Joaquin Luttinger; Physicist Whose Work Advanced Semiconductors

Joaquin Luttinger, 73, a physicist who did early theoretical work that advanced modern semiconductor technology. Luttinger joined the Columbia University faculty in 1960 and began work on what are now called Luttinger liquids, theoretical models in which electrons can move in only one dimension, rather than three. His work described the movement of electrons on very thin wires or on the edges of molecular structures. Today, Luttinger liquids have practical application in the realm of small-scale semiconductors, where scientists are creating wires a mere 10 to 100 atoms wide. As an avocation, Luttinger was an artist and once took a two-year leave from teaching and research to paint. A native of New York City, Luttinger earned a bachelor’s and doctorate in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On Sunday in New York City of bone marrow cancer.