Deliverables of A1

This page collects the output of project A1, "The formation and development of the concept of virtual particles" within the DFG Research Unit "The epistemology of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)". For the list of deliverables of project A2, see here.

Publications in refereed journals

Theses

Awards

Other publications

Invited Talks

Organization of project-related events

Contributed talks

Publications in refereed journals

• M. Zichert, A. Wüthrich,
  "Tracing the Development of the Virtual Particle Concept Using Semantic Change Detection",
  Computational Humanities Research 3834 (2024) 848-868 [link]
• F. Steinle,
  "How to Conceive Virtual Entities: Peirce's Proposal",
  Perspectives on Science 32 (2024) 269-277 [link]
• M. Ehberger,
  "How to study virtual entities historically? A proposal",
  Perspectives on Science 32 (2024) 278-299 [link]
• R. Harlander, J.-P. Martinez, F. Steinle, A. Wüthrich,
  "Preface: Virtual Entities in Science",
  Perspectives on Science 32 (2024) 263-268 [link]
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "Virtuality in Modern Physics in the 1920s and 1930s: Meaning(s) of an Emerging Notion",
  Perspectives on Science 32 (2024) 350-371 [link]
• R. Harlander and J.-P. Martinez,
  "The development of computational methods for Feynman diagrams",
  The European Physical Journal H 49 (2024) 1 [link]
• R. Harlander, J.-P. Martinez, G. Schiemann,
  "The End of the Particle Era?",
  The European Physical Journal H 48 (2023) 6 [link]
• A. Wüthrich,
  "Characterizing a Collaboration by Its Communication Structure",
  Synthese 202 (2023) 160 [link]
• M. Ehberger,
  "The language of Dirac's theory of radiation: The inception and initial reception of a tool for the quantum field theorist",
  Archive for the History of Exact Sciences 76 (2022) 531-571 [link]
• R. Harlander,
  "Feynman diagrams – from complexity to simplicity and back",
  Synthese 199 (2021) 15078 [link]
• M. Ehberger,
  "I'm not there. Or: Was the virtual particle ever born?",
  In: C. Forstner, M. Walker (eds), "Biographies in the History of Physics". Springer, Cham (2020) 261-280 [link]
• A. Wüthrich,
  "The Exigencies of War and the Stink of a Theoretical Problem – Understanding the Genesis of Feynman's Quantum Electrodynamics as Mechanistic Modelling at Different Levels",
  Perspectives on Science 26 (2018) 501-520 [link]
• A. Wüthrich,
  "Discovering and ‘Rediscovering’ the W Boson",
  Annalen Der Physik 529 (2017) 1700101 [link]

Theses

• M. Ehberger, PhD thesis
  "From virtual oscillators to virtual transitions to virtual particles: Practices and representations in the formation of the virtual particle concept",
  TU Berlin (2024)
• M. Zichert, Master thesis
  "Eine digitale Begriffsgeschichte des virtuellen Teilchens",
  Universität Leipzig (2023)
• K. Weingarten, Bachelor thesis
  "The Reality of Virtual Particles and the Question of Energy Conservation",
  RWTH Aachen Universtity (2021)

Awards

• J.-P. Martinez,
  "IUPAP Early Career Prize in History of Physics" (2023) [link]
• A. Wüthrich,
  "ERC Consolidator Grant: Network epistemology in practice (NEPI)" (2022) [link]

Other publications

• J.-P. Martinez,
  "Could It Be the End of the Particle Era? Rethinking Discoveries in High Energy Physics",
  Blog post, Springer Nature Research Communities (2023) [link]
• F. Boge and A. Wüthrich,
  "Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Particle Physics",
  CERN Courier 59 (2019) 18-19 [link]

