Table of contents

Strong coupling between light and an ensemble of molecules leads to the formation of new hybrid states and offers the exciting prospect of a new route to control material properties. Now a theoretical model has been introduced to complement the recent observation of strong coupling between the vibrational modes of molecules and an electromagnetic (cavity) mode. This new work by del Pino et al (2015 New J. Phys.17 053040) makes an important contribution by offering fresh insight into the underlying physics, especially into the role of dephasing processes in determining the dynamics of ensemble strong coupling.

The discovery of quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) crystals has started a new era of materials science. Novel materials, atomically thin and mechanically, thermally and chemically stable, with a large variety of electronic properties are available and they can be assembled in ultrathin flexible devices. Understanding collective electronic excitations (plasmons) in Q2D systems is mandatory for engineering applications in plasmonics. In view of recent developments in the emerging field of graphene-based plasmonics, the correspondence between the theoretically calculated quantities and the observables experimentally measured in Q2D crystals is still unsatisfactory. Motivated by recent Nazarov's findings (Nazarov 2015 New J. Phys.17 073018), here we discuss some crucial issues of current theoretical approaches as well as the computational methods applied to two-dimensional materials with special emphasis to cover their peculiarities, range of application and pitfalls.

Auxiliary quantum systems which can be borrowed to help facilitate thermodynamic processes but must be returned almost undisturbed—i.e. catalysts—are very powerful objects in quantum thermodynamics. In fact, they appear almost too powerful, since they allow for any state transformation to be carried out while being disturbed by an arbitrarily small amount. In their recent paper Ng et al (2015 New J. Phys.17 085004) show how to tame catalysts in quantum thermodynamics by placing additional physical constraints on them, in terms of dimension and energy.

Modifying the Markovian (memoryless) or non-Markovian (memory-keeping) nature of the environment-induced evolution of an open quantum system is crucial in quantum information theory, because it is linked to quantum memory control. A recent work (Brito and Werlang 2015 New J. Phys.17 072001) shows that such a goal can be achieved without operating on unaccessible environmental features. In fact, transitions between Markovian and non-Markovian regimes of a qubit dynamics can be induced on demand if the qubit is coupled to a controlled auxiliary system. This is a step towards the improvement of quantum devices, aiming at exploiting dynamical memory effects by an external control.

We introduce a family of strongly-correlated spin wave functions on arbitrary spin-$1/2$ and spin-1 lattices in one and two dimensions. These states are lattice analogues of Moore–Read states of particles at filling fraction $1/q$, which are non-Abelian fractional quantum Hall states in 2D. One parameter enables us to perform an interpolation between the continuum limit, where the states become continuum Moore–Read states of bosons (odd q) and fermions (even q), and the lattice limit. We show numerical evidence that the topological entanglement entropy stays the same along the interpolation for some of the states we introduce in 2D, which suggests that the topological properties of the lattice states are the same as in the continuum, while the 1D states are critical states. We then derive exact parent Hamiltonians for these states on lattices of arbitrary size. By deforming these parent Hamiltonians, we construct local Hamiltonians that stabilize some of the states we introduce in 1D and in 2D.

We report on the possibility of diffracting electrons from light waves traveling inside a dielectric medium. We show that, in the frame of reference which moves with the group velocity of light, the traveling wave acts as a stationary diffraction grating from which electrons can diffract, similar to the conventional Kapitza–Dirac effect. To characterize the Kapitza–Dirac effect with traveling light waves, we make use of the Hamiltonian Analogy between electron optics and quantum mechanics and apply the Helmholtz–Kirchhoff theory of diffraction.

General Scientific Summary

Introduction and background. The Kapitza-Dirac effect, i.e. the diffraction of electrons from a periodic light wave, has been predicted in the 1930's. Only now, with the advent of sufficiently intense lasers, it became possible to observe the effect experimentally. Commonly a standing wave is used to create the diffraction grating, but also other configurations, involving counter propagating waves of different frequencies have been considered in the past. In this paper, we address the question whether it is possible to observe the effect with a single light beam, travelling with a reduced group velocity within a dielectric medium.

Main results. We confirm that the Kapitza-Dirac effect can be observed with a single beam of light, provided the longitudinal velocity of the electrons is commensurate with the reduced group velocity. Using Lorentz transformations between a laboratory and reference frame associated with the travelling light field, we show that in this frame of reference the light acts as a stationary diffraction grating for electrons. In contrast to a standing wave, a single, travelling light wave can give rise to inelastic diffraction when electrons exchanges energy with the light field.

Wider implications. Diffraction phenomena occur for all kinds of waves and represent a signature of fundamental interference processes. Our extension of the standard Kapitza-Dirac effect to the case of a single light beam enlarges the scope to observe such effects, and might lead to simplified schemes in interferometry and microscopy.

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From the general difficulty of simulating quantum systems using classical systems, and in particular the existence of an efficient quantum algorithm for factoring, it is likely that quantum computation is intrinsically more powerful than classical computation. At present, the best upper bound known for the power of quantum computation is that ${\bf{BQP}}\subseteq {\bf{AWPP}}$, where ${\bf{AWPP}}$ is a classical complexity class (known to be included in ${\bf{PP}}$, hence ${\bf{PSPACE}}$). This work investigates limits on computational power that are imposed by simple physical, or information theoretic, principles. To this end, we define a circuit-based model of computation in a class of operationally-defined theories more general than quantum theory, and ask: what is the minimal set of physical assumptions under which the above inclusions still hold? We show that given only an assumption of tomographic locality (roughly, that multipartite states and transformations can be characterized by local measurements), efficient computations are contained in ${\bf{AWPP}}$. This inclusion still holds even without assuming a basic notion of causality (where the notion is, roughly, that probabilities for outcomes cannot depend on future measurement choices). Following Aaronson, we extend the computational model by allowing post-selection on measurement outcomes. Aaronson showed that the corresponding quantum complexity class, ${\bf{PostBQP}}$, is equal to ${\bf{PP}}$. Given only the assumption of tomographic locality, the inclusion in ${\bf{PP}}$ still holds for post-selected computation in general theories. Hence in a world with post-selection, quantum theory is optimal for computation in the space of all operational theories. We then consider whether one can obtain relativized complexity results for general theories. It is not obvious how to define a sensible notion of a computational oracle in the general framework that reduces to the standard notion in the quantum case. Nevertheless, it is possible to define computation relative to a 'classical oracle'. Then, we show there exists a classical oracle relative to which efficient computation in any theory satisfying the causality assumption does not include ${\bf{NP}}$.

Color codes are topological stabilizer codes with unusual transversality properties. Here I show that their group of transversal gates is optimal and only depends on the spatial dimension, not the local geometry. I also introduce a generalized, subsystem version of color codes. In 3D they allow the transversal implementation of a universal set of gates by gauge fixing, while error-dectecting measurements involve only four or six qubits.

This paper studies the trading volumes and wealth distribution of a novel agent-based model of an artificial financial market. In this model, heterogeneous agents, behaving according to the Von Neumann and Morgenstern utility theory, may mutually interact. A Tobin-like tax (TT) on successful investments and a flat tax are compared to assess the effects on the agents' wealth distribution. We carry out extensive numerical simulations in two alternative scenarios: (i) a reference scenario, where the agents keep their utility function fixed, and (ii) a focal scenario, where the agents are adaptive and self-organize in communities, emulating their neighbours by updating their own utility function. Specifically, the interactions among the agents are modelled through a directed scale-free network to account for the presence of community leaders, and the herding-like effect is tested against the reference scenario. We observe that our model is capable of replicating the benefits and drawbacks of the two taxation systems and that the interactions among the agents strongly affect the wealth distribution across the communities. Remarkably, the communities benefit from the presence of leaders with successful trading strategies, and are more likely to increase their average wealth. Moreover, this emulation mechanism mitigates the decrease in trading volumes, which is a typical drawback of TTs.

We provide a fully quantum description of a mechanical oscillator in the presence of thermal environmental noise by means of a quantum Langevin formulation based on quantum stochastic calculus. The system dynamics is determined by symmetry requirements and equipartition at equilibrium, while the environment is described by quantum Bose fields in a suitable non-Fock representation which allows for the introduction of temperature. A generic spectral density of the environment can be described by introducing its state through a suitable P-representation. Including interaction of the mechanical oscillator with a cavity mode via radiation pressure we obtain a description of a simple optomechanical system in which, besides the Langevin equations for the system, one has the exact input–output relations for the quantum noises. The whole theory is valid at arbitrarily low temperature. This allows the exact calculation of the stationary value of the mean energy of the mechanical oscillator, as well as both homodyne and heterodyne spectra. The present analysis allows in particular to study possible cooling scenarios and to obtain the exact connection between observed spectra and fluctuation spectra of the position of the mechanical oscillator.

