ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS IN RESEARCH OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS IN JAPAN FOR THE PERIOD 1930-1960

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ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS IN RESEARCH OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS IN JAPAN FOR THE PERIOD

1930-1960

G. Takeda, Y. Yamaguchi

To cite this version:

G. Takeda, Y. Yamaguchi. ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS IN RESEARCH OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS IN JAPAN FOR THE PERIOD 1930-1960. Journal de Physique Colloques, 1982, 43 (C8), pp.C8-335-C8-340. �10.1051/jphyscol:1982821�. �jpa-00222381�

JOURNAL DE PHYSIQUE

CoZZoque C8, suppZ6ment au n o 1 2 , Tome 43, d6cembre 1982 page c8-335

ROLE OF I N S T I T U T I O N S I N RESEARCH OF H I G H ENERGY PHYSICS I N JAPAN FOR THE PERIOD 1 9 3 0 - 1 9 6 0

P r e p a r e d by G . Takeda and Y. Yamaguchi P r e s e n t e d by Y. Yamaguchi

Department o f P h y s i c s , U n i v e r s i t y o f Tokyo, Hong 7-3-1 Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan

A f t e r M e i j i - r e f o r m o f 1868, h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n on western s c i e n c e and t e c h n o l o - gy s t a r t e d a t n a t i o n a l u n i v e r s i t i e s and t h e n a t p r i v a t e u n i v e r s i t i e s .

However, f r o n t i e r r e s e a r c h i n s c i e n c e was y e t t o be developed e x c e p t f o r a few area l i k e seismology. I n p a r t i c l e p h y s i c s , a c t i v e r e s e a r c h came i n t o b e i n s i n 1Y30is, a t two c e n t e r s , RIKEN and OSAKA U n i v e r s i t y .

RIKEN, I n s t i t u t e o f P h y s i c a l and Chemical Research was a p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n i n Tokyo, e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1917. I t s aims were ( 1 ) p u r e and a p p l i e d r e s e a r c h i n phy- s i c a l and chemical s c i e n c e and ( 2 ) t h e development o f i n d u s t r i e s . I t s funds came f r o m i t s own p a t e n t s , businesses l i k e makin5 and s e l l i n g some chemical p r o d u c t s and d o n a t i o n f r o m i n d u s t r i e s and l a t e r a s p e c i a l r e s e a r c h s u p p o r t by t h e government.

XIKEN absorbed b e s t s c i e n t i s t s a t t h a t time, a t t r a c t i n g many j u n i o r p e o p l e t o c h a l - lenge t o t h e f r o n t i e r r e s e a r c h . It c o n s i s t e d o f about 20 l a b o r a t o r i e s neaded b y eminent s c i e n t i s t s . Most o f them were u n i v e r s i t y p r o f e s s o r s a t t h e same t i m e . Among these l a b s , t h e r e were Nishikawa ans N i s h i n a l a b s r e l e v a n t t o p a r t i c l e p h y s i c s .

Nishikawa l a b had been d e v e l o p i n g n o t a b l e X-ray works t o s t u d y on s t r u c t u r e of m a t t e r . There, KikuEhi p e r f o r m e d h i s work on K i k u c h i - l i n e ( c a t h o d e r a y d i f f r a c t i o n by mi ca) .

Yeanwhile, N i s h i n a , spending 8 y e a r s i n Europe (Cambridge, G o t t i n g e n and Copenhasen) becan h i s l a b i n 1931. I t c o n t a i n e d a t h e o r y y o u p headed by Tomonaga and a cosmic r a y group. Experimental n u c l e a r p h y s i c s f a c i l i t i e s were p r e p a r e d by j o i n t e f f o r t o f N i s h i kawa and N i s h i n a l a b s , b u i l d i n g C o k c r o f t - h a 1 t o n , s m a l l and 1 arge c y c l o t r o n s . N i s h i n a b r o u g h t t h e "Copenhasen G e i s t " i n t o Japan. N i s h i n a 1 ab, o r more g e n e r a l l y RIKEN, m a i n t a i n e d q u i t e a c t i v e , c r i t i c a l and c r e a t i v e atmosphere.

