We study the effect of confinement on glassy liquids using random first order transition theory as a framework. We show that the characteristic length scale above which confinement effects become negligible is related to the point-to-set length scale introduced to measure the spatial extent of amorphous order in supercooled liquids. By confining below this characteristic size, the system becomes a glass. Eventually, for very small sizes, the effect of the boundary is so strong that any collective glassy behavior is wiped out. We clarify similarities and differences between the physical behaviors induced by confinement and by pinning particles outside a spherical cavity (the protocol introduced to measure the point-to-set length). Finally, we discuss possible numerical and experimental tests of our predictions.

We reveal for the first time through a theoretical first-principles study that the adsorption of a nonmagnetic $\pi$-conjugated organic molecule on a ferromagnetic surface locally increases the strength of the magnetic exchange interaction between the magnetic atoms binding directly to the molecule. This magnetic hardening effect leads to the creation of a local molecular mediated magnetic unit with a stable magnetization direction and an enhanced barrier for the magnetization switching as compared to the clean surface. Remarkably, such a hybrid organic-ferromagnetic system exhibits also a spin-filter functionality with sharp spin-split molecularlike electronic features at the molecular site.

We search for a spin-dependent $P$- and $T$-violating nucleon-nucleon interaction mediated by light pseudoscalar bosons such as axions or axionlike particles. We employ an ultrasensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free precession of colocated ${}^3\mathrm{He}$ and ${}^{129}\mathrm{Xe}$ nuclear spins using SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. The precession frequency shift in the presence of an unpolarized mass was measured to determine the coupling of pseudoscalar particles to the spin of the bound neutron. For boson masses between 2 and $500\mu \mathrm{eV}$ (force ranges between $3\times {10}^{-4}\mathrm{m}$ and ${10}^{-1}\mathrm{m}$) we improved the laboratory upper bounds by up to 4 orders of magnitude.

The charmless decays $B^{\pm }\to K^{\pm }{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ and $B^{\pm }\to K^{\pm }{K}^{+}{K}^{-}$ are reconstructed using data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $1.0{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$, collected by LHCb in 2011. The inclusive charge asymmetries of these modes are measured as $A_{CP}(B^{\pm }\to K^{\pm }{\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-})=0.032\pm 0.008(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.004(\mathrm{syst})\pm 0.007(J/\psi K^{\pm })$ and $A_{CP}(B^{\pm }\to K^{\pm }{K}^{+}{K}^{-})=-0.043\pm 0.009(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.003(\mathrm{syst})\pm 0.007(J/\psi K^{\pm })$, where the third uncertainty is due to the $CP$ asymmetry of the $B^{\pm }\to J/\psi K^{\pm }$ reference mode. The significance of $A_{CP}(B^{\pm }\to K^{\pm }{K}^{+}{K}^{-})$ exceeds three standard deviations and is the first evidence of an inclusive $CP$ asymmetry in charmless three-body $B$ decays. In addition to the inclusive $CP$ asymmetries, larger asymmetries are observed in localized regions of phase space.

Various theories beyond the standard model predict new particles with masses in the sub-eV range with very weak couplings to ordinary matter. A new $P$-odd and $T$-odd interaction between polarized and unpolarized nucleons proportional to $\overrightarrow{K}·\overrightarrow{r}$ is one such possibility, where $\overrightarrow{r}$ is the distance between the nucleons and $\overrightarrow{K}$ is the spin of the polarized nucleon. Such an interaction involving a scalar coupling $g_s$ at one vertex and a pseudoscalar coupling $g_p$ at the polarized nucleon vertex can be induced by the exchange of spin-0 bosons. We used the NMR cell test station at Northrop Grumman Corporation to search for NMR frequency shifts in polarized ${}^{129}\mathrm{Xe}$ and ${}^{131}\mathrm{Xe}$ when a nonmagnetic zirconia rod is moved near the NMR cell. Long ($T_2\sim 20\mathrm{s}$) spin-relaxation times allow precision measurements of the NMR frequency ratios, which are insensitive to magnetic field fluctuations. Combined with existing theoretical calculations of the neutron spin contribution to the nuclear angular momentum in xenon nuclei, the measurements improve the laboratory upper bound on the product $g_s{g}_p^n$ by 2 orders of magnitude for distances near 1 mm. The sensitivity of this technique can be increased by at least two more orders of magnitude.

