Physicists From Russia

"Based at Princeton University, Polyakov was chosen from a shortlist of three, which included string theorist of the and a trio of researchers – of the , of the and of Stanford University. The shortlist and ultimate winner were chosen by a panel comprising nine physicists – seven of whom are string theorists and one a topological-insulator pioneer. Not surprisingly, string-theory naysayer of Columbia University is not pleased. “The [ceremony] was largely a string theory hype-fest…,” he wrote on his blog . Meanwhile in a very different dimension of the , Lubos Motl is elated and writes “Sasha Polyakov is a giant because he is a string-theory pioneer and because he has cracked many phenomena in gauge theories.” Motl also makes a confession of sorts about what he discovered while alone in Polyakov’s office…"

"We develop a for computing sums over random surfaces which arise in all problems containing (like , three-dimensional etc.). These sums are reduced to the exactly solvable quantum theory of the two-dimensional Liouville lagrangian. At D = 26 the string dynamics is that of harmonic oscillators as was predicted earlier by dual theorists, otherwise it is described by the nonlinear integrable theory."

"can be understood in a very simple way by means of the Peierls argument. Namely, while the energy of the string is proportional to its length, the entropy of it also grows linearly (since the number of random curves grows exponentially with their lengths). Thus at a certain temperature the entropy takes over and infinitely long strings begin to dominate. That means liberation."

"We have no better way of describing elementary particles than quantum field theory. A quantum field in general is an assembly of an infinite number of interacting harmonic oscillators. Excitations of such oscillators are associated with particles. The special importance of the harmonic oscillator follows from the fact that its excitation spectrum is additive, i.e. if E1 and E2 are energy levels above the ground state then E1 + E2 will be an energy level as well. It is precisely this property that we expect to be true for a system of elementary particles."

"Alexander Polyakov, a now at Princeton University, caught a glimpse of the future of in 1981. A range of mysteries, from the wiggling of strings to the binding of s into s, demanded a new mathematical tool whose silhouette he could just make out. ... In his paper he sketched out a formula that roughly described how to calculate averages of a wildly chaotic type of surface, the “.” His work brought physicists into a new mathematical arena, one essential for unlocking the behavior of theoretical objects called strings and building a simplified model of quantum gravity. Years of toil would lead Polyakov to breakthrough solutions for other theories in physics, but he never fully understood the mathematics behind the Liouville field. Over the last seven years, however, a group of mathematicians has done what many researchers thought impossible. In a trilogy of landmark publications, they have recast Polyakov’s formula using fully rigorous mathematical language and proved that the Liouville field flawlessly models the phenomena Polyakov thought it would."

"In a sufficiently strong magnetic field, electrons and ions can move freely only along the lines of magnetic force. In a plane normal to these lines of force the particles will move along circles of small radius. The positions of the centers of these circles can vary only as a result of collisions, each collision displacing the center by a distance of the same order of magnitude as the radius of curvature of the particle trajectory."

"On the one hand, there are the approaches that lead to stationary thermonuclear reactions, and on the other hand, those that are based on the idea of utilizing an instantaneous temperature rise in transient processes of very brief duration. However, irrespective of the way the investigation is carried out, there is one problem that is inevitably encountered; namely, the insulation of the plasma, which is heated to a high temperature, from the walls of the vessel in which it is confined, In other words, a means must be found to keep the fast particles within the plasma over a period sufficient for the particles to have a good chance to react with each other."

"Inductive reactance is much larger than atomic resistance in pulsed discharges in which the current In- creases+ at a high rate. Thus, by using current and voltage oscillograms one' may find the time dependence of the inductance of the plasma column and hence determine how the radius of the column changes at various stages."

"Human life is not eternal, but science and knowledge cross the threshold of centuries."

"We considered here some features of the phenomena that accompany the passage of Intense pulse discharges through rarefied gases. The success of further work in this direction will greatly depend on the possibility of creating conditions under which the plasma column will experience multiple oscillations during build-up of the current without coming into contact with the walls."