Ilinimum a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e g u l a t i o n s and ( c o m p a r a t i v e l j r yood) f i n a n c i a l s t a t u s i n 1 9 3 0 ' s paved t h e way t o b a s i c (and a p p l i e d ) r e s e a r c h .

A c t i v i t i e s i n t h e o r i e s (e'e- c r e a t i o n and a n n i h i l a t i o n by N i shina, Tor~ionaga and Sakata, e t c . ) , cosmic r a y o b s e r v a t i o n ( f r o m sea l e v e l t o [It F u j i , f r o m n o r t h p a r t o f Japan t o e q u a t o r , c l o u d chamber works, e t c .) and e x p e r i m e n t a l n u c l e a r phy- s i c s s h o u l d be n o t e d a t RIKEN i n 1 9 3 0 ' s .

Osaka U n i v e r s i t y was founded i n 1932. A t t h a t t i m e Osaka c i t y was t h e l e a d i n s c i t y i n i n d u s t r y and commerce i n Japan. People o f t h e c i t y f i n a n c i a l l y s u p p o r t e d

" t h e i r " u n i v e r s i t y though i t i s one o f t h e n a t i o n a l u n i v e r s i t i e s funded substan- c i a l l y by t h e government. I t had o n l y F a c u l t i e s o f Science, Technology and M e d i c i n e and aimed i n t h a t area, t o be t h e t o p c l a s s u n i v e r s i t y ( i n e d u c a t i o n as w e l l as i n r e s e a r c h ) i n t h e w o r l d . K i k u c h i e t a l . moved t o Osaka u n i v e r s i t y f r o m RIKEN. Osaka became t h e second a c t i v e c e n t e r i n n u c l e a r p h y s i c s and p a r t i c l e p h y s i c s . A c t i v i t y i n s l o w n e u t r o n p h y s i c s s h o u l d be n o t e d . Good c o l l a b o r a t i o n among e x p e r i m e n t a l i s t s and t h e o r i s t s e x i s t e d t h e r e . Yukawa (1933) and Sakata (1934) came t o Osaka, c r e a t e d and developed t h e meson t h e o r i e s . Yukawa came back t o Kyoto i n 1939.

Research atmosphere and p h y s i c i s t s t r a i n e d i n RIKEN and Osaka spead o v e r o t h e r u n i v e r s i t i e s and i n s t i t u t e s d u r i n g t h e war. New r e s e a r c h groups g r a d u a l l y emerged, many i n t h e o r y , s e v e r a l i n cosmic r a y and s e v e r a l i n e x p e r i m e n t a l n u c l e a r p h y s i c s . Article published online by EDP Sciences and available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/jphyscol:1982821

C8-336 JOURNAL DE PHYSIQUE

Outstanding examples i n t h e o r e t i c a l physics were Nagoya group and Tokyo group l e d by Sakata and Tomonaga, r e s p e c t i v e l y . Sakata moved t o newly founded Nagoya Uni- v e r s i t y i n 1942, presented two meson theory, mentioned by Peyrou i n t h i s colloquium, (Sakata-Inoue and Tani kawa) .

Tomonaga moved t o Tokyo U n i v e r s i t y o f L i t e r a t u r e and Science (afterwards i t changed name t o Tokyo U n i v e r s i t y o f Education) i n 1941, keeping h i s p o s i t i o n a t RIKEN f o r a w h i l e . He was n o t o n l y a g r e a t p h y s i c i s t b u t a l s o a marvelous teacher i n physics. He a t t r a c t e d many young p h y s i c i s t s o f o t h e r u n i v e r s i t i e s i n and around Tokyo and g r a d u a l l y formed a s t r o n g theory group. He and h i s c o l l a b o r a t o r s ' works d u r i n g war time were t h e s t r o n g c o u p l i n g theory, Tomonaga approximation (interme- d i a t e coupling). He, Kotani and Hagiwara a l s o worked on t h e theory o f magnetron and wave guide. He introduced r e l a t i v i s t i c a l l y c o v a r i a n t formalism o f f i e l d theory, i - e . Tomonaga-Schwinger formal ism, which e v e n t u a l l y evolved i n t o renormal i z a t i o n theory.

t i i s powerful theory sroup was the task f o r c e f o r a t t a c k i n g various a p p l i c a t i o n s o f r e n o r m a l i z a t i o n t h e o r i e s and cosmic r a y t h e o r i e s a f t e r t h e war.

