News and views (11&12)

1 Collective Neutrino Oscillations by Basudeb Dasgupta

Neutrino oscillation, the quantum transmutation of one type of neutrino to another, takes on a puzzling new form when the density of neutrinos is very large. This new kind of neutrino oscillation, called collective neutrino oscillation, has presented an interesting challenge for theoretical physicists. Although many aspects remain to be fully understood, its anticipated impact on the explosion of stars and the creation of elements therein promises a new tool for studying supernovae.

Supernovae mark the end of massive stars’ lives, resulting in a powerful explosion. When a massive star depletes its nuclear fuel, its core collapses due to gravity, creating extreme pressure and temperature. This leads to the rapid production of neutrinos through various reactions, mainly electron capture and positron–electron annihilation. These neutrinos play a key role in the explosion by escaping the collapsing core, carrying away a substantial amount of energy, and causing the star to explode as a supernova. Neutrinos are pivotal in this cosmic event.

Neutrinos, elementary particles with three flavors (electron, muon, tau), are unique for their electrically neutral, tiny-mass, and weakly interacting nature, earning them the nickname “ghost particles.” They exhibit a remarkable ability to oscillate between flavors during their journey through space, a concept first theorized in the 1960s by Bruno Pontecorvo, Ziro Maki, Masami Nakagawa, and Shoichi Sakata. The discovery of neutrino oscillations, by experiments like Super-Kamiokande and SNO, revolutionized our understanding of neutrinos and particle physics.

In supernovae, neutrinos can be initially produced in any one of the flavors. As they traverse the star’s outer layers, dense matter can influence their flavor transition. This process is akin to the Mikheyev–Smirnov–Wolfenstein (MSW) effect, proposed in the mid-1980s, that explains the observed deficit of solar neutrinos through partial conversion of the emitted electron neutrinos into other flavors. What is particularly intriguing about neutrino oscillations in supernovae is their dependence on neutrino density in the medium. Unlike neutrinos traveling through empty space or ordinary matter (without a significant contribution from other neutrinos), oscillations within a supernova are also affected by neutrino-neutrino interactions. This self-interaction occurs because neutrinos can scatter off one another through neutral current interactions. The forward-scattering amplitude, where there is no change in the momentum of the neutrino, adds coherently and induces a flavor-dependent effect proportional to the neutrino density.

Theorized by James Pantaleone in a remarkable paper in 1992, this new route for flavor transmutation has been a topic of intense study for the past three decades. Three remarkable features were discovered in mathematical (and computer-based) studies of these collective oscillations: First, collective oscillations can lead to large flavor exchanges, much larger than the small matter-effect suppressed mixing due to the mixing matrix alone. This feature is called an “instability.” Second, these changes take place uniformly among all neutrinos, regardless of their energy or emission direction. This “collective” evolution is rather distinctive and differs from the typical oscillations observed in ordinary neutrinos. Similar collective behavior can be observed in various situations where numerous independent entities end up acting in harmony, such as the coordinated flights of a flock of birds or a school of fish. Even the movements of people in crowded areas exhibit elements of this collective motion, whether it is the Mexican waves in a sports stadium or the synchronized actions of daily commuters in a crowded train station. And third, these changes can occur within remarkably short timeframes (even on the order of nanoseconds), which is, in fact, quicker than any of the neutrinos would have evolved left to themselves. This very unusual feature was compared to a marching band outrunning Usain Bolt! This aspect has often been described as “fast” evolution, to distinguish it from other kinds of collective evolution of neutrinos.

Two primary questions stand out:

• 1. What circumstances lead to these collective instabilities? It is critical to ascertain whether these instabilities occur in the dense regions of a star quite generically, or if such unusual oscillations demand highly specific and rare conditions not commonly found in nature.

• 2. What happens to neutrinos that have undergone collective oscillations? Oscillations cause a periodic, time-dependent alteration in the flavor makeup of the emitted neutrino flux from the star. Are these changes observable, and what consequences do they carry?

In a series of papers (see refs. [1,2,3,4]) over the last few years, our focus has been on predicting the conditions for instability and ascertaining its ultimate impact. We have identified a fundamental criterion: for instability to occur, the phase space distributions for two flavors need to cross each other at some energies or emission directions. If only one flavor dominates across all energies and angles, no instability arises. As for the ultimate impact of collective oscillations, further investigation is needed, but our findings suggest a partial and irreversible mixing of flavors, known as “depolarization.”

