Leveraging the features of the GstLAL pipeline, we present the results of a matched filtering search for asymmetric binary black hole systems with heavily misaligned spins in LIGO and Virgo data taken during the third observing run. Our target systems show strong imprints of precession whereas current searches have nonoptimal sensitivity in detecting them. After measuring the sensitivity improvement brought by our search over standard spin-aligned searches, we report the detection of 30 gravitational wave events already discovered in the latest version of the Gravitational Wave Transient Catalog. However, we do not find any additional significant gravitational wave candidates. Our results allow us to place an upper limit of $R_{90\%}=0.28_{-0.04}^{+0.33}{\mathrm{Gpc}}^{-3}{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$ on the merger rate of a hypothetical subpopulation of asymmetric, heavily precessing signals, not identified by other searches. Since our upper limit is consistent with the latest rate estimates from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration, our findings rule out the existence of a yet-to-be-discovered population of precessing binaries.

We consider type IIB supergravity on a ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ quotient of ${\mathrm{AdS}}_5\times {\mathrm{S}}^5$ as the holographic dual of strongly coupled 4D $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM on ${\mathbb{RP}}^4$ space with the gauging of charge conjugation. Using bootstrap techniques, we determine all two-point functions of $\frac{1}{2}$-BPS operators of arbitrary weights at the leading order in the large central charge expansion.

In this Letter we report on effects of nucleon-nucleon correlations probed in nucleon transfer reactions with heavy ions. We measured with high efficiency and resolution a complete set of observables for neutron transfer channels in the ${}^{206}\mathrm{Pb}+{}^{118}\mathrm{Sn}$ system employing a large solid angle magnetic spectrometer, which allowed us to study a wide range of internuclear distances via a detailed excitation function. The coupled channel theory, based on an independent particle transfer mechanism, follows the experimental transfer probabilities for one- and two-neutron pick-up and stripping channels. The experimental two-neutron transfer cross sections indicate that in reactions between pair-vibrational (closed shell) and pair-rotational (open shell) nuclei, correlations manifest via pair-addition and pair-removal modes, which constitute one of the elementary modes of excitations in nuclei.

We propose a scheme for quantum-light generation in a nonlinear cavity hybridized with a two-level system and theoretically show that, when excited by a series of controlled pump pulses, the hybrid source generates Fock states with high probabilities, e.g., one- and two-photon states can be generated near on demand, and Fock states with up to seven photons with a probability above 50%. The tailorable nature of the nonlinear cavity allows for generating Fock states with arbitrary frequencies, even with a fixed two-level system, creating fundamentally new opportunities in all areas of quantum technologies.

Carbon materials display intriguing physical properties, including superconductivity and highly anisotropic thermal conductivity found in graphene. Compressive strain can induce structural and bonding transitions in carbon materials and create new carbon phases, but their interplay with thermal conductivity remains largely unexplored. We investigated the in situ high-pressure thermal conductivity of compressed graphitic phases using picosecond transient thermoreflectance and first-principles calculations. Our results show an anomalous thermal conductivity that peaks to $260\mathrm{W}/\mathrm{mK}$ at 15–20 GPa but drops to $3.0\mathrm{W}/\mathrm{mK}$ at $\sim 35\mathrm{GPa}$. Together with complimentary in situ Raman and x-ray diffraction results, the abnormal thermal conductivity trend of compressed carbon is attributed to phonon-mediated conductivity influenced by interlayer buckling and ${sp}^2$ to ${sp}^3$ transition and, subsequently, the formation of $M$-carbon nanocrystals and amorphous carbon. Strain-induced structural and bonding variations provide a wide-range manipulation of thermal and mechanical properties in carbon materials.

Functionals that explicitly depend on occupied, unoccupied, or fractionally occupied orbitals are rigorously formalized using Clifford algebras, and a variational principle is established that facilitates orbital (and occupation) optimization as a formal implementation method. Theoretically, these methodologies circumvent the limitations encountered in the original Kohn-Sham and related methods, particularly when the interacting system’s electron density does not match that of any noninteracting reference system. This Letter redefines orbital (and occupation) functionals from a novel perspective, positioning them not merely as extensions of traditional density functionals, but as superior, rigorous alternatives.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking and more recently entanglement are two cornerstones of quantum matter. We introduce the notion of anisotropic entanglement ordered phases, where the spatial profile of spin-pseudospin entanglement spontaneously lowers the fourfold rotational symmetry of the underlying crystal to a twofold one, while the charge density retains the full symmetry. The resulting phases, which we term entanglement smectic and entanglement stripe, exhibit a rich Goldstone mode spectrum and a set of phase transitions as a function of underlying anisotropies. We discuss experimental consequences of such anisotropic entanglement phases distinguishing them from more conventional charge or spin stripes. Our discussion of this interplay between entanglement and spontaneous symmetry breaking focuses on multicomponent quantum Hall systems realizing textured Wigner crystals, as may occur in graphene or possibly also in moiré systems, highlighting the rich landscape and properties of possible entanglement ordered phases.

