CMP Journal 2025-10-15

Statistics

Nature: 22

Nature Materials: 3

Nature Nanotechnology: 3

Physical Review Letters: 39

Physical Review X: 3

arXiv: 67

Nature

Deaminative cross-coupling of amines by boryl radical β-scission

Original Paper | Homogeneous catalysis | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Zhenhua Zhang, Giovanni Lonardi, Thomas Sephton, Yusuf C. Guersoy, Chiara Stavagna, Giovanni V. A. Lenardon, Massimo Bietti, Daniele Leonori

Amines are among the most common functional groups in bioactive molecules and pharmaceuticals,^1-3 yet they are almost universally treated as synthetic endpoints.⁴ Here we report a strategy that repositions native primary, secondary, and tertiary amines as handles for cross-coupling. The platform relies on in situ activation via borane coordination and exploits a copper catalytic redox system that generates amine-ligated boryl radicals, which undergo β-scission across the C(sp³)-N bond to release alkyl radicals. These intermediates engage in copper-catalyzed cross-couplings with a broad array of C-, N-, O-, and S-based nucleophiles. The method tolerates diverse amine classes, enables modular functionalization, and supports late-stage editing of complex drug scaffolds. In addition, amides can be incorporated into the manifold via reductive funneling. This work establishes a general approach to deaminative C-N bond functionalization and introduces a distinct approach for making and modifying druglike molecules.

Nature (2025)

Homogeneous catalysis, Synthetic chemistry methodology

Photocatalytic oxygen-atom transmutation of oxetanes

Original Paper | Synthetic chemistry methodology | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Ying-Qi Zhang, Shuo-Han Li, Xinglong Zhang, Ming Joo Koh

Non-aromatic heterocycles and carbocycles form the skeleton of countless bioactive and functional molecules^1,2. Of note, four-membered saturated cyclic molecules such as azetidines, thietanes and cyclobutanes have garnered increasing attention in medicinal chemistry^3-7. These molecules often possess physicochemical properties relevant to drug discovery: potency, stability, metabolic stability and target specificity³. The replacement of oxygen atoms in readily available oxetanes would offer a direct route to a variety of these cyclic pharmacophores, yet such atom swapping has been rarely reported for non-aromatic molecules. Here we report a general photocatalytic strategy that selectively substitutes the oxygen atom of an oxetane with a nitrogen-, sulfur- or carbon-based moiety, transforming it into a diverse range of saturated cyclic building blocks in a single operation. This atom swapping method exhibits high functional group compatibility and is applicable to late-stage functionalization, substantially simplifying the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and complex drug analogues that would otherwise require multi-step routes. Mechanistic investigations unveil insights on the origin of chemoselectivity that allows the endocyclic oxygen atom to react preferentially to generate an acyclic dihalide intermediate, which then undergoes efficient ring reconstruction in the presence of a nucleophilic species.

Nature (2025)

Synthetic chemistry methodology, Photocatalysis

Tin-based perovskite solar cells with a homogeneous buried interface

Original Paper | Photovoltaics | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Tianpeng Li, Xin Luo, Peilin Wang, Zhi Li, Yimeng Li, Jinhai Huang, Zuoming Jin, Yingguo Yang, Bin Li, Wenqi Zhang, Siyuan Lin, Yichuan Rui, Hua Wang, Qinghong Zhang, Yiqiang Zhan, Bo Xu, Jia Liang, Yabing Qi

Tin-based perovskite solar cells (TPSCs) have emerged as a promising non-toxic and environmentally friendly alternative to lead-based devices^1-3, with certified power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of inverted architectures now exceeding 16%^4-8. Despite an ideal bandgap supporting a theoretical PCE over 33%, TPSCs still lag in performance and stability, partly due to suboptimal hole transport layers and poor buried interface that hinder hole extraction. Here, we report (E)-(2-(4’,5’-bis(4-(bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino)phenyl)-[2,2’-bithiophen]-5-yl)-1-cyanovinyl)phosphonic acid at the buried interface, using a molecular film to optimize hole transport layers in inverted TPSCs. This molecular film forms a homogeneous interfacial layer with well-matched energy level alignment, significantly enhancing hole extraction. Moreover, this approach creates a superwetting underlayer that guides the growth of uniform, high-quality Sn-based perovskite films with reduced defect density and minimized non-radiative recombination losses. The resulting inverted small-area TPSCs demonstrate a record PCE of 17.89% (certified 17.71% under reverse scanning mode). Furthermore, the encapsulated device maintains over 95% of the initial PCE after 1344 h of ambient shelf storage and over 94% after 1550 h of continuous operation under 1-sun illumination. Notably, we achieve a record PCE of 14.40% for 1 cm² TPSCs, highlighting the scalability of our strategy.

Nature (2025)

Photovoltaics, Solar cells

The Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative provides a cohort for large-scale studies

Original Paper | Genetic markers | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Hsin-Chou Yang, Pui-Yan Kwok, Ling-Hui Li, Yi-Min Liu, Yuh-Jyh Jong, Kang-Yun Lee, Da-Wei Wang, Ming-Fang Tsai, Jenn-Hwai Yang, Chien-Hsiun Chen, Erh-Chan Yeh, Chun-yu Wei, Cathy S.-J. Fann, Yen-Tsung Huang, Chia-Wei Chen, Yi-Ju Lee, Shih-Kai Chu, Chih-hsing Ho, Cheng-Shin Yang, Yungling Leo Lee, Hung-Hsin Chen, Ming-Chih Hou, Jeng-Fong Chiou, Shun-Fa Yang, Chih-Hung Wang, Chih-Yang Huang, Kuan-Ming Chiu, Ming Chen, Fu-Tien Chiang, Sing-Lian Lee, Shiou-Sheng Chen, Wei-Jen Yao, Chih-Cheng Chien, Shih-Yao Lin, Fu-Pang Chang, Hsiang-Ling Ho, Yi-Chen Yeh, Wei-Cheng Tseng, Ming-Hwai Lin, Hsiao-Ting Chang, Ling-Ming Tseng, Wen-Yih Liang, Paul Chih-Hsueh Chen, Jen-Fan Hang, Shih-Chieh Lin, Yu-Jiun Chan, Ying-Ju Kuo, Lei-Chi Wang, Chin-Chen Pan, Yu-Cheng Hsieh, Yi-Ming Chen, Tzu-Hung Hsiao, Ching‐Heng Lin, Yen-Ju Chen, I-Chieh Chen, Chien-Lin Mao, Shu-Jung Chang, Yen-Lin Chang, Yi‐Ju Liao, Chih-Hung Lai, Wei-Ju Lee, Hsin Tung, Ting-Ting Yen, Hsin-Chien Yen, Chun-Ming Shih, Teh-Ying Chou, Tsan-Hon Liou, Chen-Yuan Chiang, Yih-Giun Cherng, Chih-Hwa Chen, Chao-Hua Chiu, Sung-Hui Tseng, Emily Pei-Ying Lin, Ying-Ju Chen, Hui-Ping Chuang, Tsai-Chuan Chen, Wei-Ting Huang, Joey Sin, I-Ling Liu, Yi-Chen Chen, Kuo-Kuang Chao, Yu-Min Wu, Pin-Pin Yu, Lung-Pao Chang, Kuei-Yao Yen, Li-Ching Chang, Yi-Jing Sheen, Yuan-Tsong Chen, Kamhon Kan, Hsiang-Lin Tsai, Yao-Kuang Wang, Ming-Feng Hou, Yuan-Han Yang, Chao-Hung Kuo, Wen-Jeng Wu, Jee-Fu Huang, Inn-Wen Chong, Jong-Rung Tsai, Cheng-Yu Lin, Ming-Chin Yu, Tsong-Hai Lee, Meng-Han Tsai, Yu-Che Ou, Pin-Yuan Chen, Tsung-Hui Hu, Yu-Chiau Shyu, Chih-Kuang Cheng, Yu-Jen Fang, Song-Chou Hsieh, Chien-Hung Chen, Chieh-Chang Chen, Ko-Jen Li, Chin-Hsien Lin, Hsien-Yi Chiu, Chen-Chi Wu, Chun-Yen Chen, Shi-Jye Chu, Feng-Cheng Liu, Fu-Chi Yang, Hsin-An Chang, Wei-liang Chen, Sung-Sen Yang, Yueh-feng Sung, Tso-Fu Wang, Shinn-Zong Lin, Yen-Wen Wu, Chien-Sheng Wu, Ju-Ying Jiang, Gwo-Chin Ma, Ting-Yu Chang, Juey-Jen Hwang, Kuo-Jang Kao, Chen-Fang Hung, Ting-Fang Chiu, Po-Yueh Chen, Kochung Tsui, Ming-Shiang Wu, See-Tong Pang, Shih-Ann Chen, Wei-Ming Chen, Chun-houh Chen, Wayne Huey-Herng Sheu, Jer-Yuarn Wu

Han Chinese comprise nearly 20% of the global population yet remain underrepresented in genetic studies ^1,2, creating an urgent need for large-scale cohorts to advance precision medicine. Here, we present the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative (TPMI), initiated by Academia Sinica in collaboration with 16 major medical centers around Taiwan, which has recruited 565,390 participants who consented to provide DNA samples for genetic profiling and grant access to their electronic medical records (EMR) for research. EMR access is both retrospective and prospective, allowing longitudinal studies. Genetic profiling is done with population-optimized SNP arrays for those of Han Chinese ancestry that enable genome-wide association ^3,4, phenome-wide association ^5,6, and polygenic risk score ^7,8 studies to evaluate common disease risk and pharmacogenetic response. Participants also agree to be recontacted for future research and receive personalized genetic risk profiles with health management recommendations. TPMI has established the TPMI Data Access Platform (TDAP), a central database and analysis platform that both safeguards the security of the data and facilitates academic research. As a large non-European ancestry cohort that merges genetic profiles with EMR and enables longitudinal follow-up, TPMI provides a unique resource to validate genetic risk prediction models, conduct clinical trials of risk-based health management, and inform health policies. Ultimately, the TPMI cohort will contribute to global genetic research and serve as a model for population-based precision medicine.

Nature (2025)

Genetic markers, Genetic predisposition to disease, Genome-wide association studies, Health care, Medical genetics

The astrocytic ensemble acts as a multiday trace to stabilize memory

Original Paper | Astrocyte | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Ken-ichi Dewa, Kodai Kaseda, Aoi Kuwahara, Hideaki Kubotera, Ayato Yamasaki, Natsumi Awata, Atsuko Komori, Mika A. Holtz, Atsushi Kasai, Henrik Skibbe, Norio Takata, Tatsushi Yokoyama, Makoto Tsuda, Genri Numata, Shun Nakamura, Eiki Takimoto, Masayuki Sakamoto, Minako Ito, Takahiro Masuda, Jun Nagai

Recalled memories become transiently labile and require stabilization^1,2,3. The mechanism for stabilizing memories of survival-critical experiences, which are often emotionally salient and repeated, remains unclear⁴. Here we identify an astrocytic ensemble that is transcriptionally primed by emotional experience and functionally triggered by repeated experience to stabilize labile memory. Using a novel brain-wide Fos tagging and imaging method, we found that astrocytic Fos ensembles were preferentially recruited in regions with neuronal engrams⁵ and were more widespread during fear recall than during conditioning. We established the induction mechanism of the astrocytic ensemble, which involves two steps: (1) an initial fear experience that induces day-long, slow astrocytic state changes with noradrenaline receptor upregulation; and (2) enhanced noradrenaline responses during recall, a repeated experience, enabling astrocytes to integrate coincident signals from local engrams and long-range noradrenergic projections, which induce secondary astrocytic state changes, including the upregulation of Fos and the neuromodulatory molecule IGFBP2. Pharmacological and genetic perturbation of the astrocytic ensemble signalling modulate engrams, and memory stability and precision. The astrocytic ensemble thus acts as a multiday trace in a subset of astrocytes after experience-dependent neural activity, which are eligible to capture future repeated experiences for stabilizing memories.

Nature (2025)

Astrocyte, Fear conditioning

A vaccine central in A(H5) influenza antigenic space confers broad immunity

Original Paper | Influenza virus | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Adinda Kok, Samuel H. Wilks, Sina Tureli, Sarah L. James, Theo M. Bestebroer, David F. Burke, Mathis Funk, Stefan van der Vliet, Monique I. Spronken, Willemijn F. Rijnink, David J. Pattinson, Dennis de Meulder, Miruna E. Rosu, Pascal Lexmond, Judith M. A. van den Brand, Sander Herfst, Derek J. Smith, Ron A. M. Fouchier, Mathilde Richard

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5) viruses globally impact wild and domestic birds, and have caused severe infections in mammals, including humans, underscoring their pandemic potential^1,2,3,4,5. The antigenic evolution of the A(H5) haemagglutinin (HA) poses challenges for pandemic preparedness and vaccine design⁶. Here the global antigenic evolution of the A(H5) HA was captured in a high-resolution antigenic map. The map was used to design immunogenic and antigenically central vaccine HA antigens, eliciting antibody responses that broadly cover the A(H5) antigenic space. In ferrets, a central antigen protected as well as homologous vaccines against heterologous infection with two antigenically distinct viruses. This work showcases the rational design of subtype-wide influenza A(H5) pre-pandemic vaccines and demonstrates the value of antigenic maps for the evaluation of vaccine-induced immune responses through antibody profiles.

Nature (2025)

Influenza virus, Viral evolution

Isolation, engineering and ecology of temperate phages from the human gut

Original Paper | Bacteriophages | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Sofia Dahlman, Laura Avellaneda-Franco, Emily L. Rutten, Emily L. Gulliver, Sean Solari, Michelle Chonwerawong, Ciaren Kett, Dinesh Subedi, Remy B. Young, Nathan Campbell, Jodee A. Gould, Jasmine D. Bell, Callum A. H. Docherty, Christopher J. R. Turkington, Neda Nezam-Abadi, Juris A. Grasis, Dena Lyras, Robert A. Edwards, Samuel C. Forster, Jeremy J. Barr

Large-scale metagenomic and data-mining efforts have revealed an expansive diversity of bacteriophages (phages) within the human gut^1,2,3. However, functional understanding of phage-host interactions within this complex environment is limited, largely due to a lack of cultured isolates available for experimental validation. Here we characterize 134 inducible prophages originating from 252 human gut bacterial isolates using 10 different induction conditions to expand the experimentally validated temperate phage-host pairs originating from the human gut. Importantly, only 18% of computationally predicted prophages could be induced in pure cultures. Moreover, we construct a 78-member synthetic microbiome that, when co-cultured in the presence of human colonic cells (Caco2), led to the induction of 35% phage species. Using cultured isolates, we demonstrate that human host-associated cellular products may act as induction agents, providing a possible link between gastrointestinal cell lysis and temperate phage populations^4,5. We provide key insights into prophage diversity and genetics, including a genetic pathway for domestication, finding that polylysogeny was common and resulted in coordinated prophage induction, and that differential induction can be influenced by divergent prophage integration sites. More broadly, our study highlights the importance of culture-based techniques, alongside experimental validation, genomics and computational prediction, to understand the biology and function of temperate phages in the human gut microbiome. These culture-based approaches will enable applications across synthetic biology, biotechnology and microbiome fields.

Nature (2025)

Bacteriophages, Microbiome

Population-specific polygenic risk scores for people of Han Chinese ancestry

Original Paper | Genetic predisposition to disease | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Hung-Hsin Chen, Chien-Hsiun Chen, Ming-Chih Hou, Yun-Ching Fu, Ling-Hui Li, Che-Yu Chou, Erh-Chan Yeh, Ming-Fang Tsai, Chun-houh Chen, Hsin-Chou Yang, Yen-Tsung Huang, Yi-Min Liu, Chun-yu Wei, Jen-Ping Su, Wan-Jia Lin, Elin H. F. Wang, Chi-Lu Chiang, Jeng-Kai Jiang, I-Hui Lee, Kung-Hao Liang, Wei-Sheng Chen, Hung-Cheng Tsai, Shih-Yao Lin, Fu-Pang Chang, Hsiang-Ling Ho, Yi-Chen Yeh, Wei-Cheng Tseng, Ming-Hwai Lin, Hsiao-Ting Chang, Ling-Ming Tseng, Wen-Yih Liang, Paul Chih-Hsueh Chen, Yu-Cheng Hsieh, Yi-Ming Chen, Tzu-Hung Hsiao, Ching-Heng Lin, Yen-Ju Chen, I-Chieh Chen, Chien-Lin Mao, Shu-Jung Chang, Yen-Lin Chang, Yi-Ju Liao, Chih-Hung Lai, Wei-Ju Lee, Hsin Tung, Ting-Ting Yen, Hsin-Chien Yen, Ming-Yao Chen, Ying-Chin Lin, Yung-Ta Kao, Bi-Zhen Kao, Jing-Er Lee, Chi-Li Chung, Ju-Chi Liu, Paul Chan, Chang-Hsien Lin, Chia-Hsin Chen, I-Chen Wu, Lung-Chang Lin, Jiunn-Wei Wang, Shen-liang Shih, Sun-Wung Hsieh, Chih-Hsing Hung, Wei-Ming Li, Chih-Jen Yang, Cheng-Shin Yang, Ru-Hui Weng, Yu-Chi Chen, Chun-Ping Chang, Tai-Hsun Wu, Yu-Chang Lin, Yi-Jing Sheen, Shi-Heng Wang, Sye-Pu Chen, Timothy Raben, Erik Widen, Stephen Hsu, Feng-Jen Hsieh, Dong-Ru Ho, Yu-Huei Huang, Chung-Han Yang, Yu-Shu Huang, Yen-Fu Chen, Hsien-Ming Wu, Ping-Han Tsai, Kuan-Gen Huang, Chih-Yen Chien, Yi-Lwun Ho, Ming-Shiang Wu, Jia-Horng Kao, Yen-Bin Liu, Jyh-Ming Jimmy Juang, Mao-Hsin Lin, Yen-Hung Lin, Ji-Yuh Lee, Hsueh-Ju Lu, Chieh-Hua Lu, An-Chieh Feng, Jhih-Syuan Liu, Chien-Ping Chiang, Nain-Feng Chu, Jung-Chun Lin, Yi-Wei Yeh, En Meng, Chih-Yang Huang, Chi-Cheng Li, Tso-Fu Wang, Kuei-Ying Su, Jia-Kang Wang, Mei-Hsiu Chen, Hua-Fen Chen, Gwo-Chin Ma, Ting-Yu Chang, Fu-Tien Chiang, Hsing-Jung Chang, Kuo-Jang Kao, Chen-Fang Hung, Ching-Yao Tsai, Po-Yueh Chen, Kochung Tsui, Yuan-Tsong Chen, Pui-Yan Kwok, Wayne Huey-Herng Sheu, Shun-Fa Yang, Jyh-Ming Liou, Jaw-Yuan Wang, Jeng-Fong Chiou, Jer-Yuarn Wu, Cathy S. J. Fann

Predicting complex disease risks on the basis of individual genomic profiles is an advancing field in human genetics^1,2. However, most genetic studies have focused on populations of European ancestry, creating a global imbalance in precision medicine and underscoring the need for genomic research in non-European groups^3,4. The Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative recruited more than half a million Taiwanese residents, providing a large dataset of genetic profiles and electronic medical record data for people with Han Chinese ancestry. Using extensive phenotypic data, we conducted comprehensive genomic analyses across the medical phenome with individuals genetically similar to Han Chinese reference populations. These analyses identified population-specific genetic risk variants and new findings for various complex traits. We developed polygenic risk scores, demonstrating strong predictive performance for conditions such as cardiometabolic diseases, autoimmune disorders, cancers and infectious diseases. We observed consistent findings in an independent dataset, Taiwan Biobank, and among people of East Asian ancestry in the UK Biobank and the All of Us Project. The identified genetic risks accounted for up to 10.3% of the overall health variation in the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative cohort. Our approach of characterizing the phenome-wide genomic landscape, developing population-specific risk-prediction models, assessing their performance and identifying the genetic effect on health serves as a model for similar studies in other diverse study populations.

