Jones-Roberts solitons are the only known class of stable dark solitonic solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation in two and three dimensions. They feature a distinctive elongated elliptical shape that allows them to travel without change of form. By imprinting a triangular phase pattern, we experimentally generate two-dimensional Jones-Roberts solitons in a three-dimensional atomic Bose-Einstein condensate. We monitor their dynamics, observing that this kind of soliton is indeed not affected by dynamic (snaking) or thermodynamic instabilities, that instead make other classes of dark solitons unstable in dimensions higher than one. Our results confirm the prediction that Jones-Roberts solitons are stable solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation and promote them for applications beyond matter wave physics, like energy and information transport in noisy and inhomogeneous environments.

The generation of free energy landscapes corresponding to conformational equilibria in complex molecular systems remains a significant computational challenge. Adding to this challenge is the need to represent, store, and manipulate the often high-dimensional surfaces that result from rare-event sampling approaches employed to compute them. In this Letter, we propose the use of artificial neural networks as a solution to these issues. Using specific examples, we discuss network training using enhanced-sampling methods and the use of the networks in the calculation of ensemble averages.

We present the calculation of dijet production, doubly differential in dijet mass $m_{jj}$ and rapidity difference $|y^{*}|$, at leading color in all partonic channels at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbative QCD. We consider the long-standing problems associated with scale choice for dijet production at next-to-leading order (NLO) and investigate the impact of including the NNLO contribution. We find that the NNLO theory provides reliable predictions, even when using scale choices that display pathological behavior at NLO. We choose the dijet invariant mass as the theoretical scale on the grounds of perturbative convergence and residual scale variation and compare the predictions to the ATLAS 7 TeV $4.5{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ data.

In this work we develop an experimental procedure to interrogate the single- and multiphoton scattering matrices of an unknown quantum system interacting with propagating photons. Our proposal requires coherent state laser or microwave inputs and homodyne detection at the scatterer’s output, and provides simultaneous information about multiple—elastic and inelastic—segments of the scattering matrix. The method is resilient to detector noise and its errors can be made arbitrarily small by combining experiments at various laser powers. Finally, we show that the tomography of scattering has to be performed using pulsed lasers to efficiently gather information about the nonlinear processes in the scatterer.

In thermal convection, roughness is often used as a means to enhance heat transport, expressed in Nusselt number. Yet there is no consensus on whether the Nusselt vs Rayleigh number scaling exponent ($\mathrm{Nu}\sim {\mathrm{Ra}}^{\beta }$) increases or remains unchanged. Here we numerically investigate turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection over rough plates in two dimensions, up to $\mathrm{Ra}\approx {10}^{12}$. Varying the height and wavelength of the roughness elements with over 200 combinations, we reveal the existence of two universal regimes. In the first regime, the local effective scaling exponent can reach up to $1/2$. However, this cannot be explained as the attainment of the so-called ultimate regime as suggested in previous studies, because a further increase in Ra leads to the second regime, in which the scaling saturates back to a value close to the smooth wall case. Counterintuitively, the transition from the first to the second regime corresponds to the competition between bulk and boundary layer flow: from the bulk-dominated regime back to the classical boundary-layer-controlled regime. Our study demonstrates that the local $1/2$ scaling does not necessarily signal the onset of ultimate turbulence.

In this Letter we give experimental grounding for the remarkable observation made by Furuberg et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 61, 2117 (1988)] of an unusual dynamic scaling for the pair correlation function $N(r,t)$ during the slow drainage of a porous medium. Those authors use an invasion percolation algorithm to show numerically that the probability of invasion of a pore at a distance $r$ away and after a time $t$ from the invasion of another pore scales as $N(r,t)\propto r^{-1}f(r^D/t)$, where $D$ is the fractal dimension of the invading cluster and the function $f(u)\propto u^{1.4}$, for $u\ll 1$ and $f(u)\propto u^{-0.6}$, for $u\gg 1$. Our experimental setup allows us to have full access to the spatiotemporal evolution of the invasion, which is used to directly verify this scaling. Additionally, we connect two important theoretical contributions from the literature to explain the functional dependency of $N(r,t)$ and the scaling exponent for the short-time regime ($t\ll r^D$). A new theoretical argument is developed to explain the long-time regime exponent ($t\gg r^D$).

Emergent phenomena at polar-nonpolar oxide interfaces have been studied intensely in pursuit of next-generation oxide electronics and spintronics. Here we report the disentanglement of critical thicknesses for electron reconstruction and the emergence of ferromagnetism in polar-mismatched ${\mathrm{LaMnO}}_3/{\mathrm{SrTiO}}_3$ (001) heterostructures. Using a combination of element-specific x-ray absorption spectroscopy and dichroism, and first-principles calculations, interfacial electron accumulation, and ferromagnetism have been observed within the polar, antiferromagnetic insulator ${\mathrm{LaMnO}}_3$. Our results show that the critical thickness for the onset of electron accumulation is as thin as 2 unit cells (UC), significantly thinner than the observed critical thickness for ferromagnetism of 5 UC. The absence of ferromagnetism below 5 UC is likely induced by electron overaccumulation. In turn, by controlling the doping of the ${\mathrm{LaMnO}}_3$, we are able to neutralize the excessive electrons from the polar mismatch in ultrathin ${\mathrm{LaMnO}}_3$ films and thus enable ferromagnetism in films as thin as 3 UC, extending the limits of our ability to synthesize and tailor emergent phenomena at interfaces and demonstrating manipulation of the electronic and magnetic structures of materials at the shortest length scales.

