Papers

Could the closest stellar or substellar object to the Sun be not an ordinary star at parsec distance, but a hidden-brane companion at hundreds or thousands of astronomical units? We do not perform a new Solar-System dynamics analysis; instead we construct a phenomenological mass-distance map using an illustrative ephemeris tidal envelope calibrated to Planet-Nine-like constraints. A smooth dark matter halo cannot supply such an object: the local density contains only a sub-Pluto mass within 1000 AU. A nearby hidden-brane companion must therefore be a structured, gravitationally bound object rather than a typical halo draw. The illustrative envelope still allows Earth to sub-Saturn masses at 300-1000 AU, rising to Jovian mass near 2000 AU. In a simple QCD-scaled hidden sector with a confinement scale about ten times larger than ordinary QCD, the minimum hidden stellar mass overlaps the upper part of this window, providing a benchmark for a genuine hidden-sector star: bright in dark photons, electromagnetically dark to us, and visible only through gravity. We also derive an Earth-based source-strength proxy for brane-to-brane channels and show that, along the ephemeris envelope, it grows as the square of the companion distance: the largest received source scale comes from the most massive companion still allowed, not the nearest one. A probe sent to the companion's gravitational projection would reduce the ordinary source-receiver separation by two to three orders of magnitude relative to Earth-based operation. This is not a detection forecast; the excitation of KK modes, the compact-direction brane-to-brane transfer factor, and the detector response remain model-dependent.

We investigate how the assumption of a common causal equation of state (EoS) correlates the radii of neutron stars at different masses and thereby reduces the uncertainties inferred from independent observations. We show that causality, anchored only to the chiral effective field theory ($\chi$EFT) EoS near saturation density, places a closed-form upper bound on the radius difference, $R(2.0\,M_\odot)\le 1.16\,R(1.4\,M_\odot)-1.1\,$km. The bound is saturated exactly by a one-parameter family of EoSs that we construct analytically. Imposing this prior-independent causal ceiling on the independent NICER posteriors of PSR J0437-4715, PSR J0614-3329, and PSR J0740+6620 retains only 7.5% of their joint product distribution and removes the large-radius tail of the PSR J0740+6620 posterior. Unlike full EoS-informed inferences, our construction cleanly isolates the consequences of the generic physical assumptions of a common causal EoS from those associated with a particular choice of EoS prior, providing a transparent benchmark for interpreting neutron-star observations.

Accurately predicting the spatiotemporal evolution of amyloid-$\beta$ and tau proteins at the individual level is critical for improving the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. We consider the problem of constructing patient-specific digital twins that model the propagation of these biomarkers on the cortical surface using reaction–diffusion dynamics. A major challenge is that the underlying nonlinear aggregation mechanisms are unknown and must be inferred from sparse, noisy, and heterogeneous longitudinal PET imaging data. To address this, we develop a data-driven framework that learns biomarker dynamics directly from clinical observations. The approach combines operator learning with reduced-order representations to infer governing equations of disease progression from data. Using this framework, we achieve predictive accuracies of 87% for amyloid-$\beta$ and 81% for tau. Building on the learned dynamics, we further formulate a PDE-constrained optimal control problem to design personalized therapeutic strategies that regulate pathological protein propagation. By integrating data-driven dynamical modeling with treatment optimization, the proposed digital twin framework provides an interpretable and predictive platform for understanding disease progression and enabling precision interventions in neurodegenerative disorders.

