The time-dependent work probability distribution function $P(W)$ is investigated analytically for a diffusing particle trapped by an anisotropic harmonic potential and driven by a nonconservative drift force in two dimensions. We find that the exponential tail shape of $P(W)$ characterizing rare-event probabilities undergoes a sequence of dynamic transitions in time. These remarkable locking-unlocking type transitions result from an intricate interplay between a rotational mode induced by the nonconservative force and an anisotropic decaying mode due to the conservative attractive force. We expect that most of the high-dimensional dynamical systems should exhibit similar multiple dynamic transitions.

We propose a new method to compute glueball masses in finite temperature lattice gauge theory which at low temperature is fully compatible with the known zero temperature results and as the temperature increases leads to a glueball spectrum which vanishes at the deconfinement transition. We show that this definition is consistent with the Isgur-Paton model and with the expected contribution of the glueball spectrum to various thermodynamic quantities at finite temperature. We test our proposal with a set of high precision numerical simulations in the 3D gauge Ising model and find a good agreement with our predictions.

Beta decay of ${}^{86}\mathrm{Ga}$ was studied by means of $\beta$-neutron-$\gamma$ spectroscopy. An isotopically pure ${}^{86}\mathrm{Ga}$ beam was produced at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility using a resonance ionization laser ion source and high-resolution electromagnetic separation. The decay of ${}^{86}\mathrm{Ga}$ revealed a half-life of ${43}_{-15}^{+21}\mathrm{ms}$ and large $\beta$-delayed one-neutron and two-neutron branching ratios of $P_{1n}=60(10)\%$ and $P_{2n}=20(10)\%$. The $\beta \gamma$ decay of ${}^{86}\mathrm{Ga}$ populated a 527 keV transition that is interpreted as the deexcitation of the first $2^{+}$ state in the $N=54$ isotone ${}^{86}\mathrm{Ge}$ and suggests a quick onset of deformation in Ge isotopes beyond $N=50$.

Beam deflection experiments in inhomogeneous magnetic fields reveal a new limiting case of the magnetization distribution of isolated clusters. Endohedrally doped clusters are produced in a temperature controlled, cryogenically cooled laser ablation source. Temperature dependent experiments indicate a crucial contribution of molecular vibrations to the spin dynamics of $\mathrm{Mn}@{\mathrm{Sn}}_{12}$. In its vibrational ground state the cluster behaves magnetically like a paramagnetic atom, with quantized spin states. However, excited molecular vibrations induce spin orientation in the magnetic field.

It has long been conjectured that isotropic radiation by a simple coherent source is impossible due to changes in polarization. Though hypothetical, the isotropic source is usually taken as the reference for determining a radiator’s gain and directivity. Here, we demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that an isotropic radiator can be made of a simple and finite source surrounded by electric-field-driven $LC$ resonator metamaterials designed by space manipulation. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, we show the first isotropic source with omnidirectional radiation from a dipole source (applicable to all distributed sources), which can open up several possibilities in axion electrodynamics, optical illusion, novel transformation-optic devices, wireless communication, and antenna engineering. Owing to the electric- field-driven $LC$ resonator realization scheme, this principle can be readily applied to higher frequency regimes where magnetism is usually not present.

We theoretically study the response of He atoms exposed simultaneously to an intense IR pulse and a weak extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulse with photon energies far from the principal atomic He resonances. We find that XUV forward scattering from the nonstationary electronic wave packet promoted by the intense IR driving field is strongly enhanced as compared with the normal weak scattering from bound or free electrons. Based on this effect, we predict that large amplification of XUV radiation can be achieved in the cutoff spectral region of high-harmonic generation in He gas.

We demonstrate for the first time that spiral wave chimeras—spiral waves with spatially extended unsynchronzied cores—can exist in complex oscillatory and even locally chaotic homogeneous systems under nonlocal coupling. Using ideas from phase synchronization, we show in particular that the unsynchronized cores exhibit a distribution of different frequencies, thus generalizing the main concept of chimera states beyond simple oscillatory systems. In contrast to simple oscillatory systems, we find that spiral wave chimeras in complex oscillatory and locally chaotic systems are characterized by the presence of synchronization defect lines (SDLs), along which the dynamics follows a periodic behavior different from that of the bulk. Whereas this is similar to the case of local coupling, the type of the prevailing SDLs is very different.