Collective neutrino flavor oscillations may have relevance in a number of ways:

• 1. Supernova explosion mechanism: Neutrinos are pivotal in supernova explosions, carrying away crucial energy. Understanding neutrino oscillations is vital for deciphering the explosion process.

• 2. Neutrino properties: Supernovae can provide insights into neutrino properties, including the mass ordering.

• 3. Supernova neutrino observations: Neutrino detectors like Super-Kamiokande, IceCube, and DUNE aim to observe supernova neutrinos and may find evidence for collective oscillations.

• 4. Formation of chemical elements: Collective oscillations may impact the synthesis of heavy elements in supernovae and our understanding of cosmic isotopes. These may be an indirect way to study collective oscillations.

The behavior of collective oscillations in supernovae is intricate and depends on diverse factors, including the neutrino energy spectra, the angular distributions, and the electron and neutrino density profiles within the star. Most of these ingredients are not known. Numerical simulations and theoretical models have been developed to estimate them, but a precise and reliable description remains challenging.

Collective neutrino oscillations in supernovae bridge astrophysics and particle physics, offering insights into cosmic phenomena and fundamental particles. Ongoing research promises to unveil more about these intriguing processes. Several key steps are expected to be undertaken in the coming years: improvements in numerical simulations of the star and neutrinos therein, commissioning of upcoming experiments like DUNE and Hyper-Kamiokande that hold promise for precise supernova neutrino observations, and better understanding of the connections between collective oscillations and nucleosynthesis. This quantum dance of the smallest particles in the backdrop of grandest cosmic explosions, therefore presents a worthy challenge and a rare opportunity.

2 Evidence for Ultra-long Wavelengths Gravitational Waves by Bhal Chandra Joshi and Yashwant Gupta

A new window in the gravitational wave (GW) spectrum was opened recently at nano-Hertz frequencies with the recent announcement of evidence for such waves from stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) by the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) and the Indo-Japanese Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) collaboration coordinated with a similar announcement by the North American NanOhertz GRAVitational waves observatory (NANOGrav), the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), and the Chinese Pulsar Timing Array (CPTA) experiments.

GWs are transverse waves, generated by the motion of matter, such as the motion of a binary star system like double neutron stars and are quadrupolar in nature. Unlike the transient nature of GWs detected between 10 and 500 Hz by the Advanced Laser Interferometery Gravitational Wave Observatory, ultra-low frequency GWs in the nano-Hertz band come from an isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) formed by the superposition of continuous GWs from an ensemble of supermassive black hole binary systems (SMBHB). This signal with a power-law spectrum with an expected index of 2/3 was being searched by the pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments, such as EPTA and InPTA, for the last two decades using their most sensitive six telescopes. PTA experiments employ a collection of massive and compact stars called radio pulsars to form a Galactic-sized GW detector. A PTA measures the variations in the apparent frequency of clock-like radio pulses due to a passing GW, which are correlated across pulsar pairs in a characteristics spatial correlation called the Hellings-Down overlap function for an isotropic SGWB [5, 6].

The InPTA data were obtained using the upgraded Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) using its unique sub-array capability to form two co-located telescopes to concurrently observe 14 pulsars at 300 − 500 and 1260 − 1460 MHz [7]. These unique capabilities provide high precision estimates of Dispersion measures and constrain the slow variations in the ionized interstellar medium, which are dominant below 500 MHz. The InPTA data were observed over 3.5 years [8]. The EPTA experiment observed 25 pulsars over 24.7 years using the five largest telescopes located in Europe with observations carried out mostly between 1 and 8 GHz. While the InPTA data complement the EPTA data by extending the frequency coverage, the longer time baseline of the EPTA pulsars better estimates of rotational, astrometric, and binary parameters of the pulsar sample. The data combination used the InPTA data for 10 pulsars, which overlap with the EPTA 25 pulsars. The SGWB search was carried out using the joint dataset with the search proceeding in the latest 10.3-year dataset (DR2new +) and the full joint dataset (DR2full +) separately [9, 10].

The main difference in this analysis from the past efforts was the use of more advanced noise models. Three different types of time-correlated or “red” noise processes were considered—(a) achromatic spin noise, (b) time-correlated chromatic DM noise with an observing frequency dependence of ν − 2, and (c) a chromatic scattering noise with ν − 4. These advanced noise models, particularly the chromatic models, benefitted from the addition of low-frequency InPTA data and have helped in improving the significance of evidence of SGWB in these data [10].

