Entanglement is an invaluable resource for fundamental tests of physics and the implementation of quantum information protocols such as device-independent secure communications. In particular, time-bin entanglement is widely exploited to reach these purposes both in free space and optical fiber propagation, due to the robustness and simplicity of its implementation. However, all existing realizations of time-bin entanglement suffer from an intrinsic postselection loophole, which undermines their usefulness. Here, we report the first experimental violation of Bell’s inequality with “genuine” time-bin entanglement, free of the postselection loophole. We introduced a novel function of the interferometers at the two measurement stations, that operate as fast synchronized optical switches. This scheme allowed us to obtain a postselection-loophole-free Bell violation of more than 9 standard deviations. Since our scheme is fully implementable using standard fiber-based components and is compatible with modern integrated photonics, our results pave the way for the distribution of genuine time-bin entanglement over long distances.

We show that the minimal rate of noise needed to catalytically erase the entanglement in a bipartite quantum state is given by the regularized relative entropy of entanglement. This offers a solution to the central open question raised in [Groisman et al., Phys. Rev. A 72, 032317 (2005)] and complements their main result that the minimal rate of noise needed to erase all correlations is given by the quantum mutual information. We extend our discussion to the tripartite setting where we show that an asymptotic rate of noise given by the regularized relative entropy of recovery is sufficient to catalytically transform the state to a locally recoverable version of the state.

A question that is commonly asked in all areas of physics is how a certain property of a physical system can be used to achieve useful tasks and how to quantify the amount of such a property in a meaningful way. We answer this question by showing that, in a general resource-theoretic framework that allows the use of free states as catalysts, the amount of “resources” contained in a given state, in the asymptotic scenario, is equal to the regularized relative entropy of a resource of that state. While we need to place a few assumptions on our resource-theoretical framework, it is still sufficiently general, and its special cases include quantum resource theories of entanglement, coherence, asymmetry, athermality, nonuniformity, and purity. As a by-product, our result also implies that the amount of noise one has to inject locally to erase all the entanglement contained in an entangled state is equal to the regularized relative entropy of entanglement.

Coalescing binary black holes emit anisotropic gravitational radiation. This causes a net emission of linear momentum that produces a gradual acceleration of the source. As a result, the final remnant black hole acquires a characteristic velocity known as recoil velocity or gravitational kick. The symmetries of gravitational wave emission are reflected in the interactions of the gravitational wave modes emitted by the binary. In this Letter, we make use of the rich information encoded in the higher-order modes of the gravitational wave emission to infer the component of the kick along the line of sight (or radial kick). We do this by performing parameter inference on simulated signals given by numerical relativity waveforms for nonspinning binaries using numerical relativity templates of aligned-spin (nonprecessing) binary black holes. We find that for suitable sources, namely those with mass ratio $q\ge 2$ and total mass $M\sim 100M_{\odot }$, and for modest radial kicks of $120\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}$, the 90% credible intervals of our posterior probability distributions can exclude a zero kick at a signal-to-noise ratio of 15, using a single Advanced LIGO detector working at its early sensitivity. The measurement of a nonzero radial kick component would provide the first observational signature of net transport of linear momentum by gravitational waves away from their source.

We present Monte Carlo calculations of the thermodynamics of the ($2+1$)-dimensional Thirring model at finite density. We bypass the sign problem by deforming the domain of integration of the path integral into complex space in such a way as to maximize the average sign within a parameterized family of manifolds. We present results for lattice sizes up to $10^3$ and we find that at high densities and/or temperatures the chiral condensate is abruptly reduced.

We study the structure of thermal spectral function of the stress-energy tensor in $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at intermediate ‘t Hooft coupling and infinite number of colors. In gauge-string duality, this analysis reduces to the study of classical bulk supergravity with higher-derivative corrections, which correspond to (inverse) coupling corrections on the gauge theory side. We extrapolate the analysis of perturbative leading-order corrections to intermediate coupling by nonperturbatively solving the equations of motion of metric fluctuations dual to the stress-energy tensor at zero spatial momentum. We observe the emergence of a separation of scales in the analytic structure of the thermal correlator associated with two types of characteristic relaxation modes. As a consequence of this separation, the associated spectral function exhibits a narrow structure in the small frequency region which controls the dynamics of transport in the theory and may be described as a transport peak typically found in perturbative, weakly interacting thermal field theories. We compare our results with generic expectations drawn from perturbation theory, where such a structure emerges as a consequence of the existence of quasiparticles.

