CMP Journal 2025-05-29
Statistics
Nature: 1
Nature Materials: 2
Nature Physics: 1
Physical Review Letters: 27
Physical Review X: 2
arXiv: 61
Nature
Mouse liver assembloids model periportal architecture and biliary fibrosis
Original Paper | Mechanisms of disease | 2025-05-28 20:00 EDT
Anna M. Dowbaj, Aleksandra Sljukic, Armin Niksic, Cedric Landerer, Julien Delpierre, Haochen Yang, Aparajita Lahree, Ariane C. Kühn, David Beers, Helen M. Byrne, Sarah Seifert, Heather A. Harrington, Marino Zerial, Meritxell Huch
Modelling liver disease requires in vitro systems that replicate disease progression1,2. Current tissue-derived organoids fail to reproduce the complex cellular composition and tissue architecture observed in vivo3. Here, we describe a multicellular organoid system composed of adult hepatocytes, cholangiocytes and mesenchymal cells that recapitulates the architecture of the liver periportal region and, when manipulated, models aspects of cholestatic injury and biliary fibrosis. We first generate reproducible hepatocyte organoids with functional bile canaliculi network that retain morphological features of in vivo tissue. By combining these with cholangiocytes and portal fibroblasts, we generate assembloids that mimic the cellular interactions of the periportal region. Assembloids are functional, consistently draining bile from bile canaliculi into the bile duct. Strikingly, manipulating the relative number of portal mesenchymal cells is sufficient to induce a fibrotic-like state, independently of an immune compartment. By generating chimeric assembloids of mutant and wild-type cells, or after gene knockdown, we show proof-of-concept that our system is amenable to investigating gene function and cell-autonomous mechanisms. Taken together, we demonstrate that liver assembloids represent a suitable in vitro system to study bile canaliculi formation, bile drainage, and how different cell types contribute to cholestatic disease and biliary fibrosis, in an all-in-one model.
Mechanisms of disease, Stem cells
Nature Materials
Poly(carboxybetaine) lipids enhance mRNA therapeutics efficacy and reduce their immunogenicity
Original Paper | Drug delivery | 2025-05-28 20:00 EDT
Sijin Luozhong, Pingchuan Liu, Ruoxin Li, Zhefan Yuan, Erica Debley, Yu Chen, Yuping Hu, Zeyu Cao, Meng Cui, Kay McIlhenny, Caleb McCurdy, Dani Bhashyam, Stephan Wilkens, Prince Zhang, Austin Kwan, Mark Grossman, Rachel Lai, Yufei Ma, Steven Lipkin, Shaoyi Jiang
Messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics are a promising strategy to combat diverse diseases. Traditional lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations for mRNA delivery contain poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG), a polymer widely used in drug delivery carriers but that recently has been associated with efficacy and immunogenicity concerns. Here we report poly(carboxybetaine) (PCB) lipids as surrogates for PEG-lipids used in mRNA formulations. In vitro studies with immortalized and primary cells show that PCB-containing LNPs have higher mRNA transfection efficiency than PEG-containing LNPs across different formulations. Moreover, primary cell engineering and in vivo immunization studies in mice further demonstrate greater therapeutic efficacy of PCB-containing LNPs over their PEG counterparts. Mechanistic assays show that this improvement is attributed to enhanced endosomal escape of PCB-containing LNPs. These formulations exhibit a safe immunotoxicity profile and effectively mitigate the accelerated blood clearance effect that has been observed for PEG-containing LNPs, enabling repeated administrations without efficacy loss. Overall, these findings highlight PCB-containing LNPs as a potent and safe mRNA delivery platform for clinical applications.
Drug delivery, Gene delivery
Superconductivity and normal-state transport in compressively strained La2PrNi2O7 thin films
Original Paper | Superconducting properties and materials | 2025-05-28 20:00 EDT
Yidi Liu, Eun Kyo Ko, Yaoju Tarn, Lopa Bhatt, Jiarui Li, Vivek Thampy, Berit H. Goodge, David A. Muller, Srinivas Raghu, Yijun Yu, Harold Y. Hwang
The discovery of superconductivity under high pressure in Ruddlesden-Popper phases of bulk nickelates has sparked great interest in stabilizing ambient-pressure superconductivity in the thin-film form using epitaxial strain. Recently, signs of superconductivity have been observed in compressively strained bilayer nickelate thin films with an onset temperature exceeding 40 K, although with broad, two-step-like transitions. Here we report the intrinsic superconductivity and normal-state transport properties in compressively strained La2PrNi2O7 thin films, achieved through a combination of isovalent Pr substitution, growth optimization and precision ozone annealing. The superconducting onset occurs above 48 K, with zero resistance reached above 30 K, and the critical current density at 1.4 K is 100-fold larger than previous reports. The normal-state resistivity exhibits quadratic temperature dependence indicative of Fermi liquid behaviour, and other phenomenological similarities to transport in overdoped cuprates suggest parallels in their emergent properties.
Superconducting properties and materials, Surfaces, interfaces and thin films
Nature Physics
A resonant valence bond spin liquid in the dilute limit of doped frustrated Mott insulators
Original Paper | Electronic properties and materials | 2025-05-28 20:00 EDT
Cecilie Glittum, Antonio Štrkalj, Dharmalingam Prabhakaran, Paul A. Goddard, Cristian D. Batista, Claudio Castelnovo
Ideas about resonant valence bond liquids and spin-charge separation have led to key concepts in physics such as quantum spin liquids, emergent gauge symmetries, topological order and fractionalization. Despite extensive efforts to demonstrate the existence of a resonant valence bond phase in the Hubbard model that originally motivated the concept, a definitive realization has yet to be achieved. Here we present a solution to this long-standing problem by uncovering a resonant valence bond phase exhibiting spin-charge separation in realistic Hamiltonians. We show analytically that this ground state emerges in the dilute-doping limit of a half-filled Mott insulator on corner-sharing tetrahedral lattices with frustrated hopping, in the absence of exchange interactions. We confirm numerically that the results extend to finite exchange interactions, finite-sized systems and finite dopant density. Although much attention has been devoted to the emergence of unconventional states from geometrically frustrated interactions, our work demonstrates that kinetic energy frustration in doped Mott insulators may be essential for stabilizing robust, topologically ordered states in real materials.
Electronic properties and materials, Theoretical physics, Topological defects
Physical Review Letters
Experimental Realization of Genuine Three-Copy Collective Measurements for Optimal Information Extraction
Research article | Quantum measurements | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Kai Zhou, Changhao Yi, Wen-Zhe Yan, Zhibo Hou, Huangjun Zhu, Guo-Yong Xiang, Chuan-Feng Li, and Guang-Can Guo
Nonclassical phenomena tied to entangled states are the focus of foundational studies and powerful resources in many applications. By contrast, the counterparts on quantum measurements are still poorly understood. Notably, genuine multipartite nonclassicality is barely discussed, let alone its experimental realization. Here we experimentally demonstrate the power of genuine tripartite nonclassicality in quantum measurements based on a simple estimation problem. To this end we realize an optimal genuine three-copy collective measurement via a nine-step two-dimensional photonic quantum walk with 30 elaborately designed coin operators. Then we realize an optimal estimation protocol and achieve an unprecedented high estimation fidelity, which can beat all strategies based on restricted collective measurements by more than 11 standard deviations. These results clearly demonstrate that genuine collective measurements can extract more information than local measurements and restricted collective measurements. Our Letter opens the door for exploring genuine multipartite nonclassical measurements and their power in quantum information processing.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 210201 (2025)
Quantum measurements, Quantum metrology, Quantum optics, Quantum parameter estimation
Experimental Certification of High-Dimensional Entanglement with Randomized Measurements
Research article | Entanglement detection | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Ohad Lib, Shuheng Liu, Ronen Shekel, Qiongyi He, Marcus Huber, Yaron Bromberg, and Giuseppe Vitagliano
High-dimensional entangled states offer higher information capacity and stronger resilience to noise compared with two-dimensional systems. However, the large number of modes and sensitivity to random rotations complicate experimental entanglement certification. Here, we experimentally certify three-dimensional entanglement in a five-dimensional two-photon state using 800 Haar-random measurements implemented via a ten-plane programmable light converter. We further demonstrate the robustness of this approach against random rotations, certifying high-dimensional entanglement despite arbitrary phase randomization of the optical modes. This method, which requires no common reference frame between parties, opens the door for high-dimensional entanglement distribution through long-range random links.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 210202 (2025)
Entanglement detection, Quantum entanglement
Entanglement Oscillations from Many-Body Quantum Scars
Research article | Eigenstate thermalization | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Nicholas O’Dea and Adithya Sriram
Quantum scars are nonthermal eigenstates that prevent thermalization of initial states with weight on the scars. When the scar states are equally spaced in energy, superpositions of scars show oscillating local observables that can be detected in experiments. However, we note that scarred models in the literature show fundamentally different scar entanglement dynamics: some show entanglement oscillations while others are completely frozen. We explain this freezing through a no-go theorem which we apply to more than a dozen scarred models in the literature. We also discuss a method for evading the no-go theorem by deforming the scarred models with frozen scar entanglement dynamics.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 210402 (2025)
Eigenstate thermalization, Entropy, Quantum scars, Spin lattice models
Quantum Random Access Memory with Transmon-Controlled Phonon Routing
Research article | Phonons | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Zhaoyou Wang, Hong Qiao, Andrew N. Cleland, and Liang Jiang
Quantum random access memory (QRAM) promises simultaneous data queries at multiple memory locations, with data retrieved in coherent superpositions, essential for achieving quantum speedup in many quantum algorithms. We introduce a transmon-controlled phonon router and propose a QRAM implementation by connecting these routers in a treelike architecture. The router controls the motion of itinerant surface acoustic wave phonons based on the state of the control transmon, implementing the core functionality of conditional routing for QRAM. Our QRAM design is compact, supports fast routing operations, and avoids frequency crowding. Additionally, we propose a hybrid dual-rail encoding method to detect dominant loss errors without additional hardware, a versatile approach applicable to other QRAM platforms. Our estimates indicate that the proposed QRAM platform can achieve high heralding rates using current device parameters, with heralding fidelity primarily limited by transmon dephasing.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 210601 (2025)
Phonons, Quantum information architectures & platforms, Quantum information with hybrid systems, Quantum memories, Superconducting qubits
How Much Entanglement Is Needed for Quantum Error Correction?
