We solve the long-standing problem of making $n$ perfect clones from $m$ copies of one of two known pure states with minimum failure probability in the general case where the known states have arbitrary a priori probabilities. The solution emerges from a geometric formulation of the problem. This formulation reveals that cloning converges to state discrimination followed by state preparation as the number of clones goes to infinity. The convergence exhibits a phenomenon analogous to a second-order symmetry-breaking phase transition.

We realized a quantum geometric “charge” pump for a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in the lowest Bloch band of a novel bipartite magnetic lattice. Topological charge pumps in filled bands yield quantized pumping set by the global—topological—properties of the bands. In contrast, our geometric charge pump for a BEC occupying just a single crystal momentum state exhibits nonquantized charge pumping set by local—geometrical—properties of the band structure. Like topological charge pumps, for each pump cycle we observed an overall displacement (here, not quantized) and a temporal modulation of the atomic wave packet’s position in each unit cell, i.e., the polarization.

A link between the semiclassical Einstein equation and a maximal vacuum entanglement hypothesis is established. The hypothesis asserts that entanglement entropy in small geodesic balls is maximized at fixed volume in a locally maximally symmetric vacuum state of geometry and quantum fields. A qualitative argument suggests that the Einstein equation implies the validity of the hypothesis. A more precise argument shows that, for first-order variations of the local vacuum state of conformal quantum fields, the vacuum entanglement is stationary if and only if the Einstein equation holds. For nonconformal fields, the same conclusion follows modulo a conjecture about the variation of entanglement entropy.

Baryon acoustic oscillations in the early Universe are predicted to leave an as yet undetected signature on the relative clustering of total mass versus luminous matter. A detection of this effect would provide an important confirmation of the standard cosmological paradigm and constrain alternatives to dark matter as well as nonstandard fluctuations such as compensated isocurvature perturbations (CIPs). We conduct the first observational search for this effect, by comparing the number-weighted and luminosity-weighted correlation functions, using the SDSS-III BOSS Data Release 10 CMASS sample. When including CIPs in our model, we formally obtain evidence at $3.2\sigma$ of the relative clustering signature and a limit that matches the existing upper limits on the amplitude of CIPs. However, various tests suggest that these results are not yet robust, perhaps due to systematic biases in the data. The method developed in this Letter used with more accurate future data such as that from DESI, is likely to confirm or disprove our preliminary evidence.

We investigate the close connection between the quantum phase space Wigner distribution of small-$x$ gluons and the color dipole scattering amplitude, and we propose studying it experimentally in the hard diffractive dijet production at the planned electron-ion collider. The angular correlation between the nucleon recoiled momentum and the dijet transverse momentum probes the nontrivial correlation in the phase space Wigner distribution. This experimental study not only provides us with three-dimensional tomographic pictures of gluons inside high energy protons—it gives a unique and interesting signal for the small-$x$ dynamics with QCD evolution effects.

We investigate the properties of two-dimensional parity-time symmetric periodic systems whose non-Hermitian periodicity is an integer multiple of the underlying Hermitian system’s periodicity. This creates a natural set of degeneracies that can undergo thresholdless $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ transitions. We derive a $\mathbf{k}·\mathbf{p}$ perturbation theory suited to the continuous eigenvalues of such systems in terms of the modes of the underlying Hermitian system. In photonic crystals, such thresholdless $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ transitions are shown to yield significant control over the band structure of the system, and can result in all-angle supercollimation, a $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$-superprism effect, and unidirectional behavior.

The effects of reduced dimensions and the interfaces on antiferromagnetic quantum criticality are studied in epitaxial Kondo superlattices, with alternating $n$ layers of heavy-fermion antiferromagnet ${\mathrm{CeRhIn}}_5$ and seven layers of normal metal ${\mathrm{YbRhIn}}_5$. As $n$ is reduced, the Kondo coherence temperature is suppressed due to the reduction of effective Kondo screening. The Néel temperature is gradually suppressed as $n$ decreases and the quasiparticle mass is strongly enhanced, implying dimensional control toward a quantum critical point. Magnetotransport measurements reveal that a quantum critical point is reached for the $n=3$ superlattice by applying small magnetic fields. Remarkably, the anisotropy of the quantum critical field is opposite to the expectations from the magnetic susceptibility in bulk ${\mathrm{CeRhIn}}_5$, suggesting that the Rashba spin-orbit interaction arising from the inversion symmetry breaking at the interface plays a key role for tuning the quantum criticality in the two-dimensional Kondo lattice.

