CMP Journal 2026-03-12
Statistics
Nature Physics: 1
Science: 15
Physical Review Letters: 25
Physical Review X: 1
arXiv: 73
Nature Physics
Universal dynamics and microwave control of programmable resonant electro-optic frequency combs
Original Paper | Frequency combs | 2026-03-11 20:00 EDT
Yunxiang Song, Tianqi Lei, Yanyun Xue, Andrea Cordaro, Michael Haas, Guanhao Huang, Xudong Li, Shengyuan Lu, Letícia Magalhães, Jiayu Yang, Matthew Yeh, Xinrui Zhu, Neil Sinclair, Qihuang Gong, Yaowen Hu, Marko Lončar
Electro-optic frequency combs are foundational for applications in metrology and spectroscopy. Specifically, microresonator-based electro-optic combs are distinguished by efficient sideband generation, enabling high-performance integrated frequency references and pulse sources. However, the apparent simplicity of these devices, often described by the electro-optic modulation-induced coupling of nearest-neighbour cavity modes, has resulted in limited investigations of their fundamental physics, thereby restricting their full potential. Here we uncover the universal dynamics underpinning resonant electro-optic microcombs and characterize the full space of nonlinear optical states, controlled by modulation depth and optical detuning using the thin-film lithium niobate photonic platform. Furthermore, we design complex long-range couplings between cavity modes to realize programmable spectro-temporal shaping of the generated combs and pulses. We achieve three technological advances: repetition-rate flexibility, substantial comb bandwidth extension beyond traditional scaling laws and resonantly enhanced flat-top spectrum. Our results provide physical insights for synchronously driven cavity-based electro-optic systems broadly defined, and will enable electrically controlled and electrically enhanced comb generators for next-generation photonic applications.
Frequency combs, Nanophotonics and plasmonics, Nonlinear optics
Science
Polymerase trapping as the mechanism of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus genesis
Research Article | Influenza | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Mathis Funk, Monique I. Spronken, Roy M. Hutchinson, Benoit Arragain, Pauline Juyoux, Theo M. Bestebroer, Anja C. M. de Bruin, Alexander P. Gultyaev, Ron A. M. Fouchier, Stephen Cusack, Aartjan J. W. te Velthuis, Mathilde Richard
Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) derive from H5 and H7 low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs). Although insertion of a furin-cleavable multibasic cleavage site (MBCS) in the hemagglutinin gene was identified decades ago as the genetic basis for the LPAIV-to-HPAIV transition, the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of insertion are unknown. Here, we show that transient H5 RNA structures, predicted to trap the influenza virus polymerase on purine-rich sequences, drive nucleotide insertions, providing empirical evidence of RNA structure involvement in MBCS acquisition. Introduction of H5-like sequences and structures into an H6 hemagglutinin resulted in MBCS-yielding insertions. Our results show that nucleotide insertions that underlie H5 HPAIV emergence result from an RNA structure-driven diversity-generating mechanism, which could also occur in other RNA viruses.
Whole-embryo spatial transcriptomics at subcellular resolution from gastrulation to organogenesis
Research Article | Developmental biology | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Yinan Wan, Jakob El Kholtei, Ignatius Jenie, Mariona Colomer-Rosell, Jialin Liu, Qinghua Zhang, Joaquin Navajas Acedo, Lucia Y. Du, Mireia Codina-Tobias, Mengfan Wang, Wei Zheng, Edward Lin, Tzy-Harn Chuang, Oded Mayseless, Ahilya Sawh, Susan E. Mango, Guoqiang Yu, Bogdan Bintu, Alexander F. Schier
Gene expression patterns underlie development, but their systematic detection in whole embryos has remained elusive. We introduce a whole-embryo imaging platform using multiplexed error-robust fluorescent in situ hybridization (weMERFISH). We quantified the expression of 495 genes in zebrafish embryos at subcellular resolution and generated an online atlas detailing the expression of 25,872 genes and accessibility of 294,954 chromatin regions during embryogenesis. Expression patterns often corresponded to composites of tissue-specific accessible elements, and expression changes aligned with cellular maturation and morphogenesis. Integration with live imaging revealed how similar expression patterns can emerge through different dynamics and showed that sharp boundaries develop through changes in gene expression rather than through cell sorting. These results establish multiplexed whole-embryo spatial transcriptomics and reveal the regulation and dynamics of embryonic gene expression patterns.
A deep-time landscape of plant cis-regulatory sequence evolution
Research Article | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Kirk R. Amundson, Anat Hendelman, Danielle Ciren, Hailong Yang, Amber E. de Neve, Shai Tal, Adar Sulema, David Jackson, Madelaine E. Bartlett, Zachary B. Lippman, Idan Efroni
Developmental gene function is often conserved over deep time, but cis-regulatory sequence conservation is difficult to identify. Rapid sequence turnover, paleopolyploidy, structural variation, and limited phylogenomic sampling have impeded conserved non-coding sequence (CNS) discovery. Using Conservatory, an algorithm that leverages microsynteny and iterative alignments to map CNS-gene associations over evolution, we uncovered ~2.3 million CNSs, including over 3,000 predating angiosperms, from 284 plant species spanning 300 million years of diversification. Ancient CNSs were enriched near developmental regulators, and mutating CNSs near HOMEOBOX genes produced strong phenotypes. Tracing CNS evolution uncovered key principles: CNS spacing varies, but order is conserved; genomic rearrangements form new CNS-gene associations; and ancient CNSs are preferentially retained among paralogs, but are often lost as cohorts or evolve into lineage-specific CNSs.
Rapid evolution predicts demographic recovery after extreme drought
Research Article | Adaptation | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Daniel N. Anstett, Julia Anstett, Seema N. Sheth, Dylan R. Moxley, Haley A. Branch, Mojtaba Jahani, Kaichi Huang, Marco Todesco, Rebecca Jordan, Jose Miguel Lazaro-Guevara, Loren H. Rieseberg, Amy L. Angert
Populations that are declining as a result of climate change may need to evolve to persist. Although evolutionary rescue has been demonstrated in theory and in the laboratory, its relevance to natural populations facing climate change remains unknown. Here we link rapid evolution and population dynamics in scarlet monkeyflower, Mimulus cardinalis, during exceptional drought. We leverage whole-genome sequencing across 55 populations to identify climate-associated loci. Simultaneously we track demography and allele frequency change throughout the drought. We establish range-wide population decline during the drought, geographically variable rapid evolution, and variable population recovery that is predictable by standing genetic variation in, and rapid evolution at, climate-associated loci. These findings demonstrate the possibility of evolutionary rescue in the wild, showing that genetic variation at adaptive, but not neutral, loci predicts population recovery.
Strong and brittle lithium dendrites
Research Article | Batteries | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Qing Ai, Boyu Zhang, Xing Liu, Bongki Shin, Wenhua Guo, Guanhui Gao, Lihong Zhao, Xintong Weng, Qiyi Fang, Tianshu Zhai, Doug Steinbach, Yifan Zhu, Yifeng Liu, Fan Wang, Xiaoyin Tian, Hua Guo, Youtian Zhang, Xuan Zhao, Yimo Han, Ming Tang, Yan Yao, Ting Zhu, Huajian Gao, Jun Lou
The growth and penetration of lithium dendrites through electrolytes and separators remain key challenges to realizing high-energy density lithium-metal batteries. Using mechanically strong electrolytes and separators has been considered a promising strategy based on the commonly believed softness of lithium. However, dendrite formation persists in stiff solid electrolytes, suggesting distinct mechanical behaviors. We measured the mechanical properties of individual lithium dendrites using an air-free protocol. We found that lithium dendrites are unexpectedly strong and brittle, with fracture stress greater than ~150 megapascals, unlike the ductile bulk metal. Cryo-transmission electron microscopy and mechanical modeling showed that this behavior arises from solid electrolyte interface constraints and nanoscale strengthening. These findings provide alternative mechanisms for dendrite penetration and dead lithium formation as well as guidance for design strategies for lithium-metal batteries.
Computational design of conformation-biasing mutations to alter protein functions
Research Article | Protein engineering | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Peter E. Cavanagh, Andrew G. Xue, Shizhong A. Dai, Albert Qiang, Tsutomu Matsui, Alice Y. Ting
Conformational biasing (CB) is a rapid and streamlined computational method that uses contrastive scoring by inverse folding models to predict protein variants biased toward desired conformational states. We successfully validated CB across seven diverse datasets, identifying variants of K-Ras, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein, the β2 adrenergic receptor, and Src kinase with improved conformation-specific functions such as enhanced binding or enzymatic activity. Applying CB to the enzyme lipoic acid ligase (LplA), we uncovered a previously unknown mechanism controlling its promiscuous activity. Variants biased toward an “open” conformation state became more promiscuous, whereas “closed”-biased variants were more selective, enhancing LplA’s utility for site-specific protein labeling with fluorophores in living cells. The speed and simplicity of CB make it a versatile tool for engineering protein dynamics with broad applications in basic research, biotechnology, and medicine.
Seal and sea lion brains have evolved to support volitional control of vocal behavior and learning
Research Article | Cognitive neuroscience | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Peter F. Cook, Andrew A. Rouse, Eva Sawyer, Karla Miller, Gregory Berns
Seals and sea lions have highly developed volitional breathing control, to which the phocid seals add vocal production learning, including mimicry. In this work, using histology and ex vivo diffusion magnetic resonance imaging tractography, we provide evidence for a phylogenetic spectrum of accumulative neural adaptations supporting aspects of volitional vocal control across pinnipeds. Otariids and phocid seals, but not coyotes, have a direct connection between the vocal motor cortex and phonatory brainstem nuclei. Harbor seals showed hypertrophic connectivity between the anterior ventrolateral thalamus and the vocal premotor cortex–part of a forebrain circuit related to vocal learning in birds and mimicry in humans and parrots. We demonstrate that phocid seals have auditory-premotor pathways potentially related to developmental call learning.
Megabase-scale human genome rearrangement with programmable bridge recombinases
Research Article | Genome engineering | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Nicholas T. Perry, Liam J. Bartie, Dhruva Katrekar, Gabriel A. Gonzalez, Matthew G. Durrant, James J. Pai, Alison Fanton, Juliana Q. Martins, Masahiro Hiraizumi, Chiara Ricci-Tam, Hiroshi Nishimasu, Silvana Konermann, Patrick D. Hsu
Bridge recombinases are naturally occurring RNA-guided DNA recombinases that we previously demonstrated can programmably insert, excise, and invert DNA in vitro and in Escherichia coli. In this study, we report the discovery and engineering of the bridge recombinase ortholog ISCro4 for universal rearrangements of the human genome. We defined strategies for the optimal application of bridge systems, leveraging mechanistic insights to improve their targeting specificity. Through rational engineering of the ISCro4 bridge RNA and deep mutational scanning of its recombinase, we achieved up to 20% insertion efficiency into the human genome and genome-wide specificity as high as 82%. We further demonstrated intrachromosomal inversion and excision, mobilizing up to 0.93 megabases of DNA. Lastly, we provided proof of concept for plasmid-based excision of disease-relevant gene regulatory regions or repeat expansions.
Programmable genome editing in human cells using RNA-guided bridge recombinases
Research Article | Genome engineering | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Oana Pelea, András Tálas, Javier Fernández Carrera, Nicolas Mathis, Lilly van de Venn, Charles D. Yeh, Péter I. Kulcsár, Kim F. Marquart, Yanik Weber, Saskia E. Gerecke, Isabelle F. Harvey-Seutcheu, Dominic Mailänder, Moritz M. Pfleiderer, Christelle Chanez, Jacob E. Corn, Gerald Schwank, Martin Jinek
Site-specific insertion of gene-sized DNA fragments remains an unmet need in the field of genome editing. IS110-family serine recombinases have recently been shown to mediate programmable DNA recombination in bacteria by using a bispecific RNA guide (bridge RNA) that simultaneously recognizes target and donor sites. In this work, we have shown that the bridge recombinase ISCro4 is highly active in human cells and provided structural insights into its enhanced activity. Using plasmid- or all-RNA-based delivery, ISCro4 supports programmable multikilobase excisions and inversions and facilitates donor DNA insertion at genomic sites with efficiencies that exceed 6%. Last, we assessed ISCro4 specificity and off-target activity. These results establish a framework for the development of bridge recombinases as next-generation tools for editing modalities that are beyond the capabilities of current technologies.
Ravens anticipate wolf kill sites across broad scales
Research Article | Spatial memory | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Matthias-Claudio Loretto, Kristina B. Beck, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, Lauren E. Walker, Martin Wikelski, Thomas Mueller, Kamran Safi, John M. Marzluff
Scavengers generally rely on patchily distributed, unpredictable carrion. A long-standing hypothesis suggests scavenging ravens reliably locate such food by directly following large carnivores to their kills. However, by satellite tracking 69 ravens, 20 wolves, and 11 cougars in Yellowstone National Park, we found that following of predators over large distances rarely occurred. Instead, ravens routinely revisited sites where wolf kills were common–returning from distances of up to 155 kilometers to find carrion. Much like navigating to permanent anthropogenic subsidies, ravens appear to remember potential sources of carrion shaped by previous encounters with wolves or their kills. These findings suggest that spatial memory and navigation play a considerably greater role than previously assumed among scavengers, and possibly other wide-ranging species, in search of ephemeral resources.
Evolutionary adaptation to global change reduces sustainable fisheries yields
Research Article | Fisheries | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Jan Kozłowski, Dustin J. Marshall, Craig R. White
Global warming is altering the fisheries that underpin food security, but projections of these impacts generally exclude evolutionary processes. We describe a model that forecasts how fish will adapt to future climates and the consequences of that evolution for fisheries yields. We predict that fish in warmer waters will grow faster but evolve earlier maturation, decreasing their maximum size. We predict that evolution ameliorates the impacts of climate change on fish fitness but exacerbates its impacts on fisheries yields–worsening losses by ~50%. Excluding evolution overestimates future yields under all emissions scenarios, but evolution’s impacts are greatest under the most extreme scenarios. All life histories may evolve in response to global change–this evolution should be considered in projections of ecosystems and their services.
Lifelong behavioral screen reveals an architecture of vertebrate aging
Research Article | Aging | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Claire N. Bedbrook, Ravi D. Nath, Libby Zhang, Scott W. Linderman, Anne Brunet, Karl Deisseroth
Mapping behavior of individual vertebrate animals across lifespan could provide an unprecedented view into the lifelong process of aging. We created a platform for high-resolution continuous behavioral tracking of the African killifish across natural lifespan from adolescence to death. We found that animals follow distinct individual aging trajectories. The behaviors of long-lived animals differed markedly from those of short-lived animals, even relatively early in life, and were linked to organ-specific transcriptomic shifts. Machine-learning models accurately inferred age and even forecasted an individual’s future lifespan, given only behavior at a young age. Finally, we found that animals progressed through adulthood in a sequence of stable and stereotyped behavioral stages with abrupt transitions, revealing precise structure for an architecture of aging.
