The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics is shared by three scientists, the Royal Academy of Sciences announced in Stockholm on Tuesday. The Nobel Prize in Physics 2016 was divided, with one half awarded to David J.Thouless, the other half to F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz "for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter(物质拓扑相变和拓扑相)."
Haldane said he was "very surprised" at the news, adding that he was glad that their discoveries found something previously unnoticed by many, and that they revealed "more possibilities for looking for new materials. " He particularly pointed out that a lot of work was still ongoing.
The year's prize amount is 8 million Swedish krona(0. 93 million US dollars),and will be split properly between the three winners.
The winners are given a sum of money when they receive their prizes, in the form of a document confirming the amount awarded. The amount of prize money depends upon how much money the Nobel Foundation can award each year. The purse has increased since the 1980s, when the prize money was 880,000 SEK per prize. In 2009, the monetary award was 10 million SEK (US$1. 4 million; €950,000). In June 2012, it was lowered to 8 million SEK.
If there are two winners of a particular prize, the award money is divided equally between the winners. If there are three, the awarding committee can choose to divide the money equally, or award one-half to one winner and one-quarter to each of the others. It is common for winners to donate prize money to benefit scientific, cultural, or charities.