CMP Journal 2025-06-09
Statistics
Nature: 1
Nature Nanotechnology: 1
Nature Physics: 1
Nature Reviews Physics: 1
arXiv: 68
Nature
NINJ1 regulates plasma membrane fragility under mechanical strain
Original Paper | Assay systems | 2025-06-08 20:00 EDT
Yunfeng Zhu, Fang Xiao, Yiling Wang, Yufang Wang, Jialin Li, Dongmei Zhong, Zhilei Huang, Miao Yu, Zhirong Wang, Joshua Barbara, Christopher Plunkett, Mengxue Zeng, Yiyan Song, Tian Tan, Ruibin Zhang, Kezhen Xu, Zhongxing Wang, Changjie Cai, Xiangdong Guan, Scott Hammack, Liang Zhang, Zheng Shi, Fu-li Xiang, Feng Shao, Jie Xu
Plasma membrane integrity is vital for nearly all aspects of cell functioning1. Mechanical forces can cause plasma membrane damage2, but it is not known whether there are large molecules that regulate plasma membrane integrity under mechanical strain. Here we constructed a 384-well cellular stretch system that delivers precise, reproducible strain to cultured cells. Using the system, we screened 10,843 siRNAs targeting 2,726 multi-pass transmembrane proteins for strain-induced membrane permeability changes. The screen identified NINJ1, a protein recently proposed to regulate pyroptosis and other lytic cell death3,4, as the top hit. We demonstrate that NINJ1 is a critical regulator for mechanical strain-induced plasma membrane rupture (PMR), without the need of stimulating any cell death programs. NINJ1 level on the plasma membrane is inversely correlated to the amount of force required to rupture the membrane. In the pyroptosis context, NINJ1 on its own is not sufficient to fully rupture the membrane, and additional mechanical force is required for full PMR. Our work establishes that NINJ1 functions as a bona fide determinant of membrane biomechanical properties. Our study also suggests that PMR across tissues of distinct mechanical microenvironments is subjected to fine tuning by differences in NINJ1 expression and external forces.
Assay systems, Cell death, Cell death and immune response, Membrane biophysics
Nature Nanotechnology
High-fidelity single-spin shuttling in silicon
Original Paper | Quantum information | 2025-06-08 20:00 EDT
Maxim De Smet, Yuta Matsumoto, Anne-Marije J. Zwerver, Larysa Tryputen, Sander L. de Snoo, Sergey V. Amitonov, Sam R. Katiraee-Far, Amir Sammak, Nodar Samkharadze, Önder Gül, Rick N. M. Wasserman, Eliška Greplová, Maximilian Rimbach-Russ, Giordano Scappucci, Lieven M. K. Vandersypen
The computational power and fault tolerance of future large-scale quantum processors derive in large part from the connectivity between the qubits. One approach to increase connectivity is to engineer qubit-qubit interactions at a distance. Alternatively, the connectivity can be increased by physically displacing the qubits. For semiconductor spin qubits, several studies have investigated spin coherent shuttling of individual electrons, but high-fidelity transport over extended distances remains to be demonstrated. Here we report shuttling of an electron inside an isotopically purified Si/SiGe heterostructure using electric gate potentials. In a first set of experiments, we form static quantum dots and study how spin coherence decays during bucket-brigade shuttling, where we repeatedly move a single electron between up to five dots. Next, for conveyor-mode shuttling, we create a travelling-wave potential, formed with either one or two sets of sine waves, to transport an electron in a moving quantum dot. This method shows a spin coherence an order of magnitude better than the bucket-brigade shuttling. It allows us to displace an electron over an effective distance of 10 μm in under 200 ns while preserving the spin state with a fidelity of 99.5% on average. These results will guide future efforts to realize large-scale semiconductor quantum processors, making use of electron shuttling both within and between qubit arrays.
Quantum information, Qubits
Nature Physics
Spin-selective magneto-conductivity in WSe2
Original Paper | Electronic and spintronic devices | 2025-06-08 20:00 EDT
En-Min Shih, Qianhui Shi, Daniel Rhodes, Bumho Kim, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Kun Yang, James Hone, Cory R. Dean
Material systems that exhibit tunable spin-selective conductivity are key components of spintronic technologies. Here, we demonstrate a mechanism for spin-selective transport that is based on the unusual Landau-level sequence observed in bilayer WSe2 under large applied magnetic fields. We find that the conductivity depends strongly on the relative ordering between conducting electrons with different spins and valleys in a partially filled Landau level and the localized electrons of lower-energy filled Landau levels. We observe that the conductivity is almost completely suppressed when the spin ratio and field-tuned Coulomb energy exceed a critical threshold. We achieve switching between on and off states through either modulation of the external magnetic or electric fields, with many-body interactions driving a collective switching mechanism. In contrast to magnetoresistive heterostructures, this mechanism achieves electrically tunable spin filtering within a single material, driven by the interaction between free and localized spins residing in energy-separated spin-and-valley-polarized bands. Similar spin-selective conductivity may be realizable in flat-band systems at zero magnetic field.
Electronic and spintronic devices, Electronic devices, Electronic properties and materials, Magnetic properties and materials, Spintronics
Nature Reviews Physics
Exciton condensate in van der Waals layered materials
Review Paper | Bose-Einstein condensates | 2025-06-08 20:00 EDT
Byoung Hee Moon, Ashok Mondal, Dmitry K. Efimkin, Young Hee Lee
Van der Waals layered materials have emerged as a platform for exploring exciton condensation, a phenomenon that reflects quantum coherence and collective behaviour. Unlike traditional quantum Hall systems, 2D layered materials offer a unique opportunity to observe exciton condensation without external magnetic field and at relatively high temperatures, making them highly attractive for both fundamental studies and potential applications. This Perspective focuses on recent advances in understanding the electrical transport behaviours of exciton condensates in 2D layered materials and the strategies proposed to achieve high-temperature exciton condensation, while addressing the challenges and discussing potential future developments in this area.
Bose-Einstein condensates, Electronic properties and materials
arXiv
Crushing, Comminution and Fracture: Extreme Particle Deformation in Three-Dimensional Granular Aggregates
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Debdeep Bhattacharya, Davood Damircheli, Robert P. Lipton
We present a high-fidelity three dimensional computational framework for simulating the bulk mechanical behavior of granular aggregates composed of deformable brittle grains. Departing from classical discrete element methods (DEM), our approach captures both inter-particle and intra-particle deformation using a nonlocal continuum formulation based on peridynamics. Each grain is individually meshed from level-set representations, enabling accurate modeling of elastic response and autonomous fracture evolution without requiring explicit crack tracking or fragment reconstruction. We validate the method through benchmark simulations, including the Kalthoff-Winkler fracture test, crushing of hollow spheres, and compound impact-crushing scenarios. The framework is further applied to large aggregates of up to 1000 sand grains of irregular shapes reconstructed from three dimensional X-ray computed tomography. Simulations reveal convergence of bulk stress response under compression, suggesting the feasibility of constructing representative volume elements (RVEs) for multiscale modeling. Finally, we investigate the role of grain geometry and topology on the macroscopic strength of the aggregate, providing insight into microstructure-driven failure mechanisms. The framework exhibits excellent strong and weak scaling behavior, with simulations executed on up to 1600 cores, demonstrating its suitability for high-performance computing environments and large-scale modeling.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
3D tracking of Plankton with single-camera stereoscopy
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
J. Moscatelli, X Benoit Gonin, F. Elias
We introduce a device developed to perform a 3D tracking of passive or active particles under flow, confined in a medium of hundreds micrometers wide. Micro-objects are placed inside a vertical glass capillary and two mirrors are set behind it with a certain angle, making it possible to have the two reflections of the capillary on the same optical plane. A 3D reconstruction of the trajectories, captured with a single camera, is carried out along the vertical axis with a micrometer-scale precision. To investigate the interaction between the shear, the role of the gravity field, and motile microorganism, we track a model puller-type microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii under a Poiseuille flow, using first its natural fluorescence and then a bright-field imaging. Understanding how confinement influences motility is crucial, and we show that this 3D tracking setup enables a full description of interactions between a motile organism and a solid border.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
The scaling regimes for unsteady diffusion across particle-stabilized fluid interfaces
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
T.J.J.M. van Overveld, V. Garbin
Colloidal particles at fluid interfaces can enhance the stability of drops and bubbles. Yet, their effect on mass transfer in these multiphase systems remains ambiguous, with some experiments reporting strongly hindered diffusion, while others show nearly no effect, even at near-complete surface coverage. To resolve this ambiguity, we solve the Fick-Jacobs equation for unsteady diffusion, allowing us to treat the particle-laden interface as a locally reduced cross-sectional area for mass transfer. Our numerical solutions reveal two limiting regimes, with the particle layer hindering diffusion only at short times. Guided by analytical solutions for a homogeneous layer with reduced diffusivity, we derive quantitative expressions for the transport regimes and associated transition times for diffusion across the particle layer. This analysis yields a simple criterion for long-term hindrance that accurately distinguishes between conflicting experimental results, providing a unifying framework for mass transfer in particle-laden multiphase systems.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
6 pages, 5 figures, to be submitted to Physical Review Letters
Hyperelastic characterization via deep indentation
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Mohammad Shojaeifard, Mattia Bacca
Hyperelastic material characterization is crucial for understanding the behavior of soft materials, such as tissues, rubbers, hydrogels, and polymers, under quasi-static loading before failure. Traditional methods typically rely on uniaxial tensile tests, which require the cumbersome preparation of dumbbell-shaped samples for clamping in a uniaxial testing machine. In contrast, indentation-based methods, which can be conducted in situ without sample preparation, have been underexplored. To characterize the hyperelastic behavior of soft materials, deep indentation is required, where the material response extends beyond linear elasticity. In this study, we perform finite element analysis to link the force (F) vs. indentation depth (D) curve with the hyperelastic behavior of a soft incompressible material, using a one-term Ogden model for simplicity. We identify three indentation regimes based on the ratio between indentation depth and the radius (R) of the spherical-tipped cylindrical indenter: (1) the Hertzian regime (D<0.1 R) with F=ER^0.5 D^1.5 16/9, (2) the parabolic regime (D>10 R) with F=ED^2 \b{eta}, where the indenter radius becomes irrelevant, and (3) an intermediate regime (0.1 R<D<10 R) bridging the two extremes. We find that the Ogden strain-stiffening coefficient ({\alpha}) increases the parabolic indentation coefficient (\b{eta}), allowing for the estimation of {\alpha} from \b{eta}. Furthermore, we observe that Coulomb friction increases \b{eta}, potentially masking the effect of strain-stiffening for small {\alpha}. However, for {\alpha}>3, friction has a negligible effect. Finally, our results show good agreement with experimental data, demonstrating that deep indentation can be an effective method for extracting hyperelastic properties from soft materials through in-situ testing.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Kilobyte-Scale, Selector-Free, Temperature-Hard AlScN Ferroelectric Diode Crossbar Arrays
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Zirun Han, Chao-Chuan Chen, Dhiren K. Pradhan, David C. Moore, Ravali Gudavalli, Xindi Yang, Kwan-Ho Kim, Hyunmin Cho, Zachary Anderson, Spencer Ware, Harsh Yellai, W. Joshua Kennedy, Nicholas R. Glavin, Roy H. Olsson III, Deep Jariwala
