The conformal extension of the ${\mathrm{BMS}}_3$ algebra is constructed. Apart from an infinite number of “superdilatations,” in order to incorporate superspecial conformal transformations, the commutator of the latter with supertranslations strictly requires the presence of nonlinear terms in the remaining generators. The algebra appears to be very rigid, in the sense that its central extensions as well as the coefficients of the nonlinear terms become determined by the central charge of the Virasoro subalgebra. The wedge algebra corresponds to the conformal group in three spacetime dimensions SO(3,2), so that the full algebra can also be interpreted as an infinite-dimensional nonlinear extension of the ${\mathrm{AdS}}_4$ algebra with nontrivial central charges. Moreover, since the Lorentz subalgebra [$sl(2,R)$] is nonprincipally embedded within the conformal (wedge) algebra, according to the conformal weight of the generators, the conformal extension of ${\mathrm{BMS}}_3$ can be further regarded as a $W_{(2,2,2,1)}$ algebra. An explicit canonical realization of the conformal extension of ${\mathrm{BMS}}_3$ is then shown to emerge from the asymptotic structure of conformal gravity in three dimensions, endowed with a new set of boundary conditions. The supersymmetric extension is also briefly addressed.

Superconducting qubits are a leading platform for scalable quantum computing and quantum error correction. One feature of this platform is the ability to perform projective measurements orders of magnitude more quickly than qubit decoherence times. Such measurements are enabled by the use of quantum-limited parametric amplifiers in conjunction with ferrite circulators—magnetic devices which provide isolation from noise and decoherence due to amplifier backaction. Because these nonreciprocal elements have limited performance and are not easily integrated on chip, it has been a long-standing goal to replace them with a scalable alternative. Here, we demonstrate a solution to this problem by using a superconducting switch to control the coupling between a qubit and amplifier. Doing so, we measure a transmon qubit using a single, chip-scale device to provide both parametric amplification and isolation from the bulk of amplifier backaction. This measurement is also fast, high fidelity, and has 70% efficiency, comparable to the best that has been reported in any superconducting qubit measurement. As such, this work constitutes a high-quality platform for the scalable measurement of superconducting qubits.

We present the first study on the amplification of magnetic fields by the turbulent dynamo in the highly subsonic regime, with Mach numbers ranging from ${10}^{-3}$ to 0.4. We find that for the lower Mach numbers the saturation efficiency of the dynamo $(E_{\mathrm{mag}}/E_{\mathrm{kin}}{)}_{\mathrm{sat}}$ increases as the Mach number decreases. Even in the case when injection of energy is purely through longitudinal forcing modes, $(E_{\mathrm{mag}}/E_{\mathrm{kin}}{)}_{\mathrm{sat}}\gtrsim {10}^{-2}$ at a Mach number of ${10}^{-3}$. We apply our results to magnetic field amplification in the early Universe and predict that a turbulent dynamo can amplify primordial magnetic fields to $\gtrsim {10}^{-16}\mathrm{G}$ on scales up to 0.1 pc and $\gtrsim {10}^{-13}\mathrm{G}$ on scales up to 100 pc. This produces fields compatible with lower limits of the intergalactic magnetic field inferred from blazar $\gamma$-ray observations.

The pion-nucleon coupling constants determine the strength of the long-range nuclear forces and play a fundamental part in our understanding of nuclear physics. While the charged- and neutral-pion couplings to protons and neutrons are expected to be very similar, owing to the approximate isospin symmetry of the strong interaction, the different masses of the up and down quarks and electromagnetic effects may result in their slightly different values. Despite previous attempts to extract these coupling constants from different systems, our knowledge of their values is still deficient. In this Letter, we present a precision determination of these fundamental observables with fully controlled uncertainties from neutron-proton and proton-proton scattering data using chiral effective field theory. To achieve this goal, we use a novel methodology based on the Bayesian approach and perform, for the first time, a full-fledged partial-wave analysis of nucleon-nucleon scattering up to the pion production threshold in the framework of chiral effective field theory, including a complete treatment of isospin-breaking effects and our own determination of mutually consistent data. The resulting values of the pion-nucleon coupling constants are accurate at the percent level and show no significant charge dependence. These results mark an important step toward developing a precision theory of nuclear forces and structure.

We develop a framework that provides a few-mode master equation description of the interaction between a single quantum emitter and an arbitrary electromagnetic environment. The field quantization requires only the fitting of the spectral density, obtained through classical electromagnetic simulations, to a model system involving a small number of lossy and interacting modes. We illustrate the power and validity of our approach by describing the population and electric field spatial dynamics in the spontaneous decay of an emitter placed in a complex hybrid plasmonic-photonic structure.

A cold atomic ensemble suits well for optical quantum memories, and its entanglement with a single photon forms the building block for quantum networks that give promise for many revolutionary applications. Efficiency and lifetime are among the most important figures of merit for a memory. In this Letter, we report the realization of entanglement between an atomic ensemble and a single photon with subsecond lifetime and high efficiency. We engineer dual control modes in a ring cavity to create entanglement and make use of three-dimensional optical lattice to prolong memory lifetime. The memory efficiency is 38% for 0.1 s storage. We verify the atom-photon entanglement after 1 s storage by testing the Bell inequality with a result of $S=2.36\pm 0.14$.

