A theoretical condensed matter physicist who, with Walter Kohn, established a foundation of density functional theory in 1964. Their variational principle expresses the ground-state energy of interacting electrons through the electron density, making a three-dimensional quantity central to a many-particle problem.[ref]
His 1967 work also ruled out the relevant finite-temperature long-range order in one- and two-dimensional bosonic and fermionic systems under the theorem's assumptions. This helps explain why dimensionality matters when discussing Bose-Einstein condensation.[ref]
Existence of Long-Range Order in One and Two Dimensions by Pierre Hohenberg. Abstract: exclusion of quasi-averages at nonzero temperature
Pierre Hohenberg is a physicist known for his contributions to the field of condensed matter physics, particularly in the areas of statistical mechanics and phase transitions. He is perhaps best known for the Hohenberg-Kohn theorems in density functional theory (DFT), which he developed along with Walter Kohn. These theorems form the theoretical foundation for much of modern computational materials science and quantum chemistry, enabling researchers to calculate the properties of many-body systems using electron density rather than wave functions.
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