Lev Landau is a genius and a domestic tyrant. Lev Landau

Lev Landau called one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century. The scientific works of the Soviet physicist were recognized throughout the world and were appreciated: in 1962 he became a Nobel Prize laureate. In 1999, 31 years after the scientist’s death, a book of memoirs by his wife Cora, “Academician Landau. How We Lived,” which was recently filmed Feature Film. Both the book and its film adaptation provoked a scandal in academic circles: according to scientists, they defamed the image of the great scientist and were an insult to his memory. The wife idolized her husband and considered him a genius, but, according to her, in everyday life he was a domestic tyrant and a real monster...

Lev Landau and Concordia Drobantseva spent 34 years together: 12 years in civil marriage and 22 years old - in the official one. Cora began writing her memoirs after the death of her husband in 1968 and worked on them for 10 years. At first, they were distributed in the form of samizdat among physicists, but almost all copies were destroyed by Landau’s indignant colleagues as discrediting his image and replete with too frank details of the personal life of the genius and those around him. Cora herself explained her position in the afterword: “ I wrote these memoirs only to myself, without the slightest hope of publication. To unravel the most complex tangle of my life, I had to delve into the obscene details of everyday life, into the intimate aspects human life, strictly hidden from prying eyes, sometimes hiding so much charm, but also abomination. I wrote only the truth, the whole truth...».

Even at the beginning scientific career Dandau made a pledge to “not smoke, drink, or marry.” When they met Cora, Lev Landau was 26 years old, and by this time he had already defended his dissertation and became a doctor of science. From the very beginning, he announced to his chosen one that he did not intend to marry and invited them to conclude a conditional “non-aggression pact in married life": none of them should claim the freedom of the other and bind themselves with an obligation to remain faithful. The scientist recognized only open relationships in which each of the spouses could not only allow themselves to have affairs on the side, but also not hide their adventures.

Lev Landau had his own theory of happiness, and he very much regretted that he did not write a separate work about it: “ I have created several good physical theories, but what a pity that I cannot publish my most best theory- how to live" He tried to implement his theory on by example, married to Cora. In his opinion, lies and jealousy poison the lives of spouses, so they should be completely excluded: “ A husband cannot be happy if his wife is unhappy. The role of a loser, a sufferer, and any despondency in general do not suit me. I have another plans».

Completely unacceptable for family life the scientist considered boredom: “ Here the terrible one will come judgment, the Lord God will call and ask: “Why didn’t you enjoy all the benefits of life? Why were you bored?" Landau's formula for happiness consisted of three components: love, work and communication with people, while at least 30% of the time should be devoted to love. The scientist believed: “ Marriage is a cooperative relationship and has nothing to do with love. The main thing a person should do in his life is to be happy. Therefore, walk, love and enjoy every day! You can get married, but remember that spouses are absolutely free people!».

He decided to officially marry Cora only a few days before the birth of their son Igor, after the chosen one swore to him never to be jealous and not to interfere with relationships with other women. He demanded the same from his wife and encouraged her to have relationships with other men, although she herself did not want this. Landau created his own classification, according to which he divided attractive women on the beautiful, pretty and interesting (1st, 2nd and 3rd grade), and called the ugly ones like this: 4th grade - “reprimand to parents”, 5th grade - “for repetition - execution.” The scientist believed that a woman should be beautiful, but it is not necessary to have intelligence.

The scientist demanded that his wife not only come to terms with his love affairs, but even leave the apartment during dates, having previously prepared dinner and a clean bed. One day he brought a girl home, and Cora hid in the closet. Landau opened the closet door, saw his wife and locked the door. He released his wife only after seeing off his mistress. Instead of making a scandal with him and leaving, Cora once again forgave and blamed herself for everything: “ It's all my fault. After all, she promised that he would remain a bachelor forever. I feel like I deceived the child. After all, he is as pure as a child».

After the publication of Cora's memoirs in scientific community a scandal broke out, the widow was accused of slander, speculation and deliberate distortion of facts. However, her words were confirmed by her son Igor: “ As for the relationship between parents, there was complete freedom. Such a life was not very simple for my mother, who, although she agreed with this state of affairs, suffered a lot from it».

People stubbornly refuse to understand that happiness is within us. Everyone likes to complicate things, but I, on the contrary, always strive for simplicity. The concepts “difficult” and “difficult” should not be confused. We must learn to think, moreover, to control our thoughts. Then there will be no empty fears and anxieties.”

They say that only extraordinary women can be near a genius, because they often have to put up with their vices, quirks and weaknesses: .

