Abrikosov, Alexei Alexeyevich (1928-2017), a Soviet-born American physicist, won a share of the 2003 Nobel Prize in physics for his research on superconductivity , the ability of some substances to conduct electric current without resistance. The prize was also awarded to the Russian physicist Vitaly L. Ginzburg and the British-born physicist Anthony J. Leggett .
Abrikosov won the Nobel Prize for research he conducted in the Soviet Union during the 1950’s. He studied materials called type-II superconductors. Many superconductors function only inside a weak magnetic field (area of magnetic force ). Stronger magnetic fields disrupt the smooth flow of electric current in these materials, causing them to stop superconducting. Type-II superconductors, however, can superconduct in the presence of a much stronger magnetic field.
Abrikosov developed a theory to describe how this was possible, using mathematical models of superconductivity developed by Ginzburg and the Russian physicist Lev Landau . Abrikosov concluded that the electric current flowing through a type-II superconductor develops tiny swirls called vortexes. When a type-II superconductor is exposed to a magnetic field, these vortexes spread evenly through the material, forming an orderly arrangement called a vortex lattice. The magnetic force passes through channels in the vortexes without disrupting the flow of electric current. As the strength of the field increases, more vortexes form. If the field becomes too strong, the vortexes overlap, causing the material to stop superconducting. Abrikosov developed mathematical models to describe these effects. His work helped scientists understand superconductivity and identify new superconductors.
Abrikosov also conducted research in other areas of physics. He studied the behavior of different kinds of matter , including metals , plasmas (ionized gases ), and the compressed gases inside giant planets .
Abrikosov was born in Moscow on June 25, 1928. He earned an undergraduate degree from Moscow State University in 1948. He then attended the Institute for Physical Problems in Moscow, earning a doctor’s degree in physics in 1951 and another in physical and mathematical sciences in 1955. Abrikosov taught and conducted research at the institute from 1948 to 1965. He served as head of the condensed matter theory division at Moscow’s L. D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics from 1966 to 1988. From 1988 to 1991, he directed the Institute of High Pressure Physics in Troitsk. In 1991, Abrikosov began conducting research at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago . Abrikosov became a U.S. citizen in 1999 and also kept his Russian citizenship. He died on March 29, 2017.
See also Ginzburg, Vitaly Lazarevich .