Invited talks

• J.-P. Martinez,
  "Complexity in the History of Science",
  IUPAP Early Career Prize for the History of Physics Award Ceremony,
  Copenhagen (2023)
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "Exploring virtuality: Lessons from the history of modern physics",
  I2SoS Kolloquium,
  Bielefeld University (2023)
• R. Harlander,
  "The evolution of the particle concept",
  Resummation, Evolution, Factorization 2022,
  online (2022) [link]
• R. Harlander,
  "Complexity and Simplicity in Theoretical Particle Physics",
  International Conference on Simplicities and Complexities,
  Bonn (2019)
• A. Wüthrich,
  "Putting Feynman's style into context",
  Richard Feynman's centennial celebration,
  University of Geneva (2018)
• A. Wüthrich,
  "Interpreting Feynman Diagrams as Visual Models",
  Visual Reasoning – Visual Arguments. International Symposium,
  Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg, Greifswald (2017)

Organization of project-related events

• Symposium
  Histories of Large Experiments and Their Methodological Challenges, International Conference on Large-Scale Experiments - Reflecting on Theories and Practices, Karlsruhe (2022) [link]
• Workshop
  Virtual entities in science: a virtual workshop, online (2021) [link]

Contributed talks

• A. Wüthrich (speaker), M. Zichert, A. Simons,
  "Towards a digital analysis of the concept of the virtual particle",
  87th Annual Conference of the DPG and DPG Spring Meeting,
  Berlin (2024) [link]
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "Feynman diagrams and meson theory: I love you... me neither (in French)",
  XIVth Congress of the French Society for the History of Science and Techniques,
  Bordeaux (2023)
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "The strange concept that almost nobody seemed to be concerned about: virtual particles in the early post-war period",
  Fifth Biennial Early-Career Conference for Historians of the Physical Sciences,
  Copenhagen (2023)
• J.-P. Martinez (speaker), R. Harlander,
  "The emergence of algebraic programs for the calculation of Feynman diagrams in high energy physics",
  7th International Conference on the History and Philosophy of Computing,
  Warsaw (2023)
• R. Harlander,
  "The future of particle discoveries",
  International conference on large scale experiments,
  online (2022) [link]
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "Effective or/and Possible? Historical Considerations on the Notion of Virtuality in Modern Physics",
  History of Science Society Annual Meeting,
  , Chicago (2022)
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "The remodeling of theoretical physics across World War II seen through the emerging concept of virtual particle",
  The 10th Conference of the European Society of the History of Science (ESHS),
  Brussels (2022)
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "At the crossroads of comic ray and nuclear physics: conceptual developments in particle physics in the 1930s and 1940s",
  History, Philosophy and Sociology of Cosmology & Astroparticle Physics Conference,
  Bonn (2022)
• J.-P. Martinez, K. Weingarten (speaker),
  "What can history of physics teach us about current perceptions of the concept of virtual particles?",
  International Conference on Large-Scale Experiments - Reflecting on Theories and Practices,
  Karlsruhe (2022)
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "Virtual Particles: From Hideki Yukawa to Richard Feynman",
  26th International Congress of History of Science and Technology,
  online (2021)
• J.-P. Martinez,
  "Virtuality in nuclear physics (1930s-1940s): the many meanings of an emerging concept",
  Virtual entities in science: a virtual workshop,
  online (2021)
• M. Ehberger,
  "An inventory of the virtual: Notions of virtuality in quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics before renormalization",
  Fourth Biennial Early-Career Conference for Historians of the Physical Sciences,
  San Sebastian (2018)
• F. Steinle,
  "Towards a historical analysis of concept dynamics",
  25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology,
  Rio de Janeiro (2017)
• D. Mitchell,
  "On the Social Epistemology of the Historical Development of Ambiguous Concepts in Physics",
  25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology,
  Rio de Janeiro (2017)
• M. Ehberger (speaker) and A. Wüthrich,
  "Epistemic Challenges in Early Quantum Electrodynamics and the Concept of the Virtual Particle",
  25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology,
  Rio de Janeiro (2017)
• A. Wüthrich,
  "Von Erfordernissen des Kriegs und vom Gestank theoretischer Probleme: Weshalb gab Richard Feynman das Modell der Zitterbewegung des Elektrons auf?",
  Frühjahrstagung der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft,
  Dresden (2017)