Heavy flavor production serves as an ideal probe of the hadronization mechanism of the quark-gluon plasma created in relativistic heavy ion collisions. We study charm-quark hadronization using Langevin transport in the medium together with a sequential coalescence model. Since $D_s$ forms earlier than $D^0$, as obtained from the Dirac equation with an in-medium potential extracted from lattice QCD, the $D_s$ elliptic flow $v_2$ is smaller than the $D^0$ $v_2$ in the intermediate-$p_T$ region, in good agreement with the recent ALICE data. Incorporating sequential coalescence, charm-quark number conservation, and strangeness enhancement predicts a peak in the yield ratio $D_s/D^0$ at low $p_T$, which can be tested in future heavy-ion collisions.

We investigate the time dependence of antiflatness in the entanglement spectrum, a measure for nonstabilizerness and lower bound for nonlocal quantum magic resource, on a subsystem of a linear SU(2) plaquette chain during thermalization. Tracing the time evolution of a large number of initial states, we find that the antiflatness exhibits a barrierlike maximum during the time period when the entanglement entropy of the subsystem grows rapidly from the initial value to the microcanonical entropy. The location of the peak is strongly correlated with the time when the entanglement exhibits the strongest growth. This behavior is found for generic highly excited initial computational basis states and persists for coupling constants across the ergodic regime, revealing a universal structure of the entanglement spectrum during thermalization. We conclude that quantitative simulations of thermalization for non-Abelian gauge theories require quantum computing. We speculate that this property generalizes to other quantum chaotic systems, a conjecture supported by analogous behavior observed in real-time simulations of the mixed-field Ising model.

We study the capacity of a quantum channel for retrocausal communication, where messages are transmitted backward in time, from a sender in the future to a receiver in the past, through a noisy postselected closed timelike curve mathematically represented by the channel. We completely characterize the one-shot retrocausal quantum and classical capacities, and we show that the corresponding asymptotic capacities are equal to the average and sum, respectively, of the channel’s max-information and its regularized Doeblin information. This endows these information measures with a novel operational interpretation. Furthermore, our characterization can be generalized beyond quantum channels to all completely positive maps. This imposes information-theoretic limits on transmitting messages via postselected-teleportation-like mechanisms with arbitrary initial- and final-state boundary conditions, including those considered in various black-hole final-state models.

The combined symmetry of charge conjugation and parity ($CP$) is tested in the hadronic transition $\psi (3686)\to {\pi }^{+}{\pi }^{-}J/\psi$, using a dataset of $(2712.4\pm 14.3)\times {10}^6\psi (3686)$ events collected by the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. The resulting asymmetry observable is $A_{CP}=(0.6\pm 1.8\pm 0.1)\times {10}^{-4}$, which is determined by combining the two channels $J/\psi \to e^{+}{e}^{-}$ and $J/\psi \to {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$. Additionally, by considering the relationship between the chromoelectric dipole moment (CEDM) and the $A_{CP}$ observable derived from the quantum chromodynamics multipole expansion theory based on the Chen-Kuang model and the Cornell potential model, we obtain the results of charm quark’s CEDM with $d_c^{\prime }=(2.6\pm 7.8\pm 0.4\pm 0.6)\times {10}^{-16}e\mathrm{cm}$, and $d_c^{\prime }=(3.5\pm 10.5\pm 0.6\pm 0.5)\times {10}^{-16}e\mathrm{cm}$, respectively. The uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and theoretical, respectively. These results correspond to an upper limit of $|d_c^{\prime }|<2.1\times {10}^{-15}e\mathrm{cm}$ at 90% confidence level, representing an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity compared to the previous direct bound using the same decay process.

Using the time-of-flight technique, we measured the beta-delayed neutron emission of ${}^{132}\mathrm{Cd}$. From our large-scale shell model (LSSM) calculation using the ${\mathrm{N}}^3\mathrm{LO}$ interaction [, Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 022501 (2023)], we suggest the decay is dominated by the transformation of a neutron in the $g_{7/2}$ orbital, deep below the Fermi surface, into a proton in the $g_{9/2}$ orbital. We compare the beta-decay half-lives and neutron branching ratios of nuclei with $Z<50$ and $N\ge 82$ obtained with our LSSM with those of leading “global” models such as finite-range droplet model (FRDM). Our calculations match known half-lives and neutron branching ratios well and suggest that current leading models overestimate the yet-to-be-measured half-lives. Our model, backed by the ${}^{132}\mathrm{Cd}$ decay data presented here, offers robust predictive power for nuclei of astrophysical interest such as $r$-process waiting points.

