John Ellis (physicist, born 1946)

John Ellis

CBE FRS HonFInstP
Born (1946-07-01) 1 July 1946 (age 77)
Hampstead, London, England, UK
NationalityBritish-Swiss
Alma materKing's College, Cambridge
Known forProposing how to discover the gluon[1] and the Higgs boson[2]


Coining the term Penguin diagram[3]


Popularizing the term "Theory of Everything"[4][5]
AwardsMayhew Prize (1968)
Maxwell Medal and Prize (1982)
Paul Dirac Medal and Prize (2005)
Scientific career
FieldsParticle physics
InstitutionsKing's College London
CERN
ThesisApproximate symmetries of hadrons
Doctoral advisorBruno Renner

Jonathan Richard "John" Ellis CBE FRS HonFInstP (born 1 July 1946[6]) is a British-Swiss theoretical physicist.

After completing his secondary education at Highgate School, he attended King's College, Cambridge from 1964, earning his PhD in theoretical (high-energy) particle physics in 1971, after having spent the academic year 1970/71 as a visiting student at CERN.[7] After one-year post-doc positions in the SLAC Theory Group[8] and at Caltech,[9] he went back to CERN in 1973, first as a research fellow and from 1974 as a staff member,[10] where he remained until he reached the fixed retirement age of 65.[11] Since 2010 Ellis is Clerk Maxwell Professor of Theoretical Physics at King's College London, but continues to work at CERN holding a visiting scientist appointment.[12][13]

Ellis' activities at CERN have been wide-ranging in addition to his research.[14][15] He was twice Deputy Division Leader for the theory ("TH") division, and served as Division Leader for 1988–1994.[10] He was a member of the committees that selected experiment at the LEP[16] and LHC accelerators[17] and participated in early studies of possible future colliders such as CLIC[18] and FCC.[19] In the early 2000s he advised successive CERN Directors-General on relations with non-member states.[20] He was also the first chair of CERN's Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel.[21]

Scientific research

Ellis' research interests focus on the phenomenological aspects of particle physics, and he has also made important contributions to astrophysics, cosmology and quantum gravity.[22][23] Most of his publications relate directly to experiment, from interpreting measurements and the results of searches for new particles, to exploring the physics that could be done with future accelerators. He was one of the pioneers of research at the interface between particle physics and cosmology, which has since become a sub-specialty of its own: particle astrophysics.

Ellis' early research centred on the phenomenology of gauge theories. Working with Dimitri Nanopoulos and Mary Gaillard, he proposed in 1976 the so-called "Higgs-strahlung" process in which a Higgs boson is radiated from a Z-boson[2] (this proved to be the best way to search for the Higgs boson at the Large Electron–Positron Collider) and calculated Higgs decay into Z photons, which was its most distinctive signature at the LHC. In the same year, he estimated the direct CP-violation contribution to rare neutral kaon decays[24] (which was later observed by the NA31 and NA48 experiments at CERN). Also in 1976, he published a paper suggesting the "glue-strahlung" technique for finding the gluon in
e+

e−
 annihilations.[1] The following year he predicted the mass of the bottom quark on the basis of Grand Unified Theory, before this quark was observed in experiment.[25] In 1978 he published a frequently cited general paper on such theories, with Andrzej J. Buras, Gaillard and Nanopoulos.[26]

In the 1980s, Ellis became a leading advocate of models of supersymmetry. In one of his earliest works, he showed that the lightest supersymmetric particle is a natural dark matter candidate.[27] In 1990 he showed that early LEP data favoured supersymmetric models of Grand Unification.[28] The following year, he showed that radiative corrections to the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in minimal supersymmetric models increased that mass beyond the reach of the Large Electron–Positron Collider (LEP) searches.[29] Ellis and collaborators later pioneered the analysis of so-called "benchmark scenarios" meant to illustrate the range of phenomenology to be expected from supersymmetric models;[30] such analyses have played a major role in evaluating the promise of various future accelerator options.

