Many cold atom experiments rely on precise atom number detection, especially in the context of quantum-enhanced metrology where effects at the single particle level are important. Here, we investigate the limits of atom number counting via resonant fluorescence detection for mesoscopic samples of trapped atoms. We characterize the precision of these fluorescence measurements beginning from the single-atom level up to more than one thousand. By investigating the primary noise sources, we obtain single-atom resolution for atom numbers as high as 1200. This capability is an essential prerequisite for future experiments with highly entangled states of mesoscopic atomic ensembles.

Newtonian fluid mechanics, in which the shear stress is proportional to the strain rate, is synonymous with the flow of simple liquids such as water. We report the measurement and theoretical verification of non-Newtonian, viscoelastic flow phenomena produced by the high-frequency (20 GHz) vibration of gold nanoparticles immersed in water-glycerol mixtures. The observed viscoelasticity is not due to molecular confinement, but is a bulk continuum effect arising from the short time scale of vibration. This represents the first direct mechanical measurement of the intrinsic viscoelastic properties of simple bulk liquids, and opens a new paradigm for understanding extremely high frequency fluid mechanics, nanoscale sensing technologies, and biophysical processes.

We have measured the vector light shift due to a cavity built-up optical lattice by using a variation of the Hanle effect with trapped Cs atoms, where the time-evolving population of all magnetic sublevels is measured in situ. The measurement is linearly sensitive to the electric field of the nonlinearly polarized light, which allows unprecedented sensitivity to absolute linear polarization quality, to the level of ${10}^{-10}$ in fractional intensity. Our approach to measuring and improving linear polarization can be applied to electron electric dipole moment searches, optical lattice clocks, magnetometery, and quantum computing.

We present the integrated imaging of cold molecules in a microchip environment. The on-chip detection is based on resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization, which is quantum state selective and generally applicable. We demonstrate and characterize time-resolved spatial imaging and subsequently use it to analyze the effect of a phase-space manipulation sequence aimed at compressing the velocity distribution of a molecular ensemble with a view to future high-resolution spectroscopic studies. The realization of such on-chip measurements adds the final fundamental component to the molecule chip, offering a new and promising route for investigating cold molecules.

Electron transport through a single molecule is determined not only by the intrinsic properties of the molecule but also by the configuration of the molecule with respect to the lead electrodes. Here, we show how electron transport through a single ${\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{TPP}$ molecule is modulated by changes in the configuration. The Coulomb stability diagram of a single ${\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{TPP}$ molecule transistor exhibited a few different patterns in different measurement scans. Furthermore, the sample exhibited negative differential resistance, the magnitude of which changed with the pattern in the Coulomb stability diagram. Such behavior can be explained by the rotation of the molecule with anisotropic molecular orbitals in the gap electrodes induced by electrical stress. Moreover, we find that the energy separations between molecular orbitals are also affected by the rotation, confirming that the metal-molecule interface configuration renormalizes the electronic levels in the molecule.

Bose-Einstein condensation, the macroscopic occupation of a single quantum state, appears in equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics and persists also in the hydrodynamic regime close to equilibrium. Here we show that even when a degenerate Bose gas is driven into a steady state far from equilibrium, where the notion of a single-particle ground state becomes meaningless, Bose-Einstein condensation survives in a generalized form: the unambiguous selection of an odd number of states acquiring large occupations. Within mean-field theory we derive a criterion for when a single state and when multiple states are Bose selected in a noninteracting gas. We study the effect in several driven-dissipative model systems, and propose a quantum switch for heat conductivity based on shifting between one and three selected states.

Modified gravity has garnered interest as a backstop against dark matter and dark energy (DE). As one possible modification, the graviton can become massive, which introduces a new scalar field—here with a Galileon-type symmetry. The field can lead to a nontrivial equation of state of DE which is density and scale dependent. Tension between type Ia supernovae and Planck could be reduced. In voids, the scalar field dramatically alters the equation of state of DE, induces a soon-observable gravitational slip between the two metric potentials, and develops a topological defect (domain wall) due to a nontrivial vacuum structure for the field.