Microglia Rank signaling regulates GnRH neuronal function and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis
Research Article | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Alejandro Collado-Sole, Nozha Borjini, Jing Zhai, Francisco Ruiz-Pino, Gonzalo Soria-Alcaide, Cintia Folgueira, Celia García-Vilela, Beatriz Romero-de la Rosa, Victor Lopez, Yassine Zouaghi, An Jacobs, Bella Mora-Romero, Alexandra Barranco, Guillermo Yoldi, Karine Rizzoti, Guadalupe Sabio, Gema Perez-Chacon, Patricia G. Santamaria, Jose Antonio Esteban, Nathalie Journiac, Vincent Prevot, Alberto Pascual, Rafael Fernández-Chacón, Manuel Tena-Sempere, Nelly Pitteloud, Eva Gonzalez-Suarez
The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG) controls pubertal development, sexual maturation, and fertility. We identified a role of hypothalamic microglia in controlling the HPG axis through receptor activator of nuclear factor κβ (Rank) signaling. Whole-body and microglia Rank depletion led to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) resulting from an alteration in gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuron function. In addition, we identified rare gene variants of RANK in patients with HH. Transcriptional profiling upon Rank loss revealed defective microglia activation and morphological alterations in the median eminence, decreasing the contacts and engulfment of GnRH terminal projections and impairing GnRH neuronal responses to kisspeptin. Overall, our data uncover the microglia as regulator of GnRH neuronal function through Rank signaling, with potential implications for reproductive maturation and fertility.
Autophagolysosomal exocytosis inverts Src kinase onto the cell surface in cancer
Research Article | Cell biology | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Corleone S. Delaveris, Rita P. Loudermilk, Apurva Pandey, Soumya G. Remesh, Trenton M. Peters-Clarke, Snehal D. Ganjave, William J. N. Dougherty, Henry M. Delavan, Chunyue Wang, Jesse Ling, Juan Antonio Camara Serrano, Fernando Salangsang, Chien-Kuang Cornelia Ding, Nancy Greenland, Carissa E. Chu, Sima Porten, Veronica Steri, Jonathan Chou, Michael J. Evans, Kevin K. Leung, James A. Wells
Overexpression of the proto-oncogene Src is common to a wide variety of cancers. In this work, we found that Src is noncanonically translocated and inverted onto the cell surface in cancer, both in vitro and in vivo. We identified autophagolysosomal exocytosis (ALE) as a secretory mechanism prominent in cancer cell lines. Src represents the prototypical example of a family of membrane-anchored proteins that are transported by this process. Furthermore, this extracellular membrane-associated Src (eSrc) was found in primary tumors, and anti-Src antibody-based therapies mediated tumor cell killing in cell culture systems and in mouse xenograft models. Thus, intracellular N-myristoylated proteins, prototypically Src, can be topologically inverted onto the cell surface in cancer and targeted with antibody therapeutics.
Cancer interception with KRAS inhibitors in preclinical models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Research Article | Pancreatic cancer | 2026-03-12 03:00 EDT
Minh T. Than, Lucie Dequiedt, Rina Sor, Shreya Nair, Nune Markosyan, Emma E. Furth, Chenghua Yang, Courtney Ray-Fofana, Marie Menard, Elsa Quintana, A. Cole Edwards, Connor J. Hennessey, Austin L. Good, Liz Quinones, Yunseo Hwang, Cynthia Clendenin, Ashley L. Kiemen, Robert H. Vonderheide, Ben Z. Stanger
Transformation of pancreatic epithelial cells to malignant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) typically involves the progression of precancerous pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanINs) bearing oncogenic KRAS mutations. Here, we tested the impact of PDAC interception using either RAS(ON) multiselective or RAS(ON) G12D-selective pharmacological inhibitors [RAS(ON) inhibitors] in mouse models of PDAC. Treatment of PanIN-bearing mice with RAS(ON) inhibitors prompted regression of premalignant lesions that translated into a delay in tumor onset and an increase in overall survival (OS). Long-term interception in tumor-prone mice resulted in a median OS of more than 1 year compared with less than 5 months in nonintercepted control mice (P < 0.0001). Comparing the survival benefits of RAS(ON) inhibition for cancer interception versus RAS(ON) inhibition for cancer treatment, we found that interception provided a greater survival benefit to mice. These findings suggest that a pharmacological approach may reduce premalignant burden and increase survival in PDAC.
Physical Review Letters
Sequential Sharing of Quantum Nonlocality via Projective Measurements
Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Bingzi Huo, Kunkun Wang, Dengke Qu, Junjing Xing, Xiang Zhan, Xiaojian Huang, Huixia Gao, Lei Xiao, and Peng Xue
Sequential sharing of quantum nonlocality enables multiparty collaborative information processing, which is typically realized through unsharp measurements in previous studies. By contrast, we experimentally demonstrate that the sequential sharing of quantum nonlocality can be observed using only pr…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 100201 (2026)
Quantum Information, Science, and Technology
Imaginary-Time Mpemba Effect in Quantum Many-Body Systems
Article | Quantum Information, Science, and Technology | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Wei-Xuan Chang, Shuai Yin, Shi-Xin Zhang, and Zi-Xiang Li
Various exotic phenomena emerge in nonequilibrium quantum many-body systems. The Mpemba effect, denoting the situation where a hot system freezes faster than a colder one, is a counterintuitive nonequilibrium phenomenon that has attracted enduring interest for more than half a century. In this Lette…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 100403 (2026)
Quantum Information, Science, and Technology
Bounds on Screened Dark Energy from Near-Earth Space-Based Measurements
Article | Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Gravitation | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Fabiano Feleppa, Welmoed Marit de Graaf, Philippe Brax, and Gaetano Lambiase
We test screened dark energy with near-Earth, space-based measurements. In a post-Newtonian framework, we compute leading corrections to geodetic precession (Gravity Probe B), LAGEOS-2 pericenter advance, and the Sagnac delay in a prospective orbital configuration, yielding bounds on chameleon, symm…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 101002 (2026)
Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Gravitation
Stochastic Siren: Astrophysical Gravitational-Wave Background Measurements of the Hubble Constant
Article | Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Gravitation | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Bryce Cousins, Kristen Schumacher, Adrian Ka-Wai Chung, Colm Talbot, Thomas Callister, Daniel E. Holz, and Nicolás Yunes
We report the first measurement of the Hubble constant using the stochastic gravitational-wave background arising from binary black hole mergers. This astrophysical background is sensitive to the expansion history of the Universe and, thus, can be used for cosmological parameter inference indepen…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 101003 (2026)
Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Gravitation
Flow between Extremal One-Point Energy Correlators in QCD
Article | Particles and Fields | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Marc Riembau and Minho Son
A calculation shows how the one-point energy correlator flows between its two extremal values corresponding to the quark and hadron degrees of freedom.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 101901 (2026)
Particles and Fields
Accurate Ground States of SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory in $2+1\mathrm{D}$ and $3+1\mathrm{D}$
Article | Particles and Fields | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Thomas Spriggs, Eliska Greplova, Juan Carrasquilla, and Jannes Nys
We present a neural network wave function framework for solving non-Abelian lattice gauge theories in a continuous group representation. Using a combination of SU(2) equivariant neural networks alongside an SU(2) invariant, physics-inspired ansatz, we learn a parametrization of the ground state wave…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 101902 (2026)
Particles and Fields
Improved Calculation of Radiative Corrections to $τ→ππ{ν}_{τ}$ Decays
Article | Particles and Fields | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Gilberto Colangelo, Martina Cottini, Martin Hoferichter, and Simon Holz
A reliable calculation of radiative corrections to decays is an important prerequisite for using hadronic decays for a data-driven evaluation of the hadronic-vacuum-polarization (HVP) contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, . In this Letter, we present an im…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 101903 (2026)
Particles and Fields
Electromagnetic Tomography of Radial Flow in the Quark-Gluon Plasma
Article | Nuclear Physics | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Lipei Du and Ulrich Heinz
We present a novel multimessenger approach to extract the effective radial flow of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) by jointly analyzing thermal photon and dilepton spectra in heavy-ion collisions. A key feature of this method is that it circumvents the need for a directly unmeasurable reference--the pho…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 102301 (2026)
Nuclear Physics
Dynamical Phase Evolution of Coulomb-Focused Electrons in Strong-Field Ionization Probed by a Standing Light Wave
Article | Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Yuan Gu, Hao Liang, Weiran Zheng, Aofan Lin, Jiaye Zhang, Zichen Li, Juan Du, Lei Ying, Peilun He, Jan-Michael Rost, Sina Jacob, Maksim Kunitski, Till Jahnke, Sebastian Eckart, Kang Lin, and Reinhard Dörner
We investigate the dynamical phase evolution of Coulomb-focused electrons in strong-field ionization. We diffract the electrons with an ultrashort standing light wave to track their time-dependent phase. Our findings show that low-energy electrons exhibit a unique chromosome-shaped diffraction patte…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 103201 (2026)
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Hydrodynamic Attractor in Periodically Driven Ultracold Quantum Gases
Article | Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Aleksas Mazeliauskas and Tilman Enss
Hydrodynamic attractors characterize hydrodynamiclike evolution in strongly interacting systems, independent of initial conditions or microscopic details, outside the conventional hydrodynamic regime. They explain why hydrodynamic models apply to high-energy nuclear collisions, but so far have only …
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 103402 (2026)
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Chiral Cavities Made from Lattices of Highly Electromagnetically Chiral Scatterers
Article | Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Lukas Rebholz, Carsten Rockstuhl, and Ivan Fernandez-Corbaton
The infamous weakness of molecular chiroptical responses challenges the all-optical realization of crucial applications such as enantio-selective sorting of chiral molecules, or biasing chiral chemical reactions. Chiral optical cavities are a natural choice for confronting this challenge. Ideally, t…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 103802 (2026)
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Multimode Single-Ring Photonic Molecule
Article | Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Jinsheng Lu, Ileana-Cristina Benea-Chelmus, Vincent Ginis, Marcus Ossiander, Danilo Shchepanovich, and Federico Capasso
A new ring-shaped resonator for light can do a job that normally requires at least two rings.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 103803 (2026)
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
New Form of Mixing in Turbulent Sedimentation
Article | Physics of Fluids, Earth & Planetary Science, and Climate | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Simone Tandurella, Marco Edoardo Rosti, Stefano Musacchio, and Guido Boffetta
We study the sedimentation of finite-size inertial particles in a Rayleigh-Taylor-like setup using state-of-the-art direct numerical simulations. The falling particles are observed to produce two distinct regions: a leading mixing layer with a linear concentration profile followed by a bulk region o…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 104003 (2026)
Physics of Fluids, Earth & Planetary Science, and Climate
Designing Lattice Spin Models and Magnon Gaps with Supercurrents
Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Johanne Bratland Tjernshaugen, Martin Tang Bruland, and Jacob Linder
Electric control over magnetic interactions at the level of individual spins is relevant for a variety of quantum applications, such as qubits, memory, and sensor functionality. We show here that spin lattices and magnon gaps can be controlled with a supercurrent. Remarkably, a spin-polarized superc…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 106001 (2026)
Condensed Matter and Materials
Altermagnetic Spin Precession and Spin Transistor
Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Li-Shuo Liu, Kai Shao, Hai-Dong Li, Xiangang Wan, Wei Chen, and D. Y. Xing
Altermagnets hold great potential for spintronic applications, yet their intrinsic spin dynamics and associated transport properties remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigate spin-resolved quantum transport in a multiterminal setup based on a -wave altermagnet. It is found that the altermagne…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 106301 (2026)
Condensed Matter and Materials
Type-II Antiferroelectricity
Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Yang Wang, Zhi-Ming Yu, Chaoxi Cui, Yilin Han, Tingli He, Weikang Wu, Run-Wu Zhang, Shengyuan A. Yang, and Yugui Yao
Antiferroelectricity is a fundamental concept in physics and materials science. Conventional antiferroelectrics (AFEs) have the picture of alternating local electric dipoles defined in real space. Here, we discover a new class of AFEs, termed type-II AFEs, which possess opposite polarizations define…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 106402 (2026)
Condensed Matter and Materials
Miniband Generation by Surface Acoustic Waves
Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Eli Meril, Unmesh Ghorai, Tobias Holder, and Rafi Bistritzer
We introduce a new class of tunable periodic structures formed by launching two obliquely propagating surface acoustic waves on a piezoelectric substrate that supports a two-dimensional material. The resulting acoustoelectric superlattice exhibits two salient features. First, its periodicity is wide…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 106403 (2026)
Condensed Matter and Materials
Kekulé Order from Diffuse Nesting near Higher-Order Van Hove Points
Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Jonas Beck, Jonathan Bodky, Matteo Dürrnagel, Ronny Thomale, Julian Ingham, Lennart Klebl, and Hendrik Hohmann
Translation symmetry-breaking order is assumed to be suppressed by the lack of Fermi surface nesting near certain higher-order Van Hove singularities (HOVHS). We show that the anisotropic band-flattening inherent to such HOVHS, combined with broadening of the Fermi surface due to elevated critical s…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 106503 (2026)
Condensed Matter and Materials
Dual Spin Excitation Components in ${\mathrm{FeSe}}{0.67}{\mathrm{Te}}{0.33}$
Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Hao Zhang, Hongliang Wo, Yimeng Gu, Zeyu Kao, Gaofeng Ding, Kazuki Iida, Kazuhiko Ikeuchi, and Jun Zhao
Iron chalcogenide superconductors () exhibit an unusual double-dome superconducting phase diagram, the microscopic origin of which remains unclear. Here, we use inelastic neutron scattering to probe spin excitations in single-crystalline , positioned at the supercondu…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 106504 (2026)
Condensed Matter and Materials
Topological Excitonic Insulators in Electron Bilayers Modulated by Twisted Hexagonal Boron Nitride
Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Yongxin Zeng, Allan H. MacDonald, and Nemin Wei
Equilibrium interlayer exciton condensation is common in bilayer quantum Hall systems and is characterized by spontaneous phase coherence between isolated layers. It has been predicted that similar physics can occur in the absence of a magnetic field in some two-dimensional semiconductor bilayers. I…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 106602 (2026)
Condensed Matter and Materials
Broadband Dipole Absorption in Dispersive Photonic Time Crystals
Article | Condensed Matter and Materials | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Thomas F. Allard, Jaime E. Sustaeta-Osuna, Francisco J. García-Vidal, and Paloma A. Huidobro
Photonic media modulated periodically in time, termed photonic time crystals (PTCs), have attracted considerable attention for their ability to open momentum bandgaps hosting amplifying modes. These momentum gaps, however, generally appear only at the system's parametric resonance condition which co…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 106903 (2026)
Condensed Matter and Materials
Beyond Poisson: First-Passage Asymptotics of Renewal Shot Noise
Article | Statistical Physics; Classical, Nonlinear, and Complex Systems | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
J. Brémont
A framework for analyzing extreme events in non-Markovian systems with relaxation, from neuronal spiking to gene expression bursts, shows how burstiness universally modulates the baseline Arrhenius scaling, establishing a link between microscopic arrival statistics and macroscopic extreme-event kinetics.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 107101 (2026)
Statistical Physics; Classical, Nonlinear, and Complex Systems
Competing Magnetic Anisotropy and Domain-Wall Density for Optimizing Magnetization-Induced Water-Oxidation Enhancement
Article | Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Anke Yu, Durgesh Kumar, Zizhao Gong, Leonhard Tannesia, Hasibur Rahaman, Pengfei Song, Tianze Wu, Ramu Maddu, Pinkesh Kumar Mishra, Xiao Renshaw Wang, S. N. Piramanayagam, and Zhichuan J. Xu
Optimal spin-related enhancement of oxygen evolution reaction activity is shown to emerge from the balance between perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and the density of magnetic domain walls.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 108001 (2026)
Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics
Emergence of Local Ordering and Mesoscale Giant Number Fluctuations in Active Turbulence
Article | Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Kirti Kashyap, Kolluru Venkata Kiran, and Anupam Gupta
We study spatiotemporal chaos in two-dimensional dense active suspensions using a generalized hydrodynamic model. Increasing activity induces a structural transition marked by the formation of intense vortices and giant number fluctuations at the mesoscale. The flow self-organizes into locally polar…
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 108301 (2026)
Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics
Out-of-Equilibrium Selection Pressure Enhances Inference from Protein Sequence Data
Article | Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Nicola Dietler, Cyril Malbranke, and Anne-Florence Bitbol
Homologous proteins have similar three-dimensional structures and biological functions that shape their sequences. The resulting coevolution-driven correlations underlie methods from Potts models to alphafold, which infer protein structure and function from sequences. Using a minimal model, we show …
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 108402 (2026)
Polymers, Chemical Physics, Soft Matter, and Biological Physics
Physical Review X
Topological Stabilizer Models on Continuous Variables
Article | 2026-03-11 06:00 EDT
Julio C. Magdalena de la Fuente, Tyler D. Ellison, Meng Cheng, and Dominic J. Williamson
Researchers develop topological stabilizer codes that leverage infinite-dimensional local degrees of freedom. These codes realize quantum phases with universal properties that go beyond discrete variable stabilizer codes.