We report the fabrication and characterization of kilobyte-scale, selector-free, ferroelectric (FE) diode crossbar memory arrays based on aluminum scandium nitride (AlScN). Utilizing a fully CMOS back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible process, we fabricated 2-kilobyte (128 $ \times$ 128) arrays with device diameters down to 5 $ \mu$ m, achieving memory densities up to 2500 bits/mm$ ^2$ . Large-scale electrical characterization across 1000 randomly selected devices reveals a yield rate of 95.2%, a tight switching voltage distribution with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 0.003, and consistent on/off ratios of around 10 with a CV of 0.27. We demonstrate selector-free read and program operations of the array, enabled by the high nonlinearity, rectification, and uniform switching behavior of the FE diodes. Furthermore, we verified consistent ferroelectric switching during array operation at temperatures up to 600 $ ^\circ$ C. Our results highlight the potential of AlScN FE diode arrays for energy-efficient, high-density memory applications and lay the groundwork for future integration in compute-near-memory, high-temperature memory, and analog compute-in-memory systems.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Emergent Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless deconfinement in super-Coulombic plasmas
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Ayush De, Leo Radzihovsky, Snir Gazit
We study the statistical mechanics of two-dimensional “super-Coulombic” plasmas, namely, neutral plasmas with power-law interactions longer-ranged than Coulomb. To that end, we employ numerically exact large-scale Monte Carlo simulations. Contrary to naive energy-entropy arguments, we observe a charge confinement-deconfinement transition as a function of temperature. Remarkably, the transition lies in the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) universality class. Our results corroborate recent dielectric medium and renormalization group calculations predicting effective long-scale Coulomb interactions in microscopically super-Coulombic gases. We explicitly showcase this novel dielectric screening phenomenon, capturing the emergent Coulomb potential and the associated crossover length scale. This is achieved by utilizing a new test charge based methodology for determining effective inter-particle interactions. Lastly, we show that this Coulomb emergence and the associated BKT transition occur universally across generic interactions and densities.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)
11 pages, 14 figures
Probing quantum geometry with two-dimensional nonlinear optical spectroscopy
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Paul Froese, Mark R. Hirsbrunner, Yong Baek Kim
Recent studies have shown that the nonlinear optical response of crystalline systems is fundamentally a quantum geometric property. In this work, we propose two-dimensional coherent spectroscopy (2DCS), which measures the nonlinear conductivity as a function of two independent frequencies using two time-delayed light pulses, as a probe of quantum geometry. We show how the two-frequency second-order nonlinear conductivity, which is naturally measured by 2DCS, decomposes into distinct quantum geometric contributions. We identify a term arising from the multi-band quantum connection that does not appear in linear response, and show that it can be measured in isolation by considering specific polarizations and enforcing time-reversal symmetry. We explore this finding via model calculations for transition metal dichalcogenides and Sr$ _2$ RuO$ _4$ . Through these examples, we demonstrate how 2DCS enables study of the quantum connection, providing a way to compare the quantum geometry of different materials. We also show that one can gain rough momentum-resolved knowledge of the quantum geometry by varying the chemical potential.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
7 pages, 3 figures (7 pages in supplement)
Embrittling bulk metals into hydride in acid solution
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Ankang Chen, Zihao Huo, Jiewen Liu, Chuang Liu, Yongming Sui, Xuan Liu, Qingkun Yuan, Bao Yuan, Yan Li, Defang Duan, Bo Zou
Hydride induced embrittlement (HIE), in which the hydrogen infiltrates metal lattices to form hydrides, typically causes catastrophic failure. Inspired by HIE effect, we propose an “HIE-mediated synthesis” approach, where bulk metal foils serve as precursors and oleic/sulfuric acid act as hydrogen donors under solvo/hydrothermal conditions, enabling the synthesis of 18 high-purity metal hydrides (MgH$ _2$ , ScH$ _2$ , YH$ _2$ , LaH$ _2$ , LaH$ _{2.3}$ , SmH$ _2$ , LuH$ _2$ , TiH$ _2$ , $ \delta$ -ZrH$ _{1.6}$ , $ \epsilon$ -ZrH$ _2$ , HfH$ _{1.7}$ , HfH$ _2$ , VH$ _{0.8}$ , VH$ _2$ , NbH, NbH$ _2$ , Ta$ _2$ H, and TaH). Integrated high-pressure experiments and first-principles calculations, the concept of equivalent chemical pressure ($ \Delta$ Pc) was introduced to elucidate the mechanism of synthesizing and stabilizing metal hydrides in an acidic environment. This mechanism predicts the synthesis of challenging hydrides such as LiH. Our approach successfully converts HIE from a primary culprit of material failure to an effective contributor in hydride synthesis.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
Theory of plasmon spectroscopy with the quantum twisting microscope
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Nemin Wei, Francisco Guinea, Felix von Oppen, Leonid I. Glazman
We consider plasmon-assisted electron tunneling in a quantum twisting microscope (QTM). The dependence of the differential conductance on the two control parameters of the QTM – the twist angle and bias – reveals the plasmon spectrum as well as the strength of plasmon-electron interactions in the sample. We perform microscopic calculations for twisted bilayer graphene (TBG), to predict the plasmon features in the tunneling spectra of TBG close to the magic angle for different screening environments. Our work establishes a general framework for inelastic tunneling spectroscopy of collective electronic excitations using the quantum twisting microscope.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
21 pages, 12 figures
All-electrically controlled spintronics in altermagnetic heterostructures
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Pei-Hao Fu, Qianqian Lv, Yong Xu, Jorge Cayao, Jun-Feng Liu, Xiang-Long Yu
The recent development of altermagnetic materials, supporting spin splitting without net magnetization, opens new directions for spintronics that are fundamentally distinct from conventional ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, or spin-orbit coupling systems. Here we investigate spin-selective quantum transport in heterostructures composed of a normal metal and a two-dimensional $ d$ -wave altermagnet. We focus on two types of $ d$ -wave altermagnets, namely, weak and strong altermagnets that support close elliptic and open hyperbolic spin-resolved Fermi surfaces, respectively. Building on these distinct electronic structures, we propose all-electrically controlled spin filter and spin valve devices, where quantum resonant tunneling enables highly spin-polarized conductance tunable via gate voltage and interface transparency. In particular, we find that strong altermagnets allow gate-tunable full spin polarization that is robust against interface scattering and can be reversed by gate control. We further demonstrate that a double-gated spin valve electrically switches between parallel and antiparallel spin configurations, analogous to magnetic junctions but without the need for external magnetic fields. Our results establish both weak and strong altermagnets as promising platforms for realizing magnetic-field-free electrically tunable spintronic functionalities.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Applied Physics (physics.app-ph)
12 pages, 4 figures
Phonon dephasing times determined with time-delayed, broadband CARS
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Franz Hempel, Michael Rüsing, Federico Vernuccio, Kai J. Spychala, Robin Buschbeck, Giulio Cerullo, Dario Polli, Lukas M. Eng
Coherent Raman scattering techniques as coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), offer significant advantages in terms of pixel dwell times and speed as compared to spontaneous Raman scattering for investigations of crystalline materials. However, the spectral information in CARS is often hampered by the presence of a non-resonant contribution to the scattering process that shifts and distorts the Raman peaks. In this work, we apply a method to obtain non-resonant background-free spectra based on time-delayed, broadband CARS (TD-BCARS) using an intra-pulse excitation scheme. In particular, this method can measure the phononic dephasing times across the full phonon spectrum at once. We test the methodology on amorphous SiO2 (glass), which is used to characterize the setup-specific and material-independent response times, and then apply TD-BCARS to the analysis of single crystals of diamond and ferroelectrics of potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) and potassium titanyl arsenate (KTA). For diamond, we determine a dephasing time of t = 7.81 ps for the single sp3 peak.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Optics (physics.optics)
Cyclic loading of a heterogeneous non-linear poroelastic material
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Zoe C. Godard, Derek E. Moulton, Sarah L. Waters
Cyclic loading is a common feature in poroelastic systems, the material response depending non-trivially on the exact form of boundary conditions, pore structure, and mechanical properties. The situation becomes more complex when heterogeneity is introduced in the properties of the poroelastic material, yet heterogeneity too is common in physical poroelastic structures. In this paper, we analyse the behaviour of a soft porous material in response to a uniaxial cyclic stress or displacement, with a focus on understanding how this response is affected by continuous heterogeneity in the stiffness or permeability. Our work is motivated by observed altered material properties of the diseased tendon, but the framework we develop and analyse is generically applicable. We construct a one-dimensional non-linear poroelastic model, assuming Darcy flow through the pores of the solid skeleton which we assume has neo-Hookean elasticity. The system is driven by an applied uniaxial cyclic stress or a uniaxial cyclic displacement at one boundary. Heterogeneity in the stiffness or permeability profile is imposed via a Gaussian bump function. By exploring a range of loading frequencies together with magnitudes and locations of heterogeneity, we characterise the effect of heterogeneity on the response of the material, and show that the response of the system to an applied stress is qualitatively distinct from the response to an applied displacement. Our analysis of this simple model provides a foundation for understanding how heterogeneity affects the poroelastic response to cyclic loading.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
Twist-Angle-Controlled Anomalous Gating in Bilayer Graphene/BN Heterostructures
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
G. Maffione, L. S. Farrar, M. Kapfer, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, H. Aubin, D. Mailly, R. Ribeiro-Palau
Anomalous gating effects-such as gate ineffectiveness and pronounced hysteresis-have been observed in graphene-based systems encapsulated in boron nitride (BN) and linked to a possible ferroelectric state. However, their origin, stability, and reproducibility remain under debate. Here, we present charge transport experiments in dual-gated, dynamically rotatable van der Waals heterostructures based on bilayer graphene encapsulated in BN. Remarkably, the angular degree of freedom acts as an ON/OFF switch for the anomalous gating response. We show that the angular alignment between the two BN layers – not the presence of a moiré superlattice with graphene – is the key parameter governing these effects. The relevant alignment between the two BN layers, to observe the anomalous gating effect at room temperature, lies between 15 deg and 45 deg, with no evidence of the expected 60 deg periodicity. Both gate ineffectiveness and hysteresis are highly sensitive to small angular changes, which we classify into three distinct regimes. Our results clarify the conditions necessary to reproduce these phenomena and pave the way for theoretical investigation of their microscopic origins.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
Axionic nonreciprocal superconductivity
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Maitê Kessler de Azambuja, David Möckli
