Дирекция ОИЯИ с глубоким прискорбием извещает, что 20 октября 2017 г. ушел из жизни профессор Адам Собичевский, выдающийся польский ученый с мировым именем в теоретической ядерной физике, который более 20 лет был членом Программно-консультативного комитета ОИЯИ по ядерной физике.

Адам Собичевский

21.08.1931 – 20.10.2017

Adam Sobiczewski was a world-class expert in theoretical nuclear physics, in particular, structure and properties of heavy and superheavy nuclei. His most conspicuous scientific achievements were theoretical predictions of the spherical magic shells at Z=114 and N=184 (together with Goreev and Kalinkin) and of a new stability region for the A>100 deformed nuclei (jointly with D.A.Arseniew and V.G.Sołowiow, Nucl. Phys. A 139 [1969] 269).

Adam Sobiczewski was born on August 21, 1931 in Skierniewice, Poland. He attended the B. Prus secondary school in Siedlce, and obtained the secondary education certificate from the S. Żółkiewski high school in Siedlce in 1950. In 1955 he graduated from the Warsaw University, at the Faculty of Mathematic, Physics & Chemistry (speciality: mathematics), and for the second time, from the Warsaw University of Technology, at the Faculty of Communications in 1956 (speciality: ultrashort waves). In 1964, he obtained his PhD in mathematics/physics from the Warsaw University.

Since 1962 Adam Sobiczewski worked in the Institute for Nuclear Research (IBJ) (which changed name over years, recently becoming the National Centre for Nuclear Research) where he was Associate Professor since 1976, and Full Professor since 1989. Scientific interests of A. Sobiczewski concentrated on ground-state and stability properties of heaviest nuclei, including those to be yet discovered. His efforts resulted in predictions of new regions of relative nuclear stability which included extensive studies of the spontaneous fission half-lives of nuclei. The prediction of relatively stable deformed super-heavy nuclei close to the Z = 108, N = 162 doubly-magic deformed nucleus are partially confirmed experimentally; this region is still intensely investigated in laboratories. Elements Z=110 and Z=111 were synthesized in GSI Darmstadt already in 1994; their observed properties agreed very well with those theoretically predicted. Experimental confirmation of theoretical predictions by prof. Sobiczewski and his co-workers has been recognized in numerous lectures given at scientific conferences on structure and synthesis of the heaviest nuclei, as well as in numerous papers published in both professional and popular journals, including Physics Today, Science, Discovery. The term “deformed super-heavy nuclei” introduced by prof. Sobiczewski and his co-workers is more and more often used in the scientific literature. Theoretical predictions of relatively long-lived superheavy nuclei close to Z=114, N=184 paved the way to extend the Mendeleev table by numerous elements which may exist exclusively thanks to the quantum shell effects, and to investigate their physical (in some cases also chemical) properties. The experimental efforts carried out by Russian physicists in Dubna, Japanese physicists in Riken, US physicists in Livermore and German physicists in Darmstadt brought the largest known atomic number to Z=118, with half-lives very much in accord with theoretical predictions.

Prof. Sobiczewski’s role in building the strong position of physics of heavy and super-heavy nuclei, both in NCBJ’s and in Poland, has been vital. He supervised 10 PhDs. For many years he was the Head of the Nuclear Structure Group in IBJ (later in Institute for Nuclear Studies, IPJ). His achievements have brought him numerous honours and awards: 1st Degree Individual Award from National Commission on Atomic Energy (1976), Award in the Sciences from Foundation for Polish Science (1995), the G.N.Florow team award from JINR (Dubna, Russia, 1997), the Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation Award (New York, USA, 1997), Honorary PhD from M. Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (2001). He was the Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) since 1989, and the Regular Member since 2013; the Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cracow (PAU) since 1997. In years 1977-2003 he was the editor-in-chief of the «Advances in Physics» journal, published by Polish Physical Society; he was the honorary editor of that journal later on. In 1988-1991 he represented Poland in the Scientific-Coordination Council for Theoretical Physics of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR Dubna, Russia), since 1992 he was a member of the JINR Nuclear Physics Program Advisory Committee. In years 1997-2006 he had participated in works of the Central Committee for Scientific Degrees and Titles.

Adam Sobiczewski was also awarded with the Gold Cross of Achievement by the Polish Government (1974), the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2005), and the A.Sołtan Medal (IPJ, 2001).

Дирекция ОИЯИ, друзья и коллеги выражают соболезнование и скорбят с родными и близкими Адам Собичевского. Память о нем навсегда останется в наших сердцах.