1930's and 1040's may be t h e most p r o d u c t i v e e r a i n t h e t h e o r e t i c a l p a r t i c l e physics i n Japan. During t h i s p e r i o d we were i s o l a t e d from advanced regions. Never- t h e l e s s reasonable communications between Japan and Europe o r USA - n o t t o o l i t t l e and n o t t o o much - may have c o n t r i b u t e d t o these c r e a t i v e works i n t h e o r i e s besides t h e i n g e n u i t y o f Tomonaga, Yukawa, ... F o r example, we were n o t q u i t e occupied by the dogma, which says QED w i l l break down above t h e energy 137 times e l e c t r o n r e s t energy o r we d i d n o t h e s i t a t e t o i n t r o d u c e new p a r t i c l e ( c f . t h e case o f Stueckelberg).

When N. Bohr v i s i t e d Japan j u s t b e f o r e t h e discovery o f "mesotron" by Anderson and Neddermeyer, Yukawa t r i e d t o e x p l a i n h i s meson theory t o him. But Bohr's r e a c t i o n was n o t p o s i t i v e , "why do you want t o i n t r o d u c e h y p o t h e t i c a l p a r t i c l e ( t o account f o r nuclear f o r c e s ) ".

I should a l s o mention t h a t v i s i t s o f E i n s t e i n (1922), D i r a c and Heisenbercj (1929), Bohr (1937) gave s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e upon physics i n Japan.

The l a s t t o p i c s i s t h e new f e a t u r e i n 1950's. A f t e r t h e war, we were very poor.

The educational reform ( 4 9 5 0 ) r e s u l t e d i n tremendous increase o f number o f u n i v e r - s i t i e s . I t was impossible t o feed them a l l i n b a s i c research. N a t u r a l l y a c t i v i t y i n theory was dominating. We needed t o develop experimental nuclear and p a r t i c l e physics.

So, we i n t r o d u c e d "research i n s t i t u t e f o r i n t e r - u n i v e r s i t y use" modeled by i n s t i t u t e s o r l a b o r a t o r i e s a t Copenhagen, Brookhaven and Princeton. They are :

RIFP (Research I n s t i t u t e f o r Fundamental Physics)

(Kyoto U n i v e r s i t y , f o r t h e o r e t i c a l physics) 1953 CRO (Cosmic Ray Observatory), ( U n i v e r s i t y o f Tokyo)

on M t N o r i kura, a1 ti tu t e 2806 m, f o r Cosmic Rays 1953 INS ( I n s t i t u t e f o r Nuclear Study) ( U n i v e r s i t y o f Tokyo)

f o r nuclear Physics, p a r t i c l e physics, cosmic rays,

theory and a c c e l e r a t o r s 1955

These i n s t i t u t e s

1) played a r o l e o f communication centers o f research 2) organized workshops and symposiums

3) supported f i n a n c i a l l y u n i v e r s i t y - u s e r s t o perform experiments on cosmic rays and nuclear physics and l a t e r i n 1960's on h i g h energy experiments.

The n a t i o n a l h i g h energy l a b , KEK, came i n t o being i n 19701s, equiped w i t h a 12 GeV PS. I t was a long long way t o b u i l d up experimental h i ~ h energy physics i n a developing country a f t e r t h e war.

(a) (b) ( c )

Xational Private RIKEN

i

68

1 ^-"'

90 Keio

97 Kyoto

(dl Inter-university Research Institutes

1 2

1920 - 26

1940 -

-

1960 -

-

RIKEN (Institute of Physical and Chexical Research) was establisl~ed in 1917, rerorrned in 19L@

as a private company, and finally became a private research institution, most parts of its budget being funded by the government, since 1950.

