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Physics Condensed Matter

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Friday 24 April

Soft Condensed Matter

Comparative Silane Surface Functionalization Strategies for Enhanced Bloch Surface Wave Biosensing of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies

Surface functionalization plays a decisive role in the performance of biosensors, as it governs the efficiency and stability of biomolecule immobilization at the sensor interface and, consequently, the overall performance of the biosensing platforms. In this work, we present a comparative study of three organosilane chemistries - APTES, APDMS, and CPTES - applied to a SiO2 terminated 1D photonic crystal able to sustain Bloch surface waves and designed to operate as optical biosensors in both label free and fluorescence enhanced modes. Each chemistry was evaluated through a standardized label-free protocol based on the interaction between immobilized SARS CoV 2 spike protein and its corresponding antibodies, enabling quantitative assessment of binding efficiency, nonspecific adsorption, and signal repeatability. CPTES exhibited the most favorable balance between specific signals, reduced variability, and low nonspecific adsorption. The three chemistries were subsequently tested in fluorescence mode for the detection of anti SARS CoV 2 IgG antibodies in human serum, demonstrating the suitability of BSW enhanced fluorescence for rapid serological analysis. Overall, the study identifies CPTES as the most robust and reproducible functionalization strategy among the three investigated for BSW biosensing and highlights the potential of the platform for fast, sensitive detection of clinically relevant antibodies.
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All authors Agostino Occhicone, Alberto Sinibaldi, Paola Di Matteo, Daniele Chiappetta, Riccardo Guadagnoli, Peter Munzert, Francesco Michelotti

Materials Science

The influence of implantation conditions on dopant activation in Al-implanted 4H-SiC: A MD study applying an Al potential fitted to DFT barriers

The non-monotonic dependence of Al dopant activation on implantation temperature in 4H-SiC has been experimentally observed, but its atomistic origin remains unclear. We present a molecular dynamics (MD) study of Al implantation at $500$,K and $900$,K over seven doses from $1\times10^{13}$ to $7.5\times10^{14}$,cm$^{-2}$, followed by up to $100$,ns of annealing at $1500$–$2500$,K. Using the Gao-Weber potential combined with a reparameterized Morse potential for Al-SiC interactions fitted to DFT migration and kick-in/out barriers, we show that implantation at both temperatures reduces Frenkel-pair formation and extended amorphous pockets compared with room-temperature implantation. Above the Al solubility limit ($>10^{20}$,cm$^{-3}$), however, annealing reveals a non-monotonic temperature dependence. Samples implanted at $900$,K form larger, kinetically stable interstitial clusters that persist throughout annealing and act as sinks and trapping centers for Al, reducing substitutional incorporation. Although the $500$,K samples initially exhibit lower crystallinity, they contain a significantly larger fraction of substitutional Al after annealing. The simulations identify two regimes: a low-dose regime dominated by isolated point defects and small complexes, and a high-dose regime characterized by defect clustering and planar-defect formation with strong implantation-temperature dependence. These results explain the experimentally observed optimal implantation window between $500$ and $900$,K and suggest that controlled nanoscale amorphization at $500$,K enhances activation through regrowth-assisted incorporation while suppressing extended defects. The simulations also identify a new basal-plane diffusion path for Al and an activation mechanism involving kick-out of a carbon antisite; both were confirmed by DFT-NEB calculations.
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All authors Sabine Leroch, Robert Stella, Andreas Hössinger, Lado Filipovic

Soft Condensed Matter

Odd pathways speed up self-assembly

Active self-assembly can bypass equilibrium bottlenecks through external energy injection. However, generic driving typically distorts target structures and requires sustained energy input even after assembly is complete. Here, we investigate a class of non-reciprocal interactions that accelerates assembly while preserving the equilibrium Boltzmann distribution. The probability currents induced by these odd interactions reshape fundamental processes, including activated barrier crossing, soft-mode relaxation, and transitions between metastable states. In particular, these currents enhance Arrhenius rates by driving particles across otherwise inaccessible free-energy barriers. We show that this acceleration arises from an effective increase in the mobility of the reaction coordinate, mediated by non-reciprocal coupling between mechanical modes. In turn, we discover a trade-off between kinetic acceleration and power dissipation when active forces are engaged. Our results suggest a route to energy-efficient, high-fidelity self-assembly via active catalysts that transiently accelerate relaxation toward equilibrium targets and deactivate upon reaching the desired state.
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All authors Dawid Dopierała, Luca Cocconi, Robert L. Jack, Anton Souslov

Materials Science

Accurate Nanoscale Mapping of Electric Fields across Random Grain Boundaries in Polycrystalline Oxides Using Precession-Assisted 4D-STEM

