Lev Landau

Lev Landau was a Soviet theoretical physicist whose work shaped condensed-matter physics, quantum mechanics, and the theory of superfluidity. He developed influential theories of phase transitions, superconductivity, and quantum fluids.

Landau theory of phase transitions: A framework that describes phase transitions through changes in an order parameter and its free-energy expansion. Landau used symmetry and free energy to classify transitions without relying on microscopic detail.
Superfluidity: A phase of matter that flows without viscosity and exhibits other distinctive quantum effects. Landau developed a theory explaining superfluid helium through its possible excitations.
Evgeny Lifshitz: A Soviet physicist who collaborated with Landau on a comprehensive multivolume course in theoretical physics. Lifshitz coauthored and continued the textbook project that became closely associated with Landau.
Baku: The capital of Azerbaijan, located on the Caspian Sea. Landau was born in Baku in 1908 and began his university studies there.
Landau quantization: The quantization of charged particles’ cyclotron motion into discrete energy levels in a magnetic field. Landau’s quantum-mechanical result underlies the Landau levels central to the quantum Hall effect.
Order parameter: A quantity that distinguishes phases by measuring the degree of an organizing feature, such as magnetization. It is the central variable in Landau’s phenomenological account of phase changes.
Landau criterion: A condition that sets the critical velocity for frictionless flow from a fluid’s excitation spectrum. It expresses Landau’s explanation of when a moving object can create excitations in a superfluid.
Isaak Khalatnikov: A Soviet theoretical physicist known for work on fluid dynamics, relativity, and the Landau school. Khalatnikov developed Landau’s ideas on superfluidity and led the Institute for Physical Problems after him.
Kharkiv: A major city in northeastern Ukraine and a historic center of science and education. Landau worked in Kharkiv during the 1930s, helping build its theoretical-physics school.
Quantum Hall effect: A quantized Hall response in two-dimensional electron systems subjected to strong magnetic fields. Its electronic states are organized into Landau levels, extending the reach of Landau’s work.

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