Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat

Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat
Choquet-Bruhat in 1974
Born
Yvonne Suzanne Marie-Louise Bruhat

(1923-12-29)29 December 1923
Died11 February 2025(2025-02-11) (aged 101)
Mérignac, France
CitizenshipFrench
Alma mater
Known for
  • Well-posedness of the vacuum Einstein field equations
Spouses
  • Léonce Fourès
    (m. 1947; div. 1960)
  • (died 2006)
Children3, including Daniel
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsMathematical physics
InstitutionsPierre and Marie Curie University
Thesis Théorème d'existence pour certains systèmes d'équations aux dérivées partielles non linéaires  (1951)
Doctoral advisorAndré Lichnerowicz
Other academic advisorsJean Leray

Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat (French: [ivɔn ʃɔkɛ bʁy.a] ; 29 December 1923 – 11 February 2025) was a French mathematical physicist now best remembered for her investigation of the mathematics of general relativity. Her proof that the Einstein field equations can be expressed as a well-posed initial-value problem was listed by the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity as one of thirteen "milestone" results in general relativity in an issue published in the centennial anniversary of its birth in 2015. She also studied non-Abelian gauge theory, relativistic hydrodynamics, and supergravity.

Choquet-Bruhat was the first woman to be elected to the French Academy of Sciences and was a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour.