We report a real-time first-principles study of ultrafast spin injection in a ${\mathrm{WSe}}_2$-graphene heterobilayer under circularly polarized laser irradiation, using time-dependent density functional theory. Contrary to conventional expectations, spin transfer into graphene is not a passive process but is actively driven by spin-selective carrier filtering at the interface. Spin-polarized carriers generated in the ${\mathrm{WSe}}_2$ layer induce a preferential migration of opposite-spin carriers from graphene, which results in net spin magnetization in graphene. This process is governed by interlayer band offsets, density-of-state asymmetry, and Pauli blocking. These findings indicate a microscopic mechanism of spin injection in nonmagnetic systems and identify a guiding principle for the design of ultrafast optospintronic functionalities in van der Waals heterostructures.

Exact numerical results for the dc magnetoconductivity tensor of the two-dimensional spatially disordered Yukawa-Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (2D-YSYK) model on a square lattice, at first order in applied perpendicular magnetic field, are obtained from the self-consistent disorder-averaged solution of the 2D-YSYK saddle-point equations. This system describes fermions endowed with a Fermi surface and coupled to a bosonic scalar field through spatially random Yukawa interactions. The resulting local and energy-dependent fermionic self-energies are employed in the Kubo formalism to calculate the longitudinal and Hall conductivities, the Hall coefficient, the carrier mobility, and the cotangent of the Hall angle, at fixed fermion density. From the interplay between YSYK interactions and square-lattice embedding, and the non-Boltzmann frequency-dependent self-energies, we find nontrivial evolution of the magnetotransport coefficients as a function of temperature and YSYK interaction strength, notably a superlinear evolution of the Hall-angle cotangent and the inverse carrier mobility with temperature, concomitant with linear-in-temperature resistivity, in an extended crossover regime above the low-temperature marginal Fermi liquid ground state. Our model and results provide a controlled theoretical framework to interpret magnetotransport experiments, at linear order in applied magnetic field, in strange-metal phases found in strongly correlated solid-state electron systems.

We systematically investigate the effects of spin order and orbital polarization on the electronic and magnetic structures of nematic FeSe using the $\mathrm{LDA}+U$ method. While our calculations with on-site Coulomb repulsion $U\sim 4.5\mathrm{eV}$ can account for both the nonmagnetic state at ambient pressure and the phase transition to a stripe antiferromagnetic state at moderate pressure as observed experimentally, neither static spin order nor static orbital polarization can describe the experimental band dispersions from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies, due to the underestimate of quantum fluctuations. By employing a particle swarm optimization algorithm, we construct a tight-binding model with inclusion of correlation effects through seeking appropriate renormalization factors of kinetic energies, which successfully reproduce the ARPES results at various temperatures, highlighting the importance of correlations in FeSe.

Kapitza-Dirac scattering, the diffraction of matter waves from a standing light field, is widely utilized in ultracold gases, but its behavior in the strongly interacting regime is an open question. Here, we develop a numerically exact two-body description of Kapitza-Dirac scattering for two contact-interacting atoms in a one-dimensional harmonic trap subjected to a pulsed optical lattice, enabling us to obtain the numerically exact dynamics. We map how interaction strength, lattice depth, lattice wave number, and pulse duration reshape the diffraction pattern, leading to an interaction-dependent population redistribution in real and momentum space. By comparing the exact dynamics to an impulsive sudden-approximation description, we delineate the parameter regimes where it remains accurate and those, notably at strong attraction and small lattice wave number, where it fails. Our results provide a controlled few-body benchmark for interacting Kapitza-Dirac scattering and quantitative guidance for Kapitza-Dirac-based probes of ultracold atomic systems.

Populations of cells regulate gene expression in response to external signals, but their ability to make reliable collective decisions is limited by both intrinsic noise in molecular signaling and variability between individual cells. In this work, we use optogenetic control of the canonical Wnt pathway as an example to study how reliably information about an external signal is transmitted to a population of cells, and determine an optimal encoding strategy to maximize information transmission from Wnt signals to gene expression. We find that it is possible to reach an information capacity beyond 1 bit only through an appropriate, discrete encoding of signals: using no Wnt, a short Wnt pulse, or a sustained Wnt signal. By averaging over an increasing number of outputs, we systematically vary the effective noise in the pathway. As the effective noise decreases, the optimal encoding comprises more discrete input signals. These signals do not need to be fine-tuned to achieve near-optimal information transmission. The optimal code transitions into a continuous code in the small-noise limit, which can be shown to be consistent with the Jeffreys prior. We visualize the performance of different signal encodings using decoding maps. Our results suggest that optogenetic Wnt signaling allows for regulatory control beyond a simple binary switch and provide a framework to apply ideas from information processing to single-cell in vitro experiments.

