Strong mode coupling and Fano resonances arisen from exceptional interaction between resonant modes in single nanostructures have raised much attention for their advantages in nonlinear optics, sensing, etc. Individual electromagnetic multipole modes such as quadrupoles, octupoles, and their counterparts from mode coupling (toroidal dipole and nonradiating anapole mode) have been well investigated in isolated or coupled nanostructures with access to high $Q$ factors in bound states in the continuum. Albeit the extensive study on ordinary dielectric particles, intriguing aspects of light-matter interactions in single chiral nanostructures is lacking. Here, we unveil that extraordinary multipoles can be simultaneously superpositioned in a chiral nanocylinder, such as two toroidal dipoles with opposite moments, and electric and magnetic sextupoles. The induced optical lateral forces and their scattering cross sections can thus be either significantly enhanced in the presence of those multipoles with high-$Q$ factors, or suppressed by the bound states in the continuum. This work for the first time reveals the complex correlation between multipolar effects, chiral coupling, and optical lateral force, providing a distinct way for advanced optical manipulation.

Decoherence of a quantum system arising from its interaction with an environment is a key concept for understanding the transition between the quantum and classical world as well as performance limitations in quantum technology applications. The effects of large, weakly coupled environments are often described as a classical, fluctuating field whose dynamics is unaffected by the qubit, whereas a fully quantum description still implies some backaction from the qubit on the environment. Here we show direct experimental evidence for such a backaction for an electron-spin qubit in a GaAs quantum dot coupled to a mesoscopic environment of order ${10}^6$ nuclear spins. By means of a correlation measurement technique, we detect the backaction of a single qubit-environment interaction whose duration is comparable to the qubit’s coherence time, even in such a large system. We repeatedly let the qubit interact with the spin bath and measure its state. Between such cycles, the qubit is reinitialized to different states. The correlations of the measurement outcomes are strongly affected by the intermediate qubit state, which reveals the action of a single electron spin on the nuclear spins.

The initialization of a quantum system into a certain state is a crucial aspect of quantum information science. While a variety of measurement strategies have been developed to characterize how well the system is initialized, for a given one, there is in general a trade-off between its efficiency and the accessible information of the quantum state. Conventional quantum state tomography can characterize unknown states while requiring exponentially expensive time-consuming postprocessing. Alternatively, recent theoretical breakthroughs show that quantum state verification provides a technique to quantify the prepared state with significantly fewer samples, especially for multipartite entangled states. In this Letter, we modify the original proposal to be robust to practical imperfections, and experimentally implement a scalable quantum state verification on two-qubit and four-qubit entangled states with nonadaptive local measurements. For all the tested states, the estimated infidelity is inversely proportional to the number of samples, which illustrates the power to characterize a quantum state with a small number of samples. Compared to the globally optimal strategy which requires nonlocal measurements, the efficiency in our experiment is only worse by a small constant factor ($<2.5$). We compare the performance difference between quantum state verification and quantum state tomography in an experiment to characterize a four-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, and the results indicate the advantage of quantum state verification in both the achieved efficiency and precision.

The interaction between free electrons and optical near fields is attracting increasing attention as a way to manipulate the electron wave function in space, time, and energy. Relying on currently attainable experimental capabilities, we design optical near-field plates to imprint a lateral phase on the electron wave function that can largely correct spherical aberration without the involvement of electric or magnetic lenses in the electron optics, and further generate on-demand lateral focal spot profiles. Our work introduces a disruptive and powerful approach toward aberration correction based on light-electron interactions that could lead to compact and versatile time-resolved free-electron microscopy and spectroscopy.

For the time period from 1.5 to 4 Myr before the present we found in deep ocean ferromanganese crusts a ${}^{53}\mathrm{Mn}$ excess concentration in terms of ${}^{53}\mathrm{Mn}/\mathrm{Mn}$ of about $4\times {10}^{-14}$ over that expected for cosmogenic production. We conclude that this ${}^{53}\mathrm{Mn}$ is of supernova origin because it is detected in the same time window, about 2.5 Myr ago, where ${}^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ has been found earlier. This overabundance confirms the supernova origin of that ${}^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$. For the first time, supernova-formed ${}^{53}\mathrm{Mn}$ has been detected and it is the second positively identified radioisotope from the same supernova. The ratio ${}^{53}\mathrm{Mn}/{}^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ of about 14 is consistent with that expected for a SN with a $11–25{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ progenitor mass and solar metallicity.

