We propose models of twisted multilayer graphene that exhibit exactly flat Bloch bands with arbitrary Chern numbers and ideal band geometries. The models are constructed by twisting two sheets of Bernal-stacked multiple graphene layers with only intersublattice couplings. Analytically we show that flatband wave functions in these models exhibit a momentum space holomorphic character, leading to ideal band geometries. We also explicitly demonstrate a generic “wave function exchange” mechanism that generates the high Chern numbers of these ideal flatbands. The ideal band geometries and high Chern numbers of the flatbands imply the possibility of hosting exotic fractional Chern insulators which do not have analogues in continuum Landau levels. We numerically verify that these exotic fractional Chern insulators are model states for short-range interactions, characterized by exact ground-state degeneracies at zero energy and infinite particle-cut entanglement gaps.

We consider a family of twisted graphene multilayers consisting of $n$-untwisted chirally stacked layers, e.g., $AB$, $ABC$, etc, with a single twist on top of $m$-untwisted chirally stacked layers. Upon neglecting both trigonal warping terms for the untwisted layers and the same sublattice hopping between all layers, the resulting models generalize several remarkable features of the chiral model of twisted bilayer graphene (CTBG). In particular, they exhibit a set of magic angles which are identical to those of CTBG at which a pair of bands (i) are perfectly flat, (ii) have Chern numbers in the sublattice basis given by $\pm (n,-m)$ or $\pm (n+m-1,-1)$ depending on the stacking chirality, and (iii) satisfy the trace condition, saturating an inequality between the quantum metric and the Berry curvature, and thus realizing ideal quantum geometry. These are the first higher Chern bands that satisfy (iii) beyond fine-tuned models or combinations of Landau levels. We show that ideal quantum geometry is directly related to the construction of fractional quantum Hall model wave functions. We provide explicit analytic expressions for the flatband wave functions at the magic angle in terms of the CTBG wave functions. We also show that the Berry curvature distribution in these models can be continuously tuned while maintaining perfect quantum geometry. Similar to the study of fractional Chern insulators in ideal $C=1$ bands, these models pave the way for investigating exotic topological phases in higher Chern bands for which no Landau level analog is available.

While the fluctuation theorem in classical systems has been thoroughly generalized under various feedback control setups, an intriguing situation in quantum systems, namely under continuous feedback, remains to be investigated. In this work, we derive the generalized fluctuation theorem under quantum jumps with continuous measurement and feedback. The essence for the derivation is to newly introduce the operationally meaningful information, which we call quantum-classical-transfer (QC-transfer) entropy. QC-transfer entropy can be naturally interpreted as the quantum counterpart of transfer entropy that is commonly used in classical time series analysis. We also verify our theoretical results by numerical simulation and propose an experiment-numerics hybrid verification method. Our work reveals a fundamental connection between quantum thermodynamics and quantum information, which can be experimentally tested with artificial quantum systems such as circuit quantum electrodynamics.

Curved magnets attract considerable interest for their unusually rich phase diagram, often encompassing exotic (e.g., topological or chiral) spin states. Micromagnetic simulations are playing a central role in the theoretical understanding of such phenomena; their predictive power, however, rests on the availability of reliable model parameters to describe a given material or nanostructure. Here we demonstrate how noncollinear-spin polarized density-functional theory can be used to determine the flexomagnetic coupling coefficients in real systems. By focusing on monolayer ${\mathrm{CrI}}_3$, we find a crossover as a function of curvature between a magnetization normal to the surface to a cycloidal state, which we rationalize in terms of effective anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya contributions to the magnetic energy. Our results reveal an unexpectedly large impact of spin-orbit interactions on the curvature-induced anisotropy, which we discuss in the context of existing phenomenological models.

Recent numerical studies have identified the persistence time of active motion as a critical parameter governing glassy dynamics in dense active matter. Here we studied dynamics in liquids of granular active ellipsoids with tunable persistence and velocity. We show that increasing the persistence time at moderate supercooling is equivalent to increasing the strength of attraction in equilibrium liquids and results in reentrant dynamics not just in the translational degrees of freedom, as anticipated, but also in the orientational ones. However, at high densities, motile topological defects, unique to active liquids of elongated particles, hindered dynamical arrest. Most remarkably, for the highest activity, we observed intermittent dynamics due to the jamming-unjamming of these defects for the first time.

