News and Views (5&6)

1 Farewell to Peter Fulde by Yunkyu Bang (President of APCTP)

On April 11th, 2024, Prof. Peter Fulde peacefully passed away at his home in Dresden, Germany. Along with many others, I found it difficult to accept this sad news. I flew to Dresden and shared my sorrow with many people at his funeral on May 3rd at the Alter Annenfriedhof in Dresden.

Prof. Fulde's passing symbolizes the fading out of the generation that shaped condensed matter physics of the 20^th century. In many senses, he was a giant. He was a distinguished scholar in superconductivity and electronic correlation, an outstanding science administrator, and an extraordinarily good-willed human being loved by everyone around him: from students to secretaries, by his many colleagues, and of course, by his family and friends.

Peter Fulde was born in Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland) in 1936 in a well-to-do family. But when he was only nine years old, in 1945, his family had to abandon everything behind and flee west due to the invasion of the Russian Red Army at the end of World War II. They soon found shelter at the house of his mother’s friend, on the outskirts of Dresden. This place was only about four kilometers from the center of Dresden, and he and his family miraculously survived the Dresden bombings from February 13–15, 1945, while buildings surrounding them collapsed and burned down. After the chaotic period of the end of the war under the alternating occupations of Russian and American troops, his family settled in East Germany (the German Democratic Republic). After completing his high school education with excellent grades, he was accepted at Humboldt University in East Berlin in 1955 to study physics. However, in 1956, at the age of 20, the ever-increasing dogmatic communism led him to decide to escape to West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany). After a short stay at the University of Göttingen in 1956, he moved to the University of Hamburg to study under Prof. Harry Lehmann, a pioneering field theorist at that time. After finishing diploma on a problem of elementary particle physics, he planned to continue a doctorate degree in field theory. However, Prof. Lehmann advised him to study solid-state physics using field theoretical tools and arranged for Peter to study under Prof. Richard Ferrell at the University of Maryland, USA. Peter said that this advice and arrangement was the greatest blessing in his life and convinced him to listen to experienced advisors throughout his life.

In the US, he finished his PhD under Richard Ferrell with a thesis on his famous Fulde-Ferrell Larkin-Ovchinikov (FFLO) state in superconductivity in 1963. Originally, this study was initiated to explain the experimental observation of the gapless phase of superconductivity, first discovered by Berkeley’s experimental group with which Ferrell closely collaborated. Since then superconductivity and electronic properties of correlated metals became his lifelong research topics. He was deeply impressed by the open academic atmosphere among distinguished scholars and even student-level researchers, and the vibrant advances of new topics in physics in America. However, not long after he engaged with leading American researchers in superconductivity and solid-state physics, including M. Tinkham, W. Knight, K. Maki, and J.J. Hopfield, he decided to return to the University Frankfurt in 1965. In the 1960's, after World War II, solid-state physics, such as the study of semiconductors and superconductivity, was booming in America as a new field of physics and as a potential industry (Fulde was also invited to work with General Electrics (GE) even before finishing PhD in Maryland). However, solid-state physics researchers were severely lacking in Germany and in Europe. Naturally, given his abilities, he was in extremely high demand. During his Frankfurt period from 1965 to 1971, he served as the head of the theory group in the Institute Laue Langevin, Garching, Munich from 1967 to 1974, and was appointed as a director of the Department of Theoretical Physics at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1968. He also served as a consultant for one day per month to the Institutes for Solid-State Physics at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center. He fulfilled all these highly demanding and overlapping responsibilities with his characteristic intelligence and integrity. Finally, in 1972, he became a director at the Max-Plank Institute for Solid State Physics in Stuttgart, where he served until 1993. During his period of Stuttgart, he attracted young students from all regions of Germany, postdocs, and visitors from all over the world, and his group became a core center for theoretical research of superconductivity and correlated electron systems in Germany. During this period, he also provided opportunities to physicists in difficult situations, inviting many physicists from Eastern Europe and Russia.

