[Math] Are there any well known mathematicians who published very little
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Say no more than 5 publications.
Best Answer
Speaking of great mathematicians, I must name Harish Chandra (11 October 1923 – 16 October 1983). Well, he had more than 5 publications. but at most one or two per year. This Indian American mathematician worked on Lie groups.
I must add Grigori Yakovlevich Perelman (13 June 1966 – ) to this answer. This Russian mathematician has made landmark contributions to Riemannian geometry and geometric topology. Mostly famous for his work on Poincaré conjecture, this man was nominated for the Fields Medal in 2006, but declined to accept the award. This list shows an incomplete list of publications so far (but remember, he crossed 40 years!) - see 900 sit-ups a day's comment.
Joseph Plateau should be mentioned. While Wikipedia classifies him as a physicist, this was back when there was much less distinction between physicist and mathematician. He more or less invented the "moving image", and was obsessed with light and the eye. He used to stare at the sun or other bright lights to try to understand the retinal fatigue experienced afterwards. Perhaps because of this, he went blind later in life.
With worsening vision, he went to other aspects of physics. The most interesting in my opinion is the semi-understood phenomenon now called "Plateau's Rotating Drop." If you suspend a viscous liquid in another liquid of the same density, and rotate the suspended drop at the right acceleration, then it will deform from a sphere to an ellipsoid to a torus. Here are some pictures from my old lab (my first research experience!) on this experiment.
It's said that he would rotate drops for hours, making his son describe exactly what was happening.
Plateau also worked a lot with capillary action and soap bubbles - a differential geometer before his time.
Best Answer
Speaking of great mathematicians, I must name Harish Chandra (11 October 1923 – 16 October 1983). Well, he had more than 5 publications. but at most one or two per year. This Indian American mathematician worked on Lie groups.
References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
I must add Grigori Yakovlevich Perelman (13 June 1966 – ) to this answer. This Russian mathematician has made landmark contributions to Riemannian geometry and geometric topology. Mostly famous for his work on Poincaré conjecture, this man was nominated for the Fields Medal in 2006, but declined to accept the award. This list shows an incomplete list of publications so far (but remember, he crossed 40 years!) - see 900 sit-ups a day's comment.
References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5