We consider the ground-state properties of an impurity particle (“polaron”) resonantly interacting with a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Focusing on the equal-mass system, we use a variational wave function for the polaron that goes beyond previous work and includes up to three Bogoliubov excitations of the BEC, thus allowing us to capture both Efimov trimers and associated tetramers. We find that the length scale associated with Efimov trimers (i.e., the three-body parameter) can strongly affect the polaron’s behavior, even at densities where there are no well-defined Efimov states. However, by comparing our results with recent quantum Monte Carlo calculations, we argue that the polaron energy is a universal function of the Efimov three-body parameter for sufficiently low boson densities. We further support this conclusion by showing that the energies of the deepest bound Efimov trimers and tetramers at unitarity are universally related to one another, regardless of the microscopic model. On the other hand, we find that the quasiparticle residue and effective mass sensitively depend on the coherence length $\xi$ of the BEC, with the residue tending to zero as $\xi$ diverges, in a manner akin to the orthogonality catastrophe.

We develop a first-principles theory of relativistic fluid turbulence at high Reynolds and Péclet numbers. We follow an exact approach pioneered by Onsager, which we explain as a nonperturbative application of the principle of renormalization-group invariance. We obtain results very similar to those for nonrelativistic turbulence, with hydrodynamic fields in the inertial range described as distributional or “coarse-grained” solutions of the relativistic Euler equations. These solutions do not, however, satisfy the naive conservation laws of smooth Euler solutions but are afflicted with dissipative anomalies in the balance equations of internal energy and entropy. The anomalies are shown to be possible by exactly two mechanisms, local cascade and pressure-work defect. We derive “$4/5$th-law” type expressions for the anomalies, which allow us to characterize the singularities (structure-function scaling exponents) required for their not vanishing. We also investigate the Lorentz covariance of the inertial-range fluxes, which we find to be broken by our coarse-graining regularization but which is restored in the limit where the regularization is removed, similar to relativistic lattice quantum field theory. In the formal limit as speed of light goes to infinity, we recover the results of previous nonrelativistic theory. In particular, anomalous heat input to relativistic internal energy coincides in that limit with anomalous dissipation of nonrelativistic kinetic energy.

We investigate dissipative anomalies in a turbulent fluid governed by the compressible Navier-Stokes equation. We follow an exact approach pioneered by Onsager, which we explain as a nonperturbative application of the principle of renormalization-group invariance. In the limit of high Reynolds and Péclet numbers, the flow realizations are found to be described as distributional or “coarse-grained” solutions of the compressible Euler equations, with standard conservation laws broken by turbulent anomalies. The anomalous dissipation of kinetic energy is shown to be due not only to local cascade but also to a distinct mechanism called pressure-work defect. Irreversible heating in stationary, planar shocks with an ideal-gas equation of state exemplifies the second mechanism. Entropy conservation anomalies are also found to occur via two mechanisms: an anomalous input of negative entropy (negentropy) by pressure work and a cascade of negentropy to small scales. We derive “$4/5$th-law”-type expressions for the anomalies, which allow us to characterize the singularities (structure-function scaling exponents) required to sustain the cascades. We compare our approach with alternative theories and empirical evidence. It is argued that the “Big Power Law in the Sky” observed in electron density scintillations in the interstellar medium is a manifestation of a forward negentropy cascade or an inverse cascade of usual thermodynamic entropy.

Harnessing the full power of nascent quantum processors requires the efficient management of a limited number of quantum bits with finite coherent lifetimes. Hybrid algorithms, such as the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE), leverage classical resources to reduce the required number of quantum gates. Experimental demonstrations of VQE have resulted in calculation of Hamiltonian ground states, and a new theoretical approach based on a quantum subspace expansion (QSE) has outlined a procedure for determining excited states that are central to dynamical processes. We use a superconducting-qubit-based processor to apply the QSE approach to the ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ molecule, extracting both ground and excited states without the need for auxiliary qubits or additional minimization. Further, we show that this extended protocol can mitigate the effects of incoherent errors, potentially enabling larger-scale quantum simulations without the need for complex error-correction techniques.

The dynamics of energetic particles in strong electromagnetic fields can be heavily influenced by the energy loss arising from the emission of radiation during acceleration, known as radiation reaction. When interacting with a high-energy electron beam, today’s lasers are sufficiently intense to explore the transition between the classical and quantum radiation reaction regimes. We present evidence of radiation reaction in the collision of an ultrarelativistic electron beam generated by laser-wakefield acceleration ($ϵ>500\mathrm{MeV}$) with an intense laser pulse ($a_0>10$). We measure an energy loss in the postcollision electron spectrum that is correlated with the detected signal of hard photons ($\gamma$ rays), consistent with a quantum description of radiation reaction. The generated $\gamma$ rays have the highest energies yet reported from an all-optical inverse Compton scattering scheme, with critical energy ${ϵ}_{\mathrm{crit}}>30\mathrm{MeV}$.