Nature (2025)

Genetic predisposition to disease, Genetics research, Genome-wide association studies, Personalized medicine

In-plane dielectric constant and conductivity of confined water

Original Paper | Chemical physics | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

R. Wang, M. Souilamas, A. Esfandiar, R. Fabregas, S. Benaglia, H. Nevison-Andrews, Q. Yang, J. Normansell, P. Ares, G. Ferrari, A. Principi, A. K. Geim, L. Fumagalli

Water is essential for almost every aspect of life on our planet and, unsurprisingly, its properties have been studied in great detail¹. However, disproportionately little remains known about the electrical properties of interfacial and strongly confined water^2,3, in which the structure deviates from that of bulk water, becoming distinctly layered^4,5. The structural change is expected to affect the conductivity of water and particularly its polarizability, which in turn modifies intermolecular forces that play a crucial role in many physical and chemical processes^6,7,8,9. Here we use scanning dielectric microscopy (SDM)¹⁰ to probe the in-plane electrical properties of water confined between atomically flat surfaces separated by distances down to 1 nm. For confinement exceeding several nanometres, water exhibits an in-plane dielectric constant close to that of bulk water and its proton conductivity is notably enhanced, gradually increasing with decreasing water thickness. This trend abruptly changes when the confined water becomes only a few molecules thick. Its in-plane dielectric constant reaches large, ferroelectric-like values of about 1,000, whereas the conductivity peaks at several S m^-1, close to values characteristic of superionic liquids. We attribute the enhancement to strongly disordered hydrogen bonding induced by the few-layer confinement, which facilitates both easier in-plane polarization of molecular dipoles and faster proton exchange. This insight into the electrical properties of nanoconfined water is important for understanding many phenomena that occur at aqueous interfaces and in nanoscale pores.

Nature 646, 606-610 (2025)

Chemical physics, Electronic properties and materials, Imaging techniques, Nanofluidics, Surfaces, interfaces and thin films

Modern sea-level rise breaks 4,000-year stability in southeastern China

Original Paper | Attribution | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Yucheng Lin, Robert E. Kopp, Haixian Xiong, Fiona D. Hibbert, Zhuo Zheng, Fengling Yu, Praveen Kumar, Sönke Dangendorf, Hailin Yi, Yaze Zhang

Quantifying physical mechanisms driving sea-level change–including global mean sea level (GMSL) and regional-to-local components (that is, sea-level budget)–is essential for reliable future projections and effective coastal management^1,2. Although previous research has attempted to resolve China’s sea-level budget from the 1950s^3,4, these studies capture short timescales and lack the long-term context necessary to fully assess modern sea-level rise in southeastern China⁵–one of the world’s most densely populated regions with immense socioeconomic importance⁶. Here we show that GMSL followed three distinct stages from 11,700 years before present (BP) to the modern day: (1) rapid early Holocene rise driven by the deglacial melt of land ice; (2) 4,000 years of stability from around 4200 BP to the mid-nineteenth century when regional processes dominated sea-level change; and (3) accelerating rise from the mid-nineteenth century. Our results arise from spatiotemporal hierarchical modelling of geological sea-level proxies and tide gauge data to produce site-specific sea-level budget estimates with uncertainty quantification. It is extremely likely (P ≥ 0.95) that the GMSL rise rate since 1900 (1.51 ± 0.16 mm year^-1, 1σ) has exceeded any century over at least the past four millennia. Moreover, our analysis indicates that at least 94% of rapid modern urban subsidence is attributable to anthropogenic activities, with localized subsidence rates often exceeding GMSL rise. Such concurrent acceleration of global sea-level rise and rapid localized subsidence has not been observed in our Holocene geological record.

Nature (2025)

Attribution, Climate and Earth system modelling, Climate-change impacts

Patchy nanoparticles by atomic stencilling

Original Paper | Nanoparticles | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Ahyoung Kim, Chansong Kim, Tommy Waltmann, Thi Vo, Eun Mi Kim, Junseok Kim, Yu-Tsun Shao, Aaron Michelson, John R. Crockett, Falon C. Kalutantirige, Eric Yang, Lehan Yao, Chu-Yun Hwang, Yugang Zhang, Yu-Shen Liu, Hyosung An, Zirui Gao, Jiyeon Kim, Sohini Mandal, David A. Muller, Kristen A. Fichthorn, Sharon C. Glotzer, Qian Chen

Stencilling, in which patterns are created by painting over masks, has ubiquitous applications in art, architecture and manufacturing. Modern, top-down microfabrication methods have succeeded in reducing mask sizes to under 10 nm (refs. ^1,2), enabling ever smaller microdevices as today’s fastest computer chips. Meanwhile, bottom-up masking using chemical bonds or physical interactions has remained largely unexplored, despite its advantages of low cost, solution-processability, scalability and high compatibility with complex, curved and three-dimensional (3D) surfaces^3,4. Here we report atomic stencilling to make patchy nanoparticles (NPs), using surface-adsorbed iodide submonolayers to create the mask and ligand-mediated grafted polymers onto unmasked regions as ‘paint’. We use this approach to synthesize more than 20 different types of NP coated with polymer patches in high yield. Polymer scaling theory and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation show that stencilling, along with the interplay of enthalpic and entropic effects of polymers, generates patchy particle morphologies not reported previously. These polymer-patched NPs self-assemble into extended crystals owing to highly uniform patches, including different non-closely packed superlattices. We propose that atomic stencilling opens new avenues in patterning NPs and other substrates at the nanometre length scale, leading to precise control of their chemistry, reactivity and interactions for a wide range of applications, such as targeted delivery, catalysis, microelectronics, integrated metamaterials and tissue engineering^{5,6,7,8,9,10,11}.

Nature 646, 592-600 (2025)

Nanoparticles, Self-assembly

A conserved H3K14ub-driven H3K9me3 for chromatin compartmentalization

Original Paper | Gene silencing | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Yuanyong Huang, Yimei Sun, Hongyun Qi, Quanlong Jiang, Jialun Li, Mingzhi Chang, Xinyan Li, Lei Shu, Xiaoya Duan, Yiqin Wang, Kailun Fang, Hailei Mao, Mengmeng Han, Yuan Weng, Qiao Zhang, Zhaosu Chen, Wei Wei, Gaojie Song, Qiansen Zhang, Jiwen Li, Jing-Dong J. Han, Charlie Degui Chen, Jiemin Wong

Compartmentalization of eukaryotic genome into euchromatin and heterochromatin is of critical biological significance^1,2,3. Previous studies have suggested a self-templating pathway involving the reading and writing of histone H3 lysine 9 methylation by SUV39H as the core mechanism for heterochromatin reassembly during cell division^1,3. In fission yeast, the mammalian SUV39H homologue Clr4 forms a complex containing ubiquitin ligase Cul4, which catalyses H3K14 mono-ubiquitination (H3K14ub) to promote heterochromatin formation. However, whether heterochromatin reassembly in dividing mammalian cells involves a similar pathway is unknown. Here we identified G2E3 as an H3K14ub-specific, pericentromeric heterochromatin-localized E3 ligase. G2E3-catalysed H3K14ub potentiates histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) by SUV39H and is specifically required for SUV39H compartmentalization and H3K9me3 in pericentromeric heterochromatin. Mechanistically, we found that G2E3 is highly expressed in G2/M phase and associates with mitotic chromosomes in an RNA-dependent manner to catalyse H3K14ub, which is essential for the subsequent sequential recruitment of SUV39H and HP1. The SUV39H chromodomain is a reader of dual H3K9me3 and H3K14ub modifications and SUV39H associates with pericentromeric heterochromatin primarily through its H3K14ub-binding activity. Notably, loss of G2E3 severely impairs pericentromeric heterochromatin organization and results in the aberrant accumulation of SUV39H and H3K9me3 in numerous euchromatin regions and widespread transcriptional repression. Thus, our findings revealed the H3K14ub-dependent SUV39H compartmentalization as a unified mechanism of pericentromeric heterochromatin formation, which is essential for proper euchromatin compartmentalization and transcriptional regulation.

Nature (2025)

Gene silencing, Histone post-translational modifications

Integrated lithium niobate photonics for sub-ångström snapshot spectroscopy

Original Paper | Materials for optics | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Zhiyang Yao, Shuyang Liu, Yingce Wang, Xiaoyun Yuan, Lu Fang

Spectroscopy is a pivotal tool for determining the physical structures and chemical compositions of materials and environments, and it is commonly used across diverse scientific fields^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16}. Conventionally, spectroscopic techniques rely on narrow slits or gratings, which impose a trade-off between spectral resolution and optical transmittance^{17,18,19,20,21,22}, thus precluding measurements with simultaneous high sensitivity and high efficiency. Here we introduce RAFAEL, a sub-ångström ultra-high-transmittance snapshot spectroscopic technique, which targets this trade-off with integrated and reconfigurable photonics based on lithium niobate. Its design comprises bulk lithium niobate as an interference mask with a pixel-wise electrically tunable spectral response and delivers picometre-scale modulation with a high optical transmittance. Our approach achieves 88-Hz snapshot spectroscopy with a spectral resolution of approximately 0.5 Å at 400-1,000 nm (R = 12,000), spatial resolution of 2,048 × 2,048 and 73.2% total optical transmittance. Compared with state-of-the-art spectroscopic imagers^{23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34}, RAFAEL offers double the total transmittance and a nearly two orders of magnitude improvement in spectral resolving power, as verified by extensive experiments. In particular, RAFAEL captured sub-ångström spectra, including all atomic absorption peaks, of up to 5,600 stars in a single snapshot, indicating ×100-10,000 improvement in observational efficiency compared with world-class astronomical spectrometers^{17,18,19,20,21}. This high-performing yet easily integrated snapshot spectroscopic method could drive advances in fields ranging from material science to astrophysics.

Nature 646, 567-575 (2025)

Materials for optics, Optics and photonics

Aboveground biomass in Australian tropical forests now a net carbon source

Original Paper | Carbon cycle | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Hannah Carle, David Bauman, Michael N. Evans, Ingrid Coughlin, Oliver Binks, Andrew Ford, Matthew Bradford, Adrienne Nicotra, Helen Murphy, Patrick Meir

Tropical forests act as important global carbon sinks¹, and Earth System Models predict increasing near-term carbon sink capacity for these forests, with elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration thought to stimulate tree growth^2,3. However, current forest inventory data analyses suggest that the carbon sink capacity of intact tropical forests may be in decline, portending a possible future switch from carbon sinks to carbon sources^3,4,5,6,7. Here we use long-term forest inventory data (1971-2019) from Australian moist tropical forests and a causal inference framework^8,9,10 to assess the carbon balance of woody aboveground standing biomass over time, the demographic processes accounting for it, and its climatic drivers, including cyclones. We find that a transition from sink (0.62 ± 0.04 Mg C ha^-1 yr^-1: 1971-2000) to source (-0.93 ± 0.11 Mg C ha^-1 yr^-1: 2010-2019) has occurred for the aboveground woody biomass of these forests, with sink capacity declining at a rate of 0.041 ± 0.032 Mg C ha^-1 yr^-1. The transition was driven by increasingly extreme temperature and other climate anomalies, which have increased tree mortality and associated biomass losses⁴, with no evidence of the carbon fertilization (stimulation) of woody tree growth. Forest dynamics underlying carbon sink capacity were also punctuated by cyclones, with impacts of a similar magnitude to long-term climate-induced changes. Our findings suggest the potential for a similar response to climate change by woody aboveground biomass in moist tropical forests globally, which could culminate in a long-term switch from carbon sinks to carbon sources.

Nature 646, 611-618 (2025)

Carbon cycle, Climate-change ecology, Forest ecology

A long-necked early dinosaur from a newly discovered Upper Triassic basin in the Andes

Original Paper | Palaeontology | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

E. Martín Hechenleitner, Agustín G. Martinelli, Sebastián Rocher, Lucas E. Fiorelli, Malena Juarez, Jeremías R. A. Taborda, Julia B. Desojo

During the Late Triassic epoch (237-201 million years ago), the terrestrial ecosystems of Pangaea underwent drastic changes^1,2 that led to the rise and diversification of mammaliaforms³, crocodylomorphs⁴ and dinosaurs⁵. Although the Carnian sedimentary rocks of South America provided much of the available evidence for understanding the early evolution of these clades, key discoveries have remained restricted to the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión^6,7 and Paraná basins⁸ in Argentina and Brazil, respectively. Here we report a Carnian tetrapod assemblage from the previously unrecognized Northern Precordillera Basin in northwestern Argentina. Discoveries at this basin, in the Quebrada Santo Domingo site, include a nearly complete skeleton of the early sauropodomorph Huayracursor jaguensis gen. et sp. nov., and typical components of Late Carnian faunas, such as hyperodapedontine rhynchosaurs, gomphodontosuchine traversodontid cynodonts, and aetosaurs. Compared to its generally small and short-necked Carnian counterparts^9,10, Huayracursor is larger and exhibits an incipient elongation of its cervical vertebrae, representing an intermediate condition for size and cervical elongation between known Carnian and Norian sauropodomorphs¹¹. This discovery provides one of the oldest pieces of evidence of increased body mass and neck elongation in early Sauropodomorpha.

Nature (2025)

Palaeontology, Stratigraphy, Taxonomy

Niche-specific dermal macrophage loss promotes skin capillary ageing

Original Paper | Ageing | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Kailin R. Mesa, Kevin A. O’Connor, Charles Ng, Steven P. Salvatore, Alexandra Dolynuk, Michelle Rivera Lomeli, Dan R. Littman

All mammalian organs depend on resident macrophage populations to coordinate repair and facilitate tissue-specific functions^1,2,3. Functionally distinct macrophage populations reside in discrete tissue niches and are replenished through a combination of local proliferation and monocyte recruitment^4,5. Declines in macrophage abundance and function have been linked to age-associated pathologies, including atherosclerosis, cancer and neurodegeneration^6,7,8. However, the mechanisms that coordinate macrophage organization and replenishment within ageing tissues remain largely unclear. Here we show that capillary-associated macrophages (CAMs) are selectively lost over time, contributing to impaired vascular repair and reduced tissue perfusion in older mice. To investigate resident macrophage behaviour in vivo, we used intravital two-photon microscopy in live mice to non-invasively image the skin capillary plexus, a spatially well-defined vascular niche that undergoes rarefication and functional decline with age. We find that CAMs are lost at a rate exceeding capillary loss, resulting in macrophage-deficient vascular niches in both mice and humans. CAM phagocytic activity was locally required to repair obstructed capillary blood flow, leaving macrophage-deficient niches selectively vulnerable under homeostatic and injury conditions. Our study demonstrates that homeostatic renewal of resident macrophages is less precisely regulated than previously suggested^9,10,11. Specifically, neighbouring macrophages do not proliferate or reorganize to compensate for macrophage loss without injury or increased growth factors, such as colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1). These limitations in macrophage renewal may represent early and targetable contributors to tissue ageing.

Nature (2025)

Ageing, Imaging the immune system, Multiphoton microscopy, Phagocytes, Time-lapse imaging

New fossils reveal the hand of Paranthropus boisei

Original Paper | Biological anthropology | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Carrie S. Mongle, Caley M. Orr, Matthew W. Tocheri, Thomas Cody Prang, Frederick E. Grine, Craig Feibel, Biren A. Patel, Olivia Laureijs, Tara E. Hobbs, Stephanie Maiolino, James Rossie, Winfred Mbogo, Anton Du Plessis, John Lonyericho, William Woto Huka, Hilary Sale, Abdi Umuro, Peter Yirgudo, Ibrae Dalacha, Martin Kirinya, Ezekiel Linga, Richard Loki, Apolo Longaye, Malmalo Longaye, Emmanuel Lonyericho, Iyole Loyapan, Nyiber Nakudo, Cyprian Nyete, Meave G. Leakey, Louise N. Leakey

When Mary Leakey discovered the OH 5 cranium of Paranthropus boisei alongside Oldowan stone artefacts, it was declared “the oldest yet discovered maker of stone tools”¹. Whether Paranthropus made and used tools has been debated ever since^2,3,4, largely because there are no known hand bones that can be definitively attributed to this genus. Here we report fossil hand and foot bones unambiguously associated with craniodental material of P. boisei. KNM-ER 101000 demonstrates that P. boisei shared key manipulative and bipedal adaptations with the genus Homo. Moreover, the hand morphology of KNM-ER 101000 converges on that of gorillas in ways that are consistent with manual food processing and would have facilitated powerful grasping, such as that used in climbing. These fossils suggest that P. boisei was capable of tool making and use in some capacity while also supporting the proposed dichotomy of distinct dietary adaptations between Paranthropus and Homo. In addition to offering insights into the poorly known postcranial functional anatomy of Paranthropus, this discovery illuminates broader patterns of hominin hand evolution and tool use.

Nature (2025)

Biological anthropology, Palaeontology

From genotype to phenotype with 1,086 near telomere-to-telomere yeast genomes

Original Paper | Functional genomics | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Victor Loegler, Pia Thiele, Elie Teyssonnière, Andreas Tsouris, Gauthier Brach, Corinne Cruaud, Emilie Payen, Stefan Engelen, Maitreya J. Dunham, Jing Hou, Anne Friedrich, Joseph Schacherer

Unravelling the genetic basis of the remarkable phenotypic diversity observed in natural populations remains a central challenge in biology^1,2,3,4. Despite major advances^{5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19}, no species has yet been characterized with a truly comprehensive atlas of genetic variation. Here we present an extensive genomic and phenotypic resource for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae based on near telomere-to-telomere assemblies of 1,086 natural isolates. Leveraging these high-contiguity assemblies, we generated a highly complete species-wide structural variant atlas, gene-based pangenome and graph pangenome. By incorporating the full spectrum of genetic variation captured across the species, we conducted genome-wide association studies across 8,391 molecular and organismal traits^19,20,21,22. The inclusion of structural variants and small insertion-deletion mutations improved heritability estimates by an average of 14.3% compared with analyses based only on single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Structural variants were more frequently associated with traits and exhibited greater pleiotropy than other variant types. Notably, the genetic architecture of molecular and organismal traits differed markedly. Together, this work provides a unique dataset that illuminates how diverse forms of genetic variation shape phenotypic diversity and lays the groundwork for integrative, genome-scale studies in other eukaryotic systems.

Nature (2025)

Functional genomics, Genomics

Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for genetic code expansion

Original Paper | Chemical modification | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Tarun Iype, Maximilian Fottner, Paul Böhm, Carlos Piedrafita, Yannis Möller, Michael Groll, Kathrin Lang

The site-specific encoding of non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) provides a powerful tool for expanding the functional repertoire of proteins^1,2,3,4. Its widespread use for basic research and biotechnological applications is, however, hampered by the low efficiencies of current ncAA incorporation strategies. Here we reveal poor cellular ncAA uptake as a main obstacle to efficient genetic code expansion and overcome this bottleneck by hijacking a bacterial ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter⁵ to actively import easily synthesizable isopeptide-linked tripeptides that are processed into ncAAs within the cell. Using this approach, we enable efficient encoding of a variety of previously inaccessible ncAAs, decorating proteins with bioorthogonal⁶ and crosslinker⁷ moieties, post-translational modifications^8,9 and functionalities for chemoenzymatic conjugation. We then devise a high-throughput directed evolution platform to engineer tailored transporter systems for the import of ncAAs that were historically refractory to efficient uptake. Customized Escherichia coli strains expressing these evolved transporters facilitate single and multi-site ncAA incorporation with wild-type efficiencies. Additionally, we adapt the tripeptide scaffolds for the co-transport of two different ncAAs, enabling their efficient dual incorporation. Collectively, our study demonstrates that engineering of uptake systems is a powerful strategy for programmable import of chemically diverse building blocks.