Quantum entanglement | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Sergey Bravyi, Dongjin Lee, Zhi Li, and Beni Yoshida
It is commonly believed that logical states of quantum error-correcting codes have to be highly entangled such that codes capable of correcting more errors require more entanglement to encode a qubit. Here, we show that the validity of this belief depends on the specific code and the choice of entanglement measure. To this end, we characterize a tradeoff between the code distance $d$ quantifying the number of correctable errors, and the geometric entanglement measure of logical states quantifying their maximal overlap with product states or more general ‘’topologically trivial’’ states. The maximum overlap is shown to be exponentially small in $d$ for three families of codes: (1) low-density parity check codes with commuting check operators, (2) stabilizer codes, and (3) codes with a constant encoding rate. Equivalently, the geometric entanglement of any logical state of these codes grows at least linearly with $d$. On the opposite side, we also show that this distance-entanglement tradeoff does not hold in general. For any constant $d$ and $k$ (number of logical qubits), we show there exists a family of codes such that the geometric entanglement of some logical states approaches zero in the limit of large code length.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 210602 (2025)
Quantum entanglement, Quantum error correction
Quantum Entanglement Enables Single-Shot Trajectory Sensing for Weakly Interacting Particles
Research article | Quantum communication, protocols & technology | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Zachary E. Chin, David R. Leibrandt, and Isaac L. Chuang
Sensors for mapping the trajectory of an incoming particle find important utility in experimental high energy physics and searches for dark matter. For a quantum sensing protocol that uses projective measurements on a multiqubit sensor array to infer the trajectory of an incident particle, we establish that entanglement can dramatically reduce the particle-qubit interaction strength $\theta $ required for perfect trajectory discrimination. Within an interval of $\theta $ above this reduced threshold, any unentangled sensor requires $\mathrm{\Theta }[\mathrm{log}(1/\epsilon )]$ repetitions of the protocol to estimate a previously unknown particle trajectory with $\epsilon $ error probability, whereas an entangled sensor can succeed with zero error in a single shot. Furthermore, entanglement can enhance trajectory sensing in realistic scenarios where $\theta $ varies continuously over the sensor qubits, exemplified by a Gaussian-profile laser pulse propagating through an array of atoms.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 210802 (2025)
Quantum communication, protocols & technology, Quantum entanglement, Quantum error correction, Quantum metrology, Quantum sensing, Particle detectors
Pole Inflation from Broken Noncompact Isometry in Weyl Gravity
Research article | Alternative gravity theories | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Hyun Min Lee
We propose the microscopic origin of the pole inflation from the scalar fields of broken noncompact isometry in Weyl gravity. We show that the $SO(1,N)$ isometry in the field space in combination with the Weyl symmetry relates the form of the nonminimal couplings to the one of the potential in the Jordan frame. In the presence of an explicit breaking of the $SO(1,N)$ symmetry in the coefficient of the potential, we realize the pole inflation near the pole of the inflaton kinetic term. Applying our results to the Higgs or Peccei-Quinn (PQ) inflation models, we find that there is one parameter family of the solutions for the pole inflation, depending on the overall coefficient of the Weyl covariant derivatives for scalar fields. The same coefficient not only makes the predictions of the pole inflation varying, being compatible with the Planck data, but also determines the mass of the Weyl gauge field. We also show that the isocurvature perturbations of the axion can be suppressed sufficiently during the PQ pole inflation, and the massive Weyl gauge field produced during reheating serves as a dark matter candidate.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 211001 (2025)
Alternative gravity theories, Cosmology, Evolution of the Universe, Inflation, Particle astrophysics
Dynamical Lensing Tomography of Black Hole Ringdowns
Research article | Classical black holes | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Zhen Zhong, Vitor Cardoso, and Yifan Chen
Strong gravitational lensing occurs when photons pass through the vicinity of a black hole. We investigate this phenomenon in the context of a gravitational-wave event, specifically when a black hole is settling into its final state. The deflection angle of photons mimics the ringdown pattern of the gravitational wave at intermediate times. At late times it has an inverse cubic dependence on observation time. The deviation angle increases exponentially as photons approach the photon ring orbit, reflecting its unstable nature. Our findings are directly applicable to imaging scenarios involving stars against the background of compact binaries or circumbinary accretion disks, particularly during the merger of two black holes.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 211402 (2025)
Classical black holes, Electromagnetic radiation astronomy, Gravitation, Gravitational lenses, Gravitational waves, Radio, microwave, & sub-mm astronomy, Astronomical black holes
Environmental Effects in Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals: Perturbations to the Environment in Kerr Spacetimes
Research article | Classical black holes | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Conor Dyson, Thomas F. M. Spieksma, Richard Brito, Maarten van de Meent, and Sam Dolan
Future gravitational wave observatories open a unique avenue to study the environments surrounding black holes. Intermediate or extreme mass ratio inspirals will spend thousands to millions of cycles in the sensitivity range of detectors, allowing subtle environmental effects to accumulate in the gravitational waveform. Working in Lorenz gauge and considering equatorial circular orbits, we present the first self-consistent, fully relativistic calculation of a perturbation to a black hole environment due to an inspiraling secondary in the Kerr geometry. As an example case, we consider the environment to be that of a superradiantly grown scalar cloud, though our framework is generalizable to other scenarios. We demonstrate that the scalar field develops a rich wake structure induced by the secondary and compute scalar fluxes emitted to infinity and through the horizon. Relative differences in the fluxes compared to Schwarzschild are tens of percent on large intervals of parameter space, underscoring the importance of modeling in Kerr.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 211403 (2025)
Classical black holes, Classical solutions in field theory, Extensions of scalar sector, General relativity, Gravitational waves, Phenomenology
Batalin-Vilkovisky Formulation of $\mathcal{N}=1$ Supergravity in Ten Dimensions
String dualities | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Julian Kupka, Charles Strickland-Constable, and Fridrich Valach
We present a full Batalin-Vilkovisky action in the component field formalism for $\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity in ten dimensions coupled to Yang-Mills multiplets.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 211602 (2025)
String dualities, Strings & branes, Supergravity
Experimental Test of the Ratio Method for Nuclear-Reaction Analysis
Research article | Nuclear structure & decays | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
S. Ota, P. Capel, G. Christian, V. Durant, K. Hagel, E. Harris, R. C. Johnson, Z. Luo, F. M. Nunes, M. Roosa, A. Saastamoinen, and D. P. Scriven
Nuclear halos are exotic quantal structures observed far from stability. They are mostly studied through reactions. The ratio of angular cross sections for breakup and scattering is predicted to be independent of the reaction process and to be very sensitive to the halo structure. We test this new observable experimentally for the first time on the collision of $^{11}\mathrm{Be}$ on C at $22.8\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}/\mathrm{nucleon}$ and using existing data on Pb at $19.1\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}/\mathrm{nucleon}$. The theoretical predictions are verified, which offers the possibility of developing a new spectroscopic tool to study nuclear structure far from stability.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 212501 (2025)
Nuclear structure & decays
Deterministic Quantum State Generators and Stabilizers from Nonlinear Photonic Filter Cavities
Research article | Quantum optics | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Sean Chen, Nicholas Rivera, Jamison Sloan, and Marin Soljačić
Quantum states of light, particularly at optical frequencies, are considered necessary to realize a host of important quantum technologies and applications, spanning Heisenberg-limited metrology, continuous-variable quantum computing, and quantum communications. Nevertheless, a wide variety of important quantum light states are currently challenging to deterministically generate at optical frequencies. In part, this is due to a relatively small number of schemes that prepare target quantum states given nonlinear interactions. Here, we present an especially simple concept for deterministically generating and stabilizing important quantum states of light, using only third-order optical nonlinearities and engineered dissipation. We show how, by considering either a nonlinear cavity with frequency-dependent outcoupling or a chain of nonlinear waveguides, one can induce high loss for all but some desired light intensities. Specifically, we find that the stabilized intensities can correspond to an evenly spaced pattern of stablilized photon numbers. This is shown to produce important quantum states with coherent superpositions between various photon numbers. As examples of this phenomenon, we show cavities which can stabilize squeezed states, as well as produce ‘’photon-number-comb’’ states. Moreover, in these types of filter cavities, Glauber coherent states will deterministically evolve into Schrodinger cat states of a desired order. We discuss potential realizations in quantum nonlinear optics. More broadly, we expect that combining the techniques introduced here with additional ‘’phase-sensitive’’ nonlinearities (such as second-order nonlinearity) should enable passive stabilization and generation of a wider variety of states than shown here.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 213601 (2025)
Quantum optics, Quantum state engineering, Third order nonlinear optical processes
Leveraging Collective Effects for Thermometry in Waveguide Quantum Electrodynamics
Research article | Quantum engineering | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Aleksei Sharafiev, Mathieu Juan, Marco Cattaneo, and Gerhard Kirchmair
We report a proof-of-principle experiment for a new method of temperature measurements in waveguide quantum electrodynamics experiments, allowing one to measure separately the temperature of global and local baths. The method takes advantage of collective states of two transmons located in the center of a waveguide. The Hilbert space of such a system forms two separate subspaces (bright and dark) that are coupled differently to external noise sources. Measuring transmission through the waveguide allows one to extract separately the temperatures of the baths responsible for global and local excitations in the system. Such a system would allow for building a new type of primary temperature sensor capable of addressing both local and global baths.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 213602 (2025)
Quantum engineering, Quantum measurements, Quantum metrology, Quantum thermodynamics, Thermodynamics, Superconducting devices, Superconducting qubits, Coherent control, Microwave techniques
Deterministic Generation of Photonic Entangled States Using Decoherence-Free Subspaces
Research article | Coherent control | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Oriol Rubies-Bigorda, Stuart J. Masson, Susanne F. Yelin, and Ana Asenjo-Garcia
We propose the use of collective states of matter as a resource for the deterministic generation of quantum states of light, which are fundamental for quantum information technologies. Our minimal model consists of three emitters coupled to a half-waveguide, i.e., a one-dimensional waveguide terminated by a mirror. Photon-mediated interactions between the emitters result in the emergence of bright and dark states. The dark states form a decoherence-free subspace, protected from dissipation. Local driving of the emitters and control of their resonance frequencies allows us to perform arbitrary quantum gates within the decoherence-free subspace. Coupling to bright states facilitates photon emission, thereby enabling the realization of quantum gates between light and matter. We demonstrate that sequential application of these gates leads to the generation of photonic entangled states, such as Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger and one- and two-dimensional cluster states.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 213603 (2025)
Coherent control, Collective effects in atomic physics, Collective effects in quantum optics, Light-matter interaction, Long-range interactions, Quantum description of light-matter interaction, Quantum optics, Quantum states of light, Spontaneous emission, Atoms, Waveguides, Rotating wave approximation, Two-level models
Local vs Nonlocal Dynamics in Cavity-Coupled Rydberg Atom Arrays
Research article | Cavity quantum electrodynamics | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Zeno Bacciconi, Hernan B. Xavier, Matteo Marinelli, Devendra Singh Bhakuni, and Marcello Dalmonte
Locality is a transversal principle that governs quantum dynamics of many-body systems. However, for cavity-embedded systems, such a fundamental notion is hindered by the presence of nonlocal cavity modes, leaving space for new possible dynamical behavior. Here, we investigate the real-time dynamics of low-energy excitations in one-dimensional Rydberg atom arrays coupled to a global cavity mode. We derive an effective description in terms of a Tavis-Cummings–Ising model, whose phase diagram features ordered and disordered phases. The nonlocal nature of the cavity mode drastically affects the emergent meson and string dynamics. Mesons hybridize coherently with the cavity photons, leading to composite meson-polariton excitations. Strings, differently from local interacting theories, acquire a finite kinetic energy thanks to nonlocal cavity-mediated interactions between the underlying domain walls. We then conclude by presenting a new concrete experimental blueprint for a cavity QED Rydberg atom array simulator where the physics outlined in this Letter can be realized.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 213604 (2025)
Cavity quantum electrodynamics, Quantum many-body systems, Rydberg atoms & molecules, Exact diagonalization, Matrix product states
Tunable Coherence Laser Interferometry: Demonstrating 40 dB of Stray Light Suppression and Compatibility with Resonant Optical Cavities
Research article | Gravitational wave detection | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Daniel Voigt, Leonie Eggers, Katharina-Sophie Isleif, Sina M. Koehlenbeck, Melanie Ast, and Oliver Gerberding
A major limitation of laser interferometers using continuous wave lasers are parasitic light fields, such as ghost beams, scattered or stray light, that can cause nonlinear noise. This is especially relevant for laser interferometric ground-based gravitational wave detectors. Increasing their sensitivity, particularly at frequencies below 10 Hz, is threatened by the influence of parasitic photons. These can up-convert low-frequency disturbances into phase and amplitude noise inside the relevant measurement band. By artificially tuning the coherence of the lasers, using pseudo-random-noise (PRN) phase modulations, this influence of parasitic fields can be suppressed. As it relies on these fields traveling different paths, it does not sacrifice the coherence for the intentional interference. We demonstrate the feasibility of this technique experimentally, achieving noise suppression levels of 40 dB in a Michelson interferometer with an artificial coherence length below 30 cm. We probe how the suppression depends on the delay mismatch and length of the PRN sequence. We also prove that optical resonators can be operated in the presence of PRN modulation by measuring the behavior of a linear cavity with and without such a modulation. By matching the resonators round-trip length and the PRN sequence repetition length, the classic response is recovered.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 213802 (2025)