The lifetimes of the first excited $2^{+}$, $4^{+}$, and $6^{+}$ states in ${}^{98}\mathrm{Zr}$ were measured with the recoil-distance Doppler shift method in an experiment performed at GANIL. Excited states in ${}^{98}\mathrm{Zr}$ were populated using the fission reaction between a $6.2\mathrm{MeV}/\mathrm{u}$ ${}^{238}\mathrm{U}$ beam and a ${}^9\mathrm{Be}$ target. The $\gamma$ rays were detected with the EXOGAM array in correlation with the fission fragments identified by mass and atomic number in the VAMOS++ spectrometer. Our result shows a very small $B(E2;2_1^{+}\to 0_1^{+})$ value in ${}^{98}\mathrm{Zr}$, thereby confirming the very sudden onset of collectivity at $N=60$. The experimental results are compared to large-scale Monte Carlo shell model and beyond-mean-field calculations. The present results indicate the coexistence of two additional deformed shapes in this nucleus along with the spherical ground state.

Lifetime measurements of excited states of the light $N=52$ isotones ${}^{88}\mathrm{Kr}$, ${}^{86}\mathrm{Se}$, and ${}^{84}\mathrm{Ge}$ have been performed, using the recoil distance Doppler shift method and VAMOS and AGATA spectrometers for particle identification and gamma spectroscopy, respectively. The reduced electric quadrupole transition probabilities $B(E2;2^{+}\to 0^{+})$ and $B(E2;4^{+}\to 2^{+})$ were obtained for the first time for the hard-to-reach ${}^{84}\mathrm{Ge}$. While the $B(E2;2^{+}\to 0^{+})$ values of ${}^{88}\mathrm{Kr}$, ${}^{86}\mathrm{Se}$ saturate the maximum quadrupole collectivity offered by the natural valence ($3s$, $2d$, $1g_{7/2}$, $1h_{11/2}$) space of an inert ${}^{78}\mathrm{Ni}$ core, the value obtained for ${}^{84}\mathrm{Ge}$ largely exceeds it, suggesting that shape coexistence phenomena, previously reported at $N\lesssim 49$, extend beyond $N=50$. The onset of collectivity at $Z=32$ is understood as due to a pseudo-SU(3) organization of the proton single-particle sequence reflecting a clear manifestation of pseudospin symmetry. It is realized that the latter provides actually reliable guidance for understanding the observed proton and neutron single particle structure in the whole medium-mass region, from Ni to Sn, pointing towards the important role of the isovector-vector $\rho$ field in shell-structure evolution.

Following experimental realizations of room temperature polariton lasing with organic molecules, we present a microscopic model that allows us to explore the crossover from weak to strong matter-light coupling. We consider a nonequilibrium Dicke-Holstein model, including both strong coupling to vibrational modes and strong matter-light coupling, providing the phase diagram of this model in the thermodynamic limit. We discuss the mechanism of polariton lasing, uncovering a process of self-tuning, and identify the relation and distinction between regular dye lasers and organic polariton lasers.

We reveal that metasurfaces created by seemingly different lattices of (dielectric or metallic) meta-atoms with broken in-plane symmetry can support sharp high-$Q$ resonances arising from a distortion of symmetry-protected bound states in the continuum. We develop a rigorous theory of such asymmetric periodic structures and demonstrate a link between the bound states in the continuum and Fano resonances. Our results suggest the way for smart engineering of resonances in metasurfaces for many applications in nanophotonics and metaoptics.