In nondegenerate SU(1,1) interferometers, beam splitters are replaced by two-mode squeezers, enabling sub-shot-noise sensitivity without input squeezing and robustness to detection losses by quantum entanglement. We propose a hybrid implementation in optomechanics where one “arm” is a mechanical mode undergoing two consecutive, mode-matched interactions with a traveling optical field (constituting the other arm). Such engineered interactions allow for sub-shot-noise phase detection even in the presence of mechanical thermal noise and optical losses, advancing precision interferometry in hybrid systems.

Transverse-mode control of light has traditionally relied on optical cavities, whereas recent cavity-free approaches based on periodically arranged cold atoms that exploit collective radiation have attracted increasing attention. Here, we demonstrate a new cavity-free method applicable to thermal gases. Using crossed femtosecond laser pulses, we excite rubidium atoms and observe superfluorescence (SF) emitted during an ultrafast relaxation process. We demonstrate successful control of the transverse modes of SF when the interference fringes formed by the crossed beams are resonant with half the SF wavelength. This ultrafast, cavity-free approach provides a versatile playground for studying interactions between quantum many-body systems and well-defined electromagnetic fields in free space.

We present exact analogies between the tautochrone problem of classical mechanics and the squeezed states of quantum optics to optical lattices. Both phenomena emerge in the same physical system, that of waveguide arrays with nonuniform couplings. Extension to two dimensions yields Lissajous-type trajectories and multidirectional tautochrone focusing. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of Kerr nonlinearity and show that it determines the diffraction behavior, namely coherent-state-like or squeezed propagation. These quantum inspired classical lattices highlight the role of the coupling coefficients to beam engineering and light control in complex media.

Covalent semiconductor crystals such as silicon and diamond have demonstrated ultralarge elastic strains at micro and nanoscales, enabling desired figures of merit for strain engineered electronic and optoelectronic devices. However, the underlying origin of their elasticity—whether it arises from pure lattice displacements or atomic rearrangements (defects or phase transformations)—remains unclear. Here, we directly observed in situ elastic-lattice responses of microfabricated single-crystalline silicon and diamond bridges at room temperature under uniaxial tensile loading by employing high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy. We quantified the distribution of deep-strained atomic coordinates in real time and mapped elastic lattice strains across the entire sample with sub-pixel-precision and a wide field of view, indicating pure lattice elongation without extended defects or phase changes. Additionally, we established a quantitative linkage between macroscopic strain and lattice deformation. This Letter not only elucidates the nature of ultralarge elasticity in covalent materials but also provides a guideline for intelligent design of silicon and diamond electronic and photonic devices with disruptive physical properties via deep elastic strain engineering.

Layered magnetic materials provide the opportunity for fundamental investigations of magnetism in the two-dimensional limit. ${\mathrm{NiPS}}_3$, a prototype member of this family, is antiferromagnetic below 155 K and exhibits sharp photoluminescence associated with a transition between a triplet ground state and a singlet excited state. The nature of the luminescent transition is a matter of current debate and so is an eventual fundamental link of this excitation to magnetism. We synthesize samples with metal and ligand substitutions altering the Néel transition temperature and measure the effects of these changes on temperature dependent photoluminescence. We perform crystal field and charge transfer multiplet calculations to explain the origin of the excitation and identify it as spin flip luminescence originating in Ni crystal field levels. Through observations of phonon side bands we confirm that it is localized at the Ni site as opposed to a possible coherent delocalized excitation between hybridized Zhang-Rice states. Alloying with Zn and Se shows a lack of correlation between the temperature dependence of the luminescence and the Néel temperature, belying its supposedly magnetic nature.