In physics, one attempts to infer the rules governing a system given only the results of imperfect measurements. Hence, microscopic theories may be effectively indistinguishable experimentally. We develop an operationally motivated procedure to identify the corresponding equivalence classes of states, and argue that the renormalization group (RG) arises from the inherent ambiguities associated with the classes: one encounters flow parameters as, e.g., a regulator, a scale, or a measure of precision, which specify representatives in a given equivalence class. This provides a unifying framework and reveals the role played by information in renormalization. We validate this idea by showing that it justifies the use of low-momenta n-point functions as statistically relevant observables around a Gaussian hypothesis. These results enable the calculation of distinguishability in quantum field theory. Our methods also provide a way to extend renormalization techniques to effective models which are not based on the usual quantum-field formalism, and elucidates the relationships between various type of RG.

The energetics and atomic structure associated with the localized hole formed near an Al-atom dopant in α-quartz are calculated using a variational, self-consistent implementation of the Perdew–Zunger self-interaction correction with complex optimal orbitals. This system has become an important test problem for theoretical methodology since generalized gradient approximation energy functionals, as well as commonly used hybrid functionals, fail to produce a sufficiently localized hole due to the self-interaction error inherent in practical implementations of Kohn–Sham density functional theory. The self-interaction corrected calculations are found to give accurate results for the energy of the defect state with respect to both valence and conduction band edges as well as the experimentally determined atomic structure where only a single Al–O bond is lengthened by 11%. The HSE hybrid functional, as well as the PW91 generalized gradient approximation functional, however, gives too small an energy gap between the defect state and the valence band edge, overly delocalized spin density and lengthening of more than one Al–O bond.

The invasive potential of cancer cells strongly depends on cellular stiffness, a physical quantity that is not only regulated by the mechanical impact of the cytoskeleton but also influenced by the membrane rigidity. To analyze the specific role of membrane rigidity in cancer progression, we treated cancer cells with the Acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibitor Soraphen A and revealed an alteration of the phospholipidome via mass spectrometry. Migration, invasion, and cell death assays were employed to relate this alteration to functional consequences, and a decrease of migration and invasion without significant impact on cell death has been recorded. Fourier fluctuation analysis of giant plasma membrane vesicles showed that Soraphen A increases membrane rigidity of carcinoma cell membranes. Mechanical measurements of the creep deformation response of whole intact cells were performed using the optical stretcher. The increase in membrane rigidity was observed in one cell line without changing the creep deformation response indicating no restructuring of the cytoskeleton. These data indicate that the increase of membrane rigidity alone is sufficient to inhibit invasiveness of cancer cells, thus disclosing the eminent role of membrane rigidity in migratory processes.

Biomechanical properties are key to many cellular functions such as cell division and cell motility and thus are crucial in the development and understanding of several diseases, for instance cancer. The mechanics of the cellular cytoskeleton have been extensively characterized in cells and artificial systems. The rigidity of the plasma membrane, with the exception of red blood cells, is unknown and membrane rigidity measurements only exist for vesicles composed of a few synthetic lipids. In this study, thermal fluctuations of giant plasma membrane vesicles (GPMVs) directly derived from the plasma membranes of primary breast and cervical cells, as well as breast cell lines, are analyzed. Cell blebs or GPMVs were studied via thermal membrane fluctuations and mass spectrometry. It will be shown that cancer cell membranes are significantly softer than their non-malignant counterparts. This can be attributed to a loss of fluid raft forming lipids in malignant cells. These results indicate that the reduction of membrane rigidity promotes aggressive blebbing motion in invasive cancer cells.

To demonstrate the role played by the von Neumann entropy (vNE) spectra in quantum phase transitions we investigate the one-dimensional anisotropic SU(2)$\otimes \mathrm{XXZ}$ spin–orbital model with negative exchange parameter. In the case of classical Ising orbital interactions we discover an unexpected novel phase with Majumdar–Ghosh-like spin–singlet dimer correlations triggered by spin–orbital entanglement (SOE) and having $k=\pi /2$ orbital correlations, while all the other phases are disentangled. For anisotropic XXZ orbital interactions both SOE and spin–dimer correlations extend to the antiferro-spin/alternating-orbital phase. This quantum phase provides a unique example of two coupled order parameters which change the character of the phase transition from first-order to continuous. Hereby we have established the vNE spectral function as a valuable tool to identify the change of ground state degeneracies and of the SOE of elementary excitations in quantum phase transitions.

The detailed electronic structure of a layered semiconductor 1T-TiS₂ and its modification in Ni-intercalated Ni_1/3TiS₂ were studied beyond the full surface Brillouin zone by use of a momentum microscope and He-I light source on their in-situ cleaved surfaces. Clear dispersions associated with the electron Fermi surface (FS) pockets induced by the self-intercalated Ti in non-doped 1T-TiS₂ around the M points, as well as the hole FS pocket induced by the surface Ni in Ni_1/3TiS₂ around the Γ point, were confirmed in the observed high-resolution E_B(k_x, k_y) band cross sections. A bird's eye view of the two-dimensional band dispersions E_B(k_x, k_y) clarified many complex band dispersions. The experimental results are compared with first-principles band calculations performed for the bulk as well as the one monolayer (ML)-TiS₂ and surface-1ML-Ni_1/3TiS₂. The characteristic changes of the band dispersions near the Fermi level (E_F) are ascribed to the contribution of the 3d states of the surface Ni atoms with the C_3v symmetry in contrast to the 'D_3d' symmetry of the intercalated Ni. The importance of experimental studies of band dispersions in the full Brillouin zone is demonstrated, showing the high potential of momentum microscopy.

We demonstrate that repulsive power law interactions can induce deterministic directed transport of particles in dissipative ac-driven periodic potentials, in regimes where the underlying noninteracting system exhibits localized oscillations. Contrasting the well-established single particle ratchet mechanism, this interaction induced transport is based on the collective behaviour of the interacting particles yielding a spatiotemporal nonequilibrium pattern comprising persistent travelling excitations.

BiCuSeO has recently been shown to be one of the best oxide-based thermoelectric materials. The electrical properties of this material have been widely studied; however, the reasons for its intrinsically low thermal conductivity have only been briefly discussed. In this paper, we calculated the band structure and the electrical properties of BiCuSeO. The phonon spectrum, mode Grüneisen parameters and the thermal properties were also investigated. Additionally, we proposed a new method for illustrating the interlayer interactions in this material. For the first time, using first principles calculations, we provide direct evidence of the structural in-layer and interlayer off-phase vibration modes, which contribute to the anharmonic vibrations and structural scattering of phonons and result in an intrinsic low lattice thermal conductivity for BiCuSeO.

We find the low-frequency optical response of highly doped individual and arrayed graphene nanoribbons to be accurately described in terms of plasmon wave functions (PWFs). More precisely, we focus on the lowest-order transverse dipolar mode, for which we define the wave function as the induced charge density associated with the plasmon. We show that a single universal wave function is capable of describing the normal-incidence interaction of paired, co-planar, and stacked arrays of ribbons down to small inter-ribbon distances. Our work provides both intuitive insight into graphene plasmon interactions and a practical way of accurately describing complex graphene geometries based on the PWFs of the individual components.

Monolayer structures made up of purely one kind of atom are fascinating. Many kinds of honeycomb systems including carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, phosphorus and arsenic have been shown to be stable. However, so far the structures are restricted to group-IV and V elements. In this work we systematically investigate the stability of monolayer structures made up of aluminium, in four different geometric configurations (planar, buckled, puckered and triangular), by employing density functional theory‐based electronic structure calculation. Our results on cohesive energy and phonon dispersion predict that only the planar honeycomb structure made up of aluminium is stable. We call it 'aluminene' according to the standard naming convention. It is a metal. Results of electronic band structure suggest that it may be regarded as a highly hole-doped graphene. We also present the tight-binding model and the Dirac theory to discuss the electronic properties of aluminene.

Dirac cones in a two-dimensional environment have attracted much attention not only because of the massless Dirac fermions but also due to their capability to lock the spin direction with the momentum. Here we demonstrate that the Rashba effect within a single layer of a binary alloy composed of heavy atoms, Pb and Au, can be driven by and even tweaked with the adjacent top and bottom layers to yield cone-like structures and further enhance the Rashba coupling strength. Two cones are observed at the surface zone center $\bar{\Gamma }$ with giant Rashba parameters 1.53 and 4.45 eVÅ; an anisotropic giant Rashba splitting at the surface zone boundary $\bar{M}$ has a great value, 6.26 eVÅ, inferring the critical role of p-d hybridization between Pb and Au. Our results reveal not only an interesting natural phenomenon but also a feasible method of tweaking the Rashba effect of a two-dimensional system.

