Superconducting diodes, characterized by unidirectional flow of supercurrents, are promising components for low-power quantum circuits. In this work, we demonstrate a field-controlled superconducting rectifier in a van der Waals heterostructure comprising an Ising superconductor $\mathrm{Nb}\mathrm{Se}$${}_2$ and an antiferromagnetic insulator $\mathrm{Mn}\mathrm{PS}$${}_3$. Our devices display key features of a superconducting-vortex-diode effect, including a characteristic M-shaped dependence of the critical current $I_{\mathrm{c}}$ on out-of-plane magnetic fields $B_{\mathrm{z}}$, and an antisymmetric diode efficiency $\eta$ with respect to $B_{\mathrm{z}}$. The second-harmonic magnetotransport measurements confirm that the observed nonreciprocity originates from the strongly asymmetric vortex dynamics, which are significantly enhanced compared to pristine few-layer $\mathrm{Nb}\mathrm{Se}$${}_2$. We attribute the enhancement to an inversion symmetry breaking induced by the spatially distributed superconducting domains due to the inhomogeneous magnetic proximity effect. Our findings bring insights for developing superconducting-vortex diodes that do not rely on artificial edge or surface disorder to achieve asymmetric barriers for vortex motion.

We demonstrate a strontium thermal-beam atom interferometer gyroscope (AIG) on a rotation table using the ${}^1{S}_0$-${}^3{P}_1$ intercombination line, and we measure large rotation rates exceeding 6 rad/s. Our demonstration relies upon a transit-time-resonant phase-modulation technique for detecting the AIG phase, which rejects signal background and variations in fringe amplitude.

We present a combined experimental and numerical investigation of strain-mediated control of spin-wave dynamics in two-dimensional antidot magnonic crystals. Using a finite-element approach coupling elasticity and micromagnetism, we demonstrate that static elastic strain, when efficiently transferred from a ferroelectric substrate, induces direction- and mode-dependent modifications of the magnonic band structure. The resulting magnetoelastic anisotropy leads to nonuniform frequency shifts and selective tuning of magnonic band gaps, with strain-induced frequency variations approaching 1 GHz for moderate (0.2%) strain. We further show that strain heterogeneity, arising from the mechanical contrast between the magnetic film and the substrate, introduces local perturbations of the internal field that reshape the band topology. These results establish elastic strain as an effective and scalable parameter for engineering reconfigurable and energy-efficient magnonic devices.

The milligram-scale torsion pendulum, suspended by an ultrathin silica fiber, is a highly sensitive instrument for measuring extremely weak force or torque. This requires the fiber diameter to be at the micrometer level or smaller. We present the formation of micrometer-diameter silica fiber using a ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ laser–based pulling machine. A theoretical model for the laser heating and pulling process is established, revealing that the fiber diameter $d$ depends on the laser power $P$ and the feed-to-pulling speed ratio $v_f/v_p$ as $d\propto P^{-0.5}$ and $d\propto (v_f/v_p{)}^{0.5}$, respectively. In the presented pulling machine, the ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ laser beam is split into four beams for symmetrical heating, and two guide rails are controlled separately to pull the silica rod. Using this machine, silica fiber with a mean diameter of $3.7\pm 0.6\text{μ}\mathrm{m}$ and a length of 10 cm has been fabricated. The dependence of fiber diameter on laser power and speed ratio were verified by pulling the fibers under different parameters. Furthermore, a pulled silica fiber was welded with a mirror, using the ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ laser, to form a torsion pendulum. The quality factor of the torsion pendulum was measured to be $(4.02\pm 0.04)\times {10}^5$ at room temperature, demonstrating the low mechanical dissipation of the fabricated silica fiber. We demonstrate a feasible method for producing and evaluating micrometer-scale silica fiber, which supports the development of a milligram-scale torsion pendulum for precision measurement.

The readout speed of qubits is a major limitation for error correction in quantum information science. We show simulations of a proposed device that gives readout of a fluxonium qubit using a ballistic fluxon with an estimated readout time of less than 1 nanosecond, without the need for an input microwave tone. This contrasts the prevalent readout based on circuit quantum electrodynamics, but is related to previous studies where a fluxon moving in a single long Josephson junction (LJJ) can exhibit a time delay depending on the state of a coupled qubit. Our readout circuit contains two LJJs and a qubit coupled at their interface. We find that the device can exhibit single-shot readout of a qubit—one qubit state leads to a single dynamical bounce at the interface and fluxon reflection, and the other qubit state leads to a couple of bounces at the interface and fluxon transmission. Dynamics are initially computed with a separate degree of freedom for all Josephson junctions of the circuit. However, a collective coordinate model reduces the dynamics to 3 degrees of freedom: one for the fluxonium Josephson junction and one for each LJJ. The large mass imbalance in this model allows us to simulate the mixed quantum-classical dynamics, as an approximation for the full quantum dynamics. Calculations give backaction on the qubit at $\le 0.1\mathrm{\%}$.

