In 2023, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change marked the first global consensus under the Paris Agreement, calling for nations to transition away from fossil fuels and ramp up renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and biomass in a more equitable, orderly, and rational manner. In this context, this special topic is dedicated to examining the role of “landscape” as an essential approach for systemic design and innovation. It delves into how multi-scale energy landscapes can activate the potential of sites in the global resource transition, forge robust connections between energy infrastructure and local planning systems, maximize the spatial benefits and positive effects of renewable energy, and mitigate impacts of energy infrastructure on both the natural world and ecological systems.
During the 1990s, Western European countries, notably Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, pioneered the integration of energy transition into societal development, emphasizing the transformation of local and regional landscapes through an energy transition perspective. Energy landscapes inherently reflect varied types of renewable resources and their complex, ongoing development process across physical, social, ecological, and economic dimensions. Recently, energy landscapes have gained significant attention within the interdisciplinary filed, with research and practices covering topics of post-industrial city and coal-mining region regeneration, ecological restoration of industrial wastelands, and renewable energy infrastructure construction. Additionally, discussions around the recognition and aesthetic value of energy landscapes, and initiatives for reducing carbon footprints are growing in importance. China’s energy landscape transformation also faces significant challenges, including the impact of renewable energy developments on ecosystems, biodiversity, landscape quality, and issues of social fairness and public acceptance. Addressing these challenges necessitates cross-national, interdisciplinary research and collaboration among scholars on various topics related to energy landscape policies, laws, and regulations, technological and industrial advancements, aiming to refine the theoretical and practical foundations of energy landscape transformation in urban-rural spatial development and landscape planning and design.

2025, Volume 13 Issue 2

2025, Volume 13 Issue 1

2024, Volume 12 Issue 6

2024, Volume 12 Issue 4

2024, Volume 12 Issue 2

Non-Hermitian physics has emerged as a transformative field, challenging traditional paradigms in quantum mechanics and condensed matter physics. Unlike Hermitian systems constrained by real eigenvalues and unitary dynamics, non-Hermitian systems exhibit complex eigenvalues, exceptional points, PT-symmetry breaking, and novel topological phases. These phenomena enable unprecedented control over wave dynamics and spectral properties, with applications spanning photonics, metamaterials, quantum optics, and energy transfer.

Recent breakthroughs highlight the interplay of gain, loss, and interference in tailoring non-Hermitian systems. PT-symmetric systems, for instance, achieve real spectra despite non-Hermiticity through balanced gain-loss engineering. Exceptional points—degeneracies of eigenvalues and eigenvectors—offer frameworks for enhanced sensing, topological transitions, and non-unitary dynamics.

This special topic seeks cutting-edge contributions on non-Hermitian topological insulators, skin effects, quantum sensing, and nonlinear-non-Hermitian interactions, alongside advances in photonic/atomic systems where synthetic gain-loss mechanisms unlock exotic functionalities.

We invite reviews (≥15 pages), perspectives, and original research to map the field’s theoretical and experimental frontiers. Publication fees are waived, and all articles will be open access.

Sincerely,
Peng Xue (Beijing Computational Science Research Center ), E-mail: bgnep.eux@gmail.com
Lan Yang (Washington University) , E-mail: yang@seas.wustl.edu
Wu-Ming Liu (Institute of Physics CAS), E-mail: wmliu@iphy.ac.cn

2025, Volume 12 Issue 2