Prof. Dr. Benjamin Schlein

Profile

Research fieldsMathematics in quantum theory,Linear and multilinear algebra; matrix theory,Theoretical Physics
KeywordsMany-body quantum dynamics, Nonlinear PDE, Quantum Electrodynamics, Random Matrix Theory, Scattering theory

Current contact address

CountrySwitzerland
CityZürich
InstitutionUniversität Zürich
InstituteInstitut für Mathematik & Computational Science

Host during sponsorship

Prof. Dr. Laszlo ErdösMathematisches Institut, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), München
Start of initial sponsorship01/07/2007

Programme(s)

2006Sofja Kovalevskaja Award Programme

Nominator's project description

In the first half of the 20th century, when physicists observed that new properties were revealed by light interacting with material, classical physics reached its limits. It was the birth of quantum mechanics, the principles of which are part of common knowledge in physics nowadays, such as the fact that material particles exhibit waves, just like light. This is a principle used in modern electron microscopes. One of the main pillars of quantum mechanics is the Schrödinger equation which, to this day, has been very successful in predicting experiments. But when it comes to examining macroscopic systems - i.e. systems composed of multitudes of the tiniest particles - the amount of data is so enormous that even the most modern computers are not powerful enough to solve the Schrödinger equation. Benjamin Schlein is trying to develop mathematical methods which will make it possible to derive simpler equations to describe the dynamics of macroscopic systems. He wants to create a solid mathematical basis on which to assess and develop further applications in quantum mechanics.