On 3 March, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research pays tribute to the memory of a great theoretical physicist, Professor, an organizer of science, RAS Academician Dmitry Vasilievich Shirkov.

Memorial page of Dmitry Vasilievich Shirkov

Dmitry Vasilievich Shirkov (1928-2016) was born on 3 March 1928 in Moscow. In 1949, he graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Lomonosov Moscow State University. After that, he was engaged with scientific research at the Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Then, he worked at the Steklov Mathematical Institute, at the special facilities of the USSR Nuclear Project in the city of Arzamas-16.

D. V. Shirkov started working at the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics JINR since the Institute’s foundation in 1956. In the 1960s, he created and headed the Department of Theoretical Physics of Sobolev Institute of Mathematics SB of USSR AS in Novosibirsk Akademgorodok and the Department of Theoretical Physics at Novosibirsk State University.

At the end of 1969, he came back to JINR and headed a sector of the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics. From January 1993 to January 1998, he was the BLTP Director. Later, he became the BLTP Honorary Director. Continuing his work at BLTP, Dmitry Vasilievich maintained a creative scientific atmosphere. He developed international cooperation and attracted young personnel. It allowed the Laboratory to strengthen its status as the world’s largest centre of theoretical physics.

He was an author and a co-author of more than 200 scientific papers. D. V. Shirkov made a great contribution to the general theory of matrix scattering and a strict formulation of the method of ultraviolet divergences renormalization. A widely known in the world monograph “Introduction to theory of Quantized Fields” includes these studies. D. V. Shirkov and his teacher N. N. Bogoliubov were authors of the monograph. In collaboration with Bogoliubov, he also built up the axiomatic perturbation theory for quantum field theory and developed the renorm-group method. Dmitry Vasilievich created and developed the method of quantitative description of elastic and quasi-elastic hadron collisions at low energies. He introduced the concept of the universal short-range repulsion of hadrons, affecting strong interactions at low energies. D. V. Shirkov developed a new descriptive method for low-energy scattering of strongly interacting particles. The papers of this cycle were collected in the monograph “Dispersion theories of strong interactions at low energies” (together with V. A. Meshcheryakov and V. V. Serebryakov). The application of the quantum field theory methods to the superconductivity theory was shown in the monograph “A new method in the superconductivity theory” published by D. V. Shirkov together with N. N. Bogoliubov and V. V. Tolmachev.

The elaboration of methods to solve the kinetic equation is among the applied results of his scientific activity. It describes the processes of neutron diffusion and moderation, which are of great importance in the theory of nuclear reactors.

D. V. Shirkov initiated the development of the analytical calculation systems on computers at JINR. The studies in this direction led to the world famous results obtained by Dubna theoreticians in calculations of higher orders of perturbation theory in chromodynamics and supersymmetry theories.

The second vocation of the scientist was teaching. He constantly paid great attention to it. During his stay in Novosibirsk, together with Yu. I. Zhuravlev, he initiated the All-Siberian Olympiad for schoolchildren. In 1971, he was a professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Doctors and Сandidates of Sciences, famous scientists, leaders of scientific groups are among his pupils.He headed the scientific theoretical school.

According to his colleagues, Dmitry Vasilievich was utterly devoted to science, had a rare sense of purpose and commitment. He demanded a lot from himself and his colleagues and at the same time, he remained a kind and considerate person.

Dmitry Vasilievich was an Honorary Scientist of the Russian Federation, a Laureate of the Lenin and the State Prizes, a knight of Russian and foreign orders. He was repeatedly elected a Deputy of the Moscow regional Council of People’s Deputies, headed the JINR water ski school, headed the Institute’s commission for awarding scholarships to the best teachers of the location city of JINR Dubna. A street in Dubna was named in his honor in 2021.

D. V. Shirkov concluded his autobiography with the following words, “Rapidly changing conditions require vigilance, clear reactions, and hard work. At the same time, they give opportunity for initiative and non-standard solutions. Under these conditions, a need to work for the sake of our future offspring is the source of optimism.”