We present an effective field theory (EFT) approach to extract fundamental cosmological parameters from the Lyman-alpha forest flux fluctuations as an alternative to the standard simulation-based techniques. As a first application, we reanalyze the publicly available one-dimensional Lyman-alpha flux power spectrum data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Our analysis relies on informative priors on EFT parameters that we extract from a combination of public hydrodynamic simulation and emulator data. Assuming the concordance cosmological model, our one-parameter analysis yields a 2% measurement of the late time mass fluctuation amplitude ${\sigma }_8=0.841\pm 0.017$, or equivalently, the structure growth parameter $S_8=0.852\pm 0.017$, consistent with the standard cosmology. This result is obtained assuming that nonlinear EFT parameters are cosmology-independent functions of the linear bias parameter. When this assumption is loosened, the limit degrades by a factor of 3, suggesting that informative priors are necessary for competitive constraints. Combining our EFT likelihood with $\mathrm{Planck}+\text{baryon}$ acoustic oscillation data, we find a new constraint on the total neutrino mass, $\sum m_{\nu }<0.08\mathrm{eV}$ (at 95% CL). Our study defines priorities for the development of EFT methods and sets the benchmark for cosmological analyses of the Lyman-alpha forest data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.

We propose protocols that probe manifestations of the mass-energy equivalence in an optical lattice clock interrogated with spin coherent and entangled quantum states. To tune and uniquely distinguish the mass-energy equivalence effects (gravitational redshift and second-order Doppler shift) in such a setting, we devise a dressing protocol using an additional nuclear spin state. We then analyze the dynamical interplay between photon-mediated interactions and gravitational redshift and show that such interplay can lead to entanglement generation and frequency synchronization dynamics. In the regime where all atomic spins synchronize, we show the synchronization time depends on the initial entanglement of the state and can be used as a proxy of its metrological gain compared to a classical state. Our work opens new possibilities for exploring the effects of general relativity on quantum coherence and entanglement in optical lattice clock experiments.

We study the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in noncollinear antiferromagnet ${\mathrm{Mn}}_3\mathrm{Sn}/\text{heavy}$-metal stacks. The measured SMR exhibits peculiar magnetic field angle and magnitude dependence that sharply deviates from the conventional SMR theory based on the dampinglike spin-transfer torque. An alternative model based on a coherent fieldlike torque reproduces the observations well. Our work reveals a previously unrecognized mechanism of interfacial exchange that indicates a precession of the conduction-electron spins in the collective local exchange fields of the noncollinear antiferromagnetic order. The unraveled physics is essential to understanding and controlling spin transport in unconventional magnetic materials.

A fundamental limitation of quantum communication is that a single qubit can carry at most one bit of classical information. For an important class of quantum communication channels, known as entanglement breaking, this limitation holds even if the sender and receiver share entangled particles. But does this mean that, for the purpose of communicating classical messages, a noisy entanglement-breaking qubit channel can be replaced by a noisy bit channel? Here we answer the question in the negative. We introduce a game, similar to the Monty Hall problem in classical statistics, where a sender assists a receiver in finding a valuable item (the “prize”) hidden in one of four possible boxes, while avoiding a hazardous item (the “bomb”) hidden in one of the remaining three boxes. We show that no classical strategy using a noisy bit channel can ensure that the bomb is avoided, even if the sender and receiver share arbitrary amounts of randomness. In contrast, communication of a qubit through a class of noisy entanglement-breaking channels, which we call quantum not channels, allows the players to deterministically avoid the bomb and to find the prize with a guaranteed nonzero probability. Our findings show that the communication of classical messages through a noisy entanglement-breaking qubit channel assisted by quantum entanglement cannot, in general, be simulated by communication through a noisy bit channel assisted by classical correlations.

The diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission is a very important tool used to study the propagation and interaction of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. In this Letter, we report the measurements of the diffuse emission from the Galactic plane—covering Galactic longitudes from 15° to 235° and latitudes from $-5°$ to $+5°$, in an energy range of 1 to 25 TeV—made with the Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA) of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory. After the sky regions of known sources are masked, the diffuse emission is detected with $24.6\sigma$ and $9.1\sigma$ significance in the inner Galactic plane ($15°<l<125°$, $|b|<5°$) and outer Galactic plane ($125°<l<235°$, $|b|<5°$), respectively. The WCDA spectra in both regions can be well described by a power-law function, with spectral indices of $-2.67\pm 0.05_{\mathrm{stat}}$ in the inner region and $-2.83\pm 0.19_{\mathrm{stat}}$ in the outer region, respectively. Combined with the Square Kilometer Array (KM2A) measurements at higher energies, a clear softening of the spectrum is found in the inner region, with change of spectral indices by $\sim 0.5$ at a break energy around 30 TeV. The fluxes of the diffuse emission are higher by a factor of 1.5–2.7 than the model prediction assuming local cosmic ray spectra and the gas column density, which are consistent with those measured by the KM2A. Along the Galactic longitude, the spatial distribution of the diffuse emission shows deviation from that of the gas column density. The spectral shape of the diffuse emission may vary in different longitude regions. The WCDA measurements bridge the gap between the low-energy measurements by space detectors and the ultra-high-energy observations by KM2A and other experiments. These results suggest that improved modeling of the wideband diffuse emission is required.

We propose that ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are produced in binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. This scenario can account for the heretofore inexplicable narrow rigidity range of UHECRs because the jets of BNS mergers are generated by a gravitationally driven dynamo and thus are nearly identical due to the narrow range of BNS masses. Observed UHECRs with energies well beyond 100 EeV can be explained as $r$-process nuclei, without invoking an exotic source class. Evidence for this mechanism, and its prediction of coincidences between neutrinos above 10 PeV and gravitational waves, are discussed.

We report an exploratory study of the $\mathcal{O}(\alpha )$ structure-dependent electromagnetic radiative corrections to unique first-forbidden nuclear beta decays. We show that the insertion of angular momentum into the nuclear matrix element by the virtual or real photon exchange opens up the decay at vanishing nuclear recoil momentum which was forbidden at tree level, leading to a dramatic change in the decay spectrum not anticipated in existing studies. We discuss its implications for precision tests on the standard model and searches for new physics.

We propose a Bayesian inference estimation of in-medium modification of the cluster self-energies from light nuclei multiplicities measured in selected samples of central ${}^{136,124}\mathrm{Xe}+{}^{124,112}\mathrm{Sn}$ collisions with the INDRA apparatus. The data are interpreted with a relativistic quasiparticle cluster approach in the mean-field approximation without any prior assumption on the thermal parameters of the model. An excellent reproduction is obtained for H and He isotope multiplicities, and compatible posterior distributions are found for the unknown thermal parameters. We conclude that the cluster-$\sigma$-meson coupling is temperature dependent, becoming weaker when the temperature increases, in agreement with microscopic quantum statistical calculations. This implies a faster decrease of the light cluster abundances with temperature than previously estimated.

The low-energy enhancement (LEE) in $\gamma$-ray strength functions has been experimentally identified in a large number of nuclei during the past two decades; however, the origin of the enhancement is not fully understood. Building on previous theoretical work, we investigate the LEE and its relation to the scissors mode (SM) with an independent theoretical approach. We apply a novel angular-momentum-projected shell-model method that explicitly endows degrees of freedom to describe the scissors motion. Taking the recently measured $\gamma$-ray strength functions in Neodymium isotopes as examples, we find that the LEE arises from a quasi-free scissors motion appearing only in weakly-deformed nuclei, which can be viewed as an approximate free-rotation of neutrons with respect to protons. This leads us to propose a new type of collective motion, scissors rotation, to contrast the scissors vibration widely known in well-deformed nuclei. The observed LEE is naturally interpreted as the first evidence for this collective excitation mode.

