UC Irvine

Abstract Philip Warren Anderson was a pioneering theoretical physicist whose work fundamentally shaped our understanding of complex systems. Anderson received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 for his groundbreaking research on localization and magnetism, yet he did so much more. His work on magnetism included antiferromagnetism, superexchange, the Kondo problem and local magnetic moments in metals. Anderson pointed out the importance of disorder through his work on localization, non-crystalline solids and spin glasses. In superconductivity, he is known for the dirty superconductor theorem, showing the gauge-invariance of the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory, his study of flux creep and his collaboration with an experimentalist that led to the experimental realization of the Josephson effect. Anderson’s resonating valence bond theory may yet play an important role in high-temperature superconductivity. Anderson was also fascinated by broken symmetry, and he laid the theoretical groundwork for what is now known as the Anderson–Higgs mechanism, showing how gauge bosons can acquire mass—an insight that played a foundational role in the Standard Model of particle physics. In his seminal ‘More is different’ paper, Anderson argued that the collective emergent phenomena that arise in complex interacting systems cannot be deduced from their fundamental parts. Anderson’s legacy endures not only through the lasting impact of his scientific work but also through his influence on generations of physicists who continue to explore the rich landscape of collective behaviour in nature.