Strongly driven ion-scale turbulence in tokamak plasmas is shown to be regulated by a new propagating zonal flow mode, the toroidal secondary mode, which is nonlinearly supported by the turbulence. The mode grows and propagates due to the combined effects of zonal flow shearing and advection by the magnetic drift. Above a threshold in the turbulence level, small-scale toroidal secondary modes become unstable and shear apart turbulent eddies, forcing the turbulence level to remain near the threshold. This threshold condition is used to derive scaling laws for the turbulent heat flux, fluctuation spectra, and zonal flow amplitude, which are validated in nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations and explain previous experimental observations.

Recent advances in constructing synthetic dimension provide a powerful tool for exploring exotic topological states of matter in high dimensions. Here, we report that the parity anomaly and associated half-integer quantized Hall conductance, arising in $2j+1$ (space-time) dimensions with a single or odd number of Dirac cones, can be realized by the boundary states of $n\mathrm{th}$-order topological insulators in ($2j+n$)-dimensional synthetic lattices. We establish a general bulk-boundary correspondence by integrating the nested Wilson loop theory with the time-reversal polarization at highly symmetric momenta; a set of $Z_2$ topological invariants are extracted, which determines the number and location of higher-order-boundary Dirac cones that are protected by time-reversal and reflection symmetries. We develop a general construction procedure for Hamiltonians supporting such higher-order topological parity anomaly. Moreover, we propose an experimental implementation scheme based on photonic synthetic dimensions and provide a method for probing the associated half-integer Hall conductance by the transmission spectra. Our work offers the realization and characterization of parity anomaly in general high-dimensional higher-order topological insulators and opens an avenue for exploring fundamental physics and possible photonic device applications enabled by manipulating Dirac cones.

The non-Hermitian skin effect, characterized by the extensive localization of bulk modes at the boundaries, has attracted significant attention as a hallmark feature of non-Hermitian topology. This localization invalidates the conventional Bloch band theory, necessitating an analysis under open boundary conditions even in the thermodynamic limit. The Amoeba formulation addresses this challenge by computing the spectral potential rather than the spectrum itself. Based on the (strong) Szegö limit theorem and its topological generalization, this approach reduces the evaluation of the potential to an optimization problem involving the Ronkin function. However, while the generalized Szegö limit theorem is formally applicable in arbitrary dimensions, its implementation is limited to single-band systems, and its applicability to multiband systems remains unclear even in one-dimensional systems. In this paper, we establish the Wiener-Hopf factorization (WHF) of the non-Bloch Hamiltonian as a powerful framework, providing a unified and rigorous foundation for Amoeba analysis in one-dimensional multiband systems. By combining the WHF with Hermitian doubling, we first elucidate the applicability criteria for the generalized Szegö limit theorem in multiband systems. We then show that the WHF provides the natural mathematical origin for the symmetry-decomposed Ronkin function in symmetry class ${\mathrm{AII}}^{†}$, leading to a rigorous proof of the generalized Szegö limit theorem for these systems and opening a path toward systematic generalizations to other symmetry classes.

The quantum geometric tensor and quantum Fisher information have recently been shown to provide a unified geometric description of the linear response of many-body systems. However, a similar geometric description of higher-order perturbative phenomena including nonlinear response in generic quantum systems is lacking. In this work, we develop a general framework for the time-dependent quantum geometry of many-body systems by treating external perturbing fields as coordinates on the space of density matrices. We use the Bures distance between the initial and time-evolved density matrix to define geometric quantities through a perturbative expansion. To lowest order, we derive a time-dependent generalization of the Bures metric related to the spectral density of linear response functions, unifying previous results for the quantum metric in various limits and providing a geometric interpretation of Fermi’s golden rule. At next order in the expansion, we define a time-dependent Bures-Levi-Civita connection for general many-body systems. We show that the connection is the sum of one contribution that is related to a second-order nonlinear response function, and a second contribution that captures the higher geometric structure of first-order perturbation theory. We show that in the quasistatic, zero-temperature limit for noninteracting fermions, this Bures connection reduces to the known expression for band-theoretic Christoffel symbols. Our work provides a systematic framework to explore many-body quantum geometry beyond the quantum metric and highlights how higher-order correlation functions can probe this geometry.