Macromolecular complexation leading to coupling of two or more cellular membranes is a crucial step in a number of biological functions of the cell. While other mechanisms may also play a role, adhesion always involves the fluctuations of deformable membranes, the diffusion of proteins and the molecular binding and unbinding. Because these stochastic processes couple over a multitude of time and length scales, theoretical modeling of membrane adhesion has been a major challenge. Here we present an effective Monte Carlo scheme within which the effects of the membrane are integrated into local rates for molecular recognition. The latter step in the Monte Carlo approach enables us to simulate the nucleation and growth of adhesion domains within a system of the size of a cell for tens of seconds without loss of accuracy, as shown by comparison to 10⁶ times more expensive Langevin simulations. To perform this validation, the Langevin approach was augmented to simulate diffusion of proteins explicitly, together with reaction kinetics and membrane dynamics. We use the Monte Carlo scheme to gain deeper insight to the experimentally observed radial growth of micron sized adhesion domains, and connect the effective rate with which the domain is growing to the underlying microscopic events. We thus demonstrate that our technique yields detailed information about protein transport and complexation in membranes, which is a fundamental step toward understanding even more complex membrane interactions in the cellular context.

Several methods have been proposed in the literature to improve free electron laser output by transforming the electron phase-space before entering the FEL interaction region. By utilizing 'beam by design' with novel undulators and other beam changing elements, the operating capability of FELs may be further usefully extended. This paper introduces two new such methods to improve output from electron pulses with large energy spreads and the results of simulations of these methods in the 1D limit are presented. Both methods predict orders of magnitude improvements to output radiation powers.

Rare earth ions in crystals exhibit narrow spectral features and hyperfine-split ground states with exceptionally long coherence times. These features make them ideal platforms for quantum information processing in the solid state. Recently, we reported on the first high-resolution spectroscopy of single ${\mathrm{Pr}}^{3+}$ ions in yttrium orthosilicate nanocrystals via the ${}^{3}{{\rm{H}}}_{4}-{}^{3}{{\rm{P}}}_{0}$ transition at a wavelength of 488 nm. Here we show that individual praseodymium ions can also be detected on the more commonly studied ${}^{3}{{\rm{H}}}_{4}-{}^{1}{{\rm{D}}}_{2}$ transition at 606 nm. In addition, we present the first measurements of the second-order autocorrelation function, fluorescence lifetime, and emission spectra of single ions in this system as well as their polarization dependencies on both transitions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that by a proper choice of the crystallite, one can obtain narrower spectral lines and, thus, resolve the hyperfine levels of the excited state. We expect our results to make single-ion spectroscopy accessible to a larger scientific community.

In this paper, we discuss the connection between two genuinely quantum phenomena—the discontinuity of quantum maximum entropy inference and quantum phase transitions at zero temperature. It is shown that the discontinuity of the maximum entropy inference of local observable measurements signals the non-local type of transitions, where local density matrices of the ground state change smoothly at the transition point. We then propose to use the quantum conditional mutual information of the ground state as an indicator to detect the discontinuity and the non-local type of quantum phase transitions in the thermodynamic limit.

The time-dependent transport through single-molecule magnets coupled to magnetic or non-magnetic electrodes is studied in the framework of the generalized master equation method. We investigate the transient regime induced by the periodic switching of the source and drain contacts. If the electrodes have opposite magnetizations the quantum turnstile operation allows the stepwise writing of intermediate excited states. In turn, the transient currents provide a way to read these states. Within our approach we take into account both the uniaxial and transverse anisotropy. The latter may induce additional quantum tunneling processes which affect the efficiency of the proposed read-and-write scheme. An equally weighted mixture of molecular spin states can be prepared if one of the electrodes is ferromagnetic.

Biological ion channels are protein nanotubes embedded in, and passing through, the bilipid membranes of cells. Physiologically, they are of crucial importance in that they allow ions to pass into and out of cells, fast and efficiently, though in a highly selective way. Here we show that the conduction and selectivity of calcium/sodium ion channels can be described in terms of ionic Coulomb blockade in a simplified electrostatic and Brownian dynamics model of the channel. The Coulomb blockade phenomenon arises from the discreteness of electrical charge, the strong electrostatic interaction, and an electrostatic exclusion principle. The model predicts a periodic pattern of Ca²⁺ conduction versus the fixed charge Q_f at the selectivity filter (conduction bands) with a period equal to the ionic charge. It thus provides provisional explanations of some observed and modelled conduction and valence selectivity phenomena, including the anomalous mole fraction effect and the calcium conduction bands. Ionic Coulomb blockade and resonant conduction are similar to electronic Coulomb blockade and resonant tunnelling in quantum dots. The same considerations may also be applicable to other kinds of channel, as well as to charged artificial nanopores.

We propose a novel and robust technique to realize a beam splitter for trapped Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs). The scheme relies on the possibility of producing different potentials simultaneously for two internal atomic states. The atoms are coherently transferred, via a Rabi coupling between the two long-lived internal states, from a single well potential to a double-well. We present numerical simulations supporting our proposal and confirming excellent efficiency and fidelity of the transfer process with realistic numbers for a BEC of ⁸⁷Rb. We discuss the experimental implementation by suggesting state-selective microwave (MW) potentials as an ideal tool to be exploited for magnetically trapped atoms. The working principles of this technique are tested on our atom chip device which features an integrated coplanar MW guide. In particular, the first realization of a double-well potential by using a MW dressing field is reported. Experimental results are presented together with numerical simulations, showing good agreement. Simultaneous and independent control on the external potentials is also demonstrated in the two Rubidium clock states. The transfer between the two states, featuring respectively a single and a double-well, is characterized and it is used to measure the energy spectrum of the atoms in the double-well. Our results show that the spatial overlap between the two states is crucial to ensure the functioning of the beamsplitter. Even though this condition could not be achieved in our current setup, the proposed technique can be realized with current state-of-the-art devices being particularly well suited for atom chip experiments. We anticipate applications in quantum enhanced interferometry.

Decision-making is one of the most important intellectual abilities of not only humans but also other biological organisms, helping their survival. This ability, however, may not be limited to biological systems and may be exhibited by physical systems. Here we demonstrate that any physical object, as long as its volume is conserved when coupled with suitable operations, provides a sophisticated decision-making capability. We consider the multi-armed bandit problem (MBP), the problem of finding, as accurately and quickly as possible, the most profitable option from a set of options that gives stochastic rewards. Efficient MBP solvers are useful for many practical applications, because MBP abstracts a variety of decision-making problems in real-world situations in which an efficient trial-and-error is required. These decisions are made as dictated by a physical object, which is moved in a manner similar to the fluctuations of a rigid body in a tug-of-war (TOW) game. This method, called 'TOW dynamics', exhibits higher efficiency than conventional reinforcement learning algorithms. We show analytical calculations that validate statistical reasons for TOW dynamics to produce the high performance despite its simplicity. These results imply that various physical systems in which some conservation law holds can be used to implement an efficient 'decision-making object'. The proposed scheme will provide a new perspective to open up a physics-based analog computing paradigm and to understanding the biological information-processing principles that exploit their underlying physics.

We explore the quantum dynamics of a one-dimensional trapped ultracold ensemble of bosonic atoms triggered by the sudden creation of a single ion. The numerical simulations are performed by means of the ab initio multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method for bosons which takes into account all correlations. The dynamics is analyzed via a cluster expansion approach, adapted to bosonic systems of fixed particle number, which provides a comprehensive understanding of the occurring many-body processes. After a transient during which the atomic ensemble separates into fractions which are unbound and bound with respect to the ion, we observe an oscillation in the atomic density which we attribute to the additional length and energy scale induced by the attractive long-range atom–ion interaction. This oscillation is shown to be the main source of spatial coherence and population transfer between the bound and the unbound atomic fraction. Moreover, the dynamics exhibits collapse and revival behavior caused by the dynamical build-up of two-particle correlations demonstrating that a beyond mean-field description is indispensable.

Random matrix theory (RMT) has found applications throughout physics and applied mathematics, in subject areas as diverse as communications networks, population dynamics, neuroscience, and models of the banking system. Many of these analyses exploit elegant analytical results, particularly the circular law and its extensions. In order to apply these results, assumptions must be made about the distribution of matrix elements. Here we demonstrate that the choice of matrix distribution is crucial. In particular, adopting an unrealistic matrix distribution for the sake of analytical tractability is liable to lead to misleading conclusions. We focus on the application of RMT to the long-standing, and at times fractious, 'diversity-stability debate', which is concerned with establishing whether large complex systems are likely to be stable. Early work (and subsequent elaborations) brought RMT to bear on the debate by modelling the entries of a system's Jacobian matrix as independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables. These analyses were successful in yielding general results that were not tied to any specific system, but relied upon a restrictive i.i.d. assumption. Other studies took an opposing approach, seeking to elucidate general principles of stability through the analysis of specific systems. Here we develop a statistical framework that reconciles these two contrasting approaches. We use a range of illustrative dynamical systems examples to demonstrate that: (i) stability probability cannot be summarily deduced from any single property of the system (e.g. its diversity); and (ii) our assessment of stability depends on adequately capturing the details of the systems analysed. Failing to condition on the structure of dynamical systems will skew our analysis and can, even for very small systems, result in an unnecessarily pessimistic diagnosis of their stability.