In recent experiments, the light-matter interaction has reached the ultrastrong coupling limit, which can give rise to dynamical generalizations of spatial symmetries in periodically driven systems. Here, we present a unified framework of dynamical-symmetry-protected selection rules based on Floquet response theory. Within this framework, we study rotational, parity, particle-hole, chiral, and time-reversal symmetries and the resulting selection rules in spectroscopy, including symmetry-protected dark states (spDS), symmetry-protected dark bands, and symmetry-induced transparency. Specifically, dynamical rotational and parity symmetries establish spDS and symmetry-protected dark band conditions. A particle-hole symmetry introduces spDSs for symmetry-related Floquet states and also a symmetry-induced transparency at quasienergy crossings. Chiral symmetry and time-reversal symmetry alone do not imply spDS conditions but can be combined to define a particle-hole symmetry. These symmetry conditions arise from destructive interference due to the synchronization of symmetric quantum systems with the periodic driving. Our predictions reveal new physical phenomena when a quantum system reaches the strong light-matter coupling regime, which is important for superconducting qubits, atoms and molecules in optical or plasmonic field cavities, and optomechanical systems.

We explore a novel detection possibility for solar axions, which relies only on their couplings to nucleons, via the axion-induced dissociation of deuterons into their constituent neutrons and protons. An opportune target for this process is the now-concluded Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) experiment, which relied upon large quantities of heavy water to resolve the solar neutrino problem. From the full SNO dataset we exclude in a model-independent fashion isovector axion-nucleon couplings $|g_{aN}^3|\equiv \frac{1}{2}|g_{an}-g_{ap}|>2\times {10}^{-5}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$ at 95% C.L. for sub-MeV axion masses, covering previously unexplored regions of the axion parameter space. In the absence of a precise cancellation between $g_{an}$ and $g_{ap}$ this result also exceeds comparable constraints from other laboratory experiments, and excludes regions of the parameter space for which astrophysical constraints from SN1987A and neutron star cooling are inapplicable due to axion trapping.

When a femtosecond duration and hundreds of kiloampere peak current electron beam traverses the vacuum and high-density plasma interface, a new process, that we call relativistic transition radiation (RTR), generates an intense $\sim 100$ as pulse containing $\sim 1$ terawatt power of coherent vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation accompanied by several smaller femtosecond duration satellite pulses. This pulse inherits the radial polarization of the incident beam field and has a ring intensity distribution. This RTR is emitted when the beam density is comparable to the plasma density and the spot size much larger than the plasma skin depth. Physically, it arises from the return current or backward relativistic motion of electrons starting just inside the plasma that Doppler up shifts the emitted photons. The number of RTR pulses is determined by the number of groups of plasma electrons that originate at different depths within the first plasma wake period and emit coherently before phase mixing.

We experimentally demonstrate temporal pumping of elastic waves in an electromechanical waveguide. Temporal pumping exploits a virtual dimension mapped to time, enabling the generation and control of edge states, typical of two-dimensional systems, in a one-dimensional waveguide. We show experimentally that the temporal modulation of the stiffness drives the transfer of edge states from one boundary of the waveguide to the other. The considered implementation, that consists of an elastic waveguide coupled with tunable electrical impedances, allows the pumping to occur in a controllable manner. The framework presented herein opens new avenues for the manipulation and transport of information through elastic waves, with potential technological applications for digital delay lines and digitally controlled waveguides. This Letter also explores higher-dimensional topological physics using virtual dimensions mapped to time in electromechanical systems.

We report the discovery of electric-field-induced transition from a topologically trivial to a topologically nontrivial band structure in an atomically sharp heterostructure of bilayer graphene (BLG) and single-layer ${\mathrm{WSe}}_2$ per the theoretical predictions of Gmitra and Fabian [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 146401 (2017)]. Through detailed studies of the quantum correction to the conductance in the BLG, we establish that the band-structure evolution arises from an interplay between proximity-induced strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI) and the layer polarizability in BLG. The low-energy carriers in the BLG experience an effective valley Zeeman SOI that is completely gate tunable to the extent that it can be switched on or off by applying a transverse displacement field or can be controllably transferred between the valence and the conduction band. We demonstrate that this results in the evolution from weak localization to weak antilocalization at a constant electronic density as the net displacement field is tuned from a positive to a negative value with a concomitant SOI-induced splitting of the low-energy bands of the BLG near the $K(K^{\prime })$ valley, which is a unique signature of the theoretically predicted spin-orbit valve effect. Our analysis shows that quantum correction to the Drude conductance in Dirac materials with strong induced SOI can only be explained satisfactorily by a theory that accounts for the SOI-induced spin splitting of the BLG low-energy bands. Our results demonstrate the potential for achieving highly tunable devices based on the valley Zeeman effect in dual-gated two-dimensional materials.

Relaxation of linear magnetization dynamics is well described by the viscous Gilbert damping processes. However, for strong excitations, nonlinear damping processes such as the decay via magnon-magnon interactions emerge and trigger additional relaxation channels. Here, we use space- and time-resolved microfocused Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy and micromagnetic simulations to investigate the nonlinear relaxation of strongly driven propagating spin waves in yttrium iron garnet nanoconduits. We show that the nonlinear magnon relaxation in this highly quantized system possesses intermodal features, i.e., magnons scatter to higher-order quantized modes through a cascade of scattering events. We further show how to control such intermodal dissipation processes by quantization of the magnon band in single-mode devices, where this phenomenon approaches its fundamental limit. Our study extends the knowledge about nonlinear propagating spin waves in nanostructures which is essential for the construction of advanced spin-wave elements as well as the realization of Bose-Einstein condensates in scaled systems.