Lev Landau (to his friends - just Dau) is a brilliant Soviet theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize winner. He was interested in everything: from the structure of the atomic nucleus to raising children. Lived all my life in marriage, constantly getting carried away beautiful women. Left multi-volume scientific works in physics, incomprehensible to mere mortals, and hundreds of apt aphorisms that have become part of folk wisdom.

According to his American colleagues, he was an ardent communist, and according to NKVD officers, he was a participant in an anti-Soviet conspiracy. He criticized Soviet system for the lack of freedom and strengthened the defense shield of the state. Books have been written and films made about him, his portraits hang on the walls of faculties founded by the scientist.

Childhood and youth

Lev Davidovich Landau was born on January 22, 1908 in Baku. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the city developed rapidly, oil was extracted and refined here, and descendants invested here. Among other labor migrants, the parents of the future physicist also moved from Mogilev.

David Lvovich Landau held the position of petroleum engineer in the Caspian-Black Sea joint stock company and was engaged in scientific and applied work in his specialty, published in scientific journals.

Lev Landau as a child and his sister Sonya

Lyubov Veniaminovna Garkavi-Landau (née Bluma-Zirl Garkavi) graduated from Women's medical school In Petersburg. Despite marriage and the birth of children (Leo had elder sister Sophia), worked as a doctor, taught and studied pharmacology.

At the age of eight, Leva entered the Jewish gymnasium (in Baku, the least anti-Semitic city pre-revolutionary Russia, it was so educational institution).

Young Lev Landau with his sister

By the age of fourteen, the teenager does not have time to decide between mathematics and chemistry, so he enters two faculties at once at the University of Baku. During these years there is a war in the Caucasus. The promising city is shared by Türkiye, England and Soviet Union, but the battles and carnage in the streets do not distract Landau from his studies.

By 1924, the student chose physics as his life’s work and transferred to Leningrad University. In Leningrad, the young man lives with his aunt, Maria Lvovna Braude. Later, the scientist’s parents also move there.

The science

Already at the age of nineteen, Landau, under the leadership of Abram Fedorovich Ioffe, laid the foundations of quantum theory. A young promising physicist is sent to Europe to continue his education. The People's Commissariat for Education paid for only six months of the business trip; the rest of the money was provided by the foundation on the personal recommendation of Niels Bohr. In the photo with scientific conferences of those times you can see a lanky young man with wild hair and sparkling eyes - this is Dau.

With Bohr, his only teacher (according to Dau himself), the young man worked in Copenhagen. , Max Born, Werner Heisenberg, Pyotr Kapitsa - all these people who wrote their names in physics textbooks lived and worked at the same time. Having studied European scientists in natural environment habitat, after working with young colleagues, Landau returns to Leningrad.

But physics and technology becomes too small for two world-famous stars, and Dau in 1932 left " kindergarten Ioffe" and goes to the capital of Soviet Ukraine - Kharkov. There, Landau laid the foundations for the theoretical training of physicists in three institutes at once. After his dismissal from Kharkov University in early 1937, he left for Moscow to head the theoretical department of the new Institute of Physical Problems.

Landau manages to avoid becoming involved in the “UPTI case,” during which his colleagues were arrested and shot. But the hands of the NKVD also reach out to IFP employees. 1938 Landau was under investigation for anti-Soviet agitation and was released from prison only thanks to the petition of Niels Bohr and the guarantee of Kapitsa. The “agitator” was rehabilitated only in 1990.

After his release, Landau plunged headlong into scientific work. He deals with issues low temperatures, including superconductivity and superfluidity. Participates in the Soviet atomic project, studying the nucleus of the atom and types of radioactive radiation. Studies space, plasma and chemical reactions from a physics point of view elementary particles.

The brief result of this work was a textbook on theoretical physics, written in co-authorship with Evgeniy Mikhailovich Lifshitz. Latest volumes the books were completed by Dau's students. In the summer of 1941, the IFP was evacuated to Kazan. The institute's employees worked for defense. Landau's articles on the detonation of explosives date back to this time.

Personal life

In his youth, Landau believed that a real scientist should not smoke, drink or marry. However, the conviction in the last point was shaken by Kharkov resident Concordia Terentyevna Drobanskaya, who lived with the academician until his death. The couple lived together since 1934, and before the birth of their son they registered an official marriage. Igor Lvovich Landau (1946 – 2011) followed in his father’s footsteps and worked in the field of low temperature physics.

The personal life of a genius was divided into practical part and theory. Landau considered marriage to be a union not directly related to love. In order to eliminate lies and jealousy from the life of the family, Dau and Cora entered into a kind of agreement marriage contract. The agreement implied free relations between the spouses and did not prohibit sexual relations on the side.

