Löscher

Lüscher is a surname of Germanic origin, common in Switzerland and Germany. It is typically locational, denoting a family from or near the town of Luzern (Lucerne) or from a region associated with that name.

In science, the name is associated with Martin Lüscher, a Swiss theoretical physicist known for contributions to lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD). His most widely cited result, Lüscher's formula, provides a relationship between the discrete energy levels of two interacting particles in a finite volume and the infinite-volume scattering phase shifts, enabling the extraction of hadron scattering information from lattice simulations. He has also contributed to the understanding of confinement and the static quark potential.

A related concept, the Lüscher term, describes a universal correction to the potential between static quarks at large separation due to quantum fluctuations of an effective confining string. This term arises in the context of gauge theories and effective string descriptions of confinement and is named after Lüscher for his role in its development.

Beyond physics, the surname Lüscher appears in various contexts and among individuals across different fields. In science, however, the terms Lüscher’s formula and the Lüscher term are the best-known uses of the name.