Space charge layers (SCLs) at grain boundaries play a crucial role in modulating local electric fields and influencing the functional properties of materials, such as oxygen vacancy migration and ionic conductivity in oxide ceramics. However, the direct experimental analysis of such localized electric fields and the corresponding charge distribution remains challenging. Conventional center-of-mass (CoM) analysis in scanning transmission electron microscopy differential phase contrast (STEM-DPC) is strongly affected by orientation-dependent contrast and dynamical scattering. Here, we demonstrate that combining electron beam precession with advanced post-processing, employing iterative edge detection via a Sobel filter and singular value decomposition (SVD), enables reliable and accurate, unbiased diffraction shift measurements with minimal crystallographic artefacts. The new method accurately refines the central disk position in nanobeam electron diffraction (NBED) patterns and thus significantly improves the extraction of the local electric field and corresponding charge distribution. Comparative analysis with conventional CoM methods shows superior accuracy and robustness for random grain boundaries in BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 as exemplary case studies. The experimental work is complemented by atomistic simulations to separate the electric field of the SCL from the mean inner potential difference of the grain boundary and the elemental segregation around the grain boundary. The in-depth analysis shows that our approach enables high-fidelity mapping of electromagnetic fields and their charge distribution in complex polycrystalline specimens, laying the groundwork for improved quantitative analysis using STEM-DPC.
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All authors Sangjun Kang, Hyeyoung Cho, Maximilian Töllner, Anna Rose Nelson, Ziming Ding, Xiaoke Mu, Di Wang, Wolfgang Rheinheimer, Kai Wang, Bai-Xiang Xu, Jakob Konstantin Laux, Mahmoud Serour, Karsten Albe, Andreas Klein, Christian Kübel

Soft Condensed Matter

Surface coating induced lubrication in flowing granular materials

We investigate the flow of spherical, bulk granular particles down an inclined plane mixed with small-sized spherical lubricant particles using discrete element method simulations. Predefined cohesive interaction is implemented between lubricant and bulk particles, enabling the coating of the former over the latter. The overall flow rate exhibits non-monotonic dependence on lubricant content. Initially, it increases with lubricant addition, reaches a maximum at an intermediate lubricant content, and decreases for even higher lubricant content. The increase in the flow rate is attributed to a lower inter-particle friction coefficient between lubricant-coated bulk particles. The decrease in the flow rate at higher lubricant content, on the other hand, is attributed to enhanced densification and increased damping between crowded particles. Both these occurrences are examined using various flow level characteristics. The simulation results are found to be in qualitative agreement with previous experimental results. Overall, the outcome integrates novel computational insights and prior experimental results to enhance the understanding of the powder lubrication phenomena.
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Materials Science

Nature of point defects in bulk hexagonal diamond

Hexagonal diamond (HD), an exotic carbon allotrope recently synthesized in bulk form, exhibits superior mechanical properties compared to cubic diamond (CD) and holds promise for advanced industrial and quantum applications. Using first-principles calcu-lations, we systematically investigate intrinsic defects, extrinsic dopants, and defect complexes in HD. Our study shows that VC dominates intrinsic conductivity, while Ci is unstable. Among extrinsic dopants, boron acts as a benign acceptor enhancing p-type conductivity, whereas nitrogen and phosphorus serve as effective donors for n-type conductivity. Group II and Group IV dopants, however, introduce high formation energies or neutral charge states with limited impact. Furthermore, VC, MgC and XV defect com-plexes display multiple spin and charge states within the HD band gap, highlighting their potential as color centers for hosting qubits. These results not only clarify the defect physics of HD but also demonstrate its broader implications for conductivity engineering and quantum technologies.
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All authors Ling Zhu, Xuanxuan Zhang, Guliqinayi Alimu, Chen-Min Dai, Chunlan Ma, Zenghua Cai

Statistical Mechanics · Cross-listed from quant-ph

No-Go Theorem for Quantum Heat Engines Powered Purely by Quantum Measurements in the Steady Regime

We study the thermodynamics of a quantum measurement-powered engine that converts energy injected by measurement backaction into work. We consider an engine with a finite-dimensional working substance, driven purely by quantum measurements, i.e., by bare quantum measurements, without feedback control or thermal contact in the thermodynamic cycle. On the basis of a Poincaré-like recurrence theorem for general quantum channels, we prove a no-go result for work extraction from such an engine in the steady regime. In the steady regime, quantum measurements become nondisturbing and do not inject energy into the working substance. Consequently, no work can be extracted. This result reveals the necessity of an entropy-decreasing process, such as feedback control or thermal contact, for work extraction in steady-cycle measurement-powered engines.
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Soft Condensed Matter

Covariant Onsager and Onsager-Machlup principles for active and inertial dynamics