Osmosis describes the flow of water across semipermeable membranes powered by the chemical free energy extracted from salinity gradients. While osmosis can be expressed in simple terms via the van ’t Hoff ideal gas formula for the osmotic pressure, it is a complex phenomenon taking its roots in the subtle interactions occurring at the scale of the membrane nanopores. Here we use new opportunities offered by nanofluidic systems to create an osmotic diode exhibiting asymmetric water flow under reversal of osmotic driving. We show that a surface charge asymmetry built on a nanochannel surface leads to nonlinear couplings between water flow and the ion dynamics, which are capable of water flow rectification. This phenomenon opens new opportunities for water purification and complex flow control in nanochannels.

The success of direct-drive implosions depends critically on the ability to create high ablation pressures ($\sim 100\mathrm{Mbar}$) and accelerating the imploding shell to ignition-relevant velocities ($>3.7\times {10}^7\mathrm{cm}/\mathrm{s}$) using direct laser illumination. This Letter reports on an experimental study of the conversion of absorbed laser energy into kinetic energy of the shell (rocket efficiency) where different ablators were used to vary the ratio of the atomic number to the atomic mass. The implosion velocity of Be shells is increased by 20% compared to C and CH shells in direct-drive implosions when a constant initial target mass is maintained. These measurements are consistent with the predicted increase in the rocket efficiency of 28% for Be and 5% for C compared to a CH ablator.

Recent studies aimed at investigating artificial analogs of bacterial colonies have shown that low-density suspensions of self-propelled particles confined in two dimensions can assemble into finite aggregates that merge and split, but have a typical size that remains constant (living clusters). In this Letter, we address the problem of the formation of living clusters and crystals of active particles in three dimensions. We study two systems: self-propelled particles interacting via a generic attractive potential and colloids that can move toward each other as a result of active agents (e.g., by molecular motors). In both cases, fluidlike “living” clusters form. We explain this general feature in terms of the balance between active forces and regression to thermodynamic equilibrium. This balance can be quantified in terms of a dimensionless number that allows us to collapse the observed clustering behavior onto a universal curve. We also discuss how active motion affects the kinetics of crystal formation.

We show that it is possible to realize significant nonlinear optical interactions at the few photon level in graphene nanostructures. Our approach takes advantage of the electric field enhancement associated with the strong confinement of graphene plasmons and the large intrinsic nonlinearity of graphene. Such a system could provide a powerful platform for quantum nonlinear optical control of light. As an example, we consider an integrated optical device that exploits this large nonlinearity to realize a single photon switch.

The gliding motility of Flavobacterium johnsoniae is driven by moving surface adhesive proteins. Recently, these motility components were observed to travel along a closed loop on the cell surface. The mechanism by which such moving surface adhesins give rise to cell motion remains unknown. On the basis of the unique motility properties of F. johnsoniae, we present a generic model for bidirectional motion of rigidly coupled adhesins, which are propelled in opposite directions. Using analytical and numerical methods, we demonstrate that, for a sufficiently large adhesin speed, bidirectional motion arises from spontaneous symmetry breaking. The model also predicts that, close to the bifurcation point, a weak asymmetry in the binding dynamics is sufficient to facilitate directed motility, indicating that the direction of motion could be sensitively regulated internally in response to inhomogeneity of the environment.

Assuming that the particle with mass $\sim 126\mathrm{GeV}$ discovered at LHC is the standard model Higgs boson, we find that the stability of the electroweak (EW) vacuum strongly depends on new physics interaction at the Planck scale $M_P$, despite of the fact that they are higher-dimensional interactions, apparently suppressed by inverse powers of $M_P$. In particular, for the present experimental values of the top and Higgs boson masses, if $\tau$ is the lifetime of the EW vacuum, new physics can turn $\tau$ from $\tau \gg T_U$ to $\tau \ll T_U$, where $T_U$ is the age of the Universe, thus, weakening the conclusions of the so called metastability scenario.