A lover of measuring and calculating everything, the physicist applied the same approach to people. He divided girls and scientists into categories according to own classification. He developed a universal formula for happiness that included three main variables: work, love and communication.

The academician’s characteristic humor gave rise to the meme “Landau said so.” Some quotes from his lectures “went to the people” and turned into aphorisms. For example, his views on education are briefly reflected in the phrase:

“If you don’t give your child peace and hammer something into him from morning to night, he will remain sad and joyless for the rest of his life.”

A lot of information about Dau’s personal life is contained in the memoirs of his wife “Academician Landau. How We Lived,” on which the film “My Husband is a Genius” was based. The book and film adaptation caused mixed reactions from the public. The biography of Lev Davidovich served as the basis for the script for the project directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky. In 2005, work began on filming a large-scale canvas from the life of Soviet scientists, which has not yet yielded visible results.

Death

On January 7, 1962, Landau was in a car accident, receiving numerous injuries. The scientist did not come out of a coma for two months, but thanks to the efforts of the world scientific community, he survived. At the same time, the Nobel Committee awarded him a prize for studying the properties of liquid helium. The Nobel Prize winner's medal, diploma and check were delivered to Landau at the hospital. After the accident, the physicist could no longer work, although he gradually recovered.

Landau’s health was supported by a whole team of doctors who performed the necessary manipulations on the body of the famous patient. However, Cora Landau in her memoirs characterized some doctors from special clinics as incompetent. After another operation, the body’s resources were exhausted and on April 1, 1968, Lev Davidovich died. Buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, his wife and son are buried nearby.

Awards and achievements

• 1934 – Doctor of Sciences in Physics and Mathematics, without defending a dissertation
• 1935 – Title of professor
• 1945 – Order of the Red Banner of Labor
• 1946 – Full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Stalin Prize
• 1949 – Order of Lenin, Stalin Prize
• 1951 – Membership of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences
• 1953 – Stalin Prize
• 1954 – Hero of Socialist Labor
• 1956 – Membership of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences
• 1959 – Honorary Doctor of Science from Oxford University
• 1960 – Elected a member of the British Physical Society, the Royal Society of London, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Fritz London Prize, Max Planck Medal
• 1962 – Lenin Prize, Nobel Prize in Physics
• 1968 – Order of Lenin

At the age of 13, Lev Landau, the future Nobel laureate, graduated from 10 classes, and already at 14 he entered two faculties at once: physics and mathematics and chemistry. In those days the case was unique. At the age of 21, he was already a famous scientist, he was offered work at the best European universities, but until recently he believed that the best science in the world was only in the USSR.

For those preparing for the main school exam

Lev Landau's father was an oil engineer in Baku, a rich man and a confirmed bachelor. He was already approaching forty when he met the woman of his dreams and wanted to get married. She was not like other girls of that time: 29 years old, from a Jewish family, and with all this, she managed to save money on her own and go to study in Zurich. Then, despite the ban on Jews settling in St. Petersburg, she was able not only to obtain a residence permit, but also to graduate from the Women’s Medical Institute, while working at the Department of Physiology. Even after marriage and the birth of two children, she continued to work as a doctor, teach at the gymnasium and university, do research and publish articles in scientific journals.

Lev Landau with his parents, 1930s

How Landau became simply Dau

Lev Landau was born in 1908. He was an introverted and sad child, but one day he read that a person can create himself, he got excited about this idea and began to force himself to meet and communicate with people. This became second nature to him: everyone knew the adult Landau as a witty and inquisitive person who could strike up a conversation with both an academician and a laundress. He was sure that main responsibility person - to be happy. I believed that this skill could and should be developed. If a person is unhappy, then he simply does not want to figure out his life and he likes the role of the sufferer.

For himself, Landau brought out very simple formula happiness: science, love and communication with people. Science certainly came first

At the age of 14, he easily entered the University of Baku, into two faculties at once: chemistry and physics and mathematics. After two years, the university could no longer offer anything to the gifted student. He was advised to transfer to Leningrad. So at the age of 16 he found himself in the thick of scientific life. His fellow students loved him for his wit, willingness to help, and courage in front of professors. At the same time, Lev received the nickname Dau, which he really liked. “L"ane in French means donkey, that is, the surname Landau means “donkey Dau,” he said.

Scientists all over the world will know him as Dau. That’s how he introduced himself when they met, and that’s what his students called him.