A cross-epoch endpoint-consistency test is formulated for a single power-law effective scaling, $M_U(\mu)=\beta^{1/4}\,M_P(\mu/M_P)^\gamma$, connecting late-time cosmic acceleration to the inflationary energy scale. The normalization is anchored at $\mu=H_0$ by the late-time dark energy closure relations of the density-responsive gravity (DRG) framework and extrapolated to the inflationary Hubble rate $\mu=H_*$. Comparison with the CMB-normalized Starobinsky plateau defines the residual matching factor $C_{\rm infl}\equiv V_0^{A_s}/V_0^{\rm RG}$. The novelty is the formulation of the inflation - dark-energy connection as a quantitative endpoint test between two empirically anchored energy scales. The lever arm $H_*/H_0\sim 10^{55}$ compresses endpoint uncertainties into $\delta\gamma\propto [p\ln(H_*/H_0)]^{-1}\delta\ln X$, so requiring $C_{\rm infl}=\mathcal{O}(1)$ selects a narrow consistency band. For the benchmark $V_0\propto M_U^4$ with $c_4=\mathcal{O}(1)$, matching requires $\gamma\simeq 0.491$ and $\beta\simeq 0.68$, both $\mathcal{O}(1)$. Varying $p\in[2,8]$ shifts $\gamma$ only mildly (approximately $0.45$–$0.52$), with natural matching favoring $p\simeq 3$–$4$. We present the full uncertainty budget, including cumulative threshold effects ($\Xi$) and observational errors on the late-time anchor ($w_0$, $A_s$, $H_*$). A secondary consequence is that the effective vacuum sector dilutes as $\rho_\Phi\propto a^{-6\gamma}$ at late times, faster than spatial curvature for $\gamma>1/3$. In a closed universe, this permits a cosmological turnaround at $|\Omega_K|\sim\mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$, testable with Stage-IV surveys and qualitatively distinct from $\Lambda$CDM.

Tomographic microscopy enables three-dimensional internal imaging but often requires expensive optical or X-ray instrumentation. Here we present an ultra-low-cost continuous-wave diffusive tomography (CWDT) system for biological samples. The system uses a smartphone microscope, a white LED coupled into an optical fiber, 3D-printed micropositioners, and a physics-based forward model optimized with machine learning. We demonstrate full-color volumetric reconstructions from a tartrazine-cleared poplar section, a scattering phantom, fungal mycelium near an Arabidopsis root, and thick poplar branch imaging with an inserted side-emitting fiber. The current results are qualitative and exploratory, but they show that scanned fiber illumination and inexpensive hardware can produce useful three-dimensional reconstruction outputs for low-cost microscopy experiments.

Electrochemical reactions at buried electrode-electrolyte interfaces govern how redox-active materials store and release energy. However, these reactions are difficult to visualize because chemical and morphological changes occur simultaneously over distinct length and time scales. Existing operando microscopies often require trade-offs among chemical sensitivity, spatial resolution and temporal resolution. Direct nanoscale tracking of such processes throughout extended timescale has therefore remained out of reach. Here, we develop a fast and robust operando soft X-ray spectro-ptychography platform that delivers chemical-state-resolved spatiotemporal movies of redox-active electrodes over the full battery lifetime. Applied to an alkaline Fe anode, the method reveals that reversible charge storage gives way to degradation through two competing processes: rapid hydroxide insertion that drives early reversible cycling, and slower dissolution-redeposition that redistributes Fe, enlarges FeOOH particles, and ultimately causes capacity loss. By separating fast charge-storage chemistry from slower degradation chemistry in operando and at both single-particle and particle ensemble level, this work establishes spectro-ptychography as a general approach for studying dynamic redox transformations in batteries, electrocatalysts, and other electrochemical materials.

We present a late-time magnetogenesis mechanism in which a coupled axion-dilaton system sources a dark $U(1)$ gauge field. The dilaton's exponential coupling drives tachyonic amplification by reshaping the instability band, while the axion controls the helicity structure of the field. Together, they amplify both gauge helicities and produce a moderately chiral dark magnetic field without fine-tuning in either scalar sector. The field is generated in the dark sector, thus the mechanism avoids plasma-conductivity suppression in the visible sector, while the model remains robust across a broad range of scalar-masses and couplings. Numerical evolution from $z=10^5$ to matter-radiation equality, combined with a parameter search over the axion mass, dilaton initial conditions, and dilaton coupling, shows that astrophysically relevant amplification persists across fuzzy-dark-matter and ultralight-axion regimes. A benchmark case yields $B\approx0.9 ~\mathrm{nG}$ on $\lambda_0\sim1 \mathrm{Mpc}$, with kinetic mixing transferring the field to the visible sector over a broad range of mixing parameters.

