"He was mobile as mercury"

Director of the Institute of High Pressure Physics Vadim Brazhkin recalls the Nobel laureate Alexei Abrikosov

On March 30, the Nobel laureate in physics Alexei Abrikosov died. A student of Lev Landau, another Nobel laureate, left Russia in 1991 and has since worked in prestigious American laboratories. Abrikosov received the Nobel Prize in 2003, together with other scientists for work on the theory of superconductivity and super-texuity, already being a US citizen. "Medusa" asked to tell about the apricot director of the Institute of High Pressure Physics Vadim Brazhkin.

Vadim Brazhkin

Director of the Institute of Physics of High Pressure named after Vereshchagina RAS

Abrikosov headed our institute in 1988. An outstanding physicist came; Of course, we all knew that he was one of the first and beloved students of Lev Landau. We looked at him, opening our mouths, tried to imitate, learn something.

In 1988, our institute experienced heydays - both in terms of financing and in terms of the team. The staff was then about 700 people, 200 researchers - now we have only 150 people work for us.

Abrikosov was the first elected director - before him all the directors were appointed. There were elections, three candidates-appendages, an election commission. I remember how we traveled and persuaded him to become president - they called, so to speak, for reign. During these two or three years that he headed the institute, apricot gave him a special impulse. We have not only physicists, but also chemists, technologists, geologists. Abrikosov - a physicist to the brain of bones, talented from God - showed how to relate and know this science.

I myself only defended the candidate and was an ordinary researcher, was in the Council of Young Specialists, through which we met with apricot.

We had several memorable meetings with him. Before him, the institute was headed by scientists of incomparably lower class, so we, young people, were very impressive of his ability to listen to any article - and immediately make comments, comments to her, explain what the author actually wanted to do what he did right and what not. Abrikosov was able to quickly delve into the essence of things - it doesn’t matter whether it was experimental work or theoretical.

My first speeches on academic councils, on which I represented my scientific articles, caused him strong indignation. I was accused of the absence of a scientific culture, I made a remark that I was misunderstood. After that case, I tried to establish our relationship with him. And it turned out that this was possible, he listened, figured it out, and even, taking several leaves, painted with the help of the formulas how my device works - and brought me.

After that, I boasted of our youth: “I don’t know what theorists work for you, but apricot himself works for me. See a few leaves painted with his hand? This is an auto -modified solution to the differential equation for my calorimeter, which he quickly wrote on his knee. ” If our communication began, it is not easy, then it ended wonderful. He could sincerely rejoice for the successes of others, not only for his own.

When I once made a report, he suddenly interrupted me and drew the attention of the rest to what I was talking about. He said that our young employee made a serious discovery. And then he came to me and said that the opening is one, but most importantly, it is somehow to disdroize him. “I am a cunning person, I know that I will receive the Nobel Prize - if I live,” he told me. - Because, having come up with my vortices in superconductors, I highlighted the superconductors of the first and second kind - this was my name. You also come up with a special name for phase transitions in liquids that have just found. ” He really believed that if he had not come up with a special name, no one would have noticed his superconductors. And then I, unfortunately, did not listen to him, and now I regret it, because now the phase transitions in liquids are a very relevant topic.

Abrikosov actively participated not only in scientific leadership, but also in public life - did not miss concerts and cabbages that our youth arranged. On academic councils, the age colleagues who did not go to them were very crashed. He said that we are a single team, that we should live with one family.

He actively traveled to foreign countries-he was absent for three to four months a year. The rest, of course, went much less often. By 1991, when it became clear that the situation in the country and science was changing, and not in a good way, he decided to leave to work in the Argon National Laboratory [in the USA]. He did not tell us directly about this, but according to his last academic council, one could guess that he was a farewell. Abrikosov seemed to go on a business trip, but asked not to remember him by dashing and appointed the acting director.

Most likely, he understood more than others what was happening, and suggested where it would all roll. We could not even think then that from 1991 to 1993, financing of science will be reduced by 20 times, that life will be different, not so funny; Many will go to business, others will go abroad. He played ahead.

Many had a resentment, disappointment and discontent in connection with his article, which came out in Izvestia immediately after his departure. Abrikosov wrote about how everything will be bad in the USSR and Russia and that science in the coming decades will be in decline - so it is unlikely to return. This article was discussed a lot, including at the institute.

For his most important discovery, he nevertheless received the Nobel Prize. For the first time, apricot showed that there is such a class of superconductors through which the magnetic field does not penetrate immediately, but with the help of a vortex grille - the current current. He explained what the classes of superconductors can be, which is very important not only from a theoretical point of view - although this is a very beautiful task for theorists - but also for further developments. It is the apricot superconductors that are used everywhere in industry: superconducting coils, cables work on them.

He left a noticeable mark on the study of the theory of metals, he wrote several books-students are still studying on them, although they were written in the early 1960s.

In America, apricot worked in the Argon laboratory, there he had a very rare position of the invited scientist even for Americans - this was even before receiving the Nobel Prize. When he became the Nobel laureates, they began to invite him even more everywhere, it is very prestigious in America for universities to have Nobel laureates among his employees.

And on the basis of the Argon laboratory, he did several more classic works.

Abrikosov maintained contact with the employees of our institute, a year ago we discussed my articles in electronic correspondence with him. But in the last five years, he had a bad one with his eyes, even with strong glasses he used a screen with a huge font to read. I remember how he apologized for a long time and said that he could write short makers.

Abrikosov had a sharp, live mind, a good sense of humor. He was very mobile, like mercury, with a large amount of energy inside, very charming, despite their smallness and relatively unpretentious appearance. He was not modest, but did not chase awards, did not collect them. He evaluated himself highly and adequately, he understood that he was an outstanding physicist, he had no false modesty.

Recorded Sasha Sulim