| Madan Lal Mehta | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 December 1932 Relmagra, Udaipur |
| Died | 10 December 2006 Udaipur, Rajasthan |
| Fields | Physics, Mathematics |
| Institutions | Department of Theoretical Physics in Saclay |
| Alma mater | University of Rajasthan, University of Paris |
Madan Lal Mehta (1932–2006) was a theoretical physicist of Indian origin, known in particular for his work in random matrix theory.[1]
Madan Lal Mehta was born in Relmagra (Udaipur) 24 December 1932. He obtained his "Master of Science in mathematics" from the University of Rajasthan (Jaipur) in 1956. After two years at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, he came to France in November 1958 in the Department of Mathematical Physics (now the Department of Theoretical Physics) Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Saclay.
In 1961, he received his PhD under the supervision of Claude Bloch on a topic for the material at low density. In 1962–1963, he worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (USA).
He returned to India at Delhi University before staying again in the U.S. in 1966–1967 at Princeton University and Argonne National Laboratory. He returned to France in the Department of Theoretical Physics at CEA Saclay in September 1967 where he remained until the end of his career and his return to his homeland in January 2005. Recruited at the CNRS in 1970, he acquired French citizenship in 1971.
He died on Sunday 10 December 2006 in Udaipur (Rajasthan, a state of India).
He spoke English, French, Russian, Japanese and Chinese, in addition to several Indian languages, including Hindi.
Madan Lal Mehta is known for his work on random matrices. His book "Random Matrices"[2] is considered classic in the field.
Together with Michel Gaudin, he developed the orthogonal polynomial method, which is the basic tool to study the eigenvalue distribution of invariant matrix ensembles. Together with Freeman Dyson, he worked on Dyson's circular ensembles. His other collaborators include P.K. Srivastava, N. Rozenzweig, J. of Cloizeaux, G. Mahoux, A. Pandey, J.M. Normand and B. Eynard.