Voltage-controlled spin manipulation at the atomic scale is a central challenge for realizing all-electrical spintronic devices. Here, we present real-time simulations demonstrating a voltage-driven spin memory effect in a nanographene junction. Using the mean-field Hubbard approximation in combination with time-dependent nonequilibrium Green’s function method, we show that antisymmetric electrode coupling enables deterministic switching between spin-polarized states solely by direct current voltage. Positive and negative voltage pulses drive transitions between two bistable spin configurations, while spin-resolved tunneling currents provide distinct and robust electrical readout signals. The system exhibits a pronounced hysteresis in polarization under cyclic bias, forming a controllable memory loop. These results establish a microscopic mechanism for voltage-induced spin manipulation and pave the way for the design of all-electrical spintronic memory architecture.

We demonstrate the free rotation of an acoustic metasurface driven entirely by a nondissipative acoustic radiation torque, resulting from the transfer of orbital angular momentum from sound to matter. This direct observation of mechanical angular recoil establishes a quantitative link between the incident vortex field and the induced torque, with measured angular velocities, which are supported by analytical modeling. Recent advances in the design of arbitrary acoustic metasurfaces allow this rotational acoustomechanics to be extended to translational degrees of freedom, providing a simple and versatile route for noncontact acoustic actuation along multiple mechanical degrees of freedom. As such, this work contributes to the field of acoustic micromanipulation, fluid-structure interactions, and sound-driven mechanical systems.

Harmonic amplitudes in microcantilever oscillators carry critical information for nanoscale force and material characterization, yet their decay behavior across different environments remains insufficiently quantified. Here, we characterize multiharmonic cantilever spectra in air and liquid under tapping and free-vibration conditions, revealing a consistent two-regime power-law decay separated by a knee at mode index $n^{\star }$ that shifts systematically with environment. Employing robust segmented regression, bootstrap confidence intervals, and modal lifetime overlap analysis, we identify the knee as a stable spectral feature linked to transitions in viscous confinement and near-surface interphase memory. This framework enables compact parametrization of harmonic spectra and may provide a practical route to distinguish medium-dominated dissipation from interfacial viscoelastic effects. Our findings advance the understanding of cantilever-fluid-interphase dynamics and suggest new avenues for quantitative multiharmonic nanomechanical metrology.

Practical quantum advantage hinges on executing deep quantum circuits within the coherence limits of noisy intermediate-scale quantum processors. The absence of native, high-fidelity multiqubit gates remains a major bottleneck, as their decomposition into single- and two-qubit gates leads to prohibitive depth and error overhead. Here, we propose a hardware-efficient protocol that directly implements a native controlled-controlled-Z gate in a tunable-coupler superconducting circuit. Our theoretical protocol activates a resonant three-qubit interaction via a time-frequency-correlated virtual process, explicitly relying on the dynamic resonant exchange within the $|101⟩\leftrightarrow |020⟩$ transition manifold. This approach is compatible with standard tunable-coupler architectures without requiring additional control resources. Through a systematic calibration workflow combining pulse shaping and active cancellation of residual phases, we demonstrate a gate fidelity exceeding 99% within 165 ns—significantly outperforming decomposed sequences. Comprehensive error budgeting confirms that the gate performance remains robust against realistic experimental imperfections. Furthermore, we show that this scheme can be naturally extended to a continuous $\mathrm{CCPhase}(\theta )$ gate set. This work provides a direct, high-fidelity route to three-qubit entanglement, offering promising prospects for efficient execution of quantum algorithms on near-term superconducting hardware.