Gravitational wave detection, Laser applications, Optical coherence, Optical interferometry, Photonics
Polarization Symmetry Breaking of GHz Dissipative Solitons
Research article | Laser dynamics | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Yang Yang, Xuewen Chen, Wei Lin, Xu Hu, Haijiao Xu, Yuncong Ma, Zhaoheng Liang, Lin Ling, Zhijin Xiong, Yuankai Guo, Tao Liu, Xiaoming Wei, and Zhongmin Yang
Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) is a significant topic in particle physics, condensed matter physics, fluid dynamics, etc. In nonlinear optics, polarization is a crucial degree of freedom that enables novel SSB dynamics in coherently pumped Kerr platforms, yet to be explored in laser systems with self-organized localized structure—dissipative soliton. In this study, a special kind of SSB—polarization symmetry breaking (PSB) of GHz dissipative solitons is demonstrated in a mini fiber laser. First, we establish a bidirectional model of the Fabry-P'erot (FP) mini fiber laser with orthogonally polarized counterpropagating light fields. This bidirectional model theoretically predicts the onset of PSB by merely increasing the soliton energy, which manifests as a Hopf bifurcation. Then, experimental validation is performed by implementing a FP mini fiber laser operating at a GHz repetition rate. An abrupt change of the polarization dynamics from the fixed-point attractor to the limit cycle is observed as the soliton energy increases. To verify these findings in real time, specialized polarization-resolved ultrafast techniques are developed for the analysis of high-repetition-rate vectorial signals. The measurements, including the full-Stokes characterization, not only confirm the presence of PSB but also elucidate the underlying physical mechanism associated with the polarization rotation of vector solitons. Our results suggest that the mini fiber laser can potentially become a promising platform for studying the physics of SSB by exploring the nonlinear dynamics of dissipative optical solitons.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 213803 (2025)
Laser dynamics, Nonlinear optics, Optical solitons, Polarization of light, Ultrafast optics, Fiber lasers, Optical techniques
Jet Size Prediction in Compound Multiphase Bubble Bursting
Research article | Bubble dynamics | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Zhengyu Yang, Yang Liu, and Jie Feng
An immiscible coating on bubbles bursting at a gas-liquid interface can influence the characteristics of a resulting jet, and thus could also influence the aerosolizing of contaminants and other species at the surface of a fluid.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 214001 (2025)
Bubble dynamics, Drop & bubble phenomena, Multiphase flows, Drops & bubbles
Precursors of Thin Film Rupture: Similarity Solution of Surfactant-Driven, Inertial Capillary Waves
Research article | Capillary waves | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Jun Eshima, Howard A. Stone, and Luc Deike
The thinning of liquid sheets and the resulting capillary waves due to surfactant deposition are relevant to understanding how bubbles burst, with implications for the environment, health, and industry. Here, a similarity solution is obtained, which describes the sheet thinning and capillary waves. The final rupture mechanism of a bubble is explored, suggesting that insoluble surfactant deposition alone does not cause finite-time rupture; instead, sufficient thinning may allow other physical mechanisms to do so. Comparisons to an existing experiment and suggestions for measurements are given.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 214002 (2025)
Capillary waves, Drop & bubble phenomena, Surface tension effects, Thin fluid films, Surfactant monolayers, Thin films
Electron Heating by Parallel Electric Fields in Magnetotail Reconnection
Research article | Magnetic reconnection | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Louis Richard, Yuri V. Khotyaintsev, Cecilia Norgren, Konrad Steinvall, Daniel B. Graham, Jan Egedal, Andris Vaivads, and Rumi Nakamura
An analysis using unprecedented satellite observations reveals important information about how electrons get heated throughout the Universe.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 215201 (2025)
Magnetic reconnection, Particle acceleration in plasmas, Space science, Earth’s magnetosphere, Magnetotail, Space & astrophysical plasma
Universal Scaling Relations in Electron-Phonon Superconductors
Research article | Electron-phonon coupling | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Joshuah T. Heath and Rufus Boyack
We study linear scaling relations in electron-phonon superconductors. By combining numerical and analytical techniques, we find linear Homes scaling relations between the zero-temperature superfluid density and the normal-state dc conductivity. This phenomenon arises via either a large impurity scattering rate or inelastic scattering of electrons and Einstein phonons at large electron-phonon coupling. Thus, our Letter shows that Homes scaling is more universal than either cuprate or BCS-like physics and is, instead, a fundamental result in a wide class of superconductors.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 216002 (2025)
Electron-phonon coupling, Superconductivity, Superfluid density, Type-II superconductors, Eliashberg theory
Discovering High-Entropy Oxides with a Machine-Learning Interatomic Potential
Research article | Complex oxides | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Jacob T. Sivak, Saeed S. I. Almishal, Mary Kathleen Caucci, Yueze Tan, Dhiya Srikanth, Joseph Petruska, Matthew Furst, Long-Qing Chen, Christina M. Rost, Jon-Paul Maria, and Susan B. Sinnott
High-entropy materials shift the traditional materials discovery paradigm to one that leverages disorder, enabling access to unique chemistries unreachable through enthalpy alone. We present a self-consistent approach integrating computation and experiment to understand and explore single-phase rocksalt high-entropy oxides. By leveraging a machine-learning interatomic potential, we rapidly and accurately map high-entropy composition space using our two descriptors: bond length distribution and mixing enthalpy. The single-phase stabilities for all experimentally stabilized rocksalt compositions are correctly resolved, with dozens more compositions awaiting discovery.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 216101 (2025)
Complex oxides, Disordered systems, Convolutional neural networks, High-throughput calculations, Machine learning, Materials modeling, X-ray diffraction
Magnetoelectric Decoupling in Bismuth Ferrite
Research article | Beam techniques | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Thien Thanh Dang, Juliana Heiniger-Schell, Astita Dubey, João Nuno Gonçalves, Marianela Escobar Castillo, Daniil Lewin, Ian Chang Jie Yap, Adeleh Mokhles Gerami, Sobhan Mohammadi Fathabad, Dmitry Zyabkin, and Doru Constantin Lupascu
It is still an open question if magnetoelectric coupling occurs at the atomic scale in multiferroic ${\mathrm{BiFeO}}{3}$. Nuclear solid-state techniques monitor local fields at the atomic scale. Using such an approach, we show that, contrary to our own expectation, ferroelectric and magnetic ordering in bismuth ferrite (${\mathrm{BiFeO}}{3}$ or BFO) decouple at the unit-cell level. Time differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC) data at temperatures below, close, and above the magnetic N'eel temperature show that the coupling of the ferroelectric order to magnetization is completely absent at the bismuth site. It is common understanding that the antiferromagnetic order and the cycloidal ordering due to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction generate a net zero magnetization of the sample canceling out any magnetoelectric effect at the macroscopic level. Our previous data show that a very large coupling of magnetic moment and electrical distortions arises on the magnetic sublattice (Fe site). The oxygen octahedra around the iron site experience a large tilt due to the onset of magnetic ordering. Nevertheless, the Bi-containing complementary sublattice carrying the largest part of ferroelectric order is practically unaffected by this large structural change in its direct vicinity. The magnetoelectric coupling thus vanishes already at the unit cell level. These experimental results agree well with an ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculation.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 216702 (2025)
Beam techniques, Ferroelectricity, Magnetism, Magneto-dielectric effect, Nuclear charge distribution, First-principles calculations, Time-differential perturbed-angular correlation spectroscopy
Landau Theory Description of Autferroicity
Research article | Ferroelectricity | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Jun-Jie Zhang, Boris I. Yakobson, and Shuai Dong
Autferroics, recently proposed as a sister branch of multiferroics, exhibit strong intrinsic magnetoelectricity, but ferroelectricity and magnetism are mutually exclusive rather than coexisting. Here, a general model is considered based on the Landau theory, to clarify the distinction between multiferroics and autferroics by qualitative change-rotation in a Landau free energy landscape and in particular phase mapping. The ${\mathrm{TiGeSe}}_{3}$ exemplifies a factual material, whose first-principles computed Landau coefficients predict its autferroicity. Our investigation paves the way for an alternative avenue in the pursuit of intrinsically strong magnetoelectrics.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 216801 (2025)
Ferroelectricity, Magnetoelectric effect, Van der Waals systems, DFT+U
Two Distinct Oxidation Dispersion Mechanisms in ${\mathrm{Pd}\text{- }\mathrm{CeO}}_{2}$ Mediated by Thermodynamic and Kinetic Behaviors of Highly Dispersed Pd Species
Research article | Chemical kinetics, dynamics & catalysis | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Chen Zou, Wen Liu, Shiyuan Chen, Yuanjie Xu, Yu Tang, Songda Li, Fangwen Yang, Linjiang Yu, Chaobin Zeng, Yue-Yu Zhang, Xiaojuan Hu, Liang Wang, Zhong-Kang Han, Ying Jiang, Wentao Yuan, Hangsheng Yang, and Yong Wang
Using environmental scanning transmission electron microscopy and a global optimization algorithm, we unraveled the preoxidation dispersion and direct dispersion mechanisms in ${\mathrm{Pd}\text{- }\mathrm{CeO}}_{2}(100)$ systems, mediated by the behaviors of highly dispersed Pd species. At lower temperatures, Pd nanoparticles first undergo oxidation, followed by the dispersion of PdO nanoparticles. In contrast, at higher temperatures, Pd nanoparticles directly convert into highly distributed cationic Pd species. These distinct dispersion mechanisms are driven by the thermodynamic and kinetic differences of environment-dependent Pd1-2O and Pd1-4O species, providing a fundamental basis for precisely controlling catalyst dispersion states.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 218001 (2025)
Chemical kinetics, dynamics & catalysis, First-principles calculations, Structural properties, Surface diffusion, Scanning transmission electron microscopy
Stretching Response of a Polymer Chain with Deformable Bonds
Research article | Chain stiffness | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Jie Zhu and Laurence Brassart
The stretching response of polymer chains fundamentally determines the mechanical properties of polymer networks. In this Letter, we develop a statistical mechanics model that incorporates both bond stretching and bond angle deformation, enabling accurate predictions of chain behavior up to large forces. We further propose a semianalytical deformable freely rotating chain (dFRC) model, which represents the chain as a freely rotating chain with effective bond stretch and bond angle that depend on the chain stretch. Using physical parameters without fitting, both the statistical and dFRC models achieve excellent agreement with experimental data for carbon chains across all force regimes. Additionally, the dFRC model provides a direct estimate of the bond force, which is important to predict chain scission. By capturing key bond deformations while remaining computationally efficient, our work lays the foundation for future modeling of polymer network elasticity and failure.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 218101 (2025)
Chain stiffness, Classical statistical mechanics, Polymer conformation & topology, Polymer conformation changes, Single polymer chains, Ideal-chain models, Transfer matrix calculations
Erratum: Three-Dimensional Reconfigurable Optical Singularities in Bilayer Photonic Crystals [Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 073804 (2024)]
| 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Xueqi Ni, Yuan Liu, Beicheng Lou, Mingjie Zhang, Evelyn L. Hu, Shanhui Fan, Eric Mazur, and Haoning Tang
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 219901 (2025)
Physical Review X
Universal Quantum Dynamics of Bose Polarons
Research article | Bose-Bose mixtures | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Jiří Etrych, Gevorg Martirosyan, Alec Cao, Christopher J. Ho, Zoran Hadzibabic, and Christoph Eigen
Impurity dynamics in Bose-Einstein condensates are governed by universal scaling laws, even when traditional quasiparticle models fail.
Phys. Rev. X 15, 021070 (2025)
Bose-Bose mixtures, Cold atoms & matter waves, Polarons, Bose-Einstein condensates, Strongly correlated systems, Interferometry, Spectroscopy
Toward an Ab Initio Theory of High-Temperature Superconductors: A Study of Multilayer Cuprates
Research article | Electronic structure | 2025-05-28 06:00 EDT
Benjamin Bacq-Labreuil, Benjamin Lacasse, A.-M. S. Tremblay, David Sénéchal, and Kristjan Haule
A new quantum framework reveals how chemistry and crystal structure govern high-temperature superconductivity, explaining behaviors seen in multilayer cuprates and guiding the search for room-temperature superconductors.
Phys. Rev. X 15, 021071 (2025)
Electronic structure, First-principles calculations, Superconducting order parameter, Superconductivity, Cuprates, High-temperature superconductors, Strongly correlated systems, Density functional theory, Dynamical mean field theory
arXiv
Curvature-Guided Mechanics and Design of Spinodal and Shell-Based Architected Materials
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Somayajulu Dhulipala, Carlos M. Portela
Additively manufactured (AM) architected materials have enabled unprecedented control over mechanical properties of engineered materials. While lattice architectures have played a key role in these advances, they suffer from stress concentrations at sharp joints and bending-dominated behavior at high relative densities, limiting their mechanical efficiency. Additionally, high-resolution AM techniques often result in low-throughput or costly fabrication, restricting manufacturing scalability of these materials. Aperiodic spinodal architected materials offer a promising alternative by leveraging low-curvature architectures that can be fabricated through techniques beyond AM. Enabled by phase separation processes, these architectures exhibit tunable mechanical properties and enhanced defect tolerance by tailoring their curvature distributions. However, the relation between curvature and their anisotropic mechanical behavior remains poorly understood. In this work, we develop a theoretical framework to quantify the role of curvature in governing the anisotropic stiffness and strength of shell-based spinodal architected materials. We introduce geometric metrics that predict the distribution of stretching and bending energies under different loading conditions, bridging the gap between curvature in doubly curved shell-based morphologies and their mechanical anisotropy. We validate our framework through finite element simulations and microscale experiments, demonstrating its utility in designing mechanically robust spinodal architectures. This study provides fundamental insights into curvature-driven mechanics, guiding the optimization of next-generation architected materials for engineering applications.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Applied Physics (physics.app-ph)
32 pages, 10 figures, supplementary appendix
Triplon Bose-Einstein condensation and proximate magnetism in dimerized antiferromagnets
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Z. Y. Zhao, F. Y. Li, C. Dong, R. Chen, M. Y. Cui, Z. W. Ouyang, J. F. Wang, Y. Kohama, Z. Z. He, Gang v. Chen