In nonreciprocal superconductors, inversion and time-reversal symmetries are absent, which may be broken extrinsically or spontaneously. Here, we consider a simple BCS model with both attractive singlet and attractive triplet pairing channels. We show that when the triplet instability dominates, the model predicts a nonreciprocal superconducting state of the axionic subtype, in which both inversion and time-reversal symmetries are spontaneously broken by the superconductivity without requiring spin-orbit coupling. This leads to characteristic experimental signatures of spontaneous symmetry breaking in superconductors, such as a two-step transition in the specific heat. We critically analyze whether familiar pairing mechanisms such as the electron-phonon interaction and ferromagnetic spin fluctuations could produce such an axionic state.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
8 pages, 2 figures
Low-temperature cotunneling electron transport in photo-switchable molecule-nanoparticle networks
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Yannick Viero, David Guérin, Dominique Vuillaume
We report the temperature-dependent (4.2 - 300 K) electron transport properties (current-voltage) of photo-switchable two-dimensional arrays of gold nanoparticles (10 nm in diameter) functionalized by azobenzene derivatives. Under UV-light irradiation at 4.2 K, the azobenzene moieties are switched from the trans to cis isomers, leading to an increase of the current. In both conformations, at low temperature (< 77 K) and low voltage (< 1 V) the voltage- and temperature-dependent current behaviors show that electron cotunneling is the dominant transport mechanism. The number of cotunneling events Ncot slightly increases from ca. 1. 4 to 1.7 upon trans-to-cis isomerization of the azobenzenes. The nanoparticle Coulomb charging energy is not significantly modified (ca. 15 meV) by the azobenzene isomerization. This weak increase of Ncot is explained by the modest cis/trans current ratio (< 10) and the limited numbers of nanoparticle-molecule-nanoparticle junctions inserted between the two nanoscale electrodes (< 50 nm apart) connecting the network.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Cavity-mediated exciton hopping in a dielectrically engineered polariton system
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Lukas Husel, Farsane Tabataba-Vakili, Johannes Scherzer, Lukas Krelle, Ismail Bilgin, Samarth Vadia, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Iacopo Carusotto, Alexander Högele
Exciton-polaritons - coherently hybridized states of excitons and photons - are instrumental for solid-state nonlinear optics and quantum simulations. To enable engineered polariton energy landscapes and interactions, local control over the particle-like states can be achieved by tuning the properties of the exciton constituent. Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides stand out in this respect, as they readily allow for a deterministic, flexible and scalable control of excitons, and thus of hybrid exciton-polaritons, via environmental dielectric engineering. Here, we demonstrate the realization of mesoscopic exciton-polariton domains in a structured dielectric exciton environment, and establish an effective long-range exciton hopping in the dispersive regime of cavity-coupling. Our results represent a crucial step toward interacting polaritonic networks and quantum simulations in exciton-polariton lattices based on dielectrically tailored two-dimensional semiconductors.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Rheology of bidisperse suspensions at the colloidal-to-granular transition
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Xuan Li, John R. Royer, Christopher Ness
We use particle-based simulation to study the rheology of dense suspensions comprising mixtures of small colloids and larger grains, which exhibit shear thinning at low shear rates and shear thickening at high shear rates. By systematically varying the volume fraction of the two species, we demonstrate a monotonic increase in viscosity when grains are added to colloids, but, conversely, a nonmonotonic response in both the viscosity and shear thickening onset when colloids are added to grains. Both effects are most prominent at intermediate shear rates where diffusion and convection play similar roles in the dynamics. We rationalise these results by measuring the maximum flowable volume fraction as functions of the Peclet number and composition, showing that in extreme cases increasing the solids content can allow a jammed suspension to flow. These results establish a constitutive description for the rheology of bidisperse suspensions across the colloidal-to-granular transition, with implications for flow prediction and control in multicomponent particulate systems.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
BO-graphane and BO-diamane
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Babu Ram, Rohit Anand, Arun S. Nissimagoudar, Geunsik Lee, Rodney S Ruoff
The adsorption of boron and oxygen atoms onto mono- and multi-layer graphene leads to the formation of a buckled graphene layer (BO-graphane) and a 2D diamond-like structure (BO-diamane) sandwiched between boron monoxide layers per DFT calculations. BO-graphane has a calculated Young’s modulus ($ \it{E}$ ) of 750 GPA and BO-diamane 771 GPa, higher than the calculated $ \it{E}$ of -F,-OH, and -H diamanes; this is due to the presence of B-O bonds in the functionalizing layers. Electronic band structure calculations show BO-graphane and BO-diamane are wide band gap semiconductors with an indirect band gap up to a thickness of three layers (3L). Phonon dispersion and $ ab-initio$ molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations confirm dynamic and thermal stability, maintaining structural integrity at 1000 K. The room-temperature lattice thermal conductivity of BO-graphane and BO-diamane is found to be 879 W/m.K and 1260 W/m.K, respectively, surpassing BeO (385 W/m.K), MgO (64 W/m.K), and Al$ _2$ O$ _3$ (36 W/m.K); and F-diamane (377 W/m.K), and comparable to H-diamane (1145-1960 W/m.K), suggesting them as candidates for thermal management in applications.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
12,8 figures, 10 supplementary figures
Magnetic Moiré Systems: a review
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
This review synthesizes recent advancements in the study of moiré magnetism. This emerging field, at the intersection of twistronics, topology, and strongly correlated systems, explores novel phenomena that arise when moiré potentials influence magnetic two-dimensional systems. The manuscript presents recent advances highlighting the interfacial incongruity as a novel mechanism for regulating the magnetism of two-dimensional materials and for the manifestation of various phenomena in twisted and mismatched magnetic two-dimensional interfaces. The manuscript addresses seminal and recent experimental and theoretical advances associated with both small- and large-period magnetic moiré lattices, including novel magnetic phases, low-energy and topological magnetic excitations, magnetic and electronic transport, optical properties, phase transitions, and prospective applications of these materials. Moiré magnetism signifies a promising frontier for manipulating complex quantum states in quantum matter. The ongoing advances in this field are poised to impact condensed matter physics, materials science, and quantum information science.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
18 pages
Coherent phonon motions and ordered vacancy compound mediated quantum path interference in Cu-poor CuIn${x}$Ga${(1-x)}$Se$_2$ (CIGS) with attosecond transient absorption
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Hugo Laurell, Jonah R. Adelman, Elizaveta Yakovleva, Carl Hägglund, Kostiantyn Sopiha, Axel Stenquist, Han K. D. Le, Peidong Yang, Marika Edoff, Stephen R. Leone
In this study, coherent phonon motion is observed in bandgap excited CuIn$ _{x}$ Ga$ _{(1-x)}$ Se$ 2$ (CIGS) utilizing extreme ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy across the Se M$ {4,5}$ absorption edge. Two frequencies of coherent phonon motion are resolved, a low frequency mode attributed through Raman measurements to the $ A{1g}$ phonon motion of a Cu-deficient ordered vacancy compound (OVC), while the high frequency mode originates from the $ A{1g}$ phonon motion in the chalcopyrite phase. The two oscillations lead to modulations in the XUV differential absorption $ \Delta A(\epsilon,\tau)$ due to energy shifts of the Se M$ _{4,5}$ edge, with a minima occuring approximately 1 ps after the band gap excitation. The hot carrier cooling time of holes and electrons are disentangled and the observed slower cooling of holes is attributed to the higher density of hole states in the valence band. We also observe fast oscillations (18.6(3) fs period) across the Se absorption edge, which are interpreted to originate from quantum path interference between the electronic conduction bands of the chalcopyrite CIGS and OVC phases, opening the possibility towards quantum coherent metrology in photovoltaics on the femtosecond timescale. The complex interplay between the chalcopyrite and OVC phases are revealed in this investigation through both coherent vibrational and electronic motions.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Unified Symmetry Breaking in Confined Electrolytes: Charge, Chemical Potential, and the Nonlinear Capacitance of Hollow Nanoparticles
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
We study the nonlinear electrostatic response of electrolyte-filled, hollow charged nanoparticles, modeled as nanocapacitors with finite wall thickness and curved geometry.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
50 pages, 9 figures, one appendix
Magnetic excitations in the 1/3 plateau state in InCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_3$
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Moyu Kato, Hiroyuki K. Yoshida, R. Kumar, Yoshihiko Ihara
Magnetic dynamics in InCu$ _3$ (OH)$ _6$ Cl$ _3$ was investigated from the NMR relaxation rate measurement. In InCu$ _3$ (OH)$ _6$ Cl$ _3$ , the magnetization isotherm shows a plateau at the 1/3 of full-saturation magnetization, characterizing the 1/3 plateau state. As the 1/3 plateau state appears above 7 T upto 14 T, the microscopic magnetic properties were investigated with the NMR measurement in steady fields. The temperature and field dependence of $ 1/T_1$ measurement reveals a gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum and its evolution with field in the 1/3 plateau state. The field dependence of spin gap provides an important information to understand the microscopic origin of 1/3 plateau state in the kagome antiferromagnets.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
5 pages, 5 figures
Topological impact of nanopore electrodes on the structure of the electrical double layer and the di erential capacitance
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
A. Silva-Caballero, A. Lozada-Hidalgo, M. Lozada-Cassou
The electrical double layer for three different topologies of nanopore electrodes is studied, i.e., the interior and exterior electrical double layers of planar, cylindrical and spherical nanopores immersed into a point-ions electrolyte, and not connected to a power source, are analytically attained through the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
73 pages, 9 figures, 2 appendixes
Molecular dynamics of $cis$-polybutadiene across glass transition revealed by muonated-radical spin relaxation
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
S. Takeshita, H. Okabe, M. Hiraishi, K. M. Kojima, A. Koda, H. Seto, T. Masui, N. Wakabayashi, F. L. Pratt, R. Kadono
The local molecular motion of $ cis$ -polybutadiene, a typical polymeric material exhibiting a glass transition ($ T_{\rm g}=168$ K), has been investigated by the spin relaxation of muonated radicals, where the relaxation is induced by the fluctuation of hyperfine (HF) fields exerted from unpaired electron to nearby muon and surrounding protons. The relaxation rate ($ 1/T_\mu$ ) measured under various longitudinal magnetic fields was analyzed by the recently developed theory of spin relaxation to consider the coexistence of quasistatic and fluctuating HF fields, where the fluctuation frequency for the latter ($ \nu$ ) was evaluated over a temperature ($ T$ ) range of 5–320 K. The obtained $ \nu(T)$ is found to be well reproduced by the Arrhenius relation, and the activation energy and pre-exponential factor are in good agreement with those for the ``E-process’’ revealed by quasielastic neutron scattering and attributed to a fluctuation across three CC bonds. This result demonstrates that muonated-radical spin relaxation is a promising approach for direct access to local molecular motions in the sub-nanosecond range and for their detailed modeling in the atomic scale.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
7 pages, 4 figures
Dynamically stable topological edge states in an extended Su-Schrieffer-Heeger ladder with balanced perturbation
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
E. S. Ma, K. L. Zhang, Z. Song
