Dmitri Dmitrievich Ivanenko (russian: Дми́трий Дми́триевич Иване́нко; July 29, 1904 – December 30, 1994) was a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
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 experimen ...
who made great contributions to the physical science of the twentieth century, especially to
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 the ...
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Kharkiv Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Professor of
University of Kharkiv
The Kharkiv University or Karazin University ( uk, Каразінський університет), or officially V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University ( uk, Харківський національний університет імені ...
, Professor of
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
(since 1943).
Biography
Dmitri Ivanenko was born on July 29, 1904 in
Poltava
Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...
, where he finished school, in 1920-1923 he studied at the Poltava Pedagogical Institute and began his creative path as a teacher of physics in middle school. Then D. D. Ivanenko studied at
Kharkiv University
The Kharkiv University or Karazin University ( uk, Каразінський університет), or officially V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University ( uk, Харківський національний університет імені ...
, from which in 1923 he was transferred to
Petrograd University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
. In 1926, while still a student, he wrote his first scientific works: with
George Gamow
George Gamow (March 4, 1904 – August 19, 1968), born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov ( uk, Георгій Антонович Гамов, russian: Георгий Антонович Гамов), was a Russian-born Soviet and American polymath, theoreti ...
Lev Landau
Lev Davidovich Landau (russian: Лев Дави́дович Ланда́у; 22 January 1908 – 1 April 1968) was a Soviet- Azerbaijani physicist of Jewish descent who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics.
His a ...
on the problems of relativistic
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
.
After graduating from the university, from 1927 to 1930 D. Ivanenko was a scholarship student and then a research scientist at the Physical Mathematical Institute of
Academy of Sciences of the USSR
The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...
. During these years he collaborated with Lev Landau,
Vladimir Fock
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock (or Fok; russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Фок) (December 22, 1898 – December 27, 1974) was a Soviet Union, Soviet physicist, who did foundational work on quantum mechanics and quantum ...
and
Viktor Ambartsumian
Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian (russian: Виктор Амазаспович Амбарцумян; hy, Վիկտոր Համազասպի Համբարձումյան, ''Viktor Hamazaspi Hambardzumyan''; 12 August 1996) was a Soviet Armenian astr ...
, later becoming famous. This was when modern physics, the new
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
, and
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 the ...
were established.
In 1928, Ivanenko and Landau developed the theory of
fermion
In particle physics, a fermion is a particle that follows Fermi–Dirac statistics. Generally, it has a half-odd-integer spin: spin , spin , etc. In addition, these particles obey the Pauli exclusion principle. Fermions include all quarks an ...
s as skew-symmetric tensors. This theory, known as the Ivanenko-Landau-Kahler theory, is not equivalent to Dirac's one in the presence of a gravitation field, and only it describes fermions on a lattice.
In 1929, Ivanenko and Fock described the parallel displacement of
spinor
In geometry and physics, spinors are elements of a complex vector space that can be associated with Euclidean space. Like geometric vectors and more general tensors, spinors transform linearly when the Euclidean space is subjected to a slight ...
s in curved space-time (the famous Ivanenko–Fock coefficients). Nobel laureate
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Punjabi Pakistani theoretical physicist and a ...
called it the first
gauge field theory
In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian (and hence the dynamics of the system itself) does not change (is invariant) under local transformations according to certain smooth families of operations ( Lie group ...
.
In 1930, Ambartsumian and Ivanenko suggested the hypothesis of creation of massive particles (1930) which is a cornerstone of contemporary
quantum field theory
In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and ...
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
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 the ...
. In 1932 Ivanenko proposed the proton-neutron model of the
atomic nucleus
The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After the discovery of the neutron i ...
, in connection with which the name Ivanenko entered physics textbooks, including school textbooks. Later D. Ivanenko and E. Gapon proposed the idea of the shell distribution of protons and neutrons in the nucleus (
nuclear shell model
In nuclear physics, atomic physics, and nuclear chemistry, the nuclear shell model is a model of the atomic nucleus which uses the Pauli exclusion principle to describe the structure of the nucleus in terms of energy levels. The first shell mod ...
). In 1933 on the initiative of D. Ivanenko and I. Kurchatov the first Soviet nuclear conference was called.
In 1934 D. Ivanenko and I. Tamm laid the basis of the first non-phenomenological theory of paired electron-neutron
nuclear forces
The nuclear force (or nucleon–nucleon interaction, residual strong force, or, historically, strong nuclear force) is a force that acts between the protons and neutrons of atoms. Neutrons and protons, both nucleons, are affected by the nucl ...