Systems that are driven out of thermal equilibrium typically dissipate random quantities of energy on microscopic scales. Crooks fluctuation theorem relates the distribution of these random work costs to the corresponding distribution for the reverse process. By an analysis that explicitly incorporates the energy reservoir that donates the energy and the control system that implements the dynamic, we obtain a quantum generalization of Crooks theorem that not only includes the energy changes in the reservoir but also the full description of its evolution, including coherences. Moreover, this approach opens up the possibility for generalizations of the concept of fluctuation relations. Here, we introduce “conditional” fluctuation relations that are applicable to nonequilibrium systems, as well as approximate fluctuation relations that allow for the analysis of autonomous evolution generated by global time-independent Hamiltonians. We furthermore extend these notions to Markovian master equations, implicitly modeling the influence of the heat bath.

Quantum logic gates are fundamental building blocks of quantum computers. Their integration into quantum networks requires strong qubit coupling to network channels, as can be realized with neutral atoms and optical photons in cavity quantum electrodynamics. Here we demonstrate that the long-range interaction mediated by a flying photon performs a gate between two stationary atoms inside an optical cavity from which the photon is reflected. This single step executes the gate in $2\mu \mathrm{s}$. We show an entangling operation between the two atoms by generating a Bell state with 76(2)% fidelity. The gate also operates as a cnot. We demonstrate 74.1(1.6)% overlap between the observed and the ideal gate output, limited by the state preparation fidelity of 80.2(0.8)%. As the atoms are efficiently connected to a photonic channel, our gate paves the way towards quantum networking with multiqubit nodes and the distribution of entanglement in repeater-based long-distance quantum networks.

We investigate linear and nonlinear light propagation in weakly perturbed AlGaAs slab waveguides whose fabrication induced local defects give rise to random multiple scattering. The statistical evaluation of the intensity distribution at the rear facet reveals an abundance of high-amplitude events in the linear regime, contradicting the predictions of the central limit theorem by far. In this article we propose weak successive backscattering to be a generator of high-amplitude events, while a focusing nonlinearity of the Kerr type counterintuitively diminishes them, thus effectively randomizing the intensity distribution. We support our experimental findings with numerical simulations based on the stray matrix approach introduced by Edrei et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 2120 (1989)]. This novel proposed mechanism for the formation of extreme events in the context of linear wave dynamics represents the first encounter of the phenomenon in the limit of weak scattering.

Small numbers of surface-bound molecules are shown to behave as would be expected for optomechanical oscillators placed inside plasmonic nanocavities that support extreme confinement of optical fields. Pulsed Raman scattering reveals superlinear Stokes emission above a threshold, arising from the stimulated vibrational pumping of molecular bonds under pulsed excitation shorter than the phonon decay time, and agreeing with pulsed optomechanical quantum theory. Reaching the parametric instability (equivalent to a phonon laser or “phaser” regime) is, however, hindered by the motion of gold atoms and molecular reconfiguration at phonon occupations approaching unity. We show how this irreversible bond breaking can ultimately limit the exploitation of molecules as quantum-mechanical oscillators, but accesses optically driven chemistry.

Finding quantitative aspects of quantum phenomena which cannot be explained by any classical model has foundational importance for understanding the boundary between classical and quantum theory. It also has practical significance for identifying information processing tasks for which those phenomena provide a quantum advantage. Using the framework of generalized noncontextuality as our notion of classicality, we find one such nonclassical feature within the phenomenology of quantum minimum-error state discrimination. Namely, we identify quantitative limits on the success probability for minimum-error state discrimination in any experiment described by a noncontextual ontological model. These constraints constitute noncontextuality inequalities that are violated by quantum theory, and this violation implies a quantum advantage for state discrimination relative to noncontextual models. Furthermore, our noncontextuality inequalities are robust to noise and are operationally formulated, so that any experimental violation of the inequalities is a witness of contextuality, independently of the validity of quantum theory. Along the way, we introduce new methods for analyzing noncontextuality scenarios and demonstrate a tight connection between our minimum-error state discrimination scenario and a Bell scenario.

