We present a measurement of the hydrogen $2{\mathrm{S}}_{1/2}-8{\mathrm{D}}_{5/2}$ transition performed with a cryogenic atomic beam. The measured resonance frequency is $\nu =770649561570.9(2.0)\mathrm{kHz}$, which corresponds to a relative uncertainty of $2.6\times {10}^{-12}$. Combining our result with the most recent measurement of the $1\text{S}-2\text{S}$ transition, we find a proton radius of $r_p=0.8584(51)\mathrm{fm}$ and a Rydberg constant of $R_{\infty }=10973731.568332(52){\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$. This result has a combined $3.1\sigma$ disagreement with the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) 2018 recommended value.

A setup of a unique x-ray source is put forward employing a relativistic electron beam interacting with two counterpropagating laser pulses in the nonlinear few-photon regime. In contrast to Compton scattering sources, the envisaged x-ray source exhibits an extremely narrow relative bandwidth of the order of ${10}^{-4}$, comparable with an x-ray free-electron laser. The brilliance of the x rays can be an order of magnitude higher than that of a state-of-the-art Compton source. By tuning the laser intensities and the electron energy, one can realize either a single peak or a comblike x-ray source of around keV energy. The laser intensity and the electron energy in the suggested setup are rather moderate, rendering this scheme compact and tabletop size, as opposed to x-ray free-electron laser and synchrotron infrastructures.

Real topological phases featuring real Chern numbers and second-order boundary modes have been a focus of current research, but finding their material realization remains a challenge. Here, based on first-principles calculations and theoretical analysis, we reveal the already experimentally synthesized three-dimensional (3D) graphdiyne as the first realistic example of the recently proposed second-order real nodal-line semimetal. We show that the material hosts a pair of real nodal rings, each protected by two topological charges: a real Chern number and a 1D winding number. The two charges generate distinct topological boundary modes at distinct boundaries. The real Chern number leads to a pair of hinge Fermi arcs, whereas the winding number protects a double drumhead surface bands. We develop a low-energy model for 3D graphdiyne which captures the essential topological physics. Experimental aspects and possible topological transition to a 3D real Chern insulator phase are discussed.

We experimentally explore the fingerprint of the microscopic electron dynamics in second-order harmonic generation (SHG). It is shown that the interbond electron hopping induces a novel source of nonlinear polarization and plays an important role even when the driving laser intensity is 2 orders of magnitude lower than the characteristic atomic field. Our model predicts anomalous anisotropic structures of the SHG yield contributed by the interbond electron hopping, which is identified in our experiments with ZnO crystals. Moreover, a generalized second-order susceptibility with an explicit form is proposed, which provides a unified description in both the weak and strong field regimes. Our work reveals the nonlinear responses of materials at the electron scale and extends the nonlinear optics to a previously unexplored regime, where the nonlinearity related to the interbond electron hopping becomes dominant. It paves the way for realizing controllable nonlinearity on an ultrafast time scale.

Deconfined quantum critical point (DQCP) characterizes a kind of exotic phase transition beyond the usual Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm. Here we study the nonequilibrium imaginary-time dynamics of the DQCP in the two-dimensional $J\text{−}{Q}_3$ model. We explicitly show the deconfinement dynamic process and identify that it is the spinon confinement length, rather than the usual correlation length, that increases proportionally to the time. Moreover, we find that, in the relaxation process, the order parameters of the Néel and the valence-bond-solid orders can be controlled by different length scales, although they satisfy the same equilibrium scaling forms. A dual dynamic scaling theory is then proposed. Our findings not only constitute a new realm of nonequilibrium criticality in DQCP, but also offer a controllable knob by which to investigate the dynamics in strongly correlated systems. Possible realizations in foreseeable quantum computers are also discussed.

We present the first fully analytic evaluation of the transition amplitude for the scattering of a massless into a massive pair of fermions at the two-loop level in quantum electrodynamics. Our result is an essential ingredient for the determination of the electromagnetic coupling within scattering reactions, beyond the currently known accuracy, which has a crucial impact on the evaluation of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. It will allow, in particular, for a precise determination of the leading hadronic contribution to the $(g-2{)}_{\mu }$ in the MUonE experiment at CERN, and therefore can be used to shed light on the current discrepancy between the standard model prediction and the experimental measurement for this important physical observable.

We present the first fully unrestricted microscopic calculations of the primary fission fragment intrinsic spins and of the fission fragments’ relative orbital angular momentum for ${{}^{236}\mathrm{U}}^{*}$, ${{}^{240}\mathrm{Pu}}^{*}$, and ${}^{252}\mathrm{Cf}$ using the time-dependent density functional theory framework. Within this microscopic approach, free of restrictions and unchecked assumptions and which incorporates the relevant physical observables for describing fission, we evaluate the triple distribution of the fission fragment intrinsic spins and of their fission fragments’ relative orbital angular momentum and show that their dynamics is dominated by their bending collective modes in contradistinction to the predictions of the existing phenomenological models and some interpretations of experimental data.

