We measure the current fluctuations emitted by a normal-metal–insulator–normal-metal tunnel junction with a very wide bandwidth, from 0.3 to 13 GHz, down to very low temperature $T=35\mathrm{mK}$. This allows us to perform the spectroscopy (i.e., measure the frequency dependence) of thermal noise (no dc bias, variable temperature) and shot noise (low temperature, variable dc voltage bias). Because of the very wide bandwidth of our measurement, we deduce the current-current correlator in the time domain. We observe the thermal decay of this correlator as well as its oscillations with a period $h/eV$, a direct consequence of the effect of the Pauli and Heisenberg principles in quantum electron transport.

We develop a first quantization description of fractional Chern insulators that is the dual of the conventional fractional quantum Hall (FQH) problem, with the roles of position and momentum interchanged. In this picture, FQH states are described by anisotropic FQH liquids forming in momentum-space Landau levels in a fluctuating magnetic field. The fundamental quantum geometry of the problem emerges from the interplay of single-body and interaction metrics, both of which act as momentum-space duals of the geometrical picture of the anisotropic FQH effect. We then present a novel broad class of ideal Chern insulator lattice models that act as duals of the isotropic FQH effect. The interacting problem is well-captured by Haldane pseudopotentials and affords a detailed microscopic understanding of the interplay of interactions and nontrivial quantum geometry.

Supersymmetry (SUSY) interchanges bosons and fermions but no direct evidence of it has been revealed in nature yet. In this Letter, we observe that fluctuating pair density waves (PDW) consist of two complex order parameters which can be superpartners of the unavoidably doubled Weyl fermions in three-dimensional lattice models. We construct explicit fermionic lattice models featuring 3D Weyl fermions and show that PDW is the leading instability via a continuous phase transition as short-range interactions exceed a critical value. Using a renormalization group, we theoretically show that $\mathcal{N}=2$ space-time SUSY emerges at the continuous PDW transitions in 3D Weyl semimetals, which we believe is the first realization of emergent $(3+1)\mathrm{D}$ space-time SUSY in microscopic lattice models. We further discuss possible routes to realize such lattice models and experimental signatures of emergent SUSY at the PDW criticality.

Several theoretical predictions of the mass flow rate of granular media discharged from a silo are based on the spontaneous development of a free-fall arch region, the existence of which is still controversial. In this Letter, we study experimentally and numerically the particle flow through an orifice placed at the bottom of 2D and 3D silos. The implementation of a coarse-grained technique allows a thorough description of all the kinetic and micromechanical properties of the particle flow in the outlet proximities. Though the free-fall arch does not exist as traditionally understood—a region above which particles have negligible velocity and below which particles fall solely under gravity action—we discover that the kinetic pressure displays a well-defined transition in a position that scales with the outlet size. This universal scaling explains why the free-fall arch picture has served as an approximation to describe the flow rate in the discharge of silos.

We demonstrate coherent control of bond making, a milestone on the way to coherent control of photoinduced bimolecular chemical reactions. In strong-field multiphoton femtosecond photoassociation experiments, we find the yield of detected magnesium dimer molecules to be enhanced for positively chirped pulses and suppressed for negatively chirped pulses. Our ab initio model shows that control is achieved by purification combined with chirp-dependent Raman transitions. Experimental closed-loop phase optimization using a learning algorithm yields an improved pulse that utilizes vibrational coherent dynamics in addition to chirp-dependent Raman transitions. Our results show that coherent control of binary photoreactions is feasible even under thermal conditions.

The radioactive radium-225 (${}^{225}\mathrm{Ra}$) atom is a favorable case to search for a permanent electric dipole moment. Because of its strong nuclear octupole deformation and large atomic mass, ${}^{225}\mathrm{Ra}$ is particularly sensitive to interactions in the nuclear medium that violate both time-reversal symmetry and parity. We have developed a cold-atom technique to study the spin precession of ${}^{225}\mathrm{Ra}$ atoms held in an optical dipole trap, and demonstrated the principle of this method by completing the first measurement of its atomic electric dipole moment, reaching an upper limit of $|d({}^{225}\mathrm{Ra})|<5.0\times {10}^{-22}e\mathrm{cm}$ (95% confidence).

Analytic and computational methods developed within statistical physics have found applications in numerous disciplines. In this Letter, we use such methods to solve a long-standing problem in statistical genetics. The problem, posed by Haldane and Waddington [Genetics 16, 357 (1931)], concerns so-called recombinant inbred lines (RILs) produced by repeated inbreeding. Haldane and Waddington derived the probabilities of RILs when considering two and three genes but the case of four or more genes has remained elusive. Our solution uses two probabilistic frameworks relatively unknown outside of physics: Glauber’s formula and self-consistent equations of the Schwinger-Dyson type. Surprisingly, this combination of statistical formalisms unveils the exact probabilities of RILs for any number of genes. Extensions of the framework may have applications in population genetics and beyond.