The 3D distribution of nanocrystals at the liquid-air interface is imaged for the first time on a single-particle level by cryogenic electron tomography, revealing the equilibrium concentration profile from the interface to the bulk of the liquid. When the surface tension of the liquid is decreased, the interaction of the nanocrystals with the liquid-air interface shifts from adsorption to desorption. Macroscopic surface tension measurements do not detect this transition, due to the presence of surface-active molecular species.

A simple argument indicates that covariant loop gravity (spin foam theory) predicts a maximal acceleration and hence forbids the development of curvature singularities. This supports the results obtained for cosmology and black holes using canonical methods.

We propose a nonperturbative formulation of planar scattering amplitudes in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, or, equivalently, polygonal Wilson loops. The construction is based on the operator product expansion approach and introduces a new decomposition of the Wilson loop in terms of fundamental building blocks named pentagon transitions. These transitions satisfy a simple relation to the worldsheet $S$ matrix on top of the so-called Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov vacuum which allows us to bootstrap them at any value of the coupling. In this Letter we present a subsector of the full solution which we call the gluonic part. We match our results with both weak and strong coupling data available in the literature.

We realize indirect partial measurement of a transmon qubit in circuit quantum electrodynamics by interaction with an ancilla qubit and projective ancilla measurement with a dedicated readout resonator. Accurate control of the interaction and ancilla measurement basis allows tailoring the measurement strength and operator. The tradeoff between measurement strength and qubit backaction is characterized through the distortion of a qubit Rabi oscillation imposed by ancilla measurement in different bases. Combining partial and projective qubit measurements, we provide the solid-state demonstration of the correspondence between a nonclassical weak value and the violation of a Leggett-Garg inequality.

A sufficiently damped iteration of the Kohn-Sham (KS) equations with the exact functional is proven to always converge to the true ground-state density, regardless of the initial density or the strength of electron correlation, for finite Coulomb systems. We numerically implement the exact functional for one-dimensional continuum systems and demonstrate convergence of the damped KS algorithm. More strongly correlated systems converge more slowly.

We investigate the temperature dependence of the Yb valence in ${\mathrm{YbMn}}_6{\mathrm{Ge}}_{1.8}{\mathrm{Sn}}_{4.2}$ and ${\mathrm{YbMn}}_6{\mathrm{Ge}}_{1.6}{\mathrm{Sn}}_{4.4}$ using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering experiments. Yb is found to be in an intermediate valent state in the whole investigated temperature range (10–450 K). We thus prove that the unusually high magnetic ordering temperature of Yb ($\sim 60$ and 90 K for $x=4.2$ and 4.4, respectively) involves an intermediate valent Yb, an unprecedentedly observed phenomenon. Further, an anomalous increase in the Yb valence is observed upon cooling. A scenario is proposed to explain this unusual behavior. It is based on the presence of magnetically ordered Mn moments and on an Anderson Hamiltonian with a Zeeman term modeling the magnetic interactions.

A fundamental property of a three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate is long-range coherence; however, in systems of lower dimensionality, not only is the long-range coherence destroyed but additional states of matter are predicted to exist. One such state is a “transverse condensate,” first predicted by van Druten and Ketterle [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 549 (1997)], in which the gas condenses in the transverse dimensions of a highly anisotropic trap while remaining thermal in the longitudinal dimension. Here, we detect the transition from a three-dimensional thermal gas to a gas undergoing transverse condensation by probing Hanbury Brown–Twiss correlations.

We investigated the kinetics of enthalpy recovery of several glass-forming polymers at temperatures significantly below the glass transition temperature ($T_g$) and for aging times up to one year. We find a double-step recovery at relatively low aging temperatures for the longest investigated aging times. The enthalpy recovered after the two-step decay approximately equals that expected by extrapolation from the melt. The two-step enthalpy recovery indicates the presence of two time scales for glass equilibration. The equilibration time of the first recovery step exhibits relatively weak temperature dependence, whereas that of the second step possesses pronounced temperature dependence, compatible with the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann behavior. These results, while leaving open the question of the divergence of the relaxation time and that of a thermodynamic singularity at a finite temperature, reveal a complex scenario of glassy dynamics.