In parallel to his investigations of supersymmetric phenomenology, Ellis has also advocated phenomenological probes of quantum gravity and string theory. These probes include direct tests of quantum mechanics with the CPLEAR Collaboration[31] and the derivation of Grand Unified Theories from string theory. In this vein, his work on tests of the constancy of the velocity of light and models of string cosmology separately received first prizes from the Gravity Research Foundation.[32]

In 1996 he and collaborators suggested searching for anomalous radioactive isotopes in geological deposits, which could have been deposited by a nearby supernova explosion. Several experiments have subsequently detected the isotopes iron-60 and plutonium-244, indicating that one or more astrophysical explosions occurred within 100 parsec of the Earth within the past few million years.[33][34]

Following the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2010, Ellis and his then PhD student Tevong You analyzed its properties. The citation for the Nobel Prize for Peter Higgs and François Englert contains a citation, “Beyond any reasonable doubt, it is a Higgs boson”, from one of their papers.[35][36] Ellis has subsequently been one of the leading opponents of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory as a technique for analyzing Higgs and other relevant data from the LHC and elsewhere.[37][38]

Since 2019, he has been a leading member of the Atom Interferometry Observatory and Network (AION) in the United Kingdom, which plans to use atom interferometry to search for ultralight dark matter and gravitational waves.[39] In this connection, he has recently (2024) been exploring interpretations and implications of the gravitational wave signal reported by pulsar timing arrays.[40]

An impression of the impact of Ellis' research can be obtained from the INSPIRE-HEP reference system for scientific papers in particle physics and related fields. As of 2024, this data base lists over 1,000 scientific papers of which he is an author; altogether the sum of citations is above 120,000. In 2004 a SPIRES survey ranked him as the second-most cited theoretical physicist.[41] His publications include six papers with over 1000 citations. His h-index for published papers (2024) is 159.[42]

Support of particle accelerator projects

John Ellis in his office at CERN in January 2012

In addition to his theoretical research, John Ellis has been an advocate and supporter of future accelerators, beginning with LEP[43] and the LHC,[44] and extending to Compact Linear Collider (CLIC),[45] photon colliders, and future proton accelerators. Naturally his theoretical work reflected these connections, as when he showed that data from the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) and from LEP could be used to predict the masses of the top quark and the Higgs boson.[46]

Concerning the LHC, Ellis played a leading role in the seminal 1984 workshop on physics to be done with such an accelerator.[47][48][44] Since then he has written many articles on searches for Higgs bosons and supersymmetric particles at the LHC, both for the particle physics community and at a more popular level.

John Ellis is currently a strong supporter of the FCC option for a future high-energy collider complex.[49]

Awards and honours

Outreach and spreading physics around the world

John Ellis at the Birzeit University in November 2008

Ellis is regularly invited to give public lectures on particle physics and related topics, in French, Spanish, Italian as well as English. While at CERN he often gives introductory talks to visitors, including students and teachers.

John Ellis in his role as CERN Adviser for Non-Member State Relations

Ellis is known for his efforts to involve non-European nations in CERN scientific activities. In the context of the LHC, he has interacted frequently with physicists, administrators at universities and institutes, and ministers of funding agencies and diplomatic corps from a wide variety of countries, ranging from major CERN partners like the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, India, Israel, Armenia and China, to states with nascent physics programs such as Azerbaijan, the Baltic republics, Bolivia, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Iran, Madagascar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Romania, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Palestine, Rwanda, and others. These interactions have contributed towards the international character of CERN and opened the pathways of scientific discourse all around the world.

References

  1. ^ a b Ellis, John; Gaillard, Mary K.; Ross, Graham G. (1976). "Search for gluons in
    e+

