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Physics

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Friday 5 June

Materials Science

Redox-Active Halide Materials for Cathode Applications

Zhuohan Li and Gerbrand Ceder

Electrochemically redox-active halide (eREAL) materials are an emerging class of materials that combine high Li-ion conductivity with transition-metal redox activity, making them promising candidates for cathode or catholyte applications. As a redox-active catholyte, they could significantly increase the energy density of solid-state batteries. In this work, we perform first-principles calculations on Li-M-Cl (M = 3d transition metals) ternaries to establish such a theoretical foundation for their stability and electrochemical activity. We map the phase stability of eREAL structures with varying metal-to-Cl ratio, transition-metal species, oxidation states, and anion frameworks, and compute cation and anion redox potentials. We find that the high ionicity of metal-Cl bonds elevates cation redox potentials above those of conventional oxide cathodes, but also will promote Cl oxidation and Cl-Cl dimerization at high voltages, which may limit the stability of these materials. Anion substitution effectively tunes both cation and anion redox potentials, with F substitution standing out as a viable route to extend the reversible voltage window. Beyond the anion redox issue, eREAL compounds generally exhibit flat voltage profiles, which potentially poses an electrochemical compatibility challenge when paired with active materials that operate at different voltage values or over wider voltage ranges. Collectively, our study provides a comprehensive analysis for redox behavior of eREAL materials, paving the way for their rational design and optimization in next-generation battery applications.
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Quantum Physics

Hamiltonian-Guided Leverage Embedding: Robust Subspace Compression for Efficient QAOA Parameter Estimation

Sumanta Mukherjee, Kalyan Dasgupta, Surya Shravan Kumar Sajja et al. (+5 more)

Every Ising energy is a known linear function of measured spin features, yet the standard QAOA estimator discards this structure. We introduce Hamiltonian-Guided Leverage Embedding (HGLE), which projects Hamiltonian coefficients onto the leading subspace of a measured feature matrix. The fraction of coefficient norm outside this subspace yields a deterministic, same-batch certificate bounding how much compression distorts the objective. This certificate is minimax-tight - no linear estimator on the same subspace achieves smaller worst-case error. We establish four results beyond the pointwise certificate. First, a held-out pilot projector with summable failure allocation gives population-distortion intervals valid over an unbounded adaptive sequence. Second, coefficient projection strictly reduces estimator variance, with the reduction equal to the variance of the discarded component. Third, one SVD basis simultaneously certifies Kobservables, defeating the rank-1 degeneracy of single-Hamiltonian compression. Fourth, the compression quality is governed by graph topology through the expected Gram matrix.
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All authors Sumanta Mukherjee, Kalyan Dasgupta, Surya Shravan Kumar Sajja, Kameshwaran Sampath, Abhishek Singh, Dhriti Verma, Dzung Phan, Jayant Kalagnanam

Optics

Deep-level engineering in aluminum nitride (AlN) enables reliable photodetection in extreme conditions

Jiahao Dong, Zhenjing Liu, Sara Tulchinsky et al. (+1 more)

Semiconductor photodetectors are conventionally optimized for sensing weak optical signals, and they typically saturate at low-to-moderate light intensity. Here, we demonstrate AlN photodetectors that exhibit non-saturating linear response to ultra-bright, sub-bandgap light exceeding 40 $\mathrm{W/cm^2}$ (over 400 Suns). The photodetector further shows undistorted linear response at elevated temperature, up to at least 300 $\mathrm{^\circ C}$. This exceptional performance originates from photoresponse mediated by point defects with energy levels deep in the bandgap (deep levels) at the metal-AlN Schottky junction. Through dopant design and contact engineering, we demonstrate that a narrow space-charge region is essential for enabling ultra-bright light detection and accurate measurement. These results establish a strategy for engineering ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor devices for reliable operation in extreme conditions to meet emerging needs in industrial process control, thermal and nuclear power generation, and aeronautics and spaceflight.
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All authors Jiahao Dong, Zhenjing Liu, Sara Tulchinsky, Rafael Jaramillo

Quantum Physics

Near-deterministic single-atom loading on a photonic integrated circuit

Xinchao Zhou, Ahreum Lee, Dipanjan Das et al. (+2 more)

Coupling identical quantum emitters to a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a key step for scaling up emitter-photon interfaces for quantum science and information processing. Neutral atoms are attractive candidates due to their indistinguishability and controllability. However, experimental realizations of efficient atom trapping on a PIC while achieving strong single atom-photon coupling has so-far remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate near-deterministic single-atom loading on a microring resonator circuit, reaching single-atom cooperativity parameter C > 1 for strong coupling in cavity quantum electrodynamics. We utilize a precision optical conveyor belt, formed by a moving optical lattice in an optical tweezer, to steadily deliver trapped atoms onto a PIC. By continuously monitoring the transmission of probe photons through the circuit, which is sensitive to the proximity of single atoms near a microring resonator, we detect mean occupancy of 1.5 from 70 occupied lattice sites in a conveyor-belt transport of 4 nm position reproducibility. Based upon real-time feedback, we deterministically transfer the delivered atoms into a stationary trap on the microring, achieving 82% (18%) probability of single-(two-)atom transfer. Our technique can be extended to deterministic, highly efficient atom array assembly, providing a scalable route for neutral atom integration with PICs of complex functionalities.
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All authors Xinchao Zhou, Ahreum Lee, Dipanjan Das, Saivirinchi Prabandhakavi, Chen-Lung Hung

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Maximal Abelian Flavor Symmetries