We report high-resolution hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy results on (Ga,Mn)As films as a function of Mn doping. Supported by theoretical calculations we identify, for both low (1%) and high (13%) Mn doping values, the electronic character of the states near the top of the valence band. Magnetization and temperature-dependent core-level photoemission spectra reveal how the delocalized character of the Mn states enables the bulk ferromagnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As.

By creating self-induced vortexlike defects in the nematic liquid crystal layer of a light valve, we demonstrate the realization of programable lattices of optical vortices with arbitrary distribution in space. On each lattice site, every matter vortex acts as a photonic spin-to-orbital momentum coupler and an array of circularly polarized input beams is converted into an output array of vortex beams with topological charges consistent with the matter lattice. The vortex arrangements are explained on the basis of light-induced matter defects of both signs and consistent topological rules.

Elastic light-by-light scattering ($\gamma \gamma \to \gamma \gamma$) is open to study at the Large Hadron Collider thanks to the large quasireal photon fluxes available in electromagnetic interactions of protons ($p$) and lead (Pb) ions. The $\gamma \gamma \to \gamma \gamma$ cross sections for diphoton masses $m_{\gamma \gamma }>5\mathrm{GeV}$ amount to 12 fb, 26 pb, and 35 nb in $p\mathrm{\text{−}}p$, $p\mathrm{\text{−}}\mathrm{Pb}$, and Pb-Pb collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energies $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=14$, 8.8, and 5.5 TeV, respectively. Such a measurement has no substantial background in Pb-Pb collisions where one expects about 20 signal events per run, after typical detector acceptance and reconstruction efficiency selections.

The plasma astrophysical $S$ factor for the ${}^3\mathrm{He}(d,p){}^4\mathrm{He}$ fusion reaction was measured for the first time at temperatures of few keV, using the interaction of intense ultrafast laser pulses with molecular deuterium clusters mixed with ${}^3\mathrm{He}$ atoms. Different proportions of ${\mathrm{D}}_2$ and ${}^3\mathrm{He}$ or ${\mathrm{CD}}_4$ and ${}^3\mathrm{He}$ were mixed in the gas target in order to allow the measurement of the cross section for the ${}^3\mathrm{He}(d,p){}^4\mathrm{He}$ reaction. The yield of 14.7 MeV protons from the ${}^3\mathrm{He}(d,p){}^4\mathrm{He}$ reaction was measured in order to extract the astrophysical $S$ factor at low energies. Our result is in agreement with other $S$ factor parametrizations found in the literature.

The irreversible thermodynamics of a continuous medium with magnetic dipoles predicts that a temperature gradient in the presence of magnetization waves induces a magnetic induction field, which is the magnetic analog of the Seebeck effect. This thermal gradient modulates the precession and relaxation. The magnetic Seebeck effect implies that magnetization waves propagating in the direction of the temperature gradient and the external magnetic induction field are less attenuated, while magnetization waves propagating in the opposite direction are more attenuated.

We develop a path-based approach to continuous-time random walks on networks with arbitrarily weighted edges. We describe an efficient numerical algorithm for calculating statistical properties of the stochastic path ensemble. After demonstrating our approach on two reaction rate problems, we present a biophysical model that describes how proteins evolve new functions while maintaining thermodynamic stability. We use our methodology to characterize dynamics of evolutionary adaptation, reproducing several key features observed in directed evolution experiments. We find that proteins generally fall into two qualitatively different regimes of adaptation depending on their binding and folding energetics.

We propose and theoretically investigate a hybrid system composed of a crystal of trapped ions coupled to a cloud of ultracold fermions. The ions form a periodic lattice and induce a band structure in the atoms. This system combines the advantages of high fidelity operations and detection offered by trapped ion systems with ultracold atomic systems. It also features close analogies to natural solid-state systems, as the atomic degrees of freedom couple to phonons of the ion lattice, thereby emulating a solid-state system. Starting from the microscopic many-body Hamiltonian, we derive the low energy Hamiltonian, including the atomic band structure, and give an expression for the atom-phonon coupling. We discuss possible experimental implementations such as a Peierls-like transition into a period-doubled dimerized state.