We derive a general formula for the gravitational free energy of Euclidean supersymmetric solutions to $D=4$, $\mathcal{N}=2$ gauged supergravity coupled to vector multiplet matter. This allows one to compute the free energy without solving any supergravity equations, just assuming the solutions exist. As well as recovering some known results in the literature with ease, we also present new supergravity results that match with holographically dual field theory computations.

We present a lattice QCD calculation of the nucleon electric polarizabilities at the physical pion mass. Our findings reveal the substantial contributions of the $N\pi$ states to these polarizabilities. Without considering these contributions, the lattice results fall significantly below the experimental values, consistent with previous lattice studies. This observation has motivated us to compute both the parity-negative $N\pi$ scattering up to a nucleon momentum of $\sim 0.5\mathrm{GeV}$ in the center-of-mass frame and corresponding $N{\gamma }^{*}\to N\pi$ matrix elements using lattice QCD. Our results confirm that incorporating dynamic $N\pi$ contributions is crucial for a reliable determination of the polarizabilities from lattice QCD. This methodology lays the groundwork for future lattice QCD investigations into various other polarizabilities.

We offer a new model for the heat transfer and the turbulence intensity in strongly driven Rayleigh-Bénard turbulence (the so-called ultimate regime), which in contrast to hitherto models is consistent with the new mathematically exact heat transfer upper bound of Choffrut et al. [Upper bounds on Nusselt number at finite Prandtl number, J. Differ. Equations 260, 3860 (2016).] and thus enables extrapolations of the heat transfer to geo- and astrophysical flows. The model distinguishes between four subregimes of the ultimate regime and well describes the measured heat transfer in various large-Rayleigh experiments. In this new representation, which properly accounts for the Prandtl number dependence, the onset to the ultimate regime is seen in all available large-Rayleigh datasets, though at different Rayleigh numbers, as to be expected for a non-normal–nonlinear instability.

Intermittency refers to the broken self-similarity of turbulent flows caused by anomalous spatiotemporal fluctuations. In this Letter, we ask how intermittency is affected by a nondissipative viscosity, known as odd viscosity (also Hall viscosity or gyroviscosity), which appears in parity-breaking fluids such as magnetized polyatomic gases, electron fluids under magnetic field, and spinning colloids or grains. Using a combination of Navier-Stokes simulations and theory, we show that intermittency is suppressed by odd viscosity at small scales. This effect is caused by parity-breaking waves, induced by odd viscosity, that break the multiple scale invariances of the Navier-Stokes equations. Building on this insight, we construct a two-channel helical shell model that reproduces the basic phenomenology of turbulent odd-viscous fluids including the suppression of anomalous scaling. Our findings illustrate how a fully developed direct cascade that is entirely self-similar can emerge below a tunable length scale, paving the way for designing turbulent flows with adjustable levels of intermittency.

We propose a theory for how the weak phonon-mediated interaction ($J_{\mathrm{A}}=1–4\mathrm{meV}$) wins over the prohibitive Coulomb repulsion ($U=30–60\mathrm{meV}$) and leads to a superconductor in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG). We find the pairing mechanism akin to that in the ${\mathrm{A}}_3{\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ family of molecular superconductors: Each AA stacking region of MATBG resembles a ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ molecule, in that optical phonons can dynamically lift the degeneracy of the moiré orbitals, in analogy to the dynamical Jahn-Teller effect. Such induced $J_{\mathrm{A}}$ has the form of an intervalley anti-Hund’s coupling and is less suppressed than $U$ by the Kondo screening near a Mott insulator. Additionally, we also considered an intraorbital Hund’s coupling $J_{\mathrm{H}}$ that originates from the on-site repulsion of a carbon atom. Under a reasonable approximation of the realistic model, we prove that the renormalized local interaction between quasiparticles has a pairing (negative) channel in a doped correlated insulator at $\nu =\pm (2+\delta \nu )$, albeit the bare interaction is positive definite. The proof is nonperturbative and based on exact asymptotic behaviors of the vertex function imposed by Ward identities. Existence of an optimal $U$ for superconductivity is predicted. In a large area of the parameter space of $J_{\mathrm{A}}$, $J_{\mathrm{H}}$, the ground state is found to have a nematic $d$-wave singlet pairing, which, however, can lead to a $p$-wave-like nodal structure due to the Berry’s phase on Fermi surfaces (or Euler obstruction).