Phys. Rev. X 16, 011054 (2026)
arXiv
Symmetric localization of $ν_{\text{tot}}=4/3$ fractional topological insulator edges
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Yang-Zhi Chou, Sankar Das Sarma
Motivated by the recent twisted MoTe$ 2$ experiment [arXiv:2601.18508], we develop a disordered interacting edge theory of a fractional topological insulator at $ \nu{\text{tot}}=4/3$ , consisting of two time-reversal-conjugated $ \nu=2/3$ fractional quantum Hall states. For an $ S_z$ -conserving edge, we uncover three distinct phases with two possible conductance values per edge in the long-edge limit: $ \frac{2}{3}\frac{e^2}{h}$ and $ \frac{4}{3}\frac{e^2}{h}$ . In the presence of $ S_z$ -changing perturbations (e.g., Rashba spin-orbit coupling), an interaction-induced insulating edge state can emerge without breaking time-reversal or charge-conservation symmetry, corresponding to the absence of a topologically protected edge state. We further provide an exact mapping to a noninteracting fermionic theory exhibiting Anderson localization. Our results showcase an explicit, experimentally relevant example that the edge-state two-terminal transport is insufficient to identify the $ \nu_{\text{tot}}=4/3$ fractional topological insulators.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
7 pages, 1 figure
Plasmon-driven exciton formation in a non-equilibrium Fermi liquid
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Rishi Acharya, Eli Gerber, Nina Bielinski, Hannah E. Aguirre, Younsik Kim, Camille Bernal-Choban, Gaurav Tenkila, Suhas Sheikh, Pranav Mahaadev, Faren Hoveyda-Marashi, Subhajit Roychowdhury, Chandra Shekhar, Claudia Felser, Peter Abbamonte, Benjamin J. Wieder, Fahad Mahmood
Collective modes in Fermi liquids are usually regarded as dissipation channels that relax electronic excitations through Landau damping. Whether such modes can instead mediate the formation of correlated electronic states under non-equilibrium conditions remains an open question. Here we show that, under optical photo-doping, a bulk plasmon can drive correlated inter-band transfer within a transient electronic continuum. Using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (Tr-ARPES) on EuCd$ _2$ As$ _2$ supported by electronic structure calculations, we observe that at high excitation density, plasmons transfer energy from a weakly dispersing bulk band into unoccupied surface states. This bulk-to-surface redistribution stabilizes a long-lived, energy-localized spectral feature consistent with a Mahan exciton. Our results uncover a non-equilibrium regime of Fermi-liquid physics in which collective modes do not merely dissipate energy, but also stabilize correlated bound states.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Main Text (including Methods and references) and Supplementary Information (10 + 26 pages, 5 + 13 figures, 0 + 3 tables)
Classical Kitaev model in a magnetic field
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Paul A. McClarty, Roderich Moessner, Karlo Penc, Jeffrey G. Rau
Motivated by experiments on spin-orbit coupled magnets with Kitaev exchange in magnetic fields, we present an analysis of the classical Kitaev honeycomb model in the presence of a magnetic field. We show that there is a spin liquid regime that exists within a finite window of fields from zero up to a finite threshold before transitioning into the polarized paramagnet. We uncover constraints that spins need to satisfy in the ground state and show that they determine the exact limiting zero temperature behavior of the heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility within the spin liquid as a function of field. When the field is finite, both the two-point spin and the quadrupolar correlations are short-ranged, in contrast to the zero-field case. We rationalize an effective mass for the quadrupolar correlations in terms of a coarse-grained theory with fluctuating effective charge degrees of freedom. Finally, we show that weak site-dilution does not change the magnetization within the spin liquid – a kind of “perfect” compensation of the site dilution.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
16 pages, 12 figures
A unifying framework for sum rules and bounds on optical, thermoelectric and thermal transport from quantum geometry
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
M. Nabil Y. Lhachemi, Jennifer Cano
We present a geometric formulation of optical, thermoelectric, and thermal linear response in clean, zero temperature band insulators based on a single object: a generalized time-dependent quantum geometric tensor (g-tQGT) built from correlations of projected particle and heat polarization operators. Within this framework, the AC transport tensors admit compact expressions that make their geometric content explicit. The response splits into a Berry curvature contribution that remains finite in the DC limit and a frequency correction governed by the quantum metric, implying geometry driven effects even in topologically trivial insulators. At equal times, the g-tQGT recovers the usual integrated QGT and yields energy-weighted thermal analogs whose antisymmetric parts are fixed by orbital and heat magnetization. Importantly, in the thermal channel, a thermal quantum geometric tensor is obtained. Casting the theory in a Hilbert-Schmidt inner product form yields a bound on the trace of the thermal QGT, an uncertainty relation on the projected polarization operators and a purely geometric upper bound on the finite-time accumulated response. The latter is used in the optical channel to derive a geometric upper bound on the electric current. Finally, time derivatives of the g-tQGT are used to generate a hierarchy of generalized thermoelectric and thermal sum rules, and bounds on these sum rules are obtained. These bounds are used to find inequalities between different physical objects such as the optical mass, susceptibility functions and magnetizations.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
11 pages
ALD Oxidant as A Tuning Knob for Memory Window Expansion in Ferroelectric FETs for Vertical NAND Applications
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Ranie Jeyakumar, Prasanna Venkatesan, Lance Fernandes, Salma Soliman, Priyankka Ravikumar, Taeyoung Song, Chengyang Zhang, Woohyun Hwang, Kwangyou Seo, Suhwan Lim, Wanki Kim, Daewon Ha, Shimeng Yu, Suman Datta, Asif Khan
Dielectric inserts are widely used to expand the memory window (MW) in ferroelectric FETs (FeFETs) for vertical NAND applications, with prior efforts focused primarily on material selection and stack positioning. Here, we demonstrate that the ALD oxidant used for the Al2O3 interlayer serves as a process-level tuning knob for MW engineering. H2O-grown Al2O3 yields a significantly larger MW (7-8 V) compared to O3 (4 V) for both gate-injection (12/3) and tunnel dielectric (8/3/8) configurations. While the tunnel dielectric (8/3/8) stack maintains robust retention up to 1e4s at 125C despite the larger MW, the gate-injection (12/3) configuration exhibits pronounced retention degradation for the H2O case. The enhanced MW is attributed to higher interlayer leakage associated with H2O-based ALD. These results establish oxidant choice as a key process parameter for co-optimizing MW and retention in ferroelectric NAND technologies.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Unveiling local magnetic moments in copper-oxide atomic junctions
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Marcel Strohmeier, Samanwita Biswas, Wolfgang Belzig, Regina Hoffmann-Vogel, Elke Scheer
Incorporating oxygen into metallic atomic-scale junctions modifies the interatomic bonding and may even promote the formation of monoatomic chains. In the specific case of copper oxide, first-principles studies have predicted the emergence of ferromagnetic ground states, attributing certain atomic configurations with spin filtering capabilities. By means of low-temperature transport measurements, we provide a series of experimental evidence indicating the presence of local magnetism in air oxidized mechanically controllable copper break junctions. Our investigations on ultimately small contacts range from magnetotransport measurements to the analysis of anomalous shot noise in the presence of strong zero-bias anomalies. The analysis of the latter allows to determine the spin polarization (SP) of the current and that is interpreted with the Kondo physics picture.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Endohedral Derivatives of the Recently Synthesized Two-Dimensional Fullerene Networks: Electronic and Optical Insights from First-Principles Calculations
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Marcelo L. Pereira Junior, Raphael M. Tromer, Luiz A. Ribeiro Junior, Douglas S. Galvao
The quasi-hexagonal phase of the two-dimensional fullerene network (qHPC$ _{60}$ ), recently synthesized, has emerged as a stable carbon-based material with distinct structural and electronic features. In this work, we employed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the electronic and optical properties of its endohedral derivatives. The encapsulation of nitrogen, cerium, and strontium atoms inside fullerene cages was systematically analyzed at different concentrations. Our results show that encapsulation preserves the semiconducting backbone of pristine qHPC$ _{60}$ while introducing localized electronic states that alter the bandgap and enable new transition channels. Nitrogen encapsulation produces intragap states with potential relevance for discrete optical emission, whereas cerium and strontium generate intraband states near the conduction edge. These modifications induce a red shift of the absorption onset into the visible spectrum, accompanied by enhanced refractive and absorptive responses. The robustness of the electronic structure under reduced concentrations indicates that the fully encapsulated limit adequately represents the system. Overall, the findings highlight impurity-endowed qHPC$ _{60}$ as a promising platform for optoelectronic and light-harvesting applications.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
14 pages and 6 figures
Geometry of Contact Terms in Linear Response: Applications to Elasticity
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Ian Osborne, Gustavo Monteiro, Barry Bradlyn
Employing the Kubo linear response formalism to calculate the elasticity of anisotropic systems has been shown to yield odd elastic moduli. For Hamiltonian systems, this result seems to be contradictory as it would violate energy conservation. To resolve this discrepancy, we examine the predictions of quantum linear response in the context of our expectation from classical elasticity theory. Our framework reveals that the geometry of the space of strain perturbations introduces correction factors to the correspondence between the Kubo formula and the elastic moduli which resolves the contradiction. We use a two-dimensional gas of electrons in a magnetic field as a pedagogical example. We use generalized f-sum rules to demonstrate how contact terms may reveal themselves in experimental measurements. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for interpreting more general linear response functions.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
18 pages, 2 figures, 3 authors
Bridge Scaling in Conditioned Henyey-Greenstein Random Walks
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Claude Zeller (Claude Zeller Consulting LLC)
We study fixed-length bridge paths – half-space excursions that start and end at a planar boundary – for three-dimensional random walks with Henyey-Greenstein scattering angles and exponentially distributed step lengths, using Monte Carlo simulation over asymmetry parameter g from 0 to 0.95 and path lengths from 4 to 200 steps. The key structural feature is that the walk evolves on a two-dimensional Markovian state space (depth, direction cosine) rather than the scalar depth coordinate alone.
Four anomalies with respect to classical Brownian-excursion theory are reported. The mean amplitude scales super-diffusively, as path length to a power of 0.57–0.58 for isotropic scattering, nine standard deviations above the Brownian prediction of 0.5, with no sign of convergence out to 200 steps. The diffusion coefficient scales as the transport mean free path to the power 0.415 rather than the predicted 1.0. The midpoint depth distribution is Rayleigh rather than half-normal, consistent with a two-dimensional Bessel process. The bridge-conditioned mean direction cosine converges to minus two-thirds at the final step, independently of the asymmetry parameter and initial direction – the classical Milne result anchored by the H-function moment identity.