The on-site potentials may break the symmetry of a system, resulting in the loss of its original topology protected by the symmetry. In this work, we study the counteracting effect of non-Hermitian terms on real potentials, resulting in dynamically stable topological edge states. We show exactly for a class of systems that the spectrum remains unchanged in the presence of balanced perturbations. As a demonstration, we investigate an extended non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger(SSH) ladder. We find that the bulk-boundary correspondence still holds, and the zero-energy edge states become coalescing states. In comparison to the original SSH chain, such edge states are robust not only against local perturbations but also in the time domain. As a result, a trivial initial state can always evolve to a stable edge state. Our results provide insights for the application of time-domain stable topological quantum devices.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Nature of nonanalytic chemical short-range order in metallic alloys
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Hao Deng, Jue-Yi Qi, Qin-Han Xia, Jinshan Li, Xie Zhang
Nonanalytic chemical short-range order (SRO) has long been observed in diffuse scattering experiments for metallic alloys. However, considerable debate surrounds the validity of these observations due to the unresolved nature of the nonanalyticity. Using prototypical face-centered cubic alloys as an example, here we demonstrate that SRO in metallic alloys is mostly nonanalytic at {\Gamma}. The nonanalyticity stems from the elastic anisotropy and long-range atomic interactions of the \emph{host} lattice. The physical insights substantially improve our understanding of chemical order in alloys and resolves the long-standing debate in the field. Nonanalytic SRO is expected to be general in alloys and the nonanalyticity may serve as a unique feature to verify the intensely debated existence of SRO in compositionally complex alloys.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PRL
Phonon angular momentum induced by Terahertz electric field
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Hong Sun, Xiaozhe Li, Lifa Zhang
Despite the growing interest in phonon angular momentum (AM) in recent years, current studies remain limited to a few materials due to the constraints imposed by time reversal symmetry on macroscopic phonon AM. In this work, we theoretically investigate the generation of total phonon AM through alternating terahertz electric fields in polarized materials. In contrast to previous studies on phonon AM, here the off-diagonal elements of the phonon AM operator play an essential role. According to our formula, the large AM is generated when the energy of incident electric fields matches the frequency of optical phonons at {\Gamma} point. Furthermore, a specific resonance on the imaginary part of the response coefficient, as well as periodic regulation of the phonon AM by the phase difference of the driving field, is observed. In polar material GaN, the oscillation maximum is observed as \hbar per unit cell which can be experimentally measured through orbital magnetization induced by phonon AM. Our work offers a promising approach to generate observable phonon AM in a wider range of materials, advancing both the understanding of phonon fundamental physics and potential applications in phononic devices.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Electrically reconfigurable extended lasing state in an organic liquid-crystal microcavity
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Dmitriy Dovzhenko (1), Luciano Siliano Ricco (2), Krzysztof Sawicki (1), Marcin Muszyński (3), Pavel Kokhanchik (4), Piotr Kapuściński (3), Przemysław Morawiak (5), Wiktor Piecek (5), Piotr Nyga (6), Przemysław Kula (5), Dmitry Solnyshkov (4 and 8), Guillaume Malpuech (4), Helgi Sigurðsson (2 and 3), Jacek Szczytko (3), Simone De Liberato (1 and 9) ((1) School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom, (2) Science Institute, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland, (3) Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland, (4) Institut Pascal, Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Clermont-Ferrand, France, (5) Institute of Applied Physics, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland, (6) Institute of Optoelectronics, Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland, (8) Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France, (9) Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Milano, Italy)
Small-footprint, low-power arrays of coupled coherent emitters with the capability of near- and far-field engineering and coherence control are highly sought after to meet modern nanophotonics evolving needs. Between existing solutions based on vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, phase masks in bulk traditional cavity-based systems, and lattices of exciton-polariton condensates, only the strongly light-matter coupled systems were shown to be capable of controlled on-chip interaction between the individual coherent states while often operating at cryogenic temperatures. Here we demonstrate electrically controlled in-plane interaction between optically reconfigurable spatially separated lasing states, operating at room temperature in the weak light-matter coupling regime. We show spatially extended coherent lasing state or “supermode” with wide-range micro-scale control of near-field, far-field and on-chip phase-locking tuning functionality. An extended lasing state appears due to near-field transverse coupling between distinct spatially pumped lasing states in the plane of an organic liquid crystal-filled microcavity. We realize electrical control over the interaction strength between lasing states and corresponding mutual coherence going beyond nearest neighbours through electrical tuning of the microcavity optical modes with external voltage, and a spin-selective directional coupling regime by using a photonic analogue of the Rashba-Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Optics (physics.optics)
32 pages, 13 figures
Acoustic Phonon Characteristics of Gallium Oxide Single Crystals Investigated with Brillouin-Mandelstam Light Scattering Spectroscopy
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Dylan Wright, Erick Guzman, Md. Sabbir Hossen Bijoy, Richard B. Wilson, Dinusha Herath Mudiyanselage, Houqiang Fu, Fariborz Kargar, Alexander A. Balandin
We report an investigation of the bulk and surface acoustic phonons in gallium oxide ultra-wide bandgap single crystals along various crystallographic directions using Brillouin-Mandelstam spectroscopy. Pronounced anisotropy in the acoustic phonon dispersion and velocities was observed across different crystal orientations. The measured average acoustic phonon velocities for the crystallographic directions of interest are 5,250 m/s and 4,990 m/s. The surface acoustic phonons propagate approximately twice as slowly as the bulk acoustic phonons. Our results suggest that the anisotropy of heat conduction in gallium oxide results from the difference in phonon velocities rather than the phonon lifetime. The obtained information for bulk and surface acoustic phonons can be used for developing accurate theoretical models of phonon scattering and optimization of thermal and electrical transport in this technologically important ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
23 pages; 5 figures; 1 table
pH-Dependent Zeta Potential Induces Diffusiophoretic Focusing in an Acid-Base Reaction
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Diffusiophoresis of charged particles in the presence of electrolytes has been extensively studied in the literature. However, in these setups, particles typically move in a single direction, either up or down the electrolyte gradient. Here, we theoretically investigate the conditions under which a particle can reverse its diffusiophoretic direction within the same setup, leading to the formation of a focusing band under steady-state concentration gradients. Using multi-ion diffusiophoresis calculations, we simulate particle transport in an acid-based reaction system where salt is added alongside the acid. For a range of salt concentrations, particles focus within the channel. Our analysis reveals that a pH-dependent zeta potential is necessary for this focusing to occur, and determines where the particles focus, i.e., on or off the acid-base reaction front. We report qualitative agreement with prior experimental observations and derive analytical conditions governing particle focusing, highlighting the delicate balance between concentration gradients and zeta potential variations. The work elucidates the crucial physics of pH-dependent zeta potential and opens new avenues for exploring diffusiophoresis in acid-base systems, with implications for microfluidic design and biophysical transport processes.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
6 pages, 3 figures
Symmetry Classification for Alternating Excitons in Two-Dimensional Altermagnets
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Jiayu David Cao, Konstantin S. Denisov, Yuntian Liu, Igor Zutic
Excitons, bound electron-holes states, often dominate the optical response of two-dimensional (2D) materials and reflect their inherent properties, including spin-orbit coupling, magnetic ordering, or band topology. By focusing on a growing class of collinear antiferromagnets with a nonrelativistic spin splitting, referred to also as altermagnets (AM), we propose a theoretical framework based on the spin space group (SSG) to elucidate their resulting excitons. Our approach is illustrated on 2D AM with spin-polarized valleys, where we classify the combination of conduction and valence bands by the SSG representations into two cases that hosts bright $ s$ -like and $ p$ -like excitons, respectively. This analysis is further supported by effective Hamiltonians and the Bethe-Salpeter equation. We identify the excitonic optical selection rules from the calculated absorption spectra and the symmetry of bright excitons from their momentum space envelope functions. Our framework provides optical fingerprints for various cases of AM, while their tunability, such as the strain-induced valley splitting, is also transferred to excitons allowing, additionally, valley-polarized photocurrent generation.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Dynamical Phase Transition of Dissipative Fermionic Superfluids
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Driven-dissipative open quantum many-body systems exhibit rich phases that are characterized by the steady states in the long-time dynamics. However, lossy open systems inevitably decay to the vacuum, making their transient evolution the primary focus. Assuming the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov ansatz, we derive a generalized time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equation based on the least action principle for open quantum systems. By solving the quench dynamics after abruptly introducing inelastic scattering or one-body loss in the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer limit, we reveal a generic dynamical phase transition: the superfluid order parameter vanishes non-analytically while the superfluid fraction’s first-order time derivative undergoes a discontinuous change at a finite critical time. This marks a new paradigm of dynamical phase transitions, distinct from those in closed systems, where the initial state must be finely tuned.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
7 pages, 3 figures, supplemental material
Efficient dataset generation for machine learning perovskite alloys
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Henrietta Homm, Jarno Laakso, Patrick Rinke
Lead-based perovskite solar cells have reached high efficiencies, but toxicity and lack of stability hinder their wide-scale adoption. These issues have been partially addressed through compositional engineering of perovskite materials, but the vast complexity of the perovskite materials space poses a significant obstacle to exploration. We previously demonstrated how machine learning (ML) can accelerate property predictions for the CsPb(Cl/Br)$ _3$ perovskite alloy. However, the substantial computational demand of density functional theory (DFT) calculations required for model training prevents applications to more complex materials. Here, we introduce a data-efficient scheme to facilitate model training, validated initially on CsPb(Cl/Br)$ _3$ data and extended to the ternary alloy CsSn(Cl/Br/I)$ _3$ . Our approach employs clustering to construct a compact yet diverse initial dataset of atomic structures. We then apply a two-stage active learning approach to first improve the reliability of the ML-based structure relaxations and then refine accuracy near equilibrium structures. Tests for CsPb(Cl/Br)$ _3$ demonstrate that our scheme reduces the number of required DFT calculations during the different parts of our proposed model training method by up to 20% and 50%. The fitted model for CsSn(Cl/Br/I)$ _3$ is robust and highly accurate, evidenced by the convergence of all ML-based structure relaxations in our tests and an average relaxation error of only 0.5 meV/atom.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