We show that the spectral properties of a self-amplified spontaneous emission x-ray free-electron laser can be controlled by modulating the gain in magnetic undulators, thus producing one or several spectral lines within a single few femtosecond pulse. By varying the magnetic field along the undulator and the electron beam transport line, the system we demonstrate can tailor the x-ray spectrum to optimally meet numerous experimental requirements for multicolor operation.

The transverse properties of an electron beam are characterized by two quantities, the emittance which indicates the electron beam extent in the phase space and the angular momentum which allows for nonplanar electron trajectories. Whereas the emittance of electron beams produced in a laser-plasma accelerator has been measured in several experiments, their angular momentum has been scarcely studied. It was demonstrated that electrons in a laser-plasma accelerator carry some angular momentum, but its origin was not established. Here we identify one source of angular-momentum growth and we present experimental results showing that the angular-momentum content evolves during the acceleration.

Based on an extension of the fiber bundle model we investigate numerically the motion of a crack front through a weak plane separating a soft and an infinitely stiff block. We find that there are two regimes. At large scales the motion is consistent with the pinned elastic line model and we find a roughness exponent equal to $0.39\pm 0.04$ characterizing it. At smaller scales, coalescence of holes dominates the motion, giving a roughness exponent consistent with $2/3$, the gradient percolation value. The length of the crack front is fractal in this regime. Its fractal dimension is $1.77\pm 0.02$, consistent with the hull of percolation clusters, $7/4$. This suggests that the crack front is described by two universality classes: on large scales, the pinned elastic line one and on small scales, the percolation universality class.

The quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in magnetic topological insulators is driven by the combination of spontaneous magnetic moments and spin-orbit coupling. Its recent experimental discovery raises the question if higher plateaus can also be realized. Here, we present a general theory for a QAH effect with higher Chern numbers and show by first-principles calculations that a thin film magnetic topological insulator of Cr-doped ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2(\mathrm{Se},\mathrm{Te}{)}_3$ is a candidate for the $C=2$ QAH insulator. Remarkably, whereas a higher magnetic field leads to lower Hall conductance plateaus in the integer quantum Hall effect, a higher magnetic moment leads to higher Hall conductance plateaus in the QAH effect.

We characterize the occupied and unoccupied electronic structure of the topological insulator ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2{\mathrm{Se}}_3$ by one-photon and two-photon angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and slab band structure calculations. We reveal a second, unoccupied Dirac surface state with similar electronic structure and physical origin to the well-known topological surface state. This state is energetically located 1.5 eV above the conduction band, which permits it to be directly excited by the output of a Ti:sapphire laser. This discovery demonstrates the feasibility of direct ultrafast optical coupling to a topologically protected, spin-textured surface state.

We report on cotunneling spectroscopy magnetoconductance measurements of multihole ultraclean carbon nanotube quantum dots in the SU(4) Kondo regime with strong spin-orbit coupling. Successive shells show a gradual weakening of the Kondo effect with respect to the spin-orbital splittings, leading to an evolution from SU(4) to SU(2) symmetry with a suppressed conductance at half-shell filling. The extracted energy level spectrum, overall consistent with negligible disorder in the nanotube, shows in the half filled case large renormalizations due to Coulombian effects.

The search for large-gap quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulators and effective approaches to tune QSH states is important for both fundamental and practical interests. Based on first-principles calculations we find two-dimensional tin films are QSH insulators with sizable bulk gaps of 0.3 eV, sufficiently large for practical applications at room temperature. These QSH states can be effectively tuned by chemical functionalization and by external strain. The mechanism for the QSH effect in this system is band inversion at the $\Gamma$ point, similar to the case of a HgTe quantum well. With surface doping of magnetic elements, the quantum anomalous Hall effect could also be realized.

