Alexander Markovich Polyakov
| Alexander M. Polyakov | |
|---|---|
| Born |
27 September 1945 Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Fields | Theoretical high energy physics |
| Institutions |
Princeton University Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics |
| Alma mater | Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology |
| Doctoral advisor | Karen Ter-Martirosian |
| Known for |
't Hooft–Polyakov monopole Quantum field theory String theory Polyakov action Conformal bootstrap |
| Notable awards | Fundamental Physics Prize (2013) Lars Onsager Prize (2011) Harvey Prize (2010) Pomeranchuk Prize (2004) Oskar Klein Medal (1996) Lorentz Medal (1994) Dannie Heineman Prize (1986) Dirac Medal of the ICTP (1986) |
Alexander Markovich Polyakov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ма́ркович Поляко́в; born 27 September 1945) is a Russian theoretical physicist, formerly at the Landau Institute in Moscow and, since 1990, at Princeton University.
Polyakov is known for a number of basic contributions to quantum field theory, including work on what is now called the 't Hooft–Polyakov monopole in non-Abelian gauge theory, independent from Gerard 't Hooft. Polyakov and coauthors discovered the so-called BPST instanton which, in turn, led to the discovery of the vacuum angle in QCD. His path integral formulation of string theory had profound and lasting impacts on the conceptual and mathematical understanding of the theory. His paper "Infinite conformal symmetry in two-dimensional quantum field theory", with Alexander Belavin, and Alexander Zamolodchikov, founded the two-dimensional Conformal Field Theory; it has classic status. He also played an important role in elucidating the conceptual framework behind renormalization independent of Kenneth G. Wilson's Nobel Prize–winning work. He formulated pioneering ideas in gauge/string duality long before the breakthrough of AdS/CFT using D-branes. Other insightful conjectures that came years or even decades before active work by others include integrability of gauge and string theories and certain ideas about turbulence.
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