Maxim Chernodub
Encyclopedia
Maxim Nikolaevich Chernodub (born June 7, 1973 Bogodukhov, near Kharkiv
, Ukraine) is a Russian physicist
best known for his postulation of the magnetic-field-induced superconductivity
of the vacuum
.
from 1980 to 1990. He earned a bachelor and a master of science, at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, in 1993 and 1996, respectively, and a PhD at the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics
(ITEP) in Moscow, in 1999. In 2007, there followed his habilitation at the ITEP.
(2001-2003) and Hiroshima University
(2006-2007). Since 2008, he holds a permanent position as a researcher for the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), at the Laboratoire de mathématiques et physique théorique of the University of Tours
. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University
(Belgium
; 2010-2012), and a referee for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, and the French National Agency for Research.
(QCD), that charged rho mesons
— charged
virtual particle
s popping into and out of being in a vacuum
— can linger long enough to become real in a magnetic field
of 1016 Tesla or more. They share the same quantum state and form a condensate
, flowing together as one particle. The condensed rho mesons may carry electric current
without resistance along the magnetic field lines. The internal magnetic fields of the particles align with the magnetic field around them, which causes a decrease of the total energy.
Among several unusual properties of this postulated superconductivity
of the vacuum is that it would, unlike previously known superconductivity, be expected to persist at temperatures of at least a billion, perhaps billions of degrees. Chernodub sees a possible explanation of his results in the quark
s and antiquarks constituting the rho mesons being forced to move only along the magnetic field lines, which would render the rho mesons far more stable. The effective mass
of the rho mesons would be lowered to zero, enabling them to condense and move freely, due to an interaction of their spin
s with the external magnetic field. The apparently strange situation that a current should flow without a carrier
is explained by the fact that a vacuum is never truly empty.
In the realm of astrophysics, Chernodub's calculations could mean that periods of vacuum-superconductivity in the early days of the universe had caused the emergence of the large-scale magnetic fields out in space, which are so far mysterious. At present, magnetic fields of 1016 T are by far not reached in the known universe.
(LHC) near Geneva or at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
(RHIC) of Brookhaven National Laboratory
in Upton, New York. Ion
s colliding at these particle accelerator
s could create a magnetic field of almost the required strength in a "near miss", for perhaps one yoctosecond. Chernodub expects that vacuum superconductivity would, if it exists, leave a trace of charged rho mesons at the accelerators.
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukraine) is a Russian physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
best known for his postulation of the magnetic-field-induced superconductivity
Superconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
of the vacuum
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
.
Beginnings and degrees
Chernodub attended Lycée 145 in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
from 1980 to 1990. He earned a bachelor and a master of science, at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, in 1993 and 1996, respectively, and a PhD at the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics
Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics
The Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics is located in Moscow, Russia as a MinAtom physical institute....
(ITEP) in Moscow, in 1999. In 2007, there followed his habilitation at the ITEP.
Work as a scientist
Chernodub worked for the ITEP (1994-2001, 2003-2006, 2007-2008) and for the Japanese KanazawaKanazawa University
is a national university of Japan located in the city of Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture.Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi. Student enrollment is about 11,000 including 350 international students....
(2001-2003) and Hiroshima University
Hiroshima University
, located in the Japanese cities of Higashihiroshima and Hiroshima, was established 1949 by the merger of a number of national educational institutions.-History:Under the National School Establishment Law, Hiroshima University was established on May 31, 1949...
(2006-2007). Since 2008, he holds a permanent position as a researcher for the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), at the Laboratoire de mathématiques et physique théorique of the University of Tours
François Rabelais University
François Rabelais University or University of Tours, is a public university in Tours, France. The university is named after the French writer François Rabelais, and was founded in 1969.-Organisation:...
. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University
Ghent University
Ghent University is a Dutch-speaking public university located in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 32,000 students and 7,100 staff members. The current rector is Paul Van Cauwenberge.It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands...
(Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
; 2010-2012), and a referee for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is a Canadian government agency that provides grants for research in the natural sciences and in engineering. Its mandate is to promote and assist research....
, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, and the French National Agency for Research.
