In the wake of the departed

Miroslav Finger (27.08.1939 - 10.01.2025)

On 10 January, Miroslav Finger, a professor of Mathematics and Physics Faculty of Charles University in Prague that has worked in JINR for many years passed away. M.Finger is an outstanding Czech specialist in the field of nuclear physics, physics of elementary particles, physics of low temperatures and in the use of nuclear techniques in the condensed matter physics.

Miroslav Finger studied at the Faculty of Technical and Nuclear Physics at Charles University in Prague and afterwards, on the specialty "Nuclear Physics" at the Czech Technical University, which he graduated from in 1961. In 1963, he was sent to the Laboratory of Nuclear Problems of JINR. He was engaged in the investigation of the structure of atomic nuclei of rare-earth elements and development of an experimental base for these investigations, in particular, a unique low-background magnetic beta spectrometer. Based on the results of these papers in 1972, M.Finger defended his thesis for the degree of Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

In 1972, Miroslav Finger became the leader of the research project "Low-temperature nuclear orientation of nuclei ejected from the field of stability". He was responsible for developing the experimental complex of spin and was engaged in the use of low-temperature nuclear orientation techniques for research in nuclear physics, condensed matter physics and elementary particles physics. This stage ended with the defense of the doctoral thesis in 1981 and with the award of the title of Professor in 1989.

In the same year, Miroslav Finger was appointed Head of the Department of Hadronic Physics of DLNP. He was engaged in the use of accelerated beams of polarized particles and polarized targets to study the properties of nuclon-nuclear interactions and in the investigation of the structure of hadrons, as well as for hadronic spectroscopy. Miroslav Finger participated in a number of IHEP accelerator projects in Protvino, in the LEP complex at CERN, the PSI accelerator complex, the JINR nuclotron, became one of the co-authors of the COMPASS experiment on proton supersynchrotron in CERN. In 2004, he was invited to take part in the PHENIX experiment in the Brookhaven National Laboratory of the United States. He is one of the initiators of the OSQAR project in CERN, participated in the development and construction of an electromagnetic calorimeter at the CMS facility.

M.Finger supervised the preparation and defense of diploma and candidate papers, more than once made reports and lectures at prestigious international conferences and schools. He is author and co-author of more than 1000 publications in leading international magazines, the initiator and organizer of a series of international conferences in spin physics. He made a huge contribution to the development of many years of fruitful international cooperation of the Czechoslovak and subsequently, Czech institutions and universities with JINR. Papers with his participation have been more than once celebrated by prizes at the competitions of scientific papers of JINR. For the series of pioneer works in the field of low-temperature nuclear orientation of radioactive nuclei, he became the winner of the State Prize of Czechoslovakia.

Miroslav Finger was very hardworking and at the same time a kind and modest person. He was engaged in scientific activities until the last days of his life. We will really miss him.

Colleagues and friends

According to the Slavic tradition, on the fortieth death day, the editorial office recall, like many employees of the Institute, Miroslav Finger. His long-term activity in Dubna also captured the Soviet period, the following political changes. Therefore, in an interview with Evgeny Molchanov, a change of eras and related experiences are reflected for the 60th anniversary of the scientist.

My main "student" specialty was theoretical physics and when the topics of the thesis approved, it turned out that there were two applicants on one theoretical topic - me and another girl. I had to give in and take an experimental topic on nuclear spectroscopy and the decay of nuclei. Probably, it was a fate: when I came to Dubna, with an experience of teaching in Prague, V.P.Dzhelepov, K.Ya.Gromov and V.G.Solovev invited me to study nuclei ejected from the line of stability.

We had a very good group. When they obtained the results of the first measurements, they did not yet realize how important all it is for the development of gamma spectroscopy. Once, in Dubna, at an international conference in nuclear physics, a famous American scientist Professor Michelich came up to me: "I am familiar with your father's investigations, it is very interesting." What was his amazement when he found out that the author of these investigations is so young... He did not immediately believe it. And of course, I was very lucky that I was directed along this path by Dzhelepov, Gromov, Denisov...

* * *

I had a chance to be the only representative of the Czech Republic at the major international conference "Physics in the future of the millennium" and there were not only specific areas that promise success, but it was also about the strategy of scientific search. I thought that neither we nor our colleagues in other European countries can lose Dubna, for there are opportunities that can only be dreamed of. We just need to make better use of these opportunities both within the Institute and in the Member States....

JINR Weekly, No. 32, 1999