Dimerized quantum magnets provide a useful arena for novel quantum states and phases transitions with the singlet-triplet type of triplon excitations. Here we study the triplon physics and the Bose-Einstein condensation in two isostructural dimerized antiferromagnets $ A$ Cu(SeO$ _3$ )$ _2$ ($ A$ = Hg, Cd). With the systematic measurements, we demonstrate a dimer singlet ground state in HgCu(SeO$ _3$ )$ _2$ with a triplon gap $ \sim$ 7.9 K and a triplon Bose-Einstein condensation with an antiferromagnetic order in CdCu(SeO$ _3$ )$ _2$ below 4.4 K. We further adopt the bond-operator technique and show that the elemental replacement preserves the Hamiltonian and allows the study in a unified theoretical framework with tunable interdimer and intradimer interactions on the opposite sides of the quantum critical point. With the peculiar Cu$ _2$ O$ _8$ dimer configuration and effective ferromagnetic interdimer interaction, $ A$ Cu(SeO$ _3$ )$ _2$ is distinguished from other $ S$ = 1/2 dimerized antiferromagnets. Our results represent a global understanding of the magnetic ground states as well as the magnetic transitions in the dimerized magnets of this unusual crystal structure.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
7 pages, 4 figures, with supplementary materials
Response to the comment on The inconvenient truth about flocks by Chaté and Solon
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Leiming Chen, Patrick Jentsch, Chiu Fan Lee, Ananyo Maitra, Sriram Ramaswamy, John Toner
This is our response to the comment arXiv:2504.13683 posted by Chaté and Solon in reference to our preprint arXiv:2503.17064
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
Reply to arXiv:2504.13683
Family of Multilayer Graphene Superconductors with Tunable Chirality: Momentum-Space Vortices Forged in the Berry-Ring of Fire
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Recent experiments in rhombohedrally-stacked multilayer graphene heterostructures have reported signatures of chiral superconductivity, emerging from a spin and valley-polarized normal state with broken time-reversal symmetry and an associated anomalous Hall effect. These findings bring into focus the role of the electronic Bloch wavefunction and the quantum geometric tensor in determining the superconducting pairing channel. In this work, we examine superconducting instabilities of a model of $ N$ -layer rhombohedral graphene that possesses an enhanced Berry curvature distribution on an extended ring in momentum space $ -$ that we dub the ‘Berry-ring of fire’ $ -$ in the presence of an isotropic attractive interaction with a parametrically controlled spatial range. We determine that local interactions favor a $ N$ -fold winding in the order parameter phase for odd-$ N$ layered systems, with even-$ N$ layers requiring a spatially extended attraction range to achieve pairing. For generic interaction lengths, we discover a family of chiral superconductors and, remarkably, momentum-space vortices nucleated on the Berry-ring of fire. The existence of these vortices can be traced to a momentum-space flux quantization condition involving the Berry curvature, with the phase winding dictated by a combination of the Berry flux and a ‘statistical flux’ to enforce Fermi-Dirac statistics. Such an order parameter structure allows for the possibility of in-situ tuning between various chiral superconducting phases through changes in the electron density or the displacement field. We discuss ways in which these predictions can be experimentally tested and potentially exploited in future devices.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
10 + 5 pages, 7 + 5 figures
Valence-bonds, spin liquids and unconventional criticality in a 1D Kondo insulator
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Nai Chao Hu, Rui-Zhen Huang, Nick Bultinck
We consider a one-dimensional multi-orbital Kondo lattice model and show that by tuning the kinetic energy of the itinerant electrons it is possible to stabilize Kondo insulators with non-trivial spin physics. In particular, depending on the size of the exchange coupling between the local moments, we find kinetic-energy-driven transitions between a featureless Kondo insulator and a valence-bond solid or a gapless spin liquid. We also provide evidence for an unconventional continuous phase transition between two featureless Kondo insulators distinguished by their quantum numbers under reflection symmetry.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
10+8 pages, 17 figures
Interplay between Hund’s rule and Kondo effect in a quantum dot
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Olfa Dani, Johannes C. Bayer, Timo Wagner, Gertrud Zwicknagl, Rolf J. Haug
The interaction between localized spins on a quantum dot and free electrons in the reservoirs forms a many-particle entangled system giving rise to the Kondo effect. Here, we investigate electron transport in the third shell of a gate-defined GaAs quantum dot. The addition energy shows a maximum at half-filling of the shell which can be described analytically with Hund’s rule exchange interaction. For 7 to 11 electrons occupying the quantum dot Zero-bias anomalies characteristic for the Kondo effect are observed, but with unexpected widths. Here the quantum dot has to be described as a multi-orbital Kondo impurity with Hund’s interaction. In this way this quantum dot can be seen as a model system for a Hund’s coupled mixed-valence quantum impurity as appearing in Hund’s metals where local ferromagnetic interactions between orbitals lead to the emergence of complex electronic states.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
11 pages, 9 figures
Anisotropic electron damping and energy gap in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$2$O${8+δ}$
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Jiemin Li, Yanhong Gu, Takemi Yamada, Zebin Wu, Genda Gu, Tonica Valla, Ilya Drozdov, Ivan Bozovic, Mark P. M. Dean, Takami Tohyama, Jonathan Pelliciari, Valentina Bisogni
The many body electron-electron interaction in cuprates causes the broadening of the electronic bands in \textit{\textbf{k}}-space, leading to a deviation from the standard Fermi liquid. While a \textit{\textbf{k}}-dependent anisotropic electronic scattering (\textit{\textbf{k}}-DAES) has been assessed by photoemission, its fingerprint in \textit{\textbf{Q}}-space has been scarcely considered. Here, we explore the \textit{\textbf{Q}}-dependent electron dynamics in optimally doped Bi$ _2$ Sr$ _2$ CaCu$ _2$ O$ _{8+\delta}$ through the evolution of low-energy charge excitations as measured by resonant inelastic x ray scattering (RIXS). In the normal state, the RIXS spectra display a continuum of excitations down to 0~meV, while the superconducting state features a spectral weight suppression below 80 meV without any enhancement at higher energies. To interpret the energy and \textit{\textbf{Q}}-evolution of our data, we introduce a phenomenological expression of the charge susceptibility by including the \textit{\textbf{k}}-DAES. We show that only the charge susceptibility with \textit{\textbf{k}}-DAES captures the RIXS data, highlighting the importance of \textit{\textbf{k}}-DAES when describing the \textit{\textbf{Q}}-dependence of charge excitations from 0 to few eV scale. Furthermore, we also find that the inclusion of \textit{\textbf{k}}-DAES is essential when quantitative parameters such as the electronic energy gap are extracted from RIXS data.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Rolling, sliding and trapping of driven particles in square obstacle lattices
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Galor Geva, Arin Escobar, Paula Magrinya, Pablo Llombart, Alfredo Alexander-Katz, Laura R. Arriaga, Juan L. Aragones
Transport phenomena in complex and dynamic microscopic environments are fundamentally shaped by hydrodynamic interactions. In particular, microparticle transport in porous media is governed by the delicate interplay between particle-substrate friction and pressure forces. Here, we systematically investigate the motion of externally driven rotating magnetic microparticles near a substrate patterned with a square lattice of cylindrical obstacles, a model porous medium. Remarkably, we observe a reversal in the direction of particle translation as obstacle spacing decreases, highlighting a sensitive competition between shear-induced forward rolling and pressure-driven backward sliding due to flow-field symmetry breaking. These results demonstrate the crucial role of structured environments in determining microscale active particle transport, offering novel strategies for microfluidic design, targeted cargo delivery, and tunable active materials.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
6 pages, 4 figures
The Memory Engine: Self-Organized Coherence from Internal Feedback
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
We present a continuous-space realization of the Coupled Memory Graph Process (CMGP), a minimal non-Markovian framework in which coherence emerges through internal feedback. A single Brownian particle evolves on a viscoelastic substrate that records its trajectory as a scalar memory field and exerts local forces via the gradient $ \nabla$ of accumulated imprints. This autonomous, closed-loop dynamics generates structured, phase-locked motion without external forcing. The system is governed by coupled integro-differential equations: the memory field evolves as a spatiotemporal convolution of the particle’s path, while its velocity responds to the gradient of this evolving field. Simulations reveal a sharp transition from unstructured diffusion to coherent burst-trap cycles, controlled by substrate stiffness and marked by multimodal speed distributions, directional locking, and spectral entrainment. This coherence point aligns across three axes: (i) saturation of memory energy, (ii) peak transfer entropy, and (iii) a bifurcation in transverse stability. We interpret this as the emergence of a \textit{memory engine} – a self-organizing mechanism converting stored memory into predictive motion – illustrating that coherence arises not from tuning, but from coupling.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
Enhanced Neel temperature and unusual thermal expansion in flux-grown FeCrAs crystals
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Michael A. McGuire, Matthew S. Cook, Brenden R. Ortiz, Jiaqiang Yan, Andrew F. May
We report results from our experimental investigation of the distorted-kagome compound FeCrAs. For this work, we developed a procedure using tin metal as a flux to produce needlelike crystals. The crystals were characterized by single crystal x-ray diffraction as well as measurements of magnetization, electrical transport, and heat capacity. The physical behaviors are generally similar to published results on crystals grown from a stoichiometric melt with two notable exceptions. The Sommerfeld coefficient is found to be 18 mJ/K2/mol, a little more than half of the previously reported value, and the Neel temperature is found to be 150 K, about 25K higher than in previous reports. The reason for these discrepancies are uncertain, but they may be related to differences in stoichiometry or disorder; it is expected that the Cr/Fe ratio has some variability in this compound. In addition, we find unusual thermal expansion behavior, with an anomaly at the Neel temperature and nearly temperature independent thermal expansion along the hexagonal c-axis above this transition. This suggests significant spin-lattice coupling, which may provide insight into non-metallic transport properties that have been associated with anomalous charge carrier scattering.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Viscoelasticity of biomimetic scale beams from trapped complex fluids
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Pranta Rahman Sarkar, Outi Tammisola, Ranajay Ghosh
We investigate the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of a biomimetic scale-covered beam in which shear-dependent complex fluids are trapped between overlapping scales under bending loads. These fluids mimic biological mucus and slime layers commonly enveloping the skins found in nature. An energy-based analytical model is developed to quantify the interplay between substrate elasticity, scale geometry, and fluid rheology at multiple length scales. Constant strain rate and oscillatory bending are examined for Newtonian, shear-thinning, and shear-thickening fluids. The analysis reveals unique, geometry- and rate-dependent viscoelastic response, distinct from classical mechanisms such as material dissipation, frictional resistance, or air drag. Energy dissipation is shown to emerge from a nonlinear coupling of tribological parameters, fluid rheology, and system kinematics, exhibiting distinct regime-differentiated characteristics. The model captures the competitions and cooperations between elastic and geometrical parameters to influence the viscoelastic behavior and lead to geometry and rheology scaling laws for relative energy dissipation. The pronounced nonlinearity in the moment-curvature relationships, along with the geometry-controlled regimes of performance, highlights the potential for using tailored and engineered complex inks for soft robotics and smart damping systems.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
Magnetic $2π$ domain walls for tunable Majorana devices
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Daniel Hauck, Stefan Rex, Markus Garst
Identifying realistic platforms capable of controlled operations with Majorana bound states is a key challenge in the study of topological superconductivity. Among the most promising proposals are magnet-superconductor hybrid devices, which employ magnetic textures to engineer regions of non-trivial topology. Here, we consider the remarkably simple case of $ 2\pi$ domain walls in a magnetic ribbon placed on a superconducting substrate. We show that for properly chosen parameters, such domain walls generate topological quasi-one dimensional superconducting wires and give rise to localized Majorana bound states at the ribbon edges. Magnetic $ 2\pi$ domain walls are easily created and controlled with existing experimental techniques, thus providing a versatile platform for Majorana manipulations.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
11 pages, 12 figures
Active Hyperuniform Networks of Chiral Magnetic Micro-Robotic Spinners
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Jing Wang, Zihao Sun, Huaicheng Chen, Gao Wang, Duyu Chen, Guo Chen, Jianwei Shuai, Mingcheng Yang, Yang Jiao, Liyu Liu
Disorder hyperuniform (DHU) systems possess a hidden long-range order manifested as the complete suppression of normalized large-scale density fluctuations like crystals, which endows them with many unique properties. Here, we demonstrate a new organization mechanism for achieving stable DHU structures in active-particle systems via investigating the self-assembly of robotic spinners with three-fold symmetric magnetic binding sites up to a heretofore experimentally unattained system size, i.e., with $ \sim 1000$ robots. The spinners can self-organize into a wide spectrum of actively rotating three-coordinated network structures, among which a set of stable DHU networks robustly emerge. These DHU networks are topological transformations of a honeycomb network by continuously introducing the Stone-Wales defects, which are resulted from the competition between tunable magnetic binding and local twist due to active rotation of the robots. Our results reveal novel mechanisms for emergent DHU states in active systems and achieving novel DHU materials with desirable properties.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
7 pages, 5 figures
Breaking the Curse of Dimensionality: Solving Configurational Integrals for Crystalline Solids by Tensor Networks
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Duc P. Truong, Benjamin Nebgen, Derek DeSantis, Dimiter N. Petsev, Kim Ø. Rasmussen, Boian S. Alexandrov
Accurately evaluating configurational integrals for dense solids remains a central and difficult challenge in the statistical mechanics of condensed systems. Here, we present a novel tensor network approach that reformulates the high-dimensional configurational integral for identical-particle crystals into a sequence of computationally efficient summations. We represent the integrand as a high-dimensional tensor and apply tensor-train (TT) decomposition together with a custom TT-cross interpolation scheme. This approach avoids the need to explicitly construct the full tensor, which would otherwise be computationally intractable. We introduce tailored rank-1 and rank-2 schemes optimized for sharply peaked Boltzmann probability densities, typical in crystalline solids. When applied to the calculation of internal energy and pressure-temperature curves for crystalline copper (Cu) and argon (Ar), as well as the alpha-to-beta phase transition in tin (Sn), our method accurately reproduces molecular dynamics simulation results using tight-binding, machine learning (HIP-NN), and MEAM potentials, all within seconds of computation time.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
