We discuss a supersymmetric model for cogenesis of dark and baryonic matter where the dark matter (DM) has mass in the 8–10 GeV range as indicated by several direct detection searches, including most recently the CDMS experiment with the desired cross section. The DM candidate is a real scalar field. Two key distinguishing features of the model are the following: (i) in contrast with the conventional weakly interacting massive particle dark matter scenarios where thermal freeze-out is responsible for the observed relic density, our model uses nonthermal production of dark matter after reheating of the Universe caused by moduli decay at temperatures below the QCD phase transition, a feature which alleviates the relic overabundance problem caused by small annihilation cross section of light DM particles and (ii) baryogenesis occurs also at similar low temperatures from the decay of TeV scale mediator particles arising from moduli decay. A possible test of this model is the existence of colored particles with TeV masses accessible at the LHC.

Magnetic fields appear to be present in all galaxies and galaxy clusters. Recent measurements indicate that a weak magnetic field may be present even in the smooth low density intergalactic medium. One explanation for these observations is that a seed magnetic field was generated by some unknown mechanism early in the life of the Universe, and was later amplified by various dynamos in nonlinear objects like galaxies and clusters. We show that a primordial magnetic field is expected to be generated in the early Universe on purely linear scales through vorticity induced by scale-dependent temperature fluctuations, or equivalently, a spatially varying speed of sound of the gas. Residual free electrons left over after recombination tap into this vorticity to generate magnetic field via the Biermann battery process. Although the battery operates even in the absence of any relative velocity between dark matter and gas at the time of recombination, the presence of such a relative velocity modifies the predicted spatial power spectrum of the magnetic field. At redshifts of order a few tens, we estimate a root mean square field strength of order ${10}^{-25}–{10}^{-24}\mathrm{G}$ on comoving scales $\sim 10\mathrm{kpc}$. This field, which is generated purely from linear perturbations, is expected to be amplified significantly after reionization, and to be further boosted by dynamo processes during nonlinear structure formation.

We observe “trilobitelike” states of ultracold ${}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}_2$ molecules, in which a ground-state atom is bound by the electronic wave function of its Rydberg-atom partner. We populate these states through the ultraviolet excitation of weakly bound molecules, and access a regime of trilobitelike states at low principal quantum numbers and with vibrational turning points around 35 Bohr radii. This demonstrates that, unlike previous studies that used free-to-bound transitions, trilobitelike states can also be excited through bound-to-bound transitions. This approach provides high excitation probabilities without requiring high-density samples, and affords the ability to control the excitation radius by selection of the initial-state vibrational level.

We study the nonlinear stage of the modulation instability of a condensate in the framework of the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE). We find a general $N$-solitonic solution of the focusing NLSE in the presence of a condensate by using the dressing method. We separate a special designated class of “regular solitonic solutions” that do not disturb phases of the condensate at infinity by coordinate. All regular solitonic solutions can be treated as localized perturbations of the condensate. We find an important class of “superregular solitonic solutions” which are small perturbations at a certain moment of time. They describe the nonlinear stage of the modulation instability of the condensate.

We study the reconstruction of structural connectivity for a general class of pulse-coupled nonlinear networks and show that the reconstruction can be successfully achieved through linear Granger causality (GC) analysis. Using spike-triggered correlation of whitened signals, we obtain a quadratic relationship between GC and the network couplings, thus establishing a direct link between the causal connectivity and the structural connectivity within these networks. Our work may provide insight into the applicability of GC in the study of the function of general nonlinear networks.

A reversal of intrinsic torque is observed during the formation of an internal transport barrier (ITB) in the Large Helical Device. The intrinsic torque evaluated from the disparity of rotation between coinjection and counterinjection changes sign from counter to codirection inside the ITB after the ITB formation. Both the internal transport barrier and the reversal of the intrinsic torque propagate inwards. This experiment demonstrates that the sign of the nondiffusive term of momentum transport is sensitive to the confinement mode of heat transport.

The Planck distribution of photons emitted by a blackbody led to the development of quantum theory. An analogous distribution of phonons should exist in a Bose-Einstein condensate. We observe this Planck distribution of thermal phonons in a 3D condensate. This observation provides an important confirmation of the basic nature of the condensate’s quantized excitations. In contrast to the bunching effect, the density fluctuations are seen to increase with increasing temperature. This is due to the nonconservation of the number of phonons. In the case of rapid cooling, the phonon temperature is out of equilibrium with the surrounding thermal cloud. In this case, a Bose-Einstein condensate is not as cold as previously thought. These measurements are enabled by our in situ $k$-space technique.