Nature (2025)

Chemical modification, Peptide delivery, Proteins, Synthetic biology, Transporters

Spatial metabolic gradients in the liver and small intestine

Original Paper | Metabolomics | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Laith Z. Samarah, Clover Zheng, Xi Xing, Won Dong Lee, Amichay Afriat, Uthsav Chitra, Michael R. MacArthur, Wenyun Lu, Connor S. R. Jankowski, Cong Ma, Craig J. Hunter, Michael Neinast, Daniel R. Weilandt, Benjamin J. Raphael, Joshua D. Rabinowitz

The properties of mammalian cells depend on their location within organs. Gene expression in the liver varies between periportal and pericentral hepatocytes^1,2,3, and in the intestine from crypts to villus tips^4,5. A key element of tissue spatial organization is probably metabolic, but direct assessments of spatial metabolism remain limited. Here we map spatial metabolic gradients in the mouse liver and intestine. We develop an integrated experimental-computational workflow using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), isotope tracing and deep-learning artificial intelligence. Most measured metabolites (>90%) showed significant spatial concentration gradients in the liver lobules and intestinal villi. In the liver, tricarboxylic acid (TCA)-cycle metabolites and their isotope labelling from both glutamine and lactate localized periportally. Energy-stress metabolites, including adenosine monophosphate (AMP), also localized periportally, consistent with a high periportal energy demand. In the intestine, the TCA intermediates malate (tip) and citrate (crypt) showed opposite spatial patterns, aligning with higher glutamine catabolism in tips and lactate oxidation in crypts based on isotope tracing. Finally, we mapped the fate of the obesogenic dietary sugar fructose. In the intestine, oral fructose was catabolized faster in the villus bottom than in the tips. In the liver, fructose-derived carbon accumulated pericentrally as fructose-1-phosphate and triggered pericentral adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion. Thus, we both provide foundational knowledge regarding intestine and liver metabolic organization and identify fructose-induced focal derangements in liver metabolism.

Nature (2025)

Metabolomics, Molecular imaging

Efficient quantum thermal simulation

Original Paper | Computational science | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Chi-Fang Chen, Michael Kastoryano, Fernando G. S. L. Brandão, András Gilyén

Quantum computers promise to tackle quantum simulation problems that are classically intractable¹. Although a lot of quantum algorithms^2,3,4 have been developed for simulating quantum dynamics, a general-purpose method for simulating low-temperature quantum phenomena remains unknown. In classical settings, the analogous task of sampling from thermal distributions has been largely addressed by Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods^5,6. Here we propose an efficient quantum algorithm for thermal simulation that–akin to MCMC methods–exhibits detailed balance, respects locality and serves as a toy model for thermalization in open quantum systems. The enduring impact of MCMC methods suggests that our new construction may play an equally important part in quantum computing and applications in the physical sciences and beyond.

Nature 646, 561-566 (2025)

Computational science, Computer science, Information theory and computation, Quantum simulation, Thermodynamics

The evolution of facultative symbiosis in stony corals

Original Paper | Comparative genomics | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Shani Levy, Xavier Grau-Bové, Iana V. Kim, Sebastian R. Najle, Ewa Księżopolska, Anamaria Elek, Laia Montes-Espuña, Sean A. Montgomery, Tali Mass, Arnau Sebé-Pedrós

Most stony corals are obligate symbionts that are dependent on nutrients provided by the photosynthetic activity of dinoflagellates residing within specialized cells¹. Disruption of this symbiotic consortium leads to coral bleaching and, ultimately, mortality². However, a few coral species exhibit facultative symbiosis, allowing them to survive extended periods of bleaching^3,4. Despite this resilience, the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we investigate the genomic and cellular basis of facultative symbiosis in Oculina patagonica, a thermotolerant Mediterranean coral^5,6. We sequenced and annotated a chromosome-scale genome of O. patagonica and built cell atlases for this species and two obligate symbiotic corals. Comparative genomic analysis revealed karyotypic and syntenic conservation across all scleractinians, with species-specific gene expansions primarily driven by tandem duplications. Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of symbiotic and naturally aposymbiotic wild specimens identified an increase in phagocytic immune cells and a metabolic shift in gastrodermal gene expression from growth-related functions to quiescent, epithelial-like states. Cross-species comparison of host cells uncovered Oculina-specific metabolic and signalling adaptations indicative of an opportunistic, dual-feeding strategy that decouples survival from symbiotic state.

Nature (2025)

Comparative genomics, Marine biology, Molecular evolution, Zoology

Nature Materials

Grain boundary zirconia-modified garnet solid-state electrolyte

Original Paper | Batteries | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Vikalp Raj, Yixian Wang, Min Feng, Kaustubh G. Naik, Manish Jain, Bairav S. Vishnugopi, Shimao Deng, Noah B. Schorr, Martin Salazar, Alexander M. Heusser, Xiaojing Huang, Andrew Scott Manning, Sergiy Kalnaus, Yijin Liu, John Watt, Josefine D. McBrayer, Brad L. Boyce, Hong Fang, Puru Jena, Partha P. Mukherjee, Yue Qi, David Mitlin

We report a method for promoting electrochemical stability in garnet Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ solid-state electrolyte based on a composite two-phase oxide-oxide microstructure. Grain boundary precipitation of the controlled distribution of amorphous zirconium oxide microparticles is achieved through the addition of reactive tantalum carbide. During ambient-atmosphere sintering, the carbide decomposes through an in situ reaction, the ‘extra’ Ta substituting for Zr within the Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ lattice. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations identify a thermodynamically favourable reaction path and show how substituting Ta⁵⁺ at Zr⁴⁺ sites affects the crystal structure as well as bulk ionic and electronic conductivities. Quantitative stereology highlights that zirconia also acts as a sintering aid, reducing compact porosity. Cryogenic focused-ion-beam scanning electron microscopy and fractography analysis of cycled solid-state electrolytes illustrates that near-universally observed intergranular Li-metal dendrite propagation is suppressed by the two-phase microstructure, favouring transgranular dendrites instead. Importantly, DFT demonstrates that compared with the Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ surface, the zirconium oxide surface per se is less electronically conductive and does not trap excess electrons to reduce Li ions. This is a key reason for the substantial improvement in the electrochemical properties over the single-phase baseline.

Nat. Mater. (2025)

Batteries

Rapid synthesis of subnanoscale high-entropy alloys with ultrahigh durability

Original Paper | Atomistic models | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Chao Zhang, Zhongliao Wang, Chang Liu, Yu Bai, Changhao Liang, Jingxiang Low, Yujie Xiong

Subnanoscale (<2 nm) high-entropy alloys (SHEAs) have garnered increasing attention for their unique physicochemical properties that enable high catalytic performance. However, this potential is offset by reduced stability, a characteristic typically associated with high-entropy alloys, due to their high reactivity at this scale. Here we circumvent this obstacle by using the localized surface plasmon resonance effect along with laser fragmentation in liquids for synthesizing SHEAs. Localized-surface-plasmon-resonance-generated hot electrons from gold nanoparticles facilitate metal ion reduction, whereas the 7-ns laser pulse induces ultrafast heating and cooling cycles, fusing multiple metals into SHEAs with enhanced stability. This method enables the incorporation of up to ten elements into SHEAs. The selected AuPtRuRhIr SHEAs demonstrate high stability to work under 2 A cm^-2 at 2.12 V for over 1,200 h in a proton exchange membrane electrolyser. This work presents a general strategy for the preparation of SHEAs, applicable across a wide range of fields.

Nat. Mater. (2025)

Atomistic models, Characterization and analytical techniques, Design, synthesis and processing, Electrocatalysis, Synthesis and processing

A formal FeIII/V redox couple in an intercalation electrode

Original Paper | Batteries | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Hari Ramachandran, Edward W. Mu, Eder G. Lomeli, Augustin Braun, Masato Goto, Kuan H. Hsu, Jue Liu, Zhelong Jiang, Kipil Lim, Grace M. Busse, Brian Moritz, Joshua J. Kas, John Vinson, John J. Rehr, Jungjin Park, Iwnetim I. Abate, Yuichi Shimakawa, Edward I. Solomon, Wanli Yang, William E. Gent, Thomas P. Devereaux, William C. Chueh

Iron redox cycling between low-valent oxidation states of Fe^II and Fe^III drives crucial processes in nature. The Fe^II/III redox couple charge compensates the cycling of lithium iron phosphate, a positive electrode (cathode) for lithium-ion batteries. High-valent iron redox couples, involving formal oxidation higher than Fe^III, could deliver higher electrochemical potentials and energy densities. However, because of the instability of high-valent Fe electrodes, they have proven difficult to probe and exploit in intercalation systems. Here we report and characterize a formal Fe^III/V redox couple by revisiting the charge compensation mechanism of (de)lithiation in Li₄FeSbO₆. Valence-sensitive experimental and computational core-level spectroscopy reveal a direct transition from Fe^III (3d⁵) to a negative-charge-transfer Fe^V (3d⁵L²) ground state on delithiation, without forming Fe^IV, or oxygen dimers. We identify that the cation ordering in Li₄FeSbO₆ drives a templated phase transition to stabilize the unique Fe^V species and demonstrate that disrupting cation ordering suppresses the Fe^III/V redox couple. Exhibiting resistance to calendar aging, high operating potential and low voltage hysteresis, the Fe^III/V redox couple in Li₄FeSbO₆ provides a framework for developing sustainable, Fe-based intercalation cathodes for high-voltage applications.

Nat. Mater. (2025)

Batteries, Electronic materials, Electronic properties and materials, Phase transitions and critical phenomena

Nature Nanotechnology

Hand-powered interfacial electric-field-enhanced water disinfection system

Original Paper | Nanobiotechnology | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Zhidi Chen, Yajing Zhang, Panjing Lv, Tongwei Wu, Jianing He, Jinyan Du, Qiangqiang Sun, Qianbao Wu, Jinlong Yang, Yiming Zhang, Yanning Zhang, Fei He, Chunhua Cui, Gonghua Hong, Hongyu Zhu, Yan Li, Junling Guo, Xu Deng

Mechanical-energy-driven portable water disinfection has attracted attention for its electricity-free operation, but this approach generally faces bottlenecks such as a high mechanical activation threshold, energy dispersion and low interfacial reaction efficiency, making it difficult to achieve rapid and stable pathogen inactivation in practical scenarios. Here we report a manually operated portable water disinfection system that can inactivate 99.9999% of Vibrio cholerae within 1 min and demonstrate broad-spectrum disinfection against bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. Amino-modified SiO₂ nanoparticles loaded with Au nanoparticles capture hydrated electrons and transfer them to the electret surface to generate localized nanoscale electric fields, which are further strengthened by hydrophobic fluorinated groups. This interfacial architecture not only promotes charge accumulation and transfer, but also leverages the intensified electric field to actively drive reactive oxygen species generation at the solid-liquid-air interface, thereby markedly enhancing the disinfection rate and efficacy compared with existing contact-electrification-based disinfection technologies. Owing to its ease of operation, our interfacial electric-field-enhanced disinfection system is readily deployable in disaster relief and resource-constrained regions.

Nat. Nanotechnol. (2025)

Nanobiotechnology, Nanoparticles

Wearable biomolecular sensing nanotechnologies in chronic disease management

Review Paper | Analytical chemistry | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Jiaobing Tu, Connor D. Flynn, Jeonghee Yeom, Zhenwei Wu, Shana O. Kelley, Wei Gao

Over the past decade, consumer wearable sensors have become increasingly ubiquitous in health monitoring, enabling the widespread tracking of key biophysical parameters. The transition towards next-generation body-interfaced biomolecular sensing technologies, fuelled by the integration of reagentless sensing strategies with advanced nanomaterials, marks the next substantial leap forward. These innovations enable unobtrusive, multimodal monitoring of both physiological parameters and biochemical disease markers in real time. This Review examines the current generation of body-interfaced biomolecular sensing technologies, with a particular emphasis on materials innovation and nanotechnological advancements, and discusses their pivotal role in chronic disease monitoring. The discussion extends to the challenges and prospects in this rapidly evolving field, highlighting the potential for materials-focused approaches to transform the landscape of chronic disease monitoring and management with body-interfaced bioelectronics. By harnessing the power of materials and nanotechnological innovations, these biomolecular sensing technologies promise to enhance diagnostic capabilities and foster a more proactive, personalized approach to combating these diseases.

Nat. Nanotechnol. (2025)

Analytical chemistry, Biomedical engineering, Biosensors

Nanosensors for real-time intracellular analytics

Review Paper | Bionanoelectronics | 2025-10-14 20:00 EDT

Einollah Sarikhani, Kuldeep Mahato, Ana Casanova, Keivan Rahmani, Joseph Wang, Zeinab Jahed

A fundamental goal in modern biology and precision medicine is to acquire rich, multi-omics-style information from cells, including transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolic and electrophysiological data, in real time and at single-cell resolution. However, current techniques often rely on destructive endpoint assays that require cell lysis, losing spatial, temporal and dynamic context. Nanoscale sensors offer a transformative solution by enabling minimally invasive, continuous monitoring of intracellular activities. Here we propose a spatial classification of intracellular sensing technologies–near cell, on cell and in cell–and use this framework to evaluate the sensing modalities on the basis of their invasiveness, signal fidelity and resolution. We highlight emerging sensor platforms that are capable of detecting ions, metabolites, electrical signals and mechanical changes, as well as artificial intelligence-driven strategies for decoding complex cellular data streams. We further consider the integration of these nanosensors into three-dimensional, physiologically relevant models such as organoids to create ‘smart organoids’ that report on their internal state autonomously and in real time. Finally, we discuss the major challenges in achieving intelligent intracellular sensing, including issues of sensor miniaturization, biocompatibility, multiplexing and three-dimensional integration. Together, these advances set the stage for a new era of dynamic, high-resolution cell profiling that can accelerate drug discovery, disease modelling and personalized medicine.

Nat. Nanotechnol. (2025)

Bionanoelectronics, Biosensors

Physical Review Letters

Generalized Indefinite Causal Orders in an Integrated Quantum Switch

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Yaohao Deng, Shuheng Liu, Xiaojiong Chen, Zhaorong Fu, Jueming Bao, Yun Zheng, Qihuang Gong, Qiongyi He, and Jianwei Wang

Indefinite causal order (ICO), a striking feature of quantum mechanics, has attracted broad theoretical and experimental interest. While ICO holds promise for quantum information processing, akin to quantum entanglement, its experimental realization and rigorous verification remain fundamental chall…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160202 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

Fermion-Boson Stars as Attractors in Fuzzy Dark Matter and Ideal Gas Dynamics

Article | Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Gravitation | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Iván Alvarez-Rios, Francisco S. Guzmán, and Jens Niemeyer

In the context of fuzzy dark matter (FDM) we study the core formation in the presence of an ideal gas (IG). Our analysis is based on the solution of the Schrödinger-Poisson-Euler system of equations that drives the evolution of FDM together with a compressible IG, both coupled through the gravitatio…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 161003 (2025)

Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Gravitation

Semiclassical Wormholes toward Typical Entangled States

Article | Particles and Fields | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Javier M. Magán, Martin Sasieta, and Brian Swingle

What do the typical entangled states of two black holes look like? Do they contain semiclassical interiors? We approach these questions constructively, providing ensembles of states that densely explore the black hole Hilbert space. The states contain very long Einstein-Rosen caterpillars: semiclass…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 161601 (2025)

Particles and Fields

Study of $ϕ→K\overline{K}$ and ${K}{S}^{0}-{K}{L}^{0}$ Asymmetry in the Amplitude Analysis of ${D}{s}^{+}→{K}{S}^{0}{K}_{L}^{0}{π}^{+}$ Decays

Article | Particles and Fields | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

M. Ablikim et al. (BESIII Collaboration)

Using $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ annihilation data corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of $7.33{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ collected at center-of-mass energies between 4.128 and 4.226 GeV with the BESIII detector, we provide the first amplitude analysis and absolute branching fraction measurement of the hadronic decay $D_s^{+}\to K_S^0{K}_L^0{\pi }^{+}$.…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 161902 (2025)

Particles and Fields

Open $B$-Hadron Production at Hadron Colliders in QCD at Next-to-Next-to-Leading-Order and Next-to-Next-to-Leading-Logarithmic Accuracy

Article | Particles and Fields | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Michał Czakon, Terry Generet, Alexander Mitov, and Rene Poncelet

We report on a calculation of open heavy-flavor production at hadron colliders which extends to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) accuracy the classic NLO-accurate formalism developed almost 30 years ago under the acronym FONLL. The approach retains the exact heavy-flavor mass dependence at low t…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 161903 (2025)

Particles and Fields

Extracting the Speed of Sound in Heavy-Ion Collisions: A Study of Quantum-Initiated Fluctuations and Thermalization

Article | Nuclear Physics | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Yu-Shan Mu, Jing-An Sun, Li Yan, and Xu-Guang Huang

The thermalization of quark-gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions is crucial for understanding its behavior as a relativistic fluid and the thermodynamic properties of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD). This study investigates the role of fluctuations in the relationship between transverse mom…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 162301 (2025)

Nuclear Physics

Addressing the Correlation of Stokes-Shifted Photons Emitted from Two Quantum Emitters

Article | Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Adrián Juan-Delgado, Jean-Baptiste Trebbia, Ruben Esteban, Quentin Deplano, Philippe Tamarat, Rémi Avriller, Brahim Lounis, and Javier Aizpurua

In resonance fluorescence excitation experiments, light emitted from solid-state quantum emitters is typically filtered to eliminate the laser photons, ensuring that only red-shifted Stokes photons are detected. However, theoretical analyses of the fluorescence intensity correlation often model emit…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 163602 (2025)

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics

Femtosecond and Attosecond Phase-Space Correlations in Few-Particle Photoelectron Pulses

Article | Plasma and Solar Physics, Accelerators and Beams | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Rudolf Haindl, Valerio Di Giulio, Armin Feist, and Claus Ropers

Electrostatic repulsion between electrons usually impairs the performance of electron microscopes. Now it can be turned into an advantage.