The main result of this analysis is the first evidence for both the expected spectrum and the spatial correlation suggesting the presence of ultra-long wavelength GWs [9]. Evidence for a SGWB with a Bayes factor of 60 and a false alarm probability of about 0.1% was obtained with a 10.3-year subset [9]. While the correlated spectrum was detected with high significance in the 10.3-year data, it is in mild tension with the expected spectral index of 13/3. Similar results were simultaneously published by NANOGrav, PPTA, and CPTA collaborations [11,12,13]. While the significance of evidence for SGWB varied between different experiments, broadly the results of different experiments are consistent.

These results have opened the ultra-low frequency window of the GW astronomy. The mild tension seen in the spectral index reported by three experiments appears to suggest an origin of SGWB other than that due to a superposition of GWs from an ensemble of SMBHBs. The non-stationary SGWB hinted by one experiment is intriguing and needs to be investigated further. A data combination is currently ongoing for an IPTA Data release 3 planned next year, where some of these questions are likely to be answered. Thus, an exciting era of GW astronomy is opening up indeed.

3 Report on the 54th AAPPS Video Council Meeting by AAPPS

(0) President Hyoung Joon Choi reported the presence of 14 council members out of 16 council members. The quorum was met.

(1) President Choi opened the 54th Council Meeting and welcomed the participants. The participants, including chairs of divisions and the working group, introduced themselves. The agenda was adopted as prepared by the president.

(2) Treasurer Keun-Young Kim briefly reported on the financial status of AAPPS. The total balance is $78,589 USD, in addition to the Leo Koguan Foundation’s $37,952.15 USD. The account statements include interest and the dues that 14 societies paid for the 2023 membership. Jun’ichi Yokoyama mentioned that the Physics Society of Iran has joined AAPPS as an associate member, which means that they do not have a duty to pay for their membership. Kadir Gulamov reported that the Council of Uzbekistan Physicists would pay for their membership in a specific way in the next council meeting. Four societies supported the AAPPS Bulletin (AB) with contributions of $5000 USD each and JSAP provided support of $5000 USD to AAPPS. The contribution by APCTP of $652,530 USD and the payment of AAPPS’s domain fee by DACG were acknowledged and greatly appreciated. Gui-Lu Long suggested removing ASEAN in the list of reports but keeping it for historical reasons as a record and Kim agreed. VU Dinh Lam mentioned that the inclusion of the Vietnam Physical Society, instead of listing both the Vietnam Physical Society and Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) could be enough to be shown on the list of reports. Yokoyama requested to add the information that he sent 1 million KRW, which he had received as an honorarium for writing an article in AB, to the representative of the activities for physicists in Myanmar, by the Division of Nuclear Physics.

(3) Rajdeep Singh Rawat reported the statistics of the 2023 C. N. Yang Award based on the evaluated sheets and mentioned that this year’s sub-selection review process was completed with 17 candidates being shortlisted by name, society, and field. He stated that the final meeting of the selection committee would be held at the end of this month and that the finalists would be decided then. Rawat suggested making the whole process simpler and furthermore suggested that we highlight the diversity of the candidates by examining their respective fields, genders, and nationalities at each step of the process. Sang Pyo Kim also emphasized the need to sort out the balance of societies, divisions, and fields. President Choi mentioned that the current rule does not consider diversity during the selection process, and this needed to be discussed further. Rawat added that this year’s process was already going on; however, in the next round of candidates, diversity could be considered as one society, one region, and one division. Gulamov also mentioned that diversity is very important as our goal is to develop our societies. Choi mentioned that while excellence is the most important criterion, diversity is also very important. Mihoko Nojiri mentioned that it is important that the selection committee is knowledgeable about the concept of gender bias and how gender bias relates to the need to encourage the nominations of women in the future. The issue of diversity will be a topic of further discussion in the next council meeting.

(4) Yokoyama explained the background regarding the initiative of the AAPPS and Member Society Joint Award and reported on the AAPPS-JPS Award with the five winners judged by the AAPPS committee of JPS. It was reported that the award ceremony will be held at the 78th JPS Annual Meeting on Monday, September 18, 2023, at Tohoku University. It was reported that medals were made through Tao Xiang. Gulamov mentioned that the joint award is a good example to show how we can work together, with diversity.

(5) Sang Pyo Kim, Chair of DACG, reported that the 2022 DACG workshop and CosPA 2022 went well and that the AP School Workshop was held on May 15-21 this year in Hangzhou. It was also reported that the upcoming CosPA 2023 would be held on November 10-13, 2023, in Hong Kong, and that the DACG EXCO Meeting would also be held at CosPA 2023. Kim requested that AAPPS endorse MG16 with no expectation of financial support and President Choi stated that he would consider it after the meeting. Gui-Lu Long raised the use of the official names of Beijing and Taipei.