Juanca Carrasco-Martinez and Lawrence J. Hall

A framework, MAFS, is introduced that provides an approximate description of the hierarchies of quark and lepton masses and mixing angles in terms of a set of small parameters, $\epsilon_a$, one for each fermion multiplet. MAFS is an alternative to the Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism and has a unique application in any theory, as there are no fermion charges to choose. It becomes more powerful as the number of multiplets is reduced. In $SU(5)$ unified theories, 15 observed mass ratios and mixing angles are described, at the factor of two level, by five small $\epsilon_a$ parameters. Even though quarks and leptons are unified, the observed hierarchical pattern of quark masses and mixings requires large neutrino mixing angles and small neutrino mass hierarchies. In an $SO(10)$ unified theory, MAFS successfully describes the 15 observed flavor hierarchies with just three small $\epsilon_a$, taking values of $0.01, 0.02$ and $0.002$. The observed cosmological baryon asymmetry results approximately from leptogenesis using MAFS in $SU(5)$, without the need for any additional small parameter; while in $SO(10)$, a further small parameter of about 0.2 appears necessary.
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Quantum Physics

Floquet Entanglement Generation in Parametrically Driven Coupled Superconducting Qubits

Gustavo M. Meneses A., Daniel Dominguez and María José Sánchez

We investigate the dynamical generation of entanglement in a system of two superconducting qubits coupled through a parametrically driven longitudinal interaction. Using Floquet theory and exact numerical simulations, we analyze the time evolution of the system initialized in a separable ground state. Our results reveal a nontrivial mechanism for entanglement generation, fundamentally distinct from the conventional resonant excitation to an entangled eigenstate. We show that this mechanism emerges when two initially separable eigenstates are mixed by the periodic driving under multiphoton resonance conditions. Since the effect cannot be captured within a standard rotating-wave approximation, we employ generalized Van Vleck near-degenerate perturbation theory to derive an effective analytical description. Within this framework, we demonstrate that the sustained entanglement originates from the hybridization of the dominant Floquet states, namely those with the largest overlap with the initial ground state. Furthermore, the degree of entanglement can be efficiently controlled through the driving amplitude. In particular, for specific amplitudes, the entanglement is fully suppressed. We term this phenomenon as coherent destruction of entanglement.
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Biological Physics

The Chemotactic Index for Spatial Gradient Sensing

Nicholas A. Licata

We consider the problem of quantifying the chemotactic efficiency of single cells as measured by the chemotactic index $\Psi$. Previous work in a model framework for direct sensing of spatial gradients indicated that $\Psi$ depends on a single dimensionless group $s$, which plays the role of the square of the signal to noise ratio in the problem. We revisit this problem theoretically and demonstrate that the cumulants in the model can be calculated exactly. We derive explicit results for the multivariate cumulants up to third order in terms of the diffusive current density and Gaunt coefficients. We discuss the machinery required to translate Burg-Purcell style limits on concentration gradient uncertainty into results for the chemotactic index. We compute the leading corrections to $\Psi$ in an Edgeworth expansion, and identify a dimensionless group $\lambda$ in the problem which is a ratio of concentrations that captures the effects of the non-Gaussianity. By careful consideration of experimental results on slime mold chemotaxis, we demonstrate that the explanatory success of the original Gaussian approximation for the chemotactic index stems in part from the fact the concentration gradients were shallow, $|\lambda| \ll s$.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Dynamic Range Beyond Bit Depth of a CMOS Image Sensor Using Interleaved Row Readout

Supriyo Ghosh, William Martin, Hugh R. A. Jones et al. (+3 more)

The dynamic range available from a sensor is vital to its utility. The limits on the dynamic range that can be obtained from an image sensor are set by the brightest and faintest objects that can be detected. In recent years, CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) image sensors (CIS) have gained high popularity due to their low cost and high availability. However, as with all detectors, the dynamic range is constrained by the sensor's bit depth. Here, we have modified the readout scheme of a commercial CIS120 sensor from Teledyne e2v, to enhance its dynamic range. We have advanced the interleaved row readout method proposed by Wocial et al. by using a more sophisticated approach, which enables us to readout chosen rows much more frequently to avoid saturation and then readout other rows on the sensor once to form the image. Our laboratory tests provide a dynamic range of 134 dB elevated from the sensor's native 12-bit of about 71 dB. We also built a camera housing that enabled first-time operation of interleaved row readout on-sky to observe the bright stars, Vega and Polaris. In complex mode we obtained unsaturated single exposure images of these bright stars, which have magnitudes near zero and detect background stars with Gaia G magnitudes around 15 in a single exposure, with a detection threshold of 5$\sigma$. The achievable dynamic range with this interleaved row readout is limited only by the readout noise and scattering in the camera optics.
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All authors Supriyo Ghosh, William Martin, Hugh R. A. Jones, Angaraj Duara, Konstantin Stefanov, Jesper Skottfelt

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Extending asteroseismic magnetometry across the diverse landscape of magnetic structures

Nicholas Z. Rui, J. M. Joel Ong, Armand Leclerc et al. (+5 more)

Magnetic fields have now been asteroseismically measured in the cores of many red giants. However, most interpretations of these measurements assume that the magnetic field is far below the critical field strength known to be exceeded by red giants exhibiting gravity-mode suppression. A recent method based on the traditional approximation of rotation and magnetism accurately predicts mode frequencies under fields up to this critical value by modeling gravity waves as individual magnetogravity “polarizations” which propagate through a waveguide-like mode cavity. So far, this formalism has been limited to magnetic fields which are axisymmetric about the rotation axis. In this study, we extend this approach by calculating the polarizations of magnetogravity waves under arbitrarily shaped magnetic fields under potentially rapid rotation. We consider the special cases of a dipolar magnetic field misaligned with the rotation axis as well as a dipole-plus-quadrupole magnetic field with no rotational symmetry. We show that non-axisymmetric field configurations can induce avoided crossings between polarizations, and that waves in such systems can convert between magnetogravity polarizations as they propagate, especially when the magnetic field strength is locally below a stratification-dependent threshold value. This threshold is distinct from the critical field strength for gravity-mode suppression, and is instead similar to the magnetic field strength at which perturbation theory breaks down.
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All authors Nicholas Z. Rui, J. M. Joel Ong, Armand Leclerc, Daniel Lecoanet, Lisa Bugnet, Janosz W. Dewberry, Bastien Liagre, Stéphane Mathis