The channel flow of a liquid metal driven by a rapidly varying applied magnetic field is analyzed. The flow configuration, physical properties, and parameters correspond to a duct within a liquid-metal blanket of a nuclear fusion reactor under off-normal plasma conditions, such as plasma disruptions. The problem is solved numerically using a one-dimensional flow approximation. The longitudinal magnetic field, decaying at a typical rate on the order of 100 T/s, induces eddy currents that interact with a steady wall-normal magnetic field, generating the Lorentz force that drives the flow. Standing Alfvén waves are identified as the key mechanism controlling the liquid metal's response. These waves manifest as large-amplitude, gradually decaying oscillations of velocity, the induced magnetic field, and eddy currents. A parametric study predicts a severe response developing within the first few milliseconds of the event, with maximum flow velocities reaching several meters per second and Lorentz forces exceeding $10^9 \text{ N/m}^3$. Power-law approximations for the dependencies of the response characteristics on the flow parameters are developed. Finally, the effects of fluid compressibility and pressure waves are analyzed and found not to lead to a major modification of the flow evolution.

Massive gas outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) are a key ingredient in models of galaxy evolution, in which they are required to regulate star formation and thus explain the observed properties of the galaxy population. However, it remains uncertain how such outflows are accelerated. Here, we use deep spectroscopic observations of the nearby active galaxy NGC 1068 to directly address this issue. Based on the flux ratios of high-ionisation [NeV]$\lambda$3425 and [FeVII]$\lambda$6087 coronal forbidden lines, we show that the non-outflowing gas in the disk of the galaxy is characterised by high levels of depletion of refractory elements onto dust grains, but the outflowing gas just above the disk is largely dust-free. Consistent results are also found for the ratios of lower-ionisation forbidden lines of refractory and non-refractory elements. Moreover, a range of diagnostic ratios demonstrate that the density of outflowing gas is a factor 19-110 times higher than that of the non-outflowing gas. Together, these results imply that the outflows in NGC 1068 are accelerated by fast shocks that both compress the gas and destroy much of the dust. Consistent with the idea that AGN-driven shocks play an important role in heating and accelerating the near-nuclear gas in galaxies, this study demonstrates that coronal emission lines are a key diagnostic of the destructive impact of AGN activity.

Ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs), defined by their extremely low surface brightness ($g$-band $\mu \gtrsim 24$ mag arcsec$^{-2}$) and large effective radii (3–10 arcsec), remain one of the most puzzling galaxy populations in the nearby Universe \citep{vanDokkum2015}. Predominantly found in dense environments, UDGs in the Coma cluster show a preferential alignment of their major axes toward the cluster centre, suggesting strong environmental influence on their formation and evolution. Using high-sensitivity, low-frequency radio data from the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), a pathfinder instrument we examined all 854 UDGs cataloged in Coma cluster \citep{Yagi2016}. Despite the unprecedented depth of these observations, no individual detections were made. A median stacking analysis in the upgraded GMRT band-3 achieved a 5 $\times$ rms upper limit $\simeq$1.5~$\mu$Jy, providing the most stringent constraint yet on the average (mean) radio emission from UDGs, corresponding to star-formation rates $\lesssim$10$^{-3}$~M$_\odot$~yr$^{-1}$ for Coma-cluster-like systems and $\lesssim$10$^{-1}$~M$_\odot$~yr$^{-1}$ at $z \sim 0.05$. Looking ahead, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will transform the study of such faint galaxies. While the early AA$^\star$ configuration will deliver sensitivities comparable to the upgraded GMRT, the AA4 design baseline will achieve sub-$\mu$Jy rms levels at matched frequencies ($\nu \sim 200$~MHz–1.4~GHz), enabling detections of UDGs with star formation rates as low as 10$^{-4}$–10$^{-3}$~M$_\odot$~yr$^{-1}$ within Virgo and Coma distances. Such capabilities will allow robust discrimination between quenched, dark-matter-dominated systems and those sustaining weak residual star formation or low-luminosity nuclear activity.

