Roy Glauber, who shared the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics, died on 26 December 2018 aged 93. A pioneer in the field of quantum optics, his work helped lay the groundwork for new technologies such as quantum cryptography.
Abstract We recount the life, work, and legacy of the theoretical physicist Roy Glauber (1925–2018). Admitted to Harvard at age 16, called upon to participate in the Manhattan Project at age eighteen, and appointed to the Harvard Physics faculty at age 29, Glauber is credited with seminal contributions to three separate fields of physics: nuclear scattering, statistical physics, and foundational work in quantum optics, which earned him the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics. Over decades, Glauber was also a dedicated teacher of high‐school, college, and graduate students. His pedagogical gifts are reflected in his lucid papers that read as if they were written yesterday. Key points perspective on the life, work, and legacy of the 2005 Physics Nobel laureate Roy Glauber (1925–2018) impact of Glauber's contributions on large swaths of physics, from nuclear to optical to condensed matter Glauber's work in quantum optics has nurtured burgeoning areas of quantum science and engineering
The field of quantum optics rests on the work of Roy Glauber, who helped elucidate the nature of light as both particles and waves. According to Glauber, quantum optics allowed "all sorts of experiments...that never could have been done before." He suggests that it was not his "small revelation" that the Nobel Committee awarded, but rather the decades of research that followed his own. Nonetheless, Glauber received one-half of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence" while the other half was shared by John Hall and Theodor Hänsch for their work on laser-based precision spectroscopy. Glauber admits that the behavior of light seems strange and unintuitive--yet the phenomena that Einstein called "spooky action at a distance" may have many practical applications. In this candid interview, Glauber shares his thoughts about working at Los Alamos National Laboratory--his shock to learn that he was helping to build The Bomb, and his dismay about how it was used. At Los Alamos, Glauber met two of his major influences: Julian Schwinger, who was Glauber's thesis advisor at Harvard, and Los Alamos scientific director Robert Oppenheimer, who facilitated his early post-doctoral research. Glauber also tells a poignant account of how his marriage fell victim to the social upheaval of the 1960's, and how he was left to raise two children alone. Despite the difficulties of reconciling academia with family, Glauber is amused to find himself revered by women as "someone who has raised children and nonetheless had a successful academic career."
The Royal Swedish Academy of Science has decided to award the Nobel Prize for Physicsfor 2005 to Roy J Glauber for his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence, and to JohnL. Hall and Theodor W H nsch for their contributions to the development of laser-based precisionspectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique. The beginning of modern quantumoptics is briefly reviewed according to history, and an outline in this field was presented.It was intro-duced in detail how H nsch and Hall developed the optical frequency comb technique for precisionmeasurement of optical frequency.