My academic research focuses on developing novel computational methods for quantum many-body systems, with applications ranging from ultracold atomic gases to neutron star physics. Through my PhD at UNC-Chapel Hill, I have contributed to advancing our understanding of quantum matter through innovative theoretical and computational approaches.
Research Areas
Quantum Many-Body Systems
PhD Research at UNC-Chapel Hill (2016-2022)
My primary research contribution has been the development of novel computational methods for simulating quantum matter, with particular focus on strongly correlated fermion systems.
Automated Algebra Method for Virial Expansion
- Innovation: Created a semi-analytical computational framework that eliminates statistical errors in quantum many-body calculations
- Impact: Achieved unprecedented accuracy in calculating higher-order virial coefficients (up to 5th order)
- Technical Achievement: Implemented efficient algorithms using Python/Cython with multiprocessing and distributed computing on Open Science Grid
- Breakthrough: Resolved long-standing discrepancies between theory and experiment in quantum gas thermodynamics
Key Accomplishments
- Methodological Innovation: Developed scalable algorithms that reduced computation time from years to days for complex quantum calculations
- Cross-disciplinary Impact: Methods applicable to both ultracold atomic gases and neutron star matter
- International Collaboration: Worked with theoretical groups in Germany on quantum matter applications
- Publications: 6 peer-reviewed papers including Editor’s Suggestion in Physical Review Letters
Machine Learning Applications in Physics
- Physics-Informed Neural Networks: Explored ML-enhanced random field generation for quantum Monte Carlo methods
- Transformer Models: Applied attention mechanisms to accelerate stochastic simulations
- NLP in Scientific Computing: Developed event extraction methods for COVID-19 data analysis
Detailed Research Projects
Quantum virial expansion for quantum matter Aug, 2019 - Present
- Develop a novel and analytical method to automate algebraic operation to evaluate the Quantum Virial Expansion
- Implement codes and optimize performance for large-scale parallel deployment on Open Science Grid
- Apply across multiple systems: homogeneous and harmonically trapped Unitary Fermi Gas, dilute neutron matter
- Generalize to different observables: thermodynamics, Tan's contact, momentum distribution, structure factor and etc.
Energy of Bosonic droplets from quantum noise Jul, 2018 - May, 2019
- Extracted ground-state energy of N-body Boson droplets from quantum noise using the cumulant expansion
Thermodynamics of quantum matter at finite temperature May, 2017 - Dec, 2018
- Applied hybrid Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) and Complex Langevin (CL) to extract thermodynamics for SU(N) Fermi gas
- Introduced higher-order symplectic integrators to reduce decomposition errors
- Investigated the improvements on sampling efficiencies of auxiliary fields
Numerical simulation of acoustic field Mar, 2015 - Jun, 2015
- Simulated acoustic field propagation using Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method
Flow of granular material in 2D hopper Sep, 2013 - May, 2014
- Performed image registration, boundary detection to identify and analysis granular particle flow
- Reconstructed the stress information from image intensities to study jamming-flowing phase transition
Papers & conversations
The papers, conference presentations, and invited talks live together in one place.
Teaching Experience
I have been Graduate Teaching Assistant for both undergraduate courses and graduate courses including:
- PHYS 114 - General Physics for non-physics major, led workshop as Teaching Assistant
- PHYS 118 - General Physics for physics major, led workshop as Teaching Assistant
- PHYS 331 - Introductory numerical techniques in physics, led lab session and gave mini-lectures as Teaching Assistant
- PhD qualification exam recitation - statistical physics, led recitation session as Instructor
Recognition & Awards
- UNC Dissertation Completion Fellowship Aug 2021 - May 2022
Competitive fellowship supporting dissertation completion and recognizing outstanding academic achievement - UNC Dean’s Graduate Fellowship in the College of Arts & Sciences May 2021
Prestigious award for exceptional scholarly work and research contributions
This research demonstrates the development of innovative computational methods that advance our fundamental understanding of quantum many-body systems, with applications across condensed matter physics and beyond.