The Onsager principle provides a variational route to the phenomenological equations of dissipative dynamics through the minimization of the Rayleighian. We develop a covariant formulation of the Onsager principle for active and inertial systems, ensuring geometric consistency under coordinate transformations. To further incorporate thermal fluctuations, we formulate the Onsager-Machlup principle for active and inertial systems by considering the Onsager-Machlup functional and the corresponding path probability for stochastic trajectories. Requiring that the path probability obeys the detailed fluctuation theorem, we show that the extended Onsager-Machlup theory is consistent with stochastic thermodynamics. The extended OP and OMP offer a unified and useful variational framework for deriving the dynamical equations of active and inertial systems.
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All authors Kento Yasuda, Bin Zheng, Zhongqiang Xiong, Zhanglin Hou, Kenta Ishimoto, Xinpeng Xu, David Andelman, Shigeyuki Komura

Statistical Mechanics

Spiral, target, stripe, and disordered waves in active six-state Potts models

Wave propagation can be observed in various nonequilibrium systems. In this study, we investigated the properties of several wave modes in active six-state Potts models using Monte Carlo simulations of square and hexagonal lattices. Disordered and spiral (SP) waves of six states are formed under weak and strong repulsions at nonflip contacts, respectively. The target (TG) and stripe (ST) waves were found to emerge under stronger repulsion. These three wave modes (SP, TG, and ST) can temporally coexist in small systems near the transition points but they do not switch in large systems or far from these transition points. During coarsening from randomly mixed states to ST waves, SP waves appear at an intermediate stage. The SP wave modes of three even- or odd-numbered states (states $s=0,2,4$ or $s=1,3,5$) emerge under two conditions: repulsion at the diagonal contact and attraction at nonflip contacts. Previously thought to be identical for both conditions, the wave types were found to differ, comprising forward and backward waves ($s=1\to 3\to 5\to 1$ or $s=1\to 5\to 3\to 1$), whose domain boundaries move by the two-step and four-step forward flips, respectively. The transition between the waves of the even- and odd-numbered states is first-order for both the forward and backward waves.
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Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

Electric-Field Control of Quantum Tunneling Regimes in Focused He-Ion-Beam-Irradiated Oxide Interfaces

Helium focused ion beam irradiation enables the fabrication of tunnel field-effect transistors based on two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) at an oxide interface.High resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and strain mapping reveal localized lattice deformation confined to the irradiated regions, which act as nanoscale potential barriers. The barrier profile can be continuously tuned by electrostatic backgating at low temperature without degrading the electronic properties of the 2DES electrodes. Transport measurements demonstrate controlled access to thermionic emission, direct tunneling, and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling within a single device architecture. These results establish He FIB irradiation as a powerful tool for nanoscale functional engineering of complex-oxide interfaces and provide a platform for exploring gate-tunable quantum tunneling phenomena.
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All authors Yu Chen, Maria D'Antuono, Robin Hutt, Cesar Magen, Edward Goldobin, Dieter Koelle, Reinhold Kleiner, Marco Salluzzo, Daniela Stornaiuolo

Materials Science

Dynamic Moiré Potentials and Robust Wigner Crystallization in Large-Scale Twisted Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Understanding the dynamical evolution of large-scale moiré systems is crucial for connecting theoretical predictions with experimental observations. Here we develop a machine-learning-based workflow, integrating DeePMD and DeepH frameworks with first-principles calculations, to efficiently investigate time-dependent structural and electronic responses in twisted bilayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with experimentally relevant moiré supercells containing over 3000 atoms. Using $\mathrm{WS_2}$ as a representative system, we show that low-temperature lattice vibrations and relaxation deepen the moiré potential wells, narrow the lowest conduction band, and facilitate the formation of strongly localized electronic states. Based on DFT-derived moiré potentials that incorporate these dynamical effects, density-matrix-renormalization-group (DMRG) simulations reveal robust Wigner crystallization and a kagomé-patterned three-electron state, consistent with recent experimental observations. Our workflow provides a practical route for exploring large moiré supercells beyond static configurations and offers new insight into the interplay between lattice dynamics, electronic localization, and emergent correlated states in twisted two-dimensional materials.
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All authors Yifan Ke, Chuanjing Zeng, Xinming Qin, Wei-Lin Tu, Wei Hu, Jinglong Yang

Statistical Mechanics

The quantum harmonic oscillator in a dissipative bath of anyon pairs

We generalize the formalism of open quantum systems to introduce anyon baths. In particular, we work out a dissipative anyon bath composed of independent pairs of one-dimensional Grundberg-Hansson harmonically bound anyons, which are characterized by one statistical parameter. Using a mapping of these anyons to a bosonic bath with rescaled oscillator frequencies, we show that the original bilinear system-bath coupling assumes a particular non-polynomial form. To determine the relaxation properties, we use the imaginary-time path integral formalism together with a generalization of Wick's theorem in the form of a smearing formula. The latter allows to approximately calculate the anyon bath spectral density, which acquires a nontrivial temperature dependence. The corresponding relaxation dynamics of the dissipative harmonic oscillator in an anyon bath is found. Well defined limits are revealed for both low and high temperatures. Anyonic features turn out to be most pronounced in the regime of intermediate temperatures.
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Strongly Correlated Electrons