(6) Gui-Lu Long, Editor-in-Chief of AB, reported on the current status of AB, and in particular, that AB had been included in Scopus, which was celebrated. It was also reported that an application to be included in the ESCI of Web of Science was submitted. Currently, the publication process is slow and delayed, which emphasizes the fact that more submissions are needed. Long requested for all council members to cite published AB papers if there are any relevant articles, so as to increase the total number of citations, and to invite papers by adding one slice of AB for advertising whenever presenting a ppt file.

(7) Rajdeep Singh Rawat, as the proxy of Chair of DPP, reported on DPP’s current status. DPP has 3096 members and confers several awards including the AAPPS-DPP S. Chandrasekhar Prize. Following the last year’s DPP2022, DPP2023 will be held this year.

Byungsik Hong, the Chair of DNP, gave a status report on DNP, including the current management, and explained that the DNP executive committee members were the same as the ANPhA Board members. DNP had its annual meetings online for the past 3 years, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year marks a return to face-to-face meetings, with the annual meeting being held from November 10 to 11 2023, in Daejeon, Korea. In addition, the papers and awards of DNP were introduced.

Kwang-Yong Choi reported the current status of DCMP on behalf of Hiroyuki Nojiri, Chair of DCMP. It was reported that the 2nd EXCO members were elected, and its mission was also decided. AC2MP2023 will be held from November 27 to 29, 2023, at National Dong Hwa University in Taipei. DCMP introduced its own newsletter and suggested reprinting AB. DCMP is also planning to establish a DCMP Award, with an evaluation policy similar to the C. N. Yang Award.

Mihoko Nojiri, Chair of Women-in-Physics Working Group (WIPWG), reported on the current status of women in physics, by mentioning the recently updated WIP website and other recent activities, including the 8th IUPAP International Conference of WIP in India.

(8) Jae-Hyung Jeon briefly reported and introduced APCTP, including its mission and activities. The overall support records from APCTP to AAPPS meetings, APPCs, AB, and division activities were reported. Following the support record, the APCTP budget details from 2022 to 2024 were reported. Jeon mentioned that the support from APCTP in 2024 could not be the same as in prior years, due to the reduced financial support from the Korean government in 2024. President Choi additionally explained that the Korean government annoucned that the overall budget for R&D sectors would be reduced.

(9) President Choi suggested a new program, called Asia Pacific Physics Week (APPW), which would be held every year as a single session for one week, 3 hours per day, with about 4 plenary talks per day, fully online and without registration fee. All member societies would participate in organizing APPW by inviting plenary speakers, with approximately one speaker per member society. It was reported that APPW will be held this year, on November 6-10, 2023. Mihoko Nojiri suggested nominating two speakers by each society to consider diversity. In addition, Choi stated that the next face-to-face council meeting will be held on November 4-5, 2023. Kadir Gulamov made a request to receive details regarding the council meeting as soon as possible in order to obtain a visa and to make general travel plans.

(10) Tao Xiang reported on the provisional plans for APPC16. It appears that APPC16 will be held on October 7-11, 2025, at the China National Convention Center (CNCC) located in Beijing. The APPC16 homepage will be open in the summer of 2024.

(11) President Choi explained that AAPPS’s bank account is currently in the name of Treasurer Keun Young Kim; however, the account currently holds a relatively large amount of funds, which could cause complications due to its status as a quasi-personal account. Thus, it was a suggested to change the name of the bank account to “APCTP” based on the article 24 of Bylaws of the AAPPS, (a) each account is held in the name of the Association, or in the name of a Member Society, or in the name of an academic or research institution approved by Council, or jointly in the name of no fewer than three individuals approved by Council. Jeon additionally explained that the Korean government reviewed the APCTP’s entire activities, including its international role as the headquarters of AAPPS, and it was recommended to have the bank account in the name of the institution rather than in a person's name. Choi suggested discussing this matter further in the upcoming face-to-face meeting.

(12) President Choi closed the meeting.

4 Catching the Electron’s Motion: The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 for Attosecond Light by Zhi-Yi Wei

On 3rd Oct, 2023, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter. It is the fourth Nobel Prize for ultrafast science and technology since Prof. A.H. Zewail became a Nobel laureate for his work on femtosecond chemistry in 1999.