We report a novel search for the cosmic-ray boosted dark matter using the $100\mathrm{tonne}·\mathrm{day}$ full dataset of the PandaX-II detector located at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory. With the extra energy gained from the cosmic rays, sub-GeV dark matter particles can produce visible recoil signals in the detector. The diurnal modulations in rate and energy spectrum are utilized to further enhance the signal sensitivity. Our result excludes the dark matter–nucleon elastic scattering cross section between ${10}^{-31}$ and ${10}^{-28}{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ for dark matter masses from $0.1\mathrm{MeV}/c^2$ to $0.1\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$, with a large parameter space previously unexplored by experimental collaborations.

Biological processes, from morphogenesis to tumor invasion, spontaneously generate shear stresses inside living tissue. The mechanisms that govern the transmission of mechanical forces in epithelia and the collective response of the tissue to bulk shear deformations remain, however, poorly understood. Using a minimal cell-based computational model, we investigate the constitutive relation of confluent tissues under simple shear deformation. We show that an initially undeformed fluidlike tissue acquires finite rigidity above a critical applied strain. This is akin to the shear-driven rigidity observed in other soft matter systems. Interestingly, shear-driven rigidity can be understood by a critical scaling analysis in the vicinity of the second order critical point that governs the liquid-solid transition of the undeformed system. We further show that a solidlike tissue responds linearly only to small strains and but then switches to a nonlinear response at larger stains, with substantial stiffening. Finally, we propose a mean-field formulation for cells under shear that offers a simple physical explanation of shear-driven rigidity and nonlinear response in a tissue.

Building upon the bulk-boundary correspondence in topological phases of matter, disclinations have recently been harnessed to trap fractionally quantized density of states (DOS) in classical wave systems. While these fractional DOS have associated states localized to the disclination’s core, such states are not protected from deconfinement due to the breaking of chiral symmetry, generally leading to resonances which, even in principle, have finite lifetimes and suboptimal confinement. Here, we devise and experimentally validate in acoustic lattices a paradigm by which topological states bind to disclinations without a fractional DOS but which preserve chiral symmetry. The preservation of chiral symmetry pins the states at the midgap, resulting in their protected maximal confinement. The integer DOS at the defect results in twofold degenerate states that, due to symmetry constraints, do not gap out. Our study provides a fresh perspective about the interplay between symmetry protection in topological phases and topological defects, with possible applications in classical and quantum systems alike.

We present the Ramsey response and radio-frequency spectroscopy of a heavy impurity immersed in an interacting Fermi superfluid, using the exact functional determinant approach. We describe the Fermi superfluid through the conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory and investigate the role of the pairing gap on quasiparticle properties revealed by the two spectroscopies. The energy cost for pair breaking prevents Anderson’s orthogonality catastrophe that occurs in a noninteracting Fermi gas and allows the existence of polaron quasiparticles in the exactly solvable heavy impurity limit. Hence, we rigorously confirm the remarkable features such as dark continuum, molecule-hole continuum, and repulsive polaron. For a magnetic impurity scattering at finite temperature, we predict additional resonances related to the subgap Yu-Shiba-Rusinov bound state, whose positions can be used to measure the superfluid pairing gap. For a nonmagnetic scattering at zero temperature, we surprisingly find undamped repulsive polarons. These exact results might be readily observed in quantum gas experiments with Bose-Fermi mixtures that have a large-mass ratio.

The quantum Hall effect occurring in two-dimensional electron gases was first explained by Laughlin, who developed a thought experiment that laid the groundwork for our understanding of topological quantum matter. His proposal is based on a quantum Hall cylinder periodically driven by an axial magnetic field, resulting in the quantized motion of electrons. We realize this milestone experiment with an ultracold gas of dysprosium atoms, the cyclic dimension being encoded in the electronic spin and the axial field controlled by the phases of laser-induced spin-orbit couplings. Our experiment provides a straightforward manifestation of the nontrivial topology of quantum Hall insulators, and could be generalized to strongly correlated topological systems.