Very-low-field magnetic resonance imaging offers significant advantages in portability and cost but faces challenges in maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In vertical-field configurations, conventional quadrature coils often suffer from inherent structural asymmetry, leading to complex decoupling requirements and significant orthogonal losses. To address this challenge, we propose a symmetrical quadrature coil composed of two sets of series-connected spiral coils based on the working principle of circularly polarized magnetic fields. By employing structurally identical units for both orthogonal channels, the design inherently ensures channel consistency and achieves high interport isolation without additional decoupling circuits. A multiobjective particle swarm optimization algorithm was employed to optimize the geometric parameters, balancing the trade-off between SNR and field homogeneity. Furthermore, an “orthogonal loss” metric was introduced to quantify the deviation from ideal circular polarization. Importantly, comparative analysis reveals that the proposed symmetrical coil exhibits superior $B_1^{-}$ field strength and significantly lower orthogonal loss compared to conventional Helmholtz-Saddle configurations, achieving an average $B_1^{-}$ field strength enhancement of 1.8 times in a large region of interest (ROI). A prototype symmetrical quadrature coil was fabricated and experimentally validated. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate excellent agreement, with an orthogonal loss of only 1.9% observed at the coil isocenter. Measured data confirm that the orthogonal loss remains well controlled within the central ROI, demonstrating that the structural symmetry effectively preserves quadrature purity. This work offers new perspectives on the design of circularly polarized volume coils and receiving coils for vertical-field MRI systems.

Graph neural networks (GNNs) are designed to extract latent patterns from graph-structured data, making them particularly well suited for crystal representation learning. Here, we propose a GNN model tailored for estimating electronic transport coefficients in inorganic thermoelectric crystals. The model encodes crystal structures and physicochemical properties in a multiscale manner, encompassing global, atomic, bond, and angular levels. It achieves state-of-the-art performance on benchmark datasets with remarkable extrapolative capability. By combining the proposed GNN with ab initio calculations, we successfully identify compounds exhibiting outstanding electronic transport properties and further perform interpretability analyses from both global and atomic perspectives, tracing the origins of their distinct transport behaviors. Interestingly, the decision process of the model naturally reveals underlying physical patterns, offering new insights into computer-assisted materials design.

High-quality quantum communications that enable important capabilities, such as distributed quantum computing and sensing, will require quantum repeaters for providing high-quality entanglement. To realize high-rate heralded entanglement for quantum repeaters, Chen et al. [Phys. Rev. Appl. 19, 054029 (2023)] proposed a scheme for heralded-multiplexed generation of quasideterministic entangled photon pairs, called zero-added-loss multiplexing (ZALM). Here, we propose a design of the ZALM source using time-bin entanglement and spectral shearing. Additionally, we provide an analysis of experimentally relevant spectral-shearing parameters to optimize the spectral multiplexing. Moreover, we experimentally verify the compatibility of time-bin pulses and spectral shearing, as supported by observation of no appreciable phase shift when the same shearing is applied to both time bins. These results expand the benefits of applying a ZALM source to time-bin entanglement use cases. Moreover, more fully demonstrating time-bin and spectral shearing compatibility clears a path toward a broader use of spectral shearing that provides a deterministic frequency shift of high utility.

Crosstalk is a key obstacle to scaling up quantum computers. It may arise from persistent qubit-qubit couplings or dynamically during gate operation, with the latter being particularly difficult to detect. Here, we introduce the perfect-entangler spectrum as a means to identify dynamic crosstalk leading to undesired entanglement. It leverages the geometric classification of two-qubit gates in terms of perfect entanglers. We exemplify the application of the spectroscopy for fixed-frequency transmons and parametrically driven gates. When scanning the frequency of a spectator qubit, peaks in the perfect-entangler spectrum signal dynamic crosstalk, and analysis of the peaks reveals the mechanisms causing the crosstalk. We discuss the experimental implementation of the crosstalk spectroscopy, which requires two two-qubit gate tomographies.

