Papers

Magnetic racetrack architectures that use topological magnetic particles to store information are one of the most promising concepts for future storage applications. Antiferromagnetic racetracks are particularly appealing as they are not susceptible to external magnetic fields. State-of-the-art racetracks use magnetic fields, spin-transfer and spin-orbit torques caused by electric currents to move the bits across the entire circuit. However, the application of currents in many antiferromagnetic racetracks is limited because many of them are insulating. Recently, however, a concept for ferromagnetic racetrack memories that are free of global driving forces has been proposed. It has been demonstrated that various topological entities can be generated and transported over long distances solely through local magnetization rotation at the sample boundaries, independent of global driving forces. Here, we demonstrate that the local rotation of magnetization at the boundary of an antiferromagnetic sample can be exploited in racetracks to efficiently generate and transmit antiferromagnetic skyrmions. Additionally, we demonstrate that local switching of staggered magnetization at the edge of an antiferromagnetic racetrack can be even more successful than the rotational procedure. A comparison of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic processing of skyrmionic bits, together with energy considerations, shows that this procedure is fairly efficient in antiferromagnets.

The two-dimensional equilibrium of Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) plasma in presence of an external ripple magnetic field is computed to show the emergence of multiple magnetic axes for hollow equilibrium current profiles. An increase in ripple amplitude reduces the hollowness threshold required for the development of multiple magnetic axes. For an intermediate range of the ripple axial period, the formation of multiple magnetic axes becomes the most likely. The ripple's radial extension and the curvature of the axial field are the critical factors underlying the non-monotonic effect of ripple's axial period. When the axial period increases from the lower range, the ripple's radial extension gradually grows and enhances the chance of forming multiple magnetic axes. Once the ripple's radial extension covers the entire radial domain, further increasing the ripple axial period decreases the ripple field curvature, which becomes the dominant factor for lowering the hollowness threshold for the formation of multiple magnetic axes.

This study investigates the propagation of acoustic vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the Arctic underwater environments including the half-channel and the double duct. We produce a vortex beam with a 126-element hexagonal transducer array and model the acoustic propagation based on the ray method. It is found that under the typical Arctic circumstances, vortex beams with helical phase structures exhibit two unique capabilities. First, in the near field, the divergent components of vortex beams traveling at steep grazing angles illuminate shadow zones without mechanical steering of the acoustic source, which cannot be obtained by point or coherent sources at the same configuration. Second, despite strong boundary interactions and sound-speed inhomogeneity, the phase singularities and OAM modal content remain remarkably robust and can be identified at long ranges to some extend. The ice cover induces a larger transmission loss compared to the pressure release boundary condition because of the acoustic absorption in the ice canopy modeled as an elastic layer. These results advance the understanding of structured acoustic wave propagation in complex polar environments and thus provide a theoretical basis for subglacial exploration and under-ice acoustic communication.

In the era of early fault-tolerant quantum computing, basic demonstrations of entanglement operations between a few logical qubits are at the frontier of recent developments in quantum computing. In this work, we describe in detail, at both the logical and physical qubit levels, a logical teleportation protocol between two surface code logical qubits based on lattice surgery. We address several aspects of the teleportation protocol pertinent to superconducting qubit architectures. We explore the modularity constraints in the number and location of stabilizer readouts and compare variants of the teleportation protocol in this regard. Additionally, we investigate potential performance improvements related to in-sequence decision logic and the optimal size of the interface region between two surface code patches on a superconducting chip. Based on our simulations, we show possible near-term improvements in lattice surgery protocols that facilitate fault-tolerant quantum computing in superconducting circuit architectures.