The topological color code and the toric code are two leading candidates for realizing fault-tolerant quantum computation. Here we show that the color code on a d-dimensional closed manifold is equivalent to multiple decoupled copies of the d-dimensional toric code up to local unitary transformations and adding or removing ancilla qubits. Our result not only generalizes the proven equivalence for d = 2, but also provides an explicit recipe of how to decouple independent components of the color code, highlighting the importance of colorability in the construction of the code. Moreover, for the d-dimensional color code with $d+1$ boundaries of $d+1$ distinct colors, we find that the code is equivalent to multiple copies of the d-dimensional toric code which are attached along a $(d-1)$-dimensional boundary. In particular, for d = 2, we show that the (triangular) color code with boundaries is equivalent to the (folded) toric code with boundaries. We also find that the d-dimensional toric code admits logical non-Pauli gates from the dth level of the Clifford hierarchy, and thus saturates the bound by Bravyi and König. In particular, we show that the logical d-qubit control-Z gate can be fault-tolerantly implemented on the stack of d copies of the toric code by a local unitary transformation.

We present a method to verify the metrological usefulness of noisy Dicke states of a particle ensemble with only a few collective measurements, without the need for a direct measurement of the sensitivity. Our method determines the usefulness of the state for the usual protocol for estimating the angle of rotation with Dicke states, which is based on the measurement of the second moment of a total spin component. It can also be used to detect entangled states that are useful for quantum metrology. We apply our method to recent experimental results.

Recently, the reactor mixing angle ${\theta }_{13}$ has been measured precisely by Daya Bay, RENO, and T2K experiments with a moderately large value. However, the standard form of neutrino mixing patterns such as bimaximal, tri-bimaximal, golden ratio of types A and B, hexagonal, etc., which are based on certain flavor symmetries, predict vanishing ${\theta }_{13}$. Using the fact that the neutrino mixing matrix can be represented as ${V}_{\mathrm{PMNS}}={U}_{l}^{\dagger }{U}_{\nu }{P}_{\nu }$, where U_l and ${U}_{\nu }$ result from the diagonalization of the charged lepton and neutrino mass matrices and ${P}_{\nu }$ is a diagonal matrix containing Majorana phases, we explore the possibility of accounting for the large reactor mixing angle by considering deviations both in the charged lepton and neutrino sector. In the charged lepton sector we consider the deviation as an additional rotation in the (12) and (13) planes, whereas in the neutrino sector we consider deviations to various neutrino mixing patterns through (13) and (23) rotations. We find that with the inclusion of these deviations it is possible to accommodate the observed large reactor mixing angle ${\theta }_{13}$, and one can also obtain limits on the charge-conjugation parity-violating Dirac phase${\delta }_{{CP}}$ and Jarlskog invariant J_CP for most of the cases. We then explore whether our findings can be tested in the currently running NuMI Off-axis v_e Appearance experiment with three years of data taking in neutrino mode followed by three years with the anti-neutrino mode.

Through the von Neumann interaction followed by post-selection, we can extract not only the eigenvalue of an observable of the measured system but also the weak value. In this post-selected von Neumann measurement, the initial pointer state of the measuring device is assumed to be a fundamental Gaussian wave function. By considering the optical implementation of the post-selected von Neumann measurement, higher-order Gaussian modes can be used. In this paper, we consider the Hermite–Gaussian (HG) and Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) modes as pointer states and calculate the average shift of the pointer states of the post-selected von Neumann measurement by assuming the system observable $\hat{A}$ with ${\hat{A}}^{2}=\hat{I}$ and ${\hat{A}}^{2}=\hat{A}$ for an arbitrary interaction strength, where $\hat{I}$ represents the identity operator. Our results show that the HG and LG pointer states for a given coupling direction have advantages and disadvantages over the fundamental Gaussian mode in improving the signal-to-noise ratio. We expect that our general treatment of the weak values will be helpful for understanding the connection between weak- and strong-measurement regimes and may be used to propose new experimental setups with higher-order Gaussian beams to investigate further the applications of weak measurement in optical systems such as the optical vortex.

The magnetic configuration of nanostructured elements fabricated from thin films of the Heusler compound Co₂MnGa was determined by high-resolution x-ray magnetic microscopy, and the magnetic properties of continuous Co₂MnGa thin films were determined by magnetometry measurements. A four-fold magnetic anisotropy with an anisotropy constant of ${K}_{1}\approx 1.5$ kJ m⁻³ was deduced, and x-ray microscopy measurements have shown that the nanostructured Co₂MnGa elements exhibit reproducible magnetic states dominated by shape anisotropy, with a minor contribution from the magneto-crystalline anisotropy, showing that the spin structure can be tailored by judiciously choosing the geometry.

Intense efforts have been made in recent years to realize nonlinear optical interactions at the single-photon level. Much of this work has focused on achieving strong third-order nonlinearities, such as by using single atoms or other quantum emitters, while the possibility of achieving strong second-order nonlinearities remains unexplored. Here, we describe a novel technique to realize such nonlinearities using graphene, exploiting the strong per-photon fields associated with tightly confined graphene plasmons in combination with spatially nonlocal nonlinear optical interactions. We show that in properly designed graphene nanostructures, these conditions enable extremely strong internal down-conversion between a single quantized plasmon and an entangled plasmon pair, or the reverse process of second harmonic generation. A separate issue is how such strong internal nonlinearities can be observed, given the nominally weak coupling between these plasmon resonances and free-space radiative fields. On one hand, by using the collective coupling to radiation of nanostructure arrays, we show that the internal nonlinearities can manifest themselves as efficient frequency conversion of radiative fields at extremely low input powers. On the other hand, the development of techniques to efficiently couple to single nanostructures would allow these nonlinear processes to occur at the level of single input photons.

We study the combination of the hyperfine and Zeeman structure in the spin–orbit coupled ${A}^{1}{\Sigma }_{u}^{+}-{b}^{3}{\Pi }_{u}$ complex of ${}^{87}{\mathrm{Rb}}_{2}$. For this purpose, absorption spectroscopy at a magnetic field around $B=1000$ G is carried out. We drive optical dipole transitions from the lowest rotational state of an ultracold Feshbach molecule to various vibrational levels with ${0}^{+}$ symmetry of the $A-b$ complex. In contrast to previous measurements with rotationally excited alkali-dimers, we do not observe equal spacings of the hyperfine levels. In addition, the spectra vary substantially for different vibrational quantum numbers, and exhibit large splittings of up to $160$ MHz, unexpected for ${0}^{+}$ states. The level structure is explained to be a result of the repulsion between the states ${0}^{+}$ and ${0}^{-}$ of ${b}^{3}{\Pi }_{u}$, coupled via hyperfine and Zeeman interactions. In general, ${0}^{-}$ and ${0}^{+}$ have a spin–orbit induced energy spacing Δ, that is different for the individual vibrational states. From each measured spectrum we are able to extract Δ, which otherwise is not easily accessible in conventional spectroscopy schemes. We obtain values of Δ in the range of $\pm 100$ GHz which can be described by coupled channel calculations if a spin–orbit coupling is introduced that is different for ${0}^{-}$ and ${0}^{+}$ of ${b}^{3}{\Pi }_{u}$.

We measure the nuclear quadrupole resonance signal on the Zn site in nearly optimally doped YBa₂Cu₃O_6.92, when Cu is substituted by 3% of isotopically pure ⁶⁷Zn. We observe that Zn creates large insulating islands, confirming two earlier conjectures: that doping provokes an orbital transition in the CuO₂ plane, which is locally reversed by Zn substitution, and that the islands are antiferromagnetic. Also, we find that the Zn impurity locally induces a breaking of the D₄ symmetry. Cluster and DFT calculations show that the D₄ symmetry breaking is due to the same partial lifting of degeneracy of the nearest-neighbor oxygen sites as in the LTT transition in $\mathrm{La}{}_{2-x}$Ba_xCuO₄, similarly well-known to strongly suppress superconductivity (SC). These results show that in-plane oxygen 2p⁵ orbital configurations are principally involved in the metallicity and SC of all high-T_c cuprates, and provide a qualitative symmetry-based constraint on the SC mechanism.

Causal inequalities are bounds on correlations obtained when operations take place in a causal sequence, i.e. in which the background time or definite causal structure pre-exists such that every operation is either in the future, in the past or space-like separated from any other operation. Recently, a framework was developed where quantum theory is assumed to be valid in local laboratories, but where no reference is made to any global causal relations between the operations in the laboratories. The framework was shown to allow for correlations that violate a bipartite causal inequality. Here we prove that the maximal violation of the causal inequality is upper bounded (analogously to the Tsirelson bound) under a restricted set of local operations involving binary observables. The bound is lower than what is algebraically possible.

