We use a single trapped-ion qutrit to demonstrate the quantum-state-independent violation of noncontextuality inequalities using a sequence of randomly chosen quantum nondemolition projective measurements. We concatenate $53\times {10}^6$ sequential measurements of 13 observables, and unambiguously violate an optimal noncontextual bound. We use the same data set to characterize imperfections including signaling and repeatability of the measurements. The experimental sequence was generated in real time with a quantum random number generator integrated into our control system to select the subsequent observable with a latency below $50\mu \mathrm{s}$, which can be used to constrain contextual hidden-variable models that might describe our results. The state-recycling experimental procedure is resilient to noise and independent of the qutrit state, substantiating the fact that the contextual nature of quantum physics is connected to measurements and not necessarily to designated states. The use of extended sequences of quantum nondemolition measurements finds applications in the fields of sensing and quantum information.

Three-dimensional (3D) color codes have advantages for fault-tolerant quantum computing, such as protected quantum gates with relatively low overhead and robustness against imperfect measurement of error syndromes. Here we investigate the storage threshold error rates for bit-flip and phase-flip noise in the 3D color code (3DCC) on the body-centered cubic lattice, assuming perfect syndrome measurements. In particular, by exploiting a connection between error correction and statistical mechanics, we estimate the threshold for 1D stringlike and 2D sheetlike logical operators to be $p_{3\mathrm{DCC}}^{(1)}\simeq 1.9\%$ and $p_{3\mathrm{DCC}}^{(2)}\simeq 27.6\%$. We obtain these results by using parallel tempering Monte Carlo simulations to study the disorder-temperature phase diagrams of two new 3D statistical-mechanical models: the four- and six-body random coupling Ising models.

Nonlinear response theory, in contrast to linear cases, involves (dynamical) details, and this makes application to many-body systems challenging. From the microscopic starting point we obtain an exact response theory for a small number of coarse-grained degrees of freedom. With it, an extrapolation scheme uses near-equilibrium measurements to predict far-from-equilibrium properties (here, second order responses). Because it does not involve system details, this approach can be applied to many-body systems. It is illustrated in a four-state model and in the near critical Ising model.

For two canonical examples of driven mesoscopic systems—a harmonically trapped Brownian particle and a quantum dot—we numerically determine the finite-time protocols that optimize the compromise between the standard deviation and the mean of the dissipated work. In the case of the oscillator, we observe a collection of protocols that smoothly trade off between average work and its fluctuations. However, for the quantum dot, we find that as we shift the weight of our optimization objective from average work to work standard deviation, there is an analog of a first-order phase transition in protocol space: two distinct protocols exchange global optimality with mixed protocols akin to phase coexistence. As a result, the two types of protocols possess qualitatively different properties and remain distinct even in the infinite duration limit: optimal-work-fluctuation protocols never coalesce with the minimal-work protocols, which therefore never become quasistatic.

The opening of the gravitational wave window by ground-based laser interferometers has made possible many new tests of gravity, including the first constraints on polarization. It is hoped that, within the next decade, pulsar timing will extend the window by making the first detections in the nanohertz frequency regime. Pulsar timing offers several advantages over ground-based interferometers for constraining the polarization of gravitational waves due to the many projections of the polarization pattern provided by the different lines of sight to the pulsars, and the enhanced response to longitudinal polarizations. Here, we show that existing results from pulsar timing arrays can be used to place stringent limits on the energy density of longitudinal stochastic gravitational waves. However, unambiguously distinguishing these modes from noise will be very difficult due to the large variances in the pulsar-pulsar correlation patterns. Existing upper limits on the power spectrum of pulsar timing residuals imply that the amplitude of vector longitudinal (VL) and scalar longitudinal (SL) modes at frequencies of 1/year are constrained, ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mathrm{VL}}<4\times {10}^{-16}$ and ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mathrm{SL}}<4\times {10}^{-17}$, while the bounds on the energy density for a scale invariant cosmological background are ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_{\mathrm{VL}}{h}^2<4\times {10}^{-11}$ and ${\mathrm{\Omega }}_{\mathrm{SL}}{h}^2<3\times {10}^{-13}$.