Main text 11 pages, 7 figures, with supplementary material 6 pages, 5 figures
Physical Review Materials, 9(5), 053802 (2025)
Defect-free and defective adaptations of crystalline sheets to stretching deformation
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
The elastic response of the crystalline sheet to the stretching deformation in the form of wrinkles has been extensively investigated. In this work, we extend this fundamental scientific question to the plastic regime by exploring the adaptations of crystalline sheets to the large uniaxial mechanical stretching. We reveal the intermittent plastic shear deformations leading to the complete fracture of the sheets wrapping the cylinder. Specifically, systematic investigations of crystalline sheets of varying geometry show that the fracture processes can be classified into defect-free and defective categories depending on the emergence of topological defects. We highlight the characteristic mechanical and geometric patterns in response to the large stretching deformation, including the shear-driven intermittent lattice tilting, the vortex structure in the displacement field, and the emergence of mobile and anchored dislocations as plastic excitations. The effects of noise and initial lattice orientation on the plastic deformation of the stretched crystalline sheet are also discussed. These results advance our understanding of the atomic level on the irreversible plastic instabilities of 2D crystals under large uniaxial stretching and may have potential practical implications in the precise engineering of structural instabilities in packings of covalently bonded particulate systems.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Classical Physics (physics.class-ph), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
14 pages, 6 figures
Physical Review E 111, 055504 (2025)
Robust quantification of the diamond nitrogen-vacancy center charge state via photoluminescence spectroscopy
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Giannis Thalassinos, Daniel J. McCloskey, Alessandro Mameli, Alexander J. Healey, Charlie Pattinson, David Simpson, Brant C. Gibson, Alastair Stacey, Nikolai Dontschuk, Philipp Reineck
Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are at the heart of many emerging quantum technologies, all of which require control over the NV charge state. Hence, methods for quantification of the relative photoluminescence (PL) intensities of the NV$ ^0$ and NV$ ^-$ charge state, i.e., a charge state ratio, are vital. Several approaches to quantify NV charge state ratios have been reported but are either limited to bulk-like NV diamond samples or yield qualitative results. We propose an NV charge state quantification protocol based on the determination of sample- and experimental setup-specific NV$ ^0$ and NV$ ^-$ reference spectra. The approach employs blue (400-470 nm) and green (480-570 nm) excitation to infer pure NV$ ^0$ and NV$ ^-$ spectra, which are then used to quantify NV charge state ratios in subsequent experiments via least squares fitting. We test our dual excitation protocol (DEP) for a bulk diamond NV sample, 20 and 100 nm nanodiamond particles and compare results with those obtained via other commonly used techniques such as zero-phonon line fitting and non-negative matrix factorization. We find that DEP can be employed across different samples and experimental setups and yields consistent and quantitative results for NV charge state ratios that are in agreement with our understanding of NV photophysics. By providing robust NV charge state quantification across sample types and measurement platforms, DEP will support the development of NV-based quantum technologies.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
18 pages, 14 figures
Mechanisms of Afterglow and Thermally Stimulated Luminescence in UV-irradiated InP/ZnS Quantum Dots
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
S. S. Savchenko, A. O. Shilov, A. S. Vokhmintsev, I. A. Weinstein
Indium phosphide-based quantum dots (QDs) are a potential material for designing optoelectronic devices, owing their adjustable spectral parameters over the entire visible range, as well as their high biocompatibility and environmental safety. Concurrently, they exhibit structural defects, the rectification of which is crucial for enhancing their optical properties. The present work explores, for the first time, the low-temperature afterglow (AG) and spectrally resolved thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) of UV-irradiated colloidal core/shell InP/ZnS QDs in the range of 7-340 K. It is shown that, when localized during irradiation and released after additional stimulation, charge carriers recombine involving defect centers based on indium and phosphorus dangling bonds. The mechanisms of the observed luminescent phenomena can be caused by both thermal activation and tunneling processes. By means of the initial rise method, the formalism of general-order kinetics, and the analytical description using the Lambert W function, we have analyzed the kinetic features of possible thermally stimulated mechanisms. We have also estimated the energy characteristics of appropriate trapping centers. A low rate of charge carriers recapture is revealed for InP/ZnS QDs. Active traps in nanocrystals of different sizes are characterized by close values of activation energy in the 26-31 meV range. The current paper discloses new horizons for exploiting TSL approaches to study the properties of local defective states in the energy structure of colloidal QDs, which can contribute to the development of targeted synthesis of nanocrystals with tunable temperature sensitivity for optoelectronic and sensor applications.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Unusual Electron-Phonon Interactions in Highly Anisotropic Two-Dimensional $Ta_2$$Ni_3$$Te_5$
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Fei Wang, Qiaohui Zhou, Hong Tang, Fan Zhang, Yanxing Li, Ana M Sanchez, Keyuan Bai, Sidra Younus, Chih-Kang Shih, Adrienn Ruzsinszky, Xin Lu, Jiang Wei
Electron-phonon interactions (EPIs) represent a fundamental cornerstone of condensed matter physics, commanding persistent attention due to their pivotal role in driving novel quantum phenomena within low-dimensional materials. Here, we unveil unusual anisotropic electron-phonon coupling behaviors in quasi-one-dimensional $ Ta_2$ Ni_3$ Te_5$ nano-flakes through a powerful combination of angle-resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy directly visualize the pronounced quasi-one-dimensional atomic chains within the crystal structure, establishing a structural foundation for the observed anisotropic interactions. Our Raman investigations reveal remarkable polarization-dependent responses in $ A_g$ phonon modes that deviate significantly from conventional behavior, which our theoretical analyses attribute to complex anisotropic electron-photon and electron-phonon interactions. Temperature-dependent Raman measurements further uncover an intriguing phonon decay mechanism involving both three- and four-phonon processes, with the latter showing significant contributions in some modes - a possible manifestation of strong anisotropic electron-phonon interactions. Beyond revealing $ Ta_2$ Ni_3$ Te_5$ as an exceptional platform for exploring anisotropic EPIs, this work demonstrates that integrating angle-resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy with DFPT calculations offers a powerful methodology for investigating electron-phonon interactions in emerging low-dimensional quantum materials.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Anisotropic vortex motion and two-dimensional superconducting transition
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Zhipeng Xu, Kun Jiang, Jiangping Hu
Vortex motion plays a central role in determining the resistance of two-dimensional superconductors, both in the context of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition and in the mixed state of type-II superconductors under magnetic fields. In this study, we introduce an anisotropic pinning potential to investigate vortex-induced resistance across the BKT transition and the upper critical field $ H_{c2}$ transition. Our results demonstrate that the anisotropic pinning potential gives rise to distinct critical temperatures and upper critical fields along two orthogonal directions of current transport. These findings provide a general route toward the realization of multiple “critical temperatures” in two-dimensional superconductors.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
6+1 pages, 3+1 figures
Ground states of classical spin polygons: Rigorous results and examples
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Wojciech Florek, Heinz-Jürgen Schmidt, Katarzyna Jaśniewicz-Pacer
We present a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the lowest energy configurations (LECs) of classical spin polygons characterized by arbitrary couplings between neighboring spin sites. Our study shows that these ground states exhibit either collinear or coplanar arrangements, which allows us to determine the precise boundaries between these two phases. By simultaneously applying a spin flip and a bond inversion, we simplify the LEC problem and reduce it to a specific scenario with predominantly ferromagnetic (FM) bonds and a single antiferromagnetic (AFM) bond. Hence, competing interactions are always present, but, nevertheless, in the well-defined ranges of the system parameters the collinear LEC is realized. The difference angles between neighboring spins within the LEC can be captured by a single Lagrange parameter. We analytically investigate its dependence on the AFM bond and arrive at revealing results. Similarly, we can analyze the energy of the LEC, which shows a pronounced maximum as a function of AFM bond. To illustrate our findings, we give various examples that clearly demonstrate these results.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
Bath parameterization in multi-band cluster Dynamical Mean-Field Theory
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Diego Florez-Ablan, Carlos Mejuto-Zaera, Massimo Capone
Accurate and reliable algorithms to solve complex impurity problems are instrumental to a routine use of quantum embedding methods for material discovery. In this context, we employ an efficient selected configuration interaction impurity solver to investigate the role of bath discretization – specifically, bath size and parameterization – in Hamiltonian-based cluster dynamical mean field theory (CDMFT) for the one- and two-orbital Hubbard models. We consider two- and four-site lattices for the single-orbital model and a two-site cluster for the two-orbital model. Our results demonstrate that, for small bath sizes, the choice of parameterization can significantly influence the solution, highlighting the importance of systematic convergence checks. Comparing different bath parameterizations not only reveals the robustness of a given solution but can also provide insights into the nature of different solutions and potential instabilities of the paramagnetic state. We present an extensive analysis of the zero-temperature Mott transition of the paramagnetic half-filled single-band Hubbard model, where we can benchmark with previous literature, and for multi-band models, overcoming limitations of traditional methods and opening the door to systematic studies of multi-orbital systems with the inclusion of non-local effects. Our results show that the dependence on parameterization is strongly reduced for feasible bath sizes in the case of the single-orbital model, while some dependence is still observed for the two-orbital model.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
17 pages, 10 figures
A Combined DFT and MD Study on Interface Stability in Ferrite-Cementite Systems
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Pablo Canca, Chu-Chun Fu, Christophe J. Ortiz, Blanca Biel
Understanding the atomic structure and energetic stability of ferrite-cementite interfaces is essential for optimizing the mechanical performance of steels, especially under extreme conditions such as those encountered in nuclear fusion environments. In this work, we combine Classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) to systematically investigate the stability of ferrite-cementite interfaces within the Bagaryatskii Orientation Relationship. Three interface orientations and several cementite terminations are considered to identify the most stable configurations.
MD simulations reveal that the (010)||(11-2) and (001)||(1-10) orientations are energetically favourable for selected terminations, and these predictions are validated and refined by subsequent DFT calculations. A key result of our study is the destabilizing effect of interfacial carbon atoms, which increase the interface energy and decrease the Griffith energy, indicating a reduced resistance to fracture. This finding contrasts with earlier reports suggesting a stabilizing role for carbon.