The antiferromagnetic Chern insulator phase in the Kane-Mele-Hubbard model

The emergence of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) Chern insulator (AFCI) phase in the Kane-Mele-Hubbard (KMH) model with a finite sublattice potential is investigated. The AFCI, characterized by AFM correlations coexisting with quantized Hall conductance, has long raised the question of whether it can exist in the KMH model that respects time-reversal symmetry (TRS). Using exact diagonalization, we analyze the excitation gap, anisotropic AFM correlations along the $z$ axis and in the $xy$ plane, and the fidelity susceptibility under twisted boundary conditions, all of which provide consistent evidence for the AFCI phase. In particular, our numerical evaluation on the (spin) Chern number reveals a breakdown of adiabatic continuity in the twist-angle space, indicating an instability toward TRS breaking driven by Hubbard-induced AFM perturbations. A modified computational scheme is further proposed, which yields a robust quantized Chern number $C=1$ within this phase.
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All authors Bao-Qing Wang, Can Shao, Takami Tohyama, Hong-Gang Luo, Hantao Lu

Superconductivity

Theoretical prediction of strong-coupling superconductivity in a hypothetical NaAlH3 phase at ambient pressure

We present a comprehensive first-principles investigation of a hypothetical cubic Pm-3m phase of the ternary hydride NaAlH3, focusing on its lattice dynamics, electronic structure, and electron-phonon-mediated superconducting properties at ambient pressure. Using density functional theory and the Migdal-Eliashberg formalism, we find an exceptionally strong electron-phonon coupling ($\lambda=2.23$), resulting in a superconducting critical temperature of up to 73.7 K for a Coulomb pseudopotential $\mu^* = 0.1$. Phonon dispersion calculations, complemented by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, indicate dynamic and thermal stability within the adopted theoretical framework. The electronic structure exhibits a metallic character with substantial contributions from Al- and Na-derived states at the Fermi level. The resulting superconducting gap ratio ($2\Delta(0)/k_B T_c \approx 4.8$) and specific heat jump ($\Delta C/\gamma T_c \approx 2.2$) significantly exceed BCS weak-coupling predictions, highlighting the strong-coupling nature of superconductivity in this hypothetical phase.
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All authors Izabela A. Wrona, Yinwei Li, Radoslaw Szczesniak, Artur P. Durajski

Statistical Mechanics

A variational formulation of stochastic thermodynamics: Spatially extended systems

Stochastic field theories are often constructed phenomenologically, without a systematic assessment of thermodynamic consistency or local detailed balance. This may hinder a physical description of irreversibility at the field-theoretic level beyond the standard statistical formulation of stochastic thermodynamics. Here, we develop a variational formulation for thermodynamically consistent stochastic field theories by extending Hamilton's principle of classical field theory. Introducing the second law as an axiom yields a consistent local thermodynamic structure in which novel fluctuationdissipation relations emerge naturally, ensuring local detailed balance. Remarkably, the resulting entropy production takes the same form as in standard stochastic thermodynamics, up to a reformulation in an extended phase space incorporating both configurational and thermal variables. This correspondence extends key results, including individual trajectory-level thermodynamics and fluctuation theorems. The construction is formulated within a unified geometric framework based on a generalized Lagrange-d'Alembert principle, providing a top-down connection between phenomenological modeling and thermodynamic consistency. Potential applications include thermodynamically consistent modeling of complex fluids, Lagrangian reduction by symmetry in continuum systems, and structure-preserving numerical schemes for stochastic partial differential equations.
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All authors Héctor Vaquero del Pino, François Gay-Balmaz, Hiroaki Yoshimura, Lock Yue Chew

Soft Condensed Matter

Active Jurin's law

Capillary rise is one of the classical problems in fluid mechanics and is traditionally described by Jurin's law, which balances capillary suction against hydrostatic pressure. Here we extend this classical result to active fluids, materials that generate internal stresses through microscopic energy consumption. Using the continuum theory of active nematics, we show that activity modifies the normal stress balance at the liquid-gas interface through an additional active normal stress contribution. This leads to a generalized active Jurin's law, which can be written in dimensionless form as \(H_{\infty} = 1 - \mathrm{Ja}_a \xi_0\), where \(H_{\infty}\) is the dimensionless active Jurin height at equilibrium, \(\mathrm{Ja}_a\) is an active Jurin number comparing active stress to capillary pressure, and \(\xi_0\) characterizes the alignment of active constituents at the meniscus. The theory predicts that extensile and contractile active fluids can either enhance or suppress capillary rise depending on the magnitude of activity and the interfacial alignment state. From this relation we construct a phase diagram in the \((\mathrm{Ja}_a,\xi_0)\) plane that delineates regimes of activity-enhanced rise, activity-suppressed rise, and complete suppression of the classical capillary state. When orientational order depends on confinement and flow, the coupling between activity and capillarity produces nonlinear equilibrium conditions that may admit multiple steady heights; linear stability analysis reveals that the overdamped dynamics selects a single stable state, whereas the inertial extension allows the possibility of activity-induced bistability. These results show that internally generated stresses fundamentally reshape one of the most classical capillary transport problems.
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Strongly Correlated Electrons