Quantum Gases

Inverse supersymmetry in finite temperature Bose-Fermi mixtures

Zachary Gazzillo and Carlos A. R. Sá de Melo

We investigate nearly degenerate Bose-Fermi mixtures and show that the breaking of generalized supersymmetry (gSUSY) between bosons and fermions, with up to two internal states, manifests itself through the emergence of fermionic Goldstino modes with up to four flavors. In particular, we draw a distinction between typical supersymmetry (SUSY), where bosons have pseudospin 0 and fermions have pseudospin 1/2, and inverse supersymmetry (iSUSY), where bosons have pseudospin 1/2 and fermions have pseudospin 0. In such systems, we highlight that the Goldstino pseudospin is carried by either its constituent fermion (SUSY) or boson (iSUSY). We then distinguish between these two cases by depicting their differing effects on the spectral functions of the bosonic and fermionic atomic species. Lastly, we propose radio-frequency- or microwave-spectroscopy experiments, analogous to momentum (angular) resolved photoemission in condensed matter physics, to measure the pseudospin-dependent spectral functions and detect the emergence of Goldstino modes in mixtures of $^{39}$K and $^{40}$K.
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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Spacetime Bartnik Mass Positivity and Temporal Monotonicity for Black Holes

Lars Andersson, Marcus Khuri, Marc Mars et al. (+1 more)

We define a quasilocal mass of Bartnik type, and establish its positivity and temporal monotonicity properties for two classes of domains associated with black holes. More precisely, we first show that the quasilocal mass is strictly positive for spacelike hypersurfaces that are: compact with apparent horizon boundary or noncompact with asymptotically flat ends and containing an apparent horizon in any admissible extension. Secondly, we show that the quasilocal mass is monotonically nondecreasing in time within evolutionary scenarios related to the two aforementioned settings.
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All authors Lars Andersson, Marcus Khuri, Marc Mars, Walter Simon

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Do Vision-Language Models See Dwarf Galaxies the Way We Do?

Dimitrios Tanoglidis, Chin Yi Tan, Kate Overdeck et al. (+1 more)

With the advent of powerful, general-purpose vision-language models (VLMs), there has been growing interest in their potential to assist astronomical discovery, a field characterized by large volumes of image data. In this work, we evaluate VLMs on the challenging task of identifying ultra-faint dwarf galaxy candidates using multi-panel diagnostic images from survey data. We compare model predictions to human annotations from a large-scale citizen science campaign. We find that zero-shot VLMs closely reproduce aggregate human calibration and perform well on less ambiguous cases. However, there is significant variability at the level of individual examples, and attempts to obtain uncertainty estimates (via self-reported confidence or repeated inference) fail to yield reliable and practically useful measures. Our results highlight both the promise and the current limitations of deploying VLMs for large-scale scientific discovery in realistic settings.
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All authors Dimitrios Tanoglidis, Chin Yi Tan, Kate Overdeck, Alex Drlica-Wagner

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

B Meson Semi-Invisible Decays via Perturbative QCD

Han-Bing Liu, Ye Xing and Bin Luo

This paper focuses on the dark sector decay processes of $B$ mesons ($B\to \mathcal{B}_8\ +$ invisible). Using the perturbative QCD (pQCD) approach, we calculate the upper bounds on the branching ratios for decays from $B$ mesons into light baryons and dark baryons within two distinct $B$-Mesogenesis scenarios. A detailed discussion of the form factor $B\to \mathcal{B}_8$ is presented. Based on the derived form factors and effective couplings, we then reach the final numerical analysis. The results show that these upper bounds can reach sizable, especially for $B^0\to n\psi$ in Type-I scenario, with values of orderis $\mathcal{O}(10^{-5})$ . Such processes are expected to facilitate the search for dark matter at hadron colliders and B factories.
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Disordered Systems and Neural Networks

Length-resolved Operator Growth and Path-Entropy Obstructions to Many-Body Localization

J. Sirker

For the disordered Ising chain with transverse and longitudinal fields, where couplings and fields are drawn from strictly positive distributions, Cao~\cite{Cao} has shown that the moments $\mu_{2k} = \|[H,\sigma^z_0]^{(k)}\|_2^2$ grow almost factorially, $\mu_{2k}^{1/(2k)}\sim k/\ln k$, and thus asymptotically at the maximal allowed rate. We generalize this result by resolving the operator norm in support length and show that the weight at length $\ell_k \sim k/\ln k$ already exhibits almost factorial growth, $\|[H,\sigma^z_0]^{(k)}_{\ell_k}\|_2 \gtrsim (k/\ln k)^k$. This implies maximal spatial delocalization of local operators and, in particular, rules out dynamical locality—the strongest form of many-body localization—at any disorder strength. We further establish rigorously a finite-size crossover scale $L\sim (W/J)^2$, where $W$ is the disorder and $J$ the coupling strength. For $L\lesssim (W/J)^2$ numerical studies only access a pre-asymptotic regime. Finally, we identify a structural path-entropy obstruction to perturbative LIOM constructions, based on the almost factorial branching of operator content and independent of resonance effects; the same mechanism strongly suggests ballistic real-time operator spreading, so sub-ballistic or localized dynamics would require a presently unidentified cancellation principle acting on almost factorially many disorder-dependent paths with random amplitudes.
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2606.07774 · 5 Jun · The path-entropy obstruction theorem concerning the perturbative construction of LIOMs has been rewritten and significantly sharpened. Also, parts of theorems 3 and 5 have been reformulated in more general terms, and no longer rely on the asymptotic operator growth formula