Robust and Symmetric Magnetic Field Dependency of Superconducting Diode Effect in Asymmetric Dirac Semimetal SQUIDs
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
H.C. Travaglini, J.J. Cuozzo, K.R. Sapkota, I.A. Leahy, A.D. Rice, K. Alberi, W. Pan
The recent demonstration of the superconducting diode effect (SDE) has generated renewed interests in superconducting electronics in which devices such as compact superconducting diodes that can perform signal rectification where low-energy operations are needed. In this article, we present our results of robust and symmetric-in-magnetic-field SDE in asymmetric superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) realized in high-quality Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 thin film grown by the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique. Consistent with previous work, a zero magnetic field SDE is observed. Furthermore, the difference in switching current is independent of the strength and polarity of an out-plane magnetic field in the range of -10 mT and 10 mT. We speculate that this robust symmetric-in-field SDE in our Dirac semimetal SQUIDs is due to the formation of helical spin texture, theoretically predicted in Dirac semimetals.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
accepted to APL Quantum
Stoichiometry control and epitaxial growth of AgCrSe2 thin films by pulsed-laser deposition
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Yusuke Tajima, Kenshin Inamura, Sebun Masaki, Takumi Yamazaki, Takeshi Seki, Kazutaka Kudo, Jobu Matsuno, Junichi Shiogai
We report on epitaxial growth in thin-film synthesis of a polar magnetic semiconductor AgCrSe2 on lattice-matched yttria-stabilized zirconia (111) substrate by pulsed-layer deposition (PLD). By using Ag-rich PLD target to compensate for Ag deficiency in thin films, the nucleation of impurity phases is suppressed, resulting in the c-axis-oriented and single-phase AgCrSe2 thin film. Structural analysis using x-ray diffraction and cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals epitaxial growth with the presence of both twisted and polar domains. Optical absorbance spectrum and magnetization measurements show absorption edge at around 0.84 eV and magnetic transition temperature at 41 K, respectively. These values are consistent with the reported values of direct bandgap and Néel temperature of bulk AgCrSe2, reflecting a single-phase and stoichiometric feature of the obtained film. Our demonstration of epitaxial thin-film growth of AgCrSe2 serves as a bedrock for exploration of its potential thermoelectric and spintronic functionalities at surface or heterointerfaces.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Accepted in APL Materials
Theory of itinerant collisional spin dynamics in nondegenerate molecular gases
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Reuben R. W. Wang, John L. Bohn
We study the fully itinerant dynamics of ultracold but nondegenerate polar molecules with a spin-$ 1/2$ degree of freedom encoded into two of their electric field dressed rotational states. Center of mass molecular motion is constrained to two-dimensions via tight confinement with a one-dimensional optical lattice, but remains mostly unconstrained within the plane. The pseudospins can become entangled through ultracold dipolar collisions, for which the locality of interactions is greatly relaxed by free molecular motion. At the level of single-molecule observables, collision-induced entanglement manifests as spin decoherence, for which our theoretical calculations serve well to describe recent Ramsey contrast measurements of quasi-2D confined KRb molecules at JILA [A. Carroll et al., Science 388 6745 (2025)]. In presenting a more detailed theoretical analysis of the KRb experiment, we highlight a key finding that molecular loss enhanced by particle exchange symmetry can lead to a suppression of collective spin decoherence, a mechanism with refer to as ``loss-induced quantum autoselection”. We then show that by utilizing bialkali species with sufficiently large dipole moments, loss can be near completely suppressed in all collision channels via electric field tunable confinement-induced collisional shielding. The afforded collisional stability permits fully coherent spin mixing dynamics, natively realizing unitary circuit dynamics with random all-to-all connectivity and U(1) charge conservation. This work establishes a bridge between the domains of ultracold molecular collisions and many-body spin physics, ultimately proposing the use of nondegenerate bulk molecular gases as a controllable platform for nonequilibrium explorations of itinerant quantum matter.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn), Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
22 pages, 9 figures
Exact Quantum Many-Body Scars in 2D Quantum Gauge Models
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Yuan Miao, Linhao Li, Hosho Katsura, Masahito Yamazaki
Quantum many-body scars (QMBS) serve as important examples of ergodicity-breaking phenomena in quantum many-body systems. Despite recent extensive studies, exact QMBS are rare in dimensions higher than one. In this paper, we study a two-dimensional quantum $ \mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge model that is dual to a two-dimensional spin-$ 1/2$ XY model defined on bipartite graphs. We identify the exact eigenstates of the XY model with a tower structure as exact QMBS. Exploiting the duality transformation, we show that the exact QMBS of the XY model (and XXZ model) after the transformation are the exact QMBS of the dual $ \mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge model. This construction is versatile and has potential applications for finding new QMBS in other higher-dimensional models.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
35 pages, 17 figures
Universal principles for sudden-quench quantum Otto engines
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
R. S. Watson, K. V. Kheruntsyan
We apply a simple sudden quench approximation for the unitary work strokes of a quantum Otto engine in order to provide a general analysis of its performance, applicable to arbitrary quantum models with two-body interactions. This work extends recent results for an interaction-driven Otto cycle to generic many-body interacting quantum models, providing universal bounds on their operation efficiency. From this, we demonstrate that the net work of such an engine cycle is determined entirely by interparticle correlations. Applications are demonstrated for a handful of paradigmatic many-body quantum models, including a novel engine – with a spin-1/2 Fermi gas with contact two-body interactions as its working medium – in which we leverage control over spin polarization to greatly enhance its performance compared to the unpolarized case. We then extend the analysis of interaction-driven quantum Otto engine cycles to systems where control is exerted over the strength of arbitrary quantum operators that might be present in the system Hamiltonian (such as one-body, or three-body, etc.), finding that the general principles derived for the sudden quench with two-body interactions apply universally. As an example, this is demonstrated for a conventional volumetric Otto cycle, where beneficial net work is generated by leveraging the control over the frequency of an external trap, which is a one-body operator. However, we emphasize that the results derived here apply universally to all Otto engine cycles operating under a sudden quench protocol.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
12 pages, 6 figures
Stress distribution in elastic disks with a hole under uniaxial compression
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Ken Okamura, Yosuke Sato, Satoshi Takada
This paper investigates the stress and displacement distribution in a two-dimensional elastic hollow disk subjected to distributed diametric loading, extending our previous analysis of concentrated loading [Okamura et al. Strength Mater. 57, 102-114 (2025)]. The study provides deeper insights into the mechanical behavior of materials such as concrete and rock by examining the effects of load distribution on stress localization and displacement patterns. Using elastodynamic theory, we derive the static stress distributions and identify key differences from the concentrated loading case, particularly in the locations and magnitudes of stress extrema. This work contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of stress behavior in elastic disks under realistic loading conditions.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Classical Physics (physics.class-ph)
4 pages, 3 figures, Powders & Grains 2025
Sr$_2$NbO$_4$: A $4d$ analogue of the layered perovskite Sr$_2$VO$_4$
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Leonid S. Taran, Anastasia E. Lebedeva, Sergey V. Streltsov
This work focuses on the layered perovskite Sr$ _2$ NbO$ _4$ , a 4$ d$ analogue of Sr$ _2$ VO$ _4$ , which remains an unsolved puzzle with a possible intriguing hidden magnetic order. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we demonstrate the robust thermodynamic stability and exfoliability of Sr$ _2$ NbO$ _4$ , suggesting potential applications as a 2D material. Imperfect Fermi surface nesting indicates instabilities that may drive symmetry lowering, charge/orbital density waves, or superconductivity. Dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) calculations reveal moderate mass renormalization $ (m^\ast/m\sim1.3)$ and an itinerant character of magnetism with strong longitudinal spin fluctuations. The exchange interaction is dominated by in-plane ferromagnetic coupling with much weaker interlayer antiferromagnetic exchange.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
8 pages, 8 figures, to be published in Physical Review B
Systematic generation of electron models for Second-Principles Density Functional Theory Methods
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Nayara Carral-Sainz, Toraya Fernández-Ruiz, Jorge Íñiguez, Javier Junquera, Pablo Garcia-Fernandez
We present a systematic, quasi-automated methodology for generating electronic models in the framework of second-principles density functional theory (SPDFT). This approach enables the construction of accurate and computationally efficient models by deriving all necessary parameters from first-principles calculations on a carefully designed training set. A key feature of our method is the enforcement of space group symmetries, which reduces both the number of independent parameters and the required computational effort. The formalism includes improved treatments of one-electron Hamiltonians, electron-lattice coupling-through both linear and quadratic terms-and electron-electron interactions, enabling accurate modeling of structural and electronic responses. We apply the methodology to SrTiO$ _{3}$ and LiF, materials representative of transition-metal perovskites and wide-band-gap insulators, respectively. In both cases, the resulting models reproduce DFT reference data with high fidelity across various atomic configurations and charge states. Our results validate the robustness of the approach and highlight its potential for simulating complex phenomena such as polarons and excitons. This work lays the foundation for extending SPDFT to real-time simulations of optoelectronic properties and further integration with machine-learning methods.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
23 pages, 13 figures
The experimental determination of exchange mass terms in surface states on both terminations of MnBi4Te7
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Dezhi Song, Fuyang Hang, Gang Yao, Jun Zhang, Ye-Ping Jiang, Jin-Feng Jia
The intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulators in the Mn-Bi-Te family, composed of superlattice-like MnBi2Te4/(Bi2Te3)n (n = 0, 1, 2, 3…) layered structure, present intriguing states of matter such as quantum anomalous Hall effect and the axion insulator. However, the surface state gap, which is the prerequisite for the observation of these states, remains elusive. Here by molecular beam epitaxy, we obtain two types of MnBi4Te7 films with the exclusive Bi2Te3 (BT) or MnBi2Te4 (MBT) terminations. By scanning tunneling spectroscopy, the mass terms in the surface states are identified on both surface terminations. Experimental results reveal the existence of a hybridization gap of approximately 23 meV in surface states on the BT termination. This gap comes from the hybridization between the surface states and the spin-split states in the adjacent MBT layer. On the MBT termination, an exchange mass term of about 30 meV in surface states is identified by taking magnetic-field-dependent Landau level spectra as well as theoretical simulations. In addition, the mass term varies with the field in the film with a heavy BiMn doping level in the Mn layers. These findings demonstrate the existence of mass terms in surface states on both types of terminations in our epitaxial MnBi4Te7 films investigated by local probes.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
19 pages,9 figures, including supporting materials
Influence of thickness on magnetic properties of RF-sputtered amorphous CoNbZr thin films
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Indujan Sivanesarajaha, Leon Abelmann, Uwe Hartmann
Amorphous sputtered Co-based thin films are widely used as soft magnetic materials in applications such as sensors, inductors and magnetic flux concentrators. The magnetic properties of these films can be controlled by deposition parameters like film thickness, argon pressure, deposition rate and others. In this study, we present a detailed investigation of the magnetic properties of RF-sputtered Co$ _{91}$ Nb$ _7$ Zr$ _2$ films with thicknesses ranging from 52 nm to 1040 nm. These amorphous films exhibit an average saturation magnetisation of 1.01(4) MA/m. As the film thickness increases, there is a significant decrease in coercivity, remanent-to-saturation magnetisation ratio M$ _r$ /M$ _s$ , and maximum permeability. The change in macroscopic magnetic properties is also reflected by the domain structure. At a thickness of 52 nm, the remanent domain state shows irregular domains, while films thicknesses above 208 nm exhibit flux-closure domain structures instead. The thickness-dependent modifications are attributed to the transition between Néel and Bloch type domain walls, which is expected to occur at approximately 84 nm.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Applied Physics (physics.app-ph)
Effective potential and scattering length of shielding polar molecules
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
We investigate the effective potential and scattering length of ultracold polar molecules under different shielding techniques. First, we derive the effective potential for two polar molecules in the presence of an elliptical polarization field, combined elliptical and linear polarization fields, and combined elliptical polarization and static fields. The effective potential is then expressed as a sum of a zero-range contact interaction and a long-range dipole-dipole interaction under the Born approximation. We find that the first two shielding methods only partially suppress attractive interactions, while the second method allows for the construction of bound states with different polarization shapes. The last shielding method can achieve complete cancellation of residual attractive forces, which is particularly significant for maintaining quantum degeneracy in ultracold dipolar systems. Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the effective potential and scattering length of shielding polar molecules, which is crucial for studying many-body physics in ultracold dipolar systems.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
15 pages, 3 figures
Fractional Quantum Hall Anyons via the Algebraic Topology of Exotic Flux Quanta
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Fractional quantum Hall systems (FQH), due to their experimentally observed anyonic topological order, are a main contender for future hardware-implementation of error-protected quantum registers (“topological qbits”) subject to error-protected quantum operations (“topological quantum gates”), both plausibly necessary for future quantum computing at useful scale, but both remaining insufficiently understood.
Here we present a novel non-Lagrangian effective description of FQH anyons, based on previously elusive proper global quantization of effective topological flux in extraordinary non-abelian cohomology theories. This directly translates the system’s quantum-observables, -states, -symmetries, and -measurement channels into purely algebro-topological analysis of local systems of Hilbert spaces over the quantized flux moduli spaces.