QAssemble: A Pure Python Package for Quantum Many-Body Theory

QAssemble is a pure-Python package for the quantum many-body problem. It implements various functional approaches, such as tight-binding, Hartree-Fock, and GW approximations within a unified object-oriented architecture. Each physical concept–crystal structure, Hamiltonian, Green's function, self-energy, polarizability, screened Coulomb interaction–is represented as a distinct class. The modular design prioritizes code clarity and extensibility, leveraging NumPy, SciPy, and libdlr for numerical operations. Performance-critical kernels, including the polarizability bubble, Dyson equation inversion, and lattice Fourier transforms, are systematically vectorized and combined with the discrete Lehmann representation to achieve practical efficiency within a pure-Python environment. We validate QAssemble on the electronic structure of graphene with local and non-local interactions. Furthermore, benchmarks on a five-orbital extended Hund-Hubbard model demonstrate that this strategy delivers up to a 60x speedup over traditional loop-based Matsubara implementations. QAssemble supports both batch execution for production calculations and interactive workflows for method development.
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All authors Seongjun Mo, Dongming Li, Mancheon Han, Johan Jönsson, Byungkyun Kang, Hoonkyung Lee, Gabriel Kotliar, Sangkook Choi

Strongly Correlated Electrons

Long-lived relaxation channel and exciton-phonon coupling in Ta2NiSe5 via non-degenerate pump-probe spectroscopy

An excitonic insulator represents a quantum phase in which spontaneous condensation of excitons leads to novel many-body phenomena. Ta$_2$NSi$_5$ (TNSe), a layered narrow-gap semiconductor, has emerged as a model platform to probe these correlated excitonic phases and their underlying dynamics below 327 K. In this work, we investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of TNSe using temperature-dependent, non-degenerate optical pump-probe spectroscopy with a 3.14 eV pump and a 1.57 eV probe, extending the accessible pump-probe delay window up to 500 ps. In addition to the well-established sub-picosecond relaxation channel ($\sim$ 0.7- 0.9 ps) associated with carrier cooling and recombination, accompanied by exciton reformation, we uncover a much slower recovery process with a decay time of $\sim$ 280-600~ps, significantly longer than previously reported. We attribute this unusually prolonged recovery to enhanced scattering between excitons and nonequilibrium phonons, which delays the re-establishment of equilibrium excitonic correlations. On top of this bi-exponential background, we observe two coherent phonon modes at 1.0 and 2.9 THz with distinctly different coupling behaviors. The 1.0 THz mode exhibits an order-parameter-like temperature dependence, consistent with strong coupling to the excitonic condensate in TNSe. In contrast, the 2.9 THz mode does not exhibit any discernible coupling to the excitonic order parameter, and appears to arise from anharmonic lattice dynamics associated with the structural phase transition. Together, these results elucidate the hierarchy of relaxation pathways in TNSe and highlight the importance of extending the temporal detection window in pump-probe measurements to fully capture long-lived exciton-phonon dynamics.
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All authors Poulami Ghosh, Anupama Chauhan, Sidhanta Sahu, Sk Kalimuddin, Mintu Mondal, N. Kamaraju

Superconductivity

Non-volatile superconducting tunnelling magnetoresistance memory enabled by exchange-field gap engineering

Scalable, low-dissipation memory operating below 4 K is a critical requirement for superconducting and quantum computing systems. Existing cryogenic memory technologies rely on CMOS derivatives or hybrid architectures that incur leakage, refresh overhead or limited compatibility with superconducting logic. Here we demonstrate a superconducting tunnelling magnetoresistance device that functions as a non-volatile cryogenic memory element across the full superconducting temperature range. By integrating a de Gennes spin valve with a superconducting tunnel junction in a current perpendicular-to-plane geometry, we realise exchange-field control of the superconducting energy gap. This produces two magnetically switchable gap voltages and robust quasiparticle tunnelling magnetoresistance down to 0.25 K.The device operates at millivolt bias with nanowatt-level read power and zero standby dissipation. Its vertical junction architecture and Nb-based materials platform enable compatibility with superconducting logic and scalable cryogenic memory arrays.
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All authors Sonam Bhakat, Pushpak Banerjee, Ahmedullah Aziz, Jackson Miller, Avradeep Pal

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Cross-listed from physics.chem-ph

Dynamically Corrected Bethe-Salpeter Equation Solver for Self-consistent $GW$ Reference on the Matsubara Frequency Axis

