FigureAsia 35 Under 35 · Science
Tiantian Zhang
Age 34 · Topological and chiral phonons · China
First author of a 2025 framework linking the topology and chirality of Weyl phonons.
- Approximate age at the edition eligibility date
- 34
- Field
- Condensed-matter physics
- Country or region
- China
- FigureAsia U35 Assessment
- 86.0 / 100
Profile
Career and documented record
Phonons—collective vibrations of a crystal lattice—can carry topology and handedness, but the two ideas have often been treated in separate languages. In 2025, Tiantian Zhang first-authored a Nature Communications framework unifying topology and chirality for Weyl phonons.
She also contributed to experimental work in Physical Review Letters on chirality induced by magnetic order. Together, the papers connect symmetry, theory and observable signatures, strengthening the case that chiral phonons can be identified and controlled rather than used only as an analogy.
The advance is foundational condensed-matter science. Its possible relevance to information and thermal transport remains a research horizon, not a device claim.
FigureAsia selection
Why Tiantian Zhang is on the list
Zhang is selected for a coherent 2025 record that moves from a unifying theoretical framework toward experimental identification. The strength lies in making a complicated class of excitations more systematic and testable.
Verified work
The 2025–26 record
Weyl-phonon framework
First-authored a unified topological account of chiral Weyl phonons.
Magnetic chirality evidence
Contributed to a PRL study of chiral phonons induced by magnetic order.
Theory-to-observation bridge
Connected symmetry classification with experimentally accessible signatures.
Field context
The work in its field
Topology classifies global structure, while chirality describes handedness. A unified account helps physicists distinguish which phonon signatures are protected, measurable and manipulable.
FigureAsia U35 Assessment
Assessment breakdown
86.0out of 100
Substantive 2025–2026 contribution
16.1 / 20
First-authored a unified topological account of chiral Weyl phonons.
Verified scientific impact
12.7 / 15
The paired theory and experiment papers give the work influence across a rapidly developing area of condensed matter.
Originality and distinction
8.6 / 10
The distinction lies in a unified framework linking phonon topology, chirality and measurable symmetry signatures.
Field influence
8.6 / 10
Within condensed-matter physics, the work matters because it shifts a live question in topological and chiral phonons rather than merely attracting attention.
Individual agency
8.9 / 10
Zhang is first author of the central theoretical paper and a named contributor to the experimental collaboration.
Durability and trajectory
4.5 / 5
As Associate Researcher at Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang has a platform to carry the work into its next stage.
Asian significance and global relevance
4.6 / 5
Chinese theoretical physicist working at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.
Evidential validity and reproducibility
6.9 / 8
Peer-reviewed formalism and an independent experimental system reinforce one another without implying a finished application.
Advance in scientific knowledge
6.2 / 7
The work clarifies how handed lattice excitations emerge and can be classified in topological materials.
Translational or methodological utility
4.4 / 5
The framework gives experimental groups sharper targets for identifying and manipulating chiral phonons.
Responsible research stewardship
4.5 / 5
Applications are stated as possibilities and the theory and experimental contributions remain separately attributed.