معرفی
Habil. dr. Gediminas Gaigalas serves as Chief Researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy (ITPA) within Vilnius University's Faculty of Physics. His work bridges theoretical atomic physics with astrophysical applications, particularly in understanding heavy element spectroscopy for neutron star merger events. Gaigalas maintains active international collaborations, including the Lithuanian-Japanese project on gravitational wave sources, and contributes to major computational atomic physics initiatives.
His research focuses on multi-electron atomic theory, relativistic atomic structure calculations, and computational methods for atomic spectroscopy. Specializing in spin-angular integration techniques and configuration interaction methods, Gaigalas has developed advanced computational approaches for modeling heavy elements. His work with the GRASP (General Relativistic Atomic Structure Package) computational framework has been particularly influential in the field, enabling precise calculations of atomic properties for elements critical to understanding kilonova phenomena.
Analysis of Gaigalas's recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on astrophysical applications of atomic data, particularly for neutron star merger events (kilonovae). His work spans both theoretical development of computational methods and practical applications to spectroscopic problems, with particular focus on lanthanides and other heavy elements. The research demonstrates increasing sophistication in handling relativistic effects and electron correlations in complex atomic systems.
- Adolfas Jucys Award of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (2022) for series of works 'Second quantization and additional symmetries in atomic physics: theory and applications'
- Vilnius University Rector's science award (2018)
- Research Award of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (2014)
- Guest Professor of Lanzhou Northwest Normal University (2007)
- Letter of Appreciation from the President of Lithuania (2005)
Gaigalas has supervised numerous doctoral students including L. Radžiūtė, J. Grumer, P. Rynkun, O. Sharf, and T. Žalandauskas, with postdoctoral supervision of L. Radžiūtė and P. Rynkun. He leads the Lithuanian-Japanese project 'Theoretical Studies of Structure and Properties of Heavy Elements Toward Identification of Gravitational Wave Sources' funded by the Research Council of Lithuania. His teaching spans all academic levels, from BSc courses in atomic and nuclear physics to PhD-level courses on symbolic programming and atomic theory.
As an active member of the international atomic physics community, Gaigalas participates in the 'International Collaboration on Computational Atomic Structure' and serves on the editorial board of the journal Atoms. His research group focuses on developing computational methods for atomic structure calculations with applications to astrophysics, particularly in providing accurate atomic data for modeling kilonova emissions from neutron star mergers.