"In work, Comrade Stalin said, it is necessary to move decisively, with the investment of a decisive quantity of resources, but in the basic directions. It is also necessary to use Germany to the utmost; there, there are people, and equipment, and experience, and factories. Comrade Stalin asked about the work of German scholars and the benefits which they brought to us."

"As is known, thermonuclear reactions can arise if the temperature of matter is sufficiently high for atomic nuclei to surmount the forces of the Coulomb barrier with appreciable probability daring thermal collisions. The excitation of thermonuclear reaction in deuterium or in a mixture of deuterium and tritium is especially interesting since in this case a noticeable effect should be obtainable at relatively low temperatures."

"In any case, it is important to prioritize. Otherwise, the secondary, although necessary, will take all your strength and will not allow you to reach the main one."

"Of foremost significance among the more important problems of modern engineering science is utilization of the energy of thermonuclear reactions. Physicists the world over are attracted by the extraordinarily interesting and very difficult task of controlling thermonuclear reaction."

"It was not worth engaging in small-scale work, but necessary to conduct the work broadly, with Russian scope. . . . It was not necessary to seek cheaper paths."

"If in reality eka-osmium possesses the same properties as uranium-235, it will be possible to extract it from the "uranium boiler" and use it as a material for an "eka-osmium" bomb. The bomb will therefore be made from an "unearthly" material, which has vanished from our planet."

"On appraising the various approaches to the problem of obtaining Intense thermonuclear reactions, we do not deem it possible to completely exclude further attempts to attain this goal by using pulse discharges. However, other possibilities must also be carefully considered."

"Under certain conditions acceleration of ions in a longitudinal electric field may also be possible outside the central zone of the discharge due to the presence of space charges."

"Physics is indebted to the founder of nuclear physics, Ernest Rutherford, for information regarding the interaction of deuterons. In one Of his last investigations Rutherford studied the nuclear reactions that occur when two deuterons collide. It was difficult to suspect at that time that the new facts discovered by him would help realize our hope of mastering the energy sources of the hot interior of the sun and distant stars that shine overhead."

"... We live for a while in some state which is called ... there is no preferable coordinate system ... there is no preferable choice of time ..."

"The theory of the inflationary multiverse changes the way we think about our place in the world. According to its most popular version, our world may consist of infinitely many exponentially large parts, exhibiting different sets of low-energy laws of physics. Since these parts are extremely large, the interior of each of them behaves as if it were a separate universe, practically unaffected by the rest of the world. This picture, combined with the theory of eternal inflation and anthropic considerations, may help to solve many difficult problems of modern physics, including the cosmological constant problem."

"The best available explanation of the observed uniformity of the universe is provided by inflation. However, as soon as this mechanism was proposed, it was realized that inflation, while explaining why our part of the world is so uniform, does not predict that this uniformity must extend to the whole universe ..."

"Many scientists are still ashamed of using the . Just as the friends of were afraid of using the name , the opponents of the anthropic principle often say that they do not want to use the 'A' in their research."

"Why is our universe so homogeneous? Why is it not exactly homogeneous? Why is it isotropic (same in all directions)? Why all of its parts started expanding simultaneously? Why is if flat (Ω = 1)? Why is it so large? Answered by inflation"

"The system always breaks down in Russia when irreconcilable contradictions develop within the ruling clan."

"First things first, for many years I've steadily supported the unification of the opposition, but right now I have to say that Jews are more likely to find an agreement with Arabs than for us with Yavlinsky — it's an assessment based on the results of our discussion. It's sad, but true."

"Had I held a high position within the government, I'd gather big russian bussiness and give them a strict order: to buy up Sevastopol property under government guarantees. Then the talks surrounding the Black Sea fleet would take on a very different form: it's difficult to ignore investors. Interestingly enough I've received a large amount of offers from Sevastopol enterprises wishing to be bought by Russian capital. I am confident that that is a much more reliable path than shaking the air by statements like "we will never give up an inch of Russian land". Historical justice must be restored by capitalist methods."

"The Magnitsky Act is the most pro-Russian law ever passed by a foreign legislature."

