In the late 1920s, Wigner deeply explored the field of
quantum mechanics. A period at
Göttingen as an assistant to the great mathematician
David Hilbert proved a disappointment, as Hilbert was no longer active in his works. Wigner nonetheless studied independently. He laid the foundation for the theory of symmetries in quantum mechanics and in 1927 introduced what is now known
as the
Wigner D-matrix.
It is safe to state that he and
Hermann Weyl carry the sole responsibility for the introduction of
group theory into quantum mechanics (they spread the "Gruppenpest"). See Wigner's 1931 monograph for a survey of his work on group theory. In the late
1930s, he extended his research into atomic nuclei. He developed an important general theory of nuclear reactions (see for instance the
Wigner-Eckart theorem). By
1929, his papers were drawing notice in the physics world. In
1930, Princeton University recruited Wigner and Von Neumann, which was timely as the Nazi Regime in Germany emerged. In Princeton in
1934 Wigner introduced his sister Manci to the physicist
Paul Dirac. They married, and the ties between Wigner and Dirac deepened.
In
1936, Princeton did not rehire Wigner, so he moved to the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. There he met his first wife, a physics student named Amelia Frank. Yet she died in
1937, leaving Wigner distraught. On
January 8,
1937, Wigner became a
naturalized citizen of the United States. Princeton University shortly invited Wigner back, and he rejoined faculty in the fall of
1938. Though a professed political amateur, in
1939 and
1940 Dr. Wigner played a major role in agitating for the
Manhattan Project, which would develop the first
atomic bomb. However, he was by personal preference a pacifist. He would later contribute to civil defense in the US. In
1946, Wigner accepted a job as director of research and development at Clinton Laboratory (now
Oak Ridge National Laboratory) in
Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. When this did not work out especially well, Wigner returned to Princeton.
In 1941 Wigner married his second wife, Mary Annette Wheeler, who had received her PhD in physics from Yale in 1932 and was a professor at Vassar. They were married until her death in 1977 and had two children.
In appreciation of Professor Wigner, written 1987,
Alvin M. Weinberg stated: "…this tract of Wigner’s [giving credit to his young collaborators] explains why so much, not only of reactor theory but of theoretical physics from 1930 to 1965 — though it may not bear Wigner’s name — actually has origin in a suggestion made or question asked by Professor Wigner."
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