    e−
     annihilation". Nuclear Physics B. 111 (2): 253. Bibcode:1976NuPhB.111..253E. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(76)90542-3.    "Errata". Nuclear Physics B. 130 (3): 516. 1977. Bibcode:1977NuPhB.130Q.516.. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(77)90253-X.
  2. ^ a b Ellis, John; Gaillard, Mary K.; Nanopoulos, D.V. (1976). "A phenomenological profile of the Higgs boson". Nuclear Physics B. 106: 292–340. Bibcode:1976NuPhB.106..292E. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(76)90382-5.
  3. ^ Ellis, J.; Gaillard, M.K.; Nanopoulos, D.V.; Rudaz, S. (1977). "The phenomenology of the next left-handed quarks". Nuclear Physics B. 131 (2–3): 285–307. Bibcode:1977NuPhB.131..285E. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(77)90374-1.
  4. ^ Ellis, John (2002). "Physics gets physical (correspondence)". Nature. 415 (6875): 957. Bibcode:2002Natur.415..957E. doi:10.1038/415957b. PMID 11875539.
  5. ^ Ellis, John (1986). "The Superstring: Theory of Everything, or of Nothing?". Nature. 323 (6089): 595–598. Bibcode:1986Natur.323..595E. doi:10.1038/323595a0. S2CID 4344940.
  6. ^ Sleeman, Elizabeth (2003). The International Who's Who 2004. Routledge. p. 489. ISBN 1-85743-217-7.
  7. ^ Ellis, Jonathan Richard (26 October 1971). Approximate symmetries of hadrons. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ^ Bjorken, James (1998). "Foreword" (PDF). Beam Line. 28 (2): 2–3.
  9. ^ Ellis, John; Jaffe, Robert (1 March 1974). "Sum rule for deep-inelastic electroproduction from polarized protons". Physical Review D. 9 (5): 1444–1446. Bibcode:1974PhRvD...9.1444E. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.9.1444. ISSN 0556-2821.
  10. ^ a b Senior Staff Appointment (J. Ellis). Nomination de Personnel Supérieur. 187th Meeting of Committee of Council, 1988, retrieved 14 March 2024
  11. ^ "Oral History Interviews | John Ellis | American Institute of Physics". 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Clerk Maxwell Chair of Theoretical Physics appointed". 31 March 2010. Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  13. ^ Banks, Michael (11 August 2011). "A life after CERN". Physics World.
  14. ^ Anthony, Katarina (5 September 2011). "John Ellis discusses the Higgs, the lack of the Higgs, and extra dimensions". CERN Bulletin (37–38).
  15. ^ Anthony, Katarina (26 September 2011). "John Ellis considers cosmology, colloquiums and new collaborations". CERN Bulletin (39–40).
  16. ^ LEP Experiments Committee: Minutes of the 1st meeting 24-25 March 1982, CERN, 1982, retrieved 14 March 2024
  17. ^ Aubert, J J; Brianti, G; Cashmore, R J; Di Lella, L; Dornan, P J; Duinker, P; Einsweiler, K; Eisele, F; Ellis, Jonathan Richard (1992), Minutes of the first meeting held on 2 Oct. 1992, LHCC-1, CERN, retrieved 14 March 2024
  18. ^ Ellis, John; Wilson, Ian (2001). "New physics with the Compact Linear Collider". Nature. 409 (6818): 431–435. doi:10.1038/35053224. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11201761.
  19. ^ The TLEP Design Study Working Group; Bicer, M.; Duran Yildiz, H.; Yildiz, I.; Coignet, G.; Delmastro, M.; Alexopoulos, T.; Grojean, C; Antusch, S.; Sen, T.; He, H.-J.; Potamianos, K.; Haug, S.; Moreno, A.; Heister, A. (2014). "First look at the physics case of TLEP". Journal of High Energy Physics. 2014 (1): 164. arXiv:1308.6176. Bibcode:2014JHEP...01..164B. doi:10.1007/JHEP01(2014)164. ISSN 1029-8479.
  20. ^ Ellis, John (2003). "Developing countries and CERN". CERN Courier. 43 (6): 26–28.
  21. ^ "Liberté? Egalité? Opportunité!". CERN Bulletin (44). 2000.
  22. ^ Krause, Michael (2014). "The Theorist: John Ellis". CERN: How We Found the Higgs Boson. World Scientific. pp. 122–135. doi:10.1142/9789814623476_0008. ISBN 978-981-4623-55-1.
  23. ^ Ellis, John; Nanopoulos, Dimitri (July 1983). "Particle physics and cosmology". CERN Courier. 23 (6): 211–216.
  24. ^ Ellis, John; Gaillard, Mary K.; Nanopoulos, D.V. (1976). "Left-handed currents and CP violation" (PDF). Nuclear Physics B. 109 (2): 213. Bibcode:1976NuPhB.109..213E. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(76)90203-0.
  25. ^ Chanowitz, Michael S.; Ellis, John; Gaillard, Mary K. (1977). "The price of natural flavour conservation in neutral weak interactions". Nuclear Physics B. 128 (3): 506–536. Bibcode:1977NuPhB.128..506C. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(77)90057-8.