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 165002 (2025)

Plasma and Solar Physics, Accelerators and Beams

Selective Excitation of Collective Modes in Multiband Superconductor ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Jiayu Yuan, Liyu Shi, Tiequan Xu, Yue Wang, Zizhao Gan, Hao Wang, Tianyi Wu, Dong Wu, Tao Dong, and Nanlin Wang

Recent developments in nonequilibrium and nonlinear terahertz (THz) spectroscopies have significantly advanced the understanding of collective excitations in superconductors. However, there is ongoing debate regarding the identification of Higgs, Leggett modes, and BCS charge fluctuations in the two…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166002 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Superconductivity at 28 K in Sodium Graphite Intercalation Compound under High Pressure

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Guangchen Ma, Yingying Wang, Zefang Wang, Yuki Nakamoto, Katsuya Shimizu, Guangtao Liu, Mi Zhou, Hongbo Wang, Pengyue Gao, and Yanming Ma

The discovery of 15.1 K superconductivity in first-stage ${\mathrm{CaC}}_6$ reignited interest in searching for high-temperature superconductors in graphite intercalation compounds (GICs). However, despite nearly two decades of intensive research, progress in exploring high-temperature superconductivity in GIC ma…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166003 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Quantitative Role of Phonons and Elasticity in Tuning Uniaxial Negative Thermal Expansion of $M{\mathrm{Zr}}_{2}(M=\mathrm{Fe},\mathrm{Co},\text{ }\mathrm{and}\text{ }\mathrm{Ni})$

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Meng Xu, Qilong Gao, Yongqiang Qiao, Kaiyue Zhao, Andrea Sanson, Qiang Sun, Changtian Wang, Alessandro Venier, Francesco d’Acapito, Matt Tucker, Yuzhu Song, Chang Zhou, Xianran Xing, and Jun Chen

Elucidating the mechanisms of negative thermal expansion (NTE) not only identifies the determining factors of this phenomenon but also provides guidance for the precise regulation of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). However, accurately quantifying these determining factors during CTE modu…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166101 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance in Ambipolar Polymer Field-Effect Transistors

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Zichen Wang, Ilia Kulikov, Tarig Mustafa, Sam Schott, Remington L. Carey, Jan Behrends, and Henning Sirringhaus

Electron spin resonance can provide unique insights into charge transport processes in organic semiconductors in a regime in which charge motion determines spin relaxation. In particular, electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) probes directly the changes in charge transport properties that …

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166301 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Unconventional Hall Effect in Gapless Superconductors: Transverse Supercurrent Converted from Normal Current

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Miaomiao Wei, Longjun Xiang, Fuming Xu, Bin Wang, and Jian Wang

A normal metal proximitized by a superconductor can exhibit a gapless superconducting state characterized by segmented Fermi surfaces, as confirmed experimentally. In this state, quasiparticle states remain gapless along one direction, while a superconducting gap opens in the perpendicular direction…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166304 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Shot Noise of Photocurrents in Magnetic Quantum Materials

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Xinyue Liu, Longjun Xiang, Yaqing Yang, Fuming Xu, Jun Chen, Lei Zhang, and Jian Wang

Recently, the dc shot noise (DSN) of photocurrents has been proposed as its complementary probe to quantify the nonmagnetic gapped quantum materials. In this Letter, we have discovered two novel DSN terms that are crucial for understanding the properties of magnetically insulating quantum materials:…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166702 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Nested Stochastic Resetting: Nonequilibrium Steady States and Exact Correlations

Article | Statistical Physics; Classical, Nonlinear, and Complex Systems | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Henry Alston, Callum Britton, and Thibault Bertrand

Stochastic resetting breaks detailed balance and drives the formation of nonequilibrium steady states. Here, we consider a chain of diffusive processes $x_i(t)$ that interact unilaterally: at random time intervals, the process $x_n$ stochastically resets to the instantaneous value of $x_{n-1}$. We derive analy…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 167101 (2025)

Statistical Physics; Classical, Nonlinear, and Complex Systems

Dynamical Phase Transitions in Nonequilibrium Networks

Article | Statistical Physics; Classical, Nonlinear, and Complex Systems | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Jiazhen Liu, Nathaniel M. Aden, Debasish Sarker, and Chaoming Song

Dynamical phase transitions (DPTs) characterize critical changes in system behavior occurring at finite times, providing a lens to study nonequilibrium phenomena beyond conventional equilibrium physics. While extensively studied in quantum systems, DPTs have remained largely unexplored in classical …

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 167402 (2025)

Statistical Physics; Classical, Nonlinear, and Complex Systems

Spontaneous Emergence of Run-and-Tumble-Like Dynamics in a Robotic Analog of Chlamydomonas: Experiment and Theory

Article | Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Somnath Paramanick, Umashankar Pardhi, Harsh Soni, and Nitin Kumar

Run-and-tumble (RT) motion is commonly observed in flagellated microswimmers, arising from synchronous and asynchronous flagellar beating. One such example is a biflagellated alga, called Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Its flagellar synchronization is not only affected by hydrodynamic interactions but a…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 168301 (2025)

Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics

Bridging Entanglement and Magic Resources within Operator Space

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Neil Dowling, Kavan Modi, and Gregory A. L. White

Local-operator entanglement (LOE) dictates the complexity of simulating Heisenberg evolution using tensor network methods, and it bears witness to many-body chaos for local dynamics. We show that LOE is also sensitive to how non-Clifford a unitary is--its magic resources. In particular, we prove that…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160201 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

Conditional Mutual Information and Information-Theoretic Phases of Decohered Gibbs States

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Yifan F. Zhang and Sarang Gopalakrishnan

The amount of long-range conditional mutual‬ information generated under local channels undergoes a phase transition depending on the temperature of the Gibbs state.

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160401 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

Energetic Advantages for Quantum Agents in Online Execution of Complex Strategies

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Jayne Thompson, Paul M. Riechers, Andrew J. P. Garner, Thomas J. Elliott, and Mile Gu

Agents often execute complex strategies, adapting their response to each input stimulus depending on past observations and actions. Here, we derive the minimal energetic cost for classical agents to execute a given strategy, highlighting that they must dissipate a certain amount of heat with each de…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160402 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

Measuring Full Counting Statistics in a Trapped-Ion Quantum Simulator

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Lata Kh Joshi, Filiberto Ares, Manoj K. Joshi, Christian F. Roos, and Pasquale Calabrese

In quantum mechanics, the probability distribution function and full counting statistics play a fundamental role in characterizing the fluctuations of quantum observables, as they encode the complete information about these fluctuations. In this Letter, we measure these two quantities in a trapped-i…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160601 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

On-Chip Verified Quantum Computation with an Ion-Trap Quantum Processing Unit

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Cica Gustiani, Dominik Leichtle, Jonathan Miller, Ross Grassie, Daniel Mills, and Elham Kashefi

We present a novel approach to cryptographically secure verification and benchmarking of quantum computing, demonstrating our approach on an ion-trap quantum computer. Unlike previous cryptographically secure verification protocols, which typically require quantum communication between client and se…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160801 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

Bell Nonlocality in Quantum Networks with Unreliable Sources: Loophole-Free Postelection via Self-Testing

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Sadra Boreiri, Nicolas Brunner, and Pavel Sekatski

We discuss Bell nonlocality in quantum networks with unreliable sources. Our main result is a condition on the observed data that ensures that inconclusive events can be safely discarded, without introducing any loophole. More formally, we characterize the fair-sampling property for measurements in …

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160802 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

Closing the Detection Loophole in the Triangle Network with High-Dimensional Photonic States

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Tamás Kriváchy and Martin Kerschbaumer

Bell nonlocality without input settings, .g., in the triangle network, has been perceived to be particularly fragile, with low robustness to noise in physical implementations. Here, we show to the contrary that nonlocality based on N00N states already for $N=2$ has an exceptionally high robustness to …

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160803 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

Suppressing Spurious Transitions Using Spectrally Balanced Pulse

Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Ruixia Wang, Yaqing Feng, Yujia Zhang, Jiayu Ding, Boxi Li, Felix Motzoi, Yang Gao, Huikai Xu, Zhen Yang, Wuerkaixi Nuerbolati, Haifeng Yu, Weijie Sun, and Fei Yan

Achieving precise control over quantum systems presents a significant challenge, especially in many-body setups, where residual couplings and unintended transitions undermine the accuracy of quantum operations. In superconducting qubits, parasitic interactions--both between distant qubits and with sp…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 160804 (2025)

Quantum Information, Science, and Technology

Atacama Cosmology Telescope, South Pole Telescope, and Chaotic Inflation

Article | Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Gravitation | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Renata Kallosh, Andrei Linde, and Diederik Roest

We show that the simplest generalization of the chaotic inflation model $\frac{1}{2}{m}^2{\varphi }^2$ with nonminimal coupling to gravity $(1+\varphi )R$ provides a good match to the results of the latest data release of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and South Pole Telescope, with $r\approx {10}^{-2}$.

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 161001 (2025)

Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Gravitation

New Chiral Structures for Baryon Number Violating Nucleon Decays

Article | Particles and Fields | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Yi Liao, Xiao-Dong Ma, and Hao-Lin Wang

We examine the most general nucleon decay interactions that involve three light quarks without being acted upon by a derivative. We identify four generic operator structures that correspond to the irreducible representations in the chiral group ${\mathrm{SU}(3)}_{\mathtt{L}}\otimes {\mathrm{SU}(3)}_{\mathtt{R}}$ of QCD, $\{{\mathbf{8}}_{\mathtt{L}}\otimes {\mathbf{1}}_{\mathtt{R}},{\overline{\mathbf{3}}}_{\mathtt{L}}\otimes {\mathbf{3}}_{\mathtt{R}},{\mathbf{6}}_{\mathtt{L}}\otimes {\mathbf{3}}_{\mathtt{R}},{\mathbf{10}}_{\mathtt{L}}\otimes {\mathbf{1}}_{\mathtt{R}}\}$, plus…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 161801 (2025)

Particles and Fields

Observation of a New Charmed Baryon Decaying to ${\mathrm{Ξ}}_{c}^{+}{π}^{-}{π}^{+}$

Article | Particles and Fields | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

R. Aaij et al. (LHCb Collaboration)

The ${\mathrm{\Xi }}_c^{+}{\pi }^{-}{\pi }^{+}$ spectrum is investigated using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5.4{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb experiment during 2016-2018. Four states are observed with high significance, and their masses and widths are measur…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 161901 (2025)

Particles and Fields

Crust Composition and the Shallow Heat Source in KS 1731-260

Article | Nuclear Physics | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

R. Jain, E. F. Brown, H. Schatz, A. V. Afanasjev, M. Beard, L. R. Gasques, J. Grace, A. Heger, G. W. Hitt, W. R. Hix, R. Lau, W.-J. Ong, M. Wiescher, and Y. Xu

The presence of a strong shallow heat source of unknown origin in accreting neutron star crusts has been inferred by analyzing x-ray observations of their cooling in quiescence. We model the cooling of KS 1731-260 using realistic crust compositions and nuclear heating and cooling sources from detail…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 162701 (2025)

Nuclear Physics

Spontaneous Emission from Electronic Metastable Resonance States

Article | Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Amir Sivan, Milan Šindelka, Meir Orenstein, and Nimrod Moiseyev

We demonstrate that calculating the spontaneous emission decay rate from metastable resonance states (states with finite lifetimes embedded in the continuum) requires considering transitions to all continuum states, not just to lower states. This holds even when the lifetimes of the metastable state…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 163001 (2025)

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics

Meissner-like Currents of Photons in Anomalous Superradiant Phases

Article | Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Linjun Li, Pengfei Huang, Zi-Xiang Hu, and Yu-Yu Zhang

We present Meissner-like photon currents in a quantum Rabi zigzag chain under staggered synthetic magnetic fields. The ground state of the Meissner superradiant phase hosts persistent chiral edge currents in a sequence of cancellation of antiparallel vortex pairs, akin to surface currents of the Mei…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 163601 (2025)

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics

Two-Dimensional Topological Edge States in Periodic Space-Time Interfaces

Article | Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Ohad Segal, Yonatan Plotnik, Eran Lustig, Yonatan Sharabi, Moshe-Ishay Cohen, Alexander Dikopoltsev, and Mordechai Segev

Topological edge states in systems of two (or more) dimensions offer scattering-free transport, exhibiting robustness to inhomogeneities and disorder. In a different domain, time-modulated systems, such as photonic time crystals, offer nonresonant amplification drawing energy from the modulation. Co…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 163801 (2025)

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics

Persistence in Physical Systems: An Application to Soil Moisture Memory

Article | Physics of Fluids, Earth & Planetary Science, and Climate | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Madhusudan Ingale, Bhupendra Bahadur Singh, Milind Mujumdar, Mangesh Goswami, Naresh Ganeshi, C. D. Aju, R. Krishnan, and M. Ravichandran

Several physical variables and fluid systems exhibit memory effects arising from their internal dynamics and interactions with external forcings. Various existing techniques are either complex or face limitations due to the usual nonlinear nature of the time series, typically overestimating memory t…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 164201 (2025)

Physics of Fluids, Earth & Planetary Science, and Climate

Relativistic Oscillating Window Driven by an Intense Laguerre-Gaussian Laser Pulse

Article | Plasma and Solar Physics, Accelerators and Beams | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Yao Meng, Runze Li, and Longqing Yi

High-order harmonic generation by the diffraction of an intense Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) laser beam through a small aperture is studied. It is found that the 2D peripheral electron dynamics at the boundary of the diffraction aperture can facilitate complex interplay between the spin and orbital angula…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 165001 (2025)

Plasma and Solar Physics, Accelerators and Beams

Dissipative Superfluidity in a Molecular Bose-Einstein Condensate

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Hongchao Li, Xie-Hang Yu, Masaya Nakagawa, and Masahito Ueda

Motivated by recent experimental realization of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of dipolar molecules, we develop superfluid transport theory for a dissipative BEC to show that a weak uniform two-body loss can induce phase rigidity, leading to superfluid transport of bosons without repulsive interac…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166001 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Multiband Fractional Thouless Pumps

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Marius Jürgensen, Jacob Steiner, Gil Refael, and Mikael C. Rechtsman

Quantization of particle transport lies at the heart of topological physics. In Thouless pumps--dimensionally reduced versions of the integer quantum Hall effect--quantization is dictated by the integer winding of single-band Wannier states. Here, we show that repulsive interactions can drive a transi…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166601 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Altermagnets with Topological Order in Kitaev Bilayers

Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Aayush Vijayvargia, Ezra Day-Roberts, Antia S. Botana, and Onur Erten

Building on recent advancements in altermagnetism, we develop a highly frustrated magnetic model with Kitaev-like interactions that integrates key aspects of both quantum spin liquids and altermagnets. While the ground state is a gapless quantum spin liquid, our analysis indicates that an altermagne…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 166701 (2025)

Condensed Matter and Materials

Defects, Parcellation, and Renormalized Negative Diffusivities in Nonhomogeneous Oscillatory Media

Article | Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Marie Sellier-Prono, Massimo Cencini, David Kleinfeld, and Massimo Vergassola

Spatial nonhomogeneities can synchronize clusters of spatially extended oscillators in different frequency plateaus. Motivated by physiological rhythms, we fully characterize the phase diagram of a Ginzburg-Landau (GL) model with a gradient of frequencies. For large gradients and diffusion, the rest…

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 168401 (2025)

Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics

Erratum: Elastic Screening of Pseudogauge Fields in Graphene [Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 046404 (2025)]

Article | | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Christophe De Beule, Robin Smeyers, Wilson Nieto Luna, E. J. Mele, and Lucian Covaci

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 169901 (2025)

Physical Review X

Entangled Dual-Comb Spectroscopy

Article | | 2025-10-15 06:00 EDT

Abdulkarim Hariri, Shuai Liu, Haowei Shi, Quntao Zhuang, Xudong Fan, and Zheshen Zhang

Entangled dual-comb spectroscopy combines a classical comb with an entangled quantum comb to suppress photon noise, achieving faster, more precise measurements than classical methods and enabling advanced sensing and metrology applications.

Phys. Rev. X 15, 041009 (2025)

Nonequilibrium Relaxation and Odd-Even Effect in Finite-Temperature Electron Gases

Article | | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Eric Nilsson, Ulf Gran, and Johannes Hofmann

Analysis of the equations governing a two-dimensional Fermi liquid with Coulomb interactions uncovers long-lived odd-parity collective modes that decay far more slowly than standard theory predicts.

Phys. Rev. X 15, 041007 (2025)

Experimental Demonstration of High-Fidelity Logical Magic States from Code Switching

Article | | 2025-10-14 06:00 EDT

Lucas Daguerre, Robin Blume-Kohout, Natalie C. Brown, David Hayes, and Isaac H. Kim

A new trapped-ion experiment creates the most reliable "magic state" yet, protecting the state from environmental noise using minimal overhead and advancing practical quantum computing.

Phys. Rev. X 15, 041008 (2025)

arXiv

Magnetometry with Broadband Microwave Fields in Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Arezoo Afshar, Andrew Proppe, Noah Lupu-Gladstein, Lilian Childress, Aaron Z. Goldberg, Khabat Heshami

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are optically addressable and versatile light-matter interfaces with practical application in magnetic field sensing, offering the ability to operate at room temperature and reach sensitivities below pT/$ \sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}.$ We propose an approach to simultaneously probe all of the magnetically sensitive states using a broadband microwave field and demonstrate that it can be used to measure the external DC magnetic field strength with sensitivities below 1~nT/$ \sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}.$ We develop tools for analyzing the temporal signatures in the transmitted broadband microwaves to estimate the magnetic field, comparing maximum likelihood estimation based on minimizing the Kullback-Leibler divergence to various neural network models, and both methods independently reach practical sensitivities. These results are achieved without optimizing parameters such as the bandwidth, power, and shape of the probing microwave field such that, with further improvements, sensitivities down to $ \mathrm{pT/\sqrt{Hz}}$ can be envisioned. Our results motivate novel implementations of NV-based magnetic sensors with the potential for vectorial magnetic field detection at 1-10 kHz update rates and improved sensitivities without requiring a bias magnetic field.

arXiv:2510.11720 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

12 pages, 8 figures - Comments are welcome

Influence of Platinum Thin Films on the Photophysical and Quantum Properties of Near-Surface NV Centers

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Joachim P. Leibold (1, 5, 6), Lina M. Todenhagen (2, 5, 6), Matthias Althammer (3, 5, 6), Nikhita Khera (4), Elke Neu (4), Martin S. Brandt (2, 5, 6), Hans Huebl (3, 5, 6), Dominik B. Bucher (1, 6) ((1) Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany (2) Walter Schottky Institute, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany (3) Walther-Meißner-Institute, Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Garching, Germany (4) Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, RPTU Kaiserslautern Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany (5) Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany (6) Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST), Munich, Germany)

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are optically addressable spin defects with great potential for nanoscale quantum sensing. A key application of NV centers is the detection of external spins at the diamond surface. Among metals, platinum thin films - widely used in spintronics, catalysis and electrochemistry - provide a particularly interesting system for such studies. However, the interaction between NV centers and metals is known to affect their quantum sensing capabilities. In this work, we study five platinum-covered diamond samples containing shallow NVs created via nitrogen implantation with different energies (2.5-60 keV) and investigate the optical and quantum properties of NV ensembles beneath the metal films. We find a substantial reduction of the photoluminescence lifetime and a pronounced decrease of the NV$ ^{-}$ population for NV ensembles located near the platinum layer. As a result, optically detected magnetic resonance experiments could only be efficiently performed on diamonds implanted with at least 20 keV, where we observed a strong increase in the T$ _{2}$ coherence time beneath the platinum thin films. Our study describes the various processes affecting NV centers near platinum films and provides guidance for the integration of thin metal films with near-surface NV centers.

arXiv:2510.11721 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

10 pages plus bibliography, 4 figures

Algorithmic Temperature Induced by Adopted Regular Universal Turing Machine

New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Kentaro Imafuku

We prove that an effective temperature naturally emerges from the algorithmic structure of a regular universal Turing machine (UTM), without introducing any external physical parameter. In particular, the redundancy growth of the machine’s wrapper language induces a Boltzmann–like exponential weighting over program lengths, yielding a canonical ensemble interpretation of algorithmic probability. This establishes a formal bridge between algorithmic information theory and statistical mechanics, in which the adopted UTM determines the intrinsic ``algorithmic temperature.’’ We further show that this temperature approaches its maximal limit under the universal mixture (Solomonoff distribution), and discuss its epistemic meaning as the resolution level of an observer.

arXiv:2510.11737 (2025)

Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Information Theory (cs.IT), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

12 pages, 2 figures

Universal behaviors of the multi-time correlation functions of random processes with renewal: the step noise case (the random velocity of a Lévy walk)

New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Marco Bianucci, Mauro Bologna, Daniele Lagomarsino-Oneto, Riccardo Mannella