We present a Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) solver based on a self-consistent $GW$ reference evaluated on the Matsubara frequency axis, referred to as BSE@sc$GW$. The self-consistent $GW$ starting point provides a robust quasiparticle description and reduces sensitivity to the initial mean-field reference compared to one-shot $GW$-based approaches. We further introduce a dynamical correction to the static Casida formulation via a plasmon-pole model. This scheme incorporates simple dynamical screening effects while retaining the efficiency of an effective eigenvalue problem. The resulting dynamically corrected BSE@sc$GW$ yields excitation energies in close agreement with high-level wavefunction-based benchmarks for both singlet and triplet excitations of small molecules. Overall, the accuracy of the dynamic BSE@sc$GW$ approach arises from the combination of a well-converged single-particle reference and the inclusion of frequency-dependent screening effects.
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Statistical Mechanics · Cross-listed from quant-ph

Signature of paraparticles: a minimal Gedankenexperiment

Paraparticles beyond bosons and fermions can be exchanged via either the braid group (anyons, existing up to $D=2$ space dimensions) or the permutation group; in the latter case the space dimensions are not limited. Besides being predicted, anyons have been experimentally detected. The situation differs for paraparticles exchanged via the permutation group ("permutation-group parastatistics").The first test to detect their theoretical signature was published in 2021 (for $Z_2\times Z_2$-graded parafermions; it was soon followed by a second paper proving the detectability of $Z_2\times Z_2$-graded parabosons). Later on, two further papers proved theoretical signatures of permutation-group parastatistics. These works demonstrate that, in certain situations, a long-held belief on the "conventionality of parastatistics" argument can be evaded: some measurements of permutation-group paraparticles cannot be recovered from ordinary bosons/fermions. The main question now is how to experimentally detect or engineer in the laboratory such paraparticles. For this aim a minimal setup for the theoretical test is here provided: a Gedankenexperiment (a simplified version of the two tests published in 2021) which, essentially, is a flow chart of logical operations. The key point is to present, to experimentalists, the necessary steps to be simulated/realized in the laboratory (possibly, by manipulating qudits). In this minimal setup, the detection/engineering of paraparticles is mapped into a chirality test. The mathematical setting is based on $Z_2\times Z_2$-graded color Lie (super)algebras and derived mathematical structures.
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Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

Microscopic Modeling of Surface Roughness Scattering in Inversion Layers of MOSFETs Based on Ando's Linear Model

Surface roughness (SR) scattering in inversion layers of bulk-MOSFETs is studied from the atomistic and quantum-mechanical viewpoints. Contrary to the usual macroscopic landscape of the roughness deviation, we introduce a stochastic deviation at each atomic site to take account of the discontinuity of the spatial derivatives of the electrostatic potential and wave-function at the semiconductor/dielectric interface, leading to an ambiguity in roughness positions. It is shown that SR parameters are consistent with those known from the experiments and, thus, there is no discrepancy problem associated with the roughness parameters in our model. The self-consistent scattering rate is derived under the framework of the Green's functions scheme: We find that the SR scattering rates are intrinsically nonlocal (non-diagonal) with respect to subband indices and greatly deviate from those based on Fermi's golden rule in the regimes of strong effective fields and/or low electron energies. As a result, the conventional SR model tends to underestimate the surface-roughness-limited mobility.
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Statistical Mechanics

Long-Range Order in Coupled $D$-dimensional Kuramoto Oscillators

We show that the long-range order (LRO) strikingly emerges in systems of locally coupled $D$-dimensional vector Kuramoto oscillators on low-dimensional lattices ($d=1,2$), but only for odd $D$. This parity-dependent effect is traced to two-oscillator dynamics, where odd-$D$ units synchronize for any coupling, while even-$D$ pairs require a finite threshold. This fundamental difference selectively seeds collective order in large-scale systems, a phenomenon demonstrated by our numerical simulations. A renormalization group analysis reveals a RG flow to a weak-coupling fixed point for $d \le 2$. In this limit, odd-$D$ systems effectively map to a ferromagnetic model, developing an ordered “hemisphere" phase, whereas even-$D$ systems remain disordered. Our findings further reveal orientational LRO emerges in both $d=1$ and $d=2$, but frequency LRO requires $d=2$. We contrast these results with the established behavior of models possessing continuous symmetry, highlighting how quenched disorder provides a fundamentally new route to order.
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All authors Zhongpu Qiu, Tianyi Wu, Linkai Zhang, Sheng Fang, Jun Meng, Jingfang Fan, Hugues Chaté

