# George Chapline Jr. > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/George_Chapline_Jr. > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/George_Chapline_Jr..md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Chapline_Jr. > Source revision: 1338940016 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **George Frederick Chapline Jr.** (born May 6, 1942) is an American theoretical physicist, based at the [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory](/source/Lawrence_Livermore_National_Laboratory). His most recent interests have mainly been in [quantum information theory](/source/Quantum_information_theory), [condensed matter](/source/Condensed_matter), and [quantum gravity](/source/Quantum_gravity). In 2003 he received the Computing Anticipatory Systems award for a new interpretation of quantum mechanics based on the similarity of quantum mechanics and [Helmholtz machines](/source/Helmholtz_machine). He was awarded the [E. O. Lawrence Award](/source/Ernest_Orlando_Lawrence_Award) in 1982 by the [United States Department of Energy](/source/United_States_Department_of_Energy)[1] for leading the team that first demonstrated a working [X-ray laser](/source/X-ray_laser). ## Work In the field of condensed matter physics Chapline is best known as the originator of the concept of a [gossamer metal](/source/Gossamer_metal); i.e. a metal where the [density of states](/source/Density_of_states) at the [Fermi surface](/source/Fermi_surface) is depressed because of pairing correlations. Both the [actinides](/source/Actinide) and high [Tc](/source/Critical_point_(thermodynamics)) [superconductors](/source/Superconductor) are examples of gossamer metals.[clarification needed][citation needed] Chapline is known for his work with [Nick S. Manton](/source/Nick_Manton)[2] on finding the classical equations which unify [supergravity](/source/Supergravity) and [Yang–Mills](/source/Yang%E2%80%93Mills) [gauge theories](/source/Gauge_theories) in [type I supergravity](/source/Type_I_supergravity). These equations play an important role in [superstring theory](/source/Superstring_theory). Chapline was also the first person to point out that the anomaly cancellation condition for superstrings in 10 dimensions could be satisfied by [E8 x E8](/source/E8_x_E8), and the first person to suggest that the 24-dimensional [Leech lattice](/source/Leech_lattice) might play a central role in a theory unifying gravity and [elementary particle physics](/source/Elementary_particle_physics).[3] Chapline is perhaps best known for his research on [black holes](/source/Black_hole), proposing that they cannot be described as solutions of Einstein’s general relativity equations.[4] Drawing upon quantum mechanical insights of himself and Pawel Mazur from the early 2000s, he proposed that objects currently thought to be black holes are actually [dark-energy stars](/source/Dark-energy_stars).[5] Chapline and Mazur are also responsible for the only known exact result in quantum gravity; namely all rotating space-times can be constructed from an array of quantized spinning strings.[6] This idea incorporates the 1980 proposal by [Robert B. Laughlin](/source/Robert_B._Laughlin) and Chapline that the surface of a black hole actually represents a quantum critical transition of a superfluid vacuum. The Chapline–Laughlin theory predicts that space-times with a large vacuum energy are unstable to the formation of dark energy stars; in the context of the early universe, this provides a natural explanation for both [dark matter](/source/Dark_matter) and the metric fluctuations which led to the formation of galaxies.[7] A remarkable astrophysical prediction of the Chapline–Laughlin theory is that dark energy stars should be prolific sources of positrons because nucleons decay when they encounter the surface of a dark energy star.[8] A remarkable prediction of this new theory of black hole surfaces is that the mass spectrum of primordial black holes should have a low mass cutfoff near 0.1 solar masses, which ought to be observable with the Roman space telescope operating together with large ground based telescopes. [9] Chapline's interest in quantum gravity dates from the time when as a teenager he wrote [Richard Feynman](/source/Richard_Feynman) a letter about the problem of quantum propagation in a gravitational field. Because quantum mechanics is intrinsically non-local while the [equivalence principle](/source/Equivalence_principle) is local there is a tension between quantum mechanics and general relativity that has not yet been resolved. As a result of his letter Feynman invited the 15-year-old Chapline to have lunch at Caltech. Chapline and Feynman talked often about physics in the following years, particularly when he was a graduate student at Caltech (see photo). Feynman reportedly helped Chapline get his first job, as an assistant professor at UC Santa Cruz.