Stochastic processes with renewal properties are powerful tools for modeling systems where memory effects and long-time correlations play a significant role. In this work, we study a broad class of renewal processes where a variable’s value changes according to a prescribed Probability Density Function (PDF), $ p(\xi)$ , after random waiting times $ \theta$ . This model is relevant across many fields, including classical chaos, nonlinear hydrodynamics, quantum dots, cold atom dynamics, biological motion, foraging, and finance. We derive a general analytical expression for the $ n$ -time correlation function by averaging over process realizations. Our analysis identifies the conditions for stationarity, aging, and long-range correlations based on the waiting time and jump distributions. Among the many consequences of our analysis, two new key results emerge. First, for Poissonian waiting times, the correlation function quickly approaches that of telegraphic noise. Second, for power-law waiting times with $ \mu>2$ , , \emph{any $ n$ -time correlation function asymptotically reduces to the two-time correlation evaluated at the earliest and latest time points}. This second result reveals a universal long-time behavior where the system’s full statistical structure becomes effectively two-time reducible. Furthermore, if the jump PDF $ p(\xi)$ has fat tails, this convergence becomes independent of the waiting time PDF and is significantly accelerated, requiring only modest increases in either the number of realizations or the trajectory lengths. Building upon earlier work that established the universality of the two-point correlation function (i.e., a unique formal expression depending solely on the variance of $ \xi$ and on the waiting-time PDF), the present study extends that universality to the full statistical description of a broad class of renewal-type stochastic processes.

arXiv:2510.11747 (2025)

Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Statistics Theory (math.ST)

67 pages, 22 Figures

Epitaxial Electrodeposition of Fe with Controlled In-Plane Variants for Reversible Metal Anode in Aqueous Electrolyte

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Chenxi Sui, Ching-Tai Fu, Guangxia Feng, Yuqi Li, Junyan Li, Gangbin Yan, Po-Chun Hsu, Steven Chu, Yi Cui

The development of reversible metal anodes is a key challenge for advancing aqueous battery technologies, particularly for scalable and safe stationary energy storage applications. Here we demonstrate a strategy to realize epitaxial electrodeposition of iron (Fe) on single-crystal copper (Cu) substrates in aqueous electrolytes. We compare the electrodeposition behavior of Fe on polycrystalline and single-crystalline Cu substrates, revealing that the latter enables highly uniform, dense, and crystallographically aligned Fe growth. Comprehensive electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the formation of Fe with specific out-of-plane and in-plane orientations, including well-defined rotational variants. Our findings highlight that epitaxial electrodeposition of Fe can suppress dendritic growth and significantly enhance Coulombic efficiency during plating/stripping cycles. This approach bridges fundamental crystallography with practical electrochemical performance, providing a pathway toward high-efficiency aqueous batteries utilizing Earth-abundant materials.

arXiv:2510.11757 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

Non-Normal Eigenvector Amplification in Multi-Dimensional Kesten Processes

New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Virgile Troude, Didier Sornette

Heavy-tailed fluctuations and power law statistics pervade physics, finance, and economics, yet their origin is often ascribed to systems poised near criticality. Here we show that such behavior can emerge far from instability through a universal mechanism of non-normal eigenvector amplification in multidimensional Kesten processes $ x_{t+1}=A_t x_t+\eta_t$ , where $ A_t$ are random interaction matrices and $ \eta_t$ represents external inputs, capturing the evolving interdependence among $ N$ coupled components. Even when each random multiplicative matrix is spectrally stable, non-orthogonal eigenvectors generate transient growth that renormalizes the Lyapunov exponent and lowers the tail exponent, producing stationary power laws without eigenvalues crossing the stability boundary. We derive explicit relations linking the Lyapunov exponent and the tail index to the statistics of the condition number, $ \gamma!\sim!\gamma_0+\ln\kappa$ and $ \alpha!\sim!-2\gamma/\sigma_\kappa^2$ , confirmed by numerical simulations. This framework offers a unifying geometric perspective that help interpret diverse phenomena, including polymer stretching in turbulence, magnetic field amplification in dynamos, volatility clustering and wealth inequality in financial systems. Non-normal interactions provide a collective route to scale-free behavior in globally stable systems, defining a new universality class where multiplicative feedback and transient amplification generate critical-like statistics without spectral criticality.

arXiv:2510.11763 (2025)

Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability (physics.data-an)

30 pages (double column) and 4 figures

Adjoint ferromagnets

New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Joaquín López-Suárez, Alexios P. Polychronakos, Konstantinos Sfetsos

We derive the phase structure and thermodynamics of ferromagnets consisting of elementary magnets carrying the adjoint representation of $ SU(N)$ and coupled through two-body quadratic interactions. Such systems have a continuous $ SU(N)$ symmetry as well as a discrete conjugation symmetry. We uncover a rich spectrum of phases and transitions, involving a paramagnetic and two distinct ferromagnetic phases that can coexist as stable and metastable states in different combinations over a range of temperatures. The ferromagnetic phases break $ SU(N)$ invariance in various channels, leading to spontaneous magnetization. Interestingly, the conjugation symmetry also breaks over a range of temperatures and group ranks $ N$ , providing a realization of a spontaneously broken discrete symmetry.

arXiv:2510.11776 (2025)

Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th), Mathematical Physics (math-ph), Exactly Solvable and Integrable Systems (nlin.SI)

31 pages, 8 figures

Universal scaling of shear thickening suspensions under acoustic perturbation

New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Anna R. Barth, Navneet Singh, Stephen J. Thornton, Pranav Kakhandiki, Edward Y.X. Ong, Meera Ramaswamy, Abhishek M. Shetty, Bulbul Chakraborty, James P. Sethna, Itai Cohen

Tuning shear thickening behavior is a longstanding problem in the field of dense suspensions. Acoustic perturbations offer a convenient way to control shear thickening in real time, opening the door to a new class of smart materials. However, complete control over shear thickening requires a quantitative description for how suspension viscosity varies under acoustic perturbation. Here, we achieve this goal by experimentally probing suspensions with acoustic perturbations and incorporating their effect on the suspension viscosity into a universal scaling framework where the viscosity is described by a scaling function, which captures a crossover from the frictionless jamming critical point to a frictional shear jamming critical point. Our analysis reveals that the effect of acoustic perturbations may be explained by the introduction of an effective interparticle repulsion whose magnitude is roughly equal to the acoustic energy density. Furthermore, we demonstrate how this scaling framework may be leveraged to produce explicit predictions for the viscosity of a dense suspension under acoustic perturbation. Our results demonstrate the utility of the scaling framework for experimentally manipulating shear thickening systems.

arXiv:2510.11820 (2025)

Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)

Symmetry and Memory in Driven Disordered Systems

New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Surendra Padamata, Nathan C. Keim

Steadily shearing a non-Brownian suspension forms a memory of direction in its structure, while periodically shearing it forms a memory of amplitude. Our experiments show that these memories coexist and compete within a limited memory capacity. A specific oscillatory amplitude, previously associated with a critical transition, suppresses the directional (fore-aft) asymmetry. A similar picture is known in amorphous solids. We propose that these competing kinds of memory are a motif for non-equilibrium systems coupled to a scalar drive and are a basic example of interplay between memories.

arXiv:2510.11825 (2025)

Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)

6 pages, 6 figures

Non-perturbatively slow spread of quantum correlations in non-resonant systems

New Submission | Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Ben T. McDonough, Marius Lemm, Andrew Lucas

Strong disorder often has drastic consequences for quantum dynamics. This is best illustrated by the phenomenon of Anderson localization in non-interacting systems, where destructive quantum wave interference leads to the complete absence of particle and information transport over macroscopic distances. In this work, we investigate the extent to which strong disorder leads to provably slow dynamics in many-body quantum lattice models. We show that in any spatial dimension, strong disorder leads to a non-perturbatively small velocity for ballistic information transport under unitary quantum dynamics, almost surely in the thermodynamic limit, in every many-body state. In these models, we also prove the existence of a “prethermal many-body localized regime”, where entanglement spreads logarithmically slowly, up to non-perturbatively long time scales. More generally, these conclusions hold for all models corresponding to quantum perturbations to a classical Hamiltonian obeying a simple non-resonant condition. Deterministic non-resonant models are found, including spin systems in strong incommensurate lattice potentials. Consequently, quantum dynamics in non-resonant potentials is asymptotically easier to simulate on both classical or quantum computers, compared to a generic many-body system.

arXiv:2510.11831 (2025)

Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Mathematical Physics (math-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

Topological Robustness of Anyon Tunneling at $ν= 1/3$

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Adithya Suresh, Ramon Guerrero-Suarez, Tanmay Maiti, Shuang Liang, Geoffrey Gardner, Claudio Chamon, Michael Manfra

The scaling exponent $ g$ of the quasiparticle propagator for incompressible fractional quantum Hall states in the Laughlin sequence is expected to be robust against perturbations that do not close the gap. Here we probe the topological robustness of the chiral Luttinger liquid at the boundary of the $ \nu=1/3$ state by measuring the tunneling conductance between counterpropagating edge modes as a function of quantum point contact transmission. We demonstrate that for transmission $ t\geq 0.7$ the tunneling conductance is well-described by the first two terms of a perturbative series expansion corresponding to $ g=1/3$ . We further demonstrate that the measured scaling exponent is robustly pinned to $ g=1/3$ across the plateau, only deviating as the bulk state becomes compressible. Finally we examine the impact of weak disorder on the scaling exponent, finding it insensitive. These measurements firmly establish the topological robustness of anyon tunneling at $ \nu=1/3$ and substantiate the chiral Luttinger liquid description of the edge mode.

arXiv:2510.11860 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)

6+5 pages, 4+2 figures

Neuromorphic heat transport effects in a molecular junction

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Renai Chen, Galen T. Craven

Understanding energy transport at the nanoscale is an open and fundamental challenge in the molecular sciences with direct implications for the design of new electronics, computing devices, and materials. While nanoscale energy transport under steady-state conditions has been studied extensively, there is much less known about energy transport under time-dependent driving forces, particularly in the far-from-equilibrium regime. In this work, we use nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and stochastic thermodynamics to investigate energy transport in a well-studied nanoscale system, a molecular junction, subjected to a time-periodic temperature gradient. The primary observation is that molecular junctions can exhibit heat transport hysteresis, a phenomenon in which the heat flux through a system depends not only on the instantaneous value of a time-dependent temperature bias but also on the temporal history of that bias. The presented findings illustrate that molecular junctions can exhibit the specific memory effect, heat transport hysteresis, that is essential for the design of thermal neuromorphic computers. This work elucidates a potential pathway toward the realization of such devices.

arXiv:2510.11870 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)

J. Chem. Phys. 163, 054115 (2025)

Modelling of magnetic vortex microdisc dynamics under varying magnetic field in biological viscoelastic environments

New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Andrea Visonà, Robert Morel, Hélène Joisten, Bernard Dieny, Alice Nicolas

Magnetically driven microparticles provide a versatile platform for probing and manipulating biological systems, yet the physical framework governing their actuation in complex environments remains only partially explored. Within the field of cellular magneto-mechanical stimulation, vortex microdiscs have emerged as particularly promising candidates for developing novel therapeutic approaches. Here, we introduce a simplified two-dimensional model describing the magneto-mechanical response of such particles embedded in viscoelastic media under varying magnetic fields. Using a Maxwell description of the medium combined with simplified elasticity assumptions, we derive analytical expressions and support them with numerical simulations of particle motion under both oscillating and rotating magnetic fields. Our results show that rotating fields typically induce oscillatory dynamics and that the transition to asynchronous motion occurs at a critical frequency determined by viscosity and stiffness. The amplitude and phase of this motion is governed by the competition between magnetic and viscoelastic contributions, with particle motion being strongly impaired when the latter dominate. Energy-based considerations further demonstrate that, within the frequency range explored of few tens of Hertz, no heat is generated – distinguishing this approach from magnetic hyperthermia – while the elastic energy transferred to the surrounding medium is, in principle, sufficient to perturb major cellular processes. This work provides a simple framework to anticipate the first-order influence of rheological properties on magnetically driven microdisc dynamics, thereby enabling a better understanding of their impact in cells or extracellular materials and bridging the gap between experimental observations and theoretical modelling.

arXiv:2510.11906 (2025)

Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph)

28 pages, 10 figures, preprint submitted to a peer review

Low-field all-optical detection of superconductivity using NV nanodiamonds

New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Omkar Dhungel, Saravanan Sengottuvel, Mariusz Mrozek, Till Lenz, Nir Bar-Gill, Adam M. Wojciechowski, Arne Wickenbrock, Dmitry Budker

Nitrogen-vacancy centers in nanodiamond offer a microwave-free, noninvasive platform for probing superconductors via near zero-field cross-relaxation magnetometry. We demonstrate this by depositing nanodiamonds on YBCO thin films to measure critical parameters: transition temperature and penetration field. This method leverages nanodiamond fluorescence modulation as a result of magnetic field variation with 1mT amplitude to observe the Meissner effect and field scans to measure the penetration field. The approach is minimally invasive and can be applied to superconducting samples with rough surfaces, facilitating the study of flux vortices and critical phenomena in complex geometries.

arXiv:2510.11920 (2025)

Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

8 pages and 5 figures

Bond-resolved STM with density-based methods

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Emiliano Ventura-Macias, Jose Martinez-Castro, Guillermo Haas, Jara Trujillo-Mulero, Pablo Pou, Taner Esat, Markus Ternes, Ruslan Temirov, F. Stefan Tautz, Ruben Perez

Bond-resolved STM (BRSTM) is a recent technique that combines the advantages of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) with the outstanding intramolecular resolution provided by non-contact atomic force microscopy (ncAFM) using a CO-functionalized tips, offering unique insights into molecular interactions at surfaces. In this work, we present a novel and easily implementable approach for simulating BRSTM images, which we have applied to reproduce new experimental BRSTM data of Perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) on Ag(111), obtained with unprecedented control of tip-sample separation ($ \sim$ 10~pm). Our method integrates the Full-Density-Based Model (FDBM) developed for High-Resolution Atomic Force Microscopy (HRAFM) with Chen’s derivative approximation for tunneling channels, effectively capturing the contributions of both $ \sigma$ and $ \pi$ channels, while accounting for the CO-tip deflection induced by probe-sample interactions. This approach accurately reproduces the experimental results for both PTCDA/Ag(111) and 1,5,9-trioxo-13-azatriangulene (TOAT)/Cu(111) systems, including intricate tip-sample distance-dependent features. Furthermore, we also demonstrate the important role of substrate-induced effects, which can modify molecular orbital occupation and the relaxation of the CO probe, resulting in distinct BRSTM image characteristics.

arXiv:2510.11929 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)

Spectroscopy of Sm$^{3+}$ Ions in the C$_{\rm s}$ Symmetry Centres of Hydrothermally Prepared K$_2$YF$_5$ Microcrystals

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Pakwan Chanprakhon, Michael F. Reid, and Jon-Paul R. Wells

We report on the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of Sm$ ^{3+}$ -doped K$ _2$ YF$ _5$ microparticles. The particles were synthesized via the hydrothermal technique, yielding a particle size of approximately 20 $ \mu$ m in length. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirmed their orthorhombic crystal structure. A combination of absorption and laser excited fluorescence performed on samples cooled to 10~K, allow for the determination of {56} experimental crystal-field levels. A parametrised crystal-field analysis for Sm$ ^{3+}$ in the C$ _{\rm s}$ point group symmetry centres of K$ _2$ YF$ _5$ yields good approximation to the data.

arXiv:2510.11934 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

Optical Materials 169,117602 (2026)

Thermal transport in GaN/AlN HEMTs on 4H-SiC: Role of layer thickness and hetero-interfaces

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Dat Q. Tran, Minho Kim, Okhyun Nam, Vanya Darakchieva, Plamen P. Paskov

Thermal transport in high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) structures grown on 4H-SiC substrates by metalorganic-vapour-phase epitaxy (MOCVD) is systematically investigated. The thermal conductivity of the GaN channel and AlN buffer layers is measured by thermoreflectance (TTR). A pronounced thickness dependence of thermal conductivity as a result of phonon-boundary scattering is observed at low temperatures, while this effect becomes significantly weaker at elevated temperatures. The thermal boundary resistance (TBR) at the AlN/4H-SiC and GaN/AlN interfaces is also examined, showing a substantial reduction and eventual saturation with increasing temperature, indicating elastic phonon transport as the dominant mechanism. Reliable simulations of the temperature profile across the structures based on the measured thermal metrics highlight the critical role of TBR in thin-channel device and the advantage of thicker channel and buffer layers for efficient heat dissipation in the HEMTs.

arXiv:2510.11936 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

Orbitally-Resolved Mechanical Properties of Solids from Maximally Localized Wannier Functions

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Ethan T. Ritz, Guru Khalsa, Hsin-Yu Ko, Ju-an Zhang, Robert A. DiStasio Jr., Nicole A. Benedek

We present a technique for partitioning the total energy from a semi-local density functional theory calculation into contributions from individual electronic states in a localized Wannier basis. We use our technique to reveal the key role played by the $ s$ and $ p$ orbitals of the apical oxygen atoms in a curious elastic anomaly exhibited by ferroelectric PbTiO$ _3$ under applied stress, which has so far gone unexplained. Our technique enables new insights into the chemical origins of the mechanical properties of materials, or any property given by an energy derivative.

arXiv:2510.11945 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

Microscopic Intricacies of Self-Healing in Halide Perovskite-Charge Transport Layer Heterostructures

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Tejmani Behera, Boris Louis, Lukas Paesen, Roel Vanden Brande, Koki Asano, Martin Vacha, Maarten Roeffaers, Elke Debroye, Johan Hofkens, Sudipta Setha

The stability and performance of halide perovskite photovoltaic devices are critically limited by progressive defect generation and associated local non-radiative losses during operation. Self-healing of defects provides a promising pathway to prolong device functionality, yet the underlying microscopic mechanisms remain poorly understood, particularly the role of interfacial chemistry on trap dynamics and healing kinetics. Here, we elucidate self-healing and defect evolution in triple-cation mixed halide (TCMH) perovskite films and their device-relevant charge transport layer heterostructures subjected to photo-induced damage. Using correlation clustering imaging (CLIM), our recently developed local functional imaging tool, we map spatiotemporal photoluminescence heterogeneity to track defect dynamics in pristine and heterostructure films. The defect healing follows bi-phasic kinetics, with an initial electronic relaxation (tens of minutes) and a subsequent slower phase (~ hours) associated to ionic and lattice rearrangement. Most importantly, our results demonstrate that the chemical nature of charge-transport layers modulates trap activity, healing kinetics, and halide redistribution, with heterostructures exhibiting faster recovery than pristine films, a boon for device resilience. These findings provide new insights into the dynamic interaction between defects, interfaces, and ion migration, and establish a framework for rational design of durable, next-generation perovskite optoelectronic devices.

arXiv:2510.11948 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

19 pages, 4 figures

The Comparison of Colloidal PbS QD Photoconductors and Hybrid Phototransistors

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Gökhan Kara, Lorenzo J. A. Ferraresi, Dmitry N. Dirin, Roman Furrer, Maksym V. Kovalenko, Michel Calame, Ivan Shorubalko

The simplicity in the fabrication of photoconductors makes them a valuable choice to investigate optoelectronic properties of colloidal quantum dot (cQD) films. Lateral photoconductors generally require a large size, in the mm2, and are limited in operation speed due to the presence of trapping sites. In contrast, hybrid phototransistors are fabricated in the um2 scale and benefit from such trapping sites, allowing the measurement of low light levels in the nW/cm2. The question, however, arises whether high responsivity values are required for the detection of low light levels or the compatible detectivity of photoconductors is sufficient. Here, we directly compare photoconductors and hybrid phototransistors with an identical EDT-treated PbS cQD film. We highlight that a comparable D\ast is not enough for the purpose of measuring low light levels, as the resulting photocurrents need to be readily accessible. Furthermore, we also showcase temperature-activated photocurrent dynamics resulting in a negative photocurrent (NPC) effect. This NPC simultaneously improves the frequency bandwidth and photocurrent, enabling operation speeds up to 100 kHz.

