Internal News

Successful Defense of Postdoctoral Thesis Proposal by Dr. Zheng Dongchen at CUHK SZRI

On the morning of March 31, 2026, Successful Defense of Postdoctoral Thesis Proposal by Dr. Zheng Dongchen at The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute. Dr. Zheng Dongchen is a member of the Physics and Astronomy Laboratory led by Professor Yan Yangqian at CUHK SZRI.

The defense meeting was conducted both online and on-site simultaneously in the conference room on the third floor of Shenzhen Virtual University Park. The meeting invited distinguished experts Professor Zhang Ren from The Xi'an Jiaotong University, Assistant Professor Zhang Zhendong from the University of Hong Kong, Researcher Wu Zhigang from the Greater Bay Area Quantum Science Center, Associate Professor Li Bo from the Xi'an Jiaotong University and Assistant Professor Yan Yangqian from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, which assessed the proposal report. Other participants included Mr. Liu Wenlin, Director of the Strategic Research Department at Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Strategy Research Center, Ms. Zhao Haiyan from the Postdoctoral Workstation of Shenzhen Virtual University Park, and Ms. Xu Siqi, Postdoctoral Management Officer from CUHK SZRI.

Dr. Zheng Dongchen  presented on “Theoretical Investigation of Cold Hybrid Ion-Atom Systems.”This study focuses on ultracold ion-atom hybrid systems. Starting from the polaron quasiparticle picture, it systematically investigates the energy spectrum and effective interactions of bipolarons in a Bose-Einstein condensate, as well as the energy spectrum evolution of ion polarons in Fermi superfluids across the BCS-BEC crossover, thereby deepening the understanding of quasiparticle formation mechanisms for charged impurities in quantum many-body backgrounds.

The defense panel carefully listened to Dr. Zheng Dongchen's presentation, engaged in in-depth exchanges and discussions on the research content he proposed to carry out during his postdoctoral period, and offered valuable suggestions. His supervisor, Professor Yan Yangqian, provided a concise summary of the key points raised by the experts. In conclusion, the panel unanimously agreed that the proposal demonstrates clear research ideas, feasible technical routes, substantial research content, and strong innovation, with promising prospects for achieving the expected outcomes. Finally, the panel unanimously approved Dr. Zheng Dongchen's passing of the postdoctoral opening assessment, with the evaluation result rated as "Excellent."

The Physics and Astronomy Laboratory at the CUHK SZRI focuses on astronomy and ultracold atomic physics, specifically covering astronomical instrumentation, interstellar medium, galaxy evolution, as well as quantum phase transitions, dissipation, and topological order. The laboratory is led by Associate Research Fellow at the CUHK SZRI and Assistant Professor Yan Yangqian of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; the research team currently includes 2 postdoctoral fellows.