We introduce the acoustic equivalent of “supercoupling” by studying the anomalous sound transmission and uniform energy squeezing through ultranarrow acoustic channels filled with zero-density metamaterials. As a realistic example, we propose their realization by inserting transverse membranes with a subwavelength period along the channel, and we prove a novel form of acoustic tunneling based on impedance matching and infinite phase velocity at the zero-density operation. We envision applications in sensing, noise control, cloaking, and energy harvesting.

Ductile metals such as Ni and Cu can become brittle when certain impurities (e.g., Bi) diffuse and segregate into their grain boundaries (GBs). Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the microscopic origin of the Bi-induced loss of cohesion of Ni and Cu GBs. We find that the Bi bilayer interfacial phase is the most stable impurity phase under the Bi-rich condition, while the Bi monolayer phase is a metastable phase regardless of the value of the Bi chemical potential. Our finding is consistent with the recent experimental observation for Ni GBs [Luo et al. Science 333, 1730 (2011)]. The electric polarization effect of the Bi bilayer substantially enhances the strength of the Bi-metal interfacial bonds, stabilizing the bilayer phase over other phases. The Bi-Bi interlayer bonding is significantly weakened in the GBs, leading to a factor of 20 to 50 decrease in the GB cohesion, which has strong implications for the understanding of Bi-induced intergranular fracture of Ni and Cu polycrystals.

The dynamical Jahn-Teller effect on fullerene sites in insulating ${\mathrm{Cs}}_3{\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ is investigated fully ab initio. The vibronic excitations of rotational type are at $\ge 65{\mathrm{cm}}^{-1}$, while the net kinetic contribution to the Jahn-Teller stabilization energy constitutes approximately 90 meV. This means that no localization of distortions by intermolecular interactions is possible in these fullerides; therefore, free rotations of deformations take place independently on each ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$. The latter destroy the orbital ordering and establish a conventional exchange interaction between $S=1/2$ on fullerene sites. The corresponding exchange model is derived and predicts the Néel temperature for A15 ${\mathrm{Cs}}_3{\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ close to experiment.

Recent experiments on two iron-pnictide families suggest the existence of a single quantum phase transition inside the superconducting dome despite the fact that two separate transition lines—magnetic and nematic—cross the superconducting dome at $T_c$. Here we argue that these two observations are actually consistent. We show, using a microscopic model, that each order coexists with superconductivity for a wide range of parameters, and both transition lines continue into the superconducting dome below $T_c$. However, at some $T_{\mathrm{merge}}<T_c$, the two transitions merge and continue down to $T=0$ as a single simultaneous first-order nematic-magnetic transition. We show that superconductivity has a profound effect on the character of this first-order transition, rendering it weakly first order and allowing strong fluctuations to exist near the quantum phase transition.

Ultrafast responses of BCS superconductor ${\mathrm{Nb}}_{1\mathrm{\text{−}}x}{\mathrm{Ti}}_x\mathrm{N}$ films in a nonadiabatic excitation regime were investigated by using terahertz (THz) pump-THz probe spectroscopy. After an instantaneous excitation with the monocycle THz pump pulse, a transient oscillation emerges in the electromagnetic response in the BCS gap energy region. The oscillation frequency coincides with the asymptotic value of the BCS gap energy, indicating the appearance of the theoretically anticipated collective amplitude mode of the order parameter, namely the Higgs amplitude mode. Our result opens a new pathway to the ultrafast manipulation of the superconducting order parameter by optical means.

Polypeptides can self-assemble into hierarchically organized fibrils consisting of a stack of individually folded polypeptides driven together by hydrophobic interaction. Using a coarse-grained model, we systematically studied this self-assembly as a function of temperature and hydrophobicity of the residues on the outside of the building block. We find the self-assembly can occur via two different pathways—a random aggregation-folding route and a templated-folding process—thus indicating a strong coupling between folding and assembly. The simulation results can explain experimental evidence that assembly through stacking of folded building blocks is rarely observed, at the experimental concentrations. The model thus provides a generic picture of hierarchical fibril formation.

