Research Direction and representative academics:Integrate the predominated engineering disciplines of university, the school decides the development routines as “Integrate Science and Engineer, promote interdisciplinary crossover, innovation fundamental research, breakthrough key direction area”. Aim on the national development requirements and academic frontiers in advanced material, quantum technology, fusion energy and life science, formed 5 specialized research directions:
Direction I: The manipulation of phase transition and functionalities.The direction is represented by the Leading Professor Sen Yang, who is a well-known scientist in magnetism and magnetic materials. Prof. Yang got his Ph.D in Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2005. After that, he was awarded JSPS funding project in the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, followed by the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars (2012) and National High-level Talent Special Support Plan (2019). This direction focuses on solid state phase transition and related phenomena in ferroic materials, including magnetostrictive effect, exchange bias, magnetocaloric effect, spin electronics, optic-magnetic effect, piezoelectricity, electrocaloric effect, and so on. Prof. Yang’s work on morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) and magnetic strain glass were both published on Physical Review Letters (PRL 104, 197201 (2010); PRL 119, 125701 (2017)). These achievements were awarded the State Natural Science Prize with Second Grade in 2016.
Direction II: Quantum manipulation and quantum material.The direction is represented by the leading professor Fuli Li, who is well known scientist in Quantum Optics. Prof. Li is a pioneer and founder of quantum optics team in School of Physics at Xi’an Jiaotong University. His works on Phys. Rev. A 75, 012324(2007) and Phys. Rev. A 75, 062336 (2007) have been cited with 200 and 160 respectively. The quantum optics team currently consists of 6 professors and 10 associate professors. The direction Focus on the quantum state preparation and property manipulation in the artificial quantum systems, to develop novel quantum materials and quantum devices. The experimental platform has been established includes linear optics, cold atom system, and imaging optics. The studies on higher capacity and integration quantum key distribution, hybrid quantum devices, topological quantum computation, quantum many body correlation, has been produced more 100 papers and published in PRL and PR series. Due to these achievements, it was awarded the state natural science prize with first grade in 2015.
Direction III: High energy dense physics.Based on the large scale scientific facilities of heavy-ion-accelerators and/or high power lasers, in addition to the self-constructed 400kV ion beam research platform and so on, we have achieved remarkable progress in the fields of high energy density physics with intense heavy ion beams, QED effects in strong field induced by ultrahigh power lasers, atomic and molecular reaction dynamics induce by laser and particle interaction, and the material irradiation effects especially in extreme conditions such as nuclear fusion and deep space. These work are supported by the National Key R & D Program of China, Chinese Science Challenge Project, and the outstanding youth project and key project from National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Direction IV: Soft matter and complex system.As a traditional advantage of the School of Physics, this direction is the intersection of physics, life and materials sciences. The team currently consists of 5 professors and 7 associate professors. The research activities are mainly around the key physical mechanisms involved in the origin of life, molecular physics mechanism of the major human diseases, and the dynamics of nano-material systems in water environment. A state-of-art experimental and theoretical platform, including cryo-electron microscopy instruments and supercomputing clusters with world leading levels, has been established and strongly supports the related researches. In the past five years, the team has published more than 50 papers in international high-level journals such as Science, PRL and JACS.
Direction V: Frontier theoretical physics.The group consisted by 12 young-fellows focus on fundamental unsolved physical problems, including ones on hadron structure, quantum gravity, neutrino physics and nuclear matter in star. Some important results have been obtains including classical simulation of gravity, the origin of Dirac CP violation and so on, from which a specialty in particle cosmology is forming now. Currently, we have been supported by over 30 projects. Some influential researches are published on PRL, JHEP. And Phys. Rev. Prof. Zhu’s highlighted result has been recommended by PLB editor and obtains highly cited rate.
The above 5 directions, based on the key research facilities of school, have obtained more than 80 NSF programs of China including NSF key programs and excellent young scholars, and more than 50 state programs during the past 5 years. Total grant are about 50 million RMB during the past 5 fives.
Cultivation goal and achievements:Being insist of the belief that “strengthen the basis, concentrate on innovation”, the goal of physics department is to cultivate the abilities of theoretical research, and the spirit of practice and innovation of the student. Our goal also included committing to cultivate outstanding physics professionals who has scientific background, insist of innovation, working hard, being social responsible, and has noble moral characters. During the past 5 years, undergraduate students have obtain 3 top prize from CUPT and 7 top prize from other contests. More than 70% students go to world leading class universities, such as Harvard University, MIT, Princeton University, etc. Two graduate students were awardedAlexander von Humboldt Fellow, one Marie Curie Fellowship, one JSPS Fellowship, and one University Excellent Student Model in 2020. The faculties devote to teaching and obtain 3 National teaching achievements awards with second grade, 5 State teaching achievements awards with top grade and first grade.
Domestic & international influences:The School has 3 faculties as the member serving for the Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education of China, 5 faculties are the vice Executive Director for the Professional Curriculum Research Association of the Ministry of Education of China, one faculty is the Executive Director of the Shaanxi Province Physical Society, more 6 faculties are the member of professional academic association. The School efforts to raise funds to support teachers and students to overseas for collaborations, encourages the teachers to attend the domestic and international academic meetings, and invited more than 50 experts including more than 10 Nobel laureates to XJTU for visiting and exchanging. The school sponsored 6 higher level international academic conference and signed 16 agreements with international leading universities. The School has one faculty serve for international academic association, 2 chief editor in academic journal and 5member of editorial board. The academic researchers in physics department has been greatly enhanced across domestic and international scopes, and has produced certain impacts both in China and worldwide. However relative to other top physics departments in China we still falls behind, which requires the help and support from peer experts in physics. We promise to work hard and to make important contributions to the development of physics in China.
Contact
Direction I: The manipulation of phase transition and functionalities
Contact:
Yin Zhang, E-Mail: yzhang18@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Direction II: Quantum manipulation and quantum material.
Contact:
Ruifeng Liu, E-Mail: ruifeng.liu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Direction III: High energy dense physics.
Contact:
Xing Wang, E-Mail: wangxingcn@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Direction IV: Soft matter and complex system.
Contact:
Honggang Ye, E-Mail: hgye@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Direction V: Frontier theoretical physics.
Contact:
Guoyun Shao, E-Mail: gyshao@mail.xjtu.edu.cn