Contrary to the usual “rigid supermolecular assembly” paradigm of chromatin structure, we propose to analyze its eventual ordered state in terms of symmetry properties of individual nucleosomes that give rise to mesophase order parameters, like in many other soft-matter systems. Basing our approach on the Landau–de Gennes phenomenology, we describe the mesoscale order in chromatin by antipolar and anticlinic correlations of chiral individual nucleosomes. This approach leads to a unifying physical picture of a whole series of soft locally ordered states with different apparent structures, including the recently observed heteromorphic chromatin, stemming from the antipolar arrangement of nucleosomes complemented by their chiral twisting. Properties of these states under an external force field can reconcile apparently contradictory results of single-molecule experiments.

The condensation of fermion pairs lies at the heart of superfluidity. However, for strongly correlated systems with reduced dimensionality the mechanisms of pairing and condensation are still not fully understood. In our experiment we use ultracold atoms as a generic model system to study the phase transition from a normal to a condensed phase in a strongly interacting quasi-two-dimensional Fermi gas. Using a novel method, we obtain the in situ pair momentum distribution of the strongly interacting system and observe the emergence of a low-momentum condensate at low temperatures. By tuning temperature and interaction strength, we map out the phase diagram of the quasi-2D BEC-BCS crossover.

The unknown temperature of a sample can be estimated with minimal disturbance by putting it in thermal contact with an individual quantum probe. If the interaction time is sufficiently long so that the probe thermalizes, the temperature can be read-out directly from its steady state. Here we prove that the optimal quantum probe, acting as a thermometer with maximal thermal sensitivity, is an effective two-level atom with a maximally degenerate excited state. When the total interaction time is insufficient to produce full thermalization, we optimize the estimation protocol by breaking it down into sequential stages of probe preparation, thermal contact, and measurement. We observe that frequently interrogated probes initialized in the ground state achieve the best performance. For both fully and partly thermalized thermometers, the sensitivity grows significantly with the number of levels, though optimization over their energy spectrum remains always crucial.

We demonstrate optimal state estimation for a cavity optomechanical system through Kalman filtering. By taking into account nontrivial experimental noise sources, such as colored laser noise and spurious mechanical modes, we implement a realistic state-space model. This allows us to obtain the conditional system state, i.e., conditioned on previous measurements, with a minimal least-squares estimation error. We apply this method to estimate the mechanical state, as well as optomechanical correlations both in the weak and strong coupling regime. The application of the Kalman filter is an important next step for achieving real-time optimal (classical and quantum) control of cavity optomechanical systems.

Combining techniques of cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum measurement, and quantum feedback, we have realized the heralded transfer of a polarization qubit from a photon onto a single atom with 39% efficiency and 86% fidelity. The reverse process, namely, qubit transfer from the atom onto a given photon, is demonstrated with 88% fidelity and an estimated efficiency of up to 69%. In contrast to previous work based on two-photon interference, our scheme is robust against photon arrival-time jitter and achieves much higher efficiencies. Thus, it constitutes a key step toward the implementation of a long-distance quantum network.

The Ryu-Takayanagi formula relates the entanglement entropy in a conformal field theory to the area of a minimal surface in its holographic dual. We show that this relation can be inverted for any state in the conformal field theory to compute the bulk stress-energy tensor near the boundary of the bulk spacetime, reconstructing the local data in the bulk from the entanglement on the boundary. We also show that positivity, monotonicity, and convexity of the relative entropy for small spherical domains between the reduced density matrices of any state and of the ground state of the conformal field theory are guaranteed by positivity conditions on the bulk matter energy density. As positivity and monotonicity of the relative entropy are general properties of quantum systems, this can be interpreted as a derivation of bulk energy conditions in any holographic system for which the Ryu-Takayanagi prescription applies. We discuss an information theoretical interpretation of the convexity in terms of the Fisher metric.