Under the hypothesis – for which we provide a fair bit of evidence – that the appropriate effective flux quantization of FQH systems is in 2-Cohomotopy theory (a cousin of Hypothesis H in high-energy physics), the results here are rigorously derived and as such might usefully inform laboratory searches for novel anyonic phenomena in FQH systems and hence for topological quantum hardware.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th), Mathematical Physics (math-ph), Algebraic Topology (math.AT)
76 pages, various figures
Critical and Nonpercolating Phases in Bond Percolation on the Song-Havlin-Makse Network
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Kazuki Wataya, Takehisa Hasegawa
We investigate bond percolation on the Song-Havlin-Makse (SHM) network, a scale-free tree with a tunable degree exponent and dimensionality. Using a generating function approach, we analytically derive the average size and the fractal exponent of the root cluster for deterministic cases. Our analysis reveals that bond percolation on the SHM network remains in a nonpercolating phase for all $ p < 1$ when the network is fractal (i.e., finite-dimensional), whereas it exhibits a critical phase, where the cluster size distribution follows a power-law with a $ p$ -dependent exponent, throughout the entire range of $ p$ when the network is small-world (i.e., infinite-dimensional), regardless of the specific dimensionality or degree exponent. The analytical results are in excellent agreement with Monte Carlo simulations.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn)
12 pages, 8 figures
Anomalous Hall Effect in Thick Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$ Weyl Semimetal Crystals
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Eddy Divin Kenvo Songwa, Shaday Jesus Nobosse Nguemeta, Hodaya Gabber, Renana Aharonof, Dima Cheskis
Ferromagnetic Weyl semimetals with Kagome lattice structures exhibit a strong coupling between magnetism and topological band features. Co3Sn2S2 is a prime example, showing a giant anomalous Hall effect (AHE) driven by Berry curvature from the Weyl nodes. We investigated the temperature and angular dependence of Hall conductivity in thick Co3Sn2S2 crystals, aiming to distinguish between topological and conventional magnetic contributions. Our measurements reveal a robust Hall response even at low magnetic fields and temperatures above 77 K, suggesting a dominant topological origin and weak sensitivity to external conditions.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
3 pages, 4 figures
Quantum Effects at a Spin-Flop Transition in the Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator MnBi$_2$Te$_4$
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
V.V. Val’kov, A.O. Zlotnikov, A. Gamov, N.A. Fedorova, F.N. Tomilin
It is shown that the experimentally detected features in the low-temperature behavior of the magnetization in an external magnetic field perpendicular to the layers of manganese ions of the topological antiferromagnet MnBi$ _2$ Te$ _4$ are due to quantum effects induced by the off-diagonal nature of the trigonal component of the crystal field. In this case, the anomalous increase in the magnetization of the material before the spin-flop transition, as well as after it in the phase of “collapsed” sublattices, is explained by the suppression of contributions from quantum effects. The comparison of the results of the theoretical analysis with experimental data has made it possible to refine the parameters of the effective spin model of MnBi$ _2$ Te$ _4$ and to establish the important role of the noted trigonal component.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
10 pages, 3 figures, Open access publication
JETP Letters Vol. 120, No. 7, 499 (2024)
Modulation of Polarization and Metallicity in Janus Sliding Ferroelectrics
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Akshay Mahajan, Awadhesh Narayan
Sliding ferroelectricity is emerging as a distinct and promising mechanism for realizing ferroelectricity in low-dimensional systems, offering new design principles beyond the conventional ferroelectric mechanism. Further, the coexistence of the out-of-plane polarization with in-plane conductivity induced by electrostatic charge doping makes these systems strong candidates for realizing ferroelectric metals. Using density functional theory calculations, we analyze the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) based Janus sliding ferroelectric bilayers XMY (M = Mo, W; X, Y = S, Se, Te; X $ \neq$ Y). In addition to exhibiting switchable interlayer polarization, Janus sliding ferroelectrics possess an intrinsic electric field within each monolayer, arising from the electronegativity difference between the chalcogen atoms. We discover that the intrinsic electric field of the monolayers can be used to modulate the interlayer ferroelectric polarization and the electronic band structure. We identify the decrease in the interlayer distance due to a particular stacking of the Janus bilayers as a major contributor to increasing polarization and reducing the bandgap. The direction of the intrinsic electric field within the Janus monolayers plays a significant role in the modulation of layer-wise contribution in the valence and conduction bands, which influences the polarization reduction due to extrinsic charge dopants. Extending this concept to Janus trilayers, we observe further enhancement in polarization and additional bandgap reduction compared to their bilayer counterparts. These results highlight the tunability of TMD-based Janus sliding ferroelectrics and suggest a pathway for designing low bandgap ferroelectrics and potential ferroelectric metals.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Unified Magnetoelectric Mechanism for Spin Splitting in Magnets
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
We identify a relativistic magnetoelectric correction that unifies the understanding of spin splitting (SS) in ferromagnets, antiferromagnets, and altermagnets. Based on Dirac theory, we show that local electric multipoles coupled to magnetic moments govern SS across compensated magnets, leading to quadrupole-, dipole-, or monopole-driven regimes. Our model predicts momentum-dependent and momentum-independent SS, reconciling seemingly distinct phenomena such as altermagnetism and the spin Zeeman effect. This work establishes a general physical mechanism for SS beyond conventional Zeeman and Rashba paradigms.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
6 pages and 1 figure
Finite-size effects of the excess entropy computed from integrating the radial distribution function
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Darshan Raju, Mahinder Ramdin, Jean-Marc Simon, Peter Kruger, Thijs J.H. Vlugt
Computation of the excess entropy from the second-order density expansion of the entropy holds strictly for infinite systems in the limit of small densities. For the reliable and efficient computation of excess entropy, it is important to understand finite-size effects. Here, expressions to compute excess entropy and Kirkwood-Buff (KB) integrals by integrating the Radial Distribution Function (RDF) in a finite volume are derived, from which Sex and KB integrals in the thermodynamic limit are obtained. The scaling of these integrals with system size is studied. We show that the integrals of excess entropy converge faster than KB integrals. We compute excess entropy from Monte Carlo simulations using the Wang-Ramirez-Dobnikar-Frenkel pair interaction potential by thermodynamic integration and by integration of the RDF. We show that excess entropy computed by integrating the RDF is identical to that of excess entropy computed from thermodynamic integration at low densities, provided the RDF is extrapolated to the thermodynamic limit. At higher densities, differences up to 20% are observed.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
Cluster sizes, particle displacements and currents in transport mediated by solitary cluster waves
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Alexander P. Antonov, Annika Vonhusen, Artem Ryabov, Philipp Maass
In overdamped particle motion across periodic landscapes, solitary cluster waves can occur at high particle densities and lead to particle transport even in the absence of thermal noise. Here we show that for driven motion under a constant drag, the sum of all particle displacements per soliton equals one wavelength of the periodic potential. This unit displacement law is used to determine particle currents mediated by the solitons. We furthermore derive properties of clusters involved in the wave propagation as well as relations between cluster sizes and soliton numbers.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Pattern Formation and Solitons (nlin.PS)
9 pages, 5 figures
Subsystem Symmetry-Protected Topological Phases from Subsystem SymTFT of 2-Foliated Exotic Tensor Gauge Theory
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Symmetry topological field theory (SymTFT), or topological holography, posits a correspondence between symmetries in a $ d$ -dimensional theory and topological order in a $ (d+1)$ -dimensional theory. In this work, we extend this framework to subsystem symmetries and develop subsystem SymTFT as a systematic tool to characterize and classify subsystem symmetry-protected topological (SSPT) phases. For $ (2+1)$ D gapped phases, we introduce a 2-foliated $ (3+1)$ D exotic tensor gauge theory (which is equivalent to 2-foliated $ (3+1)$ D BF theory via exotic duality) as the subsystem SymTFT and systematically analyze its topological boundary conditions and linearly rigid subsystem symmetries. Taking subsystem symmetry groups $ G = \mathbb{Z}_N$ and $ G=\mathbb{Z}_N \times \mathbb{Z}_M$ as examples, we demonstrate how to recover the classification scheme $ \mathcal{C}[G] = H^{2}(G^{\times 2}, U(1)) / \left( H^2(G, U(1)) \right)^3$ , which was previously derived by examining topological invariant under linear subsystem-symmetric local unitary transformations in the lattice Hamiltonian formalism. To illustrate the correspondence between field-theoretic and lattice descriptions, we further analyze $ \mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{Z}_2$ and $ \mathbb{Z}_N \times \mathbb{Z}_M$ cluster state models as concrete examples.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th), Mathematical Physics (math-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
v1: 59 pages
Forager with Inertia : Better for Survival?
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Md Aquib Molla, Sanchari Goswami, Parongama Sen
We study the fate of a forager who searches for food performing simple random walk on lattices. The forager consumes the available food on the site it visits and leaves it depleted but can survive up to $ S$ steps without food. We introduce the concept of inertia in the dynamics which allows the forager to rest with probability $ p$ upon consumption of food. The parameter $ p$ significantly affects the lifetime of the forager, showing that the inertia can be beneficial for the forager for chosen parameter values. The study of various other quantities reveals interesting scaling behavior with $ p$ and also departure from usual diffusive behavior for $ 0.5 < p < 1$ . In addition to numerical approach, the problem has also been studied with analytical approach in one dimension and the results agree reasonably well.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph), Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)
10 pages, 10 figures
Ultrasonic spin pumping in the antiferromagnetic acoustic resonator $α-\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3$
New Submission | Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
David A. Gabrielyan, Dmitry A. Volkov, Tatyana V. Bogdanova, Kristina D. Samoylenko, Anton V. Matasov, Ansar R. Safin, Dmitry V. Kalyabin, Alexey A. Klimov, Leonid M. Krutyansky, Vladimir L. Preobrazhensky, Sergey A. Nikitov
Recent advances in magnon spintronics have ignited interest in the interactions between the spin and elastic subsystems of magnetic materials. These interactions suggest a dynamic connection between collective excitations of spins, quantized as magnons, and elastic waves generated by perturbations in the crystal lattice, quantized as phonons. Both magnons and their associated magnon-phonon excitations can act as sources of spin pumping from magnetic materials into non-magnetic metals. Although a considerable body of research has focused on spin pumping via elastic waves in ferromagnets, similar investigations involving antiferromagnets have yet to be undertaken. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of generating spin currents at ultrasonic frequencies of acoustic resonance in antiferromagnetic crystal hematite $ \alpha-\text{Fe}_2\text{O}_3$ at room temperature. We provide both theoretical and experimental evidence that, due to strong magnetoelastic coupling, acoustic vibrations in hematite induce significant variable deviations in magnetization, resulting in spin accumulation at the antiferromagnet-normal metal interface, which in turn leads to the generation of spin and charge currents in the metal. Charge currents arising from the inverse spin Hall effect can be measured using the same methodology employed under high-frequency spin pumping conditions at the resonances of the magnetic subsystem itself. Moreover, the acoustic resonance in hematite is significantly more pronounced (by hundreds or even thousands of times) than in other quasiferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic systems, enabling the attainment of extremely large amplitudes of magnetic oscillations for spin pumping. This research highlights the new approach of utilizing acoustic spin pumping to manipulate spin currents in magnetic materials, particularly antiferromagnets.
Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other), Applied Physics (physics.app-ph)
19 pages, 6 figures, 1 table
Dimensionality-Driven Anomalous Metallic State with Zero-field Nonreciprocal Transport in Layered Ising Superconductors
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Yanwei Cui, Zenglin Liu, Qin Liu, Junlin Xiong, Yongqin Xie, Yudi Dai, Ji Zhou, Lizheng Wang, Hanyan Fang, Haiwen Liu, Shi-Jun Liang, Bin Cheng, Feng Miao
The anomalous metal state (AMS), observed in failed superconductors, provides insights into superconductivity and quantum criticality, with studies revealing unconventional quantum phases like the Bose metal. Recently, layered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) superconductors approaching the two-dimensional limit have garnered significant attention for the enhanced phase fluctuations and electronic correlations. Investigating AMS in these systems, particularly in the absence of an external magnetic field, could offer valuable insights into the dimensionality-driven emergence of exotic quantum phenomena, including triplet Cooper pairing, phase fluctuation dynamics, and especially the recently discovered field-free superconducting diode effects. However, the field-free AMS has yet to be observed in TMD superconductors. Here, we report the dimensionality-tunable AMS near the superconducting quantum phase transitions in a layered TMD superconductor 2H-Ta2S3Se. In samples with thicknesses below 10 nm, we demonstrate magnetic field-driven AMS under external magnetic field, characterized by the vanishing of the Hall resistance and the presence of finite longitudinal resistance. Remarkably, an unexpected zero-field AMS emerges as the sample thickness is reduced to 3 nm. This AMS aligns well with the quantum vortex creep model and exhibits non-reciprocal transport behaviors, suggesting the onset of spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking accompanied by vortex motion as the system approaches the two-dimensional limit. Our findings open new avenues for exploring dimensionality-driven exotic superconducting quantum critical phases, and pave the way for a deeper understanding of zero-field superconducting diode effects.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Engineering Ge profiles in Si/SiGe heterostructures for increased valley splitting
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Lucas E. A. Stehouwer, Merrit P. Losert, Maia Rigot, Davide Degli Esposti, Sara Martí-Sánchez, Maximillian Rimbach-Russ, Jordi Arbiol, Mark Friesen, Giordano Scappucci
Electron spin qubits in Si/SiGe quantum wells are limited by the small and variable energy separation of the conduction band valleys. While sharp quantum well interfaces are pursued to increase the valley splitting energy deterministically, here we explore an alternative approach to enhance the valley splitting on average. We grow increasingly thinner quantum wells with broad interfaces to controllably increase the overlap of the electron wave function with Ge atoms. In these quantum wells, comprehensive quantum Hall measurements of two-dimensional electron gases reveal a linear correlation between valley splitting and disorder. Benchmarked against quantum wells with sharp interfaces, we demonstrate enhanced valley splitting while maintaining a low-disorder potential environment. Simulations using the experimental Ge concentration profiles predict an average valley splitting in quantum dots that matches the enhancement observed in two-dimensional systems. Our results motivate the experimental realization of quantum dot spin qubits in these heterostructures.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Ageing correlators from local scale-invariance
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Malte Henkel, Stoimen Stoimenov
For ageing systems with dynamical exponent $ \mathpzc{z}=2$ and with the dominant noise coming from the thermal bath, the form of the two-time autocorrelator as well as the time-space form of the single-time correlator are derived from Schrödinger-invariance, generalised to non-equilibrium ageing. These findings reproduce the exact results in the $ 1D$ Glauber-Ising model at $ T=0$ and the critical spherical model in $ d>2$ dimensions.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th), Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
Latex2e, 1+13 pages, 2 figures, 1 table