Abstract PDF $ENTR ×2

Materials Science

Machine learning assisted molecular dynamics of charge-transfer mechanisms at Li/Ga-doped Li$_7$La$_3$Zr$_2$O$_{12}$ (LLZO) interfaces

Arseniy S. Burov, Artem M. Abakumov and Dmitry A. Aksyonov

Interfacial charge transfer between solid electrolytes (SEs) and Li metal is a key factor limiting all-solid-state battery performance. Conventional density functional theory and nudged elastic band calculations are performed at 0 K along a single minimum-energy path and therefore neglect concerted multi-ion motion and finite-temperature effects, which can lead to inaccurate activation barriers. Here, we trained moment tensor potentials (MTPs) for garnet LLZO systems (t-LLZO, c-LLZO, and Ga-LLZO) and Li metal, enabling machine-learning molecular dynamics (MLMD) simulations of Li$^+$ diffusion in the bulk and across Li/SE interfaces. We also introduce a residence-time window method that filters out ion rattling at the interface and isolates genuine charge-transfer events. The resulting charge-transfer activation energy at the Li/Ga-LLZO interface is only $167 \pm 18$ meV, below the 200 meV barrier for vacancy-mediated Li migration in bulk Ga-LLZO. The corresponding intrinsic charge-transfer resistance is $\sim 10^{-5}\ \Omega\ \mathrm{cm}^{2}$, almost four orders of magnitude below the lowest experimentally reported $R_{\mathrm{ct}}$. These results indicate that intrinsic charge transfer across the Li/Ga-LLZO interface is not rate-limiting, and that Li transport within the electrolyte instead governs the overall kinetics. Taken together, our findings clarify the fast interfacial kinetics in Li/LLZO systems, and the proposed methodology can aid further interface optimization in solid-state batteries.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Beyond Point Estimates: Benchmarking Uncertainty Quantification Methods on the AION-1 Astronomical Foundation Model

Karla Tame-Narvaez, Aleksandra Ćiprijanović and Shubhendu Trivedi

Foundation models for astronomical surveys offer powerful learned representations that can be transferred to downstream regression tasks such as galaxy property estimation. However, point predictions alone are insufficient for scientific inference; reliable uncertainty quantification (UQ) is essential. We compare seven UQ methods on galaxy property regression using frozen AION-1 foundation-model embeddings, predicting redshift, stellar mass, stellar-population age, gas-phase metallicity, and specific star-formation rate, from Legacy Survey photometry/imaging and DESI spectra, with PROVABGS-derived labels. Distribution-free conformal methods achieve marginal coverage within $\sim$1\,pp of the nominal 90% across all properties, while non-conformal baselines (Deep Ensembles, MC~Dropout) fail to calibrate reliably. Among conformal approaches, Conformalized Quantile Regression (CQR) delivers the best coverage in the bin with the poorest model predictions. More importantly, only the Locally Valid and Discriminative (LVD) framework – particularly when operating on AION-1 embeddings – also provides finite-sample local validity, producing intervals that adapt to each galaxy's local prediction difficulty rather than relying on marginal guarantees alone. These results establish conformal prediction, and LVD in particular, as the preferred UQ framework for uncertainty-aware inference on foundation-model embeddings in astrophysics.
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Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Towards Instrument-Agnostic Exoplanet Candidate Prioritization

Vivaswan Kopparapu, Sibasish Laha, Brian P. Powell et al. (+3 more)

We have developed a novel machine learning (ML) approach for predicting the likelihood of exoplanet candidate confirmation equally capable of performance on both TESS and Kepler data. From the NASA exoplanet archival post-processed Kepler and TESS databases, we chose six parameters that we assessed to be predictive to the planet transit signature: planet orbital period (P), planet radius ($R_{\rm p}$), stellar temperature ($T_{\rm eff}$), stellar radius ($R_{\rm star}$), planet transit depth ($\delta$), and planet transit duration ($t_{\rm d}$). We used these parameters to evaluate eleven different ML models on all possible train/test combinations of TESS and Kepler data, using the confirmed planet and false positive labels as our training targets. We found that, due to substantially different distributions of our chosen parameters in Kepler and TESS databases, models trained with data from one instrument have difficulty predicting the other. However, models trained jointly with both TESS and Kepler data can perform well on both. We combined our best models into a statistically robust ensemble to evaluate the planet candidates in both Kepler and TESS, and we provide a list of the top candidates predicted by our model for each. Confirmed planets and false positives that have been resolved since the completion of our analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of our model and suggest that our top candidates are likely to be confirmed if they are further analyzed by the community. With the upcoming launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman) and the expected order-of-magnitude increase in planet candidates, we suggest that our method can be extended to Roman data for robust and effective prioritization for analysis.
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All authors Vivaswan Kopparapu, Sibasish Laha, Brian P. Powell, Veselin Kostov, Rajarshi Basak, Samuel Verbrugge

Fluid Dynamics

Cascades in the Kinetic Equation for the Majda-McLaughlin-Tabak model

Gregorio Tibone, Giorgio Krstulovic and Miguel Onorato

The Majda-McLaughlin-Tabak (MMT) family of models has proven to be an efficient ground for benchmarking wave turbulence theory, thanks to the low computational cost required to test theoretical ideas and the possibility of tuning nonlinearity and dispersive properties of the equations. Here, we study numerically the wave kinetic equation (WKE) associated with the MMT model and perform simulations to study turbulent cascades. We confirm numerically the predictions of wave turbulence theory, both in the parameter space region where the wave kinetic equation was proven to be well posed and outside of it. We also observe a new stable stationary state in a region where no cascade solutions are expected, a region that, to the best of our knowledge, has not been explored before. Moreover, following recent work, we study next-to-leading-order corrections to the wave kinetic equation; we uncover incurable divergences in the one-dimensional MMT model and, more generally, in higher-dimensional systems with concave power-law dispersion relations.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