Acoustic waves in a linear time-invariant medium are generally reciprocal; however, reciprocity can break down in a time-variant system. In this Letter, we report on an experimental demonstration of nonreciprocity in a dynamic one-dimensional phononic crystal, where the local elastic properties are dependent on time. The system consists of an array of repelling magnets, and the on-site elastic potentials of the constitutive elements are modulated by an array of electromagnets. The modulation in time breaks time-reversal symmetry and opens a directional band gap in the dispersion relation. As shown by experimental and numerical results, nonreciprocal mechanical systems like the one presented here offer opportunities to create phononic diodes that can serve for rectification applications.

We show that the ground state of a dipolar Bose gas in a cylindrically symmetric harmonic trap has a rich phase diagram, including droplet crystal states in which a set of droplets arrange into a lattice pattern that breaks the rotational symmetry. An analytic model for small droplet crystals is developed and used to obtain a zero temperature phase diagram that is numerically validated. We show that in certain regimes a coherent low-density halo surrounds the droplet crystal, giving rise to a novel phase with localized and extended features.

Through a series of Raman spectroscopy studies, we investigate the behavior of hydrogen-helium and hydrogen-nitrogen mixtures at high pressure across a wide range of concentrations. We find that there is no evidence of chemical association or increased miscibility of hydrogen and helium in the solid state up to pressures of 250 GPa at 300 K. In contrast, we observe the formation of concentration-dependent ${\mathrm{N}}_2\text{−}{\mathrm{H}}_2$ van der Waals solids, which react to form N–H bonded compounds above 50 GPa. Through this combined study, we can demonstrate that the recently reported chemical association of ${\mathrm{H}}_2\text{−}\mathrm{He}$ can be attributed to significant ${\mathrm{N}}_2$ contamination and subsequent formation of ${\mathrm{N}}_2\text{−}{\mathrm{H}}_2$ compounds.

Single layers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are excellent candidates for electronic applications beyond the graphene platform; many of them exhibit novel properties including charge density waves (CDWs) and magnetic ordering. CDWs in these single layers are generally a planar projection of the corresponding bulk CDWs because of the quasi-two-dimensional nature of TMDCs; a different CDW symmetry is unexpected. We report herein the successful creation of pristine single-layer ${\mathrm{VSe}}_2$, which shows a ($\sqrt{7}\times \sqrt{3}$) CDW in contrast to the ($4\times 4$) CDW for the layers in bulk ${\mathrm{VSe}}_2$. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy from the single layer shows a sizable ($\sqrt{7}\times \sqrt{3}$) CDW gap of $\sim 100\mathrm{meV}$ at the zone boundary, a 220 K CDW transition temperature twice the bulk value, and no ferromagnetic exchange splitting as predicted by theory. This robust CDW with an exotic broken symmetry as the ground state is explained via a first-principles analysis. The results illustrate a unique CDW phenomenon in the two-dimensional limit.

The built-in potential is of central importance to the understanding of many interfacial phenomena because it determines the band alignment at the interface. Despite its importance, its exact sign and magnitude have generally been recognized as ill-defined quantities for more than half a century. Here, we provide a common energy reference of bulk matter which leads to an unambiguous definition of the built-in potential and innate (i.e., bulk) band alignment. Further, we find that the built-in potential is explicitly determined by the bulk properties of the constituent materials when the system is in electronic equilibrium, while the interface plays a role only in the absence of equilibrium. Our quantitative theory enables a unified description of a variety of important properties of interfaces, ranging from work functions to Schottky barriers in electronic devices.

The phenomenon of $T$-linear resistivity commonly observed in a number of strange metals has been widely seen as evidence for the breakdown of the quasiparticle picture of metals. This study shows that a recently discovered $H/T$ scaling relationship in the magnetoresistance of the strange metal ${\mathrm{BaFe}}_2({\mathrm{As}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{P}}_x{)}_2$ is independent of the relative orientations of current and magnetic field. Rather, its magnitude and form depend only on the orientation of the magnetic field with respect to a single crystallographic axis: the direction perpendicular to the magnetic iron layers. This finding suggests that the magnetotransport scaling does not originate from the conventional averaging or orbital velocity of quasiparticles as they traverse a Fermi surface, but rather from dissipation arising from two-dimensional correlations.