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Relaunch of Asian Network on Condensed Matter, Complex Systems and Statistical Physics 2023–2026

writerPaul A. Pearce and Sergej Flach

Vol.33 (Jun) 2023 | Article no.13-3 2023

3 Relaunch of Asian Network on Condensed Matter, Complex Systems and Statistical Physics 2023–2026 by Paul A. Pearce and Sergej Flach

The Asian Network on Condensed Matter, Complex Systems and Statistical Physics (https://pcs.ibs.re.kr/ICTP_Asian_Network/ICTP_Asian_Network.html) was initially launched in 2017 and ran for the 3-year period 2017–2019. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the Network underwent a hiatus for 3 years from 2020 to 2022. We are now pleased to announce that, starting from 3 February, the Network is funded and relaunched to run for the 3-year period 2023–2026.

This theoretical physics Network is supported by funding from the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP), the Institute for Basic Science Center for Theoretical Physics of Complex Systems (PCS-IBS) and five participating Southeast Asian nodes in Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Only the first three nodes were included in the first iteration of the Network and the Indonesian and Cambodian nodes were welcomed in the second expanded iteration of our Network. The ICTP and APCTP funding is provided through their various external activity programs. In principle, the ICTP funding can be extended for three more years but, ultimately, it is hoped that the Network will become self-sustaining with funding just from within Asia.

Notionally, a scientific Network consists of a number of Institutes and research groups in an entire region, pursuing a common scientific project over an extended period. The network program represents an efficient approach to overcoming the problem of isolation of scientists and stimulates interaction and collaboration. The Network contributes to regional efforts to advance scientific expertise in the developing world, providing young scientists in Southeast Asia with the further training and skills they need to enjoy productive careers. In effect, the combined expertise from ICTP, APCTP, and PCS-IBS is projected into Southeast Asia.

The activities of the Network include (i) scientist exchanges, (ii) an annual November School rotating between Hanoi, Nakhon Ratchasima and Manila, (iii) two annual workshops held at APCTP and PCS-IBS, and (iv) a Mini-School/Workshop to be held in Jakarta and Phnom Penh in 2024 and 2025 respectively. From 2017 through to 2019, the Network supported 12 scientist exchanges. Typically, a scientist visits more than one Institute in each supported itinerary of up to 4 weeks duration. It is expected that a similar number of scientist exchange visits will be supported between 2023 and 2026.

Over 150 scientists and many more graduate students are participating in our Network which benefits from the guidance and input from four distinguished International Scientific Advisers:

• Boris Altshuler, Columbia University, New York, USA

• Peter Fulde, Max Planck Institute, Dresden, Germany

• Giuseppe Mussardo, SISSA, Trieste, Italy

• Naoto Nagaosa, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

In addition, valuable expertise is gained from the participation of leading ICTP scientists including

• Marcello Dalmonte, CMSP Section

• Mikhail Kiselev, CMSP Section

• Antonello Scardicchio, CMSP Section

• Matteo Marsili, QLS Section

The scientific program of this Network encompasses three disciplines with a focus on Condensed Matter Physics. Our aims are to cross-fertilize research on exciton–polariton condensates, superconducting networks, quantum dot networks, ultracold atomic gases, optical waveguide networks, topology, frustration, flatband physics, Fano resonant nanoscale devices, artificial gauge fields, dissipative quantum chaos, many body localization, quantum thermalization, quantum stochastic dynamics, targeted energy transfer, transport in nano structures, nonlinear nanophotonics, topological insulators, and more. In particular, within Condensed Matter Physics, we will focus on the following core topics of our research during the following years:

• Complex condensed matter systems

Nonequilibrium many-body dynamics, macroscopic degeneracies, flat bands, non-Hermitian physics, optical cavities, and machine learning, with subtopics including exciton-polariton condensates, ultracold atomic gases, photonic waveguide networks, optical microcavities, Fano resonances, spin glasses, topology, frustration, disorder, many body localization, artificial gauge fields, dissipative quantum chaos, open quantum systems, quantum many-body interactions, nonlinear dynamics, disordered systems, mesoscopic electron transport, nano-electromechanical systems.

• Light-matter interaction in nanostructures

Semiconductor microcavities, exciton polaritons, quantum transport, open quantum systems, quantum coherence, dissipative solitons, quantum dots, spins in mesostructures, polariton devices (signal routers, THz sources and detectors, lasers).

Strongly correlated electronic systems

Development of numerical algorithms to study correlated electronic systems, correlation effects in materials with strong spin–orbit coupling, computational study of spectral properties in strongly correlated systems, quantum embedding theories, dynamical mean field theory and impurity solvers.

• Theoretical photonics: nonlinear optics, topological phases, non-Hermitian systems, disorder and Anderson localization, flat bands, scattering, Floquet systems, photonic lattices, solitons, and quantum optics.

• Nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics

Dissipative quantum systems, quantum and classical thermodynamics, quantum thermodynamic machines, nonlinear dynamics and thermodynamic phase transitions, heat transport in molecular junctions, open Floquet systems, symmetries and metastability in open systems, and Landau-Zener open systems.

• Quantum chaos in many-body systems

Late-time quantum chaos and BGS conjecture, early-time quantum chaos and operator growth, quantum batteries, many-body localization, and quantum many-body scars.

• Topological and correlated quantum matter

Topological and unconventional superconductivity with strong spin–orbit coupling, Moire materials and twistronics, bosonic topological phases in spin systems, nano-device applications of topological materials, aperiodic systems, and quasicrystals.

• Optics of quantum fluids and nanomaterials

Optical properties of nanostructures, optical phonons in nanoparticles and Raman scattering, disorder effects on phonons in nanostructures, nonlinear aspects of lattice dynamics in nanoparticles, absorption and elastic scattering of light by nanodiamonds, quantum fluids of light, vortices and solitons dynamics, quantum turbulence, artificial photonic lattices, and effects of disorder on quantum fluid dynamics.

• Superconducting hybrid quantum systems

Superconducting hybrid nanostructures, States read-out using circuit-QED, Majorana fermions in topological superconductors, magnetic impurities in superconductors, coherent electron transport in mesoscopic systems.

• Entanglement and dynamics in quantum matter

Frustrated magnetism, quantum spin liquids, topological phases of matter, quantum dynamics, many-body localization, novel phases in ultra cold atoms, non-equilibrium quantum systems, quantum computing and algorithms, tensor networks, density matrix renormalization group, dynamical mean-field theory, and ab initio electronic structure computations.

Although financial support from Network funds is limited to the members of the Network, all activities of the Network are open to participants from all ICTP supported (OEA) countries and all APCTP Member Countries. Lecturers that can support their own participation are particularly welcome at our Schools. (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3
figure 3

Group photo of our Network School held at NIP UP-Diliman, Manila, Philippines, 4–8 November 2019

 

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[Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43673-023-00084-5]