Zelmanov Abram Leonidovich General data:
15.05.1913 - 02.02.1987
Place of birth: Gadjach city, Poltava province, Russian Empire
Studied in: Moscow State University ( since 1940 M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University) (1937);
Key interests: history of astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, general theory of relativity, theoretical astrophysics, astronomy. PhD Thesis: On deformation and curvature of a related space (relativistic equations for an element of a nonuniform Universe) (1944 ); ScD Thesis: About the behavior and properties of three-dimensional spaces (1982 );
Biography:
He was born on May 2 (according to the Julian calendar or 15 according to the Gregorian calendar) in May 1913 in Gadjach city of Poltava province of the Russian Empire in a family of burghers. His father was a Jewish religious scholar, a specialist in commentary on the Torah, the Talmud and Kabbalah, and the author of the commentary.
Until 1924 he lived in Kharkiv city, then in Leningrad city, since 1927 he lived in Moscow City.
In 1937 he graduated from the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics at Moscow State University. At the end of 5th year the student made a report on the application of the general theory of relativity in cosmology, just then, the biographers consider, the profession of the future scientist was determined.
In 1941 he completed his postgraduate studies at the P. K. Sternberg State Astronomical Institute of M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.
In 1944 he defended his Ph.D. thesis "On Deformation and Curvature of Related Space (Relativistic Equations for the Element of a Heterogeneous Universe)" under the direction of Academician V. G. Fesenkov.
In 1982 he defended his doctoral thesis "On the behavior and properties of three-dimensional spaces".
since 1942 to 1952 and then since 1954 to the end of his days he worked at the P. K. Sternberg State Astronomical Institute of M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.
During 1952-1954 he worked at the Moscow Planetarium.
He went from a senior laboratory assistant to a leading research associate.
Since 1947 (according to some data since 1942) for many years he taught courses in general theory of relativity and cosmology for students of the Astronomical Department of Mechanics and Mathematics, and then the Physics Department of M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. It was probably the first mathematical courses in the country to teach in these subjects.
In 1953 he was arrested on charges of "cosmopolitanism" as part of the Stalinist campaign against the Jews, but a few months later Stalin died and the scientist was released.
In 1955, he was one of the first to express an opinion on the connection of the origin of life and reason on Earth with the general properties of the universe ("anthropic principle").
He died on February 2, 1987 in Moscow City.
Known as an astronomer, a theorist in the field of cosmology and general theory of relativity, one of the founders of the Soviet cosmological school.
Being very demanding of himself, astrophysicist has published less than ten scientific works during his lifetime, each of which is a concentrate of scientific thought and contains fundamental scientific ideas.
The scientist has created a number of new mathematical methods in the general theory of relativity, connected with the possibility of splitting space-time into three-dimensional space and time. Methods chronometrically invariant and kinometric invariant quantities, orthometric form of monad formalism have been widely used to solve many problems of general relativity, relativistic astrophysics, cosmology, the theory of the anisotropic universe. Important place in the work of the scientist was occupied by philosophical questions of science.
He, together with V. A. Belinsky, Ya. B. Zel'dovich, and I. M. Khalatnikov, proved that "inflationary trajectories" for a dynamic system including scalar and gravitational fields are attractors for the phase curves of this system. The work of a scientist with Ya. B. Zeldovich predicted inflationary models of the universe "out of nothing" to some extent. Although later the scientist was skeptical of these models. Together with Ya. B. Zeldovich and L. P. Grishchuk, two reviews were written: "Gravity" and "Cosmology" for the Encyclopedia of Physics of Space (M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1976), as well as two methodological notes for the Advances in Physical Sciences (1986 and 1988).
Main publications:
1. Зельманов А. Л., Агаков В. Г. Элементы общей теории относителньости, М., Наука, 1989- 240 с.
2. Зельманов А. Л., Агаков В. Г. Элементы общей теории относителньости, М., Наука, 1989- 240 с.
3. Зельманов А. Л., Агаков В. Г. Элементы общей теории относителньости, М., Наука, 1989- 240 с.
4. Зельманов А. Л. Ортометрическая форма монадного формализма и ее отношение к хронометрическим и кинеметрическим инвариантам.// Докл. АН СССР (ДАН),1976,т.227, с.78
Sources:
1 Зельманов А.Л. (1913 - 1987)
2 ГАИШ В ЛИЦАХ
3 Хто був і є у місті Гадяч (експериментальний довідник)
4 Колчинский И. Г., Корсунь А. А., Родригес М. Г. Астрономы: Биографический справочник. — Киев: Наук. думка, 1986.—510 с.-С.129-130