We demonstrate the universality of the gravitational classical deflection angle of massless particles through $\mathcal{O}(G^3)$ by studying the high-energy limit of full two-loop four-graviton scattering amplitudes in pure Einstein gravity as well as $\mathcal{N}\ge 4$ supergravity. As a by-product, our first-principles calculation provides a direct confirmation of the massless deflection angle in Einstein gravity proposed long ago by Amati, Ciafaloni, and Veneziano, and is inconsistent with a recently proposed alternative.

We consider decay of an initial density or current perturbation at finite temperature $T$ near a quantum critical point with emergent Lorentz invariance. We argue that decay of perturbations with wave numbers $k\gg T$ (in natural units) is a good testing ground for holography—existence of a dual gravitational description—in experimentally accessible systems. The reason is that, computed holographically, the decay rate at large $k$ depends only on the leading correction to the metric near the boundary, and that is quite universal. In the limit of zero detuning (when the temperature is the only dimensionful parameter), the result is a scaling law for the decay rate, with the exponent that depends only on the dimensionality. We show that this follows from an analytical argument and is borne out by a numerical study of quasinormal modes.

We provide the eigenfunctions for a quantum chain of $N$ conformal spins with nearest-neighbor interaction and open boundary conditions in the irreducible representation of SO(1,5) of scaling dimension $\mathrm{\Delta }=2-i\lambda$ and spin numbers $\ell =\dot{\ell }=0$. The spectrum of the model is separated into $N$ equal contributions, each dependent on a quantum number $Y_a=[{\nu }_a,n_a]$ which labels a representation of the principal series. The eigenfunctions are orthogonal and we computed the spectral measure by means of a new star-triangle identity. Any portion of a conformal Feynmann diagram with square lattice topology can be represented in terms of separated variables, and we reproduce the all-loop “fishnet” integrals computed by B. Basso and L. Dixon via bootstrap techniques. We conjecture that the proposed eigenfunctions form a complete set and provide a tool for the direct computation of conformal data in the fishnet limit of the supersymmetric $\mathcal{N}=4$ Yang-Mills theory at finite order in the coupling, by means of a cutting-and-gluing procedure on the square lattice.

We classify all regular solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation of eight-vertex type. Regular solutions correspond to spin chains with nearest-neighbor interactions. We find a total of four independent solutions. Two are related to the usual six- and eight-vertex models that have $R$ matrices of difference form. We find two new solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation, which are manifestly of nondifference form. These new solutions contain the S-matrices of the ${\mathrm{AdS}}_2$ and ${\mathrm{AdS}}_3$ integrable models as a special case. This can be used as a starting point to study and classify integrable deformations of these holographic integrable systems.

Laser excitation and x-ray spectroscopy are combined to settle a long-standing question in persistent luminescence. A reversible electron transfer is demonstrated, controlled by light and showing the same kinetics as the persistent luminescence. Exposure to violet light induces charging by oxidation of the excited ${\mathrm{Eu}}^{2+}$ while ${\mathrm{Dy}}^{3+}$ is simultaneously reduced. Oppositely, detrapping of ${\mathrm{Dy}}^{2+}$ occurs at ambient temperature or by infrared illumination, yielding afterglow or optically stimulated luminescence, respectively.

Using parametric conversion induced by a Shapiro-type resonance, we produce and characterize a two-mode squeezed vacuum state in a sodium spin 1 Bose–Einstein condensate. Spin-changing collisions generate correlated pairs of atoms in the $m=\pm 1$ Zeeman states out of a condensate with initially all atoms in $m=0$. A novel fluorescence imaging technique with sensitivity $\mathrm{\Delta }N\sim 1.6$ atom enables us to demonstrate the role of quantum fluctuations in the initial dynamics and to characterize the full distribution of the final state. Assuming that all atoms share the same spatial wave function, we infer a squeezing parameter of 15.3 dB.

Kerr resonators support novel nonlinear wave phenomena including technologically important optical solitons. Fiber Kerr resonator solitons enable wavelength and repetition-rate versatile femtosecond-pulse and frequency-comb generation. However, key performance parameters, such as pulse duration, lag behind those from traditional mode-locked laser-based sources. Here we present new pulse generation in dispersion-managed Kerr resonators based on stretched-pulse solitons, which support the shortest pulses to date from a fiber Kerr resonator. In contrast to established Kerr resonator solitons, stretched-pulse solitons feature Gaussian temporal profiles that stretch and compress each round trip. Experimental results are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. The dependence on dispersion and drive power are detailed theoretically and experimentally and design guidelines are presented for optimizing performance. Kerr resonator stretched-pulse solitons represent a new stable nonlinear waveform and a promising technique for femtosecond pulse generation.

