Atomic spectroscopy is used to search for the space-time variation of fundamental constants which may be due to an interaction with scalar and pseudoscalar (axion) dark matter. In this Letter, we study the effects that are produced by the variation of the nuclear radius and electric quadrupole moment. The sensitivity of the electric quadrupole hyperfine structure to both the variation of the quark mass and the effects of dark matter exceeds that of the magnetic hyperfine structure by 1–2 orders of magnitude. Therefore, the measurement of the variation of the ratio of the electric quadrupole and magnetic dipole hyperfine constants is proposed. The sensitivity of the optical clock transitions in the ${\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}$ ion to the variation of the nuclear radius allows us to extract, from experimental data, limits on the variation of the hadron and quark masses, the QCD parameter $\theta$ and the interaction with axion dark matter.

We study theoretically a junction consisting of a normal metal, PT-symmetric non-Hermitian superconductor, and an insulating thin layer between them. We calculate current-voltage characteristics for this junction using left-right and right-right bases and compare the results. We find that in the left-right basis, the Andreev-scattered particles move in the opposite direction compared with the right-right basis and conventional Andreev scattering. This leads to profound differences in current-voltage characteristics. Based on this and other signatures, we argue that the left-right basis is not applicable in this case. Remarkably, we find that the growth and decay with time of the states with imaginary energies in the right-right basis are equilibrated.

Uncovering the physical contents of the nontrivial topology of quantum states is a critical problem in condensed matter physics. Here, we study the topological circular dichroism in chiral semimetals using linear response theory and first-principles calculations. We show that, when the low-energy spectrum respects emergent SO(3) rotational symmetry, topological circular dichroism is forbidden for Weyl fermions, and thus is unique to chiral multifold fermions. This is a result of the selection rule that is imposed by the emergent symmetry under the combination of particle-hole conjugation and spatial inversion. Using first-principles calculations, we predict that topological circular dichroism occurs in CoSi for photon energy below about 0.2 eV. Our Letter demonstrates the existence of a response property of unconventional fermions that is fundamentally different from the response of Dirac and Weyl fermions, motivating further study to uncover other unique responses.

Inspired by recent experimental measurements [Guo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 206602 (2020); Jiménez et al., Nature (London) 592, 370 (2021)] on frustrated quantum magnet ${\text{SrCu}}_2({\mathrm{BO}}_3{)}_2$ under combined pressure and magnetic fields, we study the related spin-$1/2$ Shastry-Sutherland model using state-of-the-art tensor network methods. By calculating thermodynamics, correlations, and susceptibilities, we find, in zero magnetic field, not only a line of first-order dimer-singlet to plaquette-singlet phase transition ending with a critical point, but also signatures of the ordered plaquette-singlet transition with its critical end point terminating on this first-order line. Moreover, we uncover prominent magnetic barocaloric responses, a novel type of quantum correlation induced cooling effect, in the strongly fluctuating supercritical regime. Under finite fields, we identify a quantum phase transition from the plaquette-singlet phase to the spin supersolid phase that breaks simultaneously lattice translational and spin rotational symmetries. The present findings on the Shastry-Sutherland model are accessible in current experiments and would shed new light on the critical and supercritical phenomena in the archetypal frustrated quantum magnet ${\text{SrCu}}_2({\mathrm{BO}}_3{)}_2$.

Optically active spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are promising quantum systems for the design of two-dimensional quantum sensing units offering optimal proximity to the sample being probed. In this Letter, we first demonstrate that the electron spin resonance frequencies of boron vacancy centers ($V_{\mathrm{B}}^{-}$) can be detected optically in the limit of few-atomic-layer thick hBN flakes despite the nanoscale proximity of the crystal surface that often leads to a degradation of the stability of solid-state spin defects. We then analyze the variations of the electronic spin properties of $V_{\mathrm{B}}^{-}$ centers with the hBN thickness with a focus on (i) the zero-field splitting parameters, (ii) the optically induced spin polarization rate and (iii) the longitudinal spin relaxation time. This Letter provides important insights into the properties of $V_{\mathrm{B}}^{-}$ centers embedded in ultrathin hBN flakes, which are valuable for future developments of foil-based quantum sensing technologies.

