Aleksandr (Oleksandr) Ilyich Akhiezer (, ; 18 (31) October 1911 – May 4, 2000) was a Soviet and Ukrainian

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...

, known for contributions to numerous branches of theoretical physics, including

quantum electrodynamics In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the Theory of relativity, relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quant ...

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

solid state physics Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as solid-state chemistry, quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state p ...

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...

, and the theory of plasma. He was the brother of the mathematician

Naum Akhiezer Naum Ilyich Akhiezer (; ; 6 March 1901 – 3 June 1980) was a Soviet and Ukrainian mathematician of Jewish origin, known for his works in approximation theory and the theory of differential and integral operators. He is also known as the autho ...

Biography

Akhiezer was born in

Cherykaw Cherykaw (; ; ) is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It is located in the east of the region, on the Sozh River, and serves as the administrative center of Cherykaw District. In 2009, its population was 8,177. As of 2024, it has a population of ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in what is now Mogilev Region,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. He studied radio engineering at

Kyiv Polytechnic Institute The Kyiv Polytechnic Institute ( KPI, ; official full title National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute") is a national public technological university in Kyiv, Ukraine. Name In the long period of existenc ...

in 1929–34. From 1934, he worked at the

Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology The National Science Center Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT) (), formerly the Ukrainian Physics and Technology Institute (UPTI) is the oldest and largest physical science research centre in Ukraine. Today it is known as a scienc ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. With

Isaak Pomeranchuk Isaak Yakovlevich Pomeranchuk (; 20 May 1913 – 14 December 1966) was a Soviet physicist of Polish origin in the former Soviet nuclear weapons program. His career in physics spent mostly studying the particle physics (including thermonuclear ...

and under the supervision of

Lev Landau Lev Davidovich Landau (; 22 January 1908 – 1 April 1968) was a Soviet physicist who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics. He was considered as one of the last scientists who were universally well-versed and ma ...

, he studied light-light scattering and was awarded a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1936. A treatise on wave absorption in modulated

quasiparticle In condensed matter physics, a quasiparticle is a concept used to describe a collective behavior of a group of particles that can be treated as if they were a single particle. Formally, quasiparticles and collective excitations are closely relate ...

s gave him a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

degree in 1941 and title of

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

. When

left Kharkiv in 1937, Akhiezer became head of the department of Theoretical Physics at

, which was renamed

Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology The National Science Center Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT) (), formerly the Ukrainian Physics and Technology Institute (UPTI) is the oldest and largest physical science research centre in Ukraine. Today it is known as a scienc ...

shortly afterwards. He held this post for over 60 years until his death. With

Cyril Sinelnikov Kyrylo Dmytrovych Synelnykov (; 29 May 1901 – 16 October 1966) was a Soviet and Ukrainian physicist who participated in the Soviet atomic bomb project. Biography Synelnykov was born in Pavlohrad. In January 1921, he was accepted into the M ...

and Anton K. Valter he founded the faculty of physics and technology at

University of Kharkiv The V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (), also known as Kharkiv National University or Karazin University, is a public university in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1804 through the efforts of Vasily Karazin, becoming the second old ...

. With

he studied

neutron scattering Neutron scattering, the irregular dispersal of free neutrons by matter, can refer to either the naturally occurring physical process itself or to the man-made experimental techniques that use the natural process for investigating materials. Th ...

and

plasma physics Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...

at the Kurchatov nuclear physics institute in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(1944–52).

Awards

* 1949 L. I. Mandelshtam Prize of the

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

* 1986 State Prize of Ukrainian SSR in Science and Technology * M.M.Bogolyubov Prize of

National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; , ; ''NAN Ukrainy'') is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine that is the main center of development of Science and technology in Ukraine, science and technology by coordinatin ...

* O.S. Davydov Prize of

* 1998

Pomeranchuk Prize The Pomeranchuk Prize is an international award for theoretical physics, awarded annually since 1998 by the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP) from Moscow. It is named after Russian physicist Isaak Yakovlevich Pomeranchuk, wh ...

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

of 3d degree (1996) and 2nd degree (1999)

Books

* First Russian book on nuclear reactions (1945) * * * * ''Evolving physical picture of the world'' (1973 in Russian; updated version 1996 in English) * * ''Physics of elementary particles'' (1979), ''Elementary Particles'' (1986) and ''Biography of elementary particles'' (1979). With Mikhail P. Rekalo. * ''From quanta of light to colour quarks'' (1993). With Yu. P. Stepanovsky. * * *

References

1911 births 2000 deaths People from Cherykaw Academic staff of Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute Kyiv Polytechnic Institute alumni Members of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Academic staff of the School of Physics and Technology of University of Kharkiv Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Belarusian Jews Jewish Ukrainian scientists Jews from the Russian Empire Soviet Jewish physicists Ukrainian nuclear physicists Laureates of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology people {{Physicist-stub