Modeling the feedback-driven evolution of star-forming regions and their multi-wavelength emission is essential for interpreting galaxy observations across cosmic time. TODDLERS couples 1D shell dynamics with Cloudy photoionization to predict UV-to-mm observables. The original framework assumed instantaneous star formation, uniform cloud density, a fixed IMF with single-star evolution, and fixed dust properties. We present TODDLERS 2.0, extending the framework to broader stellar populations, birth-cloud conditions, and dust physics. Stellar feedback and input spectra are modeled using pySTARBURST99 (arbitrary IMFs, upper mass limits up to 500 M$\odot$) and BPASS (binary evolution, upper mass limits up to 300 M$\odot$), including stochastic IMF sampling for low-mass clusters (M$* \lesssim 10^4$ M$\odot$) and constant star formation. The 1D evolution includes non-uniform cloud density profiles and dynamic cloud density evolution driven by escaping ionizing radiation. Cloudy post-processing includes modified grain size distributions and diffuse ionized gas. Cloud density profile and star formation mode regulate fragmentation timescales and shell extent: centrally concentrated profiles fragment earlier, while constant star formation delays fragmentation relative to bursts. Top-heavy IMFs generate stronger feedback and earlier fragmentation than a Kroupa IMF. Dynamic cloud density evolution introduces an additional feedback channel, strongest at low metallicity where unswept cloud density decreases by up to three orders of magnitude. For low-mass clusters, stochastic sampling produces order-of-magnitude feedback variations, demonstrating breakdown of the fully sampled IMF approximation. TODDLERS 2.0 models diverse stellar populations, cloud structures, and star formation modes as a standalone tool or sub-grid emission model for galaxy simulations.

We investigate the settling behavior of suspensions of highly porous and permeable particles in the viscous regime using particle-resolved direct numerical simulations (DNS). The simulations employ a coupled Euler-Lagrange framework that accounts for particle permeability. The results show that the settling behavior of permeable particles follows the classical power-law relationship of Richardson-Zaki in terms of their settling velocity, but particles with higher permeability settle faster as the particle volume fraction increases. At a particle volume fraction of 30 percent, the difference in settling speed is up to 106 percent between the least and most permeable particles investigated in this study. We explain this effect by the alteration of counter flows induced by the fluid displacement of settling particles. Quantitative analysis of the mean vertical fluid velocity confirms that suspensions composed of more permeable particles generate weaker counterflows, posing less resistance to the settling motion. We furthermore show how velocity fluctuations and self-diffusivity depend on the permeability of the porous particles and the particle volume fraction. Both quantities increase with volume fraction and are largest for the least permeable particles, except at the highest volume fraction, where reduced settling velocities reverse this trend. The influence of particle permeability also reveals two effects in the particle microstructure. First, the analysis showed that particle clustering decreases with increasing permeability. Second, the overall probability of finding a neighbor within the lubrication range is lowest for the least permeable particles. We attribute this to the weakening of repulsive pressure forces between tumbling particles with increased permeability.

Development of a $^{229}$Th nuclear optical clock requires precise and model-insensitive nuclear-structure parameters, which presently suffer from limited accuracy and poor consistency. We propose a joint spectroscopy scheme using two highly charged $^{229}$Th ions with $J=1/2$ electronic ground states, where the lowest electronic excitation energy of each ion far exceeds the nuclear transition energy. This configuration effectively forms a three-level system comprising the electronic ground state and the nuclear ground ($g$) and isomeric ($m$) states, resulting in strongly enhanced nuclear hyperfine mixing. Within this framework, a unified analysis of precision measurements on both ions enables the simultaneous determination of five key nuclear parameters without relying on external nuclear inputs: the magnetic dipole moments $\mu_g$ and $\mu_m$, the bare-nucleus transition energy $\omega_n$, the charge-radius difference $\delta\langle r^{2}\rangle_{gm}$, and the $M1$ transition matrix element $T_{M1}$. With this approach, the uncertainties in $\omega_n$ and $\delta\langle r^{2}\rangle_{gm}$ are estimated to be reduced by factors of 3 and 2, respectively, relative to their current uncertainties. %compared with current values. This work could provide a useful benchmark for nuclear theory and serve as a foundation for future development of a $^{229}$Th-based nuclear optical clock.