“Landau skepticism”, or a great scientist at 21

Landau was interested quantum mechanics, which was just emerging then. He considered thick books to be cemeteries of ideas (which, however, did not stop him from writing a course on theoretical physics in ten volumes), and he received the knowledge he needed from foreign scientific journals. Fluent in German and French languages, and by the end of my studies I learned English. IN scientific articles he read the statement of the problem and the result. I skipped the middle: “I need to find out from the author what he is doing; I know better how to do it myself.” Good criterion scientific work his was very simple: she must explain something incomprehensible.

Lev Landau, 1929

In 1929, Landau went on an internship to Europe on a permit from the People's Commissariat for Education. He attended seminars of the leading physicists of the time, received a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation, and published work on the diamagnetism of metals, which later became known as “Landau diamagnetism.” Landau often came to Niels Bohr in Copenhagen and was his favorite student. “He could be obnoxious, interrupt Nils, ridicule his elders, and look like a disheveled boy. But how talented and how truthful he was!” - Bor's wife recalled. In fact, at the age of 21, Dau was already an established scientist.

One day Landau spoke with a young physicist Christian Möller and told him how he saw the solution to a problem. Möller wrote the work, published it in the journal, and at the end of the article thanked Landau for his help. Landau was indignant, because this article should have been signed by two names.

You know, Dau, I want to get married, but the bride’s father will not give his consent if I am not an assistant professor at the university,” Möller admitted.

Oh yes, please. “I can still write a paper for you,” Landau replied.

The name Dau was synonymous with absolute honesty in science. For example, one day he looked into the classroom and learned that those gathered were waiting for a professor who would talk about his sensational discovery. And so, when the scientist covered the board with calculations and conclusions, Landau exclaimed: “I beg your pardon, but there are too many errors here.” And he showed that if the problem is solved correctly, then there is no discovery. “Who let him in here?” - the professor was indignant. Landau could not stand dishonest treatment of his work: “To produce a wonderful result and not understand its significance is truly shameful!”

“It is known that physicists were afraid to publish a crude article. Everyone knew that Landau would instantly notice the mistakes and there would be no mercy. There was an opinion that it was very difficult for everyone who worked in his department to push their results through the echelons of Landau’s skepticism, because he, as the head, considered himself responsible for the articles of his employees and always read them.”

From the memoirs of Maya Bessarab , nieces of Lev Landau

Landau-Lovelace and marriage without obligations

Landau swore in his youth that he would never marry. At the age of 26, he met Cora (Concordia Drobantseva), and they began an affair. But even great love and passion could not force him to marry. Cora, of course, did not like the uncertain situation. In the end, Landau gave in, but immediately stipulated that the marriage would be formal: he reserves the right to behave like a bachelor (and also gives her complete freedom), making Cora promise that she will not be jealous. Landau considered marriage to be something like a cooperative and said that it had nothing to do with love.

Kora, wife of Lev Landau

The love between Cora and Landau lasted 12 years, and after that she actually became his housekeeper. He honestly gave her 70% of his earnings, but at the same time lived his own life. She suffered, but her husband’s high salary and the status of an academician’s wife suited her quite well. Landau talked a lot about relationships and flirted with other women. Perhaps that is why many considered him a ladies' man. Although friends recalled that he took love seriously, and his novels can be counted on one hand.

Teaching years and prison

During a student trip abroad, Landau was repeatedly offered work in best universities Europe, but he refused. “No, I will return to my working country, and we will create the best science in the world,” he said.

Landau moved to Kharkov to head the theoretical department at the Institute of Physics and Technology. He not only carried out research, but also taught: he gathered young talented physicists around him, thought out the “theoretical minimum” - a list of necessary knowledge, and held seminars at which anyone could make a presentation. Arguments and discussions often continued in Landau's small apartment.

“Some people think that a teacher is stealing from his students. Others say that students rob the teacher. I believe that both are right, and participation in this mutual theft is wonderful.”

By 1937, Landau's dreams of a great future working country scattered: mass arrests began. Moreover, he could not understand on what principle people were taken away. The scientist left for Moscow and immediately got a job at the Institute of Physical Problems with Pyotr Kapitsa.

At that time Kapitsa discovered paradoxical behavior liquid helium close up absolute zero. When the theorist Landau became interested in this problem, there was hope that the phenomenon could be explained. Landau was literally on the verge of a discovery (he later received the Nobel Prize for this work), but he was arrested. This happened in 1938.

Landau spent a year in prison

Kapitsa reacted instantly, although standing up for a potential “enemy of the people” was very risky. He wrote a letter to Stalin asking, if not to release him, then at least to carefully consider Landau’s case. Niels Bohr wrote a similar letter. But the authorities could not simply release the scientist from prison - this would mean admitting to the whole world that physics with big name imprisoned by mistake.

