Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov

Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov is a Russian, Soviet, and American physicist who is known for his pioneering work in the field of condensed matter physics. He was awarded the Physics Nobel Prize with Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg and Anthony James Leggett for their contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids.

Early Life

Abrikosov was born in Moscow, USSR on June 25, 1928, to Professor Alexei Ivanovich Abrikosov and Dr. Fani Abrikosoca, two well respected physicians. Abrikosov's father was a pathologist and full member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and Academy of Medical Sciences. As a result of growing up under two scientists, Abrikosov received a lot of early exposure to the field of science, which peaked his interest and allowed him to begin his studies at a very young age. Additionally, Abrikosov held a distinct advantage over other notable scientists of the past. In being raised by two affluent parents, Abrikosov was able to explore things that interested him as opposed to having to work to help support his family. This contributed to his profound knowledge of science.

Education

Abrikosov was exceptionally bright for a child, and this showed at a young age. He excelled in his classes during primary school, and as a result was pushed forward. He graduated high school in 1943 at the young age of 14, and then enrolled in the Moscow Power Engineering Institute in Moscow. The MPEI is regarded as one of the top technical universities in the world for power engineering, electronics, and IT. Gaining acceptance to this institution is incredibly difficult, so the fact that he was able to do so at such a young age is all the more remarkable. He studied here for two years, before deciding to transfer to Moscow State University, where he then received his Masters Degree in science in 1948. Seeking to further his education, he enrolled at the P.L. Kapitza Institute for Physical Problems. This institute primarily focuses on low temperature physics, two fields of which include superconductivity and superfluidity. While here, and studied these two subjects, and he developed and defended his thesis on thermal diffusion in completely and incompletely ionized plasmas. After receiving his Ph.D. from the Kapitza Institute in 1951, he remained at the Institute to develop a thesis on quantum electrodynamics at high energies, for which he received his Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences degree in 1955.

Career

While studying at the Institute for Physical Problems, Abrikosov also worked under L.D. Landaue to conduct research regarding how waves and magnetic flux could penetrate a class of superconductors. Their research led to this class of superconductors being given a new name, and as such they were called type-II superconductors. He also the one to lead the work discovering how the magnetic flux lines would arrange after interacting with these superconductors, so the name for the formation is now the Abrikosov vortex lattice. Following his success under Landau at the Problems Institute, Abrikosov continued to primarily focus on the field of superconductivity and superfluidity. As he continued to delve deeper into this field, Abrikosov began looking into how superconductors behaved in different conditions, such as at different temperatures and under the influence of different magnetic fields. While not conducting research, Abrikosov held several different teaching positions at world-renowned universities. He has been a professor at Moscow State University since 1965, he held tenure at the Moscow Institute of Technology from 1972 to 1976 and the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys from 1976 to 1991, and he was a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences from 1987 to 1991. In 1991, he both became a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and began working at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, where he remains today.

Notable Scientific Discoveries and Contributions

• Documented the differences in thermal diffusion in completely and incompletely ionized plasmas
• Worked on the transition from insulating molecule to atomic metallic phase in hydrogen atoms
• The organization of the structure of hydrogen planets.
• Developed the theory of superconductors with magnetic impurities, which in turn led to the discovery of possibility of gapless superconductivity.
• Published research on how matter behaves at extremely low temperatures.

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