2025-2027 Heising-Simons Junior Fellow
Faculty Advisor: Professor Feng Wang
Yunpeng Xia is an experimental physicist. Prior to joining Kavli institute, he earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Irvine. His research has primarily focused on single-molecule nanoscale physics, with particular attention to light-induced dynamics and few-body spin interactions.
During his doctoral research, Yunpeng developed a functionalized scanning probe to investigate the electrical and magnetic interfacial environments at the nanoscale. Particularly, he discovered a novel two-level system created by single hydrogen molecules within a nano-cavity. When excited by ultrashort THz pulses, the resulting Ramsey fringes are highly sensitive to local electric fields, with sub-angstrom spatial precision, making them a promising candidate for use as an electrometer.
As a Kavli ENSI fellow, Yunpeng’s research aims to extend scanning probe techniques by integrating atomic-scale imaging with ultrafast time resolution. This approach seeks to uncover the fundamental processes governing a wide range of composite quantum materials. The study of fragile, strong-correlated states in two-dimensional heterostructures demands low-perturbation methods, as demonstrated by results from the Wang and Crommie groups. Yunpeng is particularly interested in developing new characterization methods to observe the local motion and dynamics of correlated electrons, as well as transitions between different states. Collaborating closely with the Wang group, Yunpeng plans to develop experimental technologies based on optical and piezoelectric probes. These innovations will offer new pathways for understanding quantum systems at both spatial and temporal scales.