The optimal solution did not come soon: Landau was released a year later on Kapitsa’s personal guarantee. At the same time as Landau, his friend, physicist Yuri Rumer, was detained in Moscow - they spent the entire first night in the cell “talking about mathematics.” Rumer was imprisoned for 10 years. Landau sent him money every month - the amount that he did not give to his wife, Landau spent “on debauchery and philanthropy.”

“My son will never say that I’m boring”

Landau's parents forced him to study as a child what he did not like - for example, music. He himself tried not to force his son Igor to do anything. “My son will never say that I’m boring,” he said.

The bore Landau classified as follows: vile people (brawlers), moralists (highlight the product of morality - morality), fasters (walk with a dissatisfied face), touchy (always offended by someone). Landau considered the extermination of bores to be the duty of every decent person. “If a bore is not furious, it’s a disgrace to those around him,” he said.

Lev Landau with his son Igor

Landau studied physics for many hours every day, but he also knew how to instantly switch to everyday life.

"Garik ( Igor, son of Lev Landau - Approx. ed.) was about four years old when he was given an electric railway. Dau was terribly fond of toys, and at the sight of all these trailers, locomotives, semaphores, he went into a frenzy, fussed, tried to connect something, but everything was out of place, in a word, he disturbed everyone, but suddenly he connected the platform correctly and laughed joyfully. “So dad came in handy for something,” the child noted. Everyone burst out laughing."

From the memoirs of Maya Bessarab, niece of Lev Landau

Landau did not get along with technology at all and said that he did not go to Kapitsa’s laboratory so as not to break all the instruments there. Together with Kapitsa, Landau worked on the USSR atomic project. “If it weren’t for the fifth point, that is, nationality, I would not be engaged in special work, but only in physics, science, which I am now behind. I have been reduced to the level of a “learned slave,” and this determines everything,” said Landau.

For his participation in these works, Landau received the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, but gold star I hardly wore it. It was attached to a jacket, which was called a “jacket-ram”. Landau wore it when he had to “ram” someone, for example, to get theater tickets.

Nobel Prize after death

On January 7, 1962, Landau was in a car accident and was in a coma for almost two months. A physics headquarters was set up next to the chief physician’s office: 87 physicists took turns on duty, trying to provide the doctors with everything they needed.

“An alphabetical book appeared with telephone numbers and addresses of everyone and everything - persons and institutions, contact with which could be required at any moment. “233 telephone numbers were recorded there - other hospitals, motor depots, airfields, customs, pharmacies, ministries, places of possible stay of consulting doctors.”

From the memories of fellow physicists

On January 12, Landau stopped breathing, but physicists obtained the necessary Breathe-helping machine. After another 10 days, cerebral edema began; a suitable medicine was found in England. A British colleague promised to take him to the airport. He was late and called the head of Heathrow Airport - the plane was delayed for two hours. At Sheremetyevo, the physicist on duty was already waiting for the medicine.

In April, Landau began to come to his senses. At the end of 1962, he received the Nobel Prize "for his pioneering work in the theory of condensed matter, especially liquid helium." He was the only laureate in history to receive the award in a hospital. American magazine Life even published an article, “The Nobel Prize after Death.”

Lev and Cora sort out congratulatory telegrams after Landau was awarded the Nobel Prize, 1962 / Photo: RIA Novosti

For the last six years of his life, he did not study physics, and although in everyday life he remained the cheerful person he always was, many relatives considered the accident to be his “spiritual death.” The formula that Landau once derived turned out to be correct: love and communication are still not enough for happiness.

Landau died in 1968 after another operation. And the “Course of Theoretical Physics” by Lev Landau and Evgeny Lifshitz is still being republished.

Some time after his parents returned home, Igor said to his mother: “Mom, I decided to get married.” - Isn’t it early? Can't we wait for my father's recovery? - You see, mom, there should be a distribution in our course. They want to send Sveta to Crimea: she is an astronomer. If she leaves, I might lose her. Cora guessed that her son could tell her about his upcoming marriage at any moment; he had been courting the girl for two years, although he had not introduced her to her mother. - Mom, please tell dad about this when I leave. Cora shook her head: “No.” If you decide to get married, find the courage to tell your father about it yourself. “Mom, let’s go together,” the son asked. “My God, what a child you are,” thought the mother. - And you’re getting married so early? And she answered: - Okay, let's go. When they entered Dau’s, he was talking about something with Tanya. Having sent Tanya to dinner, Cora took her place and looked at her son. “Dad, I want to get married...” he said embarrassedly. Dau laughed: “This is news, Garik.” In my opinion, you still have your own salary, and you’re already getting ready to get married! Garik jumped up and ran out of the room. Cora noticed that Dau should not have offended Igor like that. The boy is independent, he can earn a living, he’s been in love for two years now, and with his secrecy you won’t get anything from him. What if they are planning to have a child? - Garik! Come here! - Dau called loudly. Garik is back. - Why didn’t you immediately say that you’ve known your girlfriend for a long time? I decided it was a pig in a poke! And if you have checked your feelings, if your girlfriend is so smart, I certainly agree. Moreover, you are graduating from university. Tell her that I really want to meet her. The acquaintance took place: Lev Davidovich liked his son’s bride, it could not have been otherwise. “Very sweet,” Dau said to his wife when Igor left to see Svetlana off. “But you are more beautiful!”