All anomalies are attributed to the two-dimensional state-space structure. The two anomalous exponents sum to approximately unity, suggesting a common geometric origin. Whether this constitutes a permanent universality-class shift or an anomalously slow crossover to Brownian-excursion behaviour remains the primary open question.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Optics (physics.optics)
Intertwined Swirling Polarization States in BaTiO$_3$ with Embedded BaZrO$_3$ Nanoregions
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
R. Machado, F. Di Rino, M. Sepliarsky, M. G. Stachiotti
Ferroelectric materials embedded with dielectric inclusions offer a unique platform for exploring novel topological polar textures. Using first-principles-based atomistic simulations, we investigate the polarization behavior of a BaTiO$ _3$ matrix containing segregated BaZrO$ _3$ nanoregions. We demonstrate that the polar texture in three-dimensionally ordered arrays of dielectric inclusions is governed by their size and spacing, revealing three distinct regimes. At large separations, the nanocomposite exhibits bulk-like BaTiO3 phase transitions, while at smaller spacings, interconnected swirling polarization patterns give rise to vortex supercrystal states. We analyze the stabilization mechanisms of these states and show that each regime is characterized by distinct switching behavior. Furthermore, we find that nanocomposites with randomly distributed dielectric inclusions exhibit swirling polarization textures, giving rise to an amorphous network of entangled vortices. Our findings provide new insights into the physics of relaxor ferroelectrics, are consistent with recent experimental observations, and open up new possibilities for designing materials with emergent topological functionalities.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett
Bias in Universal Machine-Learned Interatomic Potentials and its Effects on Fine-Tuning
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Universal machine learned interatomic potentials (uMLIPs) embody a growing area of interest due to their transferability across the periodic table, displaying an error of about 0.6 kcal/mol against the Matbench Discovery test set. However, we show that achieving more accurate predictions on out-of-domain tasks requires fine-tuning. Additionally, we investigate the existence and influence of model biases in molecular dynamics (MD) by examining two approaches for data generation: from multiple MD trajectories in parallel, which we call naive fine-tuning, and from a single MD trajectory with fine-tuning after set intervals, which we call periodic fine-tuning. Our results find that naive fine-tuning generates constrained datasets that fail to represent MD simulations, and thus downstream fine-tuned models fail during extrapolation. In contrast, periodic fine-tuning yields models which are more generalizable and accurate, producing low-error dynamics. These findings indicate the role of uMLIP bias in fine-tuning, and highlights the need for multiple fine-tuning steps. Lastly, we relate unphysical behavior to principal component space, and quantify extrapolations through Q-residual analysis, which are useful as a proxy for epistemic uncertainty for larger simulations.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Integrability-breaking-induced Mpemba effect in spin chains
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
We show that there are two distinct mechanisms that can cause the symmetry-restoration Mpemba effect in spin chains with \textit{weakly broken} integrability, such that the asymptotic equilibration is diffusive, but the lifetime of anomalously fast spin hydrodynamics at low temperature is parametrically large. In particular, we consider isotropic spin chains quenched out of equilibrium by suppressing the $ z$ -components, without inducing any net magnetisation. Initially, the restoration of isotropy is faster in hotter systems – because they have more phase space available to scramble their initial conditions – which may cause the equilibration curves to cross at early times in both integrable and non-integrable systems. At later times, however, the equilibration is effectively hydrodynamic, and the \textit{colder} systems start to equilibrate faster as the lifetime over which they evince superdiffusive spin hydrodynamics is parametrically larger – but only in \textit{non}-integrable models. Depending on the details of the temperatures and the extent of the initial symmetry-breaking, two isotropy-restoration curves may have a crossing at early time, late time, neither, or both.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
4 pages, 4 figures
Deep learning statistical defect models on magnetic material dynamic and static properties
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
C. Eagan, M. Copus, E. Iacocca
The modeling of realistic magnetic materials requires the inclusion of defects. Based on the pseudospectral Landau-Lifshitz description of magnetisation dynamics, we propose a statistical model that takes into account defects, specifically vacancies. This statistical model can be integrated with deep learning techniques that correlate defect thresholds with relevant physical observables. We develop a convolutional neural network and a physics-informed neural network combined with theory of functional connections to predict the dispersion relation given defect parameters and physical constraints. A two-branch convolutional neural network is developed to predict domain-wall widths depending on defects threshold, taking into account the spatial profile and domain-wall width separately to achieve a prediction. The proposed physics-informed approaches leverage deep-learning and achieve statistical predictions measured in physical units. This is a stepping stone towards the discovery of new materials and the determination of minimal defect thresholds required for desired dynamics, states, or topological textures.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Engineering photomagnetism in collinear van der Waals antiferromagnets
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
MengXing Na, Viktoriia Radovskaia, Dinar Khusyainov, Peter Kim, Kingshuk Mukhuti, Peter C.M. Christianen, Ekaterina Kochetkova, Anna Isaeva, Anne de Visser, Dimitar Pashov, Mark van Schilfgaarde, Edwin H.T. Teo, Apoorva Chaturvedi, Swagata Acharya, Theo Rasing, Alexey V. Kimel, Dmytro Afanasiev
Achieving efficient ultrafast optical control of antiferromagnetic spin dynamics is a central goal for next-generation high-speed THz spintronic and magnonic devices. Resonant optical pumping of crystal-field-split d-d orbital multiplets in magnetic TM ions directly modulates exchange and spin-orbit interactions, inducing large-amplitude coherent spin precession. However, such effects are limited to a handful of systems and there is no general strategy to enhance d-d photomagnetism in antiferromagnets. Here, we demonstrate the engineering of photomagnetism via TM-ion doping in collinear van der Waals antiferromagnets. In Mn$ _{1-x}$ Ni$ _x$ PS$ _3$ , small amounts of Ni$ ^{2+}$ activate a strong photomagnetic response while largely preserving the Néel ground state. Even 10% Ni boosts the response by more than an order of magnitude compared to pure MnPS$ _3$ , with resonant pumping of Ni$ ^{2+}$ d-d transitions driving large-amplitude coherent spin precession and providing helicity-dependent phase control. Tuning the pump energy across the full Mn$ _{1-x}$ Ni$ _x$ PS$ _3$ composition range shows that Ni excitations remain effective across competing Néel and zig-zag antiferromagnetic states while supporting tunable-frequency coherent spin precession. These results establish TM-ion doping as a versatile strategy to harness orbital multiplet excitations for ultrafast, low-dissipation spin control in van der Waals antiferromagnets.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Charge-tunable Cooper-pair diode
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Jon Ortuzar, Stefano Trivini, Leonard Edens, F. Sebastian Bergeret, Jose Ignacio Pascual
Superconducting diodes, devices that allow Cooper-pair currents to flow more easily in one direction than the other, are set to become key building blocks for dissipationless electronics. Existing realizations, however, rely on magnetic fields, ferromagnets, or complex heterostructures that hinder integration and scalability. Here we demonstrate a diode effect for Cooper-pairs that arises solely from electron-electron interactions in nanoscale superconducting lead islands. When these islands are driven into the Coulomb blockade regime, Cooper-pair transport occurs through resonant charge states. By tuning the island’s electrostatic environment, we controllably break particle-hole symmetry and induce nonreciprocal supercurrents, thereby achieving a gate-switchable superconducting diode without any external magnetic field. Our approach enables robust rectification of superconducting currents and microwave photoresponse, providing a scalable strategy to superconducting logic devices.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
13 pages, 4 figures
Flexible Cutoff Learning: Optimizing Machine Learning Potentials After Training
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Rick Oerder (1 and 2), Jan Hamaekers (2) ((1) Institute for Numerical Simulation, University of Bonn (2) Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing SCAI)
We introduce Flexible Cutoff Learning (FCL), a method for training machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) whose cutoff radii can be adjusted after training. Unlike conventional MLIPs that fix the cutoff radius during training, FCL models are trained by randomly sampling cutoff radii independently for each atom. The resulting model can then be deployed with different per-atom cutoff radii depending on the application, enabling application-specific optimization of the accuracy-cost tradeoff. Using a differentiable cost model, these per-atom cutoffs can be optimized for specific target systems after training. We demonstrate FCL with a modified MACE architecture trained on the MAD dataset. For a subset featuring molecular crystals, optimized per-atom cutoffs reduce computational cost by more than 60% while increasing force errors by less than 1%. These results show that FCL enables training of a single general-purpose MLIP that can be adapted to diverse applications through post-training cutoff optimization, eliminating the need for retraining.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Machine Learning (cs.LG)
Structural and Optical Characteristics of beta-Ga2O3 Implanted with Rare Earth Ions
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Renata Ratajczak, Joanna Matulewicz, Slawomir Prucnal, Maciej O. Liedke, Cyprian Mieszczynski, Przemyslaw Jozwik, Ulrich Kentsch, Rene Heller, Eric Hirschmann, Andreas Wagner, Wojciech Wozniak, Frederico Garrido, Elzbieta Guziewicz
We investigated the structural evolution and optical properties of beta-Ga2O3 crystals implanted with different rare-earth (RE) ions using channeling Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry, Positron Annihilation, Photoluminescence, and Photoluminescence Excitation spectroscopies. The studies reveal that implantation-induced disorder, accompanying phase transitions, and post-annealing structural recovery are largely insensitive to the implanted RE species. The defect microstructure is also found to be similar for all implanted RE ions.
Thermal annealing does not completely remove radiation-induced defects but instead drives their rearrangement into larger defect complexes. Unimplanted (virgin) beta-Ga2O3 exhibits strong UV-visible emission attributed to oxygen vacancies, whereas the introduction of RE ions produces additional emission lines originating from electronic transitions within RE3+ ions.
The results indicate that RE3+ ions are excited through the host conduction band, followed by non-radiative relaxation to the 4f excited states and radiative decay to the respective ground states. Fluence-dependent studies of Yb3+ reveal the onset of concentration quenching, while RE-related emission remains efficient even in the presence of substantial lattice disorder.
These findings provide new insight into defect evolution in ion-implanted beta-Ga2O3 and clarify the excitation mechanisms of RE3+ ions, offering guidance for optimizing the optical performance of beta-Ga2O3:RE materials.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
physica status solidi (RRL), 2026
Disorder-induced localisation in the Mott-Hubbard model
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Ričards Kristers Knipšis, Friedemann Queisser, Jesumony Jayabalan, Gael Reecht, Manuel Gruber, Uwe Bovensiepen, Ralf Schützhold
For the Fermi-Hubbard model in the Mott insulator phase, we employ the hierarchy of correlations to study how doublon and holon quasi-particle excitations are affected by adding disorder to the system. We study two types of disorder: charge disorder, in the form of on-site potential randomness; and spin disorder, in the form of a fixed, randomly generated background spin arrangement. By analysing the quasi-particle eigen-spectra and quantifying the degree to which the corresponding eigen-states localise, we find both an energetic and spatial separation between localised and delocalised states in the charge disorder. In contrast, the spin disorder results in localised states throughout the quasi-particle bands. Finally, we repeat our calculations using strong-coupling perturbation theory, and compare the results obtained from both methods.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
8 pages, 11 figures
A fully solution-processed organic microcavity laser in the strong light-matter coupling regime
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Hassan A. Qureshi, Henri Lyyra, Akseli Korkeamäki, Oskar Tuomi, Antti J. Moilanen, Konstantinos S. Daskalakis
Solid-state semiconductor lasers underpin technologies from telecommunications and data storage to sensing, medical diagnostics, and emerging quantum communication. Polaritons-hybrid exciton-photon states have further extended this reach, enabling room-temperature quantum effects such as low-threshold lasing and single-photon nonlinearities. Organic semiconductors are ideal for polaritonics due to their large exciton binding energy, strong optical nonlinearities, and straightforward processing, making them attractive for both classical and quantum photonics. While solution-processed organic films have been widely explored, their optical cavities have almost always been fabricated using vacuum deposition, limiting the realization of truly scalable and low-cost devices. Here, we report the first organic laser microcavities fabricated entirely by solution processing, which operate in the strong coupling regimeThe resulting platform can be driven reliably to high excitation densities, where we observe a reversible, interaction-driven redistribution of the polariton condensate, revealing a distinct polariton lasing behaviour in organic microcavities. Together, the fabrication approach and the observed lasing dynamics establish a route toward scalable polaritonic and quantum photonic technologies and provide new opportunities for studying nonlinear polariton physics in organic systems.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Optics (physics.optics)
36 pages, 5 main figures, 14 supplementary figures
Geometric control of motility-induced phase separation
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Toler H. Webb, Helen S. Ansell, Daniel M. Sussman
Curvature fundamentally alters the collective properties of soft, active, and biological materials. Here we study motility-induced phase separation (MIPS), a canonical non-equilibrium transition, and demonstrate that even weak and slowly varying curvature provides robust geometric control over the dense MIPS phase. This includes dictating both the location and morphology of the MIPS cluster, even in regimes where the effect on the overall phase boundaries is minimal. Focusing on active Brownian particles confined to the surface of a torus, we show that varying the aspect ratio drives a structural transition of the dense cluster from a disk localized at the outer equator to a band wrapping the minor circumference. We then discuss how the curved geometry provides a platform for comparing different theoretical frameworks for the MIPS phase: by analyzing the geometries of the cluster boundaries, we compare the structures predicted by thermodynamic and kinetic pictures. Our results establish curved space not only as a tool to shape and guide non-equilibrium dynamics, but as a uniquely sensitive arena for probing the fundamental mechanisms of active matter.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
12 pages, 5 figures
Frontiers of atom probe tomography physics, data processing, and analysis
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Emmanuelle A. Marquis, Arun Devaraj, Richard G. Forbes, Iman Ghamarian, Markus Kühbach, Jean-Baptiste Maillet, Baishakhi Mazumder, Frederick Meisenkothen, Jiayuwen Qi, Daniel Schreiber, Paul Styman, Francois Vupillot, Wolfgang Windl
Atom probe tomography (APT) fills a crucial need in the characterization workflow of materials by its ability to inform the 3D chemical microstructure at the nanoscale. As with any characterization techniques, APT has strengths and limitations that inform the interpretation of the data. Therefore, a challenge for the materials characterization community, and the APT community in particular, is the need to establish repeatable and reproducible workflows around the APT data acquisition, reconstruction, analysis, and sharing, in order to inform interpretation. Data interpretation also requires the continued development of our understanding of the physical processes responsible for field evaporation. We review recent developments in the experimental analysis of field evaporation and in the modeling of field evaporation leading to new understanding of common artifacts observed in reconstructed data. We then discuss current challenges with data analysis, translation of results, and data interpretation in the absence of community-agreed standards, and therefore, the crucial need for standardization at every stage of APT research, from data collection all the way to data reporting. This perspective is a summary of the invited presentations and discussions that took place during a workshop (August 4-5, 2024, Alexandria, Virginia, USA).