[citation needed] Chapline is also well known for his work on quantum mechanics and Bayesian inference. The ideas which led to his Computing Anticipatory award from the U Liege in 2004 are described in his book “Quantum Mechanics and Bayesian Machines” published by [World Scientific](/source/World_Scientific) in 2023. Chapline earned a [B.A.](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) in mathematics at [UCLA](/source/UCLA) in 1961. He was a member of the 1959 UCLA Putnam Competition team which scored 3rd in the nation. He earned a PhD in physics from [Caltech](/source/Caltech) in 1967.[10] ## See also - [Robert B. Laughlin](/source/Robert_B._Laughlin) - [Dark energy](/source/Dark_energy) - [Superconductor](/source/Superconductor) - [Fission-fragment rocket](/source/Fission-fragment_rocket) ## References 1. ["1980s Laureates: George F. Chapline, Jr., 1982"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081004183413/http://www.science.doe.gov/lawrence/html/Laureates/1980s/georgef.htm). The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award. 1982. Archived from [the original](http://www.science.doe.gov/lawrence/html/Laureates/1980s/georgef.htm) on October 4, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2008. 1. G. F. Chapline and N. S. Manton, "Unification of Yang-Mills theory and supergravity in ten dimensions", *Phys. Lett.* 1208:105 (1983) 105. 1. G. Chapline, "Unification of Gravity and Elementary Particle Interactions in 26 Dimensions", *Phys. Lett.* 158B (1985) 393. 1. Ball, Philip (2005). ["Black holes 'do not exist'"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070906190929/http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050328/full/050328-8.html). *Nature*. [doi:10.1038/news050328-8](https://doi.org/10.1038/news050328-8). Archived from [the original](http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050328/full/050328-8.html) on September 6, 2007. Retrieved July 3, 2008. 1. Chapline, G. (December 2004). "Dark Energy Stars". *Proceedings of the Texas Conference on Relativistic Astrophysics*. [arXiv:astro-ph/0503200](https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0503200). [Bibcode:2005tsra.conf..101C](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005tsra.conf..101C) 1. Chapline, George & Mazur, Pawel O. (November 20, 2009). "Superfluidity and Stationary Space-Times". [arXiv:0911.2326v2](https://arxiv.org/abs/0911.2326v2) 1. Zeeya, Merali (March 2006). "Three cosmic enigmas, one audacious answer". *New Scientist*. '***(2542): 8.*** 1. Barbieri, J. & Chapline, G. (2004). "Have Nucleon decays been seen?". *Physics Letters B*. **590** (1–2): 12. [Bibcode:2004PhLB..590....8B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004PhLB..590....8B). [doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2004.03.054](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2004.03.054) 1. Chapline, G. Barbieri, J. and Mccall, P. (2024) "Predictions for a low energy cutoff for the primordial black hole mass spectrum" (To be published) 1. Chapline, George Frederick (1967). [*Bootstrap theory and certain properties of the hadron axial vector current*](https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/4895/) (phd). California Institute of Technology. [doi:10.7907/PXKT-FG78](https://doi.org/10.7907/PXKT-FG78) ## Sources - George Frederick Chapline Jr., Marquis Who's Who TM. [Marquis Who's Who](/source/Marquis_Who's_Who), 2009. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. [Farmington Hills, Michigan](/source/Farmington_Hills,_Michigan): [Gale](/source/Gale_(Cengage)), 2009 [Document Number: K2016377061 (fee required)](http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC); accessed 2009-10-22 via [Fairfax County Public Library](/source/Fairfax_County_Public_Library). ## External links - [Three cosmic enigmas, one audacious answer](https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18925423.600), a [New Scientist](/source/New_Scientist) item about Chapline's proposals - [The Blackhole of Chapline](http://golem.ph.utexas.edu/~distler/blog/archives/000530.html), from the blog of Jacques Distler, a physicist who sometimes discusses fringe physics - [Chapline: black holes don't exist](https://motls.blogspot.com/2005/03/chapline-black-holes-dont-exist.html), from the blog of [Lubos Motl](/source/Lubos_Motl), another physicist who sometimes discusses fringe physics - [What Lies Beneath](https://web.archive.org/web/20060901204222/http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/beneath.html), popular commentary about the fringe speculations of Laughlin and Chapline --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [George Chapline Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Chapline_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Chapline_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.