  26. ^ Buras, A.J.; Ellis, J.; Gaillard, M.K.; Nanopoulos, D.V. (1978). "Aspects of the grand unification of strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions". Nuclear Physics B. 135 (1): 66–92. Bibcode:1978NuPhB.135...66B. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(78)90214-6.
  27. ^ Ellis, John; Hagelin, J.S.; Nanopoulos, D.V.; Olive, K.; Srednicki, M. (1984). "Supersymmetric relics from the big bang". Nuclear Physics B. 238 (2): 453. Bibcode:1984NuPhB.238..453E. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(84)90461-9. OSTI 1446888.
  28. ^ Ellis, John; Kelley, S.; Nanopoulos, D.V. (1990). "Precision LEP data, supersymmetric GUTs and string unification". Physics Letters B. 249 (3–4): 441–448. Bibcode:1990PhLB..249..441E. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(90)91013-2. hdl:1969.1/182058.
  29. ^ Ellis, John; Ridolfi, Giovanni; Zwirner, Fabio (1991). "Radiative corrections to the masses of supersymmetric Higgs bosons". Physics Letters B. 257 (1–2): 83–91. Bibcode:1991PhLB..257...83E. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(91)90863-L.
  30. ^ Battaglia, M.; De Roeck, A.; Ellis, J.; Gianotti, F.; Matchev, K.T.; Olive, K.A.; Pape, L.; Wilson, G. (2001). "Proposed Post-LEP benchmarks for supersymmetry". The European Physical Journal C. 22 (3): 535–561. arXiv:hep-ph/0106204. Bibcode:2001EPJC...22..535B. doi:10.1007/s100520100792. S2CID 15749160.
  31. ^ Adler, R.; Angelopoulos, A.; Apostolakis, A.; Aslanides, E.; Backenstoss, G.; Bee, C.P.; Behnke, O.; Benelli, A.; Bertin, V.; Blanc, F.; Bloch, P.; Carlson, P.; Carroll, M.; Carvalho, J.; Cawley, E. (1995). "Tests of CPT symmetry and quantum mechanics with experimental data from CPLEAR". Physics Letters B. 364 (4): 239–245. arXiv:hep-ex/9511001. Bibcode:1995PhLB..364..239A. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(95)01416-0.
  32. ^ a b "Gravity Research Foundation: Award essays by year". Gravity Research Foundation. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  33. ^ Shaviv, Giora (2009), "The Life and Death of Massive Stars", The Life of Stars, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 369–453, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-02088-9_8, ISBN 978-3-642-02087-2, retrieved 19 March 2024
  34. ^ Ellis, John; Fields, Brian D.; Schramm, David N. (1996). "Geological Isotope Anomalies as Signatures of Nearby Supernovae". The Astrophysical Journal. 470: 1227. arXiv:astro-ph/9605128. Bibcode:1996ApJ...470.1227E. doi:10.1086/177945. ISSN 0004-637X.
  35. ^ Scientific Background on the Nobel Prize in Physics 2013: The BEH-Mechanism, interactions with short range forces and scalar particles (PDF). Stockholm: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (published 8 October 2013). 2013.
  36. ^ Ellis, John; You, Tevong (2013). "Updated global analysis of Higgs couplings". Journal of High Energy Physics. 2013 (6): 103. arXiv:1303.3879. Bibcode:2013JHEP...06..103E. doi:10.1007/JHEP06(2013)103. ISSN 1029-8479.
  37. ^ Williams, Porter (31 August 2023). "5. Effective field theory". Philosophy of Particle Physics (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. Bibcode:2023ppp..book.....W. doi:10.1017/9781009205382. ISBN 978-1-009-20538-2.
  38. ^ Ellis, John; Madigan, Maeve; Mimasu, Ken; Sanz, Veronica; You, Tevong (2021). "Top, Higgs, diboson and electroweak fit to the Standard Model effective field theory". Journal of High Energy Physics. 2021 (4): 279. arXiv:2012.02779. Bibcode:2021JHEP...04..279E. doi:10.1007/JHEP04(2021)279. ISSN 1029-8479.
  39. ^ Badurina, L.; Bentine, E.; Blas, D.; Bongs, K.; Bortoletto, D.; Bowcock, T.; Bridges, K.; Bowden, W.; Buchmueller, O.; Burrage, C.; Coleman, J.; Elertas, G.; Ellis, J.; Foot, C.; Gibson, V. (6 May 2020). "AION: an atom interferometer observatory and network". Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. 2020 (5): 011. arXiv:1911.11755. Bibcode:2020JCAP...05..011B. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2020/05/011. ISSN 1475-7516.
  40. ^ Ellis, John (2024). "Gravitational Waves: Echoes of the Biggest Bangs since the Big Bang and/or BSM Physics?". arXiv:2402.10755 [hep-ph].
