The L. D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics (russian: link=no, Институт теоретической физики имени Л. Д. Ландау (ИТФ)) of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

is a research institution, located in the small town of

Chernogolovka Chernogolovka (russian: Черноголо́вка) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Center of the town is located some 43 km (27 miles) northeast of the Moscow city limit and 59 km (37 miles) from Red Square. Its population in 2018 ...

near

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(there is also a subdivision in Moscow, on the territory of the P. L. Kapitza Institute for Physical Problems).

History

The Landau Institute was formed in 1964 to keep the ''Landau school'' alive after the tragic car accident of Lev D. Landau. Since its foundation, the institute grew rapidly to about one hundred scientists, becoming one of the worldwide best-known and leading institutes for

theoretical physics 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 experim ...

. Unlike many other scientific centers in Russia, the Landau Institute had the strength to cope with the crisis of the nineties in the last century. Although about one half of the scientists accepted positions at leading scientific centers and universities abroad, most of them kept ties with their ''home institute'', forming a scientific network in the tradition of the Landau school and supporting young theoretical physicists in the Landau Institute.

Prominent members

Up to 1992, the institute was headed by

Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov Isaak Markovych Khalatnykov ( uk, Ісаа́к Ма́ркович Хала́тников; 17 October 1919 – 9 January 2021) was a leading Soviet theoretical physicist who has made significant contributions to many areas of theoretical physics, ...

, who was then replaced by Vladimir E. Zakharov. Its numerous prominent scientists,

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

s as well as

physicists A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, include the Nobel laureate

Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov (russian: Алексе́й Алексе́евич Абрико́сов; June 25, 1928 – March 29, 2017) was a Soviet, Russian and AmericanAlexei A. AbrikosovAutobiography Nobelprize.org, the official website of the ...

as well as Igor Dzyaloshinsky,

Lev Gor'kov Lev Petrovich Gor'kov (russian: Лев Петро́вич Горько́в; 14 June 1929 – 28 December 2016) was a Russian-American research physicist internationally known for his pioneering work in the field of superconductivity. He was particul ...

Vladimir Gribov Vladimir Naumovich Gribov (Russian Влади́мир Нау́мович Гри́бов; March 25, 1930, LeningradAugust 13, 1997, Budapest) was a prominent Russian theoretical physicist, who worked on high-energy physics, quantum field theory an ...

Arkady Migdal Arkady Beynusovich (Benediktovich) Migdal (russian: Арка́дий Бе́йнусович (Бенеди́ктович) Мигда́л; Lida, Russian Empire, 11 March 1911 – Princeton, United States, 9 February 1991) was a Soviet physicist and m ...

Anatoly Larkin Anatoly Ivanovich Larkin (russian: Анатолий Иванович Ларкин; October 14, 1932 – August 4, 2005) was a Russian theoretical physicist, universally recognised as a leader in theory of condensed matter, and who was also a cele ...

, Sergei Novikov, Alexander Polyakov, Mark Azbel,

Valery Pokrovsky Valery Leonidovich Pokrovsky (russian: Валерий Леонидович Покровский; born 1 January 1931) is a USSR, Soviet and Russian physicist. He is a member of the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Landau Institute in Ch ...

Emmanuel Rashba Emmanuel I. Rashba (born October 30, 1927, Kyiv) is a Soviet-American theoretical physicist of Jewish origin who worked in Ukraine, Russia and in the United States. Rashba is known for his contributions to different areas of condensed matter physic ...

, Sergey Iordanskii, Ioshua Levinson, Alexei Starobinsky,

Alexei Kitaev Alexei Yurievich Kitaev (russian: Алексей Юрьевич Китаев; born August 26, 1963) is a Russian–American professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology and permanent member of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical ...

Vadim Berezinskii Vadim L'vovich Berezinskii (July 15, 1935 in Kyiv – June 23, 1980 in Moscow) was a Soviet physicist. He was born in Kyiv, graduated from Moscow State University in 1959, and worked in Moscow and the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics. He i ...

(whose early death prevented him from sharing the Nobel Prize for the

Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition The Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition is a phase transition of the two-dimensional (2-D) XY model in statistical physics. It is a transition from bound vortex-antivortex pairs at low temperatures to unpaired vortices and anti-v ...

theory), Sergey Brazovsky, Konstantin Efetov, David Khmel'nitsky, Vladimir Mineev, Grigory Volovik,

Paul Wiegmann Paul B. Wiegmann (Павел Борисович Вигман) is a Russian physicist. He is the Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago, James Franck Institute and Enrico Fermi In ...

, Leonid Levitov,

Alexander Zamolodchikov Alexander Borisovich Zamolodchikov (russian: Алекса́ндр Бори́сович Замоло́дчиков; born September 18, 1952) is a Russian physicist, known for his contributions to condensed matter physics, two-dimensional conform ...

Vadim Knizhnik Vadim Genrikhovich Knizhnik ( Russian: Вади́м Ге́нрихович Кни́жник; 20 February 1962, Kiev – 25 December 1987, Moscow) was a Soviet physicist of Jewish and Russian descent. Biography Knizhnik studied physics from 1978 t ...

Konstantin Khanin Konstantin "Kostya" Mikhailovich Khanin (russian: link=no, Константин Михайлович Ханин) is a Russian mathematician and physicist. He served as Chair (academic) of the Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences a ...

, and Yakov G. Sinai.

Fields of Research

The main fields of research are: *

Mathematical physics Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematics, mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and t ...

Computational physics Computational physics is the study and implementation of numerical analysis to solve problems in physics for which a quantitative theory already exists. Historically, computational physics was the first application of modern computers in science, ...

Nonlinear dynamics In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...

Condensed matter theory Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the su ...

Nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

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 ...

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 ...

References

External links

Institute's web site (English version)Talk by Vinay Ambegaokar on the history of the Landau school

History

Prominent members

Fields of Research

References

External links

Further reading