The beauty of mathematics in science : the intellectual path of J Q Chen

This book is a tribute to the life and work of J Q Chen. The contributions of Chen to nuclear and molecular physics are discussed vis-à-vis present developments in these fields. Among other subjects, the present status of microscopic theories of the interacting boson model in nuclear physics and the theory of symmetry adaptation of molecular vibrations in molecular physics are reviewed. The latter theory is particularly useful for large molecular species such as fullerenes, where icosahedral symmetry plays a fundamental role. Colleagues, many of them also friends, celebrate the achievements of Chinese mathematical physicist Jin-Quan Chen (1938-99) by contributing 16 papers on topics that were of special interest to him. Those include the interacting boson model, the dynamical symmetry approach to collective motions in many-body systems, fermion dynamical symmetries and high-temperature superconductors, quantum mechanics on a sphere, irreducible bases in icosahedral groups space and their applications, and algebraic solutions for point groups. A paper by Chen and others, The Physical Method of Group Representation Theory, is presented in English and in Chinese. There is no index. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR This book is a tribute to the life and work of J Q Chen. The contributions of Chen to nuclear and molecular physics are discussed vis-à-vis present developments in these fields. Among other subjects, the present status of microscopic theories of the interacting boson model in nuclear physics and the theory of symmetry adaptation of molecular vibrations in molecular physics are reviewed. The latter theory is particularly useful for large molecular species such as fullerenes, where icosahedral symmetry plays a fundamental role. Contents: A Conceptual Review of the New Approach to Group Represent As a lifelong colleague of Jin-Quan I will give an epitome of the intellectual path of J.Q.Chen covered the period up to his first visit to US.