After the reunification of Germany in 1990, he participated in the national project of rebuilding the science institutes in the former East Germany as a section member of the Max-Planck Society. Soon Prof. Fulde was selected as a founding director of the Max-Planck Institute for the Physics Complex Systems (MPI-PKS) in Dresden. Starting with temporary barrack offices from 1993 until the inauguration of the institute's new building in 1997, it was a monumental effort by him and his students and others like Hurbert Scherrer, Beate Paulus, Burkhard Schmidt, Steffen Mallwitz, Kurt Fisher, Ingo Allekotte, etc. to build the new Max-Planck Institute from the ground up. For example, in the initial period, every Monday he would take the first plane from Stuttgart at 6:30 a.m. and appear in his office in Dresden by 8:30 a.m. Prof. Fulde retired from his position as a director in 2007 after designating R. Moessner as his successor. Now MPI-PKS, with three directors, Jan-Michael Rost, Frank Jülicher, and Roderich Moessner, has become an internationally top-ranking institute in its field.

Immediately after his retirement, Prof. Fulde was invited to become president of the Asia–Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) and served from 2007 to 2013. He was deeply impressed by the history and the founding mission of APCTP, whereby “the Asia–Pacific physics community should cooperate among themselves to be a strong partner of the international physics community.” Before coming to Korea, he already had many friends and colleagues from China, Japan, Vietnam, India, and Korea, including Yu Lu, Fuchun Zhang, K. Ueda, H. Fukuyama, N. Nagaosa, Ngyuen Van Heu, G. Baskaran, and Heykyung Won, to name a few. During Prof. Fulde’s presidency, he strengthened the in-house research capabilities of APCTP in parallel with the international academic activities that focused on organizing conferences, workshops, and schools with its member countries/regions. He introduced the creation of Junior Research Groups with seed money from the Max Planck Society, matched by the Korean government. Under his leadership, APCTP became a truly international research center, attracting many distinguished scientists from around the world. He also strongly supported various programs of the Asia Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS) that share the same mission as APCTP.

Prof. Fulde also played a fundamental role in establishing the Institutes of Basic Science (IBS) in Korea. In 2010, the Korean government announced the establishment of 50 centers for fundamental sciences, equivalent to the Max Planck Society in Germany and RIEKEN in Japan. This was an immense national project and Prof. Fulde’s life-long experiences in science and administration were invaluable in constructing the framework of the IBS. He served as chair of the Selection and Evaluation Committee (SEC) and later as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Until the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic, he frequently visited Korea for IBS-related work and to APCTP as an honorary president.

The entire physics community in the Asia–Pacific region is greatly indebted to Prof. Peter Fulde left us completing his great journey of 88 years long on our planet. However, his legacy will continue and we will remember him as a distinguished physicist, an outstanding science administrator, and as an extraordinarily warm-hearted human being. May he rest in peace.

2 Universiti Malaya Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics Research (CAAR)- a regional hub for space science research in Malaysia by Zamri Zainal Abidin, Norhasliza Yusof, Nazhatulshima Ahmad and Muhammad Luqman Hakeem Bin Musa from IFM (Institut Fizik Malaysia)

*Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics Research, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Universiti Malaya (UM) has been leading many areas of innovative and outstanding research in various fields, from humanities to science and engineering in Malaysia. Among the disciplines in the sciences, astronomy and astrophysics attract significant numbers of students who stay to pursue postgraduate research in observational astronomy, theoretical astrophysics, cosmology, and space science. Faculty members often collaborate with international research institutions and participate in global astronomical projects to contribute to our understanding of the Universe. To further support the next generation of scientists through astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology, the Centre of Astronomy and Astrophysics Research (CAAR) was inaugurated on April 11, 2023. This research center combines three previously independent research fields: radio astronomy (led by Prof. Zamri Zainal Abidin), optical astronomy (Dr. Nazhatulshima Ahmad), and theoretical astronomy (Dr. Norhasliza Yusof). By combining these fields under a single research center dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics research, CAAR, led by its first director, Zamri Zainal Abidin, aims to strengthen UM’s position as a leader in astronomical research and further our understanding of the Universe.