We develop a generalized long-wave limit method for constructing higher-order (degenerate) lump solutions of $(2+1)$-dimensional integrable systems. Starting from the multi-soliton tau function, we introduce wavenumber rescalings, spectral perturbations, and higher-order phase modulations in a single small parameter, and choose their coefficients so that the lower-order Taylor coefficients vanish. Applying this framework to the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili I equation, we explicitly derive second-order two- and three-lump solutions as well as third-order three-, four-, five-, and six-lump solutions. The long-time asymptotics of the peak positions and amplitudes describe anomalous scattering of these degenerate lump solutions. Extensions to hybrid higher-order lump solutions associated with multiple distinct spectral parameters are also discussed.

We generalize the holographic entropy cone (HEC) to the holographic multi-entropy cone (HMEC) by adjoining multi-entropy coordinates to the standard bipartition entropy coordinates. We show that holographic states, through their multi-entropy vectors, form a rational polyhedral cone in multi-entropy space, and multicontraction maps provide exact certificates for holographic multi-entropy inequalities (HMEIs). We determine all facets of the $n=3,4$ HMECs, where $n$ includes the purifier, and obtain seven fundamental HMEI orbits: two for $n=3$ and five for $n=4$. We further propose two structural conjectures: HEC facet inequalities are convex combinations of HMEC facet inequalities, and HMEC facets obey a balanced-but-not-too-balanced principle.

The decays $\bar{B}\rightarrow D^*\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_\tau$ provide sensitive probes of new physics in the $b\rightarrow c\tau\nu$ transition. We discuss the effects of new physics in the decay chain $\bar{B}\rightarrow D^*(\rightarrow D\pi)\tau^{-}(\rightarrow V^-\nu_\tau)\bar{\nu}_\tau$ where $V$ is a vector meson. We first present a comprehensive analysis of the five-dimensional angular distribution for the full decay chain $\bar{B}\rightarrow D^*(\rightarrow D\pi)\tau^{-}(\rightarrow \rho^-\nu_\tau)\bar{\nu}_\tau$, exploiting the hadronic $\tau$ decay to $\rho^-\nu_\tau$ to circumvent the experimental challenge of direct $\tau$ reconstruction. The differential decay rate is expressed in terms of measurable kinematic variables $\theta^*$, $E_\rho$, $\theta_\rho$, $\chi_\rho$, and $q^2$ – with complete coefficient functions provided for scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, axialvector, and tensor new-physics interactions. From this distribution we construct a set of integrated observables, including the $D^*$ polarization fractions and lepton-side forward-backward and azimuthal asymmetries, which isolate distinct combinations of helicity amplitudes. We also show that by decomposing the vector-meson energy spectrum into its longitudinal ($L$) and transverse ($T$) helicity sectors, two additional analyzing powers ($\alpha_L$ and $\alpha_T$) related to the measurement of $\tau$ polarization $P_\tau^{D^*}(q^2)$ are obtained. Without information on the polarization of meson $V$, the spin analyzing power of $\rho$ is much larger than that of $a_1$ with $\alpha_\rho=0.45$ and $\alpha_{a_1}=0.02$. We further perform a numerical analysis using current experimental data on $R_{D^*}$ and the $D^*$ longitudinal polarization fraction $\langle F_L^{D^*}\rangle$ to constrain the complex new-physics couplings $g_L$, $g_R$, $g_P$, and $g_T$, revealing the correlations among them.