In this study, we employed Fourier-based quantum phase estimation (QPE) to calculate x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) spectra. The primary focus of this study is the calculation of the XAS spectra of transition metal $L_{2,3}$ edges, which are dominated by strong correlation effects. First, the $\mathrm{Fe}$ $L_{2,3}$-edge x-ray absorption near-edge structure of ${\mathrm{Fe}\mathrm{PO}}_4$ is calculated using a noiseless simulator. The present computation involves a comparison of three types of input states: a uniform superposition state, optimal entangled input state, and Slater function state. Subsequently, we investigated the resolution error of the QPE and statistical error attributed to the measurements. It was revealed that postprocessing to introduce Lorentzian broadening reduces the statistical error, which becomes a significant problem for a large number of qubits. Finally, we implemented QPE on a trapped-ion quantum computer, encompassing three orbitals within the active space. To this end, we implemented QPE using dynamic circuits to reduce ancilla qubits and $\text{⟦}k+2,k,2\text{⟧}$ quantum error-detection code to mitigate the quantum noise inherent in current quantum computers. As a result, it was demonstrated that hardware noise was reduced, and spectra close to the noiseless ones were obtained.

We demonstrate the optical control of the spatial spin texture in a modulation-doped $\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}/\mathrm{Al}\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}$ quantum well based on the modulation of the spin-orbit interaction. Spatiotemporal evolution of electron spins with irradiation by a continuous-wave laser that does not induce interband transitions of electrons reveals an increase in the Rashba coefficient and the spin diffusion coefficient, in contrast to the decrease in these coefficients due to optical doping by increasing the electron-spin excitation density. From the difference between the absorption energy and the emission energy, the carrier density in the quantum well increases. This indicates that the continuous-wave laser irradiation causes photoactivation of naturally deactivated electrons in the doping layer of $\mathrm{Al}\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}$, and therefore the Rashba spin-orbit interaction increases due to the increased asymmetry of the quantum well profile.

Acoustic liners with a compact configuration and robust performance under grazing flow are an effective approach for attenuating noise in aircraft engines, yet their practical realization remains challenging. Here, we propose a metaliner composed of double-neck embedded Helmholtz resonators (DNEHRs) covered by a wire mesh. The coupling among the liner components enables a compact design, while the intrinsic loss introduced by the wire mesh effectively suppresses resonance-induced dispersion, thereby achieving flexible and high-performance sound attenuation within an ultrathin configuration. As a proof of concept, we develop metaliners with a thickness of 45 mm, including a broadband sample achieving an average transmission loss of 20 dB from 500 to 3200 Hz and a customized sample providing spatially selective noise attenuation within 600–3200 Hz. Experimental results further demonstrate that the flow-stabilizing effect of the wire mesh endows the metaliner with enhanced stability, enabling it to maintain effective sound attenuation under grazing flow of distinct speeds. This study provides a feasible design strategy for efficient acoustic liners, with promising applications in aeroengine noise reduction and potential extensions to other flow-duct ventilation systems.

Spin orbitronics, based on both spin and orbital angular momentum, presents a promising pathway for energy-efficient memory and logic devices. Recent studies have demonstrated the emergence of orbital currents in light transition metals such as $\mathrm{Ti}$, $\mathrm{Cr}$, and $\mathrm{Zr}$, broadening the scope of torque-driven magnetization switching. In particular, the orbital Hall effect, which arises independently of spin-orbit coupling, has shown potential for enhancing torque efficiency in spintronic devices. However, to date, limited work has focused on the direct integration of orbital current into a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). In this work, we design a light metal/heavy metal/ferromagnet multilayer structure and experimentally demonstrate magnetization switching by orbital current. Furthermore, we have realized a robust spin-orbit torque MTJ cell by incorporating a reference layer that is pinned by a synthetic antiferromagnetic structure. We observed a tunnel magnetoresistance of 66%, evident in both magnetic field and current-driven switching processes. Our findings underscore the potential for employing orbital current in designing next-generation spintronic devices.

