Memorial Symposium for
Thomas Pruschke
July 21 – 22, 2016
Faculty of Physics
Numerical Methods for Strongly
Correlated Electron Systems
Institute for Theoretical Physics
HS 4 (Lecture Hall 4), Faculty of Physics,
Georg-August University of Goettingen,
Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
Schedule
Thursday, July 21:
9:00-9:15
9:15-9:55
S. Kehrein: Opening
D. Vollhardt (Center for Electronic Correlations
and Magnetism, Univ. of Augsburg):
Influence of electronic correlations on the lattice
stability of solids
9:55-10:35 A. Lichtenstein (Univ. Hamburg): Plaquette
Valence Bond Theory of High-Temperature
Superconductivity
10:35-11:10 Coffee break
11:10-11:50 J. Freericks (Georgetown University): Thomas, the
NRG, DMFT, and me
11:50-12:30 Y. Kuramoto (Tohoku University): Composite
orders and virtual hybridization in two-channel
Kondo lattice
12:30-14:15 Lunch break
14:15-14:55 G. Uhrig (TU Dortmund): Coherence and
Decoherence in the Central Spin Model by
Density Matrix Renormalization and Mathematical
Analysis
14:55-15:35 N. Kawakami (Kyoto Univ.): Correlation effects in
topological insulators
15:35-16:00 Coffee break
16:00-16:40 R. Peters (Kyoto Univ.): Topological surface states
in Samarium hexaboride
16:40-17:20 S. Manmana (Univ. Goettingen): Dynamical
Response Functions with Matrix Product States
17:20-18:00 D. Logan (Oxford Univ.): Mott transitions in the
periodic Anderson model
19:00
Dinner, Restaurant Lehmofen
Friday, July 22:
9:00-9:40
F. Anders (Univ. Dortmund): From the NCA to the
NRG as impurity solver for strongly correlated
lattice systems
9:40-10:20 E. Gull (Univ. of Michigan): Numerical experiment
on the Hubbard model
10:20-10:50 Coffee break
10:50-11:30 K. Maiti (Tata Institute): Spectral evolution with
temperature in a Kondo lattice system, CeB6
11:30-12:10 R. Noack (Univ. Marburg): Hybrid-space DMRG
for Two-Dimensional Hubbard Models
12:10-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-14:40 A. Koga (Tokyo Institute of Technology): Finite
temperature phase transitions in the multiorbital
Hubbard model
14:40-15:20 A. Honecker (Univ. Cergy-Pontoise): Cluster
Methods for Spin Systems
15:20-15:30 K. Schönhammer: Closing
Thomas Pruschke
Prof. Dr. Thomas Pruschke of the University of Göttingen,
Germany, died of cancer on January 12, 2016. He was 56
years old. Thomas is best known for his important
contributions to the theory of strongly correlated electron
systems, such as heavy-fermions and high-temperature
superconductors.
Thomas was born in Berlin, Germany, on April 23 1959,
grew up in Rüsselsheim and enrolled at the Technical
University Darmstadt to study physics. After receiving his
M.Sc. in 1985, he pursued his PhD degree under the
supervision of Norbert Grewe. His thesis, „Single-particle
properties in models for highly correlated electron systems“,
covered aspects of heavy-fermions and the Mott-Hubbard
metal-insulator transition. Thomas received his doctoral
degree in 1989.
Funding by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
(JSPS) allowed Thomas to further his career by working with
Hiroyuki Shiba at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.
After having lived and worked in Japan for two years,
Thomas took a postdoctoral position with Daniel Cox at the
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH during 1992 to 1993,
where he published his first papers together with Mark
Jarrell on the Hubbard model in infinite spatial dimensions.
This new approach allowed Thomas and his colleagues to
successfully explain the unusual transport properties of hightemperatures superconductors in the normal phase.
Returning to Germany, Thomas joined the group of Joachim
Keller at the University of Regensburg, where he worked on
the emerging dynamical mean-field theory, and then, in 2001,
took a tenured position in the group of Dieter Vollhardt at the
University of Augsburg. Two years later, Thomas became a
Professor in Computational Physics at the University of
Göttingen, Germany. Thomas was active in teaching and
research until the end of his life.
Thomas Pruschke was a remarkable person, with great
humour, whose knowledge was often sought after by others,
as can be seen in the numerous international collaborations he
was involved in. Thomas was an inspiring scientist who
combined a deep grasp of correlated materials with very
powerful numerical skills in the quest for ways to explore
new physics when a system could not be described by other
means. He was co-author of several seminal and well-cited
review articles in the area of strongly correlated electron
systems, such as the first review of the Hubbard model in
infinite spatial dimensions together with M. Jarrell and J.K.
Freerick in 1995. In addition, he published two articles in
Reviews of Modern Physics, one focusing on quantum cluster
theories (2005) in collaboration with Th. Maier, M. Jarrell
and M.H. Hettler, and one reviewing Wilson’s numerical
renormalization group approach to quantum impurity
problems (2008), co-authored by R. Bulla and T. Costi. The
latter two articles have become standard reviews on their
subject. Thomas Pruschke is also the author of the book
"Advanced Solid State Theory" (Morgan and Claypool
Publishers, 2014), which grew out of his lectures on solid
state physics at the University of Göttingen.
Indeed, Thomas was a highly dedicated academic teacher.
He had an open-door policy and students could always approach him with their problems. The success of his students
was as important to him as his own research. Even when he
was already suffering from his severe illness, he took the
time to interact and supervise his group and his students. As
long as his health permitted, his hospital room became the
center of his group.
Obituary
Thomas loved to give lectures that were well received. He
was the epitome of an academic scholar, living the unity of
teaching and research. Thomas’s natural curiosity became inflamed when he encountered physics blockades, and his enthusiasm inspired his students and his group to explore the
unknown and not to give up easily when encountering difficult questions.
Privately, Thomas was a passionate cook who loved to invite
friends and members of his group home for dinner. His open
approach with respect to his illness was admirable and left a
deep impression on his colleagues and friends. Thomas liked
to travel, was especially fascinated by the cultures of India
and Japan, and was always open for new cultural stimulations. On the day of his funeral, a conference in India, which
he had helped initiate and organize, was coming to a close.
He will be greatly missed as an exceptional human being, excellent scientist, and very good friend. Thomas Pruschke is
survived by his wife Anke, his daughter Mirjam and his son
Jan-Erik.
© Uni Göttingen
by Frithjof Anders, Stefan Kehrein, and Dieter Vollhardt
June 2016