Roy Kerr

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roy Kerr (2006)

Roy Patrick Kerr CNZM (born May 16, 1934 in Kurow , New Zealand ) is a New Zealand mathematician .

Kerr became known for the discovery of a solution ( Kerr solution ) to the field equations of general relativity . While Karl Schwarzschild found a solution (the outer Schwarzschild solution ) for the actually non-existent, static black holes (the center of a black hole becomes singular: point singularity ), Roy Kerr developed a solution for rotating black holes, in which a one-dimensional ring becomes singular in the equatorial plane . This solution is also called the Kerr metric . It is the rare example of an exact solution of a differential equation in physics (in this case Einstein's field equations), which is also realized in nature, for black holes, which are described by a few parameters (angular momentum, mass, charge) according to the No Hair Theorem are.

Kerr's extraordinary math talent was recognized when he was a student at St. Andrews College in Christchurch during his high school years . He received his Masters degree from Canterbury University College in 1953 . Kerr then went to Harvard University in Cambridge , where he earned his PhD in 1960 . His doctoral thesis dealt with the field equations of general relativity.

He then worked as a habilitation course participant at Syracuse University in Syracuse , New York, with Peter Bergmann and for a short time with the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on a bizarre anti-gravity project, which was soon discontinued. In 1962, Kerr went to the University of Texas at Austin , where he developed his famous theory in 1963, the importance of which was initially not recognized by astrophysicists . Kip Thorne recalls the indifferent reaction of astrophysicists to Kerr's ten-minute talk at the Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics in Dallas in 1963, which they viewed as esoteric mathematics. Achilles Papapetrou felt compelled to step forward and point out the importance of the long-sought solution to a problem of general relativity.

In 1965 he and Alfred Schild introduced the Kerr-Schild spacetime . From 1971 until his retirement in 1993 he was professor of mathematics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch (New Zealand) and headed the department of mathematics as dean for ten years .

Since his retirement, Kerr has lived a very secluded life.

In 1984 he received the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society in London and in 2006 the Marcel Grossmann Award . The Royal Society of New Zealand awarded him their Hector Medal in 1982 and the Rutherford Medal in 1993. At the beginning of 2011 he was accepted for his achievements in astrophysics as a Companion (CNZM) in the New Zealand Order of Merit . In 2013 he received the Albert Einstein Medal and in 2016 the Crafoord Prize . In 2019, Kerr became a member of the Royal Society.

literature

  • Kerr Fest: Black Holes in Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Gravity. University of Canterbury, 2004 ( PDF; 246 kB - with curriculum vitae and publications).
  • Marilyn Head: Man of mystery. In: New Zealand Listener . September 25, 2004 ( PDF; 568 kB ).
  • David L. Wiltshire, Matt Visser, Susan M. Scott: The Kerr Spacetime: Rotating Black Holes in General Relativity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2009, ISBN 0-521-88512-4 ; in this
    • Roy P. Kerr: The Kerr and Kerr-Schild Metrics. Pp. 38-72 (first publication: Discovering the Kerr and Kerr-Schild metrics. Arxiv : 0706.1109 ).
  • Brian Woods: Professor Roy Kerr. In: NZMS Newsletter. No. 58, August 1993.
  • Fulvio Melia: Cracking the Einstein Code , University of Chicago Press 2009

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andreas Müller: Black holes: The Kerr solution. In: Wissenschaft-Online . August 2007.
  2. ^ Roy P. Kerr: Gravitational Field of a Spinning Mass as an Example of Algebraically Special Metrics. In: Physical Review Letters. Vol. 11, 1963, doi: 10.1103 / PhysRevLett.11.237 , pp. 237-238.
  3. ↑ Christoph Drösser : Black Holes: "I knew immediately: This is fantastic!" In: Die Zeit . July 6, 2013.
  4. ^ Thorne: Black holes and time warps. Quoted in: McTutor, see web links.
  5. ^ New Year Honors List 2011 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet , December 31, 2010, accessed May 11, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Hansjörg Friedli: Einstein Celebration 2013 - Awarding of the Einstein Medal: Presentation of the Laureate. Website of the Einstein House Bern .
personal data
SURNAME Kerr, Roy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kerr, Roy Patrick; Kerr, Roy P.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Kurow , New Zealand