This paper presents a multiscale design strategy for acoustic topological metamaterials (ATMs) by leveraging coupled resonances between local resonance units. We achieve synergistic sound energy transmission by utilizing the coupling resonance between local resonant units, while integrating meta-atom models with metamolecule architectures. This methodology enables the realization of both multiband and broadband ATMs with tailored wave manipulation capabilities across different frequency regimes. By adjusting the rotation angle of the structure, the mirror symmetry is broken, and the valley topological phase transition is realized with edge states in two distinct frequency bands, which can be individually tuned by tailoring the structural parameters of corresponding unit cells. Triband ATMs can be realized by integrating three kinds of unit cells, which independently control the edge-state frequencies through geometry parameter adjustments. Based on Fano resonance, by superimposing two independently modulated edge-state bands, a broadband topological metamaterial can be obtained with coupling effects. Both simulated and experimental results indicate that the ATMs present broadband topological transport of edge states. This design provides a paradigm for the regulation of topological quantum states and advances the practical process of low-energy quantum devices.

We investigate the spin Hall effect (SHE) in polycrystalline $\mathrm{Pt}$-$\mathrm{Mn}$-$\mathrm{Sn}$ alloy thin films with different $\mathrm{Pt}$ concentrations and processing conditions. Spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance and second-harmonic Hall measurements reveal a consistently large spin Hall angle (SHA; 0.2–0.3) in both as-deposited and postannealed films, indicating that the spin Hall response is robust regarding chemical disorder and thermal treatment within experimental uncertainty. To elucidate the microscopic origin of this behavior, we perform tight-binding transport simulations using the kwant package, explicitly separating intrinsic and extrinsic contributions. While intrinsic spin-orbit coupling alone yields a modest spin Hall response, incorporation of extrinsic mechanisms—such as skew and side-jump scattering—substantially increases the SHA to values comparable to experimental observations within realistic scattering ranges. These results highlight the important role of extrinsic scattering in spin current generation in chemically disordered alloys. By combining experiment and theory, we establish $\mathrm{Pt}$-$\mathrm{Mn}$-$\mathrm{Sn}$ alloys as a model platform for exploring the disorder-enabled SHE under realistic growth and processing conditions.

Multiexponential recovery is a process where a transient signal recovers through multiple relaxation pathways to a nonzero steady-state value. Such processes are ubiquitous in science and technology—for example in longitudinal ($T_1$) relaxation in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Existing schemes for extracting lifetime distributions from multiexponential recovery data are inaccurate or inefficient. They either impose unrealistic initial-condition constraints or require extensive late-time sampling. We present a robust inversion method that overcomes both limitations. The devised method determines the lifetime distribution by solving explicitly for the steady-state value and implicitly for the recovery factor—where the recovery factor defines the arbitrary starting point of the signal relative to the steady-state value. The method provides unprecedented accuracy even at shorter time windows and opens up new possibilities in research and industry. Several examples show the features of the method especially in nuclear magnetic resonance, food science, geoscience, and climate science.

Device-independent certification of quantum states enables the characterization of states within a device under minimal physical assumptions. A major problem in this regard is to certify quantum states using minimal resources. Aiming to address this problem, we consider a multipartite quantum steering scenario involving an arbitrary number of parties, of which only one is trusted, meaning that the measurements performed by this party are known. Consequently, the self-testing scheme is almost device-independent. Importantly, all the parties can only perform two measurements each, which is the minimal number of measurements required to observe any form of quantum nonlocality. Then, we propose steering inequalities that are maximally violated by three major classes of genuinely multipartite entangled (GME) states: graph states of arbitrary local dimension, Schmidt states of arbitrary local dimension, and $N$-qubit generalized $W$ states. Using the proposed inequalities, we then provide an almost device-independent certification of the above GME states. Restricting to qubits, we also lift our almost device-independent scheme to device-independent self-testing.

We consider a network of users connected by pairwise quantum key distribution (QKD) links. Using these pairwise secret keys and public classical communication, the users want to generate a common (conference) secret key at the maximal rate. We propose an algorithm based on spanning-tree packing (a known problem in graph theory) and prove its optimality. This algorithm enables optimal conference-key generation in modern quantum networks of arbitrary topology. Additionally, we discuss how it can guide the optimal placement of new bipartite links in the network design.