We prove that given any two general probabilistic theories (GPTs) the following are equivalent: (i) each theory is nonclassical, meaning that neither of their state spaces is a simplex; (ii) each theory satisfies a strong notion of incompatibility equivalent to the existence of “superpositions”; and (iii) the two theories are entangleable, in the sense that their composite exhibits either entangled states or entangled measurements. Intuitively, in the post-quantum GPT setting, a superposition is a set of two binary ensembles of states that are unambiguously distinguishable if the ensemble is revealed before the measurement has occurred, but not if it is revealed after. This notion is important because we show that, just like in quantum theory, superposition in the form of strong incompatibility is sufficient to realize the Bennett-Brassard 1984 protocol for secret key distribution.

Quantum simulation provides important tools in studying strongly correlated many-body systems with controllable parameters. As a hybrid of two fundamental models in quantum optics and in condensed matter physics, the Rabi-Hubbard model demonstrates rich physics through the competition between local spin-boson interactions and long-range boson hopping. Here, we report an experimental realization of the Rabi-Hubbard model using up to 16 trapped ions and present a controlled study of its equilibrium properties and quantum dynamics. We observe the ground-state quantum phase transition by slowly quenching the coupling strength, and measure the quantum dynamical evolution in various parameter regimes. With the magnetization and the spin-spin correlation as probes, we verify the prediction of the model Hamiltonian by comparing theoretical results in small system sizes with experimental observations. For larger-size systems of 16 ions and 16 phonon modes, the effective Hilbert space dimension exceeds $2^{57}$, whose dynamics is intractable for classical supercomputers.

Optical precision spectroscopy of isotope shifts can be used to test for new forces beyond the standard model, and to determine basic properties of atomic nuclei. We measure isotope shifts on the highly forbidden ${{}^{2}S}_{1/2}\to {{}^{2}F}_{7/2}$ octupole transition of trapped ${}^{168,170,172,174,176}\mathrm{Yb}$ ions. When combined with previous measurements in ${\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}$ and very recent measurements in Yb, the data reveal a King plot nonlinearity of up to $240\sigma$. The trends exhibited by experimental data are explained by nuclear density functional theory calculations with the Fayans functional. We also find, with $4.3\sigma$ confidence, that there is a second distinct source of nonlinearity, and discuss its possible origin.

Atomic layers deposited on semiconductor substrates introduce a platform for the realization of the extended electronic Hubbard model, where the consideration of electronic repulsion beyond the on-site term is paramount. Recently, the onset of superconductivity at 4.7 K has been reported in the hole-doped triangular lattice of tin atoms on a silicon substrate. Through renormalization group methods designed for weak and intermediate coupling, we investigate the nature of the superconducting instability in hole-doped $\mathrm{Sn}/\mathrm{Si}(111)$. We find that the extended Hubbard nature of interactions is crucial to yield triplet pairing, which is $f$-wave ($p$-wave) for moderate (higher) hole doping. In light of persisting challenges to tailor triplet pairing in an electronic material, our finding promises to pave unprecedented ways for engineering unconventional triplet superconductivity.

Structural transformation of hot dense water ice is investigated by combining synchrotron x-ray diffraction and a laser-heating diamond anvil cell above 25 GPa. A transition from the body-centered-cubic (bcc) to face-centered-cubic (fcc) oxygen atoms sublattices is observed from 57 GPa and 1500 K to 166 GPa and 2500 K. That is the structural signature of the transition to fcc superionic (fcc SI) ice. The sign of the density discontinuity at the transition is obtained and a phase diagram is disclosed, showing an extended fcc SI stability field. Present data also constrain the stability field of the bcc superionic (bcc SI) ice up to 100 GPa at least. The current understanding of warm dense water ice based on ab initio simulations is discussed in the light of present data.

Nontrivial momentum-space spin texture of electrons can be induced by spin-orbit coupling and underpins various spin transport phenomena, such as current-induced spin polarization and the spin Hall effect. In this work, we find a nontrivial spin texture, spin antivortex, can appear at certain momenta on the $\mathrm{\Gamma }-K$ line in a 2D monolayer Pb on top of SiC. Different from spin vortex due to the band degeneracy in the Rashba model, the existence of this spin antivortex is guaranteed by the Poincaré-Hopf theorem and thus topologically stable. Accompanied with this spin antivortex, a Lifshitz transition of Fermi surfaces occurs at certain momenta on the $\mathrm{K}-\mathrm{M}$ line, and both phenomena are originated from the anticrossing between the $j=1/2$ and $j=3/2$ bands. A rapid variation of the response coefficients for both the current-induced spin polarization and spin Hall conductivity is found when the Fermi energy is tuned around the spin antivortex. Our work demonstrates the monolayer Pb as a potentially appealing platform for spintronic applications.