We propose a model with multiple qubits that reproduces the thermal properties of four-dimensional Schwarzschild black holes (BHs) by simultaneously taking account of the emission of Hawking particles and the zero-energy soft-hair evaporation at the horizon. The results verify that the entanglement entropy between a qubit and other subsystems, including emitted radiation, is much larger than the BH entropy analogue of the qubit, as opposed to the Page curve prediction. Our result suggests that early Hawking radiation is entangled with soft hair and that late Hawking radiation can be highly entangled with the degrees of freedom of a BH, avoiding the emergence of a firewall at the horizon.

Axions are hypothetical particles related to the violation of the charge-parity symmetry within the strong sector of the standard model, being one of the most prone candidates for dark matter. Multiple attempts to prove their existence are currently performed in different physical systems. Here, we predict that axions may couple to the electrostatic (Langmuir) modes of a strongly magnetized plasma, and show that a new quasiparticle can be defined, the axion-plasmon polariton. The excitation of axions can be inferred from the pronounced modification of the dispersion relation of the Langmuir waves, a feature that we estimate to be accessible in state-of-the-art plasma-based experiments.

The structure of generalized parton distributions is determined from light-front holographic QCD up to a universal reparametrization function $w(x)$ which incorporates Regge behavior at small $x$ and inclusive counting rules at $x\to 1$. A simple ansatz for $w(x)$ that fulfills these physics constraints with a single-parameter results in precise descriptions of both the nucleon and the pion quark distribution functions in comparison with global fits. The analytic structure of the amplitudes leads to a connection with the Veneziano model and hence to a nontrivial connection with Regge theory and the hadron spectrum.

The low-energy dipole excitations in ${}^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$ are investigated within the Skyrme quasiparticle random phase approximation for axial nuclei. The calculations with the force SLy6 reveal a remarkable feature: the lowest $I^{\pi }K=1^{-}1$ excitation ($E=7.92\mathrm{MeV}$) in ${}^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$ is a vortical toroidal state (TS) representing a specific vortex-antivortex realization of the well-known spherical Hill’s vortex in a strongly deformed axial confinement. This is a striking example of an individual TS which can be much more easily discriminated in experiment than the toroidal dipole resonance embracing many states. The TS acquires the lowest energy due to the huge prolate axial deformation in ${}^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$. The result persists for different Skyrme parametrizations (SLy6, SVbas, SkM*). We analyze spectroscopic properties of the TS and its relation with the cluster structure of ${}^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$. Similar TSs could exist in other highly prolate light nuclei. They could serve as promising tests for various reactions to probe a vortical (toroidal) nuclear flow.

The structure of deformed neutron-rich nuclei in the rare-earth region is of significant interest for both the astrophysics and nuclear structure fields. At present, a complete explanation for the observed peak in the elemental abundances at $A\sim 160$ eludes astrophysicists, and models depend on accurate quantities, such as masses, lifetimes, and branching ratios of deformed neutron-rich nuclei in this region. Unusual nuclear structure effects are also observed, such as the unexpectedly low energies of the first $2^{+}$ levels in some even-even nuclei at $N=98$. In order to address these issues, mass and $\beta$-decay spectroscopy measurements of the ${}^{160}{\mathrm{Eu}}_{97}$ and ${}^{162}{\mathrm{Eu}}_{99}$ nuclei were performed at the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade radioactive beam facility at Argonne National Laboratory. Evidence for a gap in the single-particle neutron energies at $N=98$ and for large deformation (${\beta }_2\sim 0.3$) is discussed in relation to the unusual phenomena observed at this neutron number.

We present a new measurement of the $1S-3S$ two-photon transition frequency of hydrogen, realized with a continuous-wave excitation laser at 205 nm on a room-temperature atomic beam, with a relative uncertainty of $9\times {10}^{-13}$. The proton charge radius deduced from this measurement, $r_p=0.877(13)\mathrm{fm}$, is in very good agreement with the current CODATA-recommended value. This result contributes to the ongoing search to solve the proton charge radius puzzle, which arose from a discrepancy between the CODATA value and a more precise determination of $r_p$ from muonic hydrogen spectroscopy.

Heretofore undiscovered spin-0 or spin-1 bosons can mediate exotic spin-dependent interactions between standard model particles. Here, we carry out the first search for semileptonic spin-dependent interactions between matter and antimatter. We compare theoretical calculations and spectroscopic measurements of the hyperfine structure of antiprotonic helium to constrain exotic spin- and velocity-dependent interactions between electrons and antiprotons.