Anti-bosonic current in thermal spin pumping
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
We investigate thermal spin pumping in gadolinium iron garnet, focusing on dynamics of antiferromagnetic magnon and its impact on spin and heat transport. Antiferromagnet has right-handed and left-handed magnon modes. Using a two-magnetic-lattice model, we derive temperature-dependent spin-wave spectra and thermal spin pumping constants, revealing distinct transport regimes governed by competing contribution of magnon modes. We show that competition of both modes induces a compensation temperature in thermally generated spin current. This theoretical framework deepens the understanding of spin-caloritronic effects in ferrimagnets, offering new perspectives for spintronic device optimization.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
Magnon thermal Hall effect in insulating antiferromagnets
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
In this paper we theoretically discuss thermal Hall effect of magnons in insulating Néel ordered antiferromagnets at zero external magnetic field. We show that non-zero thermal Hall effect requires absence of any symmetry between the two sublattices. The thermal Hall effect of magnons will be non-zero by a virtue of the spin-momentum splitting of the magnon spectrum due to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction as well as anisotropic second-nearest exchange interaction different in the two sublattices, both corresponding to the broken symmetry. We construct a theoretical model in which an external electric field may change the symmetry of the antiferromagnetic system thus altering the thermal Hall effect of magnons.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Localization behavior in a Hermitian and non-Hermitian Raman lattice
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Entong Zhao, Yu-Jun Liu, Ka Kwan Pak, Peng Ren, Mengbo Guo, Chengdong He, Gyu-Boong Jo
We introduce a flexible Raman lattice system for alakaline-earth like atoms to investigate localization behaviors in a quasi-periodic lattice with controllable non-Hermiticity. We demonstrate that critical phases and mobility edges can arise by adjusting spin-dependence of the incommensurate potentials in the Hermitian regime. With non-Hermiticity introduced by spin-selective atom loss, we find the localization behaviour in this system can be suppressed by dissipation. Our work provides insights into interplay between quasi-periodicity and non-Hermitian physics, offering a new perspective on localization phenomena.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
8 pages, 6 figures
Indirect Magnetoelectric Coupling via Skew Scattering by Orbital Angular Momentum
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Recent experimental observations of exchange bias in the La$ _{0.67}$ Sr$ _{0.33}$ MnO$ _{3}$ /LaAlO$ _{3}$ /SrTiO$ _{3}$ heterostructure, which lacks an intrinsic antiferromagnetic layer, have sparked theoretical investigations into the underlying mechanisms. While traditional theories suggest that exchange bias in spin valve structures is mediated by conduction electrons in metallic spacers, the transport properties of LaAlO$ 3$ are dominated by its valence electrons, raising new questions about the origin of this phenomenon. In this work, we propose a theoretical model where the electronic band structure of LaAlO$ _3$ is treated as a valence band perturbed by skew scattering, which is sensitive to orbital angular momentum. Our analysis reveals a significant magnetoelectric effect at the La$ _{0.67}$ Sr$ _{0.33}$ MnO$ _3$ /LaAlO$ _3$ interface, which induces a coupling between the interface magnetization and the electric field from two dimensional electron gas at LaAlO$ _{3}$ /SrTiO$ _{3}$ interface. This magnetoelectric coupling is found to drive the observed exchange bias, highlighting the role of electric polarization in influencing the magnetic properties of the heterostructure.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Observation of resistive switching and diode effect in the conductivity of TiTe2 point contacts
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
O. E. Kvitnitskaya, L. Harnagea, O. D. Feia, D. V. Efremov, B. Büchner, Yu. G. Naidyuk
We measured the I(V) and dV/dI(V) characteristics of TiTe2-based point contacts (PCs) from room to helium temperatures. Features indicating the emergence of a charge density wave (CDW) were detected. They represent symmetrical relatively V=0 maxima in dV/dI(V) around 150 mV at liquid helium temperatures, which disappear above 150 K, similar to the case of sister CDW compound TiSe2. Applying higher voltages above 200 mV, we observed resistive switching in TiTe2 PCs from a metallic-like low-resistance state to non-metallic type high-resistance state with a change of resistance by an order of magnitude. A unique diode-like effect was registered in “soft” TiTe2 PCs with hysteretic I(V) at negative voltage on TiTe2. Discovering the resistive switching and diode effect adds TiTe2 to the transition-metal dichalcogenides, which could be useful in developing non-volatile ReRAM and other upcoming nanotechnologies.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
e.g.: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted to “Low Temperature Physics” journal
Emergence of Diverse Topological States in Ge Doped MnBi2Te4
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Zhijian Shi, Shengjie Xu, Jianfeng Wang, Yi Du, Weichang Hao
As an ideal platform for studying interplays between symmetry, topology and magnetism, the magnetic topological insulator (MTI) MnBi2Te4 has attracted extensive attentions. However, its strong n-type intrinsic defects hinder the realizations of exotic phenomena. Stimulated by recent discoveries that Ge doping can efficiently tune the position of Fermi level, here we systematically investigate the band evolution and topological phase diagram with doping concentration from MTI MnBi2Te4 to strong topological insulator GeBi2Te4. Different from magnetically doped Bi2Se3, the topology here is determined by competition of two band inversions arising from band folding of two time-reversal invariant momenta between antiferromagnetic and nonmagnetic/ferromagnetic unit cells. By employing a band momentum mapping method, besides the known MTI phase, remarkably, we find two classes of magnetic Dirac semimetal phases at antiferromagnetic state, two classes of Weyl semimetal phases at ferromagnetic state, and an intermediate trivial state at different doping regions. Interestingly, the trivial state can be tuned into a Weyl phase with two coexisting band inversions and extraordinarily long Fermi arcs by a small strain. Our work reveals diverse topological states with intrinsic quantum phenomena can be achieved with great potential for designing future electronic devices.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
16 pages, 5 figures
Synaptic shot-noise triggers fast and slow global oscillations in balanced neural networks
New Submission | Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Denis S. Goldobin, Maria V. Ageeva, Matteo di Volo, Ferdinand Tixidre, Alessandro Torcini
Neural dynamics is determined by the transmission of discrete synaptic pulses (synaptic shot-noise) among neurons. However, the neural responses are usually obtained within the diffusion approximation modeling synaptic inputs as continuous Gaussian noise. Here, we present a rigorous mean-field theory that encompasses synaptic shot-noise for sparse balanced inhibitory neural networks driven by an excitatory drive. Our theory predicts new dynamical regimes, in agreement with numerical simulations, which are not captured by the classical diffusion approximation. Notably, these regimes feature self-sustained global oscillations emerging at low connectivity (in-degree) via either continuous or hysteretic transitions and characterized by irregular neural activity, as expected for balanced dynamics. For sufficiently weak (strong) excitatory drive (inhibitory feedback) the transition line displays a peculiar re-entrant shape revealing the existence of global oscillations at low and high in-degrees, separated by an asynchronous regime at intermediate levels of connectivity. The mechanisms leading to the emergence of these global oscillations are distinct: drift-driven at high connectivity and cluster activation at low connectivity. The frequency of these two kinds of global oscillations can be varied from slow (around 1 Hz) to fast (around 100 Hz), without altering their microscopic and macroscopic features, by adjusting the excitatory drive and the synaptic inhibition strength in a prescribed way. Furthermore, the cluster-activated oscillations at low in-degrees could correspond to the gamma rhythms reported in mammalian cortex and hippocampus and attributed to ensembles of inhibitory neurons sharing few synaptic connections [G. Buzsaki and X.-J. Wang, Annual Review of Neuroscience 35, 203 (2012)].
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn), Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC)
28 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Physical Review E
Weak valley-layer coupling and valley polarization in centrosymmetric $\mathrm{FeCl_2}$ monolayer
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
San-Dong Guo, Liguo Zhang, Xiao-Shu Guo, Gangqiang Zhu
Using the valley degree of freedom as a carrier of information for storage and processing, valley polarization plays a crucial role. A variety of mechanisms for valley polarization have been proposed, among which the valley-layer coupling mechanism involves the induction of valley polarization by an out-of-plane electric field. Here, through first-principles calculations, it is found that the weak valley-layer coupling can exist in centrosymmetric $ \mathrm{FeCl_2}$ monolayer. It is crucial to note that valley-layer coupling only occurs with out-of-plane magnetization and vanishes with in-plane magnetization. Compared to monolayers with strong valley-layer coupling, $ \mathrm{FeCl_2}$ requires an extremely strong electric field to achieve the same magnitude of valley splitting. Valley polarization switching can be achieved by manipulating the directions of magnetization and electric field. Reversing only one of these directions switches the valley polarization, whereas reversing both simultaneously leaves it unchanged. Moreover, the simply stacked bilayer $ \mathrm{FeCl_2}$ , as a $ PT$ -antiferromagnet, can spontaneously achieve valley polarization without an external electric field, highlighting its potential for miniaturization, ultradensity, and ultrafast performance. Our work provides guidelines for identifying materials with weak valley-layer coupling, and further enables the regulation of valley polarization through electric field and stacking engineering.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
7 pages, 6 figures
Precision Measurement of Spin-Dependent Dipolar Splitting in $^6$Li p-Wave Feshbach Resonances
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Shuai Peng, Sijia Peng, Lijun Ren, Shaokun Liu, Bin Liu, Jiaming Li, Le Luo
The magnetic dipolar splitting of a p-wave Feshbach resonance is governed by the spin-orbital configuration of the valence electrons in the triplet molecular state. We perform high-resolution trap loss spectroscopy on ultracold 6Li atoms to resolve this splitting with sub-milligauss precision. By comparing spin-polarized (|mS| = 1) and spin-mixture (mS = 0) configurations of the triplet state, we observe a clear spin-dependent reversal in the splitting structure, confirmed via momentumresolved absorption imaging. This behavior directly reflects the interplay between electron spin projection mS and orbital angular momentum ml in the molecular states. Our results provide a stringent benchmark for dipole-dipole interaction models and lay the groundwork for controlling the pairing in p-wave superfluid systems.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
Structural Hole Traps in III-V Quantum Dots
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Ezra Alexander, Alexandra Alexiu, Matthias Kick, Troy Van Voorhis
Non-toxic III-V quantum dots (QDs) are plagued with a higher density of performance-limiting trap states than II-VI and IV-VI QDs. Such trap states are generally understood to arise from under-coordinated atoms on the QD surface. Here, we present computational evidence for, and an exploration of, trap states in InP and GaP QDs that arise from fully-coordinated atoms with distorted geometries, denoted here as structural traps. In particular, we focus on the properties of anion-centered hole traps, which we show to be relatively insensitive to the choice of the (typically cation-coordinating) ligand. Through interpolation of trap center cutouts, we arrive at a simple molecular orbital (MO) argument for the existence of structural traps, finding two main modalities: bond stretches and angular distortion to a see-saw-like geometry. These structural trap states will be important for understanding the low performance of III-V QDs, as even core-shell passivation may not remove these defects unless they can rigidify the structure. Moreover, they may lead to interesting dynamical properties as distorted structures could form transiently.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
21 pages, 5 figures
Robustness of topological edge states in open alternating spin chains
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Alexander Sattler, Maria Daghofer
Both the Haldane spin-$ 1$ chain and dimerized chains of
spin-$ 1/2$ exhibit topologically protected edge states that
are robust against specific perturbations. Recently, such spin
chains have been specifically assembled on surfaces and we
investigate here the robustness of these edge states against
coupling to the surface. Since no physical system can be considered perfectly isolated, it
is crucial to examine whether topological robustness is maintained in the
presence of environmental coupling.
We apply exact diagonalization to a Lindblad master equation that couples an
alternating Heisenberg spin chain based on spins $ 1/2$ to a surface via
various jump operators. The robustness of topological states is assessed via the
time evolution of quantities such as the ground-state degeneracy, correlation
function, entropy, and magnetization of edge states.
We investigate chains built from dimers with antiferromagnetic and
ferromagnetic intra-dimer coupling, which resemble
Su-Schrieffer-Heeger and the Haldane models, resp., and assess the
impact of $ z$ -axis anisotropy and longer-ranged couplings. Generally,
we find that signatures of topological properties are
more robust in Su-Schrieffer-Heeger-like chains than in
Haldane-like chains.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Enantiosensitive locking of photoelectron spin and cation orientation
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Philip Caesar M. Flores, Stefanos Carlström, Serguei Patchkovskii, Andres F. Ordonez, Olga Smirnova
When electrons pass through chiral molecules, their transmission is strongly influenced by the orientation of their spin: molecules with opposite handedness preferentially transmit electrons with oppositely aligned spins. The underlying nature of this striking phenomenon, known as chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS), remains controversial: its observed strength far surpasses predictions based on the typically weak spin-orbit interaction. A significant fraction of CISS phenomena are driven by light, and thus could be controlled at the ultrafast scale, and impact chemical change following photoionization or photoexcitation. To date, most studies of spin-selective enantio-sensitive photodynamics have concentrated on the influence of the magnetic field component of light. Here, we establish \textit{dynamical} and \textit{geometric} mechanisms of spin-selective photo-induced dynamics that arise purely from electric dipole interactions. Using one-photon ionization as an example, we report a new effect: enantio-sensitive locking of molecular cation orientation to the spins of the photoelectron and the hole in the parent molecule. One-photon ionization is an ubiquitous process, where CISS has already been found in oriented samples. Remarkably, the new effect that we report here emerges upon photoionization of randomly oriented chiral molecules, establishing CISS in amorphous chiral media.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Optics (physics.optics), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
X-ray View of Light-Induced Spin Reorientation in TmFeO$_{3}$: Direct Observation of a 90$^\circ$ Néel Vector Rotation
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Somnath Jana, Ronny Knut, Dima Afanasiev, Niko Pontius, Christian Schüßler-Langeheine, Christian Tzschaschel, Daniel Schick, Alexey V. Kimel, Olof Karis, Clemens von Korff Schmising, Stefan Eisebitt
Using time-resolved X-ray magnetic linear dichroism in reflection, we provide a direct probe of the Néel vector dynamics in TmFeO$ _3$ on a ultrafast timescale. Our measurements reveal that, following optical excitation, the Néel vector undergoes a spin reorientation transition primarily within the a-c plane, completing a full 90° rotation within approximately 20 ps. This study highlights the ability to probe dynamics of antiferromagnets at its intrinsic timescale in reflection geometry, paving the way for investigations of a wide range of antiferromagnets grown on application relevant substrates.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
6 pages, 4 figures
Quantum transport phenomena induced by time-dependent fields
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Matteo Acciai, Liliana Arrachea, Janine Splettstoesser
We present an overview of time-dependent transport phenomena in quantum systems, with a particular emphasis on steady-state regimes. We present the ideas after the main theoretical frameworks to study open-quantum systems out of equilibrium, that are useful to study quantum transport under time-dependent driving. We discuss the fundamentals of the key mechanisms such as dissipation, quantum pumping, noise, and energy conversion that are associated to the problem of quantum transport.