. They made the significant assumption that interaction can be undergone by exchange of particles with a rest mass not equal to zero. Based on their model, Nobel laureate
Hideki Yukawa
was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate for his prediction of the pi meson, or pion.
Biography
He was born as Hideki Ogawa in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto with two older brothers, two older sisters, and two yo ...
developed his
meson
In particle physics, a meson ( or ) is a type of hadronic subatomic particle composed of an equal number of quarks and antiquarks, usually one of each, bound together by the strong interaction. Because mesons are composed of quark subparticles ...
theory.
The realization of Ivanenko's far-reaching plans and hopes was interrupted, however. In 1935 he was arrested in connection with the Kirov affair. Exile to
Tomsk
Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population:
Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...
followed. D. Ivanenko was a professor at
Tomsk University
The National Research Tomsk State University, TSU (russian: Национа́льный иссле́довательский То́мский госуда́рственный университе́т) is a public research university located in Tom ...
from 1936 to 1938. Until the beginning of World War II, he managed the theoretical-physics personnel at Sverdlovsk University and
Kiev University
Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...
. In 1940 he defended his doctoral dissertation. In this period, Ivanenko's scientific interest gradually shifted from
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 the ...
to
cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...
theory. In particular, he proposed a non-linear generalization of Dirac's equation (1938). Based on this generalization, W. Heisenberg and D. Ivanenko developed the unified nonlinear field theory in the 1950s.
From 1943 and until the last days of his life, Professor Ivanenko was closely associated with the physics faculty of M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.
In 1943, D. Ivanenko and I. Pomeranchuk predicted the phenomenon of
synchrotron radiation
Synchrotron radiation (also known as magnetobremsstrahlung radiation) is the electromagnetic radiation emitted when relativistic charged particles are subject to an acceleration perpendicular to their velocity (). It is produced artificially in ...
given off by relativistic electrons in magnetic fields. This radiation was soon discovered by American experimenters. The discovery of
synchrotron radiation
Synchrotron radiation (also known as magnetobremsstrahlung radiation) is the electromagnetic radiation emitted when relativistic charged particles are subject to an acceleration perpendicular to their velocity (). It is produced artificially in ...
opened a new and important chapter in modern physics as a result of its special properties and possible applications. Classical and quantum theory of
synchrotron radiation
Synchrotron radiation (also known as magnetobremsstrahlung radiation) is the electromagnetic radiation emitted when relativistic charged particles are subject to an acceleration perpendicular to their velocity (). It is produced artificially in ...
was developed in research performed by students and followers of D. D. Ivanenko: A. A. Sokolov, I. M. Ternov et al. For their work in this area D. D. Ivanenko and A. A. Sokolov were awarded the
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
in 1950. Two of D. D. Ivanenko's and A. A. Sokolov's monographs ''Classical Field Theory'' and ''Quantum Field Theory'' were published at the beginning of the 1950s,
The theme of Professor Ivanenko's postwar work was mesodynamics, theory of
hypernucleus
A hypernucleus is similar to a conventional atomic nucleus, but contains at least one hyperon in addition to the normal protons and neutrons. Hyperons are a category of baryon particles that carry non-zero strangeness quantum number, which is con ...
, the unified non-linear spinor field theory, gravitation theory.
In the 1960s, D. Ivanenko did intensive scientific, scientific-methodological, and organizational work on the development and coordination of gravitation research in USSR. In 1961, on his initiative the first Soviet gravitation conference, which initiated a series of Soviet, and later also Russian, gravitation conferences was organized. At the beginning of the 1960s D. D. Ivanenko was the organizer of the gravitation section of Ministry of Higher Institutes of Learning of the USSR, which lasted until the 1980s. He was a member of the International gravitation Committee since its founding in 1959.
Theoretical physics has been enormously influenced by the seminar on theoretical physics organized by D. D. Ivanenko in 1944 that has continued to meet for 50 years under his guidance at the Physics Department of
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
. The distinguishing characteristic of Ivanenko's seminar was the breadth of its grasp of the problems of theoretical physics and its discussion of the links between its various divisions, for example, gravitation theory and
elementary particle physics
Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) and b ...
. The most prominent physicists in the world participated in the seminar:
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr (; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. B ...
,
Paul Dirac
Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is regarded as one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the Univer ...
,
Hideki Yukawa
was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate for his prediction of the pi meson, or pion.
Biography
He was born as Hideki Ogawa in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto with two older brothers, two older sisters, and two yo ...
,
Julian Schwinger
Julian Seymour Schwinger (; February 12, 1918 – July 16, 1994) was a Nobel Prize winning American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work on quantum electrodynamics (QED), in particular for developing a relativistically invariant ...