The phase diagram of the iron arsenides is dominated by a magnetic and a structural phase transition, which need to be suppressed in order for superconductivity to appear. The proximity between the two transition temperature lines indicates correlation between these two phases, whose nature remains unsettled. Here, we find a scaling relation between nuclear magnetic resonance and shear modulus data in the tetragonal phase of electron-doped $\mathrm{Ba}({\mathrm{Fe}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{Co}}_x{)}_2{\mathrm{As}}_2$ compounds. Because the former probes the strength of magnetic fluctuations while the latter is sensitive to orthorhombic fluctuations, our results provide strong evidence for a magnetically driven structural transition.

Quasistatic simple shearing flow of random monodisperse soap froth is investigated by analyzing surface evolver simulations of spatially periodic foams. Elastic-plastic behavior is caused by irreversible topological rearrangements ($T1s$) that occur when Plateau’s laws are violated; the first $T1$ determines the elastic limit and frequent $T1$ avalanches sustain the yield-stress plateau at large strains. The stress and shape anisotropy of individual cells is quantified by $Q$, a scalar derived from an interface tensor that gauges the cell’s contribution to the global stress. During each $T1$ avalanche, the connected set of cells with decreasing $Q$, called the stress release domain, is networklike and nonlocal. Geometrically, the networklike nature of the stress release domains is corroborated through morphological analysis using the Euler characteristic. The stress release domain is distinctly different from the set of cells that change topology during a $T1$ avalanche. Our results highlight the connection between the unique rheological behavior of foams and the complex large-scale cooperative rearrangements of foam cells that accompany distinctly local topological transitions.

The connectivity pattern of networks based on ground level temperature records shows a dense stripe of links in the extra tropics of the southern hemisphere. We show that statistical categorization of these links yields a clear association with the pattern of an atmospheric Rossby wave, one of the major mechanisms associated with the weather system and with planetary scale energy transport. It is shown that alternating densities of negative and positive links are arranged in half Rossby wave distances around 3500, 7000, and 10 000 km and are aligned with the expected direction of energy flow, distribution of time delays, and the seasonality of these waves. In addition, long distance links that are associated with Rossby waves are the most dominant in the climate network.

We calculate the Wilson ratio of the one-dimensional Fermi gas with spin imbalance. The Wilson ratio of attractively interacting fermions is solely determined by the density stiffness and sound velocity of pairs and of excess fermions for the two-component Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid phase. The ratio exhibits anomalous enhancement at the two critical points due to the sudden change in the density of states. Despite a breakdown of the quasiparticle description in one dimension, two important features of the Fermi liquid are retained; namely, the specific heat is linearly proportional to temperature, whereas the susceptibility is independent of temperature. In contrast to the phenomenological Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid parameter, the Wilson ratio provides a powerful parameter for testing universal quantum liquids of interacting fermions in one, two, and three dimensions.

Several vulnerabilities of single-photon detectors have recently been exploited to compromise the security of quantum-key-distribution (QKD) systems. In this Letter, we report the first proof-of-principle implementation of a new quantum-key-distribution protocol that is immune to any such attack. More precisely, we demonstrated this new approach to QKD in the laboratory over more than 80 km of spooled fiber, as well as across different locations within the city of Calgary. The robustness of our fiber-based implementation, together with the enhanced level of security offered by the protocol, confirms QKD as a realistic technology for safeguarding secrets in transmission. Furthermore, our demonstration establishes the feasibility of controlled two-photon interference in a real-world environment and thereby removes a remaining obstacle to realizing future applications of quantum communication, such as quantum repeaters and, more generally, quantum networks.

Quantum key distribution is proven to offer unconditional security in communication between two remote users with ideal source and detection. Unfortunately, ideal devices never exist in practice and device imperfections have become the targets of various attacks. By developing up-conversion single-photon detectors with high efficiency and low noise, we faithfully demonstrate the measurement-device-independent quantum-key-distribution protocol, which is immune to all hacking strategies on detection. Meanwhile, we employ the decoy-state method to defend attacks on a nonideal source. By assuming a trusted source scenario, our practical system, which generates more than a 25 kbit secure key over a 50 km fiber link, serves as a stepping stone in the quest for unconditionally secure communications with realistic devices.