Our primary focus is on electronic systems, where decades of research have established a rich theoretical foundation and a wealth of experimental realizations. Topics of interest include quantum optics with electrons, high-precision electron spectroscopy, quantum electrical metrology, and the critical role of quantum fluctuations in transport and thermodynamics. We also extend the discussion to atomic, molecular, and optical systems, as well as nanomechanical platforms, which offer complementary perspectives and are currently experiencing rapid experimental development. Finally, we examine the intersection of time-dependent transport and topological matter, a domain of active investigation.
This review aims to gather the diverse approaches and emerging trends that define the current landscape of quantum transport research under time-dependent conditions, bridging theoretical insights with experimental advances across multiple physical platforms.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Review article, 82 pages plus references
Raman Optical Activity Induced by Ferroaxial Order in $\textrm{NiTiO}_3$
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Gakuto Kusuno, Takeshi Hayashida, Takayuki Nagai, Hikaru Watanabe, Rikuto Oiwa, Tsuyoshi Kimura, Takuya Satoh
Raman optical activity (ROA) – the dependence of Raman scattered light intensity on the circular polarization of incident and scattered light – has traditionally been associated with chiral molecules and magnetic materials. In this study, we demonstrate that ROA can also arise in ferroaxial materials that possess spatial inversion and time-reversal symmetries. Using circularly polarized Raman spectroscopy on single-crystalline $ \textrm{NiTiO}_3$ , we observed a pronounced ROA signal in the cross-circular polarization configuration, which correlates with the ferroaxial domain structure. Our symmetry analysis and tight-binding model calculations reveal that the natural ROA (NROA) originates from the ferroaxial order and persists even within the electric dipole approximation. These results establish ROA as a powerful probe of ferroaxial order in centrosymmetric systems.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
16 pages and 4 figures
Enhanced thermopower in two-dimensional ruthenium dichalcogenides $RuX_2$ (X = S, Se): a first-principles study
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Parbati Senapati, Ajay Kumar, Prakash Parida
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have garnered attention for their potential in thermoelectric applications due to their unique electronic properties and tunable bandgaps. In this study, we systematically explore the electronic and thermoelectric properties of $ T^{\prime}-RuX_2$ (X = S, Se) using first-principles calculations and semi-classical Boltzmann transport equations. Our findings confirm that $ T^{\prime}-RuX_2$ is energetically and mechanically stable, with high thermopower values such that $ T^{\prime}-RuS_2$ exhibits a Seebeck coefficient of $ 2685\mu V/K$ for hole doping and $ 2585\mu V/K$ for electron doping, while $ T^{\prime}-RuSe_2$ shows values of $ 1515\mu V/K$ and $ 1533\mu V/K$ for hole and electron doping, respectively. Both materials exhibit reasonable power factors and $ ZT$ values, with p-type $ T^{\prime}-RuS_2$ and $ T^{\prime}-RuSe_2$ achieving maximum ZT values of 0.85 and 0.87, respectively, at 1200~K along the y-direction. These results highlight $ T^{\prime}$ -$ RuS_2$ and $ T^{\prime}$ -$ RuSe_2$ as promising candidates for high-temperature TMD-based thermoelectric devices.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Softness and Hydrodynamic Interactions Regulate Lipoprotein Transport in Crowded Yolk Environments
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Nimmi Das Anthuparambil, Michelle Dargasz, Sonja Timmermann, Anita Girelli, Sebastian Retzbach, Johannes Möller, Wonhyuk Jo, Agha Mohammad Raza, Aliaksandr Leonau, James Wrigley, Frederik Unger, Maddalena Bin, Prince Prabhu Rajaiah, Iason Andronis, William Chèvremont, Jörg Hallmann, Angel Rodriguez-Fernandez, Jan-Etienne Pudell, Felix Brausse, Ulrike Boesenberg, Mohamed Youssef, Roman Shayduk, Rustam Rysov, Anders Madsen, Felix Lehmkühler, Michael Paulus, Fajun Zhang, Fivos Perakis, Frank Schreiber, Christian Gutt
Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) serve as nutrient reservoirs in egg yolk for embryonic development and as promising drug carriers. Both roles critically depend on their mobility in densely crowded biological environments. Under these crowded conditions, diffusion is hindered by transient confinement within dynamic cages formed by neighboring particles, driven by solvent-mediated hydrodynamic interactions and memory effects – phenomena that have remained challenging to characterize computationally and experimentally. Here, we employ megahertz X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy to directly probe the cage dynamics of LDLs in yolk-plasma across various concentrations. We find that LDLs undergo anomalous diffusion, experiencing $ \approx$ 100-fold reduction in self-diffusion at high concentrations compared to dilute solutions. This drastic slowing-down is attributed to a combination of hydrodynamic interactions, direct particle-particle interactions, and the inherent softness of LDL particles. Despite reduced dynamics, yolk-plasma remains as a liquid, yet sluggish, balancing dense packing, structural stability, and fluidity essential for controlled lipid release during embryogenesis.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
59 pages
Nonlinear time-reversal symmetry breaking in kagome spin ice HoAgGe
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Kan Zhao, Hao Deng, Hua Chen, Nvsen Ma, Noah Oefele, Jiesen Guo, Xueling Cui, Chen Tang, Matthias J. Gutmann, Thomas Mueller, Yixi Su, Vladimir Hutanu, Changqing Jin, Philipp Gegenwart
Kagome spin ice is an intriguing class of spin systems constituted by in-plane Ising spins with ferromagnetic interaction residing on the kagome lattice, theoretically predicted to host a plethora of magnetic transitions and excitations. In particular, different variants of kagome spin ice models can exhibit different sequences of symmetry breaking upon cooling from the paramagnetic to the fully ordered ground state. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the frustrated intermetallic HoAgGe stands as a faithful solid-state realization of kagome spin ice. Here we use single crystal neutron diffuse scattering to map the spin ordering of HoAgGe at various temperatures more accurately and surprisingly find that the ordering sequence appears to be different from previously known scenarios: From the paramagnetic state, the system first enters a partially ordered state with fluctuating magnetic charges, in contrast to a charge-ordered paramagnetic phase before reaching the fully ordered state. Through state-of-the-art Monte Carlo simulations and scaling analyses using a quasi-2D model for the distorted Kagome spin ice in HoAgGe, we elucidate a single three-dimensional (3D) XY phase transition into the ground state with broken time-reversal symmetry (TRS). However, the 3D XY transition has a long crossover tail before the fluctuating magnetic charges fully order. More interestingly, we find both experimentally and theoretically that the TRS breaking phase of HoAgGe features an unusual, hysteretic response: In spite of their vanishing magnetization, the two time-reversal partners are distinguished and selected by a nonlinear magnetic susceptibility tied to the kagome ice rule. Our discovery not only unveils a new symmetry breaking hierarchy of kagome spin ice, but also demonstrates the potential of TRS-breaking frustrated spin systems for information technology applications.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
This manuscript contains 19 pages and 5 figures, with Supplemental Materials not included
Prediction and Synthesis of Mg$_4$Pt$_3$H$_6$: A Metallic Complex Transition Metal Hydride Stabilized at Ambient Pressure
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Wencheng Lu, Michael J. Hutcheon, Mads F. Hansen, Kapildeb Dolui, Shubham Sinha, Mihir R. Sahoo, Chris J. Pickard, Christoph Heil, Anna Pakhomova, Mohamed Mezouar, Dominik Daisenberger, Stella Chariton, Vitali Prakapenka, Matthew N. Julian, Rohit P. Prasankumar, Timothy A. Strobel
The low-pressure stabilization of superconducting hydrides with high critical temperatures ($ T_c$ s) remains a significant challenge, and experimentally verified superconducting hydrides are generally constrained to a limited number of structural prototypes. Ternary transition-metal complex hydrides (hydrido complexes)-typically regarded as hydrogen storage materials-exhibit a large range of compounds stabilized at low pressure with recent predictions for high-$ T_c$ superconductivity. Motivated by this class of materials, we investigated complex hydride formation in the Mg-Pt-H system, which has no known ternary hydride compounds. Guided by ab initio structural predictions, we successfully synthesized a novel complex transition-metal hydride, Mg$ _4$ Pt$ _3$ H$ _6$ , using laser-heated diamond anvil cells. The compound forms in a body-centered cubic structural prototype at moderate pressures between 8-25 GPa. Unlike the majority of known hydrido complexes, Mg$ _4$ Pt$ _3$ H$ _6$ is metallic, with formal charge described as 4[Mg]$ ^{2+}$ .3[PtH$ _2$ ]$ ^{2-}$ . X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements obtained during decompression reveal that Mg$ _4$ Pt$ _3$ H$ _6$ remains stable upon quenching to ambient conditions. Magnetic-field and temperature-dependent electrical transport measurements indicate ambient-pressure superconductivity with $ T_c$ (50%) = 2.9 K, in reasonable agreement with theoretical calculations. These findings clarify the phase behavior in the Mg-Pt-H system and provide valuable insights for transition-metal complex hydrides as a new class of hydrogen-rich superconductors.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Observation of Coherent Ferrons
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Jeongheon Choe, Taketo Handa, Chun-Ying Huang, André Koch Liston, Jordan Cox, Jonathan Stensberg, Yongseok Hong, Daniel G. Chica, Ding Xu, Fuyang Tay, Vinicius da Silveira Lanza Avelar, Eric A. Arsenault, James McIver, Dmitri N. Basov, Milan Delor, Xavier Roy, X.-Y. Zhu
Excitation of ordered phases produces quasiparticles and collective modes, as exemplified by magnons that emerge from magnetic order, with applications in information transmission and quantum interconnects. Extending this paradigm to ferroelectric materials suggests the existence of ferrons, i.e. fundamental quanta of the collective excitation of ferroelectric order5 developed theoretically by Bauer and coworkers. While coherent magnons are observed in a broad range of experiments, coherent ferrons have eluded experimental detection. This discrepancy is particularly intriguing given that electric dipole interactions (FE) are inherently stronger than their magnetic counterparts. Here, we report the generation and transport of coherent ferrons in the van der Waals (vdW) ferroelectric material NbOI2. By launching collective oscillations of the ferroelectric dipoles using a short laser pulse, we identify coherent ferrons from intense and narrow-band terahertz (THz) emission and observe their propagations along the polar direction at extremely hypersonic velocities exceeding 10^5 m/s. The THz emission is a second-order nonlinear process that requires ferroelectric order, as is confirmed in the structurally related ferroelectric WO2Br2 and non-ferroelectric TaOBr2. The discovery of coherent ferrons paves the way for numerous applications, including narrow-band THz emission, ferronic information processing, and quantum interconnects.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Applied Physics (physics.app-ph), Optics (physics.optics)
39 pages, 4 figures, 10 supporting figures
On the performance of machine-learning assisted Monte Carlo in sampling from simple statistical physics models
New Submission | Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Luca Maria Del Bono, Federico Ricci-Tersenghi, Francesco Zamponi
Recent years have seen a rise in the application of machine learning techniques to aid the simulation of hard-to-sample systems that cannot be studied using traditional methods. Despite the introduction of many different architectures and procedures, a wide theoretical understanding is still lacking, with the risk of suboptimal implementations. As a first step to address this gap, we provide here a complete analytic study of the widely-used Sequential Tempering procedure applied to a shallow MADE architecture for the Curie-Weiss model. The contribution of this work is twofold: firstly, we give a description of the optimal weights and of the training under Gradient Descent optimization. Secondly, we compare what happens in Sequential Tempering with and without the addition of local Metropolis Monte Carlo steps. We are thus able to give theoretical predictions on the best procedure to apply in this case. This work establishes a clear theoretical basis for the integration of machine learning techniques into Monte Carlo sampling and optimization.
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI), Machine Learning (cs.LG), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
16 pages, 9 figures
Lattice Compatibility and Energy Barriers in Intercalation Compounds
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-05-29 20:00 EDT
Delin Zhang, Ananya Renuka Balakrishna
We present a continuum model for symmetry-breaking phase transformations in intercalation compounds, based on Ericksen’s multi-well energy formulation. The model predicts the nucleation and growth of crystallographic microstructures in Li$ _{2}$ Mn$ _{2}$ O$ {4}$ – a representative intercalation compound – with twin boundary orientations and volume fractions that closely match experimental observations. Our chemo-mechanically coupled model not only generates geometrically accurate microstructures through energy minimization, but also reveals a subtle interplay between twinned domains and electro-chemo-mechanical behavior. A key finding is that intercalation compounds satisfying specific compatibility conditions (e.g., $ \lambda{2} = 1$ or $ |\det \mathbf{U} - 1| = 0)$ show lower elastic energy barriers, require smaller driving forces, and display narrower voltage hysteresis loops. Furthermore, we show that twinned domains act as conduits for fast Li-diffusion. These results establish quantitative design guidelines for intercalation compounds, which focuses on tailoring lattice deformations (rather than suppressing them) and reducing energy barriers to mitigate structural degradation and enhance the electrochemical performance of battery electrodes.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
37 pages, 15 figures