Andrei Derevianko

Andrei Derevianko is a Russian-American theoretical physicist. He is Sara Louise Hartman Professor of Physics at the University of Nevada. He was awarded the status of Fellow in the American Physical Society, after he was nominated by their Division of Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics in 2008, for ''elucidating the role of the Breit interaction in atomic parity non-conservation, demonstrating the importance of higher-order non-dipole corrections in low-energy photoionization, and for pioneering calculations of higher-order many-body corrections to atomic energies and matrix elements.'' In 2024, he was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for ''distinguished contributions to theoretical atomic physics, particularly for parity-non-conservation, advancing atomic clocks, and tests of fundamental physics.''

Derevianko obtained his M.S. in physics and applied mathematics with ''summa cum laude'' honors, from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in Moscow, Russia in 1992. In 1996, he got his Ph.D. in physics from Auburn University where he also was a Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant since 1993. Following graduation, Derevianko became a postdoc at the University of Notre Dame in W. R. Johnson group and then served as such at Harvard University under mentorship from Alexander Dalgarno. He joined University of Nevada in 2001 as an assistant professor and since that year was promoted to associate and professor of physics there.

Derevianko contributions to the field of physics range from precision atomic many-body calculations of various properties to atomic physics searches for exotic physics, in particular, atomic parity violation, searches for ultralight dark matter, and variations of fundamental constants. Derevianko is also known for his pioneering contributions to atomic and nuclear clocks and several applications of atomic clocks in low-energy searches for physics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particles. Notable contributions include:

* Reconciling  atomic parity violation with the Standard Model of elementary particles. This work resolved one of the largest, at the time, deviations from the Standard model and triggered major theoretical developments in atomic parity violation. * Development of many-body techniques of relativistic atomic structure, with all-order calculations complete through the sixth order of perturbation theory and application of  these techniques to the improved tests of the low-energy electroweak sector of the Standard Model with atomic parity violation. * Proposing an ytterbium optical lattice clock. These clocks have been realized in major metrology laboratories around the globe. * Developing the theory of magic trapping in optical lattices to reduce detrimental decoherences in quantum computing, sensing, and metrology with trapped atoms. * Demonstrating that the single-ion nuclear clock under a specific choice of clock states can attain the 10^-19 fractional accuracy, motivating the experimental searches for the isomer transition in ²²⁹Th nucleus. * Demonstrating that the 10^-19 clock accuracy is attainable with highly charged ions, opening a new direction in atomic clocks. * Proposing a  dark matter search with atomic clocks and their networks, and, in particular, with atomic clocks onboard the satellites of the Global Positioning System. * Setting limits on dark-matter induced transient variations of fundamental constants by searching for dark matter signatures in GPS archival data. * Extending the regimes of variations of fundamental constants to dark-matter-induced stochastic variations. * Exploring the large variation of fundamental constants and demonstrating that increasing fine-structure constant by an order of magnitude from its nominal value is incompatible with life (anthropic principle). * Developing the searches for ultra-light dark matter with quantum sensors: atomic clocks, atom interferometers, and optical cavities. * Proposing an exotic-physics modality in multi-messenger astronomy and the searches for their signatures with quantum sensors. * Developing theoretical aspects of solid-state nuclear clocks Provided by Wikipedia