As a scientist immigrated from the Union to the United States and received the Nobel Prize

Alexey Abrikosov, a famous Soviet-American theoretical physicist, died on March 30 at the age of 88. In 2003, he, along with Soviet-Russian scientist Vitaly Ginzburg and American James Leggett, won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "fundamental work on the theory of superconductors and superfluid fluids." What will Abrikosov remember to physicists - in the material "Tapes.ru».

Abrikosov is a bright representative of the Soviet school of theoretical physics. His supervisor was Lev Landau - one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the 20th century, who contributed to almost all areas of physics; So far, many undergraduate and graduate students in Russia and abroad are learning from his 10 languid "Course in Theoretical Physics."

To do science under the guidance of Landau and his students, students had to pass special exams - a theoretical minimum. Abrikosov, a student at the Mikhail Lomonosov Moscow State University, succeeded in 1947, at the age of 19. This meant that he had already entered the scientific elite of the country - his level of knowledge was much higher than that of many accomplished theoretical physicists.

In the 1948 year, Abrikosov graduated with honors from the university, in 1951-m defended his thesis, and in 27 years he became a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences. Prior to emigrating to the United States, he worked at various universities and institutes, in particular, he was one of the founders of the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Now this is the most effective scientific institution in Russia - about 70 of its employees published, according to expertcorps.ru, more than 250 thousands of times.

It was in Soviet times that Abrikosov made the discoveries that brought him the Nobel Prize.

“During the experiments, a number of unusual phenomena in superconductors were observed. I tried to explain these phenomena on the basis of a theory that Ginzburg and Landau wrote back in 1950. As a result, I was able to predict the existence of a special category of superconductors - the so-called type II superconductors. And at that time everyone doubted that this was even possible. Then I started working on searching for type II superconductors in a magnetic field. And as a result, what everyone now knows as the “Abrikosov vortex lattice” arose. The prize was awarded precisely for this work,” the physicist said in a conversation with an Izvestia journalist.

The studies for which Abrikosov received the Nobel Prize were published in 1957 in the journal “Theoretical and Experimental Physics” in his most famous article “On the magnetic properties of superconductors of the second group”. This work is one of the most cited in the world scientific literature.

Two reasons that made a scientist leave Russia

In 1991, Abrikosov accepted an invitation to work from the Argonne National Laboratory - the oldest national research center of the US Department of Energy. After 8 years, the Nobel laureate became a US citizen. In an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta for 2003, Abrikosov gave 2 reasons that made him leave Russia.

“First of all, I saw that the Russian economy is clearly heading down. I had no doubt that the first victim of this would be basic science, which does not bring any income. By that time, some of my colleagues had already gone abroad and had successfully worked, including in the States. So I was not the first, - said Abrikosov. - Secondly, the political situation was unstable. Some kind of conspiracy was clearly brewing, I clearly felt it. And I understood: if it is successful, then the borders will be closed again, and then it will be too late. That's why I decided. "

Apparently, Abrikosov never regretted his decision. Moreover, over time, his skepticism about the future of Russian science and, in particular, the Russian Academy of Sciences, has only grown. At the Nobel dinner, Abrikosov and Ginzburg sat at the same table, practically turning away from each other. They shared the position on the financing and management of Russian science. Unlike Abrikosov, Ginzburg remained in Russia and worked in the Department of Theoretical Physics named after Igor Tamm of the Peter Lebedev Institute of Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences - the largest in terms of the number of Nobel laureates of the Institute of Russia.

Former Minister of Education and Science of Russia Dmitry Livanov considers Abrikosov to be his teacher - he is a graduate of the Department of Theoretical Physics and Quantum Technologies of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, who was headed by the Nobel Prize winner for 16 years. It was under the Minister of Livanov that intensive reforms began in the Russian Academy of Sciences, in particular, the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations (FANO) was created, and the Academy's property was taken over. Most likely, Abrikosov’s views on the state of Russian science had a direct impact on Livanov’s position with respect to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

After being awarded the Nobel Prize, Abrikosov, along with Ginsburg, was invited to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but did not attend it.

“They talk about democracy, they talk about a market economy, in fact, everything is going right in the opposite direction. In Russia, at one time, when I was there, I had suffered enough. And on this occasion, I am proud that this award remains with America. I am proud of this, ”said Abrikosov in an interview with Radio Liberty.

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