HAMBARTSUMYAN Victor Amazaspovich

Ambartsumian, Viktor AMAZASPOVICH (1908-1996), outstanding outstanding Russian and Armenian astrophysicist. Born September 18, 1908 in Tiflis in the family of the famous philologist and writer A. Ambartsumian. In 1924 he entered the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute, a year later transferred to the University of Leningrad. In 1926 published the first scientific work (in conjunction with Kozyrev) of solar flares. And all the years of study appeared 16 of his works on astronomy. After graduation (1928) enrolled in graduate school at the Pulkovo Observatory, where his head was AA Belopol'skii. From 1931 he lectured at the University of Leningrad, in 1934 created the first in the USSR, Department of Astrophysics, which was headed until 1947. In 1939-1941 was director of the Observatory of Leningrad University, in 1941-1943 - head of a branch of the university in Yelabuga (TatASSR). In 1943 he moved to Yerevan, he worked in the Academy of Sciences of Armenia, was a professor at Yerevan University. In 1946 he founded and headed Byurokanskuyu astrophysical observatory.

Scientific outlook scientist was extremely wide. His work covered many areas of astronomy, in particular, they focus on physics of stars and gaseous nebulae, the statistical mechanics of stellar systems, extragalactic astronomy and cosmogony. Ambartsumian created a fundamental (basic), a quantitative model of the processes, . occurring in the gaseous nebulae under the influence of radiation from stars, . constructed a theory of radiative equilibrium, . includes the important cases of the formation of metastable states in the nebulae (the existence of a so-called,
. forbidden absorption lines). Research Ambarzumian initiated the statistical mechanics of stellar systems - double and multiple stars, star clusters. This enabled more in 1930 to obtain a correct estimate of time to establish equilibrium in the system of binary stars and to evaluate the age of the galaxy - about 1010 years, contrary to advocates at the time the assessment - 1013 years. Ambartsumian found that the interstellar absorption of light is due not to a continuous medium, and discrete dark nebulae, has developed a new theory of light scattering in turbid media, which has found wide application in physics and geophysics.

Of particular significance were performed under the direction of Ambarzumian study dynamically unstable in stage of decomposition groups of stars - the stellar associations. Their investigation led to two fundamental cosmogonic conclusions: star formation in the galaxy continues in our time (the lifetime of stellar associations is not more than 107 years), stars are born groups. Assuming, . that stars, . component association, . formed from some dense matter, . Ambartsumian studied sverhplanetnye star configuration and set cosmogonic active galactic nuclei (although his hypothesis on the nature of this activity as a manifestation of the special properties of superdense 'prestellar matter' has not received universal support),
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The scientific work of Ambartsumian combined with active teaching activities. He - the author of the first in the USSR in this specialty of the textbook Theoretical Astrophysics (1939) and co-author of the course Theoretical Astrophysics (1952), translated into many languages. Ambartsumian was elected vice-president (1948-1955) and president of the International Astronomical Union (1961-1964), president of the International Union of Scientific Unions (1968-1970, 1970-1972), was a member of the Academies of Science around the world. He was awarded a gold medal Lomonosov USSR (1971), the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of London (1960) and others. Hambardzumyan died in Yerevan in 1996.