The Radio Cosmology Research Laboratory (RCL), founded by Prof. Zamri Zainal Abidin and Prof. Zainol Abidin Ibrahim, has shaped a new research community centered around the first radio astronomical facility in Malaysia. RCL offers various research topics which cover radio instrumentation, solar astronomy, star formation, galaxies, and black holes. The lab has produced 10 PhD and 16 MSc students since its establishment, with 10 PhD and 10 MSc students currently registered. The research topics covered by the lab include dark matter, galactic rotation curves, galaxy cluster dynamics, active galactic nuclei, black holes, the cosmic web, solar radio bursts, fast radio bursts, and radio astronomy instrumentation [1,2,3,4,5]. One of RCL’s main achievements is the construction of the first radio telescope observatory in Malaysia, named the UPSI-UM Radio Astronomical Observatory, which was constructed at the grounds of the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). The L-band radio dish, seven meters in diameter, was designed to kickstart Malaysian radio astronomers’ efforts to use very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), together with their East Asian collaborators. RCL has also been conducting extensive radio frequency interference surveys to determine suitable sites for radio observatories in Malaysia. Publications arising from these surveys have led to the determination of a site for the construction of a larger radio astronomy observatory at Jelebu in Negeri Sembilan, which is planned in collaboration with the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. Furthermore, RCL is working together with the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA), to engage with international space agencies, such as East Asian Observatories (EAO). The lab, in conjunction with MYSA, has been working to promote Malaysia’s membership in EAO, where Malaysia has been given observer status since 2019. RCL has hosted many international conferences in radio astronomy, for example, the Malaysia VLBI Workshop, last held in 2022 (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

After the successful first Malaysian VLBI Workshop held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2019, a second meeting on the advancement of VLBI in Malaysia was held in 2022

The Optical Astronomy Research Laboratory (OpARL) was established in October 1998 by Prof. Mohd Zambri Zainuddin and has a rich history of growth and development. Initially staffed by a senior lab assistant and a small group of final-year project students, the laboratory began with basic equipment including three manual telescopes and a 14″ Celestron telescope, generously donated by a Japanese association. In 2006, a dedicated observatory complex was constructed near the Akademi Pengajian Melayu (Academy of Malay Studies), comprising a stellar observatory (An-Najm Observatory) and a solar observatory (As-Syam Observatory). These observatories house a 14″ Celestron telescope and two 6″ Takahashi telescopes, each mounted on robotic Paramount ME mounts for precision tracking and observation. OpARL focuses on studying variable stars and planetary systems, including solar systems, in collaboration with the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and governmental agencies like MYSA, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), governmental observatories such as Telok Kemang Observatory, and the Department of Survey and Mapping (JUPEM). OpARL’s research includes a range of studies that covers the spectroscopic and photometric study of variable stars such as contact binaries and cataclysmic variables, the monitoring of asteroids and near-earth asteroids, and the study of sunspots and solar flares. With JAKIM and JUPEM, this lab has been conducting observations of our crescent Moon every month since the year 2000 [6].

Theoretical astrophysics is a branch of astronomy that deals with the mathematical and physical principles that govern the behavior of celestial objects and systems. It involves the development and application of mathematical models to explain and predict astronomical phenomena. At UM, this group’s research interests span from the smallest particles to the largest structures in the Universe, including nuclear astrophysics, stellar evolution, and the evolution of massive stars.

The theoretical astronomy group was formed by Prof. Hasan Abu Kassim and Assoc. Prof. Ithnin Abdul Jalil and currently is led by Dr. Norhasliza Yusof, who specializes in stellar astrophysics, particularly in the study of the evolution of very massive stars [7]. The theoretical physics group actively collaborates with many international universities and institutes, including Keele University, UK; Geneva Observatory, Switzerland; and Sheffield University, UK in massive stars and has close collaborations within the Southeast Asia region including Universitas Indonesia in neutrino physics and Suranaee Institute of Technology in dilepton interaction in astrophysics. With local institutions, the group is actively working with colleagues from Xiamen University Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in the field of general relativity, in particular, in the studies of astrophysical compact objects, and with the Islamic International University in nuclear astrophysics. This group produced a total of 20 postgraduates in the fields of theoretical physics, nuclear astrophysics, and stellar astrophysics, with research topics including nuclear reaction rates in stellar models, the nuclear structure of heavy ions, and neutrino production from stars and stellar population.

The formation of the Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics Research (CAAR) at UM represents a significant milestone in the advancement of astronomical research in Malaysia. By combining the efforts of three existing disciplines in radio, optical, and theoretical astronomy, CAAR provides a comprehensive and integrated approach to expanding astronomy and astrophysics research not just locally, but also internationally, including the Asia Pacific region and beyond. CAAR’s establishment as a central hub for astronomical research in Malaysia represents a substantial step forward in the field. CAAR hopes to inspire multiple generations of astronomers, such as the community gathered at the Global Malaysian Astronomy Convention (GMAC), which was held in 2023 (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

The Global Malaysian Astronomers Convention 2023 brought together local and global Malaysian astronomical communities for the first time to build networks, develop astronomy education, increase visibility, and connect with aspiring astronomers