We demonstrate that a completely integrable classical mechanical model, namely the lattice Landau-Lifshitz classical spin chain, supports diffusive spin transport with a finite diffusion constant in the easy-axis regime, while in the easy-plane regime, it displays ballistic transport in the absence of any known relevant local or quasilocal constant of motion in the symmetry sector of the spin current. This surprising finding should open the way towards analytical computation of diffusion constants for integrable interacting systems and hints on the existence of new quasilocal classical conservation laws beyond the standard soliton theory.

The solar cycle and its associated magnetic activity are the main drivers behind changes in the interplanetary environment and Earth’s upper atmosphere (commonly referred to as space weather and climate). In recent years there has been an effort to develop accurate solar cycle predictions, leading to nearly a hundred widely spread predictions for the amplitude of solar cycle 24. Here we show that cycle predictions can be made more accurate if performed separately for each hemisphere, taking advantage of information about both the dipolar and quadrupolar moments of the solar magnetic field during minimum.

Light new particles with masses below 10 keV, often considered as a plausible extension of the standard model, will be emitted from the solar interior and can be detected on Earth with a variety of experimental tools. Here, we analyze the new “dark” vector state $V$, a massive vector boson mixed with the photon via an angle $\kappa$, that in the limit of the small mass $m_V$ has its emission spectrum strongly peaked at low energies. Thus, we utilize the constraints on the atomic ionization rate imposed by the results of the XENON10 experiment to set the limit on the parameters of this model: $\kappa \times m_V<3\times {10}^{-12}\mathrm{eV}$. This makes low-threshold dark matter experiments the most sensitive dark vector helioscopes, as our result not only improves current experimental bounds from other searches by several orders of magnitude but also surpasses even the most stringent astrophysical and cosmological limits in a seven-decade-wide interval of $m_V$. We generalize this approach to other light exotic particles and set the most stringent direct constraints on “minicharged” particles.

The latest results from the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider unequivocally confirm the existence of a resonance $X$ with mass near 125 GeV which could be the Higgs boson of the standard model. Measuring the properties (quantum numbers and couplings) of this resonance is of paramount importance. Initial analyses by the LHC Collaborations disfavor specific alternative benchmark hypotheses, e.g., pure pseudoscalars or gravitons. However, this is just the first step in a long-term program of detailed measurements. We consider the most general set of operators in the decay channels $X\to ZZ$, $WW$, $Z\gamma$, $\gamma \gamma$, and derive the constraint implied by the measured rate. This allows us to provide a useful parametrization of the orthogonal independent Higgs coupling degrees of freedom as coordinates on a suitably defined sphere.

We have obtained experimental photo-double- and photo-triple-detachment cross sections for the fullerene negative ion using Advanced Light Source photons of 17–90 eV. The cross sections are 2 and 2.5 times larger than those for ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ and appear to be compressed and shifted in photon energy as compared to ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$. Our analysis reveals that the additional electron in $\mathrm{C}_{60}{}^{-}$ primarily produces screening which is responsible for the modification of the spectrum. Both screening effects, the shift and the compression, can be quantitatively accounted for by a linear transformation of the energy axis. Applying the transformation allows us to map the neutral and negative ion cross sections onto each other, pointing out the close relationship of correlated few-electron dynamics in neutral and negatively charged extended systems. In contrast, dynamics of neutral and negatively charged atoms or small molecules are typically not closely related.

Ultracold fermionic atoms placed in a synthetic magnetic field arrange themselves in Landau levels. We theoretically study the optomechanical interaction between the light field and collective excitations of such fermionic atoms in synthetic magnetic field by placing them inside a Fabry-Perot cavity. We derive the effective Hamiltonian for particle hole excitations from a filled Landau level using a bosonization technique and obtain an expression for the cavity transmission spectrum. Using this we show that the cavity transmission spectrum demonstrates cold atom analog of Shubnikov–de Haas oscillation in electronic condensed matter systems. We discuss the experimental consequences for this oscillation for such a system and the related optical bistability.

From the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, we obtain the times of ionization and return of the laser-driven electron in high-order harmonic generation by probing the dynamics with a second harmonic field polarized orthogonal to the fundamental field and observing the harmonic emission in dependence on the two-color delay. Our retrieval method using complex-time evolution gives ionization and return times in excellent agreement with the quantum-orbit model, while a retrieval based on real-time classical dynamics can introduce substantial errors. Because of the imaginary parts, the harmonic signal polarized along the probe field is nonzero for any two-color delay. The tunneling time can be retrieved under an assumption for the return time.