Classical realization of a ubiquitous quantum mechanical phenomenon of double-continuum Fano interference using metasurfaces is experimentally demonstrated by engineering the near-field interaction between two bright and one dark plasmonic modes. The competition between the bright modes, one of them effectively suppressing the Fano interference for the orthogonal light polarization, is discovered. Coherent control of optical energy concentration and light absorption by the ellipticity of the incident light is theoretically predicted.

The usual formulation of thermodynamics is based on the additivity of macroscopic systems. However, there are numerous examples of macroscopic systems that are not additive, due to the long-range character of the interaction among the constituents. We present here an approach in which nonadditive systems can be described within a purely thermodynamics formalism. The basic concept is to consider a large ensemble of replicas of the system where the standard formulation of thermodynamics can be naturally applied and the properties of a single system can be consequently inferred. After presenting the approach, we show its implementation in systems where the interaction decays as $1/r^{\alpha }$ in the interparticle distance $r$, with $\alpha$ smaller than the embedding dimension $d$, and in the Thirring model for gravitational systems.

We report on a frequency ratio measurement of a ${}^{199}\mathrm{Hg}$-based optical lattice clock referencing a ${}^{87}\mathrm{Sr}$-based clock. Evaluations of lattice light shift, including atomic-motion-dependent shift, enable us to achieve a total systematic uncertainty of $7.2\times {10}^{-17}$ for the Hg clock. The frequency ratio is measured to be ${\nu }_{\mathrm{Hg}}/{\nu }_{\mathrm{Sr}}=2.62931420989890960(22)$ with a fractional uncertainty of $8.4\times {10}^{-17}$, which is smaller than the uncertainty of the realization of the International System of Units (SI) second, i.e., the SI limit.

We study the thermodynamical properties of a class of asymptotically conical geometries known as “subtracted geometries.” We derive the mass and angular momentum from the regulated Komar integral and the Hawking-Horowitz prescription and show that they are equivalent. By deriving the asymptotic charges, we show that the Smarr formula and the first law of thermodynamics hold. We also propose an analog of Christodulou-Ruffini inequality. The analysis can be generalized to other asymptotically conical geometries.

The equilibrium shape of a drop in contact with solid surfaces can undergo continuous or discontinuous transitions upon changes in either drop volume or surface energies. In many instances, such transitions involve the motion of the three-phase contact line and are thus sensitive to contact angle hysteresis. Using a combination of electrowetting-based experiments and numerical calculations, we demonstrate for a generic sphere-plate confinement geometry how contact angle hysteresis affects the mechanical stability of competing axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric drop conformations and qualitatively changes the character of transitions between them.

We demonstrate how to identify which physical processes dominate the low-energy spectral functions of correlated electron systems. We obtain an unambiguous classification through an analysis of the equation of motion for the electron self-energy in its charge, spin, and particle-particle representations. Our procedure is then employed to clarify the controversial physics responsible for the appearance of the pseudogap in correlated systems. We illustrate our method by examining the attractive and repulsive Hubbard model in two dimensions. In the latter, spin fluctuations are identified as the origin of the pseudogap, and we also explain why $d$-wave pairing fluctuations play a marginal role in suppressing the low-energy spectral weight, independent of their actual strength.

We identify the driving mechanism of the gigantic Seebeck coefficient in ${\mathrm{FeSb}}_2$ as the phonon-drag effect associated with an in-gap density of states that we demonstrate to derive from excess iron. We accurately model electronic and thermoelectric transport coefficients and explain the so far ill-understood correlation of maxima and inflection points in different response functions. Our scenario has far-reaching consequences for attempts to harvest the spectacular power factor of ${\mathrm{FeSb}}_2$.

We show that graphene possesses a strong nonlinear optical response in the form of multiplasmon absorption, with exciting implications in classical and quantum nonlinear optics. Specifically, we predict that graphene nanoribbons can be used as saturable absorbers with low saturation intensity in the far-infrared and terahertz spectrum. Moreover, we predict that two-plasmon absorption and extreme localization of plasmon fields in graphene nanodisks can lead to a plasmon blockade effect, in which a single quantized plasmon strongly suppresses the possibility of exciting a second plasmon.

We propose a novel mechanism for designing quantum hyperbolic metamaterials with the use of semiconductor Bragg mirrors containing periodically arranged quantum wells. The hyperbolic dispersion of exciton-polariton modes is realized near the top of the first allowed photonic miniband in such a structure which leads to the formation of exciton-polariton $X$ waves. Exciton-light coupling provides a resonant nonlinearity which leads to nontrivial topologic solutions. We predict the formation of low amplitude spatially localized oscillatory structures: oscillons described by kink shaped solutions of the effective Ginzburg-Landau-Higgs equation. The oscillons have direct analogies in gravitational theory. We discuss implementation of exciton-polariton Higgs fields for the Schrödinger cat state generation.