An attosecond is presently the shortest time scale for characterizing dynamics in temporal resolution. Its duration is extremely short; it is only one billionth of a billionth second (10⁻¹⁸ s). Since an electron moves around a nucleus in a time scale of about 150 as, scientists may take a “photograph” of its electron motion. From the perspective of the temporal domain, it has opened a door to explore the dynamics inside atoms with unprecedented resolution and will raise our understanding of the physical world.

Prof. Wei Zhiyi, a leading scientist on ultrafast laser technology at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was excited to learn that the Nobel Prize was awarded for research in attosecond physics. Prof. Zhiyi said, “The three laureates have all made pioneering contributions to the field of attosecond physics, and their Nobel Prize in Physics is well deserved. It is also an inspiration for scientists and students in the field of ultrafast science.”

The attosecond laser was first demonstrated by the respective groups of Pierre Agostini and Ferenc Krausz in 2001. They both used femtosecond Ti:sapphire lasers to drive noble gases for higher-order harmonic generation (HHG). Pierre Agostini’s experiments succeeded in producing a series of continuous pulses of light in France, each lasting only 250 as. In 2005, he moved to the USA and became a professor of physics at Ohio State University. Ferenc Krauss’s research group produced the world’s first isolated attosecond pulse in Austria, which is a milestone breakthrough that allows humans to observe and record the movement of electrons inside an atomic structure. Ferenc Krausz also made a number of remarkable contributions for the development of cutting-edge ultrafast laser technology.

Prof. Zhiyi stated, “We are working on a similar research field with Prof. Ferenc Krausz’s team and established a collaboration more than ten years ago. He is a quick thinker with smart ideas, can well open and lead the direction of scientific research in ultrafast science and technology. He often was the key person in academic conferences and gave important and fascinating talks.” Up to now, both keep in communication. In June, he and colleagues visited Ferenc Krausz for academic purposes. Just this morning, he received an email from Ferenc Krausz.

The birth of attosecond lasers can be traced back to the discovery of HHG. In 1988, A. L’Huillier and others observed that a HHG spectrum could be produced via intense laser irradiation of atoms. The fifth woman to become a Nobel Laureate in physics, she also made a significant contribution to the development of an appropriate theoretical description of the process and has conducted many pioneering experiments since moving to Sweden.

Regarding domestic research on attosecond physics, Prof. Zhiyi is proud of its development in China. Prof. Zhiyi has been engaged in research on ultrafast laser technology and its applications. In 2013, he and his team achieved an attosecond pulse for the first time in China. Presently, he works as a chief scientist for the construction of an ultrafast laser facility at the Institute of Physics, CAS.

He said, “Although the research generally started late, especially regarding attosecond generation, remarkable progress has been made rapidly in recent years, and some related research in application experiments has reached an international and advanced level. A new attosecond laser facility has been established at our institute.” Prof. Zhiyi believes new development and scientific innovation in the attosecond field may be realized in China in the near future.

5 A Build-up Towards Establishing Malaysia’s Quantum Science and Technology Initiative by MyQI and Institut Fizik Malaysia (IFM)

Quantum technology makes use of quantum effects such as superposition, interference, or entanglement to outperform conventional computing and information processing carried out using classical bits. Quantum technology has received considerable attention from scientists, engineers, and governments all over the world as it promises, among other things, more powerful computing and secure communication. Major industrial sectors foresee quantum technologies to provide advantages and are exploring its potential applications in areas such as chemistry, drug discovery, and energy harvesting, in addition to its potential use in the automotive, finance, and agricultural realms. Multinational companies that have recognized the potential of quantum computing have begun integrating quantum technologies into their core business activities. Universities have begun offering academic programs in quantum engineering. The profound impact of quantum computing has led to numerous countries launching their own initiatives. Malaysia embarked on the exploration of quantum information as early as 2006 under the 9th Malaysia Plan (2006–2010) and the landscape has evolved into the following core areas: quantum communication and security, quantum information and algorithms, and quantum computing technologies.