Purpose: Phase Distribution Graphs were introduced as a powerful tool for on-resonant MRI simulations. Herein, we extend the concept beyond the assumptions of hard and on-resonant RF pulses in Phase Distribution Graph simulations, while retaining differentiability across all parameters. The extension into the frequency domain further generalizes the Phase Distribution Graph simulation framework for sequence simulation and optimization. Theory and Methods: Using an effective axis rotation model, the RF operator is generalized to off-resonant rotations, originating from field inhomogeneities, chemical shift, and field gradients. Discretization of the RF pulse shape enables the modeling of the magnetization response to shaped RF pulses and thus slice selection. Results: Including off-resonant pulse response into a PDG based MRI simulation enables the simulation of key MRI features, such as fat suppression, binomial pulses, or Bloch-Siegert shifts. The discretization of RF shapes enables the simulation of their respective frequency response and thus slice selective excitation, refocusing or saturation pulses, including multi-band excitation. In combination with flow, typical inflow artifacts in slice-selective MRI can be simulated. Discussion and Conclusion: Extension for off-resonance removes a major limitation of phase distribution graphs and makes the simulation framework more realistic. As the method is not restricted to specific RF shapes, optimization of RF pulse shapes in amplitude, phase and frequency is now possible in the context of or jointly with specific MR sequences.

Optothermal tweezers enable the manipulation of a wide range of nano-objects through optically induced depletion forces. Despite significant advances, the temporal dynamics of optothermal trapping remain elusive, as existing methodologies rely almost exclusively on time and ensemble averaging. Consequently, stable trapping cannot be distinguished from local transient accumulation, where the time-averaged concentration increases but particles exhibit rapid, dynamic motion in and out of the trap. Here we investigate optothermal trapping with single-nanoparticle-level analysis and sub-millisecond temporal resolution. Our data resolve the elusive dynamics of 40 nm polystyrene nanoparticles trapped within depletion force potentials in polyethylene glycol solutions, enabling to differentiate the conditions leading to extended trapping times from those leading to transient localization. Numerical simulations corroborate our experimental findings, elucidating how the interplay between thermophoresis and diffusiophoresis governs nanoparticle dynamics. These insights deepen our mechanistic understanding of optothermal trapping and unlock opportunities for single-molecule studies, nanoscale assembly, and targeted drug delivery.

GW231123 is a gravitational-wave signal originating from the merger of a black hole binary with total mass $\sim 250 M_{\odot}$, the largest ever detected by the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra Collaboration. Remarkably, under standard priors, the system features among the fastest-spinning binary components confidently measured in binary mergers, $ \chi_{1,2} \gtrsim 0.7$ at $90\%$ one-dimensional credibility, according to the most accurate model employed. As typical binary mergers result in remnants with $\chi \sim 0.7$, such spin values are challenging to obtain even from previous (hierarchical) mergers. These inferred properties rely on waveform models lacking eccentric corrections in the merger-ringdown stage. Here, we show that binaries retaining significant eccentricity up to merger can be misinterpreted as near-extremally spinning when non-circular corrections are neglected. Binary-agnostic ringdown analysis instead provides unbiased estimates of the remnant properties, provided that a robust estimate of the signal peak can be obtained. We re-analyse GW231123 using available eccentric numerical-relativity catalogues, finding that although eccentric templates can provide a good fit to the data, quasi-spherical templates are still favoured. Ringdown analyses confirm a secondary likelihood peak correlated with large eccentricity values, but improved eccentric models will be required to assess the reliability of this interpretation. Finally, analysing GW231123 under population-informed parametric priors confirms the exceptional nature of this event within the current black hole binary population.

We investigate the properties of low angular momentum, inviscid, advective accretion flows in a generic static and spherically symmetric spacetime that incorporates higher-order corrections up to the fourth order in $1/r$. Employing this metric, we self-consistently solve the relativistic hydrodynamical equations and obtain the family of global transonic accretion solutions ($O$, $A$, $W$ and $I$-types) by means of the spacetime parameters ($\delta$, $\eta$, $\beta$) and the flow parameters (specific energy $\mathscr{E}$ and angular momentum $\lambda$). Our analysis reveals that the accretion flow possesses either single or multiple critical points depending on these input parameters. We delineate the regions of the $\delta-\lambda$ and $\lambda-\mathscr{E}$ parameter spaces that admits solutions with multiple critical points and demonstrate how these regions evolve with increasing spacetime parameter $\delta$. Furthermore, while connecting the spacetime geometry with observable signatures, we compute the spectral energy distribution (SED) from thermal bremsstrahlung emission and observe that increasing $\delta$ enhances the SED relative to the Schwarzschild case. Finally, we find that global transonic solutions harbouring inner critical points ($I$-types) yields more luminous power than those with only outer critical points ($O$ and $A$ types).