Despite the fact that 1111-type iron arsenides hold the record transition temperature of iron-based superconductors, their electronic structures have not been studied much because of the lack of high-quality single crystals. In this study, we comprehensively determine the Fermi surface in the antiferromagnetic state of CaFeAsF, a 1111 iron-arsenide parent compound, by performing quantum oscillation measurements and band-structure calculations. The determined Fermi surface consists of a symmetry-related pair of Dirac electron cylinders and a normal hole cylinder. From analyses of quantum-oscillation phases, we demonstrate that the electron cylinders carry a nontrivial Berry phase $\pi$. The carrier density is of the order of ${10}^{-3}$ per Fe. This unusual metallic state with the extremely small carrier density is a consequence of the previously discussed topological feature of the band structure which prevents the antiferromagnetic gap from being a full gap. We also report a nearly linear-in-$B$ magnetoresistance and an anomalous resistivity increase above about 30 T for $B\parallel c$, the latter of which is likely related to the quantum limit of the electron orbit. Intriguingly, the electrical resistivity exhibits a nonmetallic temperature dependence in the paramagnetic tetragonal phase ($T>118\mathrm{K}$), which may suggest an incoherent state. Our study provides a detailed knowledge of the Fermi surface in the antiferromagnetic state of 1111 parent compounds and moreover opens up a new possibility to explore Dirac-fermion physics in those compounds.

Microscale and nanoscale lasers inherently exhibit rich photon statistics due to complex light-matter interaction in a strong spontaneous emission noise background. It is well known that they may display superthermal fluctuations—photon superbunching—in specific situations due to either gain competition, leading to mode-switching instabilities, or carrier-carrier coupling in superradiant microcavities. Here we show a generic route to superbunching in bimodal nanolasers by preparing the system far from equilibrium through a parameter quench. We demonstrate, both theoretically and experimentally, that transient dynamics after a short-pump-pulse-induced quench leads to heavy-tailed superthermal statistics when projected onto the weak mode. We implement a simple experimental technique to access the probability density functions that further enables quantifying the distance from thermal equilibrium via the thermodynamic entropy. The universality of this mechanism relies on the far-from-equilibrium dynamical scenario, which can be mapped to a fast cooling process of a suspension of Brownian particles in a liquid. Our results open up new avenues to mold photon statistics in multimode optical systems and may constitute a test bed to investigate out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics using micro or nanocavity arrays.

Quantum fluctuations of the Néel state of the square lattice antiferromagnet are usually described by a ${\mathbb{CP}}^1$ theory of bosonic spinons coupled to a U(1) gauge field, and with a global SU(2) spin rotation symmetry. Such a theory also has a confining phase with valence bond solid (VBS) order, and upon including spin-singlet charge-2 Higgs fields, deconfined phases with ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ topological order possibly intertwined with discrete broken global symmetries. We present dual theories of the same phases starting from a mean-field theory of fermionic spinons moving in $\pi$ flux in each square lattice plaquette. Fluctuations about this $\pi$-flux state are described by ($2+1$)-dimensional quantum chromodynamics (${\mathrm{QCD}}_3$) with a SU(2) gauge group and $N_f=2$ flavors of massless Dirac fermions. It has recently been argued by Wang et al. [Deconfined Quantum Critical Points: Symmetries and Dualities, Phys. Rev. X 7, 031051 (2017).] that this ${\mathrm{QCD}}_3$ theory describes the Néel-VBS quantum phase transition. We introduce adjoint Higgs fields in ${\mathrm{QCD}}_3$ and obtain fermionic dual descriptions of the phases with ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ topological order obtained earlier using the bosonic ${\mathbb{CP}}^1$ theory. We also present a fermionic spinon derivation of the monopole Berry phases in the U(1) gauge theory of the VBS state. The global phase diagram of these phases contains multicritical points, and our results imply new boson-fermion dualities between critical gauge theories of these points.

Detwinning of magnetic (nematic) domains in Fe-based superconductors has so far only been obtained through mechanical straining, which considerably perturbs the ground state of these materials. The recently discovered nonmechanical detwinning in ${\mathrm{EuFe}}_2{\mathrm{As}}_2$ by ultralow magnetic fields offers an entirely different, nonperturbing way to achieve the same goal. However, this way seemed risky due to the lack of a microscopic understanding of the magnetically driven detwinning. Specifically, the following issues remained unexplained: (i) ultralow value of the first detwinning field of approximately 0.1 T, two orders of magnitude below that of ${\mathrm{BaFe}}_2{\mathrm{As}}_2$, and (ii) reversal of the preferential domain orientation at approximately 1 T and restoration of the low-field orientation above 10–15 T. In this paper, we present, using published as well as newly measured data, a full theory that quantitatively explains all the observations. The key ingredient of this theory is a biquadratic coupling between Fe and Eu spins, analogous to the Fe-Fe biquadratic coupling that drives the nematic transition in this family of materials.

