Alexander M. Polyakov
Born	(1945-09-27)27 September 1945 (age 80) Moscow,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union
Alma mater	Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
Known for	String theory 't Hooft–Polyakov monopole BPST instanton Polyakov action Conformal bootstrap Belavin–Polyakov–Zamolodchikov equations Liouville field theory AdS/CFT correspondence Polyakov loop Higgs mechanism Higher-spin theory Polyakov formula
Awards	Max Planck Medal (2021) Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (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)
Scientific career
Fields	Theoreticalhigh energy physics
Institutions	Princeton University Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics
Doctoral advisor	Karen Ter-Martirosian

Alexander Markovich Polyakov (Russian:Алекса́ндр Ма́ркович Поляко́в; born 27 September 1945) is a Russian theoreticalphysicist, formerly at theLandau Institute in Moscow and, since 1989, atPrinceton University, where he is theJoseph Henry Professor of Physics Emeritus.^[1][2]

Polyakov is known for a number of fundamental contributions toquantum field theory, including work on what is now called the't Hooft–Polyakov monopole innon-Abelian gauge theory, independent fromGerard 't Hooft. Polyakov and coauthors discovered the so-calledBPST instanton which, in turn, led to the discovery of thevacuum angle inQCD.^[3][4] Hispath integral formulation ofstring theory^[5] 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"^[6] written withAlexander Belavin andAlexander Zamolodchikov laid down the foundations oftwo-dimensional conformal field theory and has classic status.^[1] Polyakov also played an important role in elucidating the conceptual framework behindrenormalization independent ofKenneth G. Wilson's Nobel Prize–winning work. He formulated pioneering ideas in gauge/string duality long before the breakthrough ofAdS/CFT usingD-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.

Very early in his career, in a 1965 student work, Polyakov suggested (withAlexander Migdal) a dynamicalHiggs mechanism, slightly after but independently^[7] from the publications ofPeter Higgs and others. The paper was delayed by the Editorial Office of JETP, and was published only in 1966.^[8][9]

Alexander Polyakov was awarded theDirac Medal of the ICTP and theDannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics in 1986, theLorentz Medal in 1994, theOskar Klein Medal in 1996, theHarvey Prize in 2010, theLars Onsager Prize (together withA. Belavin andA. Zamolodchikov) in 2011 and theBreakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2013. On 19 November 2020 theGerman Physical Society announced it would award Alexander Polyakov the 2021Max Planck Medal.

Polyakov was elected to theSoviet Academy of Sciences in 1984,^[10] to theFrench Academy of Sciences in 1998^[11] and the U.S.National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2005.^[12][13]

In February-March 2022, he signed an open letter by Russian scientists condemning the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,^[14] and another open letter by Breakthrough Prize laureates with the same message.^[15]

“The garbage of the past often becomes the treasure of the present (and vice versa).”^[16]

“There are no tables for path integrals.” (quoted in^[17])

“I wanted to learn about elementary particles by studying boiling water.”^[18] (paraphrased in^[19])

• Gauge Fields and Strings by A. M. Polyakov
• Departmental homepage at Princeton

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• Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
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