We study wave propagation in uniform materials with periodic boundary profiles and introduce for the first time Bloch resonances and Bloch gaps. Bloch resonances are due to transverse phase matching, i.e., the coupling of two transverse standing waves corresponding to different harmonics. These are distinct from well-known Bragg resonances that result from longitudinal phase matching. We show that Bloch gaps can be engineered over the entire first Brillouin zone up to an infinite wavelength, i.e., $k_x=0$, where $k_x$ is the wave number in the direction of propagation. This is in contrast to Bragg gaps that open at a fixed wavelength, twice the period of the structure. Bloch resonances and gaps can be tuned by reconfiguring the boundary profile and we derive analytical expressions that predict these phenomena when the amplitude of the profile is small. The theory is fundamental as it broadly applies to wave phenomena that span the quantum to continuum scale with applications that range from condensed matter to acoustics. We validate the theory experimentally for the electromagnetic field at GHz frequencies. We also discuss potential photonic and electronic applications of the theory such as a white-light distributed feedback laser and a two-dimensional electron gas transistor.

The relation between unusual Mexican-hat band dispersion, ferromagnetism, and ferroelasticity is investigated using a combination of analytical, first-principles, and phenomenological methods. The class of material with Mexican-hat band edge is studied using the $\alpha \text{−}\mathrm{SnO}$ monolayer as a prototype. Such a band edge causes a van Hove singularity diverging with $1/\sqrt{E}$, and a charge doping in these bands can lead to time-reversal symmetry breaking. Herein, we show that a material with Mexican-hat band dispersion, $\alpha \text{−}\mathrm{SnO}$, can be ferroelastic or paraelastic depending on the number of layers. Also, an unexpected multiferroic phase is obtained in a range of hole density for which the material presents ferromagnetism and ferroelasticity simultaneously.

We consider the current-induced dynamics of insulating antiferromagnets in a spin Hall geometry. Sufficiently large in-plane currents perpendicular to the Néel order trigger spontaneous oscillations at frequencies between the acoustic and the optical eigenmodes. The direction of the driving current determines the chirality of the excitation. When the current exceeds a threshold, the combined effect of spin pumping and current-induced torques introduces a dynamic feedback that sustains steady-state oscillations with amplitudes controllable via the applied current. The ac voltage output is calculated numerically as a function of the dc current input for different feedback strengths. Our findings open a route towards terahertz antiferromagnetic spin-torque oscillators.

A systematic, statistical-mechanics-based analysis of the response of dielectric elastomers to coupled electromechanical loading is conducted, starting from the monomer level through the polymer chain and ending with closed-form expressions for the polarization and stress fields. It is found that the apparent response at the macrolevel is dictated by four microscopic parameters—the monomer type and polarizability and the chain length and density. Our analysis further reveals a new electrostrictive effect that either reinforces or opposes the polarization-induced deformation. The validity of the results is attested through comparisons with well-established experimental measurements of both the polarization field and the electrostrictive stress.

Entangled multipartite states are resources for universal quantum computation, but they can also give rise to ensembles of unitary transformations, a topic usually studied in the context of random quantum circuits. Using several graph state techniques, we show that these resources can “derandomize” circuit results by sampling the same kinds of ensembles quantum mechanically, analogously to a quantum random number generator. Furthermore, we find simple examples that give rise to new ensembles whose statistical moments exactly match those of the uniformly random distribution over all unitaries up to order $t$, while foregoing adaptive feedforward entirely. Such ensembles—known as $t$ designs—often cannot be distinguished from the “truly” random ensemble, and so they find use in many applications that require this implied notion of pseudorandomness.

Inspired by the recent progress in the field of scattering amplitudes, we discuss hypothetical particles which can be characterized as the double copies of fermions—in the same way gravitons can be viewed as double copies of gauge bosons. As the gravitons, these hypothetical particles interact only through gravitational interactions. We present two equivalent methods for the computation of the relevant scattering amplitudes. The hypothetical particles can be massive and nonrelativistic.