We study $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}{h}_c$ at center-of-mass energies from 3.90 to 4.42 GeV by using data samples collected with the BESIII detector operating at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider. The Born cross sections are measured at 13 energies and are found to be of the same order of magnitude as those of $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}J/\psi$ but with a different line shape. In the ${\pi }^{\pm }{h}_c$ mass spectrum, a distinct structure, referred to as $Z_c(4020)$, is observed at $4.02\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$. The $Z_c(4020)$ carries an electric charge and couples to charmonium. A fit to the ${\pi }^{\pm }{h}_c$ invariant mass spectrum, neglecting possible interferences, results in a mass of $(4022.9\pm 0.8\pm 2.7)\mathrm{MeV}/c^2$ and a width of $(7.9\pm 2.7\pm 2.6)\mathrm{MeV}$ for the $Z_c(4020)$, where the first errors are statistical and the second systematic. The difference between the parameters of this structure and the $Z_c(4025)$ observed in the $D^{*}{\overline{D}}^{*}$ final state is within $1.5\sigma$, but whether they are the same state needs further investigation. No significant $Z_c(3900)$ signal is observed, and upper limits on the $Z_c(3900)$ production cross sections in ${\pi }^{\pm }{h}_c$ at center-of-mass energies of 4.23 and 4.26 GeV are set.

We present surprising experimental evidence regarding the past of photons passing through an interferometer. The information about the positions through which the photons pass in the interferometer is retrieved from modulations of the detected signal at the vibration frequencies of mirrors the photons bounce off. From the analysis we conclude that the past of the photons is not represented by continuous trajectories, although a “common sense” analysis adopted in various welcher weg measurements, delayed-choice which-path experiments, and counterfactual communication demonstrations yields a single trajectory. The experimental results have a simple explanation in the framework of the two-state vector formalism of quantum theory.

Neutron star (NS) merger ejecta offer a viable site for the production of heavy $r$-process elements with nuclear mass numbers $A\gtrsim 140$. The crucial role of fission recycling is responsible for the robustness of this site against many astrophysical uncertainties, but calculations sensitively depend on nuclear physics. In particular, the fission fragment yields determine the creation of $110\lesssim A\lesssim 170$ nuclei. Here, we apply a new scission-point model, called SPY, to derive the fission fragment distribution (FFD) of all relevant neutron-rich, fissioning nuclei. The model predicts a doubly asymmetric FFD in the abundant $A\simeq 278$ mass region that is responsible for the final recycling of the fissioning material. Using ejecta conditions based on relativistic NS merger calculations, we show that this specific FFD leads to a production of the $A\simeq 165$ rare-earth peak that is nicely compatible with the abundance patterns in the Sun and metal-poor stars. This new finding further strengthens the case of NS mergers as possible dominant origin of $r$ nuclei with $A\gtrsim 140$.

We propose a concept that allows for efficient excitation of surface plasmon spolaritons (SPPs) on a thin graphene sheet located on a substrate by an incident electromagnetic field. Elastic vibrations of the sheet, which are generated by a flexural wave, act as a grating that enables the electromagnetic field to couple to propagating graphene SPPs. This scheme permits fast on-off switching of the SPPs and dynamic tuning of their excitation frequency by adjusting the vibration frequency (grating period). Potential applications include single molecule detection and enhanced control of SPP trajectories via surface wave patterning of graphene metasurfaces. Analytical calculations and numerical experiments demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed concept.

We propose a scheme for coupling laser light into graphene plasmons with the help of electrically generated surface acoustic waves. The surface acoustic wave forms a diffraction grating which allows us to excite the long lived phononlike branch of the hybridized graphene plasmon-phonon dispersion with infrared laser light. Our approach avoids patterning the graphene sheet, does not rely on complicated optical near-field techniques, and allows us to electrically switch the coupling between far-field radiation and propagating graphene plasmons.

The key requirement for quantum networking is the distribution of entanglement between nodes. Surprisingly, entanglement can be generated across a network without direct transfer—or communication—of entanglement. In contrast to information gain, which cannot exceed the communicated information, the entanglement gain is bounded by the communicated quantum discord, a more general measure of quantum correlation that includes but is not limited to entanglement. Here, we experimentally entangle two communicating parties sharing three initially separable photonic qubits by exchange of a carrier photon that is unentangled with either party at all times. We show that distributing entanglement with separable carriers is resilient to noise and in some cases becomes the only way of distributing entanglement through noisy environments.

Distribution of entanglement between macroscopically separated parties is crucial for future quantum information networks. Surprisingly, it has been theoretically shown that two distant systems can be entangled by sending a third system that is not entangled with either of them. Here, we experimentally distribute entanglement and successfully prove that our transmitted light beam is indeed not entangled with the parties’ local systems. Our work demonstrates an unexpected variant of entanglement distribution and improves the understanding necessary to engineer multipartite quantum networks.