Vera L. Khokhlova

Russian Federation

1927-2003

Obituary:

Soviet and Russian astronomer. Born on Jul. 25, 1927 in Babushkin, Moscow region, died on Sept. 24, 2003 in Moscow. In 1950,graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) , then worked in Crimean Astrophysical Observatory of USSR Academy of Sciences (CrAO). CrAO PhD student in 1954-1956. PhD thesis «Spectroscopic study of H and K Ca II lines in quiet and faculae solar regions » in 1959. From 1961 to 2002 in the Astronomical Council (currently, Institute of Astronomy of Russian Acad. Sci., INASAN) in positions from junior to leading researcher. D. Sci. (1987, dissertation «Surface structure and chemical abundances of the magnetic chemically-peculiar stars»).

Scientific interests of V. L. Khokhlova were in the field of spectroscopic analysis of solar and stellar atmospheres, spectral line formation and atmospheric abundance determination. She also participated in the complex programme of the Moon study.

V. L. Khokhlova was a pioneer and a leader in the investigation of the surface abundance inhomogeneities of chemically-peculiar (Ap) stars possessed the global magnetic fields. In cooperation with MSU mathematicians A.V. Goncharsky and A.G. Yagola В.Л. she developed a method of the reconstruction of surface structure and magnetic field geometry in Ap stars based on high-resolution spectral observations. These pioneer works gave a basis for the widly used modern surface, temperature and magnetic field mapping techniques known as Doppler and Zeeman-Doppler imaging. V. L. Khokhlova published more than 100 scientific papers. She supervised PhD a number of PhD theses.

V. L. Khokhlova was a member of the International Astronomical Union, a President of Commission 4 «Magnetic stars » of the International cooperation between the Academies of Sciences of the socialist countries, vice-editor-in-chief of the «Astronomy Letters» journal.