There was no wedding: on the day of registration of the marriage, Garik was sick with the flu, and both the bride and groom considered the wedding a “merchant relic.” Four years later, their daughter Olga was born. Igor turned out to be an extraordinary father and husband.

Although Cora never consciously taught him to homework, after the birth of his daughter, he did absolutely everything around the house. Svetlana was sick for a long time. There was no one to help: her parents lived far away, in a remote village, and Cora had difficulty managing own affairs- all worries about his wife and child fell on Igor. After work, he had to wash a mountain of diapers, cook food, go to the pharmacy for medicine - Cora was only surprised how he coped with everything. Her stories alarmed Dau. He didn’t say anything to his son, but in a conversation with his wife he blurted out: “Will Garik really be henpecked?” Cora, of course, could not resist and conveyed her father’s words to Igor. “No, mom, it doesn’t threaten me,” the son answered. Soon after Garik graduated from university.

Winner of the Max Planck Medal (1960), Lenin (1962) and three Stalin (State) Prizes (1946, 1949, 1953), Hero of Socialist Labor (1954).

Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society of London (1960), the US National Academy of Sciences (1960), the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences (1951), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (1956), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1960), the French Physical Society and the London Physical Society.

Landau created a numerous school of theoretical physicists. Among his students are E. M. Lifshits, A. A. Abrikosov, L. P. Gorkov, I. E. Dzyaloshinsky, I. M. Lifshits, I. Ya. Pomeranchuk, I. M. Khalatnikov, A. F. Andreev, A. I. Akhiezer, V. B. Berestetsky, S. S. Gershtein, B. L. Ioffe, Yu. M. Kagan, V. G. Levich, L. A. Maksimov, A. B. Migdal , L. P. Pitaevsky, R. Z. Sagdeev, Ya. A. Smorodinsky, K. A. Ter-Martirosyan, Laszlo Tissa and others.

The Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences is named after Landau.

Biography

Born into the family of oil engineer David Lvovich Landau and his wife Lyubov Veniaminovna in Baku on January 22, 1908. Since 1916, he studied at the Baku Jewish gymnasium, where his mother, Lyubov Veniaminovna Landau (nee Garkavi), was a natural science teacher. Unusually gifted mathematically, Landau jokingly said about himself: “I learned to integrate at the age of 13, but I always knew how to differentiate.” " At the age of fourteen he entered the University of Baku, where he studied simultaneously in two faculties: physics, mathematics and chemistry. For special successes he was transferred to Leningrad University. Graduated in 1927 physical department Faculty of Physics and Mathematics Leningrad University, Landau became a graduate student, and later an employee of the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology, in 1926-1927 published the first works on theoretical physics.

In 1929, he was on a scientific trip to continue his education in Germany, in Denmark with Niels Bohr, in England and Switzerland. There he worked with leading theoretical physicists, including Niels Bohr, whom he considered his only teacher from then on.

In 1932, he headed the theoretical department of the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology in Kharkov. Since 1937 at the Institute of Physical Problems of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Academician Landau is considered a legendary figure in the history of domestic and world science. Quantum mechanics, physics solid, magnetism, low temperature physics, cosmic ray physics, hydrodynamics, quantum field theory, physics of the atomic nucleus and elementary particle physics, plasma physics - this is not a complete list of areas in which different time that attracted Landau's attention. They said about him that in “the huge building of physics of the 20th century there were no locked doors for him.”

From 1932 to 1937 he worked at UPTI; After his dismissal from Kharkov University and the subsequent strike of physicists, Landau in February 1937 accepted the invitation of Pyotr Kapitsa to take the post of head of the theoretical department of the newly built Institute of Physical Problems (IPP) and moved to Moscow. After Landau’s departure, the destruction of UPTI by the regional NKVD began, foreign specialists A. Weisberg and F. Houtermans were arrested, in August-September 1937 physicists L. V. Rozenkevich (Landau’s co-author), L. V. Shubnikov, V. S. Gorsky (the so-called “UPTI case”).