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
43 pages, 7 multicomponent figures, summary of workshop
Electron-phonon physics at the exascale: A hybrid MPI-GPU-OpenMP framework for scalable Wannier interpolation
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Tae Yun Kim, Zhe Liu, Sabyasachi Tiwari, Elena R. Margine, Feliciano Giustino
We demonstrate a highly efficient GPU implementation of the Wannier interpolation of electron-phonon matrix elements in the EPW code. Building on a systematic analysis of the computational complexity of the algorithm for electron-phonon interpolation, we designed a GPU porting strategy that integrates naturally into the current EPW implementation, and is seamlessly portable to NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel GPUs. We demonstrate this development via extensive benchmarks on conventional semiconductors such as silicon and monolayer MoS$ _2$ , as well as a large-scale application to topological stanene nanoribbons of width as large as 20nm, which was intractable with previous implementations. Compared to the single MPI parallelization scheme of EPW v5.9, the resulting hybrid MPI-GPU-OpenMP scheme achieves up to 29-fold speedup on leadership-class supercomputers equipped with NVIDIA and Intel accelerators, namely Vista at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, Perlmutter at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, and Aurora at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility. This framework also achieves nearly ideal scalability up to thousands of GPU nodes on the Aurora supercomputer. With this development, EPW is ready to support electron-phonon physics calculations on exascale platforms.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
30 pages, 13 figures; accepted in npj Computational Materials
Effective theory of surface oscillations in self-bound superfluid droplets
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Jun Mitsuhashi, Keisuke Fujii, Masaru Hongo
We investigate the low-energy dynamics of small-amplitude surface oscillations of spherical superfluid droplets in vacuum. Starting from the effective field theory of superfluid phonons, we derive an effective action governing the surface oscillations under a fixed particle-number constraint. The normal-mode eigenfrequencies $ \omega_{\ell}$ for each angular momentum quantum number $ \ell$ are determined and shown to depend on a dimensionless parameter measuring the ratio of surface tension to bulk compressibility energy. We identify a critical value of this parameters at which the breathing mode ($ \ell = 0$ ) becomes mechanically unstable, and show that all multipole surface modes with $ \ell \geq 2$ enter the low-energy regime when the surface tension is sufficiently small. Within this regime, we further quantize the surface oscillations, whose quanta correspond to ripplons, allowing the construction of general multi-ripplon states obeying angular-momentum selection rules. We also apply our formalism to a concrete example: a weakly interacting two-component Bose mixture realizing a self-bound superfluid droplet. The resulting description is universal in the sense that it applies to surface dynamics of generic nonrelativistic superfluids with a free interface, independent of microscopic details.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th), Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
17 pages, 4 figures
Spin Inertia as a Driver of Chaotic and High-Speed Ferromagnetic Domain Walls
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
A.L. Bassant, Y.M.J. Ohlsen, M. Cherkasskii, P. B. He, R.A. Duine
Ferromagnetic domain walls -transitional regions between magnetic domains- are an essential ingredient for racetrack memory, a device concept that promises to deliver faster and more compact memory storage compared to other non-volatile memory devices. Motivated by recent experiments that have found inertial effects in spin dynamics, we explore its consequences on domain wall motion. We find that the inertial dynamics of the individual magnetic moments induce massive dynamics of the domain wall. We investigate these massive dynamics driven by a magnetic field, spin-transfer torque, and spin-orbit torque. We show that, in the absence of Gilbert damping, the domain wall dynamics become chaotic, resembling that of an electron in a two-dimensional crystal. For finite damping, field-like driving of the inertial domain wall significantly increases its velocity compared to conventional massless dynamics, potentially enabling faster racetrack operations. Additionally, in the limit of low driving, we observe that the domain wall width contracts due to the spin inertia of the ferromagnet.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
9 pages, 7 figures
Symmetry Breaking and Transition to Robust Excitonic Topological Order in InAs/GaSb Bilayers
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Xinghao Wang, Wenfeng Zhang, Yujiang Dong, Weiliang Qiao, Peizhe Jia, Rui-Rui Du
Symmetry and topology are fundamental concepts deeply intertwined in various fields of physics, especially in the studies of quantum phases of matter. The critical role that Coulomb interactions play in symmetry breaking during topological transitions is a fundamental problem that has not been fully understood. Utilizing gated indium arsenide-gallium antimonide bilayers, we demonstrate that Coulomb interactions play a critical role in symmetry breaking and topological transitions. Whereas the quantum spin Hall insulator (QSHI) dominates the high-density regime, gating the system into the dilute regime enhances interlayer Coulomb interactions and leads to an emergent excitonic topological order (ETO) with spontaneous time-reversal-symmetry breaking. Moreover, applying a magnetic field drives a transition from the QSHI to the ETO accompanied by Coulomb-induced spin-rotation-symmetry breaking, which selects triplet electron-hole pairing in the lowest Landau levels. These results underscore an intricate interplay between symmetry and topology under Coulomb interactions in electron-hole bilayers.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
19 pages, 5 figures
Long-range magnetic order with disordered spin orientations in a high-entropy antiferromagnet
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Yao Shen, Guangkai Zhang, Qinghua Zhang, Xuejuan Gui, Yu Zhang, Heemin Lee, Cheng-Tai Kuo, Jun-Sik Lee, Ronny Sutarto, Feng Ye, Zhao Pan, Xiaomei Qin, Jinchen Wang, Tianping Ying, Youwen Long
Disorder in magnetic systems typically suppresses long-range order, promoting short-range states such as spin glasses and magnetic clusters. This is particularly prominent in high-entropy materials, characterized by the random distributions of local magnetic entities and exchange interactions. However, in rare exceptions, long-range magnetic order can persist in high-entropy systems, while the microscopic characters and underlying mechanisms remain elusive, especially the magnetic behaviors of individual elements. Here, combining neutron diffraction and resonant soft x-ray scattering, we have conducted an element-specific investigation into the magnetic order of a high-entropy honeycomb-lattice van der Waals material (Mn1/4Fe1/4Co1/4Ni1/4)PS3. Despite significant atomic disorder, long-range zigzag antiferromagnetic order is observed below 72 K, with all four transition-metal elements participating in a unified phase transition. However, the spin orientations of various elements are distinct, attributed to the competition between single-ion anisotropies and exchange interactions. Our findings showcase a novel form of long-range magnetic order with disordered spin orientations, which is synergically stabilized by distinct magnetic elements in a high entropy magnet, offering a new paradigm for understanding complex magnetic systems.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
10 pages, plus references, 1 table, 4 figures, and Supplementary information, accepted for publication in Nature Communications
Ab initio quantum embedding description of magic angle twisted bilayer graphene at even-integer fillings
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Raehyun Kim, Woochang Kim, Kevin D. Stubbs, Steven G. Louie, Lin Lin
Magic angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) hosts narrow moiré bands with meV-scale energy splittings, making its correlated phases sensitive to both material parameters and modeling choices in low-energy downfolding. We develop an ab initio quantum-embedding workflow that derives interacting flat-band Hamiltonians from Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) of a relaxed, unstrained structure. Our model combines constrained random phase approximation (cRPA) screening, controlled double-counting subtraction, and an automated gauge-fixing procedure based on the selected columns of the density matrix (SCDM) that is compatible with symmetry-resolved many-body calculations. Solving the resulting models using Hartree-Fock (HF) and coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD), we recover robust insulating Kramers intervalley coherent (KIVC) states at charge neutrality ($ \nu=0$ ) and at electron doping ($ \nu=+2$ ). The main new physical effect appears on the hole-doped side: at $ \nu=-2$ we observe a fragile semimetal with a weak $ \sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3}$ Kekulé modulation and enhanced intervalley-scattering peaks in the Fourier-transformed local density of states. Although the underlying KS-DFT band structure is nearly particle-hole symmetric, the effective interacting Hamiltonian exhibits a pronounced particle-hole asymmetry at $ \nu=\pm 2$ that we trace to momentum-dependent single-particle renormalizations generated by subtraction terms constructed from reference densities consistent with the KS-DFT filling. Our work provides a first-principles route for connecting microscopic electronic structure, screened interactions, subtraction choices, and scanning tunneling microscopy signatures in MATBG.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
24 pages, 10 figures
Do single-shot projective readouts necessarily estimate the $T_1$ lifetime ?
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Aparajita Modak, Sundeep Kapila, Bent Weber, Klaus Ensslin, Guido Burkard, Bhaskaran Muralidharan
When single-shot qubit readout protocols are adapted for multilevel systems, theoretical $ T_1$ lifetime calculations often fall short of capturing the experimental lifetime trends. We identify {\it extrinsic} population dynamics as the fundamental origin of this disparity, establishing that the lifetime estimates can, in certain operating regions, be distinct from the intrinsic $ T_1$ time. We clarify these aspects with an integrated theory to address recent measurements [Nat. Nano, 20, 494, (2025)] on spin-valley states in bilayer graphene. While confirming that phonon and Johnson noise are the dominant intrinsic sources, we show that the inclusion of extrinsic factors provide the critical match to the experimental estimates. The extrinsic factors also effectuate violations of generalized Mathiessen’s rules also. With an improved handle on the design space, a revised readout protocol to estimate the $ T_1$ lifetime of the valley qubit is proposed.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
5 pages, 5 figures with Supplementary Material
Polarization transfer force on ferroelectric domain walls
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Huanhuan Yang, Peng Yan, Gerrit E. W. Bauer
We investigate the dynamics of ferroelectric textures driven by polarization currents. We show that, ferrons, the quanta of collective polarization excitations, provide an exotic driving mechanism for domain wall (DW) dynamics, compared with their magnonic counterparts. By mapping the linear polarization dynamics of a DW onto a Schrödinger-like problem with a Pöschl-Teller potential, we show that polarization waves are fully transmitted and therefore do not exert a net force on the DW in the linear regime. However, intrinsic nonlinearities give rise to a negative radiation pressure that pulls the DW toward the source. This mechanism allows efficient DW control by optical excitation and temperature gradients with application potential in ferroelectric memory and logic devices.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Beyond geometrical screening in predicting two-dimensional materials
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
This perspective overviews the family of two-dimensional (2D) materials, which have attracted significant attention due to their properties and potential applications, and discusses how novel 2D materials including van der Waals (vdW) and non-vdW 2D materials have been predicted so far. A few thousand 2D materials have been predicted to be exfoliable or dynamically/thermodynamically stable, whereas a few hundred 2D materials have been synthesized so far, highlighting a gap between the theoretical prediction and experiments. This perspective introduces the recent developments in predicting the synthesis of non-vdW 2D materials.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
7 pages, 2 figures
Topological heavy-tailed networks
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Sunkyu Yu, Xianji Piao, Namkyoo Park
Although two-dimensional periodic structures have functioned as the primary platform for exploring topological phenomena, recent advances have substantially expanded this research boundary to include more intricate, aperiodic structures: quasicrystals, fractals, non-Euclidean lattices, and disordered materials. A network-based perspective not only offers a unified framework for classifying these diverse platforms based on their network connectivity but also unveils unexplored regimes of topological phenomena in complex networks. Here, we implement topological heavy-tailed networks, as an example of high-degree complex networks exhibiting topological phases. By developing a tight-binding model for the Apollonian network and a deterministic algorithm to assign nontrivial gauge fields to this aperiodic geometry, we compute the magnetic-flux-dependent energy spectrum: the Apollonian butterfly. Using spectral localizers, we characterize the topological features of the Apollonian butterfly, whose sensitivity is governed by lower-degree nodes, analogous to the controllability of complex networks. Our framework bridges topological physics and network science, introducing a connectivity-driven paradigm for the control of topological waves.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
Microstructural Characterization of Nb3Sn Thin Films Using FIB Tomography
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Eric Viklund, David N. Seidman, Sam Posen
The accelerating gradient of Nb3Sn superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities is currently limited, and the underlying cause remains an open question in the field. One leading hypothesis attributes this limitation to the presence of tin-deficient regions within the Nb3Sn coating, which can suppress the superheating field. Due to the relatively large coherence length of Nb3Sn, defects near the surface may significantly interact with the RF field. However, these subsurface defects have proven difficult to characterize. This research aims to investigate the structure and distribution of subsurface Sn deficient regions to better understand their influence on cavity performance. We employ focused ion beam (FIB) tomography to analyze the subsurface microstructure of Nb3Sn thin films. This technique enables three-dimensional reconstruction of both the tin distribution and the grain structure within the film. By correlating Sn content with grain structure, we find that Sn deficient regions are more prevalent that previously thought. However, the Sn deficient regions are consistently located below the surface of the film where RF fields are strongly attenuated by supercurrent screening and are likely not a limiting factor for cavity performance.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Accelerator Physics (physics.acc-ph)
Directional information transfer between interacting Brownian particles
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
We theoretically investigate how information flows when two particles interact with each other. Understanding the physical mechanisms of directional information flow is crucial for advancing information thermodynamics and stochastic computing. However, the fundamental connection between mechanical motion and causal information transfer remains elusive. To focus only on essential effects of physical dynamics, we examine two interacting Brownian particles confined in a one-dimensional potential. By simulating their Langevin dynamics, we quantify the causal information exchange using transfer entropy. We demonstrate that a mass asymmetry inherently breaks the symmetry of information flow, inducing a net directional transfer from the heavier to the lighter particle. Physically, the heavier particle, possessing larger inertia and higher active information storage, retains the memory of its trajectory longer against thermal fluctuations, thereby acting as a source of information. We analytically clarify that this net transfer is governed by a competition between the difference in memory capacity and the predictability of the particle trajectories. Furthermore, we reveal that the net information flow scales logarithmically with the mass ratio. These findings provide essential insights into the physical significance of transfer entropy and the nature of information flow in general physical systems.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
11 pages, 9 figures
Symmetry-directed electronic and optical properties in a two-dimensional square-lattice ZnPc-MOF
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Zhonghui Han, Lanting Feng, Guodong Yu, Shengjun Yuan
The electronic structure of materials is fundamentally governed by their crystal symmetry. While most research on two-dimensional materials has focused on hexagonal lattices, such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, and transition metal dichalcogenides. This work explores a square-lattice system: the experimentally realized phthalocyanine-based metal-organic framework (ZnPc-MOF). Using group representation theory, we classify the electronic bands of ZnPc-MOF monolayer, AA- and AB-stacked bilayers, and twisted bilayers in terms of the irreducible representations (irreps) of their little groups. We find that bands in the AB-stacked bilayer remain two-fold degenerate along the $ Y$ and $ Y^{\prime}$ high-symmetry lines, as a consequence of the sole presence of two-dimensional irreps along these directions. We further derive optical transition selection rules to interpret the optical conductivity, revealing pronounced polarization-dependent optical responses. Additionally, we investigate the quasicrystalline electronic states in the 45$ ^{\circ}$ twisted bilayer (ZnPc-MOF quasicrystal) using the resonant coupling Hamiltonian. Compared to graphene quasicrystals, ZnPc-MOF quasicrystal exhibits weaker resonant coupling strengths, yet its quasicrystalline states lie closer to the Fermi energy, suggesting a greater contribution to low-energy electronic phenomena.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Persistent short-range charge correlations revealed by ultrafast melting of electronic order in YBa$_2$Cu$3$O${6+x}$
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
C. Seo, L. Shen, A. N. Petsch, S. Wandel, V. Esposito, J.D. Koralek, G.L. Dakovski, M-F. Lin, S.P. Moeller, W.F. Schlotter, A.H. Reid, M.P. Minitti, R. Liang, D. Bonn, W. Hardy, A. Damascelli, C. Giannetti, E.H. da Silva Neto, J.J. Turner, F. Boschini, G. Coslovich
Charge density waves (CDW) are ubiquitous in the complex phase diagram of cuprate superconductors and exhibit both short- and long-range correlations. Using time-resolved resonant X-ray scattering, we investigate the photo-induced dynamics of CDW in YBa$ _2$ Cu$ _3$ O$ _{6.67}$ . We discover an excitation threshold ($ \Phi$ _\mathrm{C}$ $ \approx$ 65 $ \mu$ J/cm$ ^2$ ) above which long-range CDW disappear, revealing a persistent CDW peak with short-range correlation length. Ultrafast photo-excitation promptly uncovers this residual short-range CDW correlations, appearing within $ \approx$ 0.2 ps. Long-range CDW coherence recovers within $ \approx$ 0.6 ps, while the peak intensity remains partially suppressed. We rationalize the dichotomic behavior in the fluence and temporal dependencies as the signature of two coexisting CDW peaks, arising from short- and long-range correlations, which we disentangle through their distinct response to photo-excitation. We provide evidence that the collapse of long-range correlations is driven by an electronic process, while short-range correlations are characterized by distinct timescales and stiffness against photo-excitation. This approach establishes ultrafast X-ray scattering as an effective tool for disentangling coexisting density waves and correlations in quantum materials.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
8 pages, 5 figures
Parabolic-Cylinder Approach to Valley-Polarized Conductance in Tilted Anisotropic Dirac-Weyl Systems
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
We develop a parabolic-cylinder approach to valley-polarized conductance in tilted anisotropic Dirac-Weyl systems, showing that the smooth-interface scattering problem can be reduced analytically to the Weber equation, which belongs to the same differential-equation class as the quantum harmonic oscillator. This reduction yields closed-form expressions for the angular transmission envelope and clarifies the distinct roles of the tilt components: the perpendicular tilt renormalizes the tunneling-envelope width, while the parallel tilt shifts the Fabry-Perot resonance structure differently in opposite valleys. Combined with the nonlinear mapping between the fixed device frame and the rotated barrier frame, this analytical structure provides a direct route from valley-dependent interface tunneling to net valley-polarized conductance. We apply the formalism to rotated electrostatic barriers and construct phase diagrams over barrier angle, tilt strength, width, height, and Fermi energy. The results reveal a robust optimum near t = 0.2 over the parameter range studied, identify the crossover from oscillatory to monotonic polarization regimes, and delineate practical operating windows for candidate materials including 8-Pmmn borophene and WTe2.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
