CHERNIKOV NIKOLAY ALEKSANDROVICH

N.A. Chernikov was born in Moscow on December 16, 1928 in a family of employees. After graduating from high school in 1946, Nikolai Aleksandrovich became a student at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. There he studied for a year and two months, and according to the competition announced in 1947, he entered the second course of the newly opened Faculty of Physics and Technology of Moscow State University. The first and only graduation of this department took place in March 1952, and then it was transformed into the Institute of Physics and Technology. As a student, Nikolai Aleksandrovich practiced at the Laboratory led by Academician A.I. Alikhanov. Subsequently, this Laboratory was transformed into the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics.

After successfully completing the Faculty of Physics and Technology at Moscow State University in 1952, N.A. Chernikov was sent to work at the Hydrotechnical Laboratory, which was located in Novo-Ivankovo, now Dubna. This Laboratory was transformed into the Institute of Nuclear Problems of the USSR Academy of Sciences and in 1956 it became part of the newly formed Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. All further scientific biography of Nikolai Aleksandrovich was connected with the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics of JINR, where he went from a researcher to the head of the sector, became the largest expert in the field of theoretical physics. The young scientist showed complete independence in choosing the direction of scientific research, and his first results on clarifying the role of geometry in physics were noticed and supported by Academician V.A. Fock. In the works of this period N.A. Chernikov formulated relativistic kinematics of elastic collisions of particles on the basis of Lobachevsky geometry, and also considered questions of the stochastic motion of elementary particles, which are still attracting the attention of physicists.

After establishing that the geometry of Lobachevsky is realized in the space of velocities, N.А. Chernikov was the first to build the relativistic kinetic theory of gases. The results obtained are considered to be classical. They formed the basis of N.A.Chernikov’s doctoral dissertation, which he successfully defended in 1963.

At the beginning of the 60s, N.A. Chernikov was involved in two new directions of research: quantum field theory in Riemannian spaces and nonlinear field models. The study of the first cycle was opened by an article in which the exact solution of the Schrödinger equation with the Hamiltonian, depending on time and being quadratic in coordinates and momenta, was derived. On this basis, the equation was discovered for a massless scalar field with conformal symmetry, the operator was obtained for the square of the mass of a scalar particle, and variational derivation of the energy-momentum tensor in Riemannian space-time was given; thereby, N.A. Chernikov was one of the initiators of the topical scientific direction - the construction of quantum theory of gravity.

In the works of the second direction, carried out together with B.М. Barbashov, particle-like solutions of nonlinear field models, which are now known as solitons, were found for the first time. Later, the physics of solitons arose, today rapidly developing and finding unexpected applications in quantum chemistry, molecular theory and other branches of natural science. These studies initiated the construction of the theory of relativistic extended objects or strings, one of the most fashionable areas of research aimed at building a comprehensive theory of elementary particles. The series of studies on nonlinear equations of mathematical physics was awarded the first JINR Prize for 1967.

In the early 80s, N.A. Chernikov introduced into the general theory of relativity a new object - additional (background) connectivity, and gave a rigorous mathematical meaning to the Einstein pseudo-tensor of the energy-momentum of the gravitational field.

N.A. Chernikov’s contribution to the scientific and organizational activity as well as international cooperation of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research was significant. For many years he had been the organizer and scientific leader of the regular international seminars “Gravitational Energy and Gravitational Waves” and an active member of the Russian Gravitational Society. Professor N.A. Chernikov always combined his scientific work with a great educational activity, delivered lectures and talks to students and to venerable scientists.

The creative work of Nikolai Aleksandrovich was characterized by individuality and originality, focus on identifying the essence of scientific problems and the search for first principles. The courage of his scientific research and irreproachable scientific honesty were important for the education of young scientists in the spirit of selfless devotion to science. He never walked away from difficult issues as a supervisor and just as a colleague, giving advice and making comments that had always been constructive.