We probe the dynamics of dissociating ${\mathrm{CS}}_2$ molecules across the entire reaction pathway upon excitation. Photoelectron spectroscopy measurements using laboratory-generated femtosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses monitor the competing dissociation, internal conversion, and intersystem crossing dynamics. Dissociation occurs either in the initially excited singlet manifold or, via intersystem crossing, in the triplet manifold. Both product channels are monitored and show that, despite being more rapid, the singlet dissociation is the minor product and that triplet state products dominate the final yield. We explain this by a consideration of accurate potential energy curves for both the singlet and triplet states. We propose that rapid internal conversion stabilizes the singlet population dynamically, allowing for singlet-triplet relaxation via intersystem crossing and the efficient formation of spin-forbidden dissociation products on longer timescales. The study demonstrates the importance of measuring the full reaction pathway for defining accurate reaction mechanisms.

We propose and demonstrate the laser cooling and trapping of Rydberg-dressed Sr atoms. By off-resonantly coupling the excited state of a narrow (7 kHz) cooling transition to a high-lying Rydberg state, we transfer Rydberg properties such as enhanced electric polarizability to a stable magneto-optical trap operating at $<1\mu \mathrm{K}$. Simulations show that it is possible to reach a regime where the long-range interaction between Rydberg-dressed atoms becomes comparable to the kinetic energy, opening a route to combining laser cooling with tunable long-range interactions.

A many-body-theory approach has been developed to study positronium-atom interactions. As first applications, we calculate the elastic scattering and momentum-transfer cross sections and the pickoff annihilation rate ${{}^1\mathit{Z}}_{\mathrm{eff}}$ for Ps collisions with He and Ne. For He the cross section is in agreement with previous coupled-state calculations, while comparison with experiment for both atoms highlights discrepancies between various sets of measured data. In contrast, the calculated ${{}^1\mathit{Z}}_{\mathrm{eff}}$ (0.13 and 0.26 for He and Ne, respectively) are in excellent agreement with the measured values.

Quantum memory is an important component in the long-distance quantum communication based on the quantum repeater protocol. To outperform the direct transmission of photons with quantum repeaters, it is crucial to develop quantum memories with high fidelity, high efficiency and a long storage time. Here, we achieve a storage efficiency of 92.0 (1.5)% for a coherent optical memory based on the electromagnetically induced transparency scheme in optically dense cold atomic media. We also obtain a useful time-bandwidth product of 1200, considering only storage where the retrieval efficiency remains above 50%. Both are the best record to date in all kinds of schemes for the realization of optical memory. Our work significantly advances the pursuit of a high-performance optical memory and should have important applications in quantum information science.

We explore the influence of dissipation on a paradigmatic driven-dissipative model where a collection of two level atoms interact with both quadratures of a quantum cavity mode. The closed system exhibits multiple phase transitions involving discrete and continuous symmetries breaking and all phases culminate in a multicritical point. In the open system, we show that infinitesimal dissipation erases the phase with broken continuous symmetry and radically alters the model’s phase diagram. The multicritical point now becomes brittle and splits into two tricritical points where first- and second-order symmetry-breaking transitions meet. A quantum fluctuations analysis shows that, surprisingly, the tricritical points exhibit anomalous finite fluctuations, as opposed to standard tricritical points arising in ${}^3\mathrm{He}\text{−}{}^4\mathrm{He}$ mixtures. Our work has direct implications for a variety of fields, including cold atoms and ions in optical cavities, circuit-quantum electrodynamics as well as optomechanical systems.

In an ideal test of the equivalence principle, the test masses fall in a common inertial frame. A real experiment is affected by gravity gradients, which introduce systematic errors by coupling to initial kinematic differences between the test masses. Here we demonstrate a method that reduces the sensitivity of a dual-species atom interferometer to initial kinematics by using a frequency shift of the mirror pulse to create an effective inertial frame for both atomic species. Using this method, we suppress the gravity-gradient-induced dependence of the differential phase on initial kinematic differences by 2 orders of magnitude and precisely measure these differences. We realize a relative precision of $\mathrm{\Delta }g/g\approx 6\times {10}^{-11}$ per shot, which improves on the best previous result for a dual-species atom interferometer by more than 3 orders of magnitude. By reducing gravity gradient systematic errors to one part in $10^{13}$, these results pave the way for an atomic test of the equivalence principle at an accuracy comparable with state-of-the-art classical tests.