The present study provides a detailed vorticity-dynamical analysis of shock-driven hydrodynamic physics in canonical Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) flows: shock interaction with a single-mode perturbed interface, and a cylindrical air bubble immersed in Krypton. These findings provide insights into vortical flow physics beyond the conventional vorticity paradigm, and the DVD approach holds promise for the diagnosis of practical instability-induced flows.

Many-body integrable systems can be understood as a gas of quasiparticles. They propagate ballistically and drive large-scale transport. However, with the exception of the hard rods system, no tools have been available to numerically track such quasiparticles. Focusing on the Toda fluid, whose integrability relies on the availability of a Lax pair, we present a numerical scheme to track quasiparticle trajectories as determined by the time-dependent eigenvectors of the Lax matrix. Simulating the Toda fluid in thermal equilibrium, this tracking scheme is used to numerical confirm Brownian motion of a quasiparticle. Simulated is also the motion of a tagged particle. Our numerical results for the diffusion constant matches with a novel TBA prediction. We believe our numerical scheme can be extended to other classical many-particle models possessing a Lax matrix.

Quantifying causal connections within fireballs resulting from high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions is pertinent to assessing the viability of several proposed mechanisms that directly influence particle production and correlations. Fireball causal connections have previously been studied in the context of 1+1 dimensional Bjorken flow. We expand into 3+1 dimensions using Gubser flow, which includes transverse expansion. Our findings suggest that the volume of these causally connected fireballs are on the order of 10 to 100 fm$^3$ for observables dependent on the formation of the light quark condensates, but could be larger for other observables.

Oxidation engineering provides a route to control orbital degrees of freedom, yet its role in spin-to-orbital conversion remains largely unexplored. Here, we report an efficient spin-to-orbital conversion mechanism driven by interfacial oxidation at heavy-metal interfaces. In W/Co/SiO2 heterostructures, terahertz emission exhibits a time delay that scales linearly with the W thickness, identifying orbital-current transport as the dominant origin. The emission amplitude is approximately three times larger than that of Co/Pt bilayers, indicating highly efficient conversion from spin to orbital angular momentum. Systematic variation of Co thickness, stoichiometry, and interface configuration reveals that the effect originates from oxidation of the W layer at the W/Co interface, which modulates the interfacial orbital texture. We further show that this mechanism is generic across different heavy metals and scales with their spin-orbit coupling strength. These results establish oxidation as an effective handle to engineer spin-to-orbital conversion and provide a general route toward orbitronic terahertz emitters.

Topological pumping is a paradigmatic realization of quantized transport in band systems, yet its fate in strongly correlated regimes, especially with long-range interactions, remains largely unexplored. Here we report the experimental observation of interaction-enabled topological pumping of correlated Rydberg electrons in a synthetic lattice. We show that dipolar exchange interactions induce a controllable shift of the underlying topological singularity in parameter space, such that a fixed pumping trajectory can be driven through successive topological transitions by tuning the interaction strength alone. This leads to the emergence and breakdown of quantized transport. The observations are consistent with an effective Rice-Mele description with interaction-renormalized onsite potentials and are supported by characterizing the adiabaticity and robustness to control trajectory imperfections. Our results establish a platform for exploring interaction-controlled topological transport beyond perturbative regimes and open a route toward engineering correlated topological matter in synthetic quantum systems.