arXiv:2510.11995 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

Evidence for easy-plane XY ferromagnetism in heavy-fermion quantum-critical CeRh6Ge4

New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Riku Yamamoto, Sejun Park, Zachary W. Riedel, Phurba Sherpa, Joe D. Thompson, Filip Ronning, Eric D. Bauer, Adam P. Dioguardi, Michihiro Hirata

We report $ ^{73}$ Ge nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) and magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in the heavy-fermion quantum-critical ferromagnet CeRh$ _6$ Ge$ _4$ . NQR and NMR spectral measurements at the two non-equivalent Ge sites reveal electric field gradient tensors and the directions of their principal axes relative to the hexagonal basal plane. The spin-lattice relaxation rate $ 1/T_1$ experiments reveal a clear critical slowing down approaching the ferromagnetic transition. $ 1/T_1$ in the paramagnetic state is found to be predominantly caused by fluctuating 4$ f$ -local moments. The Knight shift shows Curie-Weiss behavior at high temperature and a deviation from this below $ T^\ast$ $ \approx$ 25 K possibly due to a mixture of crystalline electric field effects and Kondo screening. Order-parameter-like behavior of hyperfine fields at the Ge sites and ferromagnetic signal enhancement are observed in Zeeman-perturbed NQR, with uniform ferromagnetic order and a small ordered moment of $ \approx$ 0.26 $ \mu_B$ /Ce confined within the $ ab$ -plane. The ordered moment shows a notable in-plane magnetic stiffness against out-of-plane radiofrequency fields and has an (XY-type) in-plane isotropic nature. Our results reveal a strong easy-plane anisotropy of 4$ f$ -electron moment and suggest an involved interplay of hybridization and local moment physics in this quantum critical heavy-fermion ferromagnet.

arXiv:2510.12006 (2025)

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)

Visualizing the Impact of Quenched Disorder on 2D Electron Wigner Solids

New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Zhehao Ge, Conor Smith, Zehao He, Yubo Yang, Qize Li, Ziyu Xiang, Jianghan Xiao, Wenjie Zhou, Salman Kahn, Melike Erdi, Rounak Banerjee, Takashi Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe, Seth Ariel Tongay, Miguel A. Morales, Shiwei Zhang, Feng Wang, Michael F. Crommie

Electron Wigner solids (WSs)1-12 provide an ideal system for understanding the competing effects of electron-electron and electron-disorder interactions, a central unsolved problem in condensed matter physics. Progress in this topic has been limited by a lack of single-defect-resolved experimental measurements as well as accurate theoretical tools to enable realistic experiment-theory comparison. Here we overcome these limitations by combining atomically-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) with quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulation of disordered 2D electron WSs. STM was used to image the electron density ($ n_e$ ) dependent evolution of electron WSs in gate-tunable bilayer MoSe$ 2$ devices with varying long-range ($ n\mathrm{LR}$ ) and short-range ($ n_\mathrm{SR}$ ) disorder densities. These images were compared to QMC simulations using realistic disorder maps extracted from experiment, thus allowing the roles of different disorder types to be disentangled. We identify two distinct physical regimes for disordered electron WSs that depend on the magnitude of $ n_\mathrm{SR}$ . For $ n_\mathrm{SR} \lesssim n_e$ the WS behavior is dominated by long-range disorder and features extensive mixed solid-liquid phases, a new type of re-entrant melting-crystallization, and prominent Friedel oscillations. In contrast, when $ n_\mathrm{SR} \gg n_e$ these features are suppressed and a more robust amorphous WS phase emerges that persists to higher $ n_e$ , highlighting the importance of short-range disorder in this regime. Our work establishes a new framework for studying disordered quantum solids via a combined experimental-theoretical approach.

arXiv:2510.12009 (2025)

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition of AlScN Thin Films and AlScN/AlN/GaN Heterostructures

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Vijay Gopal Thirupakuzi Vangipuram, Abdul Mukit, Kaitian Zhang, Salva Salmani-Rezaie, Hongping Zhao

AlScN thin films were grown via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), showing controllable incorporation of scandium (Sc) into the AlN lattices. Systematic variation of growth parameters demonstrated an obvious influence on Sc incorporation, with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicating Sc composition up to $ \sim$ 13% when (MCp)$ _2$ ScCl was used as the precursor. AlScN/AlN/GaN heterostructures grown on GaN templates exhibited the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel at the AlScN/AlN–GaN interface, confirming their potential use in high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) device technologies. Variation in AlScN/AlN barrier thickness within the heterostructures showed that thicker barriers yield higher sheet charge densities from both Hall and capacitance-voltage (C–V) measurements. With an AlScN/AlN barrier thickness of $ \sim$ 30~nm, a sheet charge density of $ 5.22\times10^{12}$ ~cm$ ^{-2}$ was extracted from C–V. High-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) further confirmed Sc incorporation and revealed the wurtzite crystalline structure of the films and heterostructures. These results establish MOCVD growth of AlScN as a promising and compatible material for advancing III-nitride heterostructures in high-performance electronics and potentially ferroelectrics.

arXiv:2510.12074 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Applied Physics (physics.app-ph)

Optimal run-tumble navigation in disordered landscapes

New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Yang Bai, Caiyun He, Weirong Liu, Songtao Cheng, Pan Chu, Liang Luo, Chenli Liu, Xiongfei Fu

Active navigation in disordered media is governed by the interplay between self-propulsion and environmental constraints. Using the chemotaxis of E. coli in agar gels as a model system, we uncover a universal trade-off between persistence and obstacle avoidance that dictates optimal search strategies. We find that populations evolving under pressure for rapid expansion adapt by shortening their mean run time ({\tau}_f), counter to the intuition that longer runs always favor faster migration. Controlled experiments with a tunable strain confirm a non-monotonic relationship between run time and chemotactic velocity, with a clear optimum that shifts with environmental trap density. At the single-agent level, we identify and characterize a key motility state: transient trapping in the gel’s pores. A minimal theoretical model, integrating run-tumble and run-trap dynamics, explains the optimum as a consequence of the antagonistic scaling of the diffusion coefficient (increasing with {\tau}_f) and the chemotactic bias coefficient (decreasing with {\tau}_f). This work establishes a general principle for the optimization of active matter transport in complex and obstructed environments.

arXiv:2510.12106 (2025)

Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)

Chern-Selective multi-valley Flat Bands in Twisted Mono-Bilayer and Mono-Trilayer MoTe$_2$

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Ziyue Qi, Hanqi Pi, Yan Zhang, Jiaxuan Liu, Nicolas Regnault, Hongming Weng, B. Andrei Bernevig, Jiabin Yu, Quansheng Wu

The interplay between moiré flat bands originating from different valleys can give rise to a variety of exotic quantum phases. In this work, we investigate the electronic properties of twisted mono-bilayer (A-AB) and mono-trilayer (A-ABA) MoTe$ _2$ using first-principles calculations and continuum models. Unlike previous studies on twisted bilayer systems, in which low-energy flat bands originate solely from the $ K/K’$ valleys, in A-AB and A-ABA twisted MoTe$ 2$ (\tmt) the moiré bands at low energies arise from both the $ \Gamma$ and $ K/K’$ valleys, with spin Chern numbers $ C_s=0$ (for $ \Gamma$ ) and $ C{\uparrow/\downarrow}=\pm1$ (for $ K/K’$ ), respectively. We show that the multi-valley moiré flat bands are governed by interlayer-hybridization effects, and that different stacking configurations and thicknesses tune the relative energy alignment between the $ \Gamma$ and $ K$ valley moiré flat bands. By constructing valley-resolved continuum models and performing Wannierization for the low-energy moiré bands, we further uncover that the Berry curvature and quantum metric distributions can be effectively tuned by the layer number and stacking configuration. Unlike other moiré systems, where only one kind of valley influenced the low energy physics, the simultaneous appearance of two distinct types of valleys, with different symmetries, establish A-AB and A-ABA \tmt\ as ideal platforms for studying layer-controlled multi-valley physics.

arXiv:2510.12127 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

Nanoscale surface morphology controls charge storage at stepped Pt-water interfaces

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Matthew T. Darby, Muhammad Saleh, Marialore Sulpizi, Clotilde S. Cucinotta

Platinum step edges dominate electrocatalytic activity in fuel cells and electrolysers, yet their atomistic electrochemical behaviour remains poorly understood. Here, we employ \textit{ab initio} molecular dynamics under controlled electrode potentials to model a realistic stepped Pt–water interface incorporating experimentally observed (111)$ \times$ (111) and (111)$ \times$ (100) edge motifs. This allows us to resolve, for the first time, the site-specific structure, charge distribution, and electrostatics of the electric double layer at a nanostructured Pt surface. We find that differential capacitance near the potential of zero charge (PZC) arises almost entirely from potential-dependent chemisorption of water on flat (111) terraces. In contrast, step edges are saturated with chemisorbed water even below the PZC and thus do not contribute to the capacitance. Instead, edges accumulate excess positive charge and exhibit a locally elevated electrostatic potential, as revealed by spatially resolved macroscopic potential profiles. This electrostatic asymmetry implies a greater barrier for electron accumulation at step sites compared to terraces, consistent with enhanced charge localisation and reactivity. Finally, the higher-in-energy d-band centre and sharper projected density of states at edge atoms further support their role as active, positively charged centres. Together, these results provide a mechanistic explanation for the observed experimental shift of the PZC with step density and establish a predictive framework for understanding and optimising interfacial charging in nanostructured Pt electrocatalysts.

arXiv:2510.12176 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)

10 pages, 7 Figures and 3 Tables

Trembling motion of electrons driven by Larmor spin precession

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

I. Stepanov, M. Ersfeld, A. V. Poshakinskiy, M. Lepsa, E. L. Ivchenko, S. A. Tarasenko, B. Beschoten

We show that the initialization of an ensemble of electrons in the same spin state in strained n-InGaAs subject to a perpendicular magnetic field triggers an AC electric current at GHz frequencies. The AC current emerges in the absence of any driving force and survives until the coherent precession of the electron spins is lost. The current amplitude increases linearly with both the spin-orbit coupling strength and the external magnetic field. The generation mechanism of the observed oscillatory charge motion can be fruitfully described in terms of the periodic trembling motion of spin-polarized electrons, which is a solid-state analog to the Zitterbewegung of free Dirac electrons. Our results demonstrate that the hidden consequence of relativistic quantum mechanics is realized and can be studied in a rather simple solid-state system at moderate temperatures. Furthermore, the large amplitude of the AC current at high magnetic fields enables ultra-fast spin sensitive electric read-out in solids.

arXiv:2510.12187 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

19 pages, 8 figures

Spectroscopic Determination of Site-Selective Ligand Binding on Single Anisotropic Nanocrystals

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Dong Le, Wade Shipley, Alexandria Do, Liya Bi, Yufei Wang, Krista P. Balto, Rourav Basak, Hans A. Bechtel, Stephanie N. Gilbert Corder, Ilya Mazalov, Tesa Manto, Reno Sammons, Yutong She, Fiona Liang, Ganesh Raghavendran, Joshua S. Figueroa, Shaowei Li, Tod A. Pascal, Andrea R. Tao, Alex Frano

Organic surface ligands are integral components of nanocrystals and nanoparticles that have a strong influence on their physicochemical properties, their interaction with the environment, and their ability to self-assemble and order into higher-order structures. These hybrid nanomaterials are tunable with applications in catalysis, directed self-assembly, next-generation optoelectronics, and chemical and quantum sensing. Critically, future advances depend on our ability to rationally engineer their surface chemistry. However, fundamental knowledge of ligand-nanoparticle behavior is limited by uncertainty in where and how these ligands bind to surfaces. For nanoparticles, in particular, few characterization techniques offer both the high spatial resolution and the precise chemical mapping needed to identify specific ligand binding sites. In this study, we utilized synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy (SINS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) together with first-principles computer simulations to validate the site-selective adsorption of organic ligands on a shaped nanocrystal surface. Specifically, we demonstrate that the sterically encumbered isocyanide ligands (CNAr^{Mes2}) preferentially bind to the high curvature features of Ag nanocubes (NCs), where low-coordinate Ag atoms are present. In contrast, isocyanide ligands that do not exhibit these steric properties show no surface selectivity. SINS serves as an effective tool to validate these surface binding interactions at the near-single molecule level. These results indicate that steric effects can be successfully harnessed to design bespoke organic ligands for fine-tuning nanocrystal surface chemistry and the properties of the nanocrystal ligand shell.

arXiv:2510.12199 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

12 pages, 4 figures

Room temperature control of axial and basal antiferromagnetic anisotropies using strain

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Jack Harrison, Junxiong Hu, Charles Godfrey, Jheng-Cyuan Lin, Tim A Butcher, Jörg Raabe, Simone Finizio, Hariom Jani, Paolo G Radaelli

Antiferromagnetic materials are promising platforms for the development of ultra-fast spintronics and magnonics due to their robust magnetism, high-frequency relativistic dynamics, low-loss transport, and the ability to support topological textures. However, achieving deterministic control over antiferromagnetic order in thin films is a major challenge, due to the formation of multi-domain states stabilised by competing magnetic and destressing interactions. Thus, the successful implementation of antiferromagnetic materials necessitates careful engineering of their anisotropy. Here, we demonstrate strain-based robust control over multiple antiferromagnetic anisotropies and nanoscale domains in the promising spintronic candidate a-Fe2O3, at room temperature. By applying isotropic and anisotropic in-plane strains across a broad temperature-strain phase space, we systematically tune the interplay between magneto-crystalline and magneto-elastic interactions. We discover that strain-driven control steers the system towards an aligned antiferromagnetic state, whilst preserving topological spin textures, such as merons, antimerons and bimerons. We directly map the nanoscale antiferromagnetic order using linear dichroic scanning transmission X-ray microscopy integrated with in situ strain and temperature control. A Landau model and micromagnetic simulations reveal how strain reshapes the magnetic energy landscape. These findings suggest that strain could serve as a versatile control mechanism to reconfigure equilibrium or dynamic antiferromagnetic states on demand in a-Fe2O3, paving the way for next-generation spintronic and magnonic devices.

arXiv:2510.12222 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

*Correspondence: this http URL@physics.this http URL; †These authors contributed equally

Generalized Fokker-Planck equation for the active Brownian motion

New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Sanju S Pillai, M Muhsin, M Sahoo

We investigate the dynamics of an inertial active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck particle suspended in a non-Markovian environment. The particle is additionally subjected to external forces, such as harmonic confinement and a magnetic field. Motivated by the importance of understanding the non-Markovian behavior of complex environments, we examine the impact of a viscoelastic medium by employing the Jeffrey fluid framework for modeling the particle motion, which effectively captures both viscous and elastic contributions of the environment. Within this model, we explicitly derive the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation for each case. Building on this, we extend the analysis to general non-Markovian framework and derive the corresponding generalized Fokker-Planck equation for a free active particle. Furthermore, we obtain the probability distribution function valid for arbitrary memory kernel under various conditions, including both free and confined motion with and without a magnetic field. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first attempt to establish such a comprehensive formalism for the probabilistic description of an active particle subjected to non-Markovian memory effects. This formulation provides a solid basis for analyzing the dynamics of an active particle in a non-Markovian environment, such as mucus and polymer solutions, and further allows the study of relaxation in confined geometries and responses to external fields.

arXiv:2510.12240 (2025)

Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)

14 pages

Superconductivity in monolayer-trilayer phase of La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ under high pressure

New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Chaoxin Huang, Jingyuan Li, Xing Huang, Hengyuan Zhang, Deyuan Hu, Mengwu Huo, Xiang Chen, Zhen Chen, Hualei Sun, Meng Wang

The discovery of 80 K superconductivity in pressurized bilayer Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelate La$ _3$ Ni$ _2$ O$ _7$ has established a new high-temperature superconductor family. The quest to understand the governing principles of RP nickelate superconductivity has become a central focus in condensed matter physics. Here, we report a critical advance by synthesizing and investigating a distinct structural polymorph of the same compound: the monolayer-trilayer (1313) hybrid phase of La$ _3$ Ni$ _2$ O$ _7$ . Under high pressure, synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy reveal a structural transition from the orthorhombic $ Cmmm$ to the tetragonal $ P4/mmm$ space group at 13~GPa. Above 19 GPa, the phase exhibits a clear superconducting transition, confirmed by a zero-resistance state, albeit at a significantly reduced temperature of 3.6 K. The stark contrast with the 80 K transition in the bilayer phase provides a uniquely clean experimental comparison. Our results demonstrate that the superconducting transition temperature is directly governed by the nature of the interlayer coupling, and the bilayer NiO$ 6$ block as the essential structural motif for achieving high-$ T\text{c}$ superconductivity in the RP nickelates.

arXiv:2510.12250 (2025)

Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)

15 pages, 7 figures

Train Stochastic Non Linear Coupled ODEs to Classify and Generate

New Submission | Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Stefano Gagliani, Feliciano Giuseppe Pacifico, Lorenzo Chicchi, Duccio Fanelli, Diego Febbe, Lorenzo Buffoni, Raffaele Marino

A general class of dynamical systems which can be trained to operate in classification and generation modes are introduced. A procedure is proposed to plant asymptotic stationary attractors of the deterministic model. Optimizing the dynamical system amounts to shaping the architecture of inter-nodes connection to steer the evolution towards the assigned equilibrium, as a function of the class to which the item - supplied as an initial condition - belongs to. Under the stochastic perspective, point attractors are turned into probability distributions, made analytically accessible via the linear noise approximation. The addition of noise proves beneficial to oppose adversarial attacks, a property that gets engraved into the trained adjacency matrix and therefore also inherited by the deterministic counterpart of the optimized stochastic model. By providing samples from the target distribution as an input to a feedforward neural network (or even to a dynamical model of the same typology of the adopted for classification purposes), yields a fully generative scheme. Conditional generation is also possible by merging classification and generation modalities. Automatic disentanglement of isolated key features is finally proven.

arXiv:2510.12286 (2025)

Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)

Geometric filtering effect in expanding Bose-Einstein condensate shells

New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Andrea Tononi, Maciej Lewenstein, Luis Santos

A shell-shaped Bose-Einstein condensate released from its confinement expands radially both outwards and inwards, displaying a self-interference pattern characterized by a density peak surrounded by a halo. Here we analyze how an external imprinting or the thermal fluctuations of the condensate phase influence this expansion. In both cases, we find that the curved geometry filters the imploding finite angular-momentum modes via a radial centrifugal potential, so that only the condensate state can reach the origin and form the central peak. As a consequence, we observe a pronounced dependence of the central density on the imprinting strength and on temperature. This geometric filtering effect characterizes the free expansion of curved atomic gases in contrast with flat counterparts, it is easily observable in the available experimental platforms, and enables two-dimensional shells thermometry via simple absorption-imaging techniques.

arXiv:2510.12309 (2025)

Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)

6 pages, 4 figures

Generative Diffusion Model DiffCrysGen Discovers Rare Earth-Free Magnetic Materials

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Sourav Mal, Nehad Ahmed, Subhankar Mishra, Prasenjit Sen