Weak radiative decays of the $B$ mesons belong to the most important flavor changing processes that provide constraints on physics at the TeV scale. In the derivation of such constraints, accurate standard model predictions for the inclusive branching ratios play a crucial role. In the current Letter we present an update of these predictions, incorporating all our results for the $\mathcal{O}({\alpha }_s^2)$ and lower-order perturbative corrections that have been calculated after 2006. New estimates of nonperturbative effects are taken into account, too. For the $CP$- and isospin-averaged branching ratios, we find ${\mathcal{B}}_{s\gamma }=(3.36\pm 0.23)\times {10}^{-4}$ and ${\mathcal{B}}_{d\gamma }=(1.73_{-0.22}^{+0.12})\times {10}^{-5}$, for $E_{\gamma }>1.6\mathrm{GeV}$. Both results remain in agreement with the current experimental averages. Normalizing their sum to the inclusive semileptonic branching ratio, we obtain $R_{\gamma }\equiv ({\mathcal{B}}_{s\gamma }+{\mathcal{B}}_{d\gamma })/{\mathcal{B}}_{c\ell \nu }=(3.31\pm 0.22)\times {10}^{-3}$. A new bound from ${\mathcal{B}}_{s\gamma }$ on the charged Higgs boson mass in the two-Higgs-doublet-model II reads $M_{H^{\pm }}>480\mathrm{GeV}$ at 95% C.L.

While the experimental progress on three dimensional topological insulators is rapid, the development of their 2D counterparts has been comparatively slow, despite their technological promise. The main reason is materials challenges of the to date only realizations of 2D topological insulators, in semiconductor quantum wells. Here we identify a 2D topological insulator in a material which does not face similar challenges and which is by now most widely available and well charaterized: graphene. For certain commensurate interlayer twists, graphene multilayers are insulators with sizable band gaps. We show that they are moreover in a topological phase protected by crystal symmetry. As its fundamental signature, this topological state supports one-dimensional boundary modes. They form low-dissipation quantum wires that can be defined purely electrostatically.

Coordinated motion of cell monolayers during epithelial wound healing and tissue morphogenesis involves mechanical stress generation. Here we propose a model for the dynamics of epithelial expansion that couples mechanical deformations in the tissue to contractile activity and polarization in the cells. A new ingredient of our model is a feedback between local strain, polarization, and contractility that naturally yields a mechanism for viscoelasticity and effective inertia in the cell monolayer. Using a combination of analytical and numerical techniques, we demonstrate that our model quantitatively reproduces many experimental findings [Nat. Phys. 8, 628 (2012)], including the buildup of intercellular stresses, and the existence of traveling mechanical waves guiding the oscillatory monolayer expansion.

The spontaneous formation of vortices is a hallmark of collective cellular activity. Here, we study the onset and persistence of coherent angular motion as a function of the number of cells $N$ confined in circular micropatterns. We find that the persistence of coherent angular motion increases with $N$ but exhibits a pronounced discontinuity accompanied by a geometric rearrangement of cells to a configuration containing a central cell. Computer simulations based on a generalized Potts model reproduce the emergence of vortex states and show in agreement with experiment that their stability depends on the interplay of the spatial arrangement and internal polarization of neighboring cells. Hence, the distinct migrational states in finite size ensembles reveal significant insight into the local interaction rules guiding collective migration.

We consider the interplay between the antiferromagnetic and Kekulé valence bond solid orderings in the zero energy Landau levels of neutral monolayer and bilayer graphene. We establish the presence of Wess-Zumino-Witten terms between these orders: this implies that their quantum fluctuations are described by the deconfined critical theories of quantum spin systems. We present implications for experiments, including the possible presence of excitonic superfluidity in bilayer graphene.

We use electrical detection, in combination with microwave transmission, to investigate both resonant and nonresonant magnon-photon coupling at room temperature. Spin pumping in a dynamically coupled magnon-photon system is found to be distinctly different from previous experiments. Characteristic coupling features such as modes anticrossing, linewidth evolution, peculiar line shape, and resonance broadening are systematically measured and consistently analyzed by a theoretical model set on the foundation of classical electrodynamic coupling. Our experimental and theoretical approach paves the way for pursuing microwave coherent manipulation of pure spin current via the combination of spin pumping and magnon-photon coupling.

We investigate on the National Ignition Facility the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the transition from weakly nonlinear to highly nonlinear regimes. A planar plastic package with preimposed two-dimensional broadband modulations is accelerated for up to 12 ns by the x-ray drive of a gas-filled Au radiation cavity with a radiative temperature plateau at 175 eV. This extended tailored drive allows a distance traveled in excess of 1 mm for a $130\mu \mathrm{m}$ thick foil. Measurements of the modulation optical density performed by x-ray radiography show that a bubble-merger regime for the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at an ablation front is achieved for the first time in indirect drive. The mutimode modulation amplitudes are in the nonlinear regime, grow beyond the Haan multimode saturation level, evolve toward the longer wavelengths, and show insensitivity to the initial conditions.