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

Harnessing Plasmonic Heating For Switching In Antiferromagnets

Heat waste is a bottleneck in the development of green information technologies and much effort has been devoted to suppress the heating effect in both electronic and spintronic devices. Here we take an alternative approach and show that controllable heating at the nanoscale can actually benefit information processing. In particular, we study a hybrid nanostructure consisting of a metallic square frame and an antiferromagnetic (AFM) thin film and show that the plasmonic heating can reversibly switch two perpendicularly-oriented AFM domains without the assistance of magnetic fields and electric currents. The required switching energy is at the order 1 nJ, three to six orders of magnitude lower than the current-driven AFM switching. The physical mechanism arises from the thermal-induced strain fields inside the frame, which couple to and manipulate the magnetic orientation via magnetoelastic effect. The strain field direction can be well controlled by selectively exciting the longitudinal and transverse plasmon modes by varying the polarization of the waves, which readily allows for a reversible switching of the AFM vector. Our findings provide tremendous opportunities for optically manipulating the magnetism with ultralow energy consumption and may further promote the interdisciplinary study of photonics, acoustics and spintronics.
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Other Condensed Matter

Extended Haldane Model in The Dice Lattice: Multiple Flat-Band-Induced topological Transitions Revealed

In this study, we examine the introduction of the Haldane model into the dice lattice by altering the flow between the next-nearest-neighbour sites. This breaks the lattice's inversion and time-reversal symmetries. We demonstrate the presence of point-charge particle symmetries at $\phi^c=\pi/6$ and $5\pi/6$ and derive the analytical expression for quasi-energies. We demonstrate that a gap closure occurs at these critical points, inducing a topological transition. This is confirmed by calculating the Berry curvature and orbital magnetic moment. A topological analysis shows that the Chern numbers of the valence band $(\nu=0)$, the flat band $(\nu=1)$ and the conduction band $(\nu=2)$ depend strongly on the relationship between the fluxes $\phi^a $ and $\phi^c$. When $\phi^c = \phi^a$, the Chern numbers are $(C_0, C_1, C_2) = (2, -2, 0)$ in the region $\phi^c \in [0, \pi/6[$, and (0, 2, -2) in the region $\phi^c\in ]5\pi/6, \pi]$. Conversely, when $\phi^c \neq \phi^a$, the topological invariants become $ (C_1, C_2) = (-1, -1)$ for $\phi^c \in [0, \pi/6[$, and $(C_0, C_1, )= (1, 1)$ for $\phi^c\in ]5\pi/6, \pi]$. These variations reflect topological phase transitions at the critical points $\phi^c=\pi/6$ and $5\pi/6$, affecting all of the system's bands. Furthermore, the anomalous Hall conductivity exhibits a quantized plateau of 2$\sigma_{0}$, as well as an unquantized tilted plateau evolving from 1.50$\sigma_{0}$ to 1.25$\sigma_{0}$ at the same transition points. Controlling the flux allows topological transitions to be engineered and quantum transport in the dice lattice to be optimised, offering promising prospects for reconfigurable topological devices with low dissipation and robust quantum transport.
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Thursday 23 April

Materials Science · Cross-listed from physics.app-ph

Solar photocatalytic disinfection of well water using immobilized TiO$_2$: A comparative field study with SODIS in Antananarivo

Access to safe drinking water remains a major challenge in rural areas of developing countries. This study investigates the feasibility of a simple, low-cost solar photocatalytic reactor coated with a commercial titanium dioxide (TiO$_2$) pigment for the disinfection of well water contaminated with fecal coliforms. A TiO$_2$ film was deposited on a glass plate using a straightforward acetone slurry method and exposed to natural sunlight in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The efficiency was compared with the conventional SODIS method (solar disinfection without catalyst). Water samples from ten different wells were characterized for physicochemical and bacteriological quality. After 10 minutes of solar exposure, the photocatalytic reactor reduced presumptive fecal coliform counts below the method detection limit ($<$1~CFU/100~mL) in all ten samples tested, whereas the SODIS control reduced the initial count by approximately 51% in a representative sample. While disinfection kinetics varied slightly with water turbidity and pH, inactivation below the detection limit was consistently achieved. Pearson correlation analysis showed no statistically significant linear correlation between the inactivation rate constant and any measured water-quality parameter (all $p > 0.4$). The results demonstrate that even a non-uniform, low-purity TiO$_2$ coating significantly accelerates bacterial inactivation under solar radiation, offering a promising and affordable household-scale treatment technology for low-resource settings. However, longer-term validation, catalyst stability, dark-control assessment, and leaching studies are still required before widespread implementation can be recommended.
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All authors Jean Odilon Andrianirina, Philippe Manjakasoa Randriantsoa, Georgette Ramanantsizehena, Domohina Raharinirina, Malik Maaza