Our analysis of the electronic structure shows that Fe-C bonding at the interface perturbs the metallic environment of interfacial Fe atoms. This bonding response explains the observed variations in magnetic moment and helps rationalize the trends in interface energy. We also establish correlations between interface energy, magnetic perturbation, and a bond-based descriptor quantifying new and broken bonds. These insights provide a physically grounded, predictive framework for the design and optimization of ferrite-cementite interfaces in advanced steels.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Acta Materialia, p. 121157, 2025
Microstructural Studies Using Generative Adversarial Network (GAN): a Case Study
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Owais Ahmad, Vishal Panwar, Kaushik Das, Rajdip Mukherjee, Somnath Bhowmick
The generative adversarial network (GAN) is one of the most widely used deep generative models for synthesizing high-quality images with the same statistics as the training set. Finite element method (FEM) based property prediction often relies on synthetically generated microstructures. The phase-field model is a computational method of generating realistic microstructures considering the underlying thermodynamics and kinetics of the material. Due to the expensive nature of the simulations, it is not always feasible to use phase-field for synthetic microstructure generation. In this work, we train a GAN with microstructures generated from the phase-field simulations. Mechanical properties calculated using the finite element method on synthetic and actual phase field microstructures show excellent agreement. Since the GAN model generates thousands of images within seconds, it has the potential to improve the quality of synthetic microstructures needed for FEM calculations or any other applications requiring a large number of realistic synthetic images at minimal computational cost.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
11 pages, 6 figures
Transport of soft matter in complex and confined environments
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Joshua D Mcgraw (IPGG)
Brownian motion provides a bedrock for the understanding of soft condensed matter and, therefore, of the physical description of the microscopic biological world. Inspired by this domain, and combining softness with hydrodynamic energy inputs, new physical modes of nanoscale organization and transport may now be accessible.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
Europhysics News, In press
Stochastic elastohydrodynamics of adhesion and phase separation during cell-cell contact across a viscous channel
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Vira Dhaliwal, Jingbang Liu, Andreas Carlson
Contact between fluctuating, fluid-lubricated soft surfaces is prevalent in engineering and biological systems, a process starting with adhesive contact, which can give rise to complex coarsening dynamics. One representation of such a system, which is relevant to biological membrane adhesion, is a fluctuating elastic interface covered by adhesive molecules that bind and unbind to a solid substrate across a narrow gap filled with a viscous fluid. This flow is described by the stochastic elastohydrodynamics thin-film equation, which combines the effects of viscous nanometric thin film flow, elastic membrane properties, adhesive springs, and thermal fluctuations. The average time it takes the fluctuating elastic membrane to adhere is predicted by the rare event theory, increasing exponentially with the square of the initial gap height. Numerical simulations reveal a phase separation of membrane domains driven by the binding and unbinding of adhesive molecules. The coarsening process displays close similarities to classical Ostwald ripening; however, the inclusion of hydrodynamics affects power-law growth. In particular, we identify a new bending-dominated coarsening regime, which is slower than the well-known tension-dominated case.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph)
Magnetic aftereffect and Barkhausen effect in thin films of the altermagnetic candidate Mn5Si3
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Gregor Skobjin, Javier Rial, Sebastian Beckert, Helena Reichlova, Vincent Baltz, Lisa Michez, Richard Schlitz, Michaela Lammel, Sebastian T.B. Goennenwein
Altermagnetism as a third distinct type of collinear magnetic ordering lately attracts vivid attention. We here study the Hall effect response of micron-scale Hall bars patterned into Mn5Si3 thin films, an altermagnet candidate material. Recording transport data as a function of time, at fixed magnetic field magnitude, we observe a time-dependent relaxation of the Hall voltage qualitatively and quantitatively similar to the magnetic viscosity response well established in ferromagnetic films. In addition, the Hall voltage time traces feature clear unilateral steps, which we interpret as Barkhausen steps, i.e., as experimental evidence for abrupt reorientations of magnetic (Hall vector) domains in the altermagnetic candidate material. A quantitative analysis yields a Barkhausen length of around 18nm in the Hall bar devices with the smallest width of 100 nm.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
The Interplay of Polar and Nematic Order in Active Matter: Implications for Non-Equilibrium Physics and Biology
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Varun Venkatesh, Niels de Graaf Sousa, Amin Doostmohammadi
Active matter has played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of non-equilibrium systems, leading to a fundamental shift in the study of biophysical phenomena. The foundation of active matter research is built on assumptions regarding the symmetry of microscopic constituents. While these assumptions have been validated extensively, instances of mixed or joint symmetries are prevalent in biological systems. This review explores the coexistence of polar and nematic order in active matter, emphasizing the theoretical and experimental challenges associated with these systems. By integrating insights from recent studies, we highlight the importance of considering mixed symmetries to accurately describe biological processes. This exploration not only benefits the field of biology but could also open new horizons for non-equilibrium physics, offering a comprehensive framework for understanding complex behavior in active matter.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
To appear in Journal of Physics A
Curvature induced modifications of chirality and magnetic configuration in perpendicular magnetized films
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
David Raftrey, Dhritiman Bhattacharya, Colin Langton, Bradley Fugetta, S. Satapathy, Olha Bezsmertna, Andrea Sorrentino, Denys Makarov, Gen Yin, Peter Fischer, Kai Liu
Designing curvature in three-dimensional (3D) magnetic nanostructures enables controlled manipulation of local energy landscapes and subsequent modifications of noncollinear spin textures with unconventional magnetic properties that could be relevant for next-generation spintronic devices. Here, we experimentally investigate 3D spin textures in a Co/Pd multilayer film with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), deposited onto curved Cu nanowire meshes with diameters as small as 50 nm and lengths of several microns. Utilizing magnetic soft X-ray nanotomography at the MISTRAL beamline (ALBA, Spain), we achieve reconstructions of 3D magnetic domain patterns at approximately 30 nm spatial resolution by exploiting XMCD contrast at the Co L3 edge. This approach provides detailed information on both the orientation and magnitude of magnetization within the film. Our results reveal that interfacial anisotropy in the Co/Pd multilayers drives the magnetization to align with the local surface normal. In contrast to typical labyrinthine domains observed in planar films, the presence of curved nanowires significantly alters the domain structure, with domains preferentially aligning along the nanowire axis in close proximity, while adopting random orientations farther away. We report direct experimental observation of curvature induced DMI, which is quantified to be approximately one-third of the intrinsic DMI in Co/Pd stacks. The curvature induced DMI enhances the stability of Néel-type domain walls. Micromagnetic simulations support the experimental observations. Our findings demonstrate that introducing curvature into magnetic nanostructures provides a powerful strategy for tailoring complex magnetic behaviors, paving the way for the design of advanced 3D racetrack memory and neuromorphic computing devices.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Phase transitions induced by resonant light: a phenomenological approach
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
A. Kudlis, L. S. Ricco, H. Sigurðsson, I. A. Shelykh
We present a phenomenological framework to describe a subclass of light-induced phase transitions (LIPTs) in condensed matter systems, specifically those mediated by the resonant generation of excitons. Our approach extends the classical Landau theory by introducing dynamic coupling between the system’s order parameter and complex excitonic fields, along with Langevin-type forces that drive the system toward states of minimal free energy. The model is applied in the context of all-optical resonant magnetization switching in two-dimensional magnetic materials, particularly reproducing the experimental findings for reverse magnetization by all-optical means for a monolayer CrI$ _3$ . Our phenomenological model can be applied to other systems characterized by an order parameter and excitonic fields created through resonant light, offering versatility and potential to guide future experimental and theoretical studies in LIPT phenomena.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Optimization of Floquet fluxonium qubits with commensurable two-tone drives
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Joachim Lauwens, Kristof Moors, Bart Sorée
Protecting superconducting qubits from low-frequency noise by operating them on dynamical sweet-spot manifolds has proven to be a promising setup, theoretically as well as experimentally . These dynamical sweet spots are induced by an externally applied Floquet drive, and various drive forms have been studied in different types of qubits. In this work we study the effects of using two-tone drives on the applied magnetic flux of the form $ \phi_{ac}(t)=\phi_m\cos(m\omega_\mathrm{d} t)+\phi_n\cos(n\omega_\mathrm{d} t+\varphi)$ , where $ m,n \in \mathbb{N}_{>0}$ , on the coherence times of fluxonium qubits. The optimal drive parameters are found through analysis using perturbation theory and numerical calculations. We show that this type of drive allows for more tunability of the quasi-energy spectrum, creating higher and wider peaks of the dephasing time without affecting the relaxation times too strongly. Further we show that the second commensurable drive tone can be used to implement an improved phase gate compared to implementations with a single tone, supported by Monte Carlo simulations.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
Preliminary version
Exciton-polariton condensates in van der Waals magnetic microwires
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Heng Zhang, Niloufar Nilforoushan, Christian Weidgans, Julian Hirschmann, Imke Gronwald, Kseniia Mosina, Zdeněk Sofer, Fabian Mooshammer, Florian Dirnberger, Rupert Huber
Quasiparticle condensates are among the most spectacular solid-state manifestations of quantum physics. Coupling macroscopic real-space wave functions to other degrees of freedom, such as the electron spin, could add valuable control knobs for quantum applications. While creating spin-carrying superconducting condensates has attracted enormous attention, man-made condensates of light-matter hybrids known as exciton-polaritons have lacked a comparable spin-related perspective. Here we open a new door by demonstrating exciton-polariton condensation in the antiferromagnetic semiconductor CrSBr, a van der Waals material with strongly intertwined optical and magnetic properties. Under photoexcitation, CrSBr microwires embedded in an optical cavity show the hallmarks of polariton condensation: a dramatic increase of the emission intensity from an excited laterally confined polariton state by multiple orders of magnitude, spectral narrowing of the emission line, and an intriguing continuous shift of the peak energy. Interferometry evidences an increase of spatial and temporal coherence. The conditions for efficient optical pumping suggest a crucial role of surface excitons and ultrafast polariton-magnon scattering. Our results highlight CrSBr microwires as a promising platform for exploring magnetically tunable polariton condensates, their directional propagation and their potential for spin-based quantum devices.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