We simulate randomly crosslinked networks of biopolymers, characterizing linear and nonlinear elasticity under different loading conditions (uniaxial extension, simple shear, and pure shear). Under uniaxial extension, and upon entering the nonlinear regime, the network switches from a dilatant to contractile response. Analogously, under isochoric conditions (pure shear), the normal stresses change their sign. Both effects are readily explained with a generic weakly nonlinear elasticity theory. The elastic moduli display an intermediate super-stiffening regime, where moduli increase much stronger with applied stress σ than predicted by the force-extension relation of a single wormlike-chain (${G}_{\mathrm{wlc}}\sim {\sigma }^{3/2}$). We interpret this super-stiffening regime in terms of the reorientation of filaments with the maximum tensile direction of the deformation field. A simple model for the reorientation response gives an exponential stiffening, $G\sim {{\rm{e}}}^{\sigma }$, in qualitative agreement with our data. The heterogeneous, anisotropic structure of the network is reflected in correspondingly heterogeneous and anisotropic elastic properties. We provide a coarse-graining scheme to quantify the local anisotropy, the fluctuations of the elastic moduli, and the local stresses as a function of coarse-graining length. Heterogeneities of the elastic moduli are strongly correlated with the local density and increase with applied strain.

Quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect is promising for achieving dissipationless transport devices which can be achieved only at extremely low temperature presently. The research for new large-gap QSH insulators is critical for their realistic applications at room temperature. Based on first-principles calculations, we propose a QSH insulator with a sizable bulk gap as large as ∼0.22 eV in stanene film functionalized with the organic molecule ethynyl (SnC₂H), whose topological electronic properties are highly tunable by the external strain. This large-gap is mainly due to the result of the strong spin–orbit coupling related to the p_xy orbitals at the Γ point of the honeycomb lattice, significantly different from that consisting of the p_z orbital as in free-standing group IV ones. The topological characteristic of SnC₂H film is confirmed by the Z₂ topological order and an explicit demonstration of the topological helical Dirac type edge states. The SnC₂H film on BN substrate is observed to support a nontrivial large-gap QSH, which harbors a Dirac cone lying within the band gap. Owing to their high structural stability, this two-dimensional large-gap QSH insulator is promising platforms for topological phenomena and new quantum devices operating at room temperature in spintronics.

Boundary conditions in quasiclassical theory of superconductivity are of crucial importance for describing proximity effects in heterostructures between different materials. Although they have been derived for the ballistic case in full generality, corresponding boundary conditions for the diffusive limit, described by Usadel theory, have been lacking for interfaces involving strongly spin-polarized materials, e.g. half-metallic ferromagnets. Given the current intense research in the emerging field of superconducting spintronics, the formulation of appropriate boundary conditions for the Usadel theory of diffusive superconductors in contact with strongly spin-polarized ferromagnets for arbitrary transmission probability and arbitrary spin-dependent interface scattering phases has been a burning open question. Here we close this gap and derive the full boundary conditions for quasiclassical Green functions in the diffusive limit, valid for any value of spin polarization, transmission probability, and spin-mixing angles (spin-dependent scattering phase shifts). Our formulation allows also for complex spin textures across the interface and for channel off-diagonal scattering (a necessary ingredient when the numbers of channels on the two sides of the interface differ). As an example we derive expressions for the proximity effect in diffusive systems involving half-metallic ferromagnets. In a superconductor/half-metal/superconductor Josephson junction we find ${\phi }_{0}$-junction behavior under certain interface conditions.

Recent techniques in x-ray free electron lasers allow the generation of highly coherent, intense x-ray pulses with time lengths on the order of femtoseconds. Here we explore the possibilities of using such x-ray pulses to control matter based on coherence. In particular we propose a theoretical scheme to perform stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in the x-ray regime by using inner-hole excited states. Numerical results in two well-known systems, the neon atom and the carbon monoxide molecule, show a robust control of population transfer. In the molecule, vibrational selectivity is achieved with femtosecond x-ray pulses. This work supports the possibility of using two-color x-ray pulses for coherent control.

We introduce a model described in terms of a scalar velocity field on a 1D lattice, evolving through collisions that conserve momentum but do not conserve energy. Such a system possesses some of the main ingredients of fluidized granular media and naturally models them. We deduce non-linear fluctuating hydrodynamics equations for the macroscopic velocity and temperature fields, which replicate the hydrodynamics of shear modes in a granular fluid. Moreover, this Landau-like fluctuating hydrodynamics predicts an essential part of the peculiar behaviour of granular fluids, like the instability of homogeneous cooling state at large size or inelasticity. We also compute the exact shape of long range spatial correlations which, even far from the instability, have the physical consequence of noticeably modifying the cooling rate. This effect, which stems from momentum conservation, has not been previously reported in the realm of granular fluids.

Recent advances in theoretical and experimental quantum computing bring us closer to scalable quantum computing devices. This makes the need for protocols that verify the correct functionality of quantum operations timely and has led to the field of quantum verification. In this paper we address key challenges to make quantum verification protocols applicable to experimental implementations. We prove the robustness of the single server verifiable universal blind quantum computing protocol of Fitzsimons and Kashefi (2012 arXiv:1203.5217) in the most general scenario. This includes the case where the purification of the deviated input state is in the hands of an adversarial server. The proved robustness property allows the composition of this protocol with a device-independent state tomography protocol that we give, which is based on the rigidity of CHSH games as proposed by Reichardt et al (2013 Nature496 456–60). The resulting composite protocol has lower round complexity for the verification of entangled quantum servers with a classical verifier and, as we show, can be made fault tolerant.

Near- and far-field beam profiles were measured for THz pulses generated in LiNbO₃ by optical rectification of 200 fs pulses with a tilted pulse front. The variation of the THz beam size and a dramatically increasing divergence angle with increasing pump fluence were observed in the (horizontal) plane of the pulse front tilt. No significant variation was observed in the vertical direction. The reason for the observed nonlinear beam distortion is the shortening of the effective interaction length for THz generation caused by the combined effect of pump spectral broadening and angular dispersion in the tilted pulse front geometry. Our results indicate that nonlinear THz beam distortion effects have to be taken into account when designing intense THz sources and related experiments.

This article deals with the molecular dynamics simulation of open systems that can exchange energy and matter with a reservoir; the physics of the reservoir and its interactions with the system are described by the model introduced by Bergmann and Lebowitz (P G Bergmann and J L Lebowitz 1955 Phys. Rev.99 578). Despite its conceptual appeal, the model did not gain popularity in the field of molecular simulation and, as a consequence, did not play a role in the development of open system molecular simulation techniques, even though it can provide the conceptual legitimation of simulation techniques that mimic open systems. We shall demonstrate that the model can serve as a tool in devising both numerical procedures and conceptual definitions of physical quantities that cannot be defined in a straightforward way by systems with a fixed number of molecules. In particular, we discuss the utility of the Bergmann–Lebowitz (BL) model for the calculation of equilibrium time correlation functions within the grand canonical adaptive resolution method (GC-AdResS) and report numerical results for the case of liquid water.

We predict a variety of composite quiescent and spinning two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) self-trapped modes in media with a repulsive nonlinearity whose local strength grows from center to periphery. These are 2D dipoles and quadrupoles, and 3D octupoles, as well as vortex–antivortex pairs and quadruplets. Unlike other multidimensional models, where such complex bound states either do not exist or are subject to strong instabilities, these modes are remarkably robust in the present setting. The results are obtained by means of numerical methods and analytically, using the Thomas–Fermi approximation. The predicted states may be realized in optical and matter-wave media with controllable cubic nonlinearities.

A global positioning system (GPS) carrier-phase frequency transfer link along a baseline of 450 km has been established and is characterized by comparing it to a phase-stabilized optical fiber link of 920 km length, established between the two endpoints, the Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik in Garching and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig. The characterization is accomplished by comparing two active hydrogen masers operated at both institutes. The masers serve as local oscillators and cancel out when the double differences are calculated, such that they do not constitute a limitation for the GPS link characterization. We achieve a frequency instability of $3\times {10}^{-13}$ in 30 s and $5\times {10}^{-16}$ for long averaging times. Frequency comparison results obtained via both links show no deviation larger than the statistical uncertainty of $6\times {10}^{-16}$. These results can also be interpreted as a successful cross-check of the measurement uncertainty of a truly remote end fiber link.

A resistivity model for non-crystalline, solid-density carbon and hydrocarbons is presented for such materials heated by short-pulse, ultra-intense lasers. Electron-impact excitation of C atoms and ions was included in this model, and calculation of resistivity curves with and without accounting for excitations indicates that excitations contribute >50% of the resistivity in the 3–20 eV range. This implies that electron-impact excitations make a similar contribution to electron–ion scattering, and thus models not accounting for electron-impact excitation may underestimate the resistivity of dense plasmas in this temperature range.

The analysis of x-ray reflectivity data from artificial heterostructures usually relies on the homogeneity of optical properties of the constituent materials. However, when the x-ray energy is tuned to the absorption edge of a particular resonant site, this assumption may no longer be appropriate. For samples realizing lattice planes with and without resonant sites, the corresponding regions containing the sites at resonance will have optical properties very different from regions without those sites. In this situation, models assuming homogeneous optical properties throughout the material can fail to describe the reflectivity adequately. As we show here, resonant soft x-ray reflectivity is sensitive to these variations, even though the wavelength is typically large as compared to the atomic distances over which the optical properties vary. We have therefore developed a scheme for analyzing resonant soft x-ray reflectivity data, which takes the atomic structure of a material into account by 'slicing' it into atomic planes with characteristic optical properties. Using LaSrMnO₄ as an example, we discuss both the theoretical and experimental implications of this approach. Our analysis not only allows to determine important structural information such as interface terminations and stacking of atomic layers, but also enables to extract depth-resolved spectroscopic information with atomic resolution, thus enhancing the capability of the technique to study emergent phenomena at surfaces and interfaces.