Using scanning tunneling microscopy-induced luminescence (STML), the optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors may be investigated at the nanoscale. This is possible because the tunneling current under the tip is an extremely localized electrical excitation source. However, in most STML applications, the spatial distribution of the emission relative to the excitation point is unresolved. Yet this distribution contains key information about how the interaction of excitons with injected charge carriers affects the luminescence of these materials, and about exciton transport. Resolving this spatial distribution at the nanoscale is relevant both for a fundamental understanding of exciton physics and for device applications; yet it remains a significant challenge. In this work, we resolve the spatial distribution of the emission beyond the diffraction limit of light by deconvolving real-space optical microscopy images of the STML using an iterative algorithm, i.e., Richardson-Lucy (RL) deconvolution. To showcase this technique, we apply it to the STML of monolayer tungsten diselenide (${\text{WSe}}_2$) and tungsten disulfide (${\text{WS}}_2$). Thus, we highlight hitherto ignored or misunderstood aspects of STML on 2D semiconductors related to exciton and charge carrier transport, namely the dependence of the spatial distribution of emission on the tunnel current setpoint and the origin of the emission from hot spots located micrometers from the excitation source.

Imaging polarimetry is becoming an increasingly significant tool, from remote sensing to material characterization. In reactive plasmas, polarimetry is a well-established in situ diagnostic for the size and the complex refractive index of synthesized particles. We present the StokesCam, a self-calibrating, full-Stokes imaging polarimeter based on two micropolarizer cameras. It employs an adapted eigenvalue calibration to address the problem of spatial inhomogeneities and artifacts in polarization optics. A comprehensive uncertainty analysis is provided, using a bootstrapping and Monte Carlo technique to quantify the systematic and statistical errors. The application of the StokesCam to a particle growth process in a reactive plasma is demonstrated as an example of demanding measurement conditions. The device provides high-quality data for scattering modeling and enables not only the spatial monitoring of particle growth but also allows for future studies of the system’s asymmetric multiscattering. This work also serves as a practical guide for readers interested in constructing and deploying their own full-Stokes imaging polarimeter.

Record wall-plug efficiencies in long-wavelength, III-nitride light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have recently been achieved through improvements in electrical efficiency in devices containing V-defects. Numerical modeling suggests this may be due to reduced barrier heights for charge injection in thinned, low-Indium quantum wells parallel to semipolar V-defect facets. To test this proposition, the tip of a scanning tunneling luminescence microscope is used as a local hole injector to map the optoelectronic properties of commercial, green-emitting LED heterostructures around V-defects with nanoscale spatial resolution. A 1 V reduction in the forward bias necessary for current injection at V-defect rims is observed. This, combined with the observation of small (approximately 10 meV) blue shifts in the locally emitted electroluminescence, unambiguously confirms the charge injection mechanism.

Acoustic higher-order topological insulators (AHTIs) hosting topological corner states provide a promising way for the robust localization of acoustic waves. However, energies of prior corner states are localized within a limited area, restricting their applications in the large-area localization of acoustic waves. Meanwhile, despite the critical importance of operating frequency for acoustic device performance, precisely engineering corner states at a specific frequency with a fixed lattice constant remains a challenge. Here, we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate an acoustic sandwich metastructure that hosts large-area corner state (LACS) with desired eigenfrequencies by inserting Dirac material layers within two topologically distinct domains. The spatial decay mechanism of LACS is revealed via complex band theory. The frequency of LACS can be finely tuned by modulating the frequency of Dirac material layers via a developed topology optimization algorithm. Furthermore, by spatially separating LACSs with distinct frequencies, we achieve the rainbow LACSs. Our work offers a route to designing AHTIs with tailored LACSs, thereby achieving large-area acoustic trapping with frequency-multiplexed and reconfigurable capabilities.

We demonstrate spin pumping driven by a strongly coupled magnon-photon system using a ferromagnet-coplanar superconducting resonator hybrid system at 1.4 K. Electrical readout via the inverse spin Hall effect reveals characteristic coupling features, including mode splitting and linewidth broadening, demonstrating the electrical detection of strongly coupled microwave photons and magnons. Magnon-photon coupling obtained by combined spin pumping and inverse spin Hall effect measurements is compared to microwave transmission experiments. Furthermore, microwave-power-dependent measurements reveal a decrease in the coupling strength with increasing microwave power alongside the onset of nonlinearities of the superconducting resonator above a critical microwave-power threshold.