We study hole spin resonance in a $p$-channel silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor. In the subthreshold region, the measured source-drain current reveals a double dot in the channel. The observed spin resonance spectra agree with a model of strongly coupled two-spin states in the presence of a spin-orbit-induced anticrossing. Detailed spectroscopy at the anticrossing shows a suppressed spin resonance signal due to spin-orbit-induced quantum state mixing. This suppression is also observed for multiphoton spin resonances. Our experimental observations agree with theoretical calculations.

We suggest that a randomization of the pseudodipolar interaction in the spin-orbit-generated low-energy Hamiltonian of ${\mathrm{YbMgGaO}}_4$ due to an inhomogeneous charge environment from a natural mixing of ${\mathrm{Mg}}^{2+}$ and ${\mathrm{Ga}}^{3+}$ can give rise to orientational spin disorder and mimic a spin-liquid-like state. In the absence of such quenched disorder, $1/S$ and density matrix renormalization group calculations both show robust ordered states for the physically relevant phases of the model. Our scenario is consistent with the available experimental data, and further experiments are proposed to support it.

To assess the role of particle roughness in the rheological phenomena of concentrated colloidal suspensions, we develop model colloids with varying surface roughness length scales up to 10% of the particle radius. Increasing surface roughness shifts the onset of both shear thickening and dilatancy towards lower volume fractions and critical stresses. Experimental data are supported by computer simulations of spherical colloids with adjustable friction coefficients, demonstrating that a reduction in the onset stress of thickening and a sign change in the first normal stresses occur when friction competes with lubrication. In the quasi-Newtonian flow regime, roughness increases the effective packing fraction of colloids. As the shear stress increases and suspensions of rough colloids approach jamming, the first normal stresses switch signs and the critical force required to generate contacts is drastically reduced. This is likely a signature of the lubrication films giving way to roughness-induced tangential interactions that bring about load-bearing contacts in the compression axis of flow.

We investigate the universal scaling of protein fluctuation dynamics with a site-specific diffusive model of protein motion, which predicts an initial subdiffusive regime in the configurational relaxation. The long-time dynamics of proteins is controlled by an activated regime. We argue that the hierarchical free energy barriers set the time scales of biological processes and establish an upper limit to the size of single protein domains. We find it compelling that the scaling behavior for the protein dynamics is in close agreement with the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang scaling exponents.

Environment plays a fundamental role in the competition for resources, and hence in the evolution of populations. Here, we study a well-mixed, finite population consisting of two strains competing for the limited resources provided by an environment that randomly switches between states of abundance and scarcity. Assuming that one strain grows slightly faster than the other, we consider two scenarios—one of pure resource competition, and one in which one strain provides a public good—and investigate how environmental randomness (external noise) coupled to demographic (internal) noise determines the population’s fixation properties and size distribution. By analytical means and simulations, we show that these coupled sources of noise can significantly enhance the fixation probability of the slower-growing species. We also show that the population size distribution can be unimodal, bimodal, or multimodal and undergoes noise-induced transitions between these regimes when the rate of switching matches the population’s growth rate.

Hybrid improper ferroelectricity (HIF) denotes a new class of polar instability by the mixture of two octahedral-distortion modes and can feature the coexistence of abundant head-to-head and tail-to-tail polar domains, of which the domain walls tend to be charged due to the respective screening charges with an opposite sign. However, no such coexisting carriers are available in the materials. Using group-theoretical, microscopic, and spectroscopic analyses, we establish the existence of a hidden antipolar order parameter in model HIF ${(\mathrm{Ca},\mathrm{Sr})}_3{\mathrm{Ti}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_7$ by the condensation of a weak, previously unnoticed antipolar lattice instability, turning the order-parameter spaces to be multicomponent with the distinct polar-antipolar intertwining and accompanied formation of Néel-type twinlike antipolar domain walls (few nanometers) between the head-to-head and tail-to-tail domains. The finite-width Néel walls and correlated domain topology inherently lift the polar divergences between the domains, casting an emergent exemplification of charged domain-wall screening by an antipolar ingredient.

We propose an information-theoretic framework to quantify multipartite correlations in classical and quantum systems, answering questions such as what is the amount of seven-partite correlations in a given state of ten particles? We identify measures of genuine multipartite correlations, i.e., statistical dependencies that cannot be ascribed to bipartite correlations, satisfying a set of desirable properties. Inspired by ideas developed in complexity science, we then introduce the concept of weaving to classify states that display different correlation patterns, but cannot be distinguished by correlation measures. The weaving of a state is defined as the weighted sum of correlations of every order. Weaving measures are good descriptors of the complexity of correlation structures in multipartite systems.

The detection of change points is a pivotal task in statistical analysis. In the quantum realm, it is a new primitive where one aims at identifying the point where a source that supposedly prepares a sequence of particles in identical quantum states starts preparing a mutated one. We obtain the optimal procedure to identify the change point with certainty—naturally at the price of having a certain probability of getting an inconclusive answer. We obtain the analytical form of the optimal probability of successful identification for any length of the particle sequence. We show that the conditional success probabilities of identifying each possible change point show an unexpected oscillatory behavior. We also discuss local (online) protocols and compare them with the optimal procedure.