JINR scientist received medal
of Russian Academy of Sciences

Following the RAS Presidium resolution of 19 July 2022, medals of the Russian Academy of Sciences with prizes for young scientists and students were awarded according to the results of the competition 2021. A senior researcher of the Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics JINR, Candidate of Physics and Mathematics Andrey Pikelner has received a medal in the field of nuclear physics for a series of scientific papers "Multi-loop calculations and their applications to various models of quantum field theory".

According to the scientist, some of the twelve research papers submitted for the competition and completed in the last 2-3 years expand and improve methods of applied multi-loop calculations. The others contain a supplement to the traditional scope of the applications, i.e. the Standard Model and its extensions. In addition, the series includes scientific papers describing the application of multi-loop calculations and methods of quantum field theory for problems of critical behaviour and the theory of phase transitions.

"If we want to achieve high accuracy, the complexity of calculations increases significantly. Each next order clarifying the existing answer could be several times more difficult than it has been calculated before. Therefore, to calculate the next order of accuracy, new methods, algorithms, automation of this process are necessary. I have developed programs and obtained the results that are quite universal and could be used in various calculations of this kind," Andrey Pikelner commented.

Some of the research papers have been written by Andrey Pikelner personally, some of them have been co-authored. Head of the BLTP Sector of Quantum Field Theory Alexander Bednyakov has co-authored one of the main scientific papers of the series "Four-Loop Gauge and Three-Loop Yukawa Beta Functions in a General Renormalizable Theory" published by the journal Physics Review Letters in 2021.

Medals of the Russian Academy of Sciences are annually awarded in 21 scientific disciplines. The competition is held to encourage talented scientific youth and promote the professional growth of researchers.

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Three years ago, an interview with Andrey Pikelner (number 11-12 of 21 March, 2019), where he talked about the work of a theoretical physicist and his path in science, was published in our newspaper.

"Andrey, how do theorists grow professionally, what is the criterion?"

"This can be determined quite simply - when most of the articles that you read on your topic are comprehensible. So, you are good at it. (For instance, I can't say this about myself.) After all, if everything is clear, you can do it, relatively speaking, in five minutes. If it's not clear, you can sit for years, scrabble about something and not get a result. You can also evaluate articles - someone writes a lot and often, someone - rarely, but well. Understanding, I think, is the most important thing."

"In this sense, what does studying at a higher educational institution give? How can the acquired skills be assessed qualitatively?"

"Obviously, a qualitative transition depends on the ability to read specialized literature, first educational, then on topics. For example, by the end of my studies, I had the ability to read original articles in scientific journals. That is, one could easily and most importantly, with interest read not only about studies of past years, but also about studies that are being carried out right now. In other words, to be on trend. For me, after graduating from university, this was the most important thing. And, in my opinion, this is the main thing that study at the university gives."

"How did you get interested in physics, what led to science?"

"At one time, I read quite a lot of books and articles, some even published here, at JINR. Non-fiction books are very popular nowadays. And then literature was issued not so much as popular science, for the mass reader, but rather for professionals that worked in a different field. The authors talked about the organization of the work of physicists, prospects, collaborations, large detectors. It all seemed very interesting. Particle physics is studied at facilities where a variety of technologies are used, all of which inextricably relate to IT technologies, in addition, complex theory. Complexity, one might say, created an attractive image and I would like to investigate and participate in this. Now I have a slightly different understanding. Complexity is the very thing that should be eliminated, excluded since the goal of research is to get data from the simplest, purest, most comprehensible experiment. And the corresponding theoretical result should be the simplest."