The largest hadron accelerator facility in the US is undergoing radical changes and the undertaking of new HEP-driven neutrino research. This talk will discuss the wide-ranging projects and impacts to the accelerator community taking place at FNAL.

Magnetic fields play a central role in the star-formation process, from diffuse gas to the dense, starless, molecular cloud cores that represent the first gravitationally bound structures on the path to star formation. Yet, the evolution of magnetic fields during this critical phase remains poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that cosmic-ray electrons interacting with magnetic fields in prestellar cores can produce detectable synchrotron emission at low radio frequencies, offering a novel probe of their magnetization in tandem with existing observational techniques. However, current instruments lack the angular resolution and sensitivity to exploit this signature. The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will provide the required capabilities enabling detections in nearby star-forming regions within a reasonable number of observation hours in AA* and AA4. Thanks to its large field of view, observations of low- to high-mass star-forming regions within the first kiloparsec from the Sun will enable both targeted studies of individual objects and statistical analyses over several hundreds of prestellar cores per pointing, marking a breakthrough in our understanding of their magnetic field properties. This chapter outlines the scientific context, observational challenges, and prospects for probing magnetic fields in prestellar cores with SKAO, and highlights synergies with complementary facilities such as ALMA, as well as cross-disciplinary collaborations within the SKAO community.

Time series data are often generated by systems which operate on multiple temporal scales, of which Earth's climate system is a paramount example. Variations in global climate are recorded in paleo-environmental archives as temporal patterns across a wide range of time scales, from seasonal or decadal to multi-millennial. In this context, recurrence analysis, where repeating patterns are identified in time series, is limited by the underlying properties of the distance function used and of the time series data themselves, especially in terms of temporal resolution and scale dependence. In this paper, we present a novel recurrence analysis framework designed for multiscale time series data with abrupt changes and irregular temporal resolution as found in paleoclimate records. We introduce a simple mathematical transform to use the $1-$Wasserstein distance for recurring pattern detection in time series. The scale invariance of $1-$Wasserstein distance distributions between patterns in Brownian motion is demonstrated numerically, which provides a principled threshold choice for recurrences. At any time scale, recurrences are defined as local minima of the distance, granted that they are below a threshold given by the probability of encountering patterns at least as similar in one-dimensional Brownian motion. Recurrences can be further combined according to a non-overlapping condition to yield a distinct set of multiscale recurring events. We provide examples of climatic applications from ice-rafted debris and ice core records, where detected recurrences have durations spanning over two orders of magnitude. Our method extends recurrence analysis to more complex time series data and provides new avenues for statistical identification and analyses of recurring events at multiple temporal scales.

We show that every local scalar effective field theory admits a new kind of duality to an infinite class of local scalar field theories with distinct Lagrangians. The duality map takes the form of a field-dependent diffeomorphism, and cannot be obtained via purely local field redefinitions, nevertheless the dual theory has an identical $S$-matrix. The subset of interactions that maintain second-order equations of motion is non-trivially mapped into themselves under this transformation. We show how to couple generic scalar field theories to gravity in a way that preserves the duality. Crucially, this requires working in the Einstein-Cartan formalism, with the vielbein and spin connection treated as independent variables. When coupling to massless gravity, the duality is interpreted as a local field redefinition in which the vielbein transforms while the spin connection is held fixed; consequently, a torsion-free configuration is generically mapped to a dual configuration with non-zero torsion. We specify the general family of first-order gravitational theories that map into themselves under the duality. In the weak gravitational field limit, these reduce to scalar theories kinetically mixed with the graviton, which themselves form a family closed under the duality.