The discovery of the Dirac electron dispersion in graphene [A. H. Castro Neto, et al., The Electronic Properties of Graphene, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 109 (2009)] led to the question of the Dirac cone stability with respect to interactions. Coulomb interactions between electrons were shown to induce a logarithmic renormalization of the Dirac dispersion. With a rapid expansion of the list of compounds and quasiparticle bands with linear band touching [T. O. Wehling, et al., Dirac Materials, Adv. Phys. 63, 1 (2014)], the concept of bosonic Dirac materials has emerged. We consider a specific case of ferromagnets consisting of van der Waals-bonded stacks of honeycomb layers, e.g., chromium trihalides ${\mathrm{CrX}}_3$ ($\mathrm{X}=\mathrm{F}$, Cl, Br and I), that display two spin wave modes with energy dispersion similar to that for the electrons in graphene. At the single-particle level, these materials resemble their fermionic counterparts. However, how different particle statistics and interactions affect the stability of Dirac cones has yet to be determined. To address the role of interacting Dirac magnons, we expand the theory of ferromagnets beyond the standard Dyson theory [F. J. Dyson, General Theory of Spin-Wave Interactions, Phys. Rev. 102, 1217 (1956), F. J. Dyson, Thermodynamic Behavior of an Ideal Ferromagnet, Phys. Rev. 102, 1230 (1956)] to the case of non-Bravais honeycomb layers. We demonstrate that magnon-magnon interactions lead to a significant momentum-dependent renormalization of the bare band structure in addition to strongly momentum-dependent magnon lifetimes. We show that our theory qualitatively accounts for hitherto unexplained anomalies in nearly half-century-old magnetic neutron-scattering data for ${\mathrm{CrBr}}_3$ [W. B. Yelon and R. Silberglitt, Renormalization of Large-Wave-Vector Magnons in Ferromagnetic ${\mathrm{CrBr}}_3$ Studied by Inelastic Neutron Scattering: Spin-Wave Correlation Effects, Phys. Rev. B 4, 2280 (1971), E. J. Samuelsen, et al., Spin Waves in Ferromagnetic ${\mathrm{CrBr}}_3$ Studied by Inelastic Neutron Scattering, Phys. Rev. B 3, 157 (1971)]. We also show that honeycomb ferromagnets display dispersive surface and edge states, unlike their electronic analogs.

While charge density wave (CDW) instabilities are ubiquitous to superconducting cuprates, the different ordering wave vectors in various cuprate families have hampered a unified description of the CDW formation mechanism. Here, we investigate the temperature dependence of the low-energy phonons in the canonical CDW-ordered cuprate ${\mathrm{La}}_{1.875}{\mathrm{Ba}}_{0.125}{\mathrm{CuO}}_4$. We discover that the phonon softening wave vector associated with CDW correlations becomes temperature dependent in the high-temperature precursor phase and changes from a wave vector of 0.238 reciprocal lattice units (r.l.u.) below the ordering transition temperature to 0.3 r.l.u. at 300 K. This high-temperature behavior shows that “214”-type cuprates can host CDW correlations at a similar wave vector to previously reported CDW correlations in non-214-type cuprates such as ${\mathrm{YBa}}_2{\mathrm{Cu}}_3{\mathrm{O}}_{6+\delta }$. This indicates that cuprate CDWs may arise from the same underlying instability despite their apparently different low-temperature ordering wave vectors.

Made from stacks of two-dimensional materials, van der Waals heterostructures exhibit unique light-matter interactions and are promising for novel optoelectronic devices. The performance of such devices is governed by near-field coupling through, e.g., interlayer charge and/or energy transfer. New concepts and experimental methodologies are needed to properly describe two-dimensional heterointerfaces. Here, we report an original study of interlayer charge and energy transfer in atomically thin metal-semiconductor [i.e., graphene-transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD, here molybdenum diselenide, ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$)] heterostructures using a combination of microphotoluminescence and Raman scattering spectroscopies. The photoluminescence intensity in $\mathrm{graphene}/{\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$ is quenched by more than 2 orders of magnitude and rises linearly with the incident photon flux, demonstrating a drastically shortened (about 1 ps) room-temperature ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$ exciton lifetime. Key complementary insights are provided from a comprehensive analysis of the graphene and ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$ Raman modes, which reveals net photoinduced electron transfer from ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$ to graphene and hole accumulation in ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$. Remarkably, the steady-state Fermi energy of graphene saturates at $290\pm 15\mathrm{meV}$ above the Dirac point. This reproducible behavior is observed both in ambient air and in vacuum and is discussed in terms of intrinsic factors (i.e., band offsets) and environmental effects. In this saturation regime, balanced photoinduced flows of electrons and holes may transfer to graphene, a mechanism that effectively leads to energy transfer. Using a broad range of incident photon fluxes and diverse environmental conditions, we find that the presence of net photoinduced charge transfer has no measurable impact on the near-unity photoluminescence quenching efficiency in $\mathrm{graphene}/{\mathrm{MoSe}}_2$. This absence of correlation strongly suggests that energy transfer to graphene (either in the form of electron exchange or dipole-dipole interaction) is the dominant interlayer coupling mechanism between atomically thin TMDs and graphene.