Vertical oriented GaN microrods were grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy with four different n-type carrier concentration sections above 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ along the c-axis. In cathodoluminescence investigations carried out on each section of the microrod, whispering gallery modes can be observed due to the hexagonal symmetry. Comparisons of the spectral positions of the modes from each section show the presence of an energy dependent mode shift, which suggest a carrier-induced refractive index change. The shift of the high energy edge of the near band edge emission points out that the band gap parameter in the analytical expression of the refractive index has to be modified. A proper adjustment of the band gap parameter explains the observed whispering gallery mode shift.

We present a general scheme for synthesizing a spatially periodic magnetic field, or a magnetic lattice (ML), for ultracold atoms using pulsed gradient magnetic field (GMF). Our scheme is immune to atomic spontaneous emission often encountered in optical lattices, and has the additional benefits of easy tunability for both the lattice period and depth. Technical requirements for the experimental protocol implementing our scheme is estimated and shown to be readily available in today's cold atom laboratories. The effective Hamiltonian for atoms interacting with the synthesized two-dimensional ML has not been studied in quantum condensed matter physics previously. Its band structure shows interesting features reminiscent of lattice models in p-orbit physics. Realization of our proposal will significantly expand the repertoire for quantum simulation with ultracold atoms.

We analyze the mechanical properties of three epithelial/mesenchymal cell lines (MCF-10A, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-436) that exhibit a shift in E-, N- and P-cadherin levels characteristic of an epithelial−mesenchymal transition associated with processes such as metastasis, to quantify the role of cell cohesion in cell sorting and compartmentalization. We develop a unique set of methods to measure cell–cell adhesiveness, cell stiffness and cell shapes, and compare the results to predictions from cell sorting in mixtures of cell populations. We find that the final sorted state is extremely robust among all three cell lines independent of epithelial or mesenchymal state, suggesting that cell sorting may play an important role in organization and boundary formation in tumours. We find that surface densities of adhesive molecules do not correlate with measured cell–cell adhesion, but do correlate with cell shapes, cell stiffness and the rate at which cells sort, in accordance with an extended version of the differential adhesion hypothesis (DAH). Surprisingly, the DAH does not correctly predict the final sorted state. This suggests that these tissues are not behaving as immiscible fluids, and that dynamical effects such as directional motility, friction and jamming may play an important role in tissue compartmentalization across the epithelial−mesenchymal transition.

The linear and non-linear thermoelectric properties of molecular junctions are theoretically studied close to room temperature within a model including electron–electron and electron–vibration interactions on the molecule. A non-equilibrium adiabatic approach is devised to include a strong Coulomb repulsion and applied to the self-consistent calculation of electron and phonon transport properties of massive molecules, such as fullerenes, within the Coulomb blockade regime. We show that the phonon thermal conductance is quite sensitive to strong electron–electron interactions within the intermediate electron–vibration coupling regime. Furthermore, the electron–vibration interaction enhances both phonon and electron thermal conductance, and it reduces not only the charge conductance, but also the thermopower. The effect of the strong electron–electron interactions provides a peculiar double-peak structure to the thermopower versus charge conductance curve. Finally, within the regime of weak to intermediate electron–vibration and vibration–lead phonon coupling, the peak values of the thermoelectric figure of merit are slightly less than unity, and the maximal efficiency of the junction can reach values slightly less than half of the Carnot limit for large temperature differences between the leads.

General Scientific Summary

Introduction and background. Recently, the possibility of controlling materials at the nanoscale has been exploited to optimize the thermoelectric efficiency, so that the conversion between heat and electricity and vice versa could be improved. In particular, the emerging field of molecular thermoelectrics has attracted the attention of many research groups showing that molecular devices can be efficient for the heat-electricity conversion since both vibrational and electronic degrees of freedom can contribute to tailor thermoelectric properties.

Main results. In this paper, thermoelectric properties in molecular junctions are discussed presenting a new theoretical approach and focusing on the interplay between electron-electron and electron-vibration interactions active on the molecule within both linear and non-linear response regime. We have shown that, within the regime of weak to intermediate electron-vibration and vibration-lead phonon coupling, the peak values of the thermoelectric figure of merit can be made, for an experimentally accessible regime, close to unity, and the maximum efficiency of the junction close to half of the Carnot limit.

Wider implications. This study allows us to assess the possibility to use molecular junctions in actual thermoelectric devices provided that intra- and inter-molecular couplings are tuned to make these molecular devices optimal thermoelectric converters.

Quasi-static magnetic-fields up to 800 T are generated in the interaction of intense laser pulses (500 J, 1 ns, ${10}^{17}\;{\rm{W}}\;{\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}$) with capacitor-coil targets of different materials. The reproducible magnetic-field peak and rise-time, consistent with the laser pulse duration, were accurately inferred from measurements with GHz-bandwidth inductor pickup coils (B-dot probes). Results from Faraday rotation of polarized optical laser light and deflectometry of energetic proton beams are consistent with the B-dot probe measurements at the early stages of the target charging, up to $t\approx 0.35$ ns, and then are disturbed by radiation and plasma effects. The field has a dipole-like distribution over a characteristic volume of 1 mm³, which is consistent with theoretical expectations. These results demonstrate a very efficient conversion of the laser energy into magnetic fields, thus establishing a robust laser-driven platform for reproducible, well characterized, generation of quasi-static magnetic fields at the kT-level, as well as for magnetization and accurate probing of high-energy-density samples driven by secondary powerful laser or particle beams.

Many real-world networks exhibit correlations between the node degrees. For instance, in social networks nodes tend to connect to nodes of similar degree and conversely, in biological and technological networks, high-degree nodes tend to be linked with low-degree nodes. Degree correlations also affect the dynamics of processes supported by a network structure, such as the spread of opinions or epidemics. The proper modelling of these systems, i.e., without uncontrolled biases, requires the sampling of networks with a specified set of constraints. We present a solution to the sampling problem when the constraints imposed are the degree correlations. In particular, we develop an exact method to construct and sample graphs with a specified joint-degree matrix, which is a matrix providing the number of edges between all the sets of nodes of a given degree, for all degrees, thus completely specifying all pairwise degree correlations, and additionally, the degree sequence itself. Our algorithm always produces independent samples without backtracking. The complexity of the graph construction algorithm is ${\mathcal{O}}({NM})$ where N is the number of nodes and M is the number of edges.

We propose a method for acting on the spin state of a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ localized particle, or qubit, by means of a magnetic signal effectively generated by the nearby transit of a magnetic soliton, there conveyed through a transmission line. We first introduce the specific magnetic soliton of which we will make use, and briefly review the properties that make it apt to represent a signal. We then show that a Heisenberg spin chain can serve as transmission line, and propose a method for injecting a soliton into the chain by acting just on one of its ends. We finally demonstrate that the resulting magnetic pulse can indeed cause, just passing by the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ localized particle embodying the qubit, a permanent change in its spin state, thus realizing the possibility of getting through to a single, localized qubit, and manipulating its state. A thorough analysis of how the overall dynamical system operates depending on the setting of its parameters demonstrates that fine tuning is not necessary as there exists an extended region in the parameters space that corresponds to effective functioning. Moreover, we show that possible noise on the transmission line does not invalidate the scheme.

We present a detailed study of a low-dimensional population-competition (PC) model suitable for analysis of the dynamics of certain modulational instability patterns in extended systems. The model is applied to analyze the transverse optical exciton–polariton patterns in semiconductor quantum well microcavities. It is shown that, despite its simplicity, the PC model describes quite well the competitions among various two-spot and hexagonal patterns when four physical parameters, representing density saturation, hexagon stabilization, anisotropy, and switching beam intensity, are varied. The combined effects of the last three parameters are given detailed considerations here. Although the model is developed in the context of semiconductor polariton patterns, its equations have more general applicability, and the results obtained here may benefit the investigation of other pattern-forming systems. The simplicity of the PC model allows us to organize all steady state solutions in a parameter space 'phase diagram'. Each region in the phase diagram is characterized by the number and type of solutions. The main numerical task is to compute inter-region boundary surfaces, where some steady states either appear, disappear, or change their stability status. The singularity types of the boundary points, given by Catastrophe theory, are shown to provide a simple geometric overview of the boundary surfaces. With all stable and unstable steady states and the phase boundaries delimited and characterized, we have attained a comprehensive understanding of the structure of the four-parameter phase diagram. We analyze this rich structure in detail and show that it provides a transparent and organized interpretation of competitions among various patterns built on the hexagonal state space.

