Alexei Alekseevich Abrikosov. 25 June 1928—29 March 2017

Abstract

A. A. Abrikosov was a consummate theoretical physicist whose work permeates modern quantum many-body physics. His greatest impact is the explanation of a regime of superconductivity in large magnetic fields, where the field penetrates the superconductor in quantized vortices, but the superconducting properties persist. For this work he won the 2003 Nobel Prize (together with V. L. Ginzburg ForMemRS and A. J. Leggett FRS). This is the framework for practical uses of superconductivity for high-field magnets, used for example in magnetic resonance imaging, magnetically levitating trains and the Large Hadron Collider. The ‘Abrikosov lattice’ of quantized vortices is a precursor to more recent understandings of two-dimensional magnetism, and topological materials whose properties are defined by quantized currents. He provided the earliest understanding of resummation of singularities in quantum theories, co-authored a textbook that has trained generations of theorists and led major research institutes and programmes in the USSR and the USA.