"When we in Russia establish law and order, when the country has an established independent judiciary, I will be the first to go to Brussels and Strasbourg and lobby for the law to be repealed, because we will deal with our scoundrels ourselves, and we won’t need any Magnitsky Law."

"[I]n Europe, faced with the choice between human rights and gas, many politicians pick gas."

"This isn't your war... It’s Putin’s war for power and money."

"People in power remind me of people who find themselves in a room with windows and doors, where a huge number of microbes are flying. Sooner or later, the people in power deteriorate, simply because immunity is lost over time, and at some point you get infected with something. Elections and independent press are nothing more than opening those windows and airing the "corridors of power.""

"I actually expect to live in Russia, so I care about what happens here."

"I know what needs to be done... We need to write a report "Putin. War", publish it in huge numbers and hand it out on the streets. We will tell how Putin unleashed this war. That's the only way to defeat propaganda."

"We have few truly patriotic and smart candidates, and those few are busy figuring things out with each other. During the last elections various coalitions were possible, though none of them came to be - everybody was on their own. It is ridiculous."

"In the tightly controlled and airproof “vertical of power” that is Vladimir Putin’s Russia, even a handful of dissenting voices in legislative institutions—especially when they are loud and persistent—can present a serious threat to the system. Such was the voice of the late Boris Nemtsov."

"[T]he truth is that Putin is war and crisis."

"Nemtsov sacrificed a lot for politics, for a freer Russia — and I’m not just talking about his life, his mortal life."

"Vladimir Putin would have voted for Yanukovych. He's fucking crazy, Vladimir Putin, just so you understand."

"The statistical probability that organic structures and the most precisely harmonized reactions that typify living organisms would be generated by accident, is zero."

"Prigogine's great contribution lies in his successful development of a satisfactory theory of non-linear thermodynamics in states which are far removed from equilibrium. In doing so he has discovered phenomena and structures of completely new and completely unexpected types, with the result that this generalized, nonlinear and irreversible thermodynamics has already been given surprising applications in a wide variety of fields. Prigogine has been particularly captivated by the problem of explaining how ordered structures - biological systems, for example - can develop from disorder. Even if Onsager's relations are utilized, the classical principles of equilibrium in thermodynamics still show that linear systems close to equilibrium always develop into states of disorder which are stable to perturbations and cannot explain the occurrence of ordered structures."

"Whatever we call reality, it is revealed to us only through the active construction in which we participate."

"Entropy is the price of structure"

"The threat lies in the realization that in our universe the security of stable, permanent rules are gone forever. We are living in a dangerous and uncertain world that inspires no blind confidence. Our hope arises from the knowledge that even small fluctuations may grow and change the overall structure. As a result, individual activity is not doomed to insignificance"

"Prigogine was also concerned with the broader philosophical issues raised by his work. In the 19th century the discovery of the second law of thermodynamics, with its prediction of a relentless movement of the universe toward a state of maximum entropy, generated a pessimistic attitude about nature and science. Prigogine felt that his discovery of self-organizing systems constituted a more optimistic interpretation of the consequences of thermodynamics. In addition, his work led to a new view of the role of time in the physical sciences."

"The evolution of a physicochemical system leads to an equilibrium state of maximum disorder."

"We have seen that the formation and maintenance of self-organizing systems are compatible with the laws of physical chemistry.”"

"The problem of time in physics and chemistry is closely related to the formulation of the second law of thermodynamics. Therefore another possible title of this lecture could have been: “the macroscopic and microscopic aspects of the second law of thermodynamics”"

"We are at a very exciting moment in history, perhaps a turning point, said Ilya Prigogine, who won the 1977 Nobel prize for a theory that describes transformations, not only in the physical sciences but also in society—the role of stress and "perturbations" that can thrust us into a new, higher order. Science, he said, is proving the reality of a deep cultural vision. The poets and philosophers were right in their intimations of an open, creative universe. Transformation, innovation, evolution—these are the natural responses to crisis."

"The ideas of nonequilibrium order and of the search for stability extend Darwin’s concept back to the prebiotic stage by redefining the “fittest”."