We experimentally study particle scale dynamics during segregation of a bidisperse mixture under oscillatory shear. Large and small particles show an underlying asymmetry that is dependent on the local particle concentration, with small particles segregating faster in regions of many large particles and large particles segregating slower in regions of many small particles. We quantify the asymmetry on bulk and particle scales, and capture it theoretically. This gives new physical insight into segregation and reveals a similarity with sedimentation, traffic flow, and particle diffusion.

A search for a charged Higgs boson, $H^{\pm }$, decaying to a $W^{\pm }$ boson and a $Z$ boson is presented. The search is based on $20.3{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The $H^{\pm }$ boson is assumed to be produced via vector-boson fusion and the decays $W^{\pm }\to q\overline{q^{\prime }}$ and $Z\to e^{+}{e}^{-}/{\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$ are considered. The search is performed in a range of charged Higgs boson masses from 200 to 1000 GeV. No evidence for the production of an $H^{\pm }$ boson is observed. Upper limits of 31–1020 fb at 95% C.L. are placed on the cross section for vector-boson fusion production of an $H^{\pm }$ boson times its branching fraction to $W^{\pm }Z$. The limits are compared with predictions from the Georgi-Machacek Higgs triplet model.

At the Mainz Microtron MAMI, the first high-resolution pion spectroscopy from decays of strange systems was performed by electron scattering off a ${}^9\mathrm{Be}$ target in order to study the $\mathrm{\Lambda }$ binding energy of light hypernuclei. Positively charged kaons were detected by a short-orbit spectrometer with a broad momentum acceptance at 0° forward angles with respect to the beam, efficiently tagging the production of strangeness in the target nucleus. Coincidentally, negatively charged decay pions were detected by two independent high-resolution spectrometers. About ${10}^3$ pionic weak decays of hyperfragments and hyperons were observed. The pion momentum distribution shows a monochromatic peak at $p_{\pi }\approx 133\mathrm{MeV}/c$, corresponding to the unique signature for the two-body decay of hyperhydrogen ${}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}^4\mathrm{H}\to {}^4\mathrm{He}+{\pi }^{-}$, stopped inside the target. Its $\mathrm{\Lambda }$ binding energy was determined to be $B_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}=2.12\pm 0.01(\text{stat})\pm 0.09(\text{syst})\mathrm{MeV}$ with respect to the ${}^3\mathrm{H}+\mathrm{\Lambda }$ mass.

The low-temperature hidden-order state of ${\mathrm{URu}}_2{\mathrm{Si}}_2$ has long been a subject of intense speculation, and is thought to represent an as-yet-undetermined many-body quantum state not realized by other known materials. Here, x-ray absorption spectroscopy and high-resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering are used to observe electronic excitation spectra of ${\mathrm{URu}}_2{\mathrm{Si}}_2$, as a means to identify the degrees of freedom available to constitute the hidden-order wave function. Excitations are shown to have symmetries that derive from a correlated $5f^2$ atomic multiplet basis that is modified by itinerancy. The features, amplitude, and temperature dependence of linear dichroism are in agreement with ground states that closely resemble the doublet ${\mathrm{\Gamma }}_5$ crystal field state of uranium.

This research resolves a long-standing problem on the electromagnetic response of self-complementary metallic screens with checkerboardlike geometry. Although Babinet’s principle implies that they show a frequency-independent response, this unusual characteristic has not been observed yet due to the singularities of the metallic point contacts in the checkerboard geometry. We overcome this difficulty by replacing the point contacts with resistive sheets. The proposed structure is prepared and characterized by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. It is experimentally confirmed that the resistive checkerboard structures exhibit a flat transmission spectrum over 0.1–1.1 THz. It is also demonstrated that self-complementarity can eliminate even the frequency-dependent transmission characteristics of resonant metamaterials.

Electronic structure of the three-dimensional colossal magnetoresistive perovskite ${\mathrm{La}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{Sr}}_x{\mathrm{MnO}}_3$ has been established using soft-x-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with its intrinsically sharp definition of three-dimensional electron momentum. The experimental results show much weaker polaronic coupling compared to the bilayer manganites and are consistent with the theoretical band structure including the empirical Hubbard parameter U. The experimental Fermi surface unveils the canonical topology of alternating three-dimensional electron spheres and hole cubes, with their shadow contours manifesting the rhombohedral lattice distortion. This picture has been confirmed by one-step photoemission calculations including displacement of the apical oxygen atoms. The rhombohedral distortion is neutral to the Jahn-Teller effect and thus polaronic coupling, but affects the double-exchange electron hopping and thus the colossal magnetoresistance effect.