1945– · High-energy astrophysics, accretion theory
Soviet and Russian astrophysicist, co-author of the famous Shakura-Sunyaev disk accretion theory, which explained the enormous luminosity of X-ray binaries and quasars. This work became one of the most cited in astrophysics and remains the standard for describing accretion processes in strong gravitational fields.
Biography
Graduated from Moscow State University, works at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute. A student of Yakov Zeldovich, and long-time co-author of Rashid Sunyaev.
Key discoveries
Shakura-Sunyaev model — α-disk theory
describing viscous dissipation and radiation transfer in accretion disks. Prediction of hard X-ray emission from accreting black holes and neutron stars. Contribution to the theory of supercritical accretion.
💡 The Shakura-Sunyaev theory, proposed in 1973, is still the standard for describing matter accretion onto compact objects, and its authors received the Russian State Prize for it.
"She believed that understanding in astrophysics comes from constructing models that are tested against new data."