Karl Sundman
Karl Frithiof Sundman (born October 28, 1873 in Kaskinen , † September 28, 1949 in Helsinki ) was a Finnish mathematician and astronomer.
Sundman studied astronomy in Helsinki from 1893 and was at the same time assistant at the Pulkowo observatory from 1894 to 1897 . In 1903 he received his doctorate in Helsinki and began to teach there, from 1907 as associate professor and from 1918 as full professor and director of the observatory. In 1941 he retired.
He became known for his solution to the three-body problem (1909). Assuming that the angular momentum does not initially vanish, Sundman was the first to be able to provide an analytical solution to the three-body problem in the form of a convergent power series - what is now known as the Sundman series . At the time, experts thought this was impossible.
He also constructed a special calculating machine for perturbation calculations in astronomy (1915).
The asteroid (1424) Sundmania is named after him.
literature
- G. Järnefelt, Karl F. Sundman in memoriam . Acta Mathematica, Volume 83, pp. I-VI, 1950.
- June Barrow-Green , The dramatic episode of Sundman . Historia Mathematica, Volume 37, pp. 164-203, 2010.
Web links
- Literature by and about Karl Sundman in the catalog of the German National Library
- John J. O'Connor, Edmund F. Robertson : Karl Sundman. In: MacTutor History of Mathematics archive .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sundman, Karl |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sundman, Karl Frithiof |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish mathematician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 28, 1873 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Caskinen |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 28, 1949 |
| Place of death | Helsinki |