Frank Wilczek
Published 2005-02-11, updated 2005-02-15Version 2
Asymptotic freedom was developed as a response to two paradoxes: the weirdness of quarks, and in particular their failure to radiate copiously when struck; and the coexistence of special relativity and quantum theory, despite the apparent singularity of quantum field theory. It resolved these paradoxes, and catalyzed the development of several modern paradigms: the hard reality of quarks and gluons, the origin of mass from energy, the simplicity of the early universe, and the power of symmetry as a guide to physical law.
Comments: 26 pages, 10 figures. Lecture on receipt of the 2004 Nobel Prize. v2: typo (in Ohm's law) corrected
Journal: Proc.Nat.Acad.Sci.102:8403-8413,2005; Int.J.Mod.Phys.A20:5753-5778,2005; Rev.Mod.Phys.77:857-870,2005
The Problem of Asymptotic Freedom
Self-interaction and mass in quantum field theory
Local P Violation Effects and Thermalization in QCD: Views from Quantum Field Theory and Holography