We derive a phase field method for computing rigorously the nucleation rate and the incubation time from the sole knowledge of the free energy of the system in the metastable regime. Our theoretical results are assessed against experimental data relative to demixing of an iron-chromium alloy. Our work clarifies the notions of nucleation rate and incubation time extensively used in classical nucleation theory (CNT) processes in solids. Our work thus emerges as an alternative to CNT but of more general applicability, and enables us to model the nucleation process across the whole range of condition encountered in first order phase transitions, an aspect in which CNT fails.

Control of stochastic systems is a challenging open problem in statistical physics, with a wealth of potential applications from biology to granulates. Unlike most cases investigated so far, we aim here at controlling a genuinely out-of-equilibrium system, the two dimensional active Brownian particles model in a harmonic potential, a paradigm for the study of self-propelled bacteria. We search for protocols for the driving parameters (stiffness of the potential and activity of the particles) bringing the system from an initial passivelike steady state to a final activelike one, within a chosen time interval. The exact analytical results found for this prototypical model of self-propelled particles brings control techniques to a wider class of out-of-equilibrium systems.

We introduce a method to perform imaginary time evolution in a controllable quantum system using measurements and conditional unitary operations. By performing a sequence of weak measurements based on the desired Hamiltonian constructed by a Suzuki-Trotter decomposition, an evolution approximating imaginary time evolution can be realized. The randomness due to measurement is corrected using conditional unitary operations, making the evolution deterministic. Both the measurements required for the algorithm and the conditional unitary operations can be constructed efficiently. We show that the algorithm converges only below a specified energy threshold and the complexity is estimated for some specific problem instances.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) offers information-theoretic security based on the fundamental laws of physics. However, device imperfections, such as those in active modulators, may introduce side-channel leakage, thus compromising practical security. Attempts to remove active modulation, including passive decoy intensity preparation and polarization encoding, have faced theoretical constraints and inadequate security verification, thus hindering the achievement of a fully passive QKD scheme. Recent research [W. Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 220801 (2023).; V. Zapatero et al., Quantum Sci. Technol. 8, 025014 (2023).] has systematically analyzed the security of a fully passive modulation protocol. Based on this, we utilize the gain-switching technique in combination with the postselection scheme and perform a proof-of-principle demonstration of a fully passive quantum key distribution with polarization encoding at channel losses of 7.2 dB, 11.6 dB, and 16.7 dB. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of active-modulation-free QKD in polarization-encoded systems.

The passive approach to quantum key distribution (QKD) consists of removing all active modulation from the users’ devices, a highly desirable countermeasure to get rid of modulator side channels. Nevertheless, active modulation has not been completely removed in QKD systems so far, due to both theoretical and practical limitations. In this Letter, we present a fully passive time-bin encoding QKD system and report on the successful implementation of a modulator-free QKD link. According to the latest theoretical analysis, our prototype is capable of delivering competitive secret key rates in the finite key regime.

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv \mathcal{B}(\overline{B}\to D^{*}{\tau }^{-}{\overline{\nu }}_{\tau })/\mathcal{B}(\overline{B}\to D^{*}{\mu }^{-}{\overline{\nu }}_{\mu })$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^0)\equiv \mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^0{\tau }^{-}{\overline{\nu }}_{\tau })/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^0{\mu }^{-}{\overline{\nu }}_{\mu })$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to $3.0{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode ${\tau }^{-}\to {\mu }^{-}{\nu }_{\tau }{\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm 0.018\pm 0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^0)=0.441\pm 0.060\pm 0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho =-0.43$. The results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the standard model.

We investigate the effects of quantum fluctuations on the low-energy collective modes of two-dimensional (2D) $s$-wave Fermi superfluids from the BCS to the Bose limit. We compare our results to recent Bragg scattering experiments in 2D box potentials, with very good agreement. We show that quantum fluctuations in the phase and modulus of the pairing order parameter are absolutely necessary to give physically acceptable chemical potential and dispersion relation of the low-energy collective mode throughout the BCS to Bose evolution. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the dispersion of the collective modes change from concave to convex as interactions are tuned from the BCS to the Bose regime, and never crosses the two-particle continuum, because arbitrarily small attractive interactions produce bound states in two dimensions.