Neural-network quantum states have recently been introduced as an Ansatz for describing the wave function of quantum many-body systems. We show that there are strong connections between neural-network quantum states in the form of restricted Boltzmann machines and some classes of tensor-network states in arbitrary dimensions. In particular, we demonstrate that short-range restricted Boltzmann machines are entangled plaquette states, while fully connected restricted Boltzmann machines are string-bond states with a nonlocal geometry and low bond dimension. These results shed light on the underlying architecture of restricted Boltzmann machines and their efficiency at representing many-body quantum states. String-bond states also provide a generic way of enhancing the power of neural-network quantum states and a natural generalization to systems with larger local Hilbert space. We compare the advantages and drawbacks of these different classes of states and present a method to combine them together. This allows us to benefit from both the entanglement structure of tensor networks and the efficiency of neural-network quantum states into a single Ansatz capable of targeting the wave function of strongly correlated systems. While it remains a challenge to describe states with chiral topological order using traditional tensor networks, we show that, because of their nonlocal geometry, neural-network quantum states and their string-bond-state extension can describe a lattice fractional quantum Hall state exactly. In addition, we provide numerical evidence that neural-network quantum states can approximate a chiral spin liquid with better accuracy than entangled plaquette states and local string-bond states. Our results demonstrate the efficiency of neural networks to describe complex quantum wave functions and pave the way towards the use of string-bond states as a tool in more traditional machine-learning applications.

Multiferroism can originate from the breaking of inversion symmetry caused by magnetic-spiral order. The usual mechanism for stabilizing a magnetic spiral is competition between magnetic exchange interactions differing by their range and sign, such as nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor interactions. In insulating compounds, it is unusual for these interactions to be both comparable in magnitude and of a strength that can induce magnetic ordering at room temperature. Therefore, the onset temperatures for multiferroism through this mechanism are typically low. By considering a realistic model for multiferroic ${\mathrm{YBaCuFeO}}_5$, we propose an alternative mechanism for magnetic-spiral order, and hence for multiferroism, that occurs at much higher temperatures. We show, using Monte Carlo simulations and electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory, that the Heisenberg model on a geometrically nonfrustrated lattice with only nearest-neighbor interactions can have a spiral phase up to high temperature when frustrating bonds are introduced randomly along a single crystallographic direction as caused, e.g., by a particular type of chemical disorder. This long-range correlated pattern of frustration avoids ferroelectrically inactive spin-glass order. Finally, we provide an intuitive explanation for this mechanism and discuss its generalization to other materials.

Fluid polyamorphism is the existence of different condensed amorphous states in a single-component fluid. It is either found or predicted, usually at extreme conditions, for a broad group of very different substances, including helium, carbon, silicon, phosphorous, sulfur, tellurium, cerium, hydrogen, and tin tetraiodide. This phenomenon is also hypothesized for metastable and deeply supercooled water, presumably located a few degrees below the experimental limit of homogeneous ice formation. We present a generic phenomenological approach to describe polyamorphism in a single-component fluid, which is completely independent of the molecular origin of the phenomenon. We show that fluid polyamorphism may occur either in the presence or in the absence of fluid phase separation depending on the symmetry of the order parameter. In the latter case, it is associated with a second-order transition, such as in liquid helium or liquid sulfur. To specify the phenomenology, we consider a fluid with thermodynamic equilibrium between two distinct interconvertible states or molecular structures. A fundamental signature of this concept is the identification of the equilibrium fraction of molecules involved in each of these alternative states. However, the existence of the alternative structures may result in polyamorphic fluid phase separation only if mixing of these structures is not ideal. The two-state thermodynamics unifies all the debated scenarios of fluid polyamorphism in different areas of condensed-matter physics, with or without phase separation, and even goes beyond the phenomenon of polyamorphism by generically describing the anomalous properties of fluids exhibiting interconversion of alternative molecular states.