In a seminal paper of 1967, Professor Chen Ning Yang found the full solution of the one-dimensional Fermi gas with a repulsive delta function interaction by using the Bethe ansatz and group theory. This work with a brilliant discovery of the Yang–Baxter equation has been inspiring new developments in mathematical physics, statistical physics, and many-body physics. Based on experimental developments in simulating many-body physics of one-dimensional systems of ultracold atoms, during a period from 2009 to 2011, Prof. Yang published seven papers on the exact properties of the ground state of bosonic and fermionic atoms with the repulsive delta function interaction and a confined potential to one dimension. Here I would like to share my experience in doing research work fortunately under the direct supervision of Prof. Yang in that period.
This review aimed to recount the scientific career and contributions of Prof. Wang Yiqiu, as well as his contribution to the research on quantum precision measurement and cold atom physics, as a tribute to his upcoming 90th birthday. Having contributed greatly to fields of research such as nuclear magnetic resonance, microwave atomic clocks, laser cooling of atoms, Bose–Einstein condensate, optical tweezers, and optical atomic clocks, the venerable Prof. Wang is a prominent figure in these research fields in China and has played a pivotal role in China’s development of these subjects.