Matthew Choptuik
Matthew W. Choptuik | |
---|---|
Born | 1961 (age 62–63) |
Nationality | Canadian |
Alma mater | University of British Columbia |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Theoretical physics |
Thesis | A Study of Numerical Techniques for Radiative Problems in General Relativity (1986) |
Doctoral advisor | W. G. Unruh |
Doctoral students | Frans Pretorius |
Matthew William Choptuik (born 1961) is a Canadian theoretical physicist specializing in numerical relativity.
Choptuik graduated from
In 1993,[1] he discovered critical phenomena in gravitational collapse[2] via numerical studies. He showed—under non-generic initial conditions [3]—the possibility of the occurrence of naked singularity in general relativity with scalar matter. This had previously been the subject of a bet between Stephen Hawking, Kip Thorne and John Preskill. Hawking lost the bet after Choptuik's publication, but renewed it under non-generic initial conditions.[4]
Choptuik was the 2001 awardee of the Rutherford Memorial Medal. In 2003 he received the CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics. In 2003 he became a fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2002, he became an honorary doctor of Brandon University.
References
- ^ Gundlach, C. & Martín-García, J.M. Living Rev. Relativ. (2007) 10: 5.
- ^ Only with precise fine tuning of the initial conditions, which is lost even with small perturbations
- ^ Matt Crenson, The naked truth: Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking loses a bet, APS News, February 12, 1997