,
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Punjabi Pakistani theoretical physicist and a ...
,
Aage Bohr
Aage Niels Bohr (; 19 June 1922 – 8 September 2009) was a Danish nuclear physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 with Ben Roy Mottelson and James Rainwater "for the discovery of the connection between collective motion and pa ...
,
Ilya Prigogine
Viscount Ilya Romanovich Prigogine (; russian: Илья́ Рома́нович Приго́жин; 28 May 2003) was a physical chemist and Nobel laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility.
Biogra ...
,
John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler (July 9, 1911April 13, 2008) was an American theoretical physicist. He was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in e ...
et al.
In the 1970–80s, D. Ivanenko was concentrated on gravitation theory. His scientific team mainly developed different generalizations of Einstein's
general relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics ...
, including scalar-tensor gravitation theory, the hypothesis of
quark stars
A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly ...
, gravity with
torsion
Torsion may refer to:
Science
* Torsion (mechanics), the twisting of an object due to an applied torque
* Torsion of spacetime, the field used in Einstein–Cartan theory and
** Alternatives to general relativity
* Torsion angle, in chemistry
Bi ...
,
gauge gravitation theory
In quantum field theory, gauge gravitation theory is the effort to extend Yang–Mills theory, which provides a universal description of the fundamental interactions, to describe gravity.
''Gauge gravitation theory'' should not be confused with th ...
and others. In 1985, D. Ivanenko and his collaborators published two monographs ''Gravitation'' and ''Gauge Gravitation Theory''.
The scientific style of D. Ivanenko was characterized by great interest in ideas of frontiers in science where these ideas were based on strong mathematical methods or experiment.
Ivanenko died on December 30, 1994 at the age of 90. His sister,
Oksana Ivanenko
Oksana Dmytrivna Ivanenko (; March 31, 1906 – December 16, 1997) was a Ukrainian children's writer and translator. In 1974, she was the winner of the Lesia Ukrainka Literary Prize for the novels ''Рідні діти'' (Native Children), '' ...
, was a children's writer and translator.
Scientific contributions
His outstanding achievements include:
* the Fock–Ivanenko coefficients of parallel displacement of
spinor
In geometry and physics, spinors are elements of a complex vector space that can be associated with Euclidean space. Like geometric vectors and more general tensors, spinors transform linearly when the Euclidean space is subjected to a slight ...
s in a curved space-time)(1929);
* the Ambartsumian–Ivanenko hypothesis of creation of massive particles (1930);
* the proton–neutron model of
atomic nuclei
The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After the discovery of the neutron ...
(1932);
* the first shell model of nuclei (1932, in collaboration with E. Gapon);
* the first model of exchange
nuclear forces
The nuclear force (or nucleon–nucleon interaction, residual strong force, or, historically, strong nuclear force) is a force that acts between the protons and neutrons of atoms. Neutrons and protons, both nucleons, are affected by the nucl ...
(1934, in collaboration with
Igor Tamm
Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm ( rus, И́горь Евге́ньевич Тамм , p=ˈiɡərʲ jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvitɕ ˈtam , a=Ru-Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm.ogg; 8 July 1895 – 12 April 1971) was a Soviet physicist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in ...
);
* the prediction of
synchrotron radiation
Synchrotron radiation (also known as magnetobremsstrahlung radiation) is the electromagnetic radiation emitted when relativistic charged particles are subject to an acceleration perpendicular to their velocity (). It is produced artificially in ...
(1944, in collaboration with I. Pomeranchuk);
* the theory of hypernuclei (1956);
* the hypothesis of
quark star
A quark star is a hypothetical type of compact, exotic star, where extremely high core temperature and pressure has forced nuclear particles to form quark matter, a continuous state of matter consisting of free quarks.
Background
Some massive ...
s (1965, in collaboration with D. Kurdgelaidze);
* the
gauge gravitation theory
In quantum field theory, gauge gravitation theory is the effort to extend Yang–Mills theory, which provides a universal description of the fundamental interactions, to describe gravity.
''Gauge gravitation theory'' should not be confused with th ...
(1983, in collaboration with G. Sardanashvily).Ivanenko D., Sardanashvily G., The gauge treatment of gravity,
Physics Reports
''Physics Reports'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, a review section of ''Physics Letters'' that has been published by Elsevier since 1971. The journal publishes long and deep reviews on all aspects of physics. In average, the length of thes ...
94 (1983) 1.
Dmitri Ivanenko published more than 300 scientific works including 6 monographs and 11 volumes edited.