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We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Chenfeng Cao and Mr. Weihao Yang are awarded the 2025 Joint Post-doctoral Fellowships (JPDF) at the HK Institute of Quantum Science & Technology (HKIQST) and Hong Kong Branch for Quantum Science Center (HKBQSC) of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, through a highly selective procedure of the Selection Panel consisting of Profs Zidan WANG, Wang YAO, Xiaobo YIN, and Shizhong ZHANG. Dr. Cao received his PhD from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and is currently an esteemed Humboldt Fellow. With an impressive publication record in leading physics journals such as Comm Phys, Phys Rev Appl, Phys Rev Research, and Quantum Science and Technology, he is expected to bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our institute. Mr. Yang, who is expected to receive PhD from The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China around this summer, has made commendable strides in the field of electronics. His research work has been recognized in top-tier journals like Nat Electro and Nat Comm. His passion and dedication towards research are truly inspiring. At HK Institute of Quantum Science & Technology, Dr. Cao and Mr. Yang will be working on a plethora of theoretical and experimental research projects related to quantum science. We warmly welcome Dr. Cao and Mr. Yang to our community and anticipate the invaluable insights they will bring. We look forward to witnessing the growth and success that their presence will undoubtedly facilitate. Congratulations to Dr. Cao and Mr. Yang!

AQIS’25 Conference Announcement 📅 Date: August 4 to August 8, 2025 📍 Venue: Grand Hall of the Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, Centennial Campus, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Hosted by: HK Institute of Quantum Science & Technology (HKIQST) Quantum Information and Computation Initiative (QICI) of the HKU School of Computing and Data Science The AQIS’25 conference will focus on quantum information processing, communication, and cryptography, bridging the fields of quantum physics, computer science, mathematics, and information technologies. As the natural successor of EQIS’01-EQIS’05 and AQIS’06-AQIS’24, AQIS’25 will feature invited talks, selected oral and poster presentations, as well as other activities. Conference Topics Include: Quantum computation and simulation, algorithms, and complexity Quantum information theory Concepts, methods, and tools against decoherence Quantum cryptography Quantum communications experiments and theory Quantum metrology Quantum technologies (optics, NMR, solid state, etc.) Quantum circuit, computer design, and architecture Quantum programming languages and semantics Important Dates: Talk Submission Deadline: April 25, 2025 Poster-only Submission Deadline: May 16, 2025 Notification of Acceptance: May 30, 2025 Final Manuscript Deadline: June 30, 2025 Early Registration Deadline: June 30, 2025 (all deadlines are until 23:59 anywhere on Earth) Invited Speakers: Rotem Arnon-Friedman (Weizman Institute of Science) Warit Asavanant (University of Tokyo) Debbie Leung (University of Waterloo) Chaoyang Lu (University of Science and Technology of China) Chiao-Hsuan Wang (National Taiwan University) Additional speakers to be announced… Sponsors: HKU School of Computing and Data Science HK Institute of Quantum Science & Technology (HKIQST) QICI Join us at AQIS’25 for a deep dive into the exciting world of quantum information and computation!

We explore an unconventional class of problems in the study of (quantum) critical phenomena, termed “deep boundary criticality”. Traditionally, critical systems are analyzed with two types of perturbations: those uniformly distributed throughout the bulk, which can significantly alter the bulk criticality by triggering a nontrivial bulk renormalization group flow, and those confined to a boundary or subdimensional defect, which affect only the boundary or defect condition. Here, we go beyond this paradigm by studying quantum critical systems with boundary perturbations that decay algebraically (following a power law) into the bulk. By continuously varying the decay exponent, such perturbations can transition between having no effect on the bulk and strongly influencing bulk behavior. We investigate this regime using two prototypical models based on (1+1)D massless Dirac fermions. Through a combination of analytical and numerical approaches, we uncover exotic scaling laws in simple observables and observe qualitative changes in model behavior as the decay exponent varies.