The 2003 Nobel Physics Prize was awarded on Tuesday to quantum physicists Alexei A. Abrikosov, Vitaly L. Ginzburg and Anthony J. Leggett, the trio who contributed to "the theory of superconductors and superfluids," the Swedish Royal Academy of Science announced.

The trio -- Abrikosov, 75, a Russian-American; Ginzburg, 87, a Russian; and Leggett, 65, a British-American -- was honored for providing deeper insights into the ways in which matter behaves in its "lowest and most ordered state," the academy said.

The formal award of all the 2003 Nobel prizes is scheduled for Dec. 10 this year and the trio will share a check for 10 million kronor (about US$1.3 million).

The 2003 Nobel Prize awards started last week with the literature prize going to the South African author J.M. Coetzeee.

On Monday, American Paul C. Lauterbur, 74, and Briton Sir Peter Mansfield, 70, were awarded the medicine prize for discoveries leading to a technique that reveals images of the body's inner organs.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2003)