Synthetic gauge fields with ultracold atoms offer a route to quantum matter in which electromagnetic environments can be designed rather than merely imposed. While the Harper-Hofstadter model has been realized in several cold-atom systems, existing implementations are largely limited to spatially uniform magnetic fluxes. Here we experimentally realize a highly programmable two-dimensional momentum-state lattice of ultracold atoms with local control over the Peierls phase pattern, enabling direct implementation of Harper-Hofstadter Hamiltonians with tunable and spatially structured synthetic gauge fields. We observe a crossover from ballistic to strongly flux-modified bulk dynamics with suppressed transport. By introducing a synthetic electric field through site-dependent energy gradients, we further demonstrate Hall-type transverse drift arising from the interplay between electric and magnetic fields. In addition, we engineer a synthetic flux domain wall separating regions with opposite magnetic fluxes and observe anisotropic propagation guided along the interface. These results move cold-atom gauge-field engineering from uniform magnetic backgrounds toward designer gauge textures, providing an experimental setting for transport across programmable topological interfaces.

The slogan “information is physical,” introduced by Rolf Landauer and developed through quantum information theory and black-hole thermodynamics, has achieved near-axiomatic status in modern physics. Yet the ontological status of information remains surprisingly underexamined: most discussions either reduce information to a form of energy or treat it as a purely mathematical object. This paper proposes a third position. I argue that information is neither a physical substance nor a free-floating abstraction, but rather the structure of physically realizable alternatives – a counterfactual structure that a physical system instantiates in virtue of the possibility space available to it. Building on Shannon's combinatorial definition, the Landauer principle, the no-cloning theorem, and the black-hole information paradox, I show that the informational content of any physical event is constituted by the set of outcomes that could have occurred but did not. This counterfactual reading dissolves several persistent confusions: it explains why erasing information dissipates heat without making information “material,” why quantum superposition is informationally richer than any classical mixture, and why information loss in black holes is physically significant beyond mere bookkeeping. The proposal sits within a structural-realist framework but departs from standard structural realism by locating the relevant structure in modal, not merely actual, relations. I conclude by sketching implications for the foundations of quantum mechanics, quantum gravity, and scientific ontology more broadly.

In this paper, we would like to investigate the stability of de Sitter solution in the Einstein-Grisaru-Zanon gravity, which is a novel fourth-order gravity model considered recently in a paper [Phys. Lett. B 855 (2024) 138811]. As a result, we are able to derive the corresponding field equations for the Einstein-Grisaru-Zanon gravity by using an effective method based on the Euler-Lagrange equations. Unfortunately, one of the obtained field equations does not coincide with that derived in the original paper of the Einstein-Grisaru-Zanon gravity due to a gap between higher-order derivative terms. However, our de Sitter solution is still identical to one solved in the original paper of the Einstein-Grisaru-Zanon gravity due to the vanishing of the gap. Furthermore, a stability analysis based on the dynamical system method is performed to indicate that the obtained de Sitter solution is always unstable, no matter it presents an inflationary phase or expanding phase of universe. This result confirms the validity of stability investigation carried out in the original paper of the Einstein-Grisaru-Zanon gravity.

The multi-controlled Toffoli (MCT) gate is a key primitive in quantum arithmetic, oracle construction, and quantum cryptanalysis. Although recent work has established optimal Toffoli-depth MCT decompositions under all-to-all qubit connectivity, their realization on near-term quantum hardware with restricted qubit connectivity remains largely unexplored. While general-purpose quantum mappers can route arbitrary circuits, they do not explicitly exploit the repeated interaction patterns inherent in MCT decompositions. In our present paper, we study architecture-aware mappings of optimal Toffoli-depth MCT decompositions onto restricted two-dimensional qubit layouts. We begin with a structured geometric placements that preserve the parallelism of state-of-the-art Toffoli and MCT decompositions with no additional depth overhead. We further introduce a motif-based packing framework in which decomposition layers are represented by interaction motifs derived from basic Toffoli gates. By embedding these motifs vertex-disjointly into hardware graphs, we characterize the minimum-size topologies supporting the required qubit resources and derive explicit bounds on the resulting depth overhead under tight qubit budgets. Finally, we compare these bounds with routing-aware placement heuristics and empirically evaluate the effectiveness of embedding different motifs across a range of hardware topologies.