RIPP : Xesearch Institute for Fundamental Physics (housed iil the Yukawa Ball), Kyoto ~ n i v . CRO : Cosmic Ray Observatory at Mt. Norikura, University of Tokyo

INS : Institute for Nuclear Studies (Tanashi), university of Tokyo KEK : National 1,ahorato-y 'cr i - J y 5 7-espy Physics

CXIj : Cusnic Ray Laboratory (Tanashi), University of Tokyo.

t _{07 Tohoku} ^{05 Waseda}

RIKEN

- - Taisho l1 K ~ u s h u

17 18 Hokkardo

- ~ h o w a

31 Osaka

39 Nagoya

-

i

System) '*

(

58 7-

(3rd)

55

1

Fig. 1 : Years of foundation of Universities and Research Institutions

RIKEN (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) 1917 - 1948 - 1958 - now aims : pure and applied research in physics and chemistry development of industries x-ray Cockcroft-Walton NISHIKAWA LAB Nuclear Physics Small Cyclotron (1935 - 45) / (1935 - ) Large Cyclotron (1943 - 45) 60" 8 MeVp NISBINA LAB - Theory (1931 - 48) (1931 - 58) 1 Cosmic Rays (1932 - ) Y. Nishina (1928 - 51) S' T0m0naga(1932 - 4L Tokyo Univ. of Education Osaka University (1931 - ) Theory Cockcrof t-Walton 400 keV Nuclear Physics Cyclotron (1938-45) 5 MeVd Cosmic Rays (1933 - ) + . KIKEN S. Kikuchi (1934 - 5fl) INS H. Yukawa (1933 - 39) Kyoto Univ. 'F --fl/ Fig. 2 : RIKEN and Osaka University Research activities and leading physicists (numbers in brackets represent period of stay at each institution) are summarized here.

NAGOYA OSAKA UNIV. UNIV.

KYOTO UNIV.

RIKEN TOKYO UNIV. LtfIV. OF (NISHINA LAB) OF EDUCATION TOKYO

Y. NISHINA 1890 - 1951 S. KIKUCHI 1902 - 1969 S. TOMONAGA 1906-1979

1907 1906 ₆ ¹

KIKUCHI1 1911

26 Europe -7

7- <)

29 28 Tr

OSAKA

32 - ³¹

33

NISHINA LAB Germany

NAGOYA 1 ³⁹

39

H. YUKAWA 1907 - 1981 S. SAKATA 1911-1970 Science JAERI INS

Univ. of Tokyo

-

56 ]!President

-

' O

SCJ: Science Council of Japan

* ^: Nobel Prize

INS: Institute for Nuclear Study JAERI: Japan Atomic Energy

Research Institute : graduated from university

. . . ^{: retired}

42 41

I _{48 -} ^{46 -} _-

48 49 *

51 -

NISHINA '>6

1

President 62 President, { ^65.

70 SCJ

Fig. 3 : P o s t s and time of Y . Nishina, S . Kikuchi, S. Tomonaga, H. Yukawa and S. Sakata SAKATA

74

-

KIKUCHI

81 -' TOMONAGA

YUKAWA

JOURNAL DE PHYSIQUE

(1) RIFP (Kyoto) Research Institute for Fundamental Physics

Yukawa Nobel Prize (1949)

1953 -t Theory

(2) CRO (Mt. Norikura, 2800m) 1952153 -t 1976

(3) INS (Tokyo) Institute for Nuclear Studies

1955 + Completed in

FF cyclotron 1957

FM cyciotron 1958

Electron Synchrotron 1961 (0.75 GeV) , 1966 (1.3 GeV)

(2') CRL (Tokyo) Cosmic Ray Laboratory

1976 +

( 4 ) KEK National Laboratory for High Energy Physics

1971 ⁺ Completed in

P S 12 GeV 1976

elinac 2.5 GeV 1982

Fig. 4 : Some key-data of Inter-University Research Centers