Statistical Mechanics

Hyperstatistics

We propose a general approach, named by us hyperstatistics, to treat complex systems, in which Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics breaks down at the domain level of the system. Hyperstatistics preserves the concavity of the nonadditive $q$-entropy. We obtain analytical closed-form expressions for the here proposed ($q, n$)-generalized Boltzmann factor $B_q^{n}$ considering uniform, $\gamma$, Log-normal, F, and the $q$-$\gamma$ probability distribution functions. Remarkably, for all investigated distribution functions, $B_q^{n}$ reduces to a $q$-exponential-type function. To demonstrate the applicability of hyperstatistics, we use a table top experiment of the discharge of a capacitor considering $\gamma$-distributed relaxation times, the pressure decay over time associated with the pumping of $^4$He lines of a closed cycle cryostat, midrapidity data for $\textit{p}$-Pb collisions at the LHC, as well as data set for acceleration distribution in turbulent systems. Furthermore, we deduce the power-law-like $\textit{universal}$ dielectric response using a $q$-generalized $\gamma$-distribution function proposed in this work. Hyperstatistics is applicable to systems with inherent non-Boltzmann-Gibbsian statistics at the domain level. We demonstrate that at the domain level hyperstatistics and superstatistics are equivalent, while at the macroscopic level hyperstatistics recovers superstatistics for $q \to 1$ because the Boltzmann-Gibbs character of the domains is restored, as well as Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics for $n \to \infty$.
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All authors Lucas Squillante, Samuel M. Soares, Constantino Tsallis, Mariano de Souza

Materials Science

Dynamical stability and multifunctional properties of Ni2+/Pr3+ co-doped CsPbCl3 perovskite: insights from first-principles lattice dynamics and carrier transport

All inorganic halide perovskites offer promising optoelectronic properties at low cost, but their structural softness and thermal instability limit applications. Density functional theory using the FP-LAPW method (WIEN2k) was used to study Ni2+/Pr3+ co-doping in CsPbCl3. Results show Ni2+ substitutes for Pb2+ at the B-site and Pr3+ for Cs at the A-site, keeping charge balance. Co-doping stabilizes the lattice, raises formation energies of halogen and metal vacancies, and reduces deep defect levels in the band gap. Phonon dispersion confirms that both pristine and co-doped CsPbCl3 are dynamically stable. Ni2+/Pr3+ co-doping suppresses low-energy vibrations and causes mode splitting in the 3 to 5 THz range, increasing phonon scattering and lowering lattice thermal conductivity. Mechanical analysis reveals higher elastic constants and bulk modulus, while ductility remains unchanged. Electronic structure calculations reveal Ni-3d and Pr-4f states at the band edges, reducing effective carrier mass and passivating vacancy states. Optical absorption is red-shifted, and the high-frequency ({\epsilon} = 2.4) and low-frequency ({\epsilon} = 7.4) dielectric constants are distinct. Transport analysis finds higher carrier mobility due to lighter effective masses. Altogether, Ni2+/Pr3+ co-doping reduces defect concentrations and improves the optoelectronic properties of CsPbCl3.
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All authors Sikander Azam, Asif Zaman, Qaiser Rafiq, Amin Ur Rahman, Saleem Ayaz Khan

Materials Science

Enhanced Tantalum Superconducting Resonator Performance via All-Surface Organic Monolayer Passivation

Tantalum is a promising platform for superconducting quantum circuits, yet coherence times remain limited by dielectric losses from interfacial two-level systems (TLS), exacerbated by native oxide regrowth. Here, we implement molecular surface passivation using self-assembled organic monolayers on freshly etched tantalum and silicon in coplanar waveguide resonators. Surface characterization by contact angle, XPS, FTIR and TEM confirm the formation of ordered, nanometer-thick films that suppress oxide formation. Microwave measurements in the ~5-9 GHz range reveal internal quality factors up to 1.8x10^6 in the single-photon regime at 100 mK, representing a ~140% improvement over untreated devices with native oxide. Power and temperature dependent measurements attribute this enhancement to reduced TLS-induced losses. These results demonstrate that molecular passivation effectively engineers low-loss interfaces and provides a scalable route toward high-coherence superconducting quantum devices.
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All authors Harsh Gupta, Moritz Singer, Benedikt Schoof, Anna Cattani-Scholz, Shreya Sharma, Luca Rommeis, Marc Tornow

Materials Science · Cross-listed from quant-ph

Tantalum Damascene Coplanar Waveguide Resonators Fabricated Using 300 mm Scale Processes

Surface oxides contribute to losses in superconducting transmon devices resulting in degraded performance. We explore the use of the damascene process to replace the sidewall native oxide of a device with a metal/substrate interface. We simulate sidewall oxidation by burying an oxide layer during fabrication. We observe a modest improvement between the two types of devices, which is suggestive of a reduction in the surface participation ratio.
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All authors Ekta Bhatia, Yingge Du, Krishna P Koirala, Chung Kow, Mingzhao Liu, Juan Macy, Tharanga R. Nanayakkara, Francisco Ponce, Satyavolu S. Papa Rao, Drew J. Rebar, Peter V. Sushko, Brent A VanDevender, Chongmin Wang, Marvin G. Warner, Zhihao Xiao