  41. ^ "The top cited theory authors in the SPIRES-HEP database (2004)". SPIRES-HEP. May 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  42. ^ "INSPIRE-HEP: Ellis, John R." INSPIRE-HEP. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  43. ^ Willis, William J; Winter, Klaus; Ellis, Jonathan Richard; Field, John; Richter, Burton; Darriulat, Pierre; Johnsen, Kjell; Gabathuler, Erwin; Palmonari, Federico; Keil, Eberhard; Rubbia, Carlo; Fischer, H; Cundy, Donald C; Steinberger, Jack; Hoffmann, Hans Falk (1976). "Physics with very high-energy e+e– colliding beams". CERN Report (CERN-76-18). doi:10.5170/CERN-1976-018.
  44. ^ a b Ellis, Jonathan Richard; Gelmini, Graciela B; Kowalski, H (1984). "Chapter XII: New particles and their experimental signatures". CERN Report. Proceedings of the ECFA-CERN Workshop : Large Hadron Collider in the LEP tunnel (CERN-1984-010 (vol. 2)): 393–454. doi:10.5170/CERN-1984-010-V-2.393.
  45. ^ De Roeck, A; Schulte, Daniel; Battaglia, Marco; Ellis, Jonathan Richard (2004). "Physics at the CLIC Multi-TeV Linear Collider : report of the CLIC Physics Working Group". CERN Report (CERN-2004-005). doi:10.5170/CERN-2004-005.
  46. ^ Ellis, John; Fogli, G.L.; Lisi, E. (1994). "The top quark and Higgs boson masses in the standard model and the MSSM". Physics Letters B. 333 (1–2): 118–125. Bibcode:1994PhLB..333..118E. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(94)91016-2.
  47. ^ Smith, Chris Llewellyn (13 January 2015). "Genesis of the Large Hadron Collider". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 373 (2032): 20140037. doi:10.1098/rsta.2014.0037. ISSN 1364-503X.
  48. ^ Llewellyn Smith, Chris (15 December 2017). "Genesis of the LHC, in Symposium 25 Years of LHC Experimental Programme" (PDF). Indico. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  49. ^ Crivellin, Andreas; Ellis, John (6 January 2022). "Exotic flavours at the FCC". CERN Courier. 62 (1): 35–38.
  50. ^ "Duddell Medal and Prize". Physics Bulletin. 33 (2): 62–63. 1982. doi:10.1088/0031-9112/33/2/028. ISSN 0031-9112.
  51. ^ "Maxwell Medal and Prize". Physics Bulletin. 33 (2): 63–64. 1982. doi:10.1088/0031-9112/33/2/029. ISSN 0031-9112.
  52. ^ "Royal Society: Fellows Directory — Jonathan Ellis". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  53. ^ London, King's College. "King's Physicist appointed Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics". King's College London. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  54. ^ Ellis, John; Mavromatos, N. E.; Nanopoulos, D. V. (1999). "Search for Quantum Gravity". General Relativity and Gravitation. 31 (9): 1257–1262. arXiv:gr-qc/9905048. Bibcode:1999GReGr..31.1257E. doi:10.1023/A:1026720723556. ISSN 0001-7701.
  55. ^ Ellis, John; Mavromatos, Nikolaos E.; Nanopoulos, Dimitri V. (2005). "The string coupling accelerates the expansion of the universe". International Journal of Modern Physics D. 14 (12): 2327–2333. arXiv:gr-qc/0503120. Bibcode:2005IJMPD..14.2327E. doi:10.1142/S0218271805008042. ISSN 0218-2718.
  56. ^ "Paul Dirac Medal and Prize recipients". Institute of Physics. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  57. ^ "No. 60173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2012. p. 7.
  58. ^ "John Ellis honoured by the Queen". CERN Courier. 52 (6): 39. July 2012.
  59. ^ "People and things". CERN Courier. 34 (9): 24. November 1994.
  60. ^ "Nya hedersdoktorer inom teknik och naturvetenskap". uu.se. 7 October 2010. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  61. ^ "IOP welcomes six new Honorary Fellows". Institute of Physics. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  62. ^ "King's Physicist appointed Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics". www.kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  63. ^ "CURRICULUM VITAE - JONATHAN R. (JOHN) ELLIS". studylib.net. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

External links

  • Oral history interview transcript with John Ellis on 6 May 2021, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
  • Ellis discusses the supercollider at CERN, and the physics discoveries that could come from it
  • "The LHC is safe", talk given by John Ellis at CERN, in Geneva, on 14 August 2008
  • International Man of Mysteries, September 10, 2008 (Interview with John Ellis)
  • Open Knowledge Conference plenary talk, on 17 September 2013
  • "Bang Goes the Big Bang" – Ellis debates the origins of the universe with Roger Penrose and Laura Mersini-Houghton
  • Scientific publications of John Ellis on INSPIRE-HEP
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