In April 1938, Landau in Moscow edited a leaflet written by M. A. Korets calling for the overthrow of the Stalinist regime, in which Stalin was called a fascist dictator. The text of the leaflet was handed over to the anti-Stalin group of IFLI students for distribution by mail before the May Day holidays. This intention was discovered by the USSR state security agencies, and Landau, Korets and Yu. B. Rumer were arrested on the morning of April 28 for anti-Soviet agitation. On May 3, 1938, Landau was removed from the list of IFP employees. Landau spent a year in prison and was released thanks to a letter in defense from Niels Bohr and the intervention of Kapitsa, who took Landau “on bail.” Kapitsa wrote: “I ask you to release from custody the arrested physics professor Lev Davidovich Landau under my personal guarantee. I guarantee to the NKVD that Landau will not conduct any counter-revolutionary activities in my institute, and I will take all measures in my power to ensure that he does not conduct any counter-revolutionary work outside the institute. If I notice any statements from Landau aimed at harming Soviet power, I will immediately report this to the NKVD authorities.” Two days later, Landau was reinstated on the list of IFP employees. After his release and until his death, Landau remained an employee of the Institute of Physical Problems.

In 1955, he signed the “Letter of the Three Hundred” (contained an assessment of the state of biology in the USSR by the mid-1950s and criticism of Lysenko and “Lysenkoism”).

Death

On January 7, 1962, on the road from Moscow to Dubna on Dmitrovskoe Highway, Landau was in a car accident. As a result of numerous fractures, hemorrhage and head trauma, he was in a coma for 59 days. Physicists from all over the world took part in saving Landau's life. A 24-hour watch was organized at the hospital. The missing medicines were delivered by plane from Europe and the USA. As a result of these measures, Landau's life was saved, despite very serious injuries.

After the accident, Landau practically stopped working scientific activity. However, according to his wife and son, Landau was gradually returning to his normal state and in 1968 was close to resuming his physics studies.

Landau died a few days after surgery to correct an intestinal obstruction. The diagnosis is thrombosis of mesenteric vessels. Death occurred as a result of blockage of the artery by a detached blood clot. Landau's wife in her memoirs expressed doubts about the competence of some of the doctors who treated Landau, especially doctors from special clinics for the treatment of the USSR leadership.

Personal life and the theory of happiness

As a child, fascinated by science, Landau made a vow to himself “never to smoke, drink or marry.” Also, he believed that marriage is a cooperative relationship that has nothing to do with love. However, he met a chemistry graduate, Concordia (Cora) Drobantseva, who had separated from her first husband. She swore that she would not be jealous of other women, and from 1934 they lived together in a de facto marriage. Landau believed that lies and jealousy destroy marriage most of all, and therefore they entered into a “non-aggression pact in married life” (as conceived by Dau), which gave relative freedom to both spouses in affairs on the side. The official marriage between them was concluded on July 5, 1946, a few days before the birth of their son Igor. Igor Lvovich Landau graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University, an experimental physicist in the field of low temperature physics (died 05/14/2011, buried at Novodevichy Cemetery).

Landau's only non-physical theory was the theory of happiness. He believed that every person should and even has an obligation to be happy. To do this, he derived a simple formula that contained three parameters: work, love and communication with people.

So said Landau

In addition to science, Landau is known as a joker. His contribution to scientific humor is quite large. Possessing a subtle sharp mind and excellent eloquence, Landau in every possible way encouraged humor in his colleagues. He gave birth to the term Landau said so, and also became the hero of various humorous stories. It is typical that jokes are not necessarily related to physics and mathematics.

Landau had his own classification of women. According to Landau, girls are divided into beautiful, pretty and interesting.