The groundwork started in quantum communication and security. MIMOS, a strategic agency under the Malaysia Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) established a research cluster that focused on home-grown quantum communication systems. The research covered a wide range of studies, including quantum key distribution protocols and their security analysis, in-lab experiments, as well as on-site systems testing. In the past decade, these research works gained global recognition. MIMOS had been named among the world’s top 10 main players in terms of the number of patent applications. Several patent studies had highlighted the major contribution of MIMOS in the field, including the UK Intellectual Property Office (2014), the Economist (2017) magazine, and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (2019) [14,15,16]. Through the MIMOS initiative, local and global collaborations have been established with universities and companies like International Islamic University Malaysia; the University of Camerino, Italy; Suez Canal University of Egypt; ID Quantique; and MagiQ Technologies [17]. Malaysia later established its position as a player in the field of quantum cryptography, when it participated in producing the definitive reference for the field in the comprehensive review [18]. These topics are also continued today. The foundation of quantum cryptography is founded on the uncertainty relations for observables. Analogous forms of such relations have been identified for unitary processes, and although they originated from a need for bidirectional quantum cryptography, they connect with various mathematical notions regarding specific structures of unitary bases for the Hilbert space of operators. On a practical side, to take advantage of the growing key rates of quantum cryptographic systems, local quantum information processing nodes such as spin qubits are being connected to optical qubits for reliable quantum communication. The use of optomechanical systems opens new possibilities towards realizing such couplings [19].

Other subfields of quantum information are younger in Malaysia. In recent years, quantum processing platforms have started to be incorporated into artificial intelligence technologies. The aim is to use advanced data processing methods in conjunction with relatively simple physical quantum devices that could be built in the near future, to realize efficiently tasks such as entanglement detection, tomography, state preparation, and computing [20]. These methods also promise a metrological advantage that could be used to test the foundations of physics. Other foundational aspects of gravitation and intense lasers are being developed [21] in parallel with theoretical and computational methods to study the physics of generation, propagation, and interactions of novel photon sources in photonic structures. All of these quantum processors generate quantum entanglement at some point in their evolution and their classification belongs to the mainstream of quantum information in Malaysia [22]. On the algorithmic side, group theoretic methods are addressing the challenges of quantum error correction. It is also hoped that techniques of theoretical physics, such as the supersymmetry of various quantum potentials and algebraic representations of quantum Fourier transforms [23], will ultimately advance quantum computing. Theoretical research related to concrete practical systems cannot miss the study of open quantum systems. General results concerning generators of open system dynamics are actively studied with a focus on the so-called exceptional points they produce [24]. These features are ubiquitous in dissipative systems, such as in driven superconducting qubits, and give rise to improved quantum sensors. Understanding and controlling the effects of decoherence and dissipation on qubits are essential for optimizing their performance and developing robust quantum algorithms in the presence of noise. The performance of a superconducting-based qubit is influenced by the presence of the generalized amplitude noise (GAD) channel, which can be considered the qubit counterpart of the bosonic thermal channel. The GAD serves as a model for lossy processes in low-temperature systems, simulating the effects of background noise. The study of the GAD paves the way for the design and implementation of more efficient and reliable quantum information processing systems in the era of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices [25].

The last core area is quantum computing technologies, which involves building quantum computers, i.e., developing the software, middleware, and hardware. The software refers to the programs/libraries that compile quantum algorithms into sets of instructions for the middleware. The middleware is responsible for sending and receiving signals to the quantum hardware, i.e., controlling the qubits in the quantum processor unit. Malaysia aspires to build its own quantum computer and at the moment contributes to developing superconducting quantum computers at the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore [26] and the Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology at Osaka University.

At the institutional level, Malaysian universities are increasing their efforts to enhance quantum information research activities. A noteworthy example of this commitment is the establishment of dedicated research centers of excellence within the universities this year: the IIUM Photonics Quantum Centre (iPQC) and Universiti of Malaya Quantum Information Science and Technology (UM QIST). iPQC is focused on being a self-sustaining high-impact research center with a team of experienced researchers in the field of fiber lasers and quantum information and cryptography. UM QIST is pushing key long-term initiatives in quantum communication using telecom-wavelength optical fibers for dual classical-quantum communication, a quantum machine learning for computational chemistry problems, and a single-photon source using carbon quantum dots. At the individual level, researchers are uniting. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the first online meeting of the Malaysian quantum information community was held in August 2022 and culminated in the Quantum Information Meetup 2023 at Xiamen University Malaysia. Representatives of all major institutions working on quantum information in Malaysia took part in the gathering, with many specialists meeting each other for the first time. It was a short and informal event, where everyone had the opportunity to introduce their research, intertwined with panels on prospective future directions in the context of Malaysia and coordinated efforts for research support. Some of the topics reported in this news article were thoroughly discussed.

At present, the quantum information research community in Malaysia is relatively small. Nevertheless, the allure of quantum computing has attracted researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds to explore the potential of incorporating quantum algorithms or quantum communications into their research endeavors. As they come together and capitalize on each other’s strengths, Malaysia steadily prepares for a quantum information era.