The “Handbook” Article

Abstract

The story of the Handbook Article begins as follows:

In May 1954 (letter [1791] in the Pauli Collection), Pauli informs Källén that the German publishing company, Springer-Verlag, will soon ask Källén to write a review article on quantum electrodynamics for their encyclopedia of physics (Handbuch der Physik). The editor, not having found someone more famous, was going to follow Pauli’s suggestion and ask the young Källén to do the job. Indeed the invitation came and Källén did the work with an astonishing speed and already in September 1954 he sent a copy of his manuscript to Pauli. But his article, which we shall refer to as the Handbook Article [1], in its final version, was published four years later! What had gone wrong?

This chapter is devoted to the Handbook Article as its history provides further insight into the personality and scientific style of Källén. Most of the material, here below, comes from the Källén Collection. For the benefit of our readers, whenever an item has also been reproduced in the Pauli Collection we also give the corresponding reference.