Ellerman Bombs (EBs) and Quiet-Sun Ellerman Bombs (QSEBs) are small-scale signatures of magnetic reconnection in the lower solar atmosphere, observed in active regions and quiet-Sun areas, respectively. We investigate and compare some of their properties using coordinated multiwavelength observations from the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, and the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We employ k-means clustering to identify EBs and QSEBs and perform a detailed analysis of a subset of these events. Our results show that EBs are frequently associated with opposite magnetic polarities, whereas QSEBs generally lack clear polarity signatures, likely due to limited spatial resolution. Spectral inversions using the STiC code reveal temperature enhancements of up to 1700 K in the lower chromosphere for EBs. In contrast, no clear temperature enhancement is detected for QSEBs, which may be attributed to the limited spatial resolution or insufficient wavelength sampling of the Ca II 8542 A. We further find that some EBs exhibit signatures extending to transition-region temperatures. An analysis of EBs temporal evolution reveals episodic heating, with a range of periodicities, most commonly around 6-7 minutes. In addition, we identify spatial associations between the footpoints of some spicules and EBs/QSEBs, suggesting that reconnection in these events may contribute to spicule formation. These results demonstrate similarities and differences between EBs and QSEBs and support the interpretation that small-scale magnetic reconnection contributes to heating and dynamics in EBs, while the underlying mechanism of QSEBs requires further investigation.

Frequency estimation, a cornerstone of quantum metrology, has been significantly enhanced by advanced quantum sensing strategies. However, most protocols rely either on static or time-independent encoding mechanisms, inherently limiting their achievable precision scaling, or on control strategies requiring changing the Hamiltonian and/or implementing feedback mechanisms. To overcome this, we investigate a simpler dynamical encoding protocol where the quantum oscillator is driven by a general continuous temporal frequency modulation $\Omega(t) = \omega_0 f(t)$. We analytically demonstrate that for a given modulation profile $f(t)$ and its corresponding time-integral $F(t)$, the quantum Fisher information (QFI) scales as $\mathcal{O}(F(t)^2)$. This enhancement stems from the fact that temporal encoding fundamentally alters the mechanism of dynamical phase accumulation. Crucially, when evaluated under the energy and evolution-time constraints, this framework reveals a genuine precision enhancement over the conventional time-independent baseline. By analyzing explicit polynomial and exponential modulations, we establish that arbitrary precision scaling can be deterministically engineered, with ultimate bounds that are asymptotically saturable via optimal homodyne detection. Our framework provides a universal paradigm for exploiting time-dependent quantum control in next-generation sensors.

Many climate change mitigation policies enjoy large majority support from the U.S. public. Yet, both Republicans and Democrats underestimate public support for climate policies, on average, with Republicans underestimating by more. Explaining this is a major puzzle in climate change politics. Homophily is one possible explanation: if citizens are selectively exposed to views reinforcing their own, then policy opponents might underestimate support more than supporters. Here, we explore how homophily could interact with social network structure to produce misperceptions of policy support, using a stochastic block model and preferential attachment model. Homophily alone can explain opponents underestimating support by more than supporters, but supporters only underestimate support when their homophily is so low that they disproportionately associate with opponents. We then expand our model to combine homophily with Bayesian rescaling, inaccurate priors, or asymmetric prominence of opposing opinions (simulating media bias). With Bayesian rescaling and inaccurate priors, homophily would still need to be highly asymmetric to produce realistic misperception patterns. Media bias combined with realistic, symmetric homophily can produce realistic misperception patterns in our model. However, empirical evidence on media bias in coverage of climate change policy is mixed. Our analyses provide theoretical foundations for advancing understanding of public opinion misperception, on climate change and other issues.