We report the first search for the flavor-changing neutral-current decays $B\to X_s\nu \overline{\nu }$, where $X_s$ is a hadronic system with strangeness equal to 1, in data collected with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy $e^{+}{e}^{-}$ collider. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $365{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ collected at the $\mathrm{\Upsilon }(4S)$ resonance and $43{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ collected at a center-of-mass energy 60 MeV below resonance for estimation of $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to q\overline{q}$ continuum background. One of the $B$ mesons from the $\mathrm{\Upsilon }(4S)\to B\overline{B}$ decay is fully reconstructed in a hadronic decay mode. The $B\to X_s\nu \overline{\nu }$ decay is reconstructed with a sum-of-exclusives approach that uses 30 $X_s$ decay modes. This approach provides high sensitivity to the inclusive decay, despite the presence of two undetected neutrinos. The search is performed in three regions of the $X_s$ mass, $M_{X_s}^{\mathrm{true}}$, chosen to separate contributions from $K$, $K^{*}(892)$, and heavier strange final states. We do not observe a significant signal and set upper limits at 90% confidence level on the partial branching fractions for the regions $0.0<M_{X_s}^{\mathrm{true}}<0.6\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$, $0.6<M_{X_s}^{\mathrm{true}}<1.0\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$, and $1.0\mathrm{GeV}/c^2<M_{X_s}^{\mathrm{true}}$ of $2.2\times {10}^{-5}$, $9.3\times {10}^{-5}$, and $30.9\times {10}^{-5}$, respectively. Combining the three mass regions, we obtain the upper limit on the branching fraction, $B(B\to X_s\nu \overline{\nu })<3.3\times {10}^{-4}$.

We present the first computation of the complete two-loop, fully differential soft function describing the production of a heavy-quark pair in association with a color-singlet system at hadron colliders. This result constitutes one of the most complex soft functions known to date and it is obtained in closed analytic form for generic multidimensional kinematics. This allows us to obtain novel analytic results for the transverse-momentum-dependent and threshold soft functions in this class of processes. We further obtain a decomposition of the soft function into dipole and tripole color correlators, thereby supplying essential building blocks for processes involving a heavy-quark pair produced together with additional light jets at both hadron and lepton colliders. These results represent a key ingredient for advancing precision predictions for heavy-quark physics at the LHC.

Tetrahedral symmetry has long been predicted as an exotic shape degree of freedom in atomic nuclei, yet clear experimental manifestations remain elusive. We show that the triple binding energy difference $\delta V_{pn}^{(3)}$ can isolate a structural effect of tetrahedral symmetry in ${}^{80}\mathrm{Zr}$. Using relativistic density functional theory solved on a three-dimensional lattice without symmetry restrictions, the experimental $\delta V_{pn}^{(3)}$ values for even-even ${}^{80-90}\mathrm{Zr}$ isotopes are well reproduced without adjustable parameters. While an enhancement of $\delta V_{pn}^{(3)}$ near $N\simeq Z$ is commonly attributed to proton-neutron correlations beyond the mean field, the pronounced nonmonotonic peak at $N=40$ emerges at the mean field level only when the tetrahedral degree of freedom is included. Constraining the tetrahedral deformation to zero removes the peak and leads to clear deviations from experiment. The anomaly is traced to a well-localized tetrahedral minimum in ${}^{80}\mathrm{Zr}$, supported by potential energy surfaces and characteristic single-particle level splittings. Calculations restricted to quadrupole and triaxial shapes fail to reproduce the localized enhancement, indicating that the effect is not a generic proton-neutron correlation but a symmetry-selective increase of proton-neutron binding associated with tetrahedral geometry. We, therefore, identify the $\delta V_{pn}^{(3)}$ anomaly in ${}^{80}\mathrm{Zr}$ as a structural mechanism distinct from the conventional Wigner-type enhancement and show that nuclear masses constitute a sensitive probe of tetrahedral symmetry.

Cationic lone-pair electrons are often associated with distinctive phonon properties (e.g., strong lattice anharmonicity) that lead to low lattice thermal conductivity (${\kappa }_{\mathrm{L}}$). However, the reliance on specific cations (e.g., ${\mathrm{Sb}}^{3+}$ or ${\mathrm{Ge}}^{2+}$) severely restricts the broader applicability of this lone-pair-based strategy. In this Letter, anionic lone-pair-like electrons (LPEs) were successfully introduced in the high-symmetry diamondoid compound ${\mathrm{AgInSnSe}}_4$ through cation-deficient cross-substitution, achieving an ultralow ${\kappa }_{\mathrm{L}}$ of $0.23\mathrm{W}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}{\mathrm{K}}^{-1}$ at 773 K. The LPEs of Se atoms significantly weaken the long-range Se-Se interactions and Ag-Se bonding. This effect localizes the optical phonon modes, resulting in ultralow group velocities and strong scattering rates among optical phonons, minimizing the particlelike propagation contribution to heat transport. This finding extends the concept of LPEs-driven phonon blocking from cations to anions, revealing a mechanism fundamentally distinct from the anharmonicity-driven suppression observed in cationic lone-pair systems.