Physics in Turkey

Physics in Turkey Erdal Inönü, Istanbul (Bogazici University, Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee of the 5th EPS General Conference) of the country at that time; the second drop observed in the period 1966-69 is a local effect and corresponds to a shift of the main research activity from Istanbul to Ankara. (The rise generated by new institu tions was not rapid enough to compensate for the decline in the old institutions.) To appreciate better, various aspects of physics research connected with Turkey, one should also consider the two histo grammes given in Figs. 1 (b) and (c). Fig. 1(b) represents the total output from research carried out in Turkey or abroad by physicists affiliated in one way or another to Turkish institutions. The ordinates in (b) are obtained by adding to the correspon ding figures in (c), the number of papers published by Turkish doctoral students in foreign universities and by staff members of Turkish universities working temporarily abroad, as visiting researchers. The pattern indicated by (b), roughly parallels that of (a), (although at a higher level) with the ex ception of the drop around 1967. Fig. 1(c), on the other hand which shows a different growth pattern, represents the research production of physicists of Turkish origin who seem to have established themselves permanently abroad. This production, which can be taken to indicate the effect of the "brain drain", grew rapidly after 1955 and has reached in 1975 about the same level as the number of papers produced on the basis of research done in Turkey although the actual number of physicists Development Pattern Figure 1(a), shows roughly the growth in involved is much less. the number of research articles written by physicists (Turkish or foreign) working in Lines of Research At present, research on pure and applied Turkey in the period 1936-1976. For the first fifteen years, the output remained restric physics is conducted in Turkey at about 20 ted to about five papers per year, most of major institutions (universities and Govern which were due to visiting professors (from ment research institutes) by some 600 France, Germany, Switzerland) and to career physicists and students. In order to young Turkish physicists returning from give a flavour of the subjects treated, Ishall European universities after the completion mention some of the work carried out by of their doctoral studies. The second world the main groups. To date, specific units for war caused an understandable drop and high energy (elementary particles and then after 1948, the research production general relativity), space sciences, con grew exponentially, chiefly as the result of densed matter and magnetic resonance the work of graduate students and young have been organized under the aegis of the Ph.D.s at the universities of Istanbul (main Turkish National Research Council ly) and Ankara. The growth continued up (T.B.T.A.K.). Each unit holds its own an to 1975 which is the final year for which nual or biannual symposium for the discus data exist, when the yearly output was sion of recent developments and the pre 30-40 papers; it is now estimated to be sentation of original contributions. In addi about 60-70 papers. The Figure indicates, tion, there is a general meeting every year in addition, two periods of diminished organized either by T.B.T.A.K. or the research intensity during the past 35 years. Turkish Physical Society. The first covers roughly the years 1957-62 High Energy The last colloquia of the high energy unit and reflects the economic hardships suf fered by the universities along with the rest featured contributions on classical YangLeaving aside activities in medieval science, it can be said, without much exag geration, that productive research in "European" physics started in Turkey in the 1930's, although the break with the medieval tradition represented by the Islamic schools began already in the se cond half of the eighteenth century. Schools of engineering (and later of medicine) were then opened where ele ments of European science developed over the previous two hundred years were taught. The transition from medieval to post Renaissance science was nevetheless, rather slow and difficult, taking about 150 years. All through this time, the emphasis was on teaching (or to use modern ter minology, on the transfer of knowledge) through the translation of European text books and with the occasional help of visiting professors coming from foreign universities. Some of these visitors stayed for several years in Turkey (mostly in Istan bul) and engaged in research in various fields of science such as geology, mathe matics, mechanics and chemistry. Also a few Turkish scientists contributed original articles to European science journals during this period. However, these individual ef forts were not sufficient to create a sustain ed research activity in physics. Such a development only occurred after the Reform of Istanbul University in 1933. 2 Fig. 1(a) (dashed line) —Original articles based on physics research in Turkey. (All histograms expressed as three year averages.) 1(b) (solid line) —Original articles published by physicists associated with Turkish institutions, based on research in Turkey or abroad. 1(c) (dotted line) — Original articles by physicists of Turkish origin living abroad. Mills solutions, instantons and merons, in particular gravitational instantons, grand unified theories based on exceptional groups, exact non-trivial solutions in super gravity, a recent proof of the no-hair conjecture for black holes in super gravity, model calculations in two-dimensional theories, QCD phenomenology, weak in teractions and new particles, Hydrogenium and Hydrogenium-lon results of the CERN (emulsion) experiment for the observation of charmed particles, a phenomenological analysis of high-energy cross sections with predictions on the observations of new quarks. Obviously, the high energy work is predominantly theoretical. Our main oppor tunity for participation in experimental high energy research has, so far, lain in col laborating in international projects organiz ed by CERN. A further collaboration is now planned with NAL. Space Sciences This unit brings together groups which have been working on traditional topics in astronomy and astrophysics at various university and Government observatories, with those which have been more recently formed in a few physics departments to deal with new developments in astrophy sics. Among the lines of research one may mention are: multi-colour photometry of stars, observations on the constitution of star atmospheres, model calculations on the structure and evolution of stars, solar physics, X-and y-ray astronomy. Good col laboration with institutions in Europe or the USA has been established for carrying out the required observations. To mention some examples: there are long standing cooperation arrangements between the universities of Istanbul and Paris; th (...truncated)