Isaak Khalatnikov was a Russian theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to a variety of fields, including general relativity and quantum field theory, as well as quantum liquids and superfluidity. Isaak was best known for his work on the role of singularities in relativistic models of the Universe’s evolution.
He helped to discover a general solution to the Einstein field equations, which contained an oscillatory chaotic singularity. This was named the Belinsky–Khalatnikov–Lifshitz (BKL) singularity, reflecting his crucial role in its development. In addition, his later work indicated the likelihood of the Universe having had an early phase of rapid expansion, or inflation.
Isaak received many accolades in recognition of his work, including the State Prize of the USSR in 1953, the Alexander von Humboldt Award in 1989, the I. E. Tamm Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2010 and the Marcel Grossmann Award in 2012.
Professor Isaac Khalatnikov ForMemRS died on 9 January 2021.
Professional position
- Honorary Director, Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences
Subject groups
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Astronomy and Physics
Cosmology, Astrophysics, Low temperature physics, Computational physics, Quantum theory