Transverse and Longitudinal Magnetothermopower Promoted by Ambipolar Effect in Half-Heusler Topological Materials
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Orest Pavlosiuk, Marcin Matusiak, Andrzej Ptok, Piotr Wiśniewski, Dariusz Kaczorowski
Topologically trivial and non-trivial semimetals with a high degree of carrier compensation are well known for demonstrating large transverse magnetothermopower ($ S_{yx}$ ). However, in such systems, the longitudinal magnetothermopower ($ S_{xx}$ ) is typically suppressed due to nearly perfect electron-hole compensation. Here, we show that the half-Heusler topological semimetal DyPtBi exhibits simultaneously large $ S_{xx}$ and $ S_{yx}$ magnetothermopowers, defying this conventional trade-off. In $ B=14$ ,T, thermopower of DyPtBi reaches peak values of $ S_{xx}=131,\mu\rm{V/K}$ at $ T=149$ ,K and $ S_{yx}=-297,\mu\rm{V/K}$ at $ T=200$ ,K, and transverse component remains significantly large even at $ 290$ ,K ($ S_{yx}=-213,\mu\rm{V/K}$ ). Remarkably, at $ T=290$ ,K and in relatively weak magnetic field of $ 1$ ,T, both relevant for practical applications, DyPtBi shows $ S_{yx}=-18,\mu\rm{V/K}$ , which is one of the largest values reported under such conditions. The large transverse thermopower originates from an ambipolar effect associated with thermal excitation occurring in zero-gap semiconductors. Due to the imperfect electron-hole compensation, an intrinsic asymmetry between hole- and electron-type carriers enables pronounced values of both $ S_{xx}$ and $ S_{yx}$ , resulting in high effective thermopower ($ S_{xx}+|S_{yx}|=379,\mu\rm{V/K}$ ) in DyPtBi at 200,K. A comparative analysis with DyPdBi, another half-Heusler material that demonstrates large $ S_{xx}=123,\mu\rm{V/K}$ but small $ S_{yx}=-16,\mu\rm{V/K}$ (both values obtained at $ T=293$ ,K and $ B=14$ ,T), highlights the critical role of band structure and compensation tuning. These findings underscore the potential of chemical doping and band engineering in rare-earth-based half-Heusler materials for optimizing both transverse and longitudinal thermoelectric properties.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
26 pages, 6 figures, Supporting Information has 13 pages and 6 figures
Advance Functional Materials, e22474 (2025)
Flocking through a sea of rods
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
We investigate the collective behavior of motile rods immersed in a monolayer of apolar rods confined between vertically vibrating plates using numerical simulations. We uncover an antidiffusive instability whereby motile rods segregate from the apolar medium and form flocks whose size increases with the medium concentration. Remarkably, enhanced segregation leads to a reduction of the global polar order. The flock structure is strongly influenced by the anisotropy of the medium rods. For small aspect ratios, the flocks are elongated perpendicular to the mean direction of motion, whereas for larger aspect ratios, they elongate along the direction of motility. We rationalize the emergence of segregation-induced disorder using a minimal mean-field model.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
Simulation Movies Link: this https URL
First-Principles Electronegativity Scale from the Atomic Mean Inner Potential
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Electronegativity is a cornerstone of chemical intuition, essential for rationalizing bonding, reactivity, and material properties. However, prevailing scales remain empirically derived, often relying on parameterized models or composite physical quantities. In this work, we introduce a universal electronegativity scale founded on the atomic mean inner potential (AMIP), also known as the average Coulomb potential, a fundamental, quantum-mechanical property accessible through both first-principles computation and electron-scattering experiments. Our scale, denoted $ \chi_{\mathrm{AMIP},p}$ , is an analytic function of just three ground-state atomic descriptors and carries explicit physical units. It demonstrates excellent agreement with established scales and successfully classifies bonding types across 358 compounds, including adherence to the metalloid ``Si rule”. Beyond replicating known trends, $ \chi_{\mathrm{AMIP,1/2}}$ proves to be a powerful predictive tool, accurately determining Lewis acid strengths for over 14,000 coordination environments ($ R^2=0.93$ ) and $ \gamma$ -ray annihilation spectral widths for 36 elements ($ R^2=0.97$ ), outperforming previous methods. By linking electronegativity directly to a measurable quantum property, this work provides a unified and predictive descriptor for electronic structure and chemical behavior across the periodic table.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
To be published in “Frontiers of Physics” (2026)
Observation of Kondo hybridization wave in UTe2
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Xin Yu, Shuikang Yu, Zheyu Wu, Alexander G. Eaton, Andrej Cabala, Michal Vališka, Jun Li, Rui Zhou, Yi-feng Yang, Zhenyu Wang, Peijie Sun, Rui Wu
Condensed matter systems with strong electronic correlations often manifest a variety of intertwined ordered phases of charge, spin, orbital and other degrees of freedom. As a prototypical strongly correlated electronic system, the Kondo lattice provides fertile soil for many fascinating quantum states, including quantum criticality, unconventional superconductivity, hidden order and topological Kondo insulator/semimetal. The foundation of Kondo physics lies in the hybridization between localized moments and itinerant electrons. Generally, the evolution of Kondo hybridization is characterized as a broad crossover rather than a phase transition. Thus far, an ordered hybridization phase has not been observed. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to identify a translational-symmetry-breaking order of Kondo hybridization wave(KHW) for the first time on the surface of the spin-triplet heavy-fermion superconductor UTe2. The unprecedented phase of KHW manifests as a periodically modulated Fano lattice, accompanied by a commensurate charge density wave (CDW) and a pronounced energy gap opening near the Fermi level. This KHW-imprinted CDW has an intriguing real-space texture of complementary occupation of the heavy f and conduction charges, thereby forming a Kondo superlattice. The KHW is coexistent with superconductivity in UTe2, which may provide valuable insight into its controversial spin-triplet pairing symmetry and the underlying mechanism. Our first experimental evidence for an ordered hybridization state potentially sheds new light on the strong correlation physics of Kondo lattice system.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
23 pages, 11 figures
Formulation of intrinsic nonlinear thermal conductivity for bosonic systems using quantum kinetic equation
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Nonlinear responses in transport phenomena have attracted significant attention because they can arise even when linear responses are forbidden by symmetry, with the quantum geometry of Bloch wave functions playing an essential role. While such effects have been extensively studied in electric transport, similar quantum-geometric mechanisms are also expected to govern nonlinear thermal transport. In particular, thermal responses are crucial in bosonic systems such as magnons and phonons, which are charge-neutral quasiparticles. However, a consistent theoretical description of nonlinear thermal transport remains challenging because of the difficulty in the treatment of energy magnetization in higher-order responses with Luttinger’s gravitational potential method. Here, we formulate the intrinsic nonlinear thermal conductivity of bosonic systems using a quantum kinetic equation approach that avoids Luttinger’s method and naturally incorporates contributions from energy magnetization. We identify three distinct contributions to the nonlinear thermal conductivity: two expressed in terms of quantum-geometric quantities, namely the quantum metric and the thermal Berry-connection polarizability (TBCP), and a third determined solely by the band dispersions. Applying our formalism to a specific quantum spin model within linear spin-wave theory, we show that the TBCP term dominates the nonlinear thermal Hall effect in the absence of threefold symmetry. Our results differ quantitatively from those obtained using semiclassical theory, thereby highlighting the importance of quantum corrections beyond the semiclassical picture. These findings establish a general framework for intrinsic nonlinear thermal responses in bosonic systems and reveal quantum-geometric mechanisms underlying thermal transport beyond linear response theory.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
32 pages, 8 figures
Tuning of anomalous magnetotransport properties in half-Heusler topological semimetal GdPtBi
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Orest Pavlosiuk, Piotr Wiśniewski, Romain Grasset, Marcin Konczykowski, Andrzej Ptok, Dariusz Kaczorowski
Half-Heusler compounds from the $ RE$ PtBi family exemplify Weyl semimetals in which external magnetic field induce Weyl nodes. These materials exceptionally host topologically non-trivial states near the Fermi level and their manifestation can be clearly seen in the magnetotransport properties. In this study, we tune the Fermi level of the archetypal half-Heusler Weyl semimetal GdPtBi through high-energy electron irradiation, moving it away from the Weyl nodes to investigate the resilience of the contribution of topologically non-trivial states to magnetotransport properties. Remarkably, we observe that the negative longitudinal magnetoresistance, which is a definitive indicator of the chiral magnetic anomaly occurring in topological semimetals, persists even when the Fermi level is shifted by 100,meV from its original position in the pristine sample. Additionally, the anomalous Hall effect shows complex variations as the Fermi level is altered, attributed to the energy-dependent nature of the Berry curvature, which arises from avoided band crossing. Our findings show the robust influence of Weyl nodes on the magneto-transport properties of GdPtBi, irrespective of the Fermi level position, a behaviour likely applicable to many half-Heusler Weyl semimetals.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
21 pages, 7 figures, Supplementary Material has 5 pages and 4 figures
Materials Horizons, 12 4749 (2025)
Topological Tunneling Magnetoresistance Driven by Type-II Weyl-Like States in the Room-Temperature Half-Metal Mn2PC Monolayer
New Submission | Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Wei Ma, Yu-Ting Wang, Wen-Bo Sun, Zhiheng Lv, Shuai Shi, Jian-Hong Rong, Tie-Lei Song, Zhi-Feng Liu
We predict the tetragonal Mn2PC monolayer to be a room-temperature ferromagnetic half-metal with a Curie temperature of 554 K. The spin-up channel hosts type-II Weyl-like crossings at the Fermi level with highly anisotropic band dispersion, whereas the spin-down channel is a wide-gap semiconductor. Topological edge states obtained from tight-binding calculations confirm the non-trivial bulk topology. Spin-orbit coupling opens a small gap of 11.2 meV at the Weyl-like crossings, generating pronounced Berry curvature and a sizable anomalous Hall conductivity near the Fermi level. Based on these properties, we propose topological tunneling magnetoresistance in a Mn2PC-based magnetic tunnel junction: the parallel configuration conducts through fully spin-polarized Weyl-like carriers, while the antiparallel configuration is suppressed by the half-metallic gap, yielding a giant magnetoresistance ratio. The concurrent anomalous Hall effect in the conducting state provides an experimentally accessible signature of the topological carriers. These results identify the Mn2PC monolayer as a promising platform for room-temperature topological spintronic devices.
Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
16 pages, 4 figures
Theory of Many-Body Multipole Operators in Single-Centered Electron Systems: Two-Body Toroidal Monopoles in Spinless Orbitals
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Shingo Kuniyoshi, Rikuto Oiwa, Satoru Hayami
One-body multipole operators are defined as irreducible representations of rotational symmetry together with spatial-inversion and time-reversal symmetries, providing a systematic framework for classifying electronic internal degrees of freedom and for describing a wide variety of composite order parameters. While this formalism has been successfully established for the one-body operator space, a systematic classification of the many-body operator space, especially in interacting systems, remains an open challenge. In this paper, we extend the multipole formalism in the one-body operator space to the many-body operator space. By formulating fermionic creation and annihilation operators as spherical tensors and employing Clebsch-Gordan coupling combined with the exterior (Grassmann) algebra, we construct an irreducible decomposition of many-body operators that fully incorporates fermionic antisymmetrization. As a concrete application, we classify monopoles appearing in spinless many-body operators. In particular, we show that the electric toroidal monopole, a pseudoscalar breaking spatial-inversion symmetry, and the magnetic toroidal monopole, a time reversal-odd scalar, become active in spinless interacting many-body systems, although they are absent in the spinless one-body hybrid orbital space.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
5 pages in the main text, plus 100 pages of supplemental material
High-Throughput-Screening Workflow for Predicting Volume Changes by Ion Intercalation in Battery Materials
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Aljoscha Felix Baumann, Daniel Mutter, Daniel F. Urban, Christian Elsässer
Mechanical stresses and strains developing locally within the microstructure of active ion-battery-electrode materials during charge-discharge cycles can compromise their long-term stability. In this context, crystalline compounds exhibiting low volume changes are of particular interest. Atomistic simulations can be employed to quantify the volume change of the crystal structure upon intercalation and deintercalation of ions and to elucidate the local mechanisms underlying the global structural response. While density functional theory (DFT) offers a robust and accurate framework for such calculations, its computational cost limits its applicability for large-scale screening of diverse intercalation structures and sites. In this work, we present a workflow designed to prioritize candidate materials for subsequent detailed characterization. The workflow calculates the volume change upon intercalation using atomic-level features and a machine-learning model for bond-length prediction. The bond-length predictions are based on the assumption that bonds between the same ionic species in similar local coordination environments exhibit comparable lengths across different crystallographic structures. The model was trained on a DFT-generated dataset, which inherently defines the chemical space in which reliable predictions can be expected. We demonstrate the workflow’s utility by screening approximately 1,175,000 transition-metal oxides and fluorides, followed by DFT validation of the most promising candidates. The proposed workflow enables filtering of large candidate sets and accelerates the potential discovery of low volume change intercalation materials for batteries.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Gauge transformation for pulse propagation and time ordered integrals
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
We investigate a gauge transformation based on the successive elimination of time-dependent onsite potentials at individual sites in finite or infinite systems. Our analysis shows that this transformation renormalizes the inward hoppings by a phase factor $ e^{i \phi(t)}$ and the outward hoppings by $ e^{-i \phi(t)}$ . We further demonstrate how this procedure facilitates the reduction and simulation of pulse propagation in scattering systems, while significantly simplifying the time-ordered integrals involved in the time evolution operator for time-dependent Schrodinger equation.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
4 pages, 4 figures
Low-loss phase-change material based programmable mode converter for photonic computing
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Xueyang Shen, Ruixuan Chu, Ding Xu, Yuan Gao, Wen Zhou, Wei Zhang
Phase-change materials (PCMs)-based integrated photonic memory offers a viable pathway for the development of neuromorphic computing chip. The sizable optical contrast in the telecom band between amorphous and crystalline phases of PCM, in particular, Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), is used for multilevel programming. However, the high extinction coefficient k of crystalline GST leads to high optical loss, posing a serious challenge for scaling up the device array for practical use. In this work, we focus on the atomic understanding and application of the so-called low-loss PCM, Sb2Se3, through multiscale simulations. First, we elucidate the bonding origin of the wavelength dependent optical properties of amorphous and crystalline Sb2Se3 via ab initio calculations. Given the suppressed k in the telecom band, we design a programable mode converter (PMC) waveguide device that utilizes only the contrast in refractive index n between amorphous and crystalline Sb2Se3 to encode multiple optical levels per waveguide device. The finite-difference time-domain simulations show that a single PMC device can achieve 5-bit programming precision (32 levels) via direct laser writing, and the photonic tensor core formed by the PMC array could possibly be scaled to 128\ast128. Finally, a thorough comparison between low-loss PCM and conventional PCM is provided.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
24 pages, 7 figure, 2 tables
Fast readout for large scale spin-based qubits
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
X. Luo, B. Bertrand, H. Niebojewski, F. Martins, C. Smith, T.-Y. Yang
In this letter, we present fast readout of Pauli spin blockade phenomena and interdot coupling tunability in a silicon double quantum dot (DQD) fabricated using industry-compatible processes. The interdot couplings are tuned with a second self-aligned gate layer. The charge sensing and spin readout are performed by using gate-based reflectometry techniques. The results pave the way for scalable fast readout of large-scale industry-standard manufactured Si spin qubit arrays.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Applied Physics (physics.app-ph)
Dielectric Tensor of CrSBr from Spectroscopic Imaging Ellipsometry
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Pierre-Maurice Piel, Sebastian Schaper (né Funke), Aleksandra Ł opion, Jakob Henz, Aljoscha Soll, Zdenek Sofer, Ursula Wurstbauer
Chromium sulfur bromide (CrSBr) is a magnetic van der Waals semiconductor with a direct bandgap and pronounced anisotropy in its electronic, optical, spin and lattice degrees of freedom. Here, we employ spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry (SIE) and Mueller-matrix analysis to determine the full dielectric tensor of paramagnetic CrSBr thin films. Our measurements reveal optical anisotropy, characterized by three distinct diagonal components of the dielectric tensor. The in-plane elements are dominated by prominent excitonic resonances polarized along the two main crystallographic axes. Two main excitonic bands (A and B excitons) centered around 1.3eV and 1.7eV, respectively, are identified; the A-exciton polarized along the b-crystallographic direction, whereas the B-exciton appears to consist of two nearly degenerate contributions polarized along two orthogonal in-plane crystal axes. These results provide fundamental insight into anisotropic light-matter interactions in CrSBr, relevant for future spin-optoelectronic and photonic applications.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
5 pages, 4 figures, Supplemental Information
Non-Collinear and Non-Coplanar Magnetic Orders in 1/1 Periodic Approximant to the Icosahedral Quasicrystal
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Shinji Watanabe, Tatsuya Iwasaki
Ground-state properties of rare-earth based 1/1 periodic approximants of icosahedral quasicrystal are clarified theoretically on the basis of an effective model for magnetism taking into account uniaxial anisotropy arising from crystalline electric field. By performing numerically-exact calculation on the 1/1 approximant crystal with a lattice constant $ a$ =14.725 Å, we have determined the ground-state phase diagram for ferromagnetic interactions. The result shows that eight kinds of noncollinear and noncoplanar magnetic structures are stabilized, whose magnetic space groups are identified as $ I_{\rm P}m’\bar{3}’$ , $ C2’/m’$ and $ R\bar{3}$ . We have clarified the degeneracy of each ground state, which is expected to be reflected in the numbers of the domains. By analyzing each state, the magnetic as well as topological properties are revealed. Our results are shown to explain the measured magnetic structures in the 1/1 approximants and the effective model is discussed to be useful for understanding the magnetic structures and their topological properties in broad range of rare-earth based 1/1 approximants.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
15 pages, 19 figures, Selected as JPSJ Editor’s Choice, Selected as JPS Hot Topics
J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 95, 044705 (2026)
Pauli-limited upper critical field and anisotropic depairing effect of La2.82Sr0.18Ni2O7 superconducting thin film
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Ke Wang, Maosen Wang, Wei Wei, Bo Hao, Mengqin Liu, Qiaochao Xiang, Xin Zhou, Qiang Hou, Yue Sun, Zengwei Zhu, Sheng Li, Yuefeng Nie, Zhixiang Shi