The large-scale flow structure and the turbulent transfer of heat and momentum are directly measured in highly turbulent liquid metal convection experiments for Rayleigh numbers varied between $4\times {10}^5$ and $\le 5\times {10}^9$ and Prandtl numbers of $0.025\le \mathrm{Pr}\le 0.033$. Our measurements are performed in two cylindrical samples of aspect ratios $\mathrm{\Gamma }=\text{diameter}/\text{height}=0.5$ and 1 filled with the eutectic alloy GaInSn. The reconstruction of the three-dimensional flow pattern by 17 ultrasound Doppler velocimetry sensors detecting the velocity profiles along their beam lines in different planes reveals a clear breakdown of coherence of the large-scale circulation for $\mathrm{\Gamma }=0.5$. As a consequence, the scaling laws for heat and momentum transfer inherit a dependence on the aspect ratio. We show that this breakdown of coherence is accompanied with a reduction of the Reynolds number Re. The scaling exponent $\beta$ of the power law $\mathrm{Nu}\propto {\mathrm{Ra}}^{\beta }$ crosses eventually over from $\beta =0.221$ to 0.124 when the liquid metal flow at $\mathrm{\Gamma }=0.5$ reaches $\mathrm{Ra}\gtrsim 2\times {10}^8$ and the coherent large-scale flow is completely collapsed.

The recent discovery of superconductive rare earth and actinide superhydrides has ushered in a new era of superconductivity research at high pressures. This distinct type of clathrate metal hydrides was first proposed for alkaline-earth-metal hydride ${\mathrm{CaH}}_6$ that, however, has long eluded experimental synthesis, impeding an understanding of pertinent physics. Here, we report successful synthesis of ${\mathrm{CaH}}_6$ and its measured superconducting critical temperature $T_c$ of 215 K at 172 GPa, which is evidenced by a sharp drop of resistivity to zero and a characteristic decrease of $T_c$ under a magnetic field up to 9 T. An estimate based on the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg model gives a giant zero-temperature upper critical magnetic field of 203 T. These remarkable benchmark superconducting properties place ${\mathrm{CaH}}_6$ among the most outstanding high-$T_c$ superhydrides, marking it as the hitherto only clathrate metal hydride outside the family of rare earth and actinide hydrides. This exceptional case raises great prospects of expanding the extraordinary class of high-$T_c$ superhydrides to a broader variety of compounds that possess more diverse material features and physics characteristics.

Criticality is deeply related to optimal computational capacity. The lack of a renormalized theory of critical brain dynamics, however, so far limits insights into this form of biological information processing to mean-field results. These methods neglect a key feature of critical systems: the interaction between degrees of freedom across all length scales, required for complex nonlinear computation. We present a renormalized theory of a prototypical neural field theory, the stochastic Wilson-Cowan equation. We compute the flow of couplings, which parametrize interactions on increasing length scales. Despite similarities with the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang model, the theory is of a Gell-Mann–Low type, the archetypal form of a renormalizable quantum field theory. Here, nonlinear couplings vanish, flowing towards the Gaussian fixed point, but logarithmically slowly, thus remaining effective on most scales. We show this critical structure of interactions to implement a desirable trade-off between linearity, optimal for information storage, and nonlinearity, required for computation.

Triggering and switching magnetic moments is of key importance for applications ranging from spintronics to quantum information. A noninvasive ultrafast control at the nanoscale is, however, an open challenge. Here, we propose a novel laser-based scheme for generating atomic-scale charge current loops within femtoseconds. The associated orbital magnetic moments remain ferromagnetically aligned after the laser pulses have ceased and are localized within an area that is tunable via laser parameters and can be chosen to be well below the diffraction limit of the driving laser field. The scheme relies on tuning the phase, polarization, and intensities of two copropagating Gaussian and vortex laser pulses, allowing us to control the spatial extent, direction, and strength of the atomic-scale charge current loops induced in the irradiated sample upon photon absorption. In the experiment we used He atoms driven by an ultraviolet and infrared vortex-beam laser pulses to generate current-carrying Rydberg states and test for the generated magnetic moments via dichroic effects in photoemission. Ab initio quantum dynamic simulations and analysis confirm the proposed scenario and provide a quantitative estimate of the generated local moments.