Asia Pacific Physics Newsletter

Bruce McKellar to Lead IUPAP from 2014.

The First Institute of Advanced Studies School on Particle Physics and Cosmology and Implications for Technology.

Condensed Matter and Quantum Information Physics: Shedding New Light with Atomic Systems.

Standardisation of Chinese Physics Terminology.

Bravos to the First LeCosPA Symposium.

In this article, we will give a brief introduction to the topological insulators. We will briefly review some of the recent progresses from both theoretical and experimental sides. In particular, we will emphasize the recent progresses achieved in China.

Ever since Werner Heisenberg's 1927 paper on uncertainty, there has been considerable hesitancy in simultaneously considering positions and momenta in quantum contexts, since these are incompatible observables. But this persistent discomfort with addressing positions and momenta jointly in the quantum world is not really warranted, as was first fully appreciated by Hilbrand Groenewold and José Moyal in the 1940s. While the formalism for quantum mechanics in phase space was wholly cast at that time, it was not completely understood nor widely known — much less generally accepted — until the late 20th century.

The extraordinary achievements of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Chandra) have guided and inspired many younger astrophysicists. The brief survey seeks to highlight a few specific cases in India where, through his writings, lectures and discussions, Chandra made a lasting impact. It will be argued that although at a general, somewhat superficial level, Chandra is a light beacon to be followed, very few Indian astrophysicists reached a level where they could engage Chandra in a scientific discussion on a topic that interested him.

Chandrasekhar's own books, papers, and oral history interviews make clear that he was generally more interested in the present and future of astrophysics than in its past. Nevertheless, late in his life and after his death, historians of science have somewhat entangled him in two supposedly controversial issues, one concerning precursors of his mass limit for degenerate stars and the other his relationship with Eddington. Neither story is an entirely happy one.

National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University.

The Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore.

Upcoming Conferences in the Asia Pacific Region