A significant enhancement of turbulence spreading across the last closed flux surface (LCFS) has been observed during the transition from hydrogen (H)- to deuterium (D)-dominated plasmas in the HL-2A tokamak. Experimental results show that boundary turbulence increases in D plasmas compared to H plasmas, while the $E\times B$ shear flow in the vicinity of the LCFS is accordingly reduced. It is found that fluctuations inside the LCFS are dominated by interchange turbulence, which spreads radially outward and penetrates the LCFS into the scrape-off layer (SOL), leading to a broader SOL width and a reduction of parallel heat flux. These findings highlight the significant contribution from turbulence spreading to the broadening SOL width and suggest a promising strategy for controlling exhaust heat load while maintaining good plasma confinement through isotope mass optimization in future fusion reactors.

We consider hybrid systems consisting of a hole-doped semiconductor coupled to electronic states of finite-size superconductors, where the opposite sign of the masses in the two subsystems gives rise to insulating gaps at subband anticrossings. Consequently, increasing the coupling strength to the superconductor can paradoxically suppress the proximity-induced superconductivity in the semiconductor by enhancing these insulating gaps. We demonstrate that the presence of such induced insulating gaps leads to a characteristic atypical behavior of the critical supercurrent in Josephson junctions based on these hybrid structures. Our findings provide important insights for the design of robust quantum computing platforms utilizing hybrid superconductor-hole systems.

We experimentally study the interaction between a cold-atom cloud and many longitudinal modes of a high-quality Fabry-Perot cavity, by measuring signatures of collective light shifts in the cavity transmission spectrum of an optical frequency comb probe. Using a resonator coupled to more than ${10}^5$ intracavity atoms, we detect significant shifts of $\sim 100$ cavity modes simultaneously, which is a direct manifestation of physics beyond the hitherto explored regime of cavity-cold atom interaction with only single or few longitudinal modes at a time. For the cavity mode closest to the atomic resonance, we demonstrate a bistability in the transmission spectrum, arising due to a combined coupling of the cloud to an external pump laser and a cavity mode probed by the optical frequency comb. These results provide a first step toward deeper exploration of multifrequency cavity quantum electrodynamics, where ultrashort pulsed sources could be used for optical manipulation, cooling, and entanglement of cold atoms in a resonator.

Uncertainty and intrinsic measurement disturbance, two fundamental concepts in quantum measurement, have conventionally been viewed as distinct and studied separately. In this work, we establish a fundamental connection between them, proving that uncertainty not only serves as a prerequisite for intrinsic disturbance but also bounds it from above. We formalize this connection via uncertainty-disturbance relations (UDRs) with direct applications in quantum information science. We show that for rank-one projective measurements, these UDRs effectively function as uncertainty relations by bounding the uncertainties of incompatible measurements. They also enable the experimental estimation of key quantum resources—including von Neumann entropy, purity, coherence, and genuine randomness. Our findings thus unify the understanding of uncertainty and disturbance and provide a versatile framework for quantum resource detection.

Ultrafast imaging of photon statistics in two dimensions is a powerful tool for probing nonequilibrium and transient optical phenomena, yet it remains experimentally challenging due to the simultaneous need for high temporal resolution and statistical fidelity. In this work, we demonstrate spatially resolved single-shot measurements of photon number distributions using difference-frequency generation in a nonlinear Beta Barium Borate crystal. We show that our platform can discriminate between coherent and thermal photon statistics across two spatial dimensions with picosecond resolution. At the same time, we find that the retrieved distributions deviate from the ideal ones, a consequence of vacuum contamination and the multimodal response of the amplifier. To explain this, we develop a temporal mode decomposition framework that captures the essential physics of signal amplification and fluorescence, and quantitatively reproduces the experimental findings. This establishes a robust approach for measuring two-dimensional photon statistics while clarifying the fundamental factors that limit the fidelity of such measurements.