Wigner negativity is a key resource for quantum technologies but is difficult to optimize in multimode scattering systems. We study the scattering of coherent pulses by a two-level emitter coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide and introduce energetic cost functions that enable the optimization of Wigner negativity without reconstructing the full Wigner function. By decomposing the scattered energy into coherent, thermal, squeezing, and non-Gaussian contributions, we identify an energetic witness that strongly correlates with the achievable negativity across all driving regimes. This approach singles out optimal output temporal modes and uncovers operating points generating appreciable Wigner negativity with sub-photon input energies. We further identify a maximal energy-efficiency regime at spectral mode matching, where the emitter effectively implements a vacuum-selective $\pi$ phase shift, realizing a giant optical nonlinearity. These results establish energetic optimization as a practical route to engineering Wigner-negative photonic states in waveguide quantum electrodynamics and related bosonic scattering platforms.

Biological tissues must dynamically transition between rigid and fluid-like states during processes like morphogenesis and collective migration, often while simultaneously resisting physiological shear stresses. It remains unclear whether these tissue dynamics are governed by the same non-equilibrium critical phenomena that control conventional disordered matter. Here we show that model cell monolayers under constant stress display a rich phase diagram of nonlinear rheology. In rigid regimes, small internal fluctuations maintain a solid-like state up to a finite yield stress, above which the tissue shear-thins; conversely, fluid-like regimes exhibit robust continuous and discontinuous shear thickening, culminating in structural arrest via shear jamming. This space-filling shear-jamming transition is accompanied by structural changes including the formation of system-spanning force chains and the emergence of orientational ordering. We demonstrate that the macroscopic viscosity across these disparate regimes is described by universal scaling behavior controlled by the same underlying physical parameters. These results establish confluent tissues as a distinct class of disordered matter, demonstrating that universal jamming phenomena can emerge entirely through shape-driven topological constraints to regulate biological mechanics.

Observations of peculiar GRBs have challenged the traditional $T_{90}$-based classification, demonstrating that duration does not map uniquely onto progenitor type. A striking class is long-duration Type~I GRBs – merger-origin events whose prompt emission lasts far longer than the canonical 2 s boundary, typically comprising an initial short hard spike followed by softer extended emission. Identifying the physical origin of such bursts requires diagnostics beyond duration alone, among which the Amati relation, linking rest-frame spectral peak energy $E_{\rm p,z}$ and isotropic-equivalent energy $E_{\rm iso}$, is widely used as a complementary classification tool. We analyze a sample of eight long-duration Type~I GRBs and merger candidates by separating the initial spike from the extended emission and examining their episode-dependent locations on the $E_{\rm p,z}$–$E_{\rm iso}$ plane. We find that the initial spike generally lies within, or close to, the empirical Type~I region, consistent with a compact-merger-like prompt-emission component. In contrast, the extended-emission episode systematically occupies a region closer to Type~II GRBs, and could be misidentified as collapsar-like if analyzed in isolation. This episode-dependent Type~I-to-Type~II transition is further supported by time-resolved spectral analysis, although its magnitude and trajectory vary among bursts, suggesting diversity in central-engine evolution or outflow properties between the two phases. Our results caution that the Amati relation alone can lead to misleading empirical classification when the initial hard spike is weak, outside the instrumental bandpass, or missed entirely, leaving only the extended emission to be analyzed. Broad temporal and spectral coverage, and independent multi-wavelength diagnostics, is therefore essential for identifying the physical origin of these events.

Associated with the third-order linear differential operator, we present the Marchenko integral equation using as input the bound-state poles of a transmission coefficient and the time-evolved bound-state dependency constants. We derive the $\mathbf N$-soliton solution to the Sawada–Kotera equation, for an arbitrary positive integer $\mathbf N,$ by recovering that soliton solution from the solution to our Marchenko integral equation. Our method explains the origin of the $2\mathbf N$ real parameters appearing in the $\mathbf N$-soliton solution formula obtained by the ad-hoc method of Hirota. We show that $\mathbf N$ of those parameters are related to the $\mathbf N$ bound-state poles of the left transmission coefficient and the remaining $\mathbf N$ parameters are related to the bound-state dependency constants. Our Marchenko integral equation corresponds to the “GLM (Gel'fand–Levitan–Marchenko) integral equation” Kaup relentlessly but unsuccessfully tried to obtain.