SynIM: a high-performance GPU-accelerated Python library for synthetic interaction and tomographic reconstruction matrices in next-generation adaptive optics

Guido Agapito, Fabio Rossi and Alfio Puglisi

Next-generation Adaptive Optics (AO) systems for 8-40m class telescopes, such as MORFEO (ELT) and MAVIS (VLT), demand high calibration accuracy. Controlling thousands of actuators makes experimental calibration unfeasible due to daytime overheads, environmental disturbances, and opto-mechanical aberrations. Consequently, model-based (synthetic) calibration has become the mandatory standard. We present SynIM, an open-source Python library designed for computing high-fidelity synthetic Interaction, Projection, and Covariance Matrices. SynIM leverages GPU acceleration via CuPy to handle the massive dimensionality of high-order systems. A core innovation is its handling of spatial geometry via composite affine transformations and absolute sub-pixel grid alignment. By merging DM and WFS shifts, rotations, and magnifications into a single operation, SynIM minimizes interpolation artifacts. SynIM introduces an optimized numerical derivative engine for slope computation that mathematically aligns spatial grids at the sub-pixel level, closely mimicking the physical behavior of Shack-Hartmann sensors. It outperforms geometric estimators like the G-tilt telescoping sum at high spatial frequencies, while yielding a substantial computational speed-up. Crucially, end-to-end MCAO simulations demonstrate that reconstructors built with SynIM deliver closed-loop AO performance practically equivalent to full physical optics models. SynIM natively supports SCAO, GLAO, MCAO, and LTAO configurations. It features optimized multi-WFS batch processing, modules for MMSE tomographic reconstructors, and full compatibility with SPRINT for online tracking. Currently driving the design and operational strategies for MORFEO, MAVIS, AOF, KAPA, and WST, SynIM stands as an essential tool for next-generation AO calibration.
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Statistical Mechanics · Cross-listed from math.PR

REM universality and Poisson-Dirichlet Gibbs weights for linear random energy

Francesco Concetti and Simone Franchini

We study the Hamiltonian $H_n(h,\sigma)=\sum_{i=1}^n h_i(\sigma_i-m), $ where $(h_i)$ are i.i.d.\ real random variables and $(\sigma_i)$ are i.i.d.\ Ising spins. We consider the energy levels obtained after an independent thinning that retains an exponential number of configurations ($e^{O(n)}$). We prove that, after an $(h_i)$-dependent centering, the resulting point process converges in distribution to a Poisson point process with exponential intensity. Thus, the energy levels asymptotically has the one of the Random Energy Model (REM). Our results extend previous ones, where REM universality for this model was established only either for energy fluctuations of order $e^{-O(n)}$ or for $e^{o(\sqrt n)}$ randomly selected configurations. We also identify the limiting Gibbs weights, which converge to a Poisson–Dirichlet law, and the quenched free energy, which exhibits a freezing transition at $\beta=\tilde\lambda$. The proofs are presented here in compressed form; full details are given in the companion preprint.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

MORFEO wavefront error budget

Guido Agapito, Lorenzo Busoni, Cédric Plantet et al. (+2 more)

MORFEO (Multi-conjugate adaptive Optics Relay For ELT Observations, formerly MAORY) is the multi-conjugate adaptive optics module of the ESO Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), designed to deliver diffraction-limited performance in the near-infrared for its first-light camera MICADO. With its 12 wavefront sensors and three deformable mirrors, MORFEO stands as the largest and most complex adaptive optics system ever developed for astronomical observations. A key aspect of its design and verification is the construction of a comprehensive wavefront error (WFE) budget, which defines the system's expected performance under a range of operating conditions. In this work, we present the structure of the MORFEO WFE budget, detailing the main contributors to the residual error and the methodology adopted to evaluate each term. The analysis includes contributions from atmospheric turbulence, optical surfaces, alignment tolerances, control residuals, and calibration uncertainties. We also discuss the external conditions, system configurations, and key assumptions used in the derivation of the budget, highlighting the interplay between requirements and instrument design choices. Importantly, the resulting error budget is being used to support end-to-end simulations of MORFEO-assisted observations, providing essential input for assessing the scientific capabilities of the system and guiding the definition of future observing strategies.
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All authors Guido Agapito, Lorenzo Busoni, Cédric Plantet, Giulia Carlà, Jean-Pierre Véran

Nuclear Experiment

Short-range correlated pair formation and nuclear shell structure

D. Nguyen, C. Yero, H. Szumila-Vance et al. (+27 more)

Short-range correlated (SRC) nucleon pairs, caused by brief, high-momentum interactions between two nucleons, are dominated by neutron-proton pairs with large relative and smaller center-of-mass momenta. However, which nucleons form pairs is not fully understood. Measurements of 40,48Ca and 54Fe showed that intra-shell pairing was much stronger than inter-shell pairing. We measured high- missing-momentum protons knocked out in electron scattering from selected nuclei with a range of shell configurations, A, and N/Z, including 9Be, 10,11B, 12C, 40,48Ca, 54Fe, and 197Au, focusing on the four light nuclei. Unexpectedly, we found that adding one proton to 9Be (to make 10B) increased the number of correlated protons far more than adding one neutron to 10B or adding one proton to 11B, perhaps due to the large spin (J = 3) of 10B or the unusual structure of 9Be. In addition, the increase in pairing probability from 9Be to 12C and from 40Ca to 54Fe was much steeper than the increase from 9Be to 197Au. This shows the importance of low-momentum nuclear structure on the probability of high-momentum nucleon pairing.
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All authors D. Nguyen, C. Yero, H. Szumila-Vance, F. Hauenstein, N. Swan, L.B. Weinstein, J. Kahlbow, A. Schmidt, E. Piasetzky, O. Hen, C. Ayerbe Gayoso, E. Cohen, P. Datta, A. Denniston, B.R. Devkota, M. Diefenthaler, C. Fogler, B.R. Gamage, D. Higinbotham, I. Korover, C. Morean, M. Nycz, M. Satnik, S. Seeds, P. Sharp, I. Shlush, M. Suresh, A.S. Tadepalli, R. Wagner, E. W. Wertz