The collective behavior of a two-dimensional wet granular cluster under horizontal swirling motions is investigated experimentally. Depending on the balance between the energy injection and dissipation, the cluster evolves into various nonequilibrium stationary states with strong internal structure fluctuations with time. Quantitative characterizations of the fluctuations with the bond orientational order parameter ${q}_{6}$ reveal power spectra of the form ${f}^{\alpha }$ with the exponent α closely related to the stationary states of the system. In particular, $1/f$ type of noise with $\alpha \approx -1$ emerges as melting starts from the free surface of the cluster, suggesting the possibility of using $1/f$ noise as an indicator for phase transitions in systems driven far from thermodynamic equilibrium.

The plasma behavior in a parallel-plate dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is simulated by a two-dimensional particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision model, comparing for the first time an unpacked (empty) DBD with a packed bed DBD, i.e., a DBD filled with dielectric spheres in the gas gap. The calculations are performed in air, at atmospheric pressure. The discharge is powered by a pulse with a voltage amplitude of −20 kV. When comparing the packed and unpacked DBD reactors with the same dielectric barriers, it is clear that the presence of the dielectric packing leads to a transition in discharge behavior from a combination of negative streamers and unlimited surface streamers on the bottom dielectric surface to a combination of predominant positive streamers and limited surface discharges on the dielectric surfaces of the beads and plates. Furthermore, in the packed bed DBD, the electric field is locally enhanced inside the dielectric material, near the contact points between the beads and the plates, and therefore also in the plasma between the packing beads and between a bead and the dielectric wall, leading to values of $4\times {10}^{8}$ V m⁻¹, which is much higher than the electric field in the empty DBD reactor, i.e., in the order of $2\times {10}^{7}$ V m⁻¹, thus resulting in stronger and faster development of the plasma, and also in a higher electron density. The locally enhanced electric field and the electron density in the case of a packed bed DBD are also examined and discussed for three different dielectric constants, i.e., ${\epsilon }_{r}=22$ (ZrO₂), ${\epsilon }_{r}=9$ (Al₂O₃) and ${\epsilon }_{r}=4$ (SiO₂). The enhanced electric field is stronger and the electron density is higher for a larger dielectric constant, because the dielectric material is more effectively polarized. These simulations are very important, because of the increasing interest in packed bed DBDs for environmental applications.

We have studied the low-frequency dynamics of the charge carriers in different organic charge-transfer salts κ-(BEDT-TTF)₂X with polymeric anions X by using resistance noise spectroscopy. Our aim is to investigate the structural, glass-like transition caused by the conformational degrees of freedom of the BEDT-TTF molecules' terminal ethylene groups. Although of fundamental importance for studies of the electronic ground-state properties, the phenomenology of the glassy dynamics has been minimally investigated and its origin is not understood. Our systematic studies of fluctuation spectroscopy of various different compounds reveal a universal, pronounced maximum in the resistance noise power spectral density related to the glass transition. The energy scale of this process can be identified with the activation energy of the glass-like ethylene endgroup structural dynamics as determined from thermodynamic and NMR measurements. For the first time for this class of 'plastic crystals', we report a typical glassy property of the relaxation time, namely a Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann law, and are able to determine the degree of fragility of the glassy system. Supporting ab initio calculations provide an explanation for the origin and phenomenology of the glassy dynamics in different systems in terms of a simple two-level model, where the relevant energy scales are determined by the coupling of the ethylene endgroups to the anions.

Bifunctional effects of the Si atoms intercalated between the n-type 6H–SiC(0001) substrate and the $(6\sqrt{3}\times 6\sqrt{3})R30^\circ$ zero layer have been disclosed by scanning tunneling microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, high-resolution synchrotron photoemission spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. As a result of Si intercalation, an ordered Si interfacial layer composed of a Si adlayer and Si adatoms with dangling bonds has been formed under quasi-free-standing epitaxial graphene (EG). It turns out that the SiC(0001) band bending is determined by the Fermi level located close to the lowest states of the upper Hubbard band. The Hubbard bands originate from strong correlation effects of the electrons in the dangling bonds of the Si adatoms ordered on the Si adlayer. The doping level of the decoupled graphene is determined by the amount of charge transferred from the Si adatoms ordered on the Si adlayer to the quasi-free-standing EG.

This study is focused on the stretching and breakup of a Newtonian liquid bridge between two parallel plates, one of which moves with a constant acceleration. The experimental device is designed to achieve high acceleration (up to 200 m s⁻²) with high precision. The shape evolution of the liquid bridge and its pinch-off are captured using a high-speed video system. At high enough acceleration the evolution of the midpoint diameter of the bridge is universal; it depends neither on the acceleration nor on the liquid viscosity. Moreover, at high acceleration rates even the breakup time does not depend on the acceleration, but is determined solely by the liquid viscosity. A model is proposed which predicts the instant of the liquid bridge pinch-off. Finally, the volumes of the residual liquid on both fixed and moving plates (which do not include the total volume of the residual secondary drops) is measured. It is shown that the volume on the fixed plate remains almost constant, the volume on the accelerating plate reduces as the acceleration increases.

The finite-temperature transport properties of the spinless interacting fermion model coupled to non-interacting leads are investigated. Employing the unrestricted time-dependent Hartree–Fock (HF) approximation, the transmission probability and the nonlinear I–V characteristics are calculated, and compared with available analytical results and with numerical data obtained from a Hubbard–Stratonovich decoupling of the interaction. In the weak interaction regime, the HF approximation reproduces the gross features of the exact I–V characteristics but fails to account for subtle properties like the particular power law for the reflected current in the interacting resonant level model.

In one-dimension and for discrete uncorrelated random potentials, such as tight binding models, all states are localized for any disorder strength. This is in contrast to continuous random potentials, where we show here that regardless of the strength of the random potential, we have delocalization in the limit where the roughness length goes to zero. This result was obtained by deriving an expression for the localization length valid for all disorder strengths. We solved a nonlinear wave equation, whose average over disorder yields the localization properties of the desired linear wave equation. Our results, not only explain the origin of the difficulty to observe localization in certain physical systems, but also show that maximum localization occurs when the roughness length is comparable to the wavelength, which is relevant to many experiments in a random medium.

Artifacts arise in the simulations of electrolytes using periodic boundary conditions (PBCs). We show the origin of these artifacts are the periodic image charges and the constraint of charge neutrality inside the simulation box, both of which are unphysical from the view point of real systems. To cure these problems, we introduce a multi-scale Monte Carlo (MC) method, where ions inside a spherical cavity are simulated explicitly, while ions outside are treated implicitly using a continuum theory. Using the method of Debye charging, we explicitly derive the effective interactions between ions inside the cavity, arising due to the fluctuations of ions outside. We find that these effective interactions consist of two types: (1) a constant cavity potential due to the asymmetry of the electrolyte, and (2) a reaction potential that depends on the positions of all ions inside. Combining the grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) with a recently developed fast algorithm based on image charge method, we perform a multi-scale MC simulation of symmetric electrolytes, and compare it with other simulation methods, including PBC + GCMC method, as well as large scale MC simulation. We demonstrate that our multi-scale MC method is capable of capturing the correct physics of a large system using a small scale simulation.

Macroscopic ensembles of radiating dipoles are ubiquitous in the physical and natural sciences. In the classical limit the dipoles can be described as damped-driven oscillators, which are able to spontaneously synchronize and collectively lock their phases in the presence of nonlinear coupling. Here we investigate the corresponding phenomenon with arrays of quantized two-level systems coupled via long-range and anisotropic dipolar interactions. Our calculations demonstrate that by incoherently driving dense packed arrays of strongly interacting dipoles, the dipoles can overcome the decoherence induced by quantum fluctuations and inhomogeneous coupling and reach a synchronized steady-state characterized by a macroscopic phase coherence. This steady-state bears much similarity to that observed in classical systems, and yet also exhibits genuine quantum properties such as quantum correlations and quantum phase diffusion (reminiscent of lasing). Our predictions could be relevant for the development of better atomic clocks and a variety of noise tolerant quantum devices.

We study experimentally and theoretically the effects of high-frequency strain pulse trains on the charge transport in a weakly coupled semiconductor superlattice. In a frequency range of the order of 100 GHz such excitation may be considered as single harmonic hypersonic excitation. While travelling along the axis of the SL, the hypersonic acoustic wavepacket affects the electron tunnelling, and thus governs the electrical current through the device. We reveal how the change of current depends on the parameters of the hypersonic excitation and on the bias applied to the superlattice. We have found that the changes in the transport properties of the superlattices caused by the acoustic excitation can be largely explained using the current–voltage relation of the unperturbed system. Our experimental measurements show multiple peaks in the dependence of the transferred charge on the repetition rate of the strain pulses in the train. We demonstrate that these resonances can be understood in terms of the spectrum of the applied acoustic perturbation after taking into account the multiple reflections in the metal film serving as a generator of hypersonic excitation. Our findings suggest an application of the semiconductor superlattice as a hypersonic-electrical transducer, which can be used in various microwave devices.