Field-induced magnetic order in DyTa$7$O${19}$ with two-dimensional pseudospin-$\frac{1}{2}$ triangular lattice
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Feihao Pan, Nan Zhao, Songnan Sun, Chenglin Shang, Peng Cheng, Jieming Sheng, Liusuo Wu
The magnetic ground state of geometrically frustrated antiferromagnet attracts great research interests due to the possibility to realize novel quantum magnetic state such as a quantum spin liquid. Here we present a comprehensive magnetic characterization of DyTa$ _7$ O$ _{19}$ with ideal two-dimensional triangular lattice. DyTa$ _7$ O$ _{19}$ exhibits $ c$ -axis single-ion magnetic anisotropy. Although long-range magnetic order is not observed down to 100 mK under zero field, by applying a small magnetic field ($ \sim$ 0.1 T), a magnetically ordered state with net magnetization of $ M_s$ /3 below $ T_m$ =0.14 K is identified ($ M_s$ denotes the saturated magnetization). We argue that this state is an up-up-down magnetic structure phase driven by the dipole-dipole interactions between Ising-like spins of Dy$ ^{3+}$ in a two-dimensional triangular lattice, since its ordering temperature and temperature-field phase diagram can be well explained by the theoretical calculations based on dipolar interactions. DyTa$ _7$ O$ _{19}$ could be viewed as a rare material platform that realizing pure Ising-like dipolar interaction in a geometrically frustrated lattice.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
9 pages, 5 figures
Phys. Rev. B 111, 214413, 2025
Squeezing and quantum control of antiferromagnetic magnon pseudospin
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Anna-Luisa E. Römling, Johannes Feist, Francisco J. García-Vidal, Akashdeep Kamra
Antiferromagnets have been shown to harbor strong magnon squeezing in equilibrium, making them a potential resource for quantum correlations and entanglement. Recent experiments have also found them to host coherently coupled magnonic excitations forming a magnon pseudospin, in analogy to electronic spin. Here, we delineate the quantum properties of antiferromagnetic magnon pseudospin by accounting for spin non-conserving interactions and going beyond the rotating wave approximation. Employing concrete examples of nickel oxide and hematite, we find strong squeezing of the magnon pseudospin highlighting its important role in determining the eigenmode quantum properties. Via ground state quantum fluctuations engineering, this pseudospin squeezing enables an enhancement and control of coupling between the magnonic modes and other excitations. Finally, we evaluate the quantum superpositions that comprise a squeezed pseudospin ground state and delineate a qubit spectroscopy protocol to detect them. Our results are applicable to any system of coupled bosons and thus introduce quantum fluctuations engineering of a general bosonic pseudospin.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
23 pages, 7 figures
Magnetic and thermodynamic studies on the distorted kagome magnet Pr$_3$BWO$_9$
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Ahmed Elghandour, Jan Arneth, Annu Yadav, Sven Luther, Panchanan Khuntia, Rüdiger Klingeler
We report specific heat, ac/dc magnetic susceptibility as well as static and pulsed field magnetization studies on the distorted kagome magnet Pr$ _3$ BWO$ 9$ down to 0.4~K and up to high magnetic fields. The low-temperature thermodynamic properties are found to be governed by an electronic quasi-doublet ground state; the energy splitting of which amounts to $ \Delta_1\simeq 18$ K and exhibits a quadratic field dependence with $ g\mathrm{eff} = 2.6$ . Fitting of the specific heat data implies that the next excited state is strongly gapped at $ \Delta_2=430$ K and three-fold degenerate in zero field. Our dc and ac susceptibility studies down to 0.4 K do not detect signatures of distinct spin glass behavior. Pulsed field magnetization measurements up to 60 T confirm the Ising-like paramagnetic nature of the magnetic ground state which is characterized by $ m_J=\pm 4$ and the anisotropy energy $ E_a\simeq 950$ K.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Optical Injection and Detection of Long-Lived Interlayer Excitons in van der Waals Heterostructures
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Alperen Tüğen, Anna M. Seiler, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Martin Kroner, Ataç İmamoğlu
Interlayer excitons in semiconducting bilayers separated by insulating hBN layers constitute a promising platform for investigation of strongly correlated bosonic phases. Here, we report an optical method for the generation and characterization of long-lived interlayer excitons. We find confirmation of tightly bound interlayer excitons by measuring 1s and 2s intralayer excitons in each layer concurrently. Using a pump-probe technique, we find interlayer exciton lifetimes up to 8.8 $ \mu$ s, increasing with the thickness of the hBN. With optical access to long-lived interlayer excitons, our approach provides a new promising route to explore degenerate Bose–Fermi mixtures of excitons and itinerant electrons with high spatial and temporal resolution.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Magnetism in $M_{1/3}$NbS$_2$ ($M$ = Fe, V, Mn): insight into intercalated transition-metal dichalcogenides using $μ$SR
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
N. P. Bentley, T. L. Breeze, A. Hernández-Melián, T. J. Hicken, B. M. Huddart, F. L. Pratt, A. E. Hall, D. A. Mayoh, G. Balakrishnan, S. J. Clark, T. Lancaster
We present the results of muon-spin relaxation ($ \mu$ SR) measurements of the static and dynamic magnetism of $ M_{1/3}$ NbS$ _2$ ($ M$ = Fe, V, Mn), three intercalated transition-metal dichalcogenides. Transitions to long-range magnetic order are observed in all three materials and local magnetic fields at muon sites are compared to dipole field calculations. Measurements on Fe$ _{1/3}$ NbS$ _2$ capture the evolution of two coexisting magnetic phases. In V$ _{1/3}$ NbS$ _2$ we observe a peak in the dynamic response at $ 9$ K, coincident with previous reports of a possible low-temperature phase transition. The observation of high-frequency muon precession in Mn$ _{1/3}$ NbS$ 2$ suggests the existence of an additional muon site that implies a difference in electronic energy landscape compared to the other materials in the series. Taken together, this demonstrates that the change in intercalant species drives significant variations in magnetism, highlighting the $ M{1/3}$ NbS$ _2$ ($ M$ = Fe, V, Mn) series as an ideal group of materials for investigating a wide range of magnetic phenomena.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
12 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PRB
Thermoelectric energy conversion in molecular junctions out of equilibrium
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Understanding time-resolved quantum transport is crucial for developing next-generation quantum technologies, particularly in nano- and molecular junctions subjected to time-dependent perturbations. Traditional steady-state approaches to quantum transport are not designed to capture the transient dynamics necessary for controlling electronic behavior at ultrafast time scales. In this work, we present a non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism, within the recently-developed iterated generalized Kadanoff-Baym ansatz ($ i$ GKBA), to study thermoelectric quantum transport beyond the wide-band limit approximation (WBLA). We employ the Meir-Wingreen formula for both charge and energy currents and analyze the transition from Lorentzian line-width functions to the WBLA, identifying unphysical divergences in the latter. Our results highlight the importance of finite-bandwidth effects and demonstrate the efficiency of the $ i$ GKBA approach in modeling time-resolved thermoelectric transport, also providing benchmark comparisons against the full Kadanoff-Baym theory. We exemplify the developed theory in the calculation of time-resolved thermopower and thermoelectric energy conversion efficiency in a cyclobutadiene molecular junction.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
15 pages, 9 figures
Cavity-control of the Ginzburg-Landau stiffness in superconductors
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Vadim Plastovets, Francesco Piazza
Confining light around solids via cavities enhances the coupling between the electromagnetic fluctuations and the matter. We predict that in superconductors this cavity-enhanced coupling enables the control of the order-parameter stiffness, which governs key length scales such as the coherence length of Cooper pairs and the magnetic penetration depth. We explain this as a renormalization of the Cooper-pair mass caused by photon-mediated repulsive interactions between the electrons building the pair. The strength of this effect can be tuned via the length of the cavity and we estimate it to be sizable for cavities in the infrared range.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Load-Dependent Power-Law Exponent in Creep Rupture of Heterogeneous Materials
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Chloé Braux, Antoine Bérut, Loïc Vanel
Creep tests on heterogeneous materials under subcritical loading typically show a power-law decaying strain rate before failure, with the exponent often considered material-dependent but independent of applied stress. By imposing successive small stress relaxations through a displacement feedback loop, we probe creep dynamics and show experimentally that this exponent varies with both applied load and loading direction. Simulations of a disordered fiber bundle model reproduce this load dependence, demonstrating that such models capture essential features of delayed rupture dynamics.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
5 pages, 7 figures, 2 pages Sup. Mat
One-dimensional interacting Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model at quarter filling: An exact diagonalization study
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
This study explores the ground-state phase diagram and topological properties of the spinless 1D Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model with nearest-neighbor (NN) interactions at quarter filling. We analyze key physical quantities such as the local electron density distribution, correlation functions for bond-order-wave (BOW) and charge-density-wave (CDW) – by integrating twisted boundary conditions with the Lanczos technique and employing high-precision numerical diagonalization methods, complemented by a mean-field approximation (MFA) based on bond-order and charge-density modulation analysis. This approach enables precise identification of phase transition critical points. Our results indicate that the system exhibits a topologically trivial band insulating (BI) phase for strong attractive interactions, with its upper boundary forming a downward-opening curve peaking at $ V/t\simeq-2.3$ and extending to $ V/t\simeq-2.6$ . Within $ -2.6 \leq V/t \leq -0.5$ , a BOW phase emerges for $ \left|\delta t/t\right| > 0.45$ , with its boundaries converging as $ \left|\delta t/t\right|$ decreases, terminating at a single point at $ \left|\delta t/t\right|\simeq0.45$ . In other parameter regions, a CDW phase is realized. Through this analysis, we elucidate the topological properties of the interacting spinless SSH model at quarter filling, highlighting the competition among CDW, BOW, and BI phases. By tuning $ V$ and $ \delta t$ , the system exhibits diverse correlated phenomena, offering new insights into one-dimensional quantum phase transitions and the interplay between topology and order.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
Tilt-Induced Localization in Interacting Bose-Einstein Condensates for Quantum Sensing
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Argha Debnath, Mariusz Gajda, Debraj Rakshit
We investigate localization transitions in interacting Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) confined in tilted optical lattices, focusing on both the continuum limit accessed via shallow lattice depths and the tight-binding limit realized in the deep lattice regime. Utilizing the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) and the many-body Bose-Hubbard model, we analyze the scaling behavior of localization indicators, such as the root mean square width and fidelity susceptibility, as a function of the applied tilt. Our results reveal clear signatures of a localization-delocalization transition driven by the linear potential, with scaling properties that characterize criticality even in the presence of interactions within the GPE description. Despite the single-mode nature of the condensate wavefunction, we demonstrate that it can effectively probe quantum criticality. Building on this, we propose the use of interacting BECs in tilted lattices as a platform for quantum critical sensing, where the condensate wavefunction serves both as a sensitive probe of localization and a practical resource for quantum-enhanced metrology. This approach opens new avenues for precision gradient sensing based on localization phenomena in bosonic systems.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)
