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Gunnar Källén
Anders Olof Gunnar Källén (13 February 1926 – 13
Gunnar Källén
October 1968) was a Swedish theoretical physicist and a
professor at Lund University, known for his work on Born Anders Olof Gunnar
correlation functions in quantum field theory. He died at Källén
the age of 42 as a result of a plane crash. February 13, 1926
Kristianstad, Sweden

Biography Died October 13, 1968

(aged 42)
Anders Olof Gunnar Källén, son of Yngve Källén, was born Hanover, Germany
in 1926 in Kristianstad, Sweden.[1] His father teacher of Alma mater Lund University
physics and mathematics, Gunnar and Yngve published a
Known for Källén–Lehmann
paper togethers.[1] Gunnar's brother was embriologist
representation
Bengt Källén.[1]
Källén function
Källén earned his doctorate at Lund in 1950 working with Scientific career
Torsten Gustafson, who was in close correspondence with Fields Theoretical physics
Wolfgang Pauli.[2] He worked from 1952 to 1957[3] at
Institutions NORDITA
CERN's theoretical division in Copenhagen,[4] which then
Bohr Institute
became the Niels Bohr Institute. He also worked at Nordita
Lund University
1957–1958 and then began a professorship at Lund
Thesis Formal integration of
University.
the equations of
Källén's research focused on quantum field theory and quantum theory in the
elementary particle physics. His developments included the Heisenberg
so-called Källén–Lehmann spectral representation of representation (1950)
correlation functions in quantum field theory, and he made
contributions to quantum electrodynamics, especially in renormalizing. He also worked with
the axiomatic formulation of quantum field theory, which led to contributions to the theory of
functions of several complex variables. He collaborated on the Pauli–Källén equation. The
Källén function is named after him.

The Kallen–Yang–Feldman formalism and the Källén-Sabry potentials are also named after
him.

Plane crash
Källén worked for several years at the Bohr Institute. Källén was a pilot an possessed a Piper
PA-28 Cherokee Arrow.[5] He was flying from Malmö to CERN when his plane crashed during
an emergency landing in Hanover, Germany in 1968.[5] His two passengers, one of them his

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wife, survived the crash.

Many years after his death, Cecilia Jarlskog edited the book Portrait of Gunnar Källén: A
Physics Shooting Star and Poet of Early Quantum Field Theory (Springer, 2013) with 9 invited
contributors, all of whom had a personal acquaintance with Källen.[6] The book consists mainly
of testimonies by Källén's colleagues.[7] Steven Weinberg, whose first published physics paper
was motivated by Källén, wrote one of the book's chapters. The chapter deals with Källén's
research and is the written version of a 2009 lecture by Weinberg.[8][9]

Bibliography
G. Källén, Quantenelektrodynamik, Handbuch der Physik (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1958)
G. Källén, Elementary Particle Physics (Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1964)[10]
G. Källén, Quantum Electrodynamics (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1972); 2013 pbk reprint (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=iKv7CAAAQBAJ)

References
1. Jarlskog, Cecilia (2014), Jarlskog, Cecilia (ed.), "Bengt Källén: The Childhood and Youth of
Gunnar Källén" (https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-00627-7_1), Portrait of Gunnar
Källén, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 3–10, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-00627-
7_1 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-319-00627-7_1), ISBN 978-3-319-00626-0, retrieved
2024-04-23
2. Källén, Gunnar (1950). Formal integration of the equations of quantum theory in the
Heisenberg representation. Lund University. https://libris.kb.se/bib/1418312.
3. Jarlskog, Cecilia (2013). "As a Staff Member of the Newborn CERN". Portrait of Gunnar
Källén: 25–28. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-00627-7_6 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-319-00
627-7_6). ISBN 978-3-319-00626-0.
4. "Closure of CERN’s Theoretical Study Division in Copenhagen" (http://timeline.web.cern.ch/
closure-of-cern’s-theoretical-study-division-in-copenhagen)
5. Jarlskog, Cecilia (2013). "Erland Källén: My Father's Passion for Flying and His Mortal
Accident". Portrait of Gunnar Källén: 135–140. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-00627-7_31 (https://d
oi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-319-00627-7_31). ISBN 978-3-319-00626-0.
6. Jarlskog, Cecilia, ed. (21 October 2013). "Invited Contributors" (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=W4u4BAAAQBAJ&pg=PR25). Portrait of Gunnar Källén: A Physics Shooting Star
and Poet of Early Quantum Field Theory. Springer. p. xxv. ISBN 9783319006277.
7. Martin, André (23 September 2014). "Review of Portrait of Gunnar Källén: A Physics
Shooting Star and Poet of Early Quantum Field Theory edited by Cecilia Jarlskog" (https://c
erncourier.com/a/portrait-of-gunnar-kallen-a-physics-shooting-star-and-poet-of-early-quantu
m-field-theory/). CERN Courier.
8. Jarlskog, Cecilia, ed. (2014). "Steven Weinberg: Living with Infinities". Portrait of Gunnar
Källén. pp. 279–292. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-00627-7_61 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-
319-00627-7_61). ISBN 978-3-319-00626-0.
9. "Weinberg "Living with infinities" - Källén Lecture 2009" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
rFd9PIy_zXs). YouTube. Andrea Idini. January 14, 2022. (lecture recorded on February 13,
2009)
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10. Merzbacher, Eugen (1965). "Review of Elementary Particle Physics by Gunnar Källén".
Physics Today. 18 (6): 56–58. doi:10.1063/1.3047490 (https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.304749
0). ISSN 0031-9228 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0031-9228).

Further reading
A. S. Wightman. Gunnar Källén 1926–1968 (https://projecteuclid.org:443/euclid.cmp/110384
1217), Comm. Math. Phys. 11 (1968) 181–182
C. Jarlskog (ed.) "Portrait of Gunnar Källén : A physics shooting star and poet of early
quantum field theory" (https://books.google.com/books/about/Portrait_of_Gunnar_Källén.ht
ml?id=W4u4BAAAQBAJ) (Springer Verlag, ISBN 978-3-319-00627-7, 2014)

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