Efficient exploration of the vast chemical space is a fundamental challenge in materials discovery, particularly for designing functional inorganic crystalline materials with targeted properties. Diffusion-based generative models have emerged as a powerful route, but most existing approaches require domain-specific constraints and separate diffusion processes for atom types, atomic positions, and lattice parameters, adding complexity and limiting efficiency. Here, we present DiffCrysGen, a fully data-driven, score-based diffusion model that generates complete crystal structures in a single, end-to-end diffusion process. This unified framework simplifies the model architecture and accelerates sampling by two to three orders of magnitude compared to existing methods without compromising chemical and structural diversity of the generated materials. In order to demonstrate the efficacy of DiffCrysGen in generating valid and useful materials, using density functional theory (DFT), we validate a number of newly generated rare earth-free magnetic materials that are energetically and dynamically stable, and are potentially synthesizable. These include ferromagnets with high saturation magnetization and large magnetocrystalline anisotropy, as also metallic antiferromagnets. These results establish DiffCrysGen as a general platform for accelerated functional materials discovery.

arXiv:2510.12329 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

52 pages, 9 figures

Wiedemann-Franz behavior at the Weyl points in compressively strained HgTe

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Abu Alex Aravindnath, Yi-Ju Ho, Fabian Schmitt, Dongyun Chen, Johannes Kleinlein, Wouter Beugeling, Hartmut Buhmann, Stanislau U. Piatrusha, Laurens W. Molenkamp

Weyl semimetals, with their unique electronic band structure, have drawn significant interest for their potential to explore quantum anomalies in condensed matter systems. In this study, we investigate the large positive magneto-thermal conductance associated with the gravitational anomaly – one of the predicted anomalies – for a Weyl semimetal based on a compressively strained HgTe layer. We clearly identify the Weyl regime in our device and accurately extract the thermal conductance by performing thermometry measurements at liquid helium temperatures using fully electronic methods. We observe the anticipated increase in thermal conductance, and it perfectly matches the electrical conductance according to the Wiedemann-Franz law. This finding indicates that, despite the unique electronic spectrum of Weyl semimetals, the mechanism governing heat transport in this system is the same as that for electrical transport, with no additional violations of conservation laws.

arXiv:2510.12339 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

Main text: 9 pages, 4 figures, Supplementary Information: 7 pages, 5 figures

Two-Dimensional Altermagnetism in Epitaxial CrSb Ultrathin Films

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Keren Li, Yuzhong Hu, Yue Li, Ruohang Xu, Heping Li, Kun Liu, Chen Liu, Jincheng Zhuang, Yee Sin Ang, Jiaou Wang, Haifeng Feng, Weichang Hao, Yi Du

Altermagnets constitute an emerging class of collinear magnets that exhibit zero net magnetization yet host spin-split electronic bands arising from non-relativistic spin-space-group symmetries. Realization of altermagnetism in the two-dimensional (2D) limit remains an outstanding challenge because dimensional reduction suppresses kZ dispersion and destabilizes the symmetry operations essential for spin compensation. Here, we demonstrate genuine 2D altermagnetism in epitaxial unit-cell-thin films of CrSb grown on Bi2Te3. It reveals a thickness-driven transition from a ferrimagnetic state in 1-unit-cell films to an altermagnetic state above a critical thickness of 7/4 unit cell. The transition originates from interfacial symmetry breaking at the Cr-terminated layer that induces local moment imbalance. With increasing thickness the key spin-space-group symmetries [C2||C6Zt] and [C2||MZ] restores, which leads to altermagnetism with zero net magnetization and momentum-dependent spin splitting. Our results provide the first experimental realization of altermagnetism in the 2D regime and establish a route for integrating stray-field-free spin order into nanoscale spintronic architectures.

arXiv:2510.12344 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

$η$-pairing in the model with two-particle hybridization of conduction and localized electrons

New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Igor N. Karnaukhov

Within the framework of a model, that takes into account two-particle hybridization of conduction and localized electrons, the effective interaction between conduction electrons is calculated. It is shown that this interaction is attractive when the energy of the localized electron corresponding to the two-particle state lies in the conduction band above the Fermi energy. The magnitude of the attractive interaction is minimal for $ \eta$ -paired states of conduction electrons. We generalize the original $ \eta$ -pairing construction for the proposed model and show that the superconducting state can indeed be realized.

arXiv:2510.12349 (2025)

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)

8 pages, 2 figures

Interlayer coupling enhanced superconductivity near 100 K in La$_{3-x}$Nd$_x$Ni$_2$O$_7$

New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Zhengyang Qiu, Junfeng Chen, Dmitrii V. Semenok, Qingyi Zhong, Di Zhou, Jingyuan Li, Peiyue Ma, Xing Huang, Mengwu Huo, Tao Xie, Xiang Chen, Ho-kwang Mao, Viktor Struzhkin, Hualei Sun, Meng Wang

Systematically controlling the superconducting transition temperature ($ T_\text{c}$ ) in the bilayer Ruddlesden-Popper nickelate La$ _3$ Ni$ _2$ O$ _7$ remains a significant challenge. Here, we address this by synthesizing high-quality polycrystalline La$ {3-x}$ Nd$ x$ Ni$ 2$ O$ 7$ ($ 0 \leq x \leq 2.4$ ) with record-level rare-earth substitution. Nd doping compresses the lattice, particularly along the $ c$ axis, enhances the spin density wave transition temperature, and elevates the pressure required for the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal structural transition. Superconductivity is observed across all doping levels under high pressures, with the onset $ T\text{c}$ rising to $ \sim$ 93~K for $ x = 2.1$ and $ 2.4$ from the electronic transport measurement. Using the radio-frequency transmission technique, newly applied to nickelate superconductors, we detect signatures of superconductivity at $ 98 \pm 2$ ~K in the $ x=2.4$ compound, pushing the $ T\text{c}$ frontier further. We identify a universal linear relationship where $ T\text{c}$ decreases with the $ c$ -axis lattice parameter at a rate of approximately $ -28$ ~K/Å, demonstrating that enhanced interlayer magnetic exchange coupling is the dominant mechanism for superconducting pairing. Our work establishes the critical role of magnetism and provides a unified structural descriptor for elevating $ T\text{c}$ in bilayer nickelates.

arXiv:2510.12359 (2025)

Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)

20 pages, 10 figures

Investigating the relationship between the Weyl semimetal phase and the three-dimensional quantum Hall phase in ZrTe$_5$

New Submission | Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Jiahao Chen, Yu Cao, Hong Du, Yuanze Li, Ruidan Zhong, Tian Liang

The material ZrTe$ _5$ exhibits distinct topological phases, including a Weyl semimetal phase, characterized by a chiral anomaly and in-plane Hall effect, and a three-dimensional quantum Hall phase. The relationship between these phases remains poorly understood. This work systematically explores their connection in ZrTe$ _5$ through rotatable, pressure-dependent measurements. At ambient pressure, both phases are observed; the WSM phase requires strong electronic polarization, while the 3D QH phase appears when the characteristic resistivity peak temperature $ T_p$ is approximately 90 K. Under applied pressure, the polarization diminishes, weakening the WSM phase and its associated nontrivial Hall signals. Concurrently, $ T_p$ rises dramatically from 2 K at ambient pressure to 70 K at 2.2 GPa, approaching the expected regime for the 3D QH phase. These findings clarify the conditions underlying the WSM and 3D QH phases and suggest that exploring the 3D QH phase at even higher pressures is a promising direction for future research.

arXiv:2510.12361 (2025)

Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)

13 pages, 4 figures

Controlling Magnetism in the 2D van der Waals Antiferromagnet CrPS$_4$ via Ion Intercalation

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Alberto M. Ruiz, Diego López-Alcalá, Gonzalo Rivero-Carracedo, Andrei Shumilin, José J. Baldoví

Two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials are versatile platforms for tailoring electronic and magnetic properties, in which the insertion of chemical species into their interlayer gaps offers a powerful route to engineer magnetism. Here, we focus on the A-type antiferromagnetic semiconductor CrPS$ _4$ (T$ _N$ = 38 K) and investigate its electronic and magnetic properties upon intercalation of lithium (Li$ ^+$ ) and organic tetrabutylammonium (TBA$ ^+$ ) ions using first-principles calculations. Our results show that Li$ ^+$ incorporation induces a semiconductor-to-metal transition in CrPS$ _4$ and selectively modifies its magnetic behaviour: switching from out-of-plane to in-plane antiferromagnetism, followed by an in-plane ferromagnetic ground state at higher intercalation levels. This is accompanied by a continuous increase of the ordering temperature, reaching a fivefold enhancement for Li$ _{0.5}$ CrPS$ _4$ . Similarly, TBA$ ^+$ intercalation expands the vdW gap, decoupling CrPS$ _4$ layers and stabilising in-plane ferromagnetism with a T$ _C$ above 100 K. Furthermore, it also modifies magnon propagation, leading to enhanced group velocities and a more isotropic magnon transport. This work highlights intercalation as a powerful and versatile approach for controlling magnetic behaviour and spin dynamics, paving the way for the design of tunable 2D layered magnetic materials for spintronic and magnonic applications.

arXiv:2510.12371 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

From empty to filled vortices in squeezed 39K Bose-Bose liquid drops

New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Ivan Poparić, Leandra Vranješ Markić, Jordi Boronat

Using density functional theory, we have theoretically studied the formation and the stability of vortices in quantum liquid droplets composed of a mixture of hyperfine states of potassium. Following the experimental setup that produced quantum droplets for the first time, we work with squeezed drops that are compressed in one direction. By squeezing the drops even more, towards a quasi-two dimensional geometry, we study the minimum atom number able to show a stable vortex and obtain that this number is significantly smaller than previous predictions for spherical droplets. The reduction of the critical atom number for forming a stable vortex could make their experimental observation in these droplets, which is still lacking, more feasible. Contrary to results obtained in heteronuclear mixtures, where the energetically preferred vortices are partially filled with the species not participating in the rotation, our results show a relevant stability island of fully empty vortices. Increasing the number of particles in the drop and the speed of rotation, we estimate the transition line between empty and filled vortices.

arXiv:2510.12390 (2025)

Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)

10 pages, 8 figures. To be published in Physical Review A

Defect Passivation and Förster-Type Energy Exchange in H2Pc-TMD Organic-Inorganic Heterostructures

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Šimun Mandić, Ana Senkić, Nataša Vujičić

Organic - inorganic heterostructures (HS) combine the strong light absorption and exciton generation capabilities of organic molecules with the unique excitonic properties of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), where the interfacial band alignment dictates the optical response. In this work, we investigate the influence of H2Pc molecules on CVD-grown MoS2 and WS2 monolayers using correlative microscopy techniques - Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectroscopy. Comprehensive analysis of both electronic and optical properties provides detailed insights into the energy band alignment in these two HS. Despite their similar band alignments, the heterostructures exhibit strikingly different optical signatures. In the case of H2Pc/MoS2 HS, the effect of defect healing is more pronounced, while for the H2Pc/WS2 HS, strong indications of Förster energy transfer are observed. These findings highlight the critical role of transition dipole moment in addition to spectral overlap between donor emission and acceptor absorption in the design of optoelectronic devices.

arXiv:2510.12437 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

Self-attention enabled quantum path analysis of high-harmonic generation in solids

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Cong Zhao, Xiaozhou Zou

High-harmonic generation (HHG) in solids provides a powerful platform to probe ultrafast electron dynamics and interband–intraband coupling. However, disentangling the complex many-body contributions in the HHG spectrum remains challenging. Here we introduce a machine-learning approach based on a Transformer encoder to analyze and reconstruct HHG signals computed from a one-dimensional Kronig–Penney model. The self-attention mechanism inherently highlights correlations between temporal dipole dynamics and high-frequency spectral components, allowing us to identify signatures of nonadiabatic band coupling that are otherwise obscured in standard Fourier analysis. By combining attention maps with Gabor time–frequency analysis, we extract and amplify weak coupling channels that contribute to even-order harmonics and anomalous spectral features. Our results demonstrate that multi-head self-attention acts as a selective filter for strong-coupling events in the time domain, enabling a physics-informed interpretation of high-dimensional quantum dynamics. This work establishes Transformer-based attention as a versatile tool for solid-state strong-field physics, opening new possibilities for interpretable machine learning in attosecond spectroscopy and nonlinear photonics.

arXiv:2510.12443 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)

16 pages, 4 figures

Possible high-Tc superconductivity at 45 K in the Ge-doped cluster Mott insulator GaNb4Se8

New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Ji-Hai Yuan, Ya-Dong Gu, Yun-Qing Shi, Hao-Yu He, Qing-Song Liu, Jun-Kun Yi, Le-Wei Chen, Zheng-Xin Lin, Jia-Sheng Liu, Meng Wang, Zhi-An Ren

The Ge-doped GaNb4Se8 polycrystalline samples were synthesized by solid-state reaction method. Zero resistance transitions were observed in one batch of samples with the highest onset superconducting Tc at 45 K. This discovery may demonstrate a new class of Nb-based high-Tc superconductors arising from doped Mott insulators.

arXiv:2510.12452 (2025)

Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

8 pages, 3 figures

Two-Dimensional Na2LiAlP2 crystal for high-performance field-effect transistors

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Run-Jie Peng, Xing-Yu Wang, Jun-Hui Yuan, Nian-Nian Yu, Kan-Hao Xue, Jiafu Wang, Pan Zhang

High-performance, low-power transistors are core components of advanced integrated circuits, and the ultimate limitation of Moore’s law has made the search for new alternative pathways an urgent priority. Two-dimensional (2D) materials have become the most promising exploration target due to their exceptional electronic properties and scalability. In this work, we conducted device transport research on the previously proposed 2D quaternary semiconductor Na2LiAlP2 using the non-equilibrium Green’s function method. The results demonstrate that even with a channel length of 5.7 nm, Na2LiAlP2 still exhibits excellent n-type transistor characteristics, fully meeting and surpassing the technical specifications outlined in the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS). Encouragingly, the device can easily achieve the required on-state current of 900 {\mu}A/{\mu}m under low operating voltages of 0.1 V and 0.2 V. Moreover, at 0.1 V operating voltage, the device’s subthreshold swing breaks through the theoretical limit of 60 mV/dec, reaching an astonishing value 30.33 mV/dec. Additionally, its p-type transistor performance also stands out with a subthreshold swing of ~50 mV/dec when the channel length is 7.9 nm. Our research not only showcases the exceptional transistor properties of Na2LiAlP2 but also further expands the research scope of 2D high-performance transistors.

arXiv:2510.12473 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

21 pages, 5 figures

Green’s function expansion for multiple coupled optical resonators with finite retardation using quasinormal modes

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Robert Fuchs, Juanjuan Ren, Stephen Hughes, Marten Richter

The electromagnetic Green’s function is a crucial ingredient for the theoretical study of modern photonic quantum devices, but is often difficult or even impossible to calculate directly. We present a numerically efficient framework for calculating the scattered electromagnetic Green’s function of a multi-cavity system with spatially separated open cavities (with arbitrary shape, dispersion and loss) and finite retardation times. The framework is based on a Dyson scattering equation that enables the construction of the Green’s function from the quasinormal modes of the individual resonators within a few-mode approximation and a finite number of iteration steps without requiring nested integrals. The approach shows excellent agreement with the full numerical Green’s function for the example of two coupled dipoles located in the gaps of two metal dimers serving as quasinormal mode cavities, and is easily extended to arbitrarily large separations and multiple cavities.

arXiv:2510.12511 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Optics (physics.optics), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

Anharmonic Effects in Ge2Sb2Te5 and Consequences on Thermodynamic Stability

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Owain T. Beynon, Adham Hashibon

Chalcogenide materials are an important class of phase change material (PCMs) owing to their employment in digital memory solutions. Chalgogenide materials have applications in phase change random access memory (PCRAM) due to their ability to reversibly cycle between crystalline and amorphous states, and of these materials Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) is of particular interest due to its speed, stability and low crystallisation temperatures. GST possesses two stable crystalline polymorphs, cubic and hexagonal (trigonal system). Studies show that phenomena such as heat transport and thermal lattice expansion drive the phase-change nature of these materials. These phenomena are not incorporated in the harmonic approximation, which is a popular model for describing vibrations in solids. Through ab initio density functional theory (DFT), we computationally investigate the anharmonic behaviour of pristine GST, without vacancies or defects, while considering the various stacking models that exist and inclusion of van der Waals (vdW) interactions in our modelling. We present the vibrational analysis of different stacking models in GST; Petrov and Kooi-De Hosson (KDH) models and the quantification anharmonic behaviour. Our results demonstrate the importance of incorporating anharmonic and dispersion effects when modelling GST, especially in the choice of stacking models, along with implications for phenomena relating to phase-change behaviour.

arXiv:2510.12526 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

Origin of Enhanced Thermal Resistance Near Nanoscale Hotspots: Insights from Full-Dispersion-Resolved Phonon Transport in Silicon

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Jae Sik Jin

Phonon transport near nanoscale hotspots (NHs) critically determines heat dissipation in advanced electronic devices. The prevailing understanding is that the enhanced thermal resistance (TR) observed in NHs originates from long mean free path (MFP) phonons, whose MFPs are much larger than the hotspot size, thereby limiting their ability to recognize hotspots and transport heat effectively. In this study, we revisit this problem by employing the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) with a full phonon dispersion model (FPDM) to capture mode-resolved velocities, scattering processes, and nonequilibrium phonon populations in silicon. The analysis demonstrates that the increase in TR near NHs is not caused by the long MFP itself but by the low specific heat of long-MFP phonons that do not scatter directly with optical modes. These phonons heat readily when energy is supplied, steepening the local temperature gradient near the NH and thereby enhancing TR. By resolving the spectral contributions to the phonon transport resistance and temperature gradients, we identify the critical role of the modal specific heat in nonlocal phonon transport. These results provide new physical insights into nanoscale thermal management and highlight the importance of spectral mode resolution in modeling heat dissipation in electronic devices.

arXiv:2510.12530 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

Submitted to Applied Physics A (currently under review)

Conductance Plateaus at Quantum Hall Integer Filling Factors in Germanium Quantum Point Contacts

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Karina Hudson, Davide Costa, Davide Degli Esposti, Lucas E. A. Stehouwer, Giordano Scappucci

Constricting transport through a one-dimensional quantum point contact in the quantum Hall regime enables gate-tunable selection of the edge modes propagating between voltage probe electrodes. Here we investigate the quantum Hall effect in a quantum point contact fabricated on low disorder strained germanium quantum wells. For increasing magnetic field, we observe Zeeman spin-split 1D ballistic hole transport evolving to integer quantum Hall states, with well-defined quantised conductance increasing in multiples of $ e^2/h$ down to the first integer filling factor $ \nu=1$ . These results establish strained germanium as a viable platform for complex experiments probing many-body states and quantum phase transitions.

arXiv:2510.12554 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

Anonymous leadership and stochastic resonance in collectives of self-propelled robots

New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Manuel Dizenhaus, Franco De Simone, German A. Patterson

We investigate the influence of an anonymous leader on a collective of self-propelled robots using Kilobot experiments and numerical simulations. A single leader alternated deterministically between clockwise and counterclockwise motion, while the other robots followed a stochastic majority rule. Although the leader does not change global order, it induces correlations with the collective response that peak at intermediate perturbation levels, resembling stochastic resonance. Simulations confirm that this resonance occurs when the leader’s reversal period matches the mean residence time of the unperturbed system. Our results contribute to understanding decision-making in active matter and suggesting principles for steering robotic swarms with minimal leadership input.

arXiv:2510.12580 (2025)

Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)

Escape-Induced Temporally Correlated Noise Driven Universality Crossover

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Mrinal Manna, Sourav Mukherjee, Soumen Giri, Pramod Bhakuni, Sajal Barman, Arnab Kumar Pariari, Anil Gome, Markus Hucker, V. Raghavendra Reddy, Anupam Roy, Sudipta Roy Barman, Smarajit Karmakar, Chandana Mondal, Rajib Batabyal