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

Detecting Exciton Condensation through Charge Transport in Semiconductor Heterostructures

Caterina Zerba, Léo Mangeolle and Michael Knap

Direct evidence of exciton condensation in semiconductor heterostructures remains elusive. Here we propose charge transport of doped carriers as a probe of exciton condensation in transition-metal dichalcogenide heterostructures and identify distinct experimental signatures. First, condensation suppresses the phase space for carrier scattering, leading to a reduction in resistivity, that provides a general diagnostic of exciton condensation. Second, in heterostructures with a tunable solid-state Feshbach resonance, condensate-induced hybridization between doped carriers and trion bound states qualitatively modifies transport. In particular, near resonance, this hybridization yields a negative effective mass and a corresponding sign reversal of the Hall resistivity. These results establish charge transport as a promising route for detecting and characterizing exciton condensation in semiconductor heterostructures.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

A Colour-colour Fingerprint Links the UV Upturn in Early-type Galaxies to Second-generation Stars from Dissolved Globular Clusters

Paul Goudfrooij, Andrea Bellini, Thomas M. Brown et al. (+1 more)

We address two mass-dependent properties among early-type galaxies (ETGs): (1) abundance ratios [N/Fe] and [Na/Fe], and (2) the centrally concentrated "UV upturn" at far-UV (FUV) wavelengths, which is likely produced by extreme horizontal branch stars with supersolar helium abundances. Using new HST/WFC3 observations of one FUV-weak and one FUV-bright ETG, we probe the "MP scenario" by Goudfrooij who posited that the UV upturn and the mass-dependent abundance variations of N and Na within and among ETGs are physically connected and produced by dissolution of metal-rich globular clusters, which represent the only galactic environment where mass-dependent enrichment of He, N, and Na is known to occur (i.e., second-generation stars of the "multiple stellar populations" (MPs) phenomenon). We show that passbands F275W and F390W are uniquely sensitive to correlated changes in $Y$ and [N/Fe] in integrated-light photometry when combined with archival data in F475W and F850LP. While F475W-F850LP is found to decrease with increasing radius in both galaxies, consistent with known metallicity gradients, F275W-F390W increases with increasing radius, as expected if the UV upturn is caused by second-generation stars with supersolar $Y$ and [N/Fe]. Furthermore, the radial gradient in F275W-F390W and the implied fractions of He- and N-enhanced stars are found to be significantly larger in the FUV-bright ETG than in the FUV-weak one, consistent with the predictions of the MP scenario.
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All authors Paul Goudfrooij, Andrea Bellini, Thomas M. Brown, Thomas H. Puzia

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1): The impact of AGN emission on SED-derived physical properties

Euclid Collaboration: B. Laloux, A. Bongiorno, M. Salvato et al. (+308 more)

The Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1) is a powerful dataset to study active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their host galaxies. Deriving their physical properties through multi-component spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting is a challenging task for AGN, but it is greatly aided by the Euclid near-infrared photometry. Here we present a new method to quantify the reliability of SED-derived parameters, such as AGN bolometric and monochromatic luminosities, host's stellar mass $M_\star$, star-formation rate (SFR) and specific star-formation rate (sSFR), by using mock SEDs of AGN built by combining observed SEDs of QSOs and galaxies. We apply this methodology to the ${\sim}1$ million Q1 AGN candidates, constructing a catalogue of AGN and host galaxy properties, alongside their respective reliability values. With a reliability threshold at 0.5, we find 88% of sources with robust stellar masses and 76% with reliable AGN luminosities. Moreover, through SED fitting we also measure the AGN fraction $f_{\rm AGN}$ of the total mid-infrared flux and we use its lower-limit to select AGN. A $f_{\rm AGN, \, low} > 0.075$ threshold yields 85% completeness and purity. Comparable to colour-colour AGN selections, this method has the advantage of being less affected by redshift evolution and exploring fainter magnitudes. Additionally, by comparing the AGN and host galaxy parameters across different identification methods, we find that the probed range in stellar mass and AGN luminosity can be quite different. This highlights the importance of combining different approaches and accounting for their selection biases when studying AGN and their role in galaxy evolution. Finally, for the X-ray detected sample, we present the X-ray to mid-IR luminosity relation, and the correlation between stellar mass and bolometric luminosity as a function of redshift, in good agreement with previous results.
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All authors Euclid Collaboration: B. Laloux, A. Bongiorno, M. Salvato, V. Allevato, M. Mezcua, W. Roster, T. Matamoro Zatarain, S. Paltani, R. Shirley, F. Tarsitano, C. Saulder, S. Fotopoulou, C. Andonie, J. Buchner, F. La Franca, V. Le Brun, F. Ricci, D. Scott, F. Shankar, M. Siudek, J. G. Sorce, L. Spinoglio, Y. Toba, A. Viitanen, L. Wang, G. Zamorani, S. Andreon, N. Auricchio, C. Baccigalupi, M. Baldi, A. Balestra, S. Bardelli, P. Battaglia, A. Biviano, M. Bolzonella, E. Branchini, M. Brescia, S. Camera, G. Cañas-Herrera, V. Capobianco, C. Carbone, J. Carretero, S. Casas, M. Castellano, G. Castignani, S. Cavuoti, K. C. Chambers, A. Cimatti, C. Colodro-Conde, G. Congedo, C. J. Conselice, L. Conversi, Y. Copin, A. Costille, F. Courbin, H. M. Courtois, M. Cropper, A. Da Silva, H. Degaudenzi, G. De Lucia, H. Dole, F. Dubath, C. A. J. Duncan, X. Dupac, S. Escoffier, M. Fabricius, M. Farina, R. Farinelli, S. Ferriol, F. Finelli, P. Fosalba, N. Fourmanoit, M. Frailis, E. Franceschi, M. Fumana, L. Gabarra, S. Galeotta, K. George, B. Gillis, C. Giocoli, J. Gracia-Carpio, A. Grazian, F. Grupp, S. Gwyn, S. V. H. Haugan, H. Hoekstra, W. Holmes, F. Hormuth, A. Hornstrup, K. Jahnke, M. Jhabvala, B. Joachimi, S. Kermiche, A. Kiessling, B. Kubik, M. Kümmel, M. Kunz, H. Kurki-Suonio, A. M. C. Le Brun, S. Ligori, P. B. Lilje, V. Lindholm, I. Lloro, M. Magliocchetti, G. Mainetti, D. Maino, E. Maiorano, O. Mansutti, S. Marcin, O. Marggraf, M. Martinelli, N. Martinet, F. Marulli, R. J. Massey, N. Mauri, E. Medinaceli, S. Mei, Y. Mellier, M. Meneghetti, E. Merlin, G. Meylan, P. Monaco, A. Mora, M. Moresco, C. Moretti, L. Moscardini, R. Nakajima, C. Neissner, R. C. Nichol, S.-M. Niemi, C. Padilla, F. Pasian, K. Pedersen, W. J. Percival, V. Pettorino, A. Pezzotta, S. Pires, G. Polenta, M. Poncet, L. A. Popa, C. Porciani, L. Pozzetti, G. D. Racca, F. Raison, A. Renzi, J. Rhodes, G. Riccio, I. Risso, E. Romelli, M. Roncarelli, R. Saglia, Z. Sakr, D. Sapone, B. Sartoris, P. Schneider, T. Schrabback, M. Scodeggio, A. Secroun, G. Seidel, S. Serrano, E. Sihvola, P. Simon, C. Sirignano, G. Sirri, J. Steinwagner, P. Tallada-Crespí, A. N. Taylor, I. Tereno, N. Tessore, S. Toft, R. Toledo-Moreo, F. Torradeflot, I. Tutusaus, L. Valenziano, J. Valiviita, T. Vassallo, A. Veropalumbo, Y. Wang, J. Weller, A. Zacchei, E. Zucca, M. Ballardini, E. Bozzo, C. Burigana, R. Cabanac, M. Calabrese, A. Cappi, T. Castro, J. A. Escartin Vigo, J. García-Bellido, R. Maoli, J. Martín-Fleitas, M. Maturi, R. B. Metcalf, M. Pöntinen, V. Scottez, M. Sereno, M. Tenti, M. Viel, M. Wiesmann, Y. Akrami, I. T. Andika, G. Angora, S. Anselmi, M. Archidiacono, F. Atrio-Barandela, L. Bazzanini, D. Bertacca, M. Bethermin, L. Bisigello, A. Blanchard, L. Blot, M. Bonici, M. L. Brown, S. Bruton, A. Calabro, B. Camacho Quevedo, F. Caro, C. S. Carvalho, F. Cogato, S. Conseil, A. R. Cooray, S. Davini, F. De Paolis, G. Desprez, A. Díaz-Sánchez, S. Di Domizio, J. M. Diego, M. Y. Elkhashab, A. Enia, Y. Fang, A. Finoguenov, F. Fontanot, A. Franco, T. Gasparetto, E. Gaztanaga, F. Giacomini, F. Gianotti, G. Gozaliasl, M. Guidi, C. M. Gutierrez, A. Hall, C. Hernández-Monteagudo, H. Hildebrandt, J. Hjorth, L. K. Hunt, J. J. E. Kajava, Y. Kang, V. Kansal, D. Karagiannis, K. Kiiveri, J. Kim, C. C. Kirkpatrick, S. Kruk, M. Lattanzi, L. Legrand, F. Lepori, G. Leroy, G. F. Lesci, J. Lesgourgues, L. Leuzzi, T. I. Liaudat, S. J. Liu, X. Lopez Lopez, J. Macias-Perez, E. A. Magnier, C. Mancini, A. Manjón-García, F. Mannucci, C. J. A. P. Martins, L. Maurin, M. Miluzio, A. Montoro, G. Morgante, C. Murray, S. Nadathur, K. Naidoo, P. Natoli, A. Navarro-Alsina, S. Nesseris, D. Paoletti, F. Passalacqua, K. Paterson, A. Pisani, D. Potter, G. W. Pratt, S. Quai, M. Radovich, G. Rodighiero, K. Rojas, S. Sacquegna, M. Sahlén, D. B. Sanders, E. Sarpa, A. Schneider, D. Sciotti, E. Sellentin, L. C. Smith, K. Tanidis, C. Tao, G. Testera, R. Teyssier, S. Tosi, A. Troja, M. Tucci, A. Venhola, D. Vergani, G. Verza, P. Vielzeuf, S. Vinciguerra, N. A. Walton

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Flavor phenomenology of light dark particles

Robert Ziegler

We review the flavor phenomenology of light dark particles, focusing on axion-like particles with sub-GeV masses and generic flavor-violating couplings. Such states can naturally emerge from the spontaneous breaking of generic flavored symmetries, and are motivated by dark matter or the Strong CP Problem, with the QCD axion serving as a paradigmatic example. Light dark particles can be produced in two-body decays of Standard Model particles, giving rise to missing energy signals that can not only be observed in high-precision flavor experiments, but also be probed in core-collapse supernovae and the cosmic microwave background. These decays are controlled by dimension-five operators, which makes dedicated laboratory searches sensitive to very large UV scales up to $10^{12} {\rm GeV}$ and thus highly complementary to astrophysical and cosmological probes. We provide a comprehensive survey of the resulting limits and prospects across all relevant channels, highlighting the central role of flavor physics in exploring the landscape of light dark matter.
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Quantum Physics