We investigate the upper critical field and superconducting anisotropy of epitaxial La2.82Sr0.18Ni2O7 thin films, which show a sharp superconducting transition at Tc=31.6 K. Near Tc, superconductivity exhibits thickness-limited two-dimensional characteristics. Upon cooling, the out-of-plane coherence length decreases below the sample thickness of 6 nm, corresponding to a 3-unit-cell film, indicating a crossover to intrinsic three-dimensional bulk superconductivity. High-field transport measurements reveal large upper critical fields with a small anisotropy ratio gama~1.34, comparable to bulk Ruddlesden-Popper nickelates. At low temperatures, the in-plane (ab) upper critical field Hc2(ab) is strongly suppressed by spin-paramagnetic pair breaking and approaches the Pauli limit (Hc2(Pauli)=58 T), while Hc2(c) remains largely unaffected. This anisotropic Pauli limitation accounts for the reduced upper critical field anisotropy and supports the conclusion that superconductivity in these films is fundamentally three-dimensional bulk like. Our results highlight the essential role of spin-paramagnetic effects in shaping the high-field superconducting phase diagram of Ruddlesden-Popper nickelates.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
Pairing and charge distribution in Emery ladders preserving the ratio of Cu to O atoms
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Gökmen Polat, Eric Jeckelmann (Institute of Theoretical Physics, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany)
We study the Emery model (three-band Hubbard model) for superconducting cuprates on three distinct ladder-like lattices that are supercell of the CuO$ _2$ plane and thus preserve the ratio of copper to oxygen atoms. Using the density-matrix renormalization group method we confirm that these Emery ladders are charge-transfer insulators for the hole concentration corresponding to undoped cuprates but become Luther-Emery liquids with enhanced pairing correlations upon doping. The preservation of the Cu to O ratio allows us to study the distribution of charges between these atoms in the Luther-Emery phase. We show that these Emery ladders can describe the relations between charge distribution, pairing strength, and interactions that have been observed in the Emery model on two-dimensional clusters and in experiments.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
Electronic Structure and Resonant Circular Dichroism of La${0.7}$Sr${0.3}$MnO$_3$ from Soft X-ray Angle-Resolved Photoemission
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Øyvind Finnseth, Damian Brzozowski, Anders Christian Mathisen, Stefanie Suzanne Brinkman, Xin Liang Tan, Fabian Gohler, Benjamin A. D. Williamson, Kristoffer Eggestad, Meng-Jie Huang, Jens Buck, Moritz Hoesch, Kai Rossnagel, Sverre M. Selbach, Hendrik Bentmann, Ingrid Hallsteinsen
Coupling between spin, orbital, charge, and lattice degrees of freedom in transition-metal oxides produces a variety of electronic and magnetic phenomena of importance for future technologies. Here, we explore the electronic band structure of a (111)-oriented La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin film through soft X-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The measurements agree with the electronic band structure calculated with density functional theory using Hubbard U correction. Furthermore, we probe the circular dichroism in ARPES, and observe a pronounced momentum- resolved magnetic circular dichroism in resonant photoemission from the Mn L-edge. The approach combines the momentum- and spin-selectivity of ARPES and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, respectively, which could provide a useful approach for the study of unconventional magnetism.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Engineering Magnetic Anisotropy in Permalloy Films via Atomic Force Nanolithography
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Abhishek Naik, Cyril Delforge, Nicolas Lejeune, Daniel Stoffels, Joris Van de Vondel, Kristiaan Temst, Alejandro V. Silhanek, Emile Fourneau
Atomic force nanolithography provides a precise method for sculpting magnetic thin films, enabling controlled engineering of magnetic anisotropy in soft ferromagnets at the microscale. We demonstrate that nanoscale groove arrays patterned into permalloy (Ni80Fe20) films induce a robust in-plane uniaxial anisotropy, with the easy axis aligned along the groove direction. The anisotropy field is shown to increase with decreasing groove period and increasing engraving depth, offering continuous tunability of magnetic hardness within a single fabrication step. Artificially engraved microstructures further allow domain configurations and domain-wall trajectories to be directed along predefined pathways, exemplified by the creation of a chessboard-like magnetic landscape. Owing to its adaptability to diverse ferromagnetic materials and arbitrary corrugation geometries, this approach provides a versatile platform for tailoring in-plane magnetic anisotropy. Concrete applications are demonstrated in the design of magnonic elements and anisotropic magnetoresistance sensors.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
12 pages, 6 figures (Supplementary Material available upon request)
Dissipation- versus Chaos-Induced Relaxation in Non-Markovian Quantum Many-Body Systems
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Gabriel Almeida, Pedro Ribeiro, Masudul Haque, Lucas Sá
In interacting quantum many-body systems, relaxation toward equilibrium reflects a competition between internal chaotic dynamics and environmental dissipation. While conventional Markovian baths typically produce exponential decay, non-Markovian dissipation can give rise to more intricate behavior, including algebraic relaxation. We study an open Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model coupled to a pseudogapped fermionic bath, using the Keldysh formalism to compute steady-state correlations in the large-$ N$ limit. Our results uncover a rich dynamical phase diagram, with regimes of bath-driven power-law relaxation, chaos-driven exponential decay, and an intermediate pre-relaxation phase where exponential decay crosses over to algebraic decay. These findings demonstrate that non-Markovian environments can qualitatively reshape relaxation mechanisms in strongly correlated quantum many-body systems.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
12 pages, 7 figures
Magnetic criticality and magnetocaloric response in MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ and MnBi$_4$Te$_7$
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Nazma Firdosh, Shreyashi Sinha, Sujit Manna
MnBi$ _2$ Te$ _4$ and MnBi$ _4$ Te$ _7$ are antiferromagnetic topological insulators belonging to the MnBi$ _{2n}$ Te$ _{3n+1}$ series, where structural layering provides a natural route to tune magnetic interaction in van der Waals magnets. Despite extensive interest in their topological properties, how the insertion of Bi$ _2$ Te$ _3$ quintuple layers modifies magnetic critical fluctuations near the antiferromagnetic transition remains unresolved. Here, we combine scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), critical scaling analysis, and magnetocaloric measurements to directly correlate real-space structures with magnetic criticality. STM reveals atomically flat septuple-layer terraces in MnBi$ _2$ Te$ _4$ whereas MnBi$ _4$ Te$ _7$ displays coexisting septuple and quintuple layer terminations reflecting its alternating stacking sequence. MnBi$ _2$ Te$ _4$ exhibits robust three-dimensional Ising-like critical behavior together with a distinct low-temperature first-order transition. In contrast, MnBi$ _4$ Te$ _7$ displays crossover-dominated criticality arising from weakened interlayer exchange and competing magnetic phases. Correspondingly, the magnetocaloric response differs significantly between the two compounds. MnBi$ _2$ Te$ _4$ shows dual-type magnetocaloric behavior with a sharp field-induced sign reversal of the isothermal magnetic entropy change ($ -\Delta S_M$ ). It exhibits both inverse ($ -\Delta S_M < 0$ ) and conventional ($ -\Delta S_M > 0$ ) magnetocaloric effects. In contrast, MnBi$ _4$ Te$ _7$ shows only conventional magnetocaloric response with a broad positive entropy peak. These results establish structural layering as a key parameter governing magnetic critical fluctuations and magnetocaloric behavior in MnBi$ _{2n}$ Te$ _{3n+1}$ topological magnets.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
11 pages, 7 figures
Modeling anisotropic energy dissipation of light ions at the atomistic scale
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Evgeniia Ponomareva, Artur Tamm, Andrea E. Sand
Understanding ion-matter interactions at the atomistic level is key to advancing materials for the semiconductor industry, space systems, and nuclear fusion technologies. However, most atomistic frameworks still rely on simplified descriptions of how ions transfer energy to the electronic subsystem, overlooking the sensitivity of this process to the actual ion path. Existing electron-ion interaction models, such as the tensorial unified two-temperature model, were developed to study self-irradiation scenarios, but their suitability for light-ion irradiation remains unexplored. Here, we propose that for light projectiles, stepping back from the tensorial formulation toward a simpler, local model of electronic stopping provides a more efficient and physically transparent trajectory-dependent description. We parameterize and validate both models for hydrogen and helium in tungsten using ab initio electronic stopping data and large-scale ion range simulations, benchmarked against existing experimental data. This provides a consistent framework for including nonadiabatic electronic stopping in atomistic simulations of light-ion energy dissipation.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
11 pages, 8 figures
Gap structure and phase diagram of twisted bilayer cuprates from a microscopic perspective
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Siddhant Panda, Andreas Kreisel, Laura Fanfarillo, Peter Hirschfeld
Since the prediction of a time-reversal symmetry breaking (TRSB) $ d+id^\prime$ state in twisted bilayer cuprate superconductors by Can et al. in 2021, several experiments have attempted to detect this state, yielding conflicting results. At present, it is not clear which differences in samples or experimental conditions might explain these discrepancies. In this work, we perform a tight-binding lattice model calculation with phenomenological interlayer tunneling, examining the order parameter as a function of twist angle, interlayer tunneling, doping, and temperature. We observe the TRSB state to be correlated to the position of the Van Hove singularity in the normal state which changes not only as a function of doping but also the tunneling strength. Two such phases are identified as nominally consistent with in-plane $ d+id’$ and $ d+is$ order, but with unexpected transformation properties under bilayer symmetry operations. We calculate the Josephson critical current, in particular examining the angle dependence for various tunneling strengths. Finally, we discuss the existing experiments in the context of our results.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
16 Pages, 17 figures
Helium-Cooled Cryogenic STEM Imaging and Ptychography for Atomic-Scale Study of Low-Temperature Phases
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Noah Schnitzer, Mariana Palos, Geri Topore, Nishkarsh Agarwal, Maya Gates, Yaqi Li, Robert Hovden, Ismail El Baggari, Suk Hyun Sung, Michele Shelly Conroy
Much of the exotic functionality of prime interest in quantum materials emerges from structural and electronic ground states that can only be accessed at cryogenic temperatures. Understanding device operation therefore requires structural characterization under the same low-temperature conditions at which these functional phases exist, as room-temperature measurements often probe a different structural state. Achieving atomic-resolution in scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging and particularly 4D-STEM electron ptychography at liquid helium temperature has remained extremely challenging because even small amounts of drift, vibration, and thermal instability associated with the cryogen can disrupt the stringent stability requirements of atomic-resolution STEM. In this work we demonstrate atomic-resolution STEM and multislice electron ptychography at temperatures as low as 20 K using a commercial helium cooled holder. We find that rapid scans and a multi-stage registration workflow are critical to reducing artifacts associated with cryogenic instability for atomic-resolution imaging, while for ptychography scan position correction including compensation for coupling between probe aberrations and position refinement is necessary for successful reconstructions. Together these results establish a pathway for reliable atomic-resolution STEM and ptychography at low temperature, enabling direct visualization of structural ground states relevant to quantum technology.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
16 pages, 8 figures
Sliding Ferroelectricity Driven Spin-Layertronics in Altermagnetic Multilayers
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Rui Peng, Guangxu Su, Yangyang Fan, Jiaan Li, Fanxin Liu, Yee Sin Ang
The synergy of ferroicity with altermagnetism offers a novel platform for designing multifunctional altermagnetic-spintronic device technology. In this work, we propose a mechanism to achieve nonvolatile electrical manipulation of spin and layer degrees of freedom in an altermagnetic bilayer via sliding ferroelectricity. Using first-principles calculations, we show that an interlayer translation can induce a switchable out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization in bilayer CuF2, which directly couples to and reverses the d-wave altermagnetic spin splitting. Notably, the altermangetic spin splitting is layer-locked, the sliding ferroelectricity-driven switching thus embodying a nonvolatile spin-layertronics functionality that couples spin-polarized transport and layer degree of freedom in a single platform. We show that in quadrilayer CuF2, four polarization states are identified which may offer multi-state logic device applications. These findings establish sliding ferroelectricity as a versatile tool for designing voltage-controlled, high-speed and energy-efficient spin-layertronic devices based on altermagnets.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
Tuning correlated states of twisted mono-bilayer graphene with proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Jeyong Park, Mingdi Luo, Louk Rademaker, Jurgen Smet, Mathias S. Scheurer, Laura Classen
We study the correlated ground states of twisted mono-bilayer graphene with and without proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling (SOC) from a transition-metal dichalcogenide layer placed on top. We perform self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations that allow the variational space to include multi-$ Q$ translational symmetry broken states for all integer and half-integer fillings of the conduction bands, where signatures of correlated, topological states have been reported experimentally. We find interaction-induced insulators that retain moiré translational symmetry at integer fillings, but that break this symmetry at half-integer fillings. We argue that translational symmetry breaking arises from half-filled polarized bands, even when SOC is present. Yet, we find that small SOC can already crucially affect the spin nature of correlated states. Generally, Ising SOC favors out-of-plane spin polarization and spin-valley locking, while Rashba SOC favors in-plane spin order. If only one of these two terms is present, we find that, depending on the type of SOC, it drives a transition from a tetrahedal antiferromagnet to either a coplanar, non-coplanar, or collinear spin-density wave state for half-integer fillings. The frustration associated with the simultaneous presence of both types of SOC can induce chiral, non-coplanar order in parameter ranges where the ground state in the absence of SOC is collinear.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
14 pages, 7 figures, 4 pages appendices
Supercurrents in Josephson junctions with chiral molecular potentials
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Oleg Kuliashov, Alberto Cappellaro, Oded Millo, Yossi Paltiel, Mikhail Lemeshko, Ragheed Alhyder
The influence of chiral molecular potentials on phase-coherent transport in superconducting Josephson junctions is investigated. Within a Bogoliubov-de Gennes tight-binding framework, an SNS junction functionalized by adsorbed chiral molecules is modeled, where electrostatic gradients generated by the molecules induce spin-orbit coupling in the normal region. The equilibrium charge current-phase relation is found to remain largely insensitive to molecular chirality in symmetric, zero-field configurations. In contrast, the spin supercurrent exhibits a pronounced chirality-dependent response, with opposite enantiomers producing distinct and anisotropic spin-polarized Josephson currents. The resulting handedness contrast can be enhanced through control parameters such as molecular orientation and the strength of the induced spin-orbit coupling. The temperature dependence of these currents further shows that the chirality-dependent signatures persist across a range of temperatures well below the superconducting critical temperature. These results establish Josephson interferometry as a phase-sensitive and accessible platform for detecting molecular chirality and highlight spin-polarized superconducting transport as a promising route toward integrating chiral molecular functionality into superconducting spintronic devices.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
Generalized Reduced-Density-Matrix Quantum Monte Carlo Gives Access to More
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Zhiyan Wang, Zhe Wang, Bin-Bin Mao, Zheng Yan
In quantum Monte Carlo (QMC), what can be measured efficiently is largely determined by what is sampled. When the sampled object is the partition function, a broad class of observables, including general off-diagonal operators, is typically unavailable as direct estimators. In this article, we introduce a paradigm shift by replacing the partition function with a generalized reduced density matrix (GRDM) as the simulated object. This reformulation removes the measurement bottleneck at its source and extends the dimensional-reduction advantage of reduced descriptions from static quantities to dynamical observables, thereby enabling much richer information extraction. As substantial demonstrations, the framework allows the directed-loop algorithm to measure both equal-time and imaginary-time off-diagonal observables, with the latter giving direct access to dynamical spectra. It also enables measurements of Rényi-1 correlators that diagnose strong-to-weak symmetry breaking in mixed states. This work establishes a unified framework for holographic characterization within QMC.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
12 pages, 8 figures
Importance of nonlinear long-range electron-phonon interaction on the carrier mobility of anharmonic halide perovskites
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Matthew Houtput, Ingvar Zappacosta, Serghei Klimin, Samuel Poncé, Jacques Tempere, Cesare Franchini
The interaction between the electrons and the lattice vibrations in a solid is responsible for various important effects, such as formation of polarons, temperature dependent bandgaps, phonon-limited carrier transport, and conventional superconductivity. Most works assume a linear electron-phonon interaction, where the electron only interacts with one phonon at a time. However, the validity of this assumption has not been verified in polar anharmonic materials, where large ionic displacements may invalidate the assumption of linear interaction. Here, we show that nonlinear electron-phonon interactions contribute significantly to the finite-temperature electron mobility of the inorganic lead halide perovskite CsPbI$ _3$ . We calculate the electron mobility from first principles using the self-energy relaxation time approximation and the long-range approximation. The effect of nonlinear interaction is taken into account using the recently derived expression for the long-range part of the one-electron-two-phonon matrix element. We show that due to the low phonon frequencies of CsPbI$ _3$ , the one-electron-two-phonon interaction changes the temperature scaling of the mobility and contributes about 10% to the mobility at room temperature. The results underscore the importance of including nonlinear electron-phonon interaction in anharmonic halide perovskites.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
8 pages main manuscript, 12 pages supplemental material
Ab-initio superfluid weight and superconducting penetration depth
New Submission | Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Kaja H. Hiorth, Martin Gutierrez-Amigo, Théo Cavignac, Kristjan Haule, Miguel A.L. Marques, Päivi Törmä
Machine learning and high-throughput screening approaches to superconductor discovery require physically meaningful descriptors that capture essential physics while remaining computationally tractable. The superfluid weight is an ideal descriptor as it is a prerequisite for superconductivity, determines the magnetic penetration depth and the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature in two-dimensional materials, may limit the critical temperature in unconventional superconductors through phase coherence, and reveals quantum geometric contributions to supercurrent transport. We develop a computationally efficient framework for calculating the zero-temperature, mean-field superfluid weight for uniform pairing from density functional theory band structures and Bloch wavefunctions. We separately evaluate the conventional contribution from band curvature and the geometric contribution from quantum geometry. To validate the method, we calculate London penetration depths for a few conventional superconductors (Al, Pb, Nb, MgB$ _2$ , LuRu$ _3$ B$ _2$ and YRu$ _3$ B$ _2$ ) and find good agreement with experiment after accounting for nonlocal corrections, strong-coupling effects, and sample quality.