We report the application of the new elimination of Rutherford elastic scattering technique for the measurement of proton-induced reaction cross sections utilizing stored ions decelerated to astrophysical energies. This approach results in a background reduction factor of about 1 order of magnitude, enabling the first measurement of a ($p$, $n$) cross section in a storage ring. Here, the reaction channels ${}^{124}\mathrm{Xe}(p,n)$ and ${}^{124}\mathrm{Xe}(p,\gamma )$ have been studied just above the neutron threshold energy. The new data provide valuable constraints for Hauser-Feshbach theory and extrapolation of the $(p,\gamma )$ cross section to lower energies. Most importantly, for nuclei of limited availability, the method represents a powerful improvement to efficiently study proton-induced reactions at energies within or close to the astrophysical Gamow window, bringing many reaction measurements within reach that were previously inaccessible in the laboratory.

Solid-state defects susceptible of spin manipulation hold great promise for scalable quantum technology. To broaden their utility, operation at room temperature and emission in the telecom wavelength range are desired, eliminating cryogenic requirements and leveraging existing optical fiber infrastructure for the transmission of quantum information. To that end, we report that telecom single-photon emitters (SPEs) in gallium nitride (GaN) exhibit optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) at room temperature. The analysis of ODMR as a function of magnetic field orientation enables the determination of the orientation of the spin quantization axis with respect to the GaN crystalline lattice. The optical transitions dynamics are analyzed to gain further insight into the transition rates dominating ODMR. Our findings, coupled with the mature fabrication technology of GaNs, could facilitate the realization of scalable quantum technology.

We study the onset of collective spin self-organization in a thermal ensemble of driven two-level atoms confined in an optical cavity. The atoms spontaneously form a spin pattern above a critical driving strength that sets a threshold and is determined by the cavity parameters, the initial temperature, and the transition frequency of the atomic spin. Remarkably, we find that inhomogeneous Doppler broadening facilitates the onset of spin self-organization. In particular, the threshold is nonmonotonic when increasing the spin transition frequency and reaches a minimum when the Doppler broadening is of similar magnitude. This feature emerges due to Doppler-induced resonances. Above the threshold, we find cooperative dynamics of spin, spatial, and momentum degrees of freedom leading to density modulations, fast reduction of kinetic energy, and the emergence of nonthermal states. More broadly, our work demonstrates how broadening can facilitate strong light-matter interactions in many-body systems.

Flat-band materials have garnered extensive attention due to their captivating properties associated with strong correlation effects. While flat bands have been discovered in several types of 2D materials, their existence in 1D systems remains elusive. Here, we propose a 1D frustrated lattice, specifically the 1D zigzag lattice, as a platform for hosting flat bands. This lattice can be experimentally realized by growing CuTe chains on Cu(111). The presence of flat bands was confirmed by tight-binding model analysis, first-principles calculations, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements. In addition, we discovered a temperature-driven phase transition at approximately 250 K. Detailed analyses demonstrate that the system has a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid behavior, accompanied by spin-charge separation effects. Our work unveils new prospects for investigating strongly correlated electron behaviors and topological properties in the 1D limit.

An integral relation is derived from the Fokker-Planck equation which connects the steady-state probability currents with the dynamics of relaxation on short timescales in the limit of small perturbation fields. As a consequence of this integral relation, a general lower bound on the steady-state entropy production is obtained. Two particular ensembles of perturbation fields are then considered, respectively constant gradients and density displacements, and correspondingly two different averaging-based thermodynamic bounds are derived from the integral relation. These provide feasible methods to estimate the steady-state entropy production from relaxation experiments.

We study the roughening of interfaces in phase-separated active suspensions on substrates. At both large length and time scales, we show that the interfacial dynamics belongs to the $|\mathbf{q}|\mathrm{KPZ}$ universality class discussed in Besse et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 187102 (2023)]. This holds despite the presence of long-ranged fluid flows. At early times, however, or for sufficiently small systems, the roughening exponents are the same as those in the presence of a momentum-conserving fluid. Surprisingly, when the effect of substrate friction can be ignored, the interface becomes random beyond a de Gennes–Taupin length scale that depends on the interfacial tension.