$100\pm\Delta t$ Years of Quantum Uncertainty: From Origins to Modern Insights

Lorcan O. Conlon, Biveen Shajilal, Jie Zhao et al. (+6 more)

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is a cornerstone of quantum mechanics, marking a decisive departure from classical physics. Conceived almost a century ago through a thought experiment showing that measuring an electron's position inevitably disturbs its momentum, it began as a deceptively simple idea that sparked countless studies and grew into the rich research field it is today. This review traces its development into a spectrum of mathematical formulations – known as uncertainty relations – and explores their interconnections and wide-ranging applications. We highlight its central role in quantum metrology, where it underpins strategies for extracting information from quantum systems with ever-increasing precision, and its links to multiparameter estimation and squeezed states. This review, dedicated to the centenary of the uncertainty principle, reflects on how it has deepened our understanding of quantum theory and driven practical advances, and looks ahead to a century poised for further surprising and transformative discoveries.
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All authors Lorcan O. Conlon, Biveen Shajilal, Jie Zhao, Tim C. Ralph, Gerd Leuchs, Ulrik L. Andersen, Syed M. Assad, Ping Koy Lam, Yunlong Xiao

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Dark Z' at a Muon Collider: Radiative Return versus Vector Boson Fusion

Nicko Angelo Rabang, Philip Tanedo and Marvin Flores

A secluded, massive Abelian gauge boson called a dark Z' may interact with the Standard Model through kinetic mixing and mass mixing in the Higgs sector. We determine the sensitivity of a future high-energy muon collider to discover such a particle and determine its mixing parameters. We examine a dark Z' with mass from 100 GeV up to the collider energy for a set of collider benchmarks up to 14 TeV. We show the discovery reach and compare to the current and proposed future colliders. A muon collider is sensitive to two complementary production modes: radiative return (muon fusion with an associated photon), and vector boson fusion of W bosons. An observable photon distinguishes these production modes and the relative rates of these processes allows one to determine the relative mixing. Soft and collinear photons in the radiative return diagram contribute to the same final state as vector boson fusion. We show that these relative rates alone can determine the mixing to an accuracy comparable to that of a fully polarized muon beam using a left-right asymmetry.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

CMBolic: Symbolic emulators for the Cosmic Microwave Background. I. Lensing

David M. J. Vokrouhlicky, Constantinos Skordis, Deaglan J. Bartlett et al. (+2 more)

We present the first installment of CMBolic: a suite of symbolic cosmic microwave background (CMB) emulators. In this instance, we emulate the CMB lensing potential power spectrum $C_\ell^{\phi\phi}$ for the widely used extended $\Lambda$CDM model which simultaneously includes massive neutrinos and evolving dark energy modelled using the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder (CPL) parameterization. We achieve comparable precision to existing neural network emulators, with the added benefit of simpler handling as our emulators are analytic functions of the model parameters and multipole $\ell$. On independent validation spectra evaluated in the range $2\leq \ell \leq 5500$, CMBolic achieves mean absolute fractional errors of $0.27\%$ in the $\Lambda$CDM subspace and $0.32\%$ across the full extended parameter space. This emulation error is well below even the most optimistic noise forecasts from CMB Stage 4 experiments. We apply CMBolic to cosmological parameter estimation with Bayesian inference using the lensing-only likelihoods from ACT DR6 and Planck. We show excellent agreement between the posteriors obtained by CMBolic and the Boltzmann code CLASS. This demonstrates the practical use of CMBolic on cosmological parameter estimation, reducing the runtime from 2 weeks to under 3 minutes.
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All authors David M. J. Vokrouhlicky, Constantinos Skordis, Deaglan J. Bartlett, Harry Desmond, Pedro G. Ferreira

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Open quantum system approach to the transverse momentum broadening of a colour dipole

François Arleo, Pietro Benzoni, Paul Caucal et al. (+1 more)

Using the open quantum systems formalism, we study the propagation of a quark-antiquark pair propagating through a dense QCD plasma of size $L$ and transverse momentum broadening transport coefficient $\hat q$, and we derive the Lindblad evolution equation for the density matrix of the system. We focus on the boosted regime where the opening angle $\theta_{q\bar q}$ of this effective colour dipole satisfies $\theta_{q\bar q}\ll 1$. In the correlation limit where the quark-antiquark relative transverse momentum $p_\perp$ is much larger than the imbalance $q_\perp$ as well as the medium typical transverse momentum scale $Q_s=\sqrt{\hat q L}$, we demonstrate that the resulting Wigner distribution displays quasi factorisation between a hard factor describing the hard splitting producing the $q\bar q$ pair and the transverse momentum imbalance $q_\perp$-distribution encoding the broadening induced by the medium. The factorisation is violated by a "colour decoherence" factor that controls the $\theta_{q\bar q}$ dependence of the $q_\perp$-distribution through the ratio $\theta_{q\bar q}/\theta_c$, with $\theta_c \sim (\hat q L^3)^{-1/2}$. The open quantum systems approach enables us to clarify the role of this critical angle $\theta_c$ and its associated critical time $t_c$ in the genuine quantum decoherence of the density matrix in colour and kinematic space: in particular, $t_c$ controls both the suppression of the off-diagonal elements of the density matrix in colour space and the transition between singlet and octet states. We find, however, that colour decoherence sets in earlier than the full decoherence of the density matrix, thereby marking the onset of classical behaviour in the system. Finally, we investigate the corrections beyond the quasi-factorised picture due to the quantum diffusion term in $p_\perp$ of the Lindblad equation and we find that these corrections are mild.
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All authors François Arleo, Pietro Benzoni, Paul Caucal, Pol Bernard Gossiaux