Because of their sub picosecond temporal resolution, coherent Raman spectroscopies have been proposed as a viable extension of spontaneous Raman thermometry, to determine dynamics of mode specific vibrational energy content during out of equilibrium molecular processes. Here we show that the presence of multiple laser fields stimulating the vibrational coherences introduces additional quantum pathways, resulting in destructive interference. This ultimately reduces the thermal sensitivity of single spectral lines, nullifying it for harmonic vibrations and temperature independent polarizability. We demonstrate how harnessing anharmonic signatures such as vibrational hot bands enables coherent Raman thermometry.

The electric field of light induces—in a noncentrosymmetric insulator—a dc current, quadratic in the field magnitude, called the “shift current.” When addressed from a many-electron viewpoint, the shift current has a simple explanation and a simple formulation as well, deeply rooted in quantum geometry. The basic formula is then specialized to the independent-electron case, first for a disordered system in a supercell formulation, and then for a crystalline system. In the latter case the known shift-current formula is retrieved in a very transparent way.

The depinning transition critical point is manifested as power-law distributed avalanches exhibited by slowly driven elastic interfaces in quenched random media. Here we show that since avalanches with different starting heights relative to the mean interface height or different initial local interface curvatures experience different excess driving forces due to elasticity, avalanches close to the “global” critical point of non-mean-field systems can be separated into populations of subcritical, critical, and supercritical ones. The asymmetric interface height distribution results in an excess of supercritical avalanches, manifested as a “bump” in the avalanche size distribution cutoff.

An important development in nonlinear dynamics is the discovery of chimera states that represent the coexistence of synchronized and desynchronized activity in populations of identically coupled oscillators. Identification and characterization of chimera states is currently an active area of theoretical and applied research. Here, we unveil a novel chimera state called “self-organized target wave chimera” in reaction-diffusion media where synchronized target waves spontaneously emerge from a pacemaker composed of asynchronous oscillators. This regime contrasts with a widely accepted perspective that synchronized target waves can be generated only by the individuals, which comprise the pacemaker, behaving in a synchronized manner. We characterize the features of self-organized target wave chimeras and present a phase diagram of existence of such a regime. The underlying phenomenological mechanism for the emergence of target wave chimeras is further analyzed. Our studies offer an affirmative answer to the existence of target wave chimeras in reaction-diffusion media and advance the general understanding of the onset of chimera states.

We present experiments, supported by mechanically detailed simulations, establishing bulk condensation of a hard-bead fluid by a tiny population of orientable motile grains that self-assembles into a moving polarized monolayer. In a quasi-1D geometry two such layers, oppositely aligned, immobilize the condensed nonmotile component. We account for our observations through a continuum theory with a naturally nonreciprocal Cahn-Hilliard structure, whose predicted trends as a function of packing fraction are consistent with our observations.

We present a comprehensive second quantization scheme for radiative photonic devices. We canonically quantize the continuum of photonic eigenmodes by transforming them into a discrete set of pseudomodes that provide a complete and exact description of quantum emitters interacting with electromagnetic environments. This method avoids all reservoir approximations and offers new insights into quantum correlations, accurately capturing all non-Markovian dynamics. This method overcomes challenges in quantizing non-Hermitian systems and is applicable to diverse nanophotonic geometries.

Controlling the out-of-plane magnetization in nanodevices via electric currents has played a pivotal role in advancing high-impact data storage and nonvolatile logic technologies within spintronic devices. However, the in-plane magnetization materials, which are more accessible than their out-of-plane counterparts, are less favored in terms of switching efficiency and magnetization stability. This is due to their larger switching barriers, resulting in a higher critical switching current in the commonly used spin-transfer torques or spin-orbit torques magnetic random-access memory. Here, we propose the use of voltage-controlled bimeron-torques to switch in-plane magnetization for ultralow energy consumption magnetic random-access memory. In this mechanism, magnetic bimerons act as spin-angular-momentum carriers as well as momentum transfer media rather than that of electrical spin currents in spin-transfer torques or spin-orbit torques. We address the microscopic origin of this mechanism and demonstrate its validity with two examples: $\mathrm{Co}{({\mathrm{MoTe}}_2)}_2$ and ${\mathrm{HgInP}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_6$ monolayers, respectively. The mechanism overcomes the restriction of perpendicular magnetization and avoids Joule heating, thereby providing additional pathways for electrical manipulation of magnetic materials.

Quantum scattering is used ubiquitously in both experimental and theoretical physics across a wide range of disciplines, from high-energy physics to mesoscopic physics. In this Letter, we uncover universal relations for the energy fluctuations of a quantum system scattering inelastically with a particle at arbitrary kinetic energies. In particular, we prove a fluctuation relation describing an asymmetry between energy absorbing and releasing processes which relies on the nonunital nature of the underlying quantum map. This allows us to derive a bound on the average energy exchanged. We find that energy releasing processes are dominant when the kinetic energy of the particle is comparable to the system energies, but are forbidden at very high kinetic energies where well-known fluctuation relations are recovered. Our Letter provides a unified view of energy fluctuations when the source driving the system is not macroscopic but rather an auxiliary quantum particle in a scattering process.