We develop a theory that explains the low-energy optical excitations near 1.5 eV observed by optical experiments in ${\mathrm{NiPS}}_3$. Using ab initio methods, we construct a two-band Hubbard model for two effective Ni orbitals. The dominant effective hopping corresponds to third-nearest neighbors. This model exhibits triplet-singlet excitations of energy near 2 times the Hund exchange. We derive an effective model for the movement of two singlets in an antiferromagnetic background, that we solve using a generalized self-consistent Born approximation, disentangling the nature of these novel excitations, which move coherently as “singlet polarons”.

Hyperbolic lattices are a new type of synthetic quantum matter emulated in circuit quantum electrodynamics and electric-circuit networks, where particles coherently hop on a discrete tessellation of two-dimensional negatively curved space. While real-space methods and a reciprocal-space hyperbolic band theory have been recently proposed to analyze the energy spectra of those systems, discrepancies between the two sets of approaches remain. In this work, we reconcile those approaches by first establishing an equivalence between hyperbolic band theory and $\mathrm{U}(N)$ topological Yang-Mills theory on higher-genus Riemann surfaces. We then show that moments of the density of states of hyperbolic tight-binding models correspond to expectation values of Wilson loops in the quantum gauge theory and become exact in the large-$N$ limit.

We propose a new observable for the 21 cm global signal during the dark ages, “the dark age consistency ratio,” which could serve as a critical test of models beyond the standard $\mathrm{\Lambda }$ cold dark matter ($\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$) model, particularly in future missions using a telescope on the moon or satellite orbiting around the moon. The new observable is motivated from the fact that the shape of the functional form of the 21 cm signal against the frequency is almost cosmological-parameter independent in the $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$. The dark age consistency ratio takes a certain definite value in the $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$ case, which enables us to easily falsify models beyond the standard model motivated by some particle physics and gravity theories. The new observable just needs measurements of the brightness temperature at a few frequency bands during the dark ages, and thus it allows us to test cosmological scenarios even with limited information on the 21 cm global signal at the early stage of future lunar missions.

The observed radiation from hot gas accreting onto a black hole depends on both the details of the flow and the spacetime geometry. The lensing behavior of a black hole produces a distinctive pattern of autocorrelations within its photon ring that encodes its mass, spin, and inclination. In particular, the time autocorrelation of the light curve is expected to display a series of peaks produced by light echoes of the source, with each peak delayed by the characteristic time lapse $\tau$ between light echoes. However, such peaks are absent from the light curves of observed black holes. Here, we develop an analytical model for such light curves that demonstrates how, even though light echoes always exist in the signal, they do not produce autocorrelation peaks if the characteristic correlation timescale ${\lambda }_0$ of the source is greater than $\tau$. We validate our model against simulated light curves of a stochastic accretion model ray traced with a general-relativistic code, and then fit the model to an observed light curve for Sgr ${\mathrm{A}}^{*}$. We infer that ${\lambda }_0>\tau$, providing an explanation for the absence of light echoes in the time autocorrelations of Sgr ${\mathrm{A}}^{*}$ light curves. Our results highlight the importance for black hole parameter inference of spatially resolving the photon ring via future space-based interferometry.

The excitation of the ${}^{181m}\mathrm{Ta}$ isomer in the laser-plasma scenario was claimed to have been observed more than two decades ago. However, the reported experimental findings—and the respective high excitation rate—were later questioned as they could not be reproduced theoretically. The controversy has remained open ever since. In this work, we reinvestigate both theoretically and experimentally the ${}^{181m}\mathrm{Ta}$ nuclear excitation in an optical laser-generated plasma. Experimentally we have found no evidence for such an excitation process as consistently predicted by previous and our theoretical models.

Disorder, which is ubiquitous in nature, has been extensively explored in photonics for understanding the fundamental principles of light diffusion and localization, as well as for applications in functional resonators and random lasers. Recently, the investigation of disorder in topological photonics has led to the realization of topological Anderson insulators characterized by an unexpected disorder-induced phase transition. However, the observed photonic topological Anderson insulators so far are limited to the time-reversal symmetry breaking systems. Here, we propose and realize a photonic quantum spin Hall topological Anderson insulator without breaking time-reversal symmetry. The disorder-induced topological phase transition is comprehensively confirmed through the theoretical effective Dirac Hamiltonian, numerical analysis of bulk transmission, and experimental examination of bulk and edge transmissions. We present convincing evidence for the unidirectional propagation and robust transport of helical edge modes, which are the key features of nontrivial time-reversal invariant topological Anderson insulators. Furthermore, we demonstrate disorder-induced beam steering, highlighting the potential of disorder as a new degree of freedom to manipulate light propagation in magnetic-free systems. Our work not only paves the way for observing unique topological photonic phases but also suggests potential device applications through the utilization of disorder.