Universal behavior in far-from-equilibrium systems is driven by interactions between transport processes and noise structure. The Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) framework predicts that extensions incorporating conserved currents or temporally correlated noise give rise to distinct growth morphologies and universality classes, yet direct experimental realization has remained elusive. Here, we report atomically resolved Sn thin-film growth on Sb-doped MnBi$ _2$ Te$ _4$ , revealing a sharp dynamical crossover between two fundamentally different regimes. Early stage growth follows conserved KPZ scaling, forming two-dimensional islands and stanene layers. Beyond a critical deposition time, temporally correlated noise dominates, driving the nucleation of $ \alpha$ -Sn clusters, their evolution into faceted grains, and coexistence with faceted $ \beta$ -Sn. Molecular dynamics simulation and Auger electron spectroscopy show adatom escape as the microscopic origin of temporally correlated noise, providing a microscopic mechanism for the universality crossover. These findings establish, for the first time, that temporal noise correlations can fundamentally alter the scaling class of a growing interface, linking atomistic kinetics to emergent universal behavior.

arXiv:2510.12593 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

Quantum thermodynamics of Gross-Pitaevskii qubits

New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Sebastian Deffner

What are the resources that can be leveraged for a thermodynamic device to exhibit genuine quantum advantage? Typically, the answer to this question is sought in quantum correlations. In the present work, we show that quantum Otto engines that operate with nonlinear qubits significantly outperform linear engines. To this end, we develop a comprehensive thermodynamic description of nonlinear qubits starting with identifying the proper thermodynamic equilibrium state. We then show that for ideal cycles as well as at maximum power the efficiency of the nonlinear engine is significantly higher. Interestingly, nonlinear dynamics can be thought of as an effective description of a correlated, complex quantum many body system. Hence, our findings corroborate common wisdom, while at the same time propose a new design of more efficient quantum engines.

arXiv:2510.12599 (2025)

Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

9 pages, 6 figures

The spin Hall conductivity in the hole-doped bilayer Haldane-Hubbard model with odd-parity ALM

New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Minghuan Zeng, Ling Qin, Shiping Feng, Dong-Hui Xu, Rui Wang

Spin current generated electrically is among the core phenomena of spintronics for driving high-performance spin device applications. Here, on the basis of systematic investigations for the hole doped single-layer Haldane-Hubbard(HH) model, we propose a new bilayer HH model to realize the compensated odd-parity spin splitting and the $ T$ -even spin Hall conductivity where the two layers are connected by the time reversal transformation. Our results show that the vanishing layer-dependent electric potential $ V_{L}$ gives rise to odd-parity ALM protected by the combined symmetry $ TM_{xy}$ with $ T$ and $ M_{xy}$ being the time reversal and mirror reflection perpendicular to $ z$ axis, and the $ T$ -even spin Hall conductivity simultaneously. In addition, though the staggered magnetization within each layer is substantially impacted by the layer-dependent electric potential, small $ V_{L}$ ‘s only bring negligible changes to the net magnetization and the spin Hall conductivity, indicating that the alternating spin splitting in momentum space and the spin Hall conductivity are insusceptible to external elements. Most importantly, our work provides a general framework for the simultaneous realization of the compensated odd-parity spin splitting in momentum space and the spin Hall conductivity in collinear magnets, in terms of stacked multi-layer systems.

arXiv:2510.12602 (2025)

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)

7 pages, 3 figures

Dissipationless transport by design in ultrathin magnetic topological insulator films

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Amir Sabzalipour, Mohammad Shafiei, Milorad V. Milošević

Magnetic topological insulators (MTIs) are among the prominent platforms for the next generation of high-speed and low-power spintronic devices. However, unlike their non-magnetic counterparts, where the surface spin-momentum locking prevents electrons from being scattered by non-magnetic impurities and results in a dissipationless electronic flow, magnetic impurities in MTIs cause dissipation by exerting magnetic torque on the electron spin. Decreasing this resistance is desired to reduce energy consumption and optimize performance of MTIs in envisaged applications. Here we reveal how electronic backscattering can be suppressed in a MTI thin film by external magnetic and/or electronic stimuli, to yield an entirely dissipationless spin-polarized charge transport. Our findings thus present an effective route to preserve spin coherence and enhance spin-current functionality in magnetic topological materials, suggesting design strategies for magneto-electronic and spintronic devices with strongly reduced energy consumption.

arXiv:2510.12610 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

Quantum Spin Singlet and Classical Néel-Ordered Ground States in MoX3 (X = I, Br) Spin-3/2 Dimerized Antiferromagnetic Chain Crystals

New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Jordan Teeter, Topojit Debnath, Harshil Goyal, Md Sabbir Hossen Bijoy, Maedeh Taheri, Nicholas Sesing, Fariborz Kargar, Kirill Shtengel, Tina Salguero, Roger K. Lake, Alexander A. Balandin

We report that MoX3 (X = I, Br) are rare van der Waals materials that exhibit signatures of both quantum spin chains with a spin singlet ground state and classical Neel order. Bulk single crystals grown by chemical vapor transport exhibit classical antiferromagnetic ground states with a transition temperature of ~40 K as revealed by susceptibility and specific heat measurements. Above 40 K, the susceptibilities show the large, broad peaks associated with a quantum spin-singlet ground state and large singlet-triplet gaps of 21 meV and 25 meV. Monte Carlo simulations, density matrix renormalization-group calculations for finite spin-3/2 chains, and density functional theory reproduce the experimental behavior, confirming the interplay between strong one-dimensional intrachain and weak three-dimensional interchain couplings. MoX3 offers a unique platform for exploring quantum magnetism and magnetic excitations at the atomic chain limit, as these materials combine a 1D van der Waals motif, spin chain behavior, and classical interchain order.

arXiv:2510.12613 (2025)

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

36 pages, 8 figures

AI-Assisted Physics-Informed Predictions of Degradation Behavior of Polymeric Anion Exchange Membranes

New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

William Schertzer, Mohamed Al Otmi, Janani Sampath, Ryan P. Lively, Rampi Ramprasad

The global transition to hydrogen-based energy infrastructures faces significant hurdles. Chief among these are the high costs and sustainability issues associated with acid-based proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Anion exchange membrane (AEM) fuel cells offer promising cost-effective alternatives, yet their widespread adoption is limited by rapid degradation in alkaline environments. Here, we develop a framework that integrates mechanistic insights with machine learning, enabling the identification of generalized degradation behavior across diverse polymeric AEM chemistries and operating conditions. Our model successfully predicts long-term hydroxide conductivity degradation (up to 10,000 hours) from minimal early-time experimental data. This capability significantly reduces experimental burdens and may expedite the design of high-performance, durable AEM materials.

arXiv:2510.12655 (2025)

Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)

25 pages, 8 figures

The anisotropic Heisenberg model close to the Ising limit: triangular lattice vs. effective models

New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Martin Ulaga, Jure Kokalj, Takami Tohyama, Peter Prelovšek

Stimulated by recent experiments on materials representing the realization of the anisotropic Heisenberg spin-$ 1/2$ model on the triangular lattice, we explore further properties of such a model in the easy-axis regime $ \alpha = J_\perp/J_z < 1$ , as well as effective models that also capture such physics. We show that anisotropic Heisenberg models on the honeycomb lattice and even on the square lattice reveal similarities to the full triangular lattice in the magnetization curve as well as in the transverse magnetization (superfluid) order parameter $ m_\perp$ at finite fields. Still, at $ \alpha \ll 1$ , results reveal gapless excitations and small but finite $ m_\perp >0 $ at effective fields corresponding to the triangular case without the field. In contrast, several additional numerical studies of the full model on the triangular lattice confirm the existence of the gap at $ \alpha \ll 1$ . In particular, the magnetization curve $ m(h)$ as well as the spin stiffness $ \rho_s$ indicate (at zero field) a transition/crossover from gapped to gapless regime at $ \alpha \sim \alpha^\ast$ with $ \alpha^\ast \lesssim 0.5$ . We also show that deviations from the linear spin-wave theory and the emergence of the gap can be traced back to the strong effective repulsion between magnon excitations, having similarity to strongly correlated systems.

arXiv:2510.12667 (2025)

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)

The Popkov-Schütz two-lane lattice gas: Universality for general jump rates

New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Herbert Spohn

We consider the asymmetric version of the Popkov-Schütz two-lane lattice gas with general jump rates, subject to the stationary measure being of product form. This still leaves five free parameters. At density $ \tfrac{1}{2}$ the eigenvalues of the flux Jacobian are degenerate. We compute the second order expansion of the average fluxes at density $ \tfrac{1}{2}$ and thereby identify the universality classes.

arXiv:2510.12678 (2025)

Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Mathematical Physics (math-ph)

Possible Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons in a S = 5/2 honeycomb lattice

New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

J. Khatua, S. M. Kumawat, G. Senthil Murugan, C.-L. Huang, Heung-Sik Kim, K. Sritharan, R. Sankar, Kwang-Yong Choi

Quantum magnets offer a unique platform for exploring exotic quantum phases and quantum phase transitions through external magnetic fields. A prominent example is the field-induced Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) of magnons near the saturation field. While this behavior has been observed in low-spin systems, its realization in high-spin, quasi-two-dimensional magnets – where multiple on-site excitations are possible – remains exceptionally rare. Here, we report thermodynamic and density functional theory results on single crystals of the honeycomb-lattice antiferromagnet K$ {4}$ MnMo$ {4}$ O$ {15}$ with $ S = 5/2$ . The system undergoes a field-induced transition to a fully polarized state at the critical field $ \mu{0}H{\rm s} = 6.4$ ~T. Our results reveal possible thermodynamic signatures of magnon BEC, $ T{\mathrm{N}} \sim (H_{\rm s} - H)^{2/d}$ ($ d = 3$ ), expanding the purview of BEC-driven quantum criticality to a high-spin, quasi-two-dimensional antiferromagnets with negligibly small anisotropy.

arXiv:2510.12682 (2025)

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)

Phys. Rev. B 112, 134422, 2025

Formation of C-centers in Si-based systems by light ion irradiation

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Carolina Crosta, Riccardo Nardin, Patrick Daoust, Stefano Achilli, Ian Colombo, Matteo Campostrini, Emiliano Bonera, Jacopo Pedrini, Oussama Moutanabbir, Valentino Rigato, Fabio Pezzoli

Atomic-scale crystal defects in Si are quantum-light sources offering tantalizing integration with existing photonic technologies. Yet, the controlled creation of near-infrared color centers for long- haul quantum communication and information still remains a challenge. In this work, we utilize light ions, such as H+ and He+, to gently generate quantum emitters in a crystalline Si matrix. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements demonstrate the presence of optically-active defects, whose fluorescence matches the primary telecom window around 1550 nm. In addition, time-resolved investigations unveil long-lived excitonic states in the {\mu}s regime, thus confirming the formation of interstitial oxygen-carbon complexes, termed C-centers. Finally, we explored controlled ion irradiation strategies to seamlessly generate C-centers also in Ge-on-Si heterostructures, which offer an advanced technological platform for the future realization of integrated quantum photonics. This analysis, informed by practical color center synthesis and proof-of-principle experiments in epitaxial architectures, indicates intriguing prospects and profitable strategies to advance the burgeoning field of light-based quantum technologies.

arXiv:2510.12690 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

Temperature and conditions for thermalization after canonical quenches

New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Lennart Dabelow

We consider quenches of a quantum system that is prepared in a canonical equilibrium state of one Hamiltonian and then evolves unitarily in time under a different Hamiltonian. Technically, our main result is a systematic expansion of the pre- and post-quench canonical ensembles in the quench strength. We first demonstrate how this can be used to predict the system’s temperature after the quench from equilibrium properties at the pre-quench temperature. For a thermalizing post-quench system, it furthermore allows us to calculate equilibrium observable expectation values. Finally, in the presence of additional conserved quantities besides the Hamiltonian, we obtain a hierarchy of necessary conditions for thermalization towards the (post-quench) canonical ensemble. At first order, these thermalization conditions have a nice geometric interpretation in operator space with the canonical covariance as a semi-inner product: The quench operator (difference between post- and pre-quench Hamiltonians) and the conserved quantity must be orthogonal in the orthogonal complement of the post-quench Hamiltonian. We illustrate the results numerically for a variety of setups involving integrable and nonintegrable models.

arXiv:2510.12696 (2025)

Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

13 pages, 5 figures

Switchable chiral 2x2 pair density wave in pure CsV3Sb5

New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Wei Song, Xiao-Yu Yan, Xin Yu, Desheng Wu, Deng Hu, Hailang Qin, Guowei Liu, Hanbin Deng, Chao Yan. Muwei Gao, Zhiwei Wang, Rui Wu, Jia-Xin Yin

We investigate electron pairing in a super clean kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5 with a residual resistivity ratio (RRR) of 290. By using the dilution-refrigerator-based scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF), we find that the pairing gap exhibits chiral 2x2 modulations, and their chirality can be controlled by magnetic field training. We introduce nonmagnetic impurities to observe the complete suppression of 2x2 pairing modulations in presence of persistent 2x2 charge order. This nonmagnetic pair-breaking effect provides phase-sensitive evidence for pair-density-wave (PDW) induced pairing modulations. Our results support switchable chiral 2x2 PDW in this super clean kagome superconductor.

arXiv:2510.12730 (2025)

Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)

plasmonX: an Open-Source Code for Nanoplasmonics

New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Tommaso Giovannini, Pablo Grobas Illobre, Piero Lafiosca, Luca Nicoli, Luca Bonatti, Stefano Corni, Chiara Cappelli

We present the first public release of plasmonX, a novel open-source code for simulating the plasmonic response of complex nanostructures. The code supports both fully atomistic and implicit descriptions of nanomaterials. In particular, it employs the frequency-dependent fluctuating charges ($ \omega$ FQ) and dipoles ($ \omega$ FQF$ \mu$ ) models to describe the response properties of atomistic structures, including simple and $ d$ -metals, graphene-based structures, and multi-metal nanostructures. For implicit representations, the Boundary Element Method is implemented in both the dielectric polarizable continuum model (DPCM) and integral equation formalism (IEF-PCM) variants. The distribution also includes a post-processing module that enables analysis of electric field-induced properties such as charge density and electric field patterns.

arXiv:2510.12731 (2025)

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)

31 pages, 5 figures

Oxygen-vacancy-induced Raman softening in the catalyst Fe$_2$(MoO$_4$)$_3$

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Young-Joon Song, Roser Valentí

Although iron molybdate (Fe$ _2$ (MoO$ _4$ )$ _3$ ) has been commercially utilized for the production of formaldehyde from methanol via oxidative dehydrogenation, the detailed mechanism during the catalytic process remains unclear. Recent operando Raman and impedance measurements of the reaction suggested that the bulk region of Fe$ _2$ (MoO$ _4$ )$ _3$ acts as a reservoir of oxygen atoms that can migrate to the surface to participate in catalysis. This conclusion was drawn from the observed significant reduction in Raman intensity during the catalytic process which implies the formation of atomic defects. However, the microscopic origin of this reduction remains to be clarified. In this work, we performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the origin of the experimentally observed Raman intensity variation. Our phonon analysis reveals that oxygen-dominated vibrational modes, with a small Mo contribution, occur near 782 cm$ ^{-1}$ -the same frequency region where the Raman intensity reduction was measured. Using an effective frozen-phonon approach, we further demonstrate that oxygen vibrations are primarily responsible for the decrease in calculated Raman intensity. Moreover, structural relaxation of Fe$ _2$ (MoO$ _4$ )$ _3$ including an oxygen vacancy suggests that oxygen diffusion from the bulk to the surface should occur without significant alteration of the local symmetry, consistent with the absence of measurable peak shifts or broadening in the experimental Raman spectra.

arXiv:2510.12746 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)

7 pages, 2 figures

Two-Dimensional Altermagnetic Iron Oxyhalides: Real Chern topology and Valley-Spin-Lattice coupling

New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Yong-Kun Wang, Si Li, Shengyuan A. Yang

Altermagnets, a novel class of collinear magnetic materials, exhibit unique spin-split band structures, yet topological insulating states in intrinsic altermagnetic systems are rare. Here, we identify monolayer Fe$ _2X_2$ O ($ X$ = Cl, Br, I) as a new family of 2D altermagnetic real Chern insulators. These materials display robust $ d$ -wave altermagnetic ordering, semiconducting band gaps, and nontrivial real Chern numbers per spin channel, yielding spin-polarized topological corner modes. They also feature spin-polarized valleys with strong altermagnetism-valley-spin-lattice coupling, enabling valley-selective excitation via linear dichroism and strain-induced valley polarization. In multiferroic Fe$ _2$ Cl$ _2$ O, magnetism coexists with ferroelasticity, and an applied strain can switche the Néel vector. These findings position 2D iron oxyhalides as a promising platform for exploring altermagnetism and magnetic topological states for spintronics and valleytronics.

arXiv:2510.12748 (2025)

Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

Kibble-Zurek Scaling and Spatial Statistics in Quenched Binary Bose Superfluids

New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

Subhadeep Patra, Arko Roy, Seong-Ho Shinn, Adolfo del Campo, Mithun Thudiyangal

We study how gradually changing the chemical potential causes a two-dimensional binary Bose gas to condense from vacuum to finite density, resulting in either a mixed (miscible) or separated (immiscible) state depending on interaction strengths. In the immiscible case, random domains form, and their number, boundary length, and average size at the point of equilibration follow universal Kibble-Zurek (KZ) scaling with the cooling rate. These patterns continue to evolve in a self-similar way while maintaining KZ scaling. In the miscible regime, instead of domains, vortices appear, following the KZ scaling. The spatial distribution of domains and vortices is described by a Poisson point process with the KZ density. These findings highlight robust, universal features of how binary superfluids behave far from equilibrium, extending beyond the KZ theory.

arXiv:2510.12770 (2025)

Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas)

11 pages, 14 figures

Quantum criticality at the end of a pseudogap phase in superconducting infinite-layer nickelates

New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2025-10-15 20:00 EDT

C. Iorio-Duval, E. Beauchesne-Blanchet, F. Perreault, J. L. Santana González, W. Sun, Y. F. Nie, A. Gourgout, G. Grissonnanche

In many unconventional superconductors, the strange-metal regime is thought to emerge from quantum criticality, yet in cuprates this link is obscured by the enigmatic pseudogap. Superconducting infinite-layer nickelates provide a new arena to test this paradigm but are constrained to thin films, precluding calorimetry. We use the Seebeck coefficient as a low-temperature proxy for entropy per carrier and uncover a clear quantum-critical thermodynamic signature: in La$ _{1-x}$ Sr$ _x$ NiO$ _2$ at the onset of $ T$ -linear resistivity ($ x=0.20$ ), $ S/T$ diverges logarithmically upon cooling, $ S/T \propto \log T$ . Boltzmann transport based on ARPES-derived band structure reproduces the high-temperature magnitude and sign of $ S/T$ and reveals a threefold mass renormalization at the Fermi level. To identify the terminating phase, we analyze Hall data across Nd$ _{1-x}$ Sr$ x$ NiO$ 2$ and show that its temperature evolution is quantitatively captured by a minimal two-band model in which a strongly correlated Ni-$ d{x^2-y^2}$ Fermi surface exhibits Planckian $ T$ -linear scattering while the rare-earth Nd-$ s$ pocket remains Fermi-liquid-like. Inverting the zero-temperature Hall response reveals a collapse of the Ni-$ d{x^2-y^2}$ band carrier density from $ 1+p$ to $ p$ holes across the critical doping, without long-range magnetic order – mirroring the cuprate pseudogap transition in cuprates. These results establish a quantum critical point at the end of a pseudogap-like phase in infinite-layer nickelates and unify the broader paradigm among correlated superconductors that strange metal behaviour is intimately linked to quantum criticality.

arXiv:2510.12786 (2025)

Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)

8 pages, 3 figures