The conventional contribution dominates by orders of magnitude in these wide-band materials, as expected. This framework provides a foundation for large-scale screening of superconducting candidates and exploring quantum geometric effects in unconventional superconductors.
Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
12 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Physical Review B as a regular article on the 2nd of March 2026
Microscopic screening theory for excitons in two-dimensional materials: A bridge between effective models and ab initio descriptions
New Submission | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
P. Ninhos, A. J. Uría-Álvarez, C. Tserkezis, N. A. Mortensen, J. J. Palacios
We present a computational approach for exciton calculations in two-dimensional (2D) materials within the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) framework, employing an atomistic description with point-like orbitals. Unlike widespread efficient calculations that rely on classical or effective interaction models, such as the Rytova-Keldysh model, our method incorporates quantum screened interactions. By explicitly computing the 2D dielectric function at the random-phase approximation level, we capture screening effects beyond such approximations with an accuracy akin to first-principles methods. Consequently, we can realistically estimate excitonic binding energies with a bearable computational cost. A detailed account of the various convergence parameters sheds light on a possible cause of the large dispersion of binding energies reported in the literature using first-principles GW/BSE implementations. This work thus provides an alternative pathway towards efficient and faithful dielectric screening and exciton computations in low-dimensional materials.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
27 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, 1 SI
Island Sliding Barriers: A first-principles metric for determining remote epitaxy viability
New Submission | Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Quinn T. Campbell, Manny Xavier de Jesus Lopez, Anthony Rice, Timothy J. Ruggles, Taisuke Ohta, Caitlin McCowan, Sadhvikas Addamane, Scott W. Schmucker, Justine Koepke
Remote epitaxy, where a 2D van der Waals material (usually graphene) is inserted on top of the substrate before film epitaxy, has emerged as a promising path for growing electronics with lower defect rates and less stringent lattice matching requirements. The exact mechanism behind remote epitaxy has not been definitively shown, however, and it is not obvious when examining a new substrate-film pair whether they would be compatible with the remote epitaxy process. In this paper, we use first principles calculations to test several different mechanisms for determining whether a given substrate-film pair will successfully be grown with remote epitaxy. We find that previously calculated metrics such as electrostatic potential do not hold sufficient explanatory power. We find that the sliding barrier of small islands on the surface when the atomic positions are allowed to optimize provides the most rigorous criteria for whether a given substrate-film pair is remote epitaxy active. This indicates that remote epitaxy is likely a phenomenon related to the kinetics and ease of island migration on the graphene surface.
Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
25 pages, 7 figures
Violating the All-or-Nothing Picture of Local Charges in Non-Hermitian Bosonic Chains
New Submission | Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Mizuki Yamaguchi, Naoto Shiraishi
We present explicit counterexamples to a widespread empirical expectation that local commuting charges display all-or-nothing behavior. In the class of bosonic chains with symmetric nearest-neighbor hopping and arbitrary on-site terms (including non-Hermitian terms), we exhibit systems that possess k-local charges for some but not all k. Concretely, we construct non-Hermitian models with a 3-local charge but no other nontrivial local charges and models with k-local charges for all k except k = 4. These results show that the Grabowski–Mathieu integrability test based on 3-local charges is not universally applicable. We further give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of k-local charges in this class, yielding an exhaustive classification and uncovering additional integrable models.
Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech), Mathematical Physics (math-ph), Exactly Solvable and Integrable Systems (nlin.SI), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
42 pages, no figures
Commensurate-Incommensurate Transition in Submonolayer $^3$He on Graphite
New Submission | Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
A. Kumashita, J. Usami, S. Komatsu, Y. Yamane, S. Miyasaka, H. Fukuyama, A. Yamaguchi
We report high-precision heat-capacity measurements of submonolayer $ ^3$ He adsorbed on highly crystalline graphite, revealing new aspects of the commensurate$ -$ incommensurate transition. Below 1K, two possible striped domain-wall phases emerge: $ \alpha_1$ with variable wall spacing and $ \alpha_2$ with fixed spacing. The $ T$ -linear heat capacity in $ \alpha_1$ arises from one-dimensional phonons along the walls. $ \alpha_2$ melts into $ \alpha_1$ at a critical density via a second-order transition, consistent with a quantum nematic (quantum liquid-crystal) state in $ \alpha_1$ , and reconciling thermodynamic and prior nuclear-magnetic data.
Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
Manuscript combined with Supplementary Materials; 18 pages, 13 figures
Theory of Cell Body Lensing and Phototaxis Sign Reversal in “Eyeless” Mutants of $Chlamydomonas$
New Submission | Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Sumit Kumar Birwa, Ming Yang, Adriana I. Pesci, Raymond E. Goldstein
Phototaxis of many species of green algae relies upon directional sensitivity of their membrane-bound photoreceptors, which arises from the presence of a pigmented “eyespot” behind them that blocks light passing through the cell body from reaching the photoreceptor. A decade ago it was discovered that the spherical cell body of the alga $ Chlamydomonas~reinhardtii$ acts as a lens to concentrate incoming light, and that in “eyeless” mutants of $ Chlamydomonas$ the consequence of that focused light reaching the photoreceptor from behind is a reversal in the sign of phototaxis relative to the wild type behavior. We present a quantitative theory of this sign reversal by completing a recent simplified analysis of lensing [Yang, et al., Phys. Rev. E 113, 022401 (2026)] and incorporating it into an adaptive model for $ Chlamydomonas$ phototaxis. This model shows that phototactic dynamics in the presence of lensing is subtle because of the existence of internal light caustics when the cellular index of refraction exceeds that of water. During each period of cellular rotation about its body-fixed axis, the photoreceptor receives two competing signals: a relatively long, slowly-varying signal from the direct illumination, and a stronger, shorter, rapidly-varying lensed signal. The reversal of the sign of phototaxis is then a consequence of the dominance of the flagellar photoresponse to the signal with the higher time derivative. These features lead to a quantitative understanding of phototaxis sign reversal, including bistability in the direction choice, a prediction that can be tested in single-cell tracking studies of mutant phototaxis.
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft), Cell Behavior (q-bio.CB)
8 pages, 6 figures
Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya-driven instabilities in square-kagome quantum antiferromagnets
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Leonid S. Taran, Arnaud Ralko, Fedor V. Temnikov, Vladimir V. Mazurenko, Sergey V. Streltsov, Yasir Iqbal
Decorated square-kagome quantum antiferromagnets provide a natural setting in which strong frustration, lattice decoration, and spin-orbit-induced anisotropy compete on comparable energy scales. Here we show that in Na$ _6$ Cu$ _7$ BiO$ 4$ (PO$ 4$ )$ 4$ Cl$ 3$ the coupling ($ J{10}$ ) which links the decorating Cu(3) sites to the square-kagome backbone, stabilizes the gapped quantum-paramagnetic regime, while symmetry-allowed Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interactions systematically suppress the minimum spinon gap $ \Delta{\mathrm{spinon}}$ and drive the system toward magnetic condensation. To establish this, we combine ab initio calculation of the DM vectors with a generalized Schwinger-boson self-consistent mean-field theory that treats singlet and triplet hopping/pairing channels on equal footing. As a benchmark, the isotropic square-kagome Heisenberg model exhibits four competing low-energy saddle points distinguished by their Wilson-loop fluxes and by characteristic static and dynamical structure-factor fingerprints. A minimal DM perturbation does not qualitatively reshape this competing landscape, but already enhances the tendency towards order. For the realistic decorated Hamiltonian, finite-size scaling of $ \Delta{\mathrm{spinon}}$ together with momentum-resolved structure factors identifies $ J{10}$ (exchange with decorating Cu) as the control parameter of the gapped regime and shows that the full symmetry-allowed DM pattern shifts the system further toward condensation. Our results place Na$ _6$ Cu$ _7$ BiO$ _4$ (PO$ _4$ )$ _4$ Cl$ _3$ in close proximity to a magnetic instability and provide experimentally testable predictions for anisotropy-enhanced soft modes in decorated square-kagome materials.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
14 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables
Two-Body Solution and Instabilities along Streda Lines in Moire Flat Bands
New Submission | Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Moire minibands in twisted homobilayer semiconductors can, under suitable approximations, be modeled as a pair of Landau levels with opposite Chern numbers. This provides a minimal model for searching novel topological states in a time-reversal-symmetric Hamiltonian. In this work, we investigate the effects of an external magnetic field in this model. We study the many-body ground state in the density-magnetic-field (n-B) plane along the dn/dB = \pm1/Phi0 Streda line with Hartree-Fock approximation. Away from charge neutrality, we find the Chern-insulating (incompressible) state is very robust while towards charge neutrality, we find a transition from incompressible phase to compressible phase as the interaction strength kappa decreases. Using time-dependent mean-field theory, we further analyze spin-flip excitations and find that the incompressible state along Streda line toward charge neutrality becomes unstable even at large kappa when magnetic field is sufficiently large. Finally, we solve the two-body problem in a given Landau level exactly where the two particles experience unequal magnetic fields using a new basis called center-of-charge basis. This basis allows any isotropic interaction to be parameterized by a single quantum number, the relative angular momentum, thereby extending the Haldane pseudopotentials to the unequal-magnetic-fields case. As the difference of the two magnetic fields varies, these pseudopotentials show a sequence of level crossings, leading to non-monotonic structure of pseudopotentials that is absent in ordinary Landau level systems. Our formulation provides a useful starting point for studying weak-field physics in moire flat bands, where magnetic Bloch-state basis becomes computationally impossible due to the large basis sizes.
Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
15 pages, 6 figures
Realizing the Emery Model in Optical Lattices for Quantum Simulation of Cuprates and Nickelates
New Submission | Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) | 2026-03-12 20:00 EDT
Hannah Lange, Liyang Qiu, Robin Groth, Andreas von Haaren, Luca Muscarella, Titus Franz, Immanuel Bloch, Fabian Grusdt, Philipp M. Preiss, Annabelle Bohrdt
The microscopic origin of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates remains one of the central open questions in condensed matter physics. Growing experimental and theoretical evidence suggests that the bare single-band Fermi-Hubbard model may not fully capture properties of cuprates such as superconductivity, motivating us to revisit the canonical three-band model of the copper-oxide planes - the Emery model - from which the single-band counterpart was originally derived. Here, we propose and analyze a quantum simulation scheme for realizing the Emery model in regimes relevant to cuprates and infinite-layer nickelates with today’s ultracold atom quantum simulation platforms, enabling the exploration of the three-band physics on system sizes that are challenging for current numerical methods. Specifically, we show that a two-dimensional optical lattice with a superimposed pattern of repulsive potentials can be designed to study low-temperature properties for variable parameter regimes of the Emery model relevant to cuprates as well as infinite-layer nickelates. Our results pave the way for real material simulations with ultracold atom quantum simulators and a better understanding of the physics of unconventional superconductors.
Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas), Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el), Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph), Quantum Physics (quant-ph)