We demonstrate spontaneous symmetry breaking in the diffraction of a laser-driven grating with memory in its nonlinear response. We observe, experimentally and theoretically, asymmetric diffraction even when the grating and illumination are symmetric. Our analysis reveals how diffracted waves can spontaneously acquire momentum parallel to the lattice vector in quantities unconstrained by the grating period. Our findings point to numerous opportunities for imaging, sensing, and information processing with nonlinear periodic systems, which can leverage a much richer diffractive response than their linear counterparts.

To examine the robustness of the designed 5% $\beta$ limit for high-performance operation in the W7-X stellarator, we undertake nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of pressure-driven instabilities using the m3d-c1 code. Consistent with linear analyses, ideal ballooning instabilities occur as $\beta$ exceeds 5% in the standard configuration. Nonetheless, the modes saturate nonlinearly at relatively low levels without triggering large-scale crashes, even though confinement degradation worsens as $\beta$ increases. In contrast, in an alternative configuration with nearly zero magnetic shear, ideal interchange modes induce a pressure crash at $\beta =1\%$. These results suggest that the standard W7-X configuration might have a soft $\beta$ limit that is fairly immune to major MHD events, which enhances the appeal of the stellarator approach to steady-state fusion reactors.

We develop the microscopic theory for the attenuation of out-of-plane phonons in stressed flexible two-dimensional crystalline materials. We demonstrate that the presence of nonzero tension strongly reduces the relative magnitude of the attenuation and, consequently, results in parametrical narrowing of the phonon spectral line due to stress-controlled suppression of the retardation effects in the dynamically screened inter phonon interaction. We predict the specific power-law dependence of the spectral-line width on temperature and tension. We speculate that suppression of the phonon attenuation by nonzero tension might be responsible for high quality factors of mechanical nanoresonators based on flexural two-dimensional materials.

We generalize the classical thermal Mpemba effect (where an initially hot system relaxes faster to the final equilibrium state than a cold one) to open quantum systems coupled to several reservoirs. We show that, in general, two different types of quantum Mpemba effects are possible. They may be distinguished by quantum state tomography. However, the existence of a quantum Mpemba effect (without determining the type) can already be established by measuring simpler observables such as currents or energies. We illustrate our general results for the experimentally feasible case of an interacting two-site Kitaev model coupled to two metallic leads.

The interplay of topological electronic band structures and strong interparticle interactions provides a promising path towards the constructive design of robust, long-range entangled many-body systems. As a prototype for such systems, we here study an exactly integrable, local model for a fractionalized topological insulator. Using a controlled perturbation theory about this limit, we demonstrate the existence of topological bands of zeros in the exact fermionic Green’s function and show that in this model they do affect the topological invariant of the system, but not the quantized transport response. Close to (but prior to) the Higgs transition signaling the breakdown of fractionalization, the topological bands of zeros acquire a finite “lifetime.” We also discuss the appearance of edge states and edge zeros at real space domain walls separating different phases of the system. This model provides a fertile ground for controlled studies of the phenomenology of Green’s function zeros and the underlying exactly solvable lattice gauge theory illustrates the synergetic cross pollination between solid-state theory, high-energy physics, and quantum information science.

We study quantum many-body systems in the presence of an exotic antiunitary translation or inversion symmetry involving time reversal. Based on a symmetry-twisting method and spectrum robustness, we propose that a half-integer spin chain that respects any of these two antiunitary crystalline symmetries in addition to the discrete ${\mathbb{Z}}_2\times {\mathbb{Z}}_2$ global spin-rotation symmetry must either be gapless or possess degenerate ground states. This explains the gaplessness of a class of chiral spin models not indicated by the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem and its known extensions. Moreover, we present symmetry classes with minimal sets of generators that give nontrivial Lieb-Schultz-Mattis-type constraints, argued by the bulk-boundary correspondence in 2D symmetry-protected topological phases as well as lattice homotopy. Our results for detecting the ingappability of 1D quantum magnets from the interplay between spin-rotation symmetries and magnetic space groups are applicable to systems with a broader class of spin interactions, including Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and triple-product interactions.