The magnetic-field-induced superconductivity of the vacuum
Chernodub found, on the basis of the theory of quantum chromodynamicsQuantum chromodynamics
In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics is a theory of the strong interaction , a fundamental force describing the interactions of the quarks and gluons making up hadrons . It is the study of the SU Yang–Mills theory of color-charged fermions...
(QCD), that charged rho mesons
Rho meson
In particle physics, a rho meson is a short-lived hadronic particle that is an isospin triplet whose three states are denoted as , and . After the pions and kaons, the rho mesons are the lightest strongly interacting particle with a mass of roughly for all three states...
— charged
Charged particle
In physics, a charged particle is a particle with an electric charge. It may be either a subatomic particle or an ion. A collection of charged particles, or even a gas containing a proportion of charged particles, is called a plasma, which is called the fourth state of matter because its...
virtual particle
Virtual particle
In physics, a virtual particle is a particle that exists for a limited time and space. The energy and momentum of a virtual particle are uncertain according to the uncertainty principle...
s popping into and out of being in a vacuum
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
— can linger long enough to become real in a magnetic field
Magnetic field
A magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...
of 1016 Tesla or more. They share the same quantum state and form a condensate
Vacuum expectation value
In quantum field theory the vacuum expectation value of an operator is its average, expected value in the vacuum. The vacuum expectation value of an operator O is usually denoted by \langle O\rangle...
, flowing together as one particle. The condensed rho mesons may carry electric current
Electric current
Electric current is a flow of electric charge through a medium.This charge is typically carried by moving electrons in a conductor such as wire...
without resistance along the magnetic field lines. The internal magnetic fields of the particles align with the magnetic field around them, which causes a decrease of the total energy.
Among several unusual properties of this postulated superconductivity
Superconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
of the vacuum is that it would, unlike previously known superconductivity, be expected to persist at temperatures of at least a billion, perhaps billions of degrees. Chernodub sees a possible explanation of his results in the quark
Quark
A quark is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. Due to a phenomenon known as color confinement, quarks are never directly...
s and antiquarks constituting the rho mesons being forced to move only along the magnetic field lines, which would render the rho mesons far more stable. The effective mass
Effective mass (spring-mass system)
In a spring-mass system the mass of the spring m, as well as the suspended mass M, have an influence on the motion. However, since not all of the spring moves at the same velocity as the suspended mass, the mass of the spring cannot be simply added to the suspended mass...
of the rho mesons would be lowered to zero, enabling them to condense and move freely, due to an interaction of their spin
Spin (physics)
In quantum mechanics and particle physics, spin is a fundamental characteristic property of elementary particles, composite particles , and atomic nuclei.It is worth noting that the intrinsic property of subatomic particles called spin and discussed in this article, is related in some small ways,...
s with the external magnetic field. The apparently strange situation that a current should flow without a carrier
Charge carrier
In physics, a charge carrier is a free particle carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric currents in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons and ions...
is explained by the fact that a vacuum is never truly empty.
In the realm of astrophysics, Chernodub's calculations could mean that periods of vacuum-superconductivity in the early days of the universe had caused the emergence of the large-scale magnetic fields out in space, which are so far mysterious. At present, magnetic fields of 1016 T are by far not reached in the known universe.
Possible measurability at ion colliders
Chernodub believes that his prediction could be proven at the Large Hadron ColliderLarge Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....
(LHC) near Geneva or at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is one of two existing heavy-ion colliders, and the only spin-polarized proton collider in the world. It is located at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York and operated by an international team of researchers...
(RHIC) of Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
in Upton, New York. Ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
s colliding at these particle accelerator
Particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
s could create a magnetic field of almost the required strength in a "near miss", for perhaps one yoctosecond. Chernodub expects that vacuum superconductivity would, if it exists, leave a trace of charged rho mesons at the accelerators.
External links
- Maxim Chernodub: Spontaneous Electromagnetic Superconductivity of Vacuum in a Strong Magnetic Field: Evidence from the Nambu–Jona-Lasinio Model. Physical Review LettersPhysical Review LettersPhysical Review Letters , established in 1958, is a peer reviewed, scientific journal that is published 52 times per year by the American Physical Society...
, vol. 106, issue 14 (2011; abstract)