Brief chronology of life and activities

• 1916-1920 - study at the gymnasium
• 1920-1922 - studied at the Baku Economic College.
• 1922-1924 - studies in Azerbaijan state university.
• 1924 - transfer to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Leningrad State University.
• 1926 - admission to supernumerary graduate school at the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology. Participation in the V Congress of Russian Physicists in Moscow (December 15-20). Publication of Landau’s first scientific work, “On the Theory of Spectra of Diatomic Molecules.”
• 1927 - graduation from university (January 20) and enrollment in graduate school at the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology. In the work “The Problem of Radiation Braking”, he introduces for the first time a new concept into quantum mechanics - the density matrix - to describe the state of systems.
• 1929 - one and a half year scientific trip to continue his education in Berlin, Gottingen, Leipzig, Copenhagen, Cambridge, Zurich. Publication of a work on diamagnetism, which put him on par with the world's leading physicists.
• March 1931 - return to homeland and work in Leningrad.
• August 1932 - transfer to Kharkov as head of the theoretical department of the Ukrainian Institute of Physics and Technology (UPTI).
• 1932-1936 - appointment as head of the department of theoretical physics at the Kharkov Mechanical Engineering Institute (now the National Technical University"Kharkov Polytechnic Institute"). Delivering a course of lectures at the Faculty of Physics and Mechanics.
• 1934 - L. D. Landau was awarded the degree of Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences without defending a dissertation. Conference on Theoretical Physics in Kharkov. Trip to Bohr's seminar in Copenhagen (May 1-22). Creation of a theoretical minimum - a special program for training young physicists.
• 1935 - taught a course in physics at Kharkov State University, headed the department of general physics at KhSU. Awarding the title of professor.
• 1936-1937 - creation of the theory phase transitions the second kind and the theory of the intermediate state of superconductors.
• 1937 - transfer to work at the Institute of Physical Problems in Moscow (February 8). Appointment as head of the theoretical department of the IPP.
• April 27, 1938 - arrest.
• April 29, 1939 - release from prison thanks to the intervention of P. L. Kapitsa.
• 1940-1941 - creation of the theory of superfluidity of liquid helium.
• 1941 - creation of the theory of quantum liquid.
• 1943 - awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.
• 1945 - awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
• November 30, 1946 - election as a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Award Stalin Prize.
• 1946 - creation of the theory of electron plasma oscillations (“Landau damping”).
• 1948 - publication of the “Course of lectures on general physics”.
• 1949 - awarded the Stalin Prize, awarded the Order of Lenin.
• 1950 - construction of the theory of superconductivity (together with V.L. Ginzburg).
• 1951 - election as a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences.
• 1953 - awarded the Stalin Prize.
• 1954 - awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. Publication (together with A. A. Abrikosov, I. M. Khalatnikov) fundamental work"Fundamentals of Electrodynamics".
• 1955 - publication of “Lectures on the theory of the atomic nucleus” (together with Ya. A. Smorodinsky).
• 1956 - election as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences.
• 1957 - creation of the Fermi liquid theory.
• 1959 - L. D. Landau proposes the principle of combined parity.
• 1960 - elected a member of the British Physical Society, the Royal Society of London, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Awarded the Fritz London Prize. Awarded the Max Planck Medal (Germany).
• 1962 - car accident on the way to Dubna (January 7). Lenin Prize for a series of books on theoretical physics (together with E.M. Lifshitz) (April). Nobel Prize in Physics "for pioneering work in the theory of condensed matter, especially liquid helium." Awarded November 1, 1962. The Nobel Prize laureate medal, diploma and check were presented to Landau on December 10 (for the first time in history Nobel Prizes The award ceremony took place in the hospital). Awarded the Order of Lenin.
• April 1, 1968 - died a few days after the operation.

Landau School. Theorem minimum

Landau created a numerous outstanding school of theoretical physicists. Landau's students were primarily considered to be physicists who were able to pass Lev Davidovich (and subsequently his students) 9 theoretical exams, the so-called Landau theoretical minimum. First, mathematics was taken, and then physics exams:

• two math exams
• Mechanics
• field theory
• quantum mechanics
• statistical physics
• continuum mechanics
• electrodynamics of continuous media
• quantum electrodynamics

Landau required his students to know the fundamentals of all branches of theoretical physics.

After the war, the best way to prepare for exams was to use the theoretical physics course of Landau and Lifshitz, but the first students took exams using Landau’s lectures or handwritten notes.

The first to pass Landau's theoretical minimum were:

• Alexander Solomonovich Kompaneets (1933)
• Evgeny Mikhailovich Lifshits (1934)
• Alexander Ilyich Akhiezer (1935)
• Isaac Yakovlevich Pomeranchuk (1935)
• Leonid Moiseevich Pyatigorsky (passed the theoretical minimum fifth, but is not listed on the list provided by Landau)
• Laszlo Tissa (1935)
• Veniamin Grigorievich Levich

Other students:

• Vladimir Borisovich Berestetsky
• Yakov Abramovich Smorodinsky
• Isaac Markovich Khalatnikov
• Alexey Alekseevich Abrikosov
• Arkady Beinusovich Migdal
• Ilya Mikhailovich Lifshits
• Karen Avetikovich Ter-Martirosyan
• Boris Lazarevich Ioffe
• Yuri Moiseevich Kagan