In order to address the present difficulty in experimentally generating the relativistic Laguerre-Gaussian laser, primarily due to damage caused to optical modulators, a high-reflectivity phase mirror is applied in the femtosecond petawatt laser system to generate a relativistic hollow laser at the highest intensity of $6.3\times {10}^{19}\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ for the first time. A simple optical model is used to verify that the vortex laser may be generated in this new scheme; using such a relativistic vortex laser, the hollow plasma drill and acceleration are achieved experimentally and proven by particle-in-cell simulations. With the development of the petawatt laser, this scheme opens up possibilities for the convenient production of the relativistic hollow laser at high repetition and possible hollow plasma acceleration, which is important for a wide range of applications such as the generation of radiation sources with orbital angular momentum, fast ignition for inertial confinement fusion, and jet research in the astrophysical environment.

Gapless criteria that can efficiently determine whether a crystal is gapless or not are particularly useful for identifying topological semimetals. In this work, we propose a sufficient gapless criterion for three-dimensional noninteracting crystals, based on the simplified expressions for the bulk average value of the static axion field. The brief logic is that two different simplified expressions give the same value in an insulator, and thus the gapless phase can be detected by the mismatch of them. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the gapless criterion in the magnetic systems with space groups 26 and 13, where mirror, glide, and inversion symmetries provide the simplified expressions. In particular, the gapless criterion can identify gapless phases that are missed by the symmetry-representation approach, as illustrated by space group 26. Our proposal serves as a guiding principle for future discovery of topological semimetals.

Topological insulators, having intrinsic or proximity-coupled $s$-wave superconductivity, host Majorana zero modes (MZMs) at the ends of vortex lines. The MZMs survive up to a critical doping of the TI at which there is a vortex phase transition that eliminates the MZMs. In this work, we show that the phenomenology in higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) can be qualitatively distinct. In particular, we find two distinct features. (i) We find that vortices placed on the gapped (side) surfaces of the HOTI, exhibit a pair of phase transitions as a function of doping. The first transition is a surface phase transition after which MZMs appear. The second transition is the well-known vortex phase transition. We find that the surface transition appears because of the competition between the superconducting gap and the local $\mathcal{T}$-breaking gap on the surface. (ii) We present numerical evidence that shows strong variation of the critical doping for the vortex phase transition as the center of the vortex is moved toward or away from the hinges of the sample. We believe our work provides new phenomenology that can help identify HOTIs, as well as illustrating a promising platform for the realization of MZMs.

Applying electric field to control magnetic properties is a very efficient way for spintronics devices. However, the control of magnetic characteristics by electric fields is not straightforward, due to the time-reversal symmetry of magnetism versus spatial inversion symmetry of electricity. Such fundamental difficulty makes it challenging to modify the topology of magnetic skyrmionic states with electric field. Here, we propose a novel mechanism that realizes the electric-field ($E$) switching of magnetic topological charge ($Q$) in a controllable and reversible fashion, through the mediation of electric polarization ($P$) and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction ($D$). Such a mechanism is coined here EPDQ. Its validity is demonstrated in a multiferroic ${\mathrm{VOI}}_2$ monolayer, which is predicted to host magnetic bimerons. The change in magnetic anisotropy is found to play a crucial role in realizing the EPDQ process and its microscopic origin is discussed. Our study thus provides a new approach toward the highly desired electric-field control of magnetism.

In conventional quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnets with quantum spins, magnetic excitations are carried by either magnons or spinons in different energy regimes: they do not coexist independently, nor could they interact with each other. In this Letter, by combining inelastic neutron scattering, quantum Monte Carlo simulations, and random phase approximation calculations, we report the discovery and discuss the physics of the coexistence of magnons and spinons and their interactions in Botallackite-${\mathrm{Cu}}_2{(\mathrm{OH})}_3\mathrm{Br}$. This is a unique quantum antiferromagnet consisting of alternating ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin-$1/2$ chains with weak interchain couplings. Our study presents a new paradigm where one can study the interaction between two different types of magnetic quasiparticles: magnons and spinons.

Transient optical heating provides an efficient way to trigger phase transitions in naturally occurring media through ultrashort laser pulse irradiation. A similar approach could be used to induce topological transitions in the photonic response of suitably engineered artificial structures known as metamaterials. Here, we predict a topological transition in the isofrequency dispersion contours of a layered graphene metamaterial under optical pumping. We show that the contour topology transforms from elliptic to hyperbolic within a subpicosecond timescale by exploiting the extraordinary photothermal properties of graphene. This new phenomenon allows us to theoretically demonstrate applications in engineering the decay rate of proximal optical emitters, ultrafast beam steering, and dynamical far-field subwavelength imaging. Our study opens a disruptive approach toward ultrafast control of light emission, beam steering, and optical image processing.