal quantum mechanical effect (later known as the Aharonov-Bohm effect). The effect was experimentally confirmed the following year, in 1960. For this theoretical discovery, Aharonov was awarded the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1998.
In 1988, together with David Albert and Lev Vaidman, Aharonov proposed a new type of quantum mechanical measurement called weak measurement. Weak measurement allows for the measurement of the evolution of the wavefunction with some probability, without causing its disturbance.