When a charged particle penetrates through an optical interface, photon emissions emerge—a phenomenon known as transition radiation. Being paramount to fundamental physics, transition radiation has enabled many applications from high-energy particle identification to novel light sources. A rule of thumb in transition radiation is that the radiation intensity generally decreases with the decrease of particle velocity $v$; as a result, low-energy particles are not favored in practice. Here, we find that there exist situations where transition radiation from particles with extremely low velocities (e.g., $v/c<{10}^{-3}$) exhibits comparable intensity as that from high-energy particles (e.g., $v/c=0.999$), where $c$ is the light speed in free space. The comparable radiation intensity implies an extremely high photon extraction efficiency from low-energy particles, up to 8 orders of magnitude larger than that from high-energy particles. This exotic phenomenon of low-velocity-favored transition radiation originates from the interference of the excited Ferrell-Berreman modes in an ultrathin epsilon-near-zero slab. Our findings may provide a promising route toward the design of integrated light sources based on low-energy electrons and specialized detectors for beyond-standard-model particles.

We have studied the stability of the smallest long-lived all carbon molecular dianion (${\mathrm{C}}_7^{2-}$) in new time domains and with a single ion at a time using a cryogenic electrostatic ion-beam storage ring. We observe spontaneous electron emission from internally excited dianions on millisecond timescales and monitor the survival of single colder ${\mathrm{C}}_7^{2-}$ molecules on much longer timescales. We find that their intrinsic lifetime exceeds several minutes—6 orders of magnitude longer than established from earlier experiments on ${\mathrm{C}}_7^{2-}$. This is consistent with our calculations of vertical electron detachment energies predicting one inherently stable isomer and one isomer which is stable or effectively stable behind a large Coulomb barrier for ${\mathrm{C}}_7^{2-}\to {\mathrm{C}}_7^{-}+e^{-}$ separation.

We investigate the physics of an open two-component Dicke model, where the light field mediates nonreciprocal interactions between two spin species. We show that the model, which we dub nonreciprocal Dicke model, exhibits a discrete parity-time ($\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$) symmetry and we characterize the emergence of a nonstationary phase, so far explained in terms of dissipation-induced instability, as spontaneous breaking of $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ symmetry. We further show that such $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ symmetry breaking embodies an instance of a nonreciprocal phase transition, a concept recently introduced by Fruchart et al. [Nature (London) 592, 363 (2021)]. Remarkably, the phase transition in our model does not necessitate the presence of any underlying broken symmetry or exceptional points in the spectrum, both believed to be essential requirements for nonreciprocal phase transitions. Our results establish driven-dissipative light-matter systems as a new avenue for exploring nonreciprocal phase transitions and contribute to the theory of nonreciprocal collective phenomena.

We identify an acoustic process in which the conversion of angular momentum between its spin and orbital form takes place. The interaction between an evanescent wave propagating at the interface of two immiscible fluids and an isolated droplet is considered. The elliptical motion of the fluid supporting the incident wave is associated with a simple state of spin angular momentum, a quantity recently introduced for acoustic waves in the literature. We experimentally observe that this field predominantly forces a directional wave transport circling the droplet’s interior, revealing the existence of confined phase singularities. The circulation of the phase, around a singular point, is characteristic of angular momentum in its orbital form, thereby demonstrating the conversion mechanism. The numerical and experimental observations presented in this Letter have implications for the fundamental understanding of the angular momentum of acoustic waves, and for applications such as particle manipulation with radiation forces or torques, acoustic sensing and imaging.

We investigate the spectral properties of buoyancy-driven bubbly flows. Using high-resolution numerical simulations and phenomenology of homogeneous turbulence, we identify the relevant energy transfer mechanisms. We find (a) at a high enough Galilei number (ratio of the buoyancy to viscous forces) the velocity power spectrum shows the Kolmogorov scaling with a power-law exponent $-5/3$ for the range of scales between the bubble diameter and the dissipation scale ($\eta$). (b) For scales smaller than $\eta$, the physics of pseudo-turbulence is recovered.

We present a statistical analysis of ion distributions in magnetic reconnection jets using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. Compared with the quiet plasma in which the jet propagates, we often find anisotropic and non-Maxwellian ion distributions in the plasma jets. We observe magnetic field fluctuations associated with unstable ion distributions, but the wave amplitudes are not large enough to scatter ions during the observed travel time of the jet. We estimate that the phase-space diffusion due to chaotic and quasiadiabatic ion motion in the current sheet is sufficiently fast to be the primary process leading to isotropization.