We study a two-level system controlled in a discrete feedback loop, modeling both the system and the controller in terms of stochastic Markov processes. We find that the extracted work, which is known to be bounded from above by the mutual information acquired during measurement, has to be compensated by an additional energy supply during the measurement process itself, which is bounded by the same mutual information from below. Our results confirm that the total cost of operating an information engine is in full agreement with the conventional second law of thermodynamics. We also consider the efficiency of the information engine as a function of the cycle time and discuss the operating condition for maximal power generation. Moreover, we find that the entropy production of our information engine is maximal for maximal efficiency, in sharp contrast to conventional reversible heat engines.

We analyze a system of polar molecules in a one-dimensional optical lattice. By controlling the internal structure of the polar molecules with static electric and microwave fields, we demonstrate the appearance of a quantum phase transition into a ferroelectric phase via spontaneous breaking of a U(1) symmetry. The phase diagram is first analyzed within mean-field theory, while in a second step the results are verified by a mapping onto the Bose–Hubbard model for hard-core bosons. The latter is studied within the well-established bosonization procedure. We find that the ferroelectric phase is characterized by (quasi) long-range order for the electric dipole moments.

Quantum critical phenomena may be qualitatively different when massless Dirac fermions are present at criticality. Using our recently-discovered fermion-sign-free Majorana quantum Monte Carlo method introduced by us in (Li et al 2015 Phys. Rev. B 91 241117), we investigate the quantum critical phenomena of spinless Dirac fermions at their charge-density-wave phase transitions on the honeycomb lattice having ${N}_{s}=2{L}^{2}$ sites with largest L = 24. By finite-size scaling, we accurately obtain critical exponents of this so-called Gross–Neveu chiral-Ising universality class of two (two-component) Dirac fermions in 2+1D: $\eta =0.45(2)$, $\nu =0.77(3)$, and $\beta =0.60(3)$, which are qualitatively different from the mean-field results but are reasonably close to the ones obtained from renormalization group calculations.

Quantum thermodynamics is a research field that aims at fleshing out the ultimate limits of thermodynamic processes in the deep quantum regime. A complete picture of thermodynamical processes naturally allows for auxiliary systems dubbed 'catalysts', i.e., any physical systems facilitating state transformations while remaining essentially intact in their state, like an auxiliary system, a clock, or an actual catalyst. In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of the power and limitation of such thermal catalysis. Specifically, we provide a family of optimal catalysts that can be returned with minimal trace distance error after facilitating a state transformation process. To incorporate the genuine physical role of a catalyst, we identify very significant restrictions on arbitrary state transformations under dimension or mean energy bounds, using methods of convex relaxations. We discuss the implication of these findings on possible thermodynamic state transformations in the quantum regime.

It is known that non-commuting observables in quantum mechanics do not have joint probability. This statement refers to the precise (additive) probability model. I show that the joint distribution of any non-commuting pair of variables can be quantified via upper and lower probabilities, i.e. the joint probability is described by an interval instead of a number (imprecise probability). I propose transparent axioms from which the upper and lower probability operators follow. The imprecise probability depend on the non-commuting observables, is linear over the state (density matrix) and reverts to the usual expression for commuting observables.

This paper considers work extraction from a quantum system to a work storage system (or weight) following Horodecki and Oppenheim (2013 Nat. Commun.4 2059). An alternative approach is here developed that relies on the comparison of subspace dimensions without a need to introduce thermo-majorization used previously. Optimal single shot work for processes where a weight transfers from (a) a single energy level to another single energy level is then re-derived. In addition we discuss the final state of the system after work extraction and show that the system typically ends in its thermal state, while there are cases where the system is only close to it. The work of formation in the single level transfer setting is also re-derived. The approach presented now allows the extension of the single shot work concept to work extraction (b) involving multiple final levels of the weight. A key conclusion here is that the single shot work for case (a) is appropriate only when a resonance of a particular energy is required. When wishing to identify 'work extraction' with finding the weight in a specific available energy or any higher energy a broadening of the single shot work concept is required. As a final contribution we consider transformations of the system that (c) result in general weight state transfers. Introducing a transfer-quantity allows us to formulate minimum requirements for transformations to be at all possible in a thermodynamic framework. We show that choosing the free energy difference of the weight as the transfer-quantity one recovers various single shot results including single level transitions (a), multiple final level transitions (b), and recent results on restricted sets of multi-level to multi-level weight transfers.

In traditional thermodynamics, temperature is a local quantity: a subsystem of a large thermal system is in a thermal state at the same temperature as the original system. For strongly interacting systems, however, the locality of temperature breaks down. We study the possibility of associating an effective thermal state to subsystems of infinite chains of interacting spin particles of arbitrary finite dimension. We study the effect of correlations and criticality in the definition of this effective thermal state and discuss the possible implications for the classical simulation of thermal quantum systems.

Motivated by a recent study on the metabolism of carbohydrates in bacteria, we study the kinetics and thermodynamics of two classic models for reversible polymerization, one preserving the total polymer concentration and the other one not. The chemical kinetics is described by rate equations following the mass-action law. We consider a closed system and nonequilibrium initial conditions and show that the system dynamically evolves towards equilibrium where a detailed balance is satisfied. The entropy production during this process can be expressed as the time derivative of a Lyapunov function. When the solvent is not included in the description and the dynamics conserves the total concentration of polymer, the Lyapunov function can be expressed as a Kullback–Leibler divergence between the nonequilibrium and the equilibrium polymer length distribution. The same result holds true when the solvent is explicitly included in the description and the solution is assumed dilute, whether or not the total polymer concentration is conserved. Furthermore, in this case a consistent nonequilibrium thermodynamic formulation can be established and the out-of-equilibrium thermodynamic enthalpy, entropy and free energy can be identified. Such a framework is useful in complementing standard kinetics studies with the dynamical evolution of thermodynamic quantities during polymerization.

Controllability of a single network often focuses on the determination of the network's minimum dominating set, which aims to elaborate how to control the whole network with minimum driver nodes. This paper proposes a new framework, co-controllability of multiple networks, which stresses the control of one network by another network as well as the mutual control characteristics of multiple networks based on minimum dominating sets. We take a drug–disease–gene network that consists of a drug–drug network, a disease–disease network and a gene–gene network as an example to study co-controllability of multiple networks. The results show that driver nodes tend to be conserved, e.g. diseases highly associated with driver nodes of the drug–drug network tend to be driver nodes in the disease–disease network compared with random networks. In addition, co-controllability of multiple networks is probably associated with the networks' node degree, which is more stringent than controllability of a single network that is mainly determined by the network's degree distribution. We also find that diseases and drugs tend to be mapped as two different subnetworks of human protein–protein interaction (PPI) network, drugs are inclined to dominate diseases by controlling the PPI network, and the coded proteins of disease-related genes exhibit a low tendency to be drug targets for the control of diseases. The results in this paper not only play an important role in understanding co-controllability of multiple networks, but also are helpful for understanding the mechanisms of drug–disease–gene, disease treatments and drug design in a network-based framework.

Matter-wave interferometers utilizing different isotopes or chemical elements intrinsically have different sensitivities, and the analysis tools available until now are insufficient for accurately estimating the atomic phase difference under many experimental conditions. In this work, we describe and demonstrate two new methods for extracting the differential phase between dual-species atom interferometers for precise tests of the weak equivalence principle (WEP). The first method is a generalized Bayesian analysis, which uses knowledge of the system noise to estimate the differential phase based on a statistical model. The second method utilizes a mechanical accelerometer to reconstruct single-sensor interference fringes based on measurements of the vibration-induced phase. An improved ellipse-fitting algorithm is also implemented as a third method for comparison. These analysis tools are investigated using both numerical simulations and experimental data from simultaneous ⁸⁷Rb and ³⁹K interferometers, and both new techniques are shown to produce bias-free estimates of the differential phase. We also report observations of phase correlations between atom interferometers composed of different chemical species. This correlation enables us to reject common-mode vibration noise by a factor of 730, and to make preliminary tests of the WEP with a sensitivity of $1.6\times {10}^{-6}$ per measurement with an interrogation time of T = 10 ms. We study the level of vibration rejection by varying the temporal overlap between interferometers in a symmetric timing sequence. Finally, we discuss the limitations of the new analysis methods for future applications of differential atom interferometry.

We formulate an endoreversible finite-time Carnot cycle model based on the assumptions of local equilibrium and constant energy flux, where the efficiency and the power are expressed in terms of the thermodynamic variables of the working substance. By analyzing the entropy production rate caused by the heat transfer in each isothermal process during the cycle, and using the endoreversible condition applied to the linear response regime, we identify the thermodynamic flux and force of the present system and obtain a linear relation that connects them. We calculate the efficiency at maximum power in the linear response regime by using the linear relation, which agrees with the Curzon–Ahlborn (CA) efficiency known as the upper bound in this regime. This reason is also elucidated by rewriting our model into the form of the Onsager relations, where our model turns out to satisfy the tight-coupling condition leading to the CA efficiency.