8 pages, 4 figures
Transient osmotic flows in a microfluidic channel: measurements of solute permeability and reflection coefficients of hydrogel membranes
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Julien Renaudeau, Pierre Lidon, Jean-Baptiste Salmon
We first highlight theoretically a microfluidic configuration that allows to measure two fundamental parameters describing mass transport through a membrane: the solute permeability coefficient $ \mathcal{L}_D$ , and the associated reflection coefficient $ \sigma$ . This configuration exploits the high confinement of microfluidic geometries to relate these two coefficients to the dynamics of a transient flow induced by forward osmosis through a membrane embedded in a chip. We then applied this methodology to hydrogel membranes photo-crosslinked in a microchannel with \textit{in situ} measurements of osmotically-induced flows. These experiments enable us to estimate $ \mathcal{L}_D$ and $ \sigma$ and their dependence on the molecular weight of the solute under consideration, ultimately leading to a precise estimate of the molecular weight cut-off of these hydrogel membranes.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
Lab on a Chip, 2025
Competing Interactions and the Effects of Uniaxial Out-of-plane Perturbations in the Honeycomb Antiferromagnet Na$_2$Co$_2$TeO$_6$
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
J. Arneth, R. Kalaivanan, R. Sankar, K.-Y. Choi, R. Klingeler
Despite exhibiting magnetic long-range order below $ T_\mathrm{N} = 26.7,\mathrm{K}$ , the honeycomb cobaltate Na$ 2$ Co$ 2$ TeO$ 6$ is predicted to enter a Kitaev spin liquid state when subjected to small external perturbations. While most of the reported literature investigates the effects of magnetic fields applied parallel to the honeycomb layers, we present high-resolution capacitance dilatometry studies for fields perpendicular to the Co-planes up to $ 15,\mathrm{T}$ . Grüneisen analysis reveals the effect of uniaxial out-of-plane strain and shows that antiferromagnetic order in Na$ 2$ Co$ 2$ TeO$ 6$ is stabilized at a rate of $ \partial T\mathrm{N}/\partial p\mathrm{c} = 0.28(5),\mathrm{K/GPa}$ . Further, failure of the Grüneisen scaling at low temperatures around $ T\mathrm{cr} \simeq 7.5,\mathrm{K}$ demonstrates the presence of competing energy scales. In contrast to an only weak field dependence of the anomaly at $ T\mathrm{N}$ , a broad hump at $ T\mathrm{cr}$ ($ B=0,\mathrm{T}$ ) evolves into a sharp peak at high fields applied $ B \parallel c$ . Our magnetostriction data show that a kink in the magnetisation at $ B\mathrm{C} \simeq 4.6,\mathrm{T}$ is accompanied by an inflection point in the field-induced length changes, which is likely related to weak unequal spin canting. All observed phenomena leave their signatures in the magnetoelastic phase diagram as constructed by our experimental results.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
9 pages, 7 figures
Theory and computation of thermal-field emission from semiconductors
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Salvador Barranco Cárceles, Veronika Zadin, Aquila Mavalankar, Ian Underwood, Andreas Kyritsakis
Semiconducting field emitters present some interesting features (e.g.; self-limited electron emission) for both scientific interest and industrial applications. The analysis of experimental results and device design has been restrained by the lack of accurate 3D models for the simulation of thermal-field emission from semiconductors. Here we review and correct the equations of field emission from semiconductors and include them to expand GETELEC (General Tool for Electron Emission Calculations). Our method covers all electron emission regime (field, thermal, and intermediate), aiming to maximise the calculation accuracy while minimising the computational cost. GETELEC-2.0 is able to reproduce the characteristic non-linear I-V curves in Fowler-Nordheim coordinates obtained from semiconductors, giving insights about their nature. As well as providing an explanation to the lack of experimental observation of valence band electrons from semiconductors.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Thickness Dependence of Coercive Field in Ferroelectric Doped-Hafnium Oxide
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Revanth Koduru, Sumeet Kumar Gupta
Ferroelectric hafnium oxide ($ {HfO_2}$ ) exhibits a thickness-dependent coercive field $ (E_c)$ behavior that deviates from the trends observed in perovskites and the predictions of Janovec-Kay-Dunn (JKD) theory. Experiments reveal that, in thinner $ HfO_2$ films ($ <100,nm$ ), $ E_c$ increases with decreasing thickness but at a slower rate than predicted by the JKD theory. In thicker films, $ E_c$ saturates and is independent of thickness. Prior studies attributed the thick film saturation to the thickness-independent grain size, which limits the domain growth. However, the reduced dependence in thinner films is poorly understood. In this work, we expound the reduced thickness dependence of $ E_c$ , attributing it to the anisotropic crystal structure of the polar orthorhombic (o) phase of $ HfO_2$ . This phase consists of continuous polar layers (CPL) along one in-plane direction and alternating polar and spacer layers (APSL) along the orthogonal direction. The spacer layers decouple adjacent polar layers along APSL, increasing the energy barrier for domain growth compared to CPL direction. As a result, the growth of nucleated domains is confined to a single polar plane in $ HfO_2$ , forming half-prolate elliptical cylindrical geometry rather than half-prolate spheroid geometry observed in perovskites. By modeling the nucleation and growth energetics of these confined domains, we derive a modified scaling law of $ E_c \propto d^{-1/2}$ for $ HfO_2$ that deviates from the classical JKD dependence of $ E_c \propto d^{-2/3}$ . The proposed scaling agrees well with the experimental trends in coercive field across various ferroelectric $ HfO_2$ samples.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Applied Physics (physics.app-ph)
Finite-temperature entanglement and coherence in asymmetric bosonic Josephson junctions
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Cesare Vianello, Matteo Ferraretto, Luca Salasnich
We investigate the finite-temperature properties of a bosonic Josephson junction composed of N interacting atoms confined by a quasi-one-dimensional asymmetric double-well potential, modeled by the two-site Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian. We compute numerically the spectral decomposition of the statistical ensemble of states, the thermodynamic and entanglement entropies, the population imbalance, the quantum Fisher information, and the coherence visibility. We analyze their dependence on the system parameters, showing in particular how finite temperature and on-site energy asymmetry affect the entanglement and coherence properties of the system. Moreover, starting from a quantum phase model which accurately describes the system over a wide range of interactions, we develop a reliable description of the strong tunneling regime, where thermal averages may be computed analytically using a modified Boltzmann weight involving an effective temperature. We discuss the possibility of applying this effective description to other models in suitable regimes.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
14 pages, 9 figures
Fermion parity switches imprinted in the photonic field of cavity embedded Kitaev chains
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
Victor Fernandez Becerra, Olesia Dmytruk
The entanglement of electronic states with quantum light in cavity embedded systems has opened new avenues to manipulate quantum materials. In this work we investigate the Kitaev chain coupled to a single mode photonic cavity. Using exact diagonalization we calculate the many-body energy spectrum of the electron-photon Hamiltonian in finite-length chains. We find two distinct types of ground states, one with a well defined parity and another with an alternating parity where a doubly degenerate ground state takes place at exceptional points, known as parity switching points. The double ground state hosts edge states weakly affected by the cavity coupling, even in the low frequency regime, in contrast with higher excited states showing strong dependence with the cavity coupling. Besides the electronic quantities, we also find that the photon number peaks at values of the chemical potential corresponding to parity switching points. Therefore, we suggest that quantum optics experiments could be employed to detect the double ground state hosting edge states weakly hybridized with light. Finally, calculations of photonic quadratures reveal squeezed states that are both captured by the exact diagonalization technique and mean field decoupling. However, within these two approaches differences in the photon probability in odd numbers of photons are reported.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Main text + appendices (14 pages and 13 figures)
Correlated Structural and Optical Characterization during Van der Waals Epitaxy of PbI2 on Graphene
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
C.P. Sonny Tsotezem, E. M. Staicu Casagrande, A. Momeni, A. Ouvrard, A. Ouerghi, M. Rosmus, A. Antezak, F. Fortuna, A. F. Santander-Syro, E. Frantzeskakis, A.M. Lucero Manzano, E.D. Cantero, E.A. Sánchez, H. Khemliche
Van der Waals heterostructures of 2D layered materials have gained much attention due to their flexible electronic properties, which make them promising candidates for energy, sensing, catalytic, and biomedical applications. Lead iodide (PbI2), a 2D layered semiconductor material belonging to the metal halide family, shows a thickness-dependent band gap with an indirect-to-direct transition above one monolayer. It has emerged as an excellent candidate for photodetectors and is a key component in metal halide perovskites solar cells. In the current work, we investigated the growth dynamics and the real-time correlation between structural and optical properties of PbI2 layers deposited on graphene/SiC(0001) by Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The structural and optical properties are probed respectively by Grazing Incidence Fast Atom Diffraction and Surface Differential Reflectance Spectroscopy. The growth proceeds layer-by-layer in a van der Waals-like epitaxy, with the zigzag direction of PbI2 parallel to the armchair direction of graphene. Both techniques bring evidence of significant modifications of the structural, electronic, and optical properties of the first PbI2 monolayer, characterized by a 1% tensile strain that relaxes over 3 to 5 monolayers. For a single monolayer, Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy reveals a charge transfer from graphene to PbI2, demonstrated by an energy shift of the order of 50 meV in the graphene band structure.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
Tuning of altermagnetism by strain
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-06-09 20:00 EDT
M. Khodas, Sai Mu, I. I. Mazin, K. D. Belashchenko
For all collinear altermagnets, we sort out piezomagnetic free-energy invariants allowed in the nonrelativistic limit and relativistic piezomagnetic invariants bilinear in the Néel vector $ \mathbf{L}$ and magnetization $ \mathbf{M}$ , which include strain-induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The symmetry-allowed responses are fully determined by the nonrelativistic spin Laue group. In the nonrelativistic limit, two distinct mechanisms are discussed: the band-filling mechanism, which exists in metals and is illustrated using the simple two-dimensional Lieb lattice model, and the temperature-dependent exchange-driven mechanism, which is illustrated using first-principles calculations for transition-metal fluorides. The leading second-order nonrelativistic term in the strain-induced magnetization is also obtained for CrSb. Piezomagnetism due to the strain-induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is calculated from first principles for transition-metal fluorides, MnTe, and CrSb. Finally, we discuss triplet superconducting correlations supported by altermagnets and protected by inversion rather than time-reversal symmetry. We apply the nonrelativistic classification of Cooper pairs to describe the interplay between strain and superconductivity in the two-dimensional Lieb lattice and in bulk rutile structures. We show that triplet superconductivity is, on average, unitary in an unstrained altermagnet, but becomes non-unitary under piezomagnetically active strain.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
17 pages, 7 figures