We investigate the fracture behavior of precracked triangular beam lattices whose elements have failure stresses drawn from a Weibull distribution. Through a statistical analysis and numerical simulations, we identify and verify the existence of three distinct failure regimes: (i) disorder is effectively suppressed, (ii) disorder manifests locally near the crack tip, modifying the crack morphology, and (iii) disorder manifests globally, leading to initially diffuse failure. Our model naturally reveals the key parameters governing this behavior: the Weibull modulus, quantifying the spread in failure thresholds, and a geometric quantity termed the slenderness ratio. We also reproduce the disorder-induced toughening reported in previous experimental and numerical studies, further demonstrating that its manifestation depends nonmonotonically on disorder. Crucially, our results indicate that this toughening cannot be simply connected to the amount of damage in the lattice, challenging interpretations that attribute increased fracture energy solely to enhanced crack tortuosity or diffuse failure. Overall, our results establish geometry as a powerful control parameter for regulating how disorder is expressed during fracture in beam lattices, with broader implications for the disorder-induced toughening in engineered materials.

Phase-change nanodroplets (PCNDs) are stimuli-responsive agents with growing relevance in applications ranging from materials science and smart systems to microfluidics, decontamination, and biomedical diagnostics and therapy. Targeted activation of PCNDs, where the liquid core transitions into a gas phase to form microbubbles, can be achieved by using external energy sources. While ultrasound and laser-based modalities are typically used for PCND activation, their limited penetration depth in many complex materials and structures poses challenges for deeper targets. In this study, a new microwave-induced nanodroplet activation mechanism is proposed, and its feasibility is demonstrated using an ultrawideband microwave antenna. The experiments were designed to evaluate the effect of microwave exposure on lipid-shell perfluoropentane nanodroplets across a temperature range of 20–70 °C and at varying microwave exposure durations. Findings of this study show that longer duration microwave exposure results in a higher number of PCND activations at lower temperatures without any bulk temperature increase, where statistically significant differences ($p<0.001$) are observed for the 5-min microwave exposure group in comparison with the control group at 50 °C. This statistical significance implies that the microwave exposure reduces the activation threshold of PCNDs, offering a promising approach for noncontact, controlled, and targeted PCND activation in settings where conventional energy-delivery methods are limited.

Recently proposed metastability-induced quantum batteries have shown particular promise for coherent microwave generation. However, achieving high-power coherent microwave generation in quantum batteries remains fundamentally challenging due to quantum correlations, aging, and self-discharging processes. For the cavity-quantum-electrodynamics-based quantum batteries, a further trade-off arises between strong spin-photon coupling for energy storage and sufficient output coupling for power delivery. To overcome these constraints, we introduce dissipation engineering as a dynamic control strategy that temporally separates energy storage and release. By suppressing emission during charging and rapidly enhancing the output coupling during discharging, we realize nanosecond microwave bursts with watt-level peak power. By optimizing three dissipation schemes, we improve work extraction efficiency of the quantum battery by over 2 orders of magnitude and achieve high-power compression factors outperforming the state-of-the-art techniques, establishing dissipation engineering as a pathway toward room-temperature, high-power coherent microwave sources.

Newton’s constant is the least well measured among the fundamental constants of nature, and, indeed, its accurate measurement has long served an experimental challenge. Levitated mechanical systems are attracting growing attention for their promising applications in sensing and as an experimental platform for exploring the intersection between quantum physics and gravitation. Here, we propose a mechanical interferometric scheme of interacting levitated oscillators for the accurate estimation of Newton’s constant. Our scheme promises to beat the current standard by several orders of magnitude.

We present a method to calculate the frequency components of a pump waveform driving a parametric oscillator, which realizes a desired frequency mixing or scattering between frequency modes. The method is validated by numerical analysis, and we study its sensitivity to added Gaussian noise. A series of experiments apply the method and demonstrate its ability to realize complex scattering processes involving many modes at microwave frequencies, including nonreciprocal mode circulation. We also present an approximate method to dynamically control mode scattering, capable of rapidly routing signals between modes in a prescribed manner. These methods are useful tools for encoding and manipulating continuous-variable quantum information with multimodal Gaussian states.