The role of self-generated zonal flows in the collisionless trapped-electron-mode (CTEM) turbulence is a long-standing open issue in tokamak plasmas. Here, we show, for the first time, that the zonal flow excitation in the CTEM turbulence is formally isomorphic to that in the ion temperature gradient turbulence. Trapped electrons contribute implicitly only via linear dynamics. Theoretical analyses further suggest that, for short wavelength CTEMs, the zonal flow excitation is weak and, more importantly, not an effective saturation mechanism. Corresponding controlling parameters are also identified theoretically. These findings not only offer a plausible explanation for previous seemingly contradictory simulation results, but can also facilitate controlling the CTEM instability and transport with experimentally accessible parameters.

We report on the influence of elastic strain on solid-state dewetting. Using continuum modeling, we first study the consequences of elastic stress on the pinching of the film away from the triple line during dewetting. We find that elastic stress in the solid film decreases both the time and the distance at which the film pinches in such a way that the dewetting front is accelerated. In addition, the spatial organization of islands emerging from the dewetting process is affected by strain. As an example, we demonstrate that ordered arrays of quantum dots can be achieved from solid-state dewetting of a square island in the presence of elastic stress.

We theoretically study the correlated insulator states, quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) states, and field-induced topological transitions between different correlated states in twisted multilayer graphene systems. Taking twisted bilayer-monolayer graphene and twisted double-bilayer graphene as examples, we show that both systems stay in spin-polarized, $C_{3z}$-broken insulator states with zero Chern number at $1/2$ filling of the flat bands under finite displacement fields. In some cases these spin-polarized, nematic insulator states are in the quantum valley Hall (QVH) phase by virtue of the nontrivial band topology of the systems. The spin-polarized insulator state is quasidegenerate with the valley polarized state if only the dominant intravalley Coulomb interaction is included. Such quasidegeneracy can be split by atomic on-site interactions such that the spin-polarized, nematic state become the unique ground state. Such a scenario applies to various twisted multilayer graphene systems at $1/2$ filling, thus can be considered as a universal mechanism. Moreover, under vertical magnetic fields, the orbital Zeeman splittings and the field-induced change of charge density in twisted multilayer graphene systems would compete with the atomic Hubbard interactions, which can drive transitions from spin-polarized zero-Chern-number states to valley-polarized QAH states with small onset magnetic fields.

We uncover a new type of magic-angle phenomena when an AA-stacked graphene bilayer is twisted relative to another graphene system with band touching. In the simplest case this constitutes a trilayer system formed by an AA-stacked bilayer twisted relative to a single layer of graphene. We find multiple anisotropic Dirac cones coexisting in such twisted multilayer structures at certain angles, which we call “Dirac magic.” We trace the origin of Dirac magic angles to the geometric structure of the twisted AA-bilayer Dirac cones relative to the other band-touching spectrum in the moiré reciprocal lattice. The anisotropy of the Dirac cones and a concomitant cascade of saddle points induce a series of topological Lifshitz transitions that can be tuned by the twist angle and perpendicular electric field. We discuss the possibility of direct observation of Dirac magic as well as its consequences for the correlated states of electrons in this moiré system.

A Dirac electron system in solids mimics relativistic quantum physics that is compatible with Maxwell’s equations, with which we anticipate unified electromagnetic responses. We find a large orbital diamagnetism only along the interplane direction and a nearly temperature-independent electrical conductivity of the order of $e^2/h$ per plane for the new 2D Dirac organic conductor, $\alpha \text{−}(\mathrm{BETS}{)}_2{\mathrm{I}}_3$, where BETS is bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene. Unlike conventional electrons in solids whose nonrelativistic effects bifurcate electric and magnetic responses, the observed orbital diamagnetism scales with the electrical conductivity in a wide temperature range. This demonstrates that an electromagnetic duality that is valid only within the relativistic framework is revived in solids.

An important issue in developing quantum technology is that quantum states are so sensitive to noise. We propose a protocol that introduces reverse dynamics, in order to precisely control quantum systems against noise described by the Lindblad master equation. The reverse dynamics can be obtained by constructing the Petz recovery map in continuous time. By providing the exact form of the Hamiltonian and jump operators for the reverse dynamics, we explore the potential of utilizing the near-optimal recovery of the Petz map in controlling noisy quantum dynamics. While time-dependent dissipation engineering enables us to fully recover a single quantum trajectory, we also design a time-independent recovery protocol to protect encoded quantum information against decoherence. Our protocol can efficiently suppress only the noise part of dynamics thereby providing an effective unitary evolution of the quantum system.

Macroscopic dark matter is almost unconstrained over a wide “asteroidlike” mass range, where it could scatter on baryonic matter with geometric cross section. We show that when such an object travels through a star, it produces shock waves that reach the stellar surface, leading to a distinctive transient optical, UV, and x-ray emission. This signature can be searched for on a variety of stellar types and locations. In a dense globular cluster, such events occur far more often than flare backgrounds, and an existing UV telescope could probe orders of magnitude in dark matter mass in one week of dedicated observation.

We consider line defects in $d$-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs). The ambient CFT places nontrivial constraints on renormalization group (RG) flows on such line defects. We show that the flow on line defects is consequently irreversible and furthermore a canonical decreasing entropy function exists. This construction generalizes the $g$ theorem to line defects in arbitrary dimensions. We demonstrate our results in a flow between Wilson loops in four dimensions.