The lattice thermal conductivity (${\kappa }_L$) of materials is fundamentally influenced by atomic mass and chemical bonding. Conventional wisdom suggests that heavier elements typically lead to lower ${\kappa }_L$ due to reduced phonon group velocities. Here, we challenge this paradigm by revealing an inverted trend in the chalcohalides ${\mathrm{Ag}\mathrm{Bi}\mathrm{SCl}}_2$ and ${\mathrm{Cu}\mathrm{Bi}\mathrm{SCl}}_2$ through ab initio calculations incorporating four-phonon scattering. Despite the larger atomic mass of silver, ${\mathrm{Ag}\mathrm{Bi}\mathrm{SCl}}_2$ exhibits a higher ${\kappa }_L$ than its copper-based counterpart. We attribute this anomaly to the intensified $s$-$d$ orbital coupling between $\mathrm{Cu}$ $3d$ and $4s$ states. This coupling, permitted by symmetry and facilitated by their small energy separation, flattens the interatomic potential and enhances high-order scattering. In contrast, the larger energy difference between $\mathrm{Ag}$ $4d$ and $5s$ orbitals weakens this effect in ${\mathrm{Ag}\mathrm{Bi}\mathrm{SCl}}_2$, resulting in longer phonon lifetimes and higher ${\kappa }_L$. Our work underscores the critical role of cation-specific $s$-$d$ coupling in dictating lattice anharmonicity, reducing phonon group velocity and thermal transport, providing a design principle for discovering low-${\kappa }_L$ thermoelectric materials beyond conventional mass-dependent considerations.

Janus particles are functional particles with at least two surfaces showing asymmetric properties. We show at the interface between two magnetic regions with different antisymmetric exchange interactions, an alternative species of two-dimensional topological quasiparticles can emerge, in which different helicity structures can coexist. We name such an interfacial quasiparticle a “Janus skyrmion,” in analogy to the Janus particle. As the Janus skyrmion shows helicity asymmetry, its size could vary with both the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields. A vertical spin current could drive the Janus skyrmion into one-dimensional motion along the interface without showing the skyrmion Hall effect, at a speed which depends on both the in-plane spin-polarization direction and current density. Thermal fluctuations could also lead to one-dimensional random walk of a Brownian Janus skyrmion. This work uncovers unique dynamics intrinsic to interfacial quasiparticles with exotic helicity, which may be realized in interface-engineered magnetic layers.

The ability to develop practical spintronic devices that use 2D van der Waals materials requires research on wafer-scale materials typically fabricated using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In this report, we investigate spin pumping effects using ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy (FMR) in wafer-scale transition-metal dichalcogenide–ferromagnetic (FM) heterostructures, specifically, ${\mathrm{Mo}\mathrm{S}}_2$-${\mathrm{Ni}}_{0.8}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{0.2}$ bilayers with varying ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{0.8}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{0.2}$ thicknesses. The FMR measurements allow the phenomenological damping parameter $\alpha$ of the FM layer to be determined, with increased values often attributed to injection of spins across an interface through spin pumping. Our results on sputtered ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{0.8}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{0.2}(t)$ films deposited on monolayer and bilayer CVD-grown $\mathrm{Mo}\mathrm{S}$${}_2$ show a lower contribution to $\alpha$ from surface effects than a film of the same thickness deposited on $\mathrm{Si}\mathrm{O}$${}_2$. A reduction in surface damping is often attributed to a drop in spin pumping, but this work demonstrates that other interfacial effects such as spin-memory loss must also be considered in determining the physical origin of the measured damping parameter.

Quantum batteries, as next-generation quantum energy storage devices, harness quantum resources such as coherence and entanglement to achieve greater storage capacity and faster charging speeds than classical batteries. Here we propose a protocol to enhance their performance through reservoir engineering. We demonstrate that a squeezed reservoir significantly increases both stored energy and ergotropy by suppressing energy backflow, with energy increasing exponentially with the squeezing parameter. Furthermore, in the presence of reservoir engineering, the counterrotating term positively contributes to the performance of quantum batteries in terms of both stored energy and ergotropy. We further establish the physical equivalence between our reservoir-engineered strategy and the application of active engineering to the Hamiltonian. The scheme is also extended to realistic conditions, including finite temperature, absence of external driving, and configurations with both components coupled to squeezed reservoirs, confirming its robustness and versatility.