Every Cartesian three-dimensional PDE solver hides a structural secret that production CFD codes have used for half a century and that graduate-level textbooks rarely state plainly. The derivative matrices, the compact Padé line solves, the Galerkin mass inversions, the alternating-direction-implicit substeps, and even the fast Poisson and Helmholtz diagonalization transforms all factor along the coordinate axes and collapse into repeated one-dimensional banded kernels executed along the grid lines. The three-dimensional operator exists only on paper; it is never assembled, factored, or stored. This paper is the manual for that collapse. We derive the Kronecker-product algebra that makes it exact, carry it cleanly through central differences, compact schemes, tensor-product Galerkin, B-spline and isogeometric methods, collocation, ADI time stepping, and direct Poisson and Helmholtz solves, and bring into the open the three production tricks that turn the reduction into hardware-conscious floating-point throughput on real machines: the multi-right-hand-side reshape that exposes a sweep as one batched line kernel (a dense BLAS-3 GEMM when the line factor is dense or element-local, a banded or stencil kernel when it is not), the sum factorization that rescues high-order Galerkin from the $O(p^{2d})$ quadrature trap, and the pencil decomposition that keeps every direction contiguous across an MPI cluster. For fixed stencil width or fixed polynomial degree, the compute cost stays $O(N)$ in the total number of unknowns $N = N_x N_y N_z$; the operator storage drops to $O(N_x + N_y + N_z)$ up to bandwidth constants; direct separable Poisson and Helmholtz solvers add the expected transform cost; the line kernels are embarrassingly parallel. These facts are familiar to practitioners but rarely assembled in one place; this paper collects them and shows how to use them.

We investigate the geometry of classical trajectories generated by separable two-dimensional polynomial potentials of the form $V(x,y)=\tfrac{1}{2}\big(x^{2N}+A\,y^{2N}\big)$, where $N=1,2,\ldots,$ and $A>0$. Special emphasis is placed on the emergence of nonlinear Lissajous figures and on the distinction between global and particular superintegrability in the Liouville sense. In the harmonic case ($N=1$) closed periodic orbits are a consequence of an additional global integral of motion whenever the frequency ratio is rational, rendering the system maximally superintegrable. In contrast, for anharmonic oscillators, already in the quartic case ($N=2$), the oscillation frequencies depend on the partial energies, so periodic Lissajous-type trajectories occur only under nonlinear resonance conditions fixed by the initial data. Accordingly, the extra conserved quantities that characterize these closed orbits are not global invariants but particular (trajectory-dependent) integrals that emerge only on the resonant trajectories. For higher-degree potentials $N\geq3$, the resonant trajectories are naturally described by hyperelliptic phase constraints rather than by a universal polynomial orbit equation.

We present a spectroscopic analysis of three carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars of type CEMP-s and CEMP-rs and determine their non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) abundances of Ba and the fractions of the odd Ba isotopes (F$_{\rm odd}$). We found F$_{\rm odd}$ = 0.65$_{-0.34}^{+0.35}$ in SDSS J1349-0229, which is known in the literature as a CEMP-rs star, while the other two stars, BPS CS 29512-073 and SDSS J1036+1212, exhibit lower F$_{\rm odd}$ = 0.23$_{-0.10}^{+0.19}$ and 0.23$_{-0.11}^{+0.22}$, respectively, and they are known in the literature as CEMP-s stars. The present result supports our earlier finding about distinct F$_{\rm odd}$ in CEMP-s and CEMP-rs stars. For obtaining observational constraints on i-process nucleosynthesis, further NLTE abundance determinations for many chemical elements are required. We provide a tool for generating the lists of Ba II lines for a given F$_{\rm odd}$ and it is available on GitHub https://github.com/sitamih/ba_linelist.

Following the successful completion of the Muon g-2 experiment run at Fermilab, the Muon Campus facility has been reconfigured from delivering 3 GeV muon beams to the g-2 storage ring to providing slow-extracted 8 GeV proton beam spills for the Mu2e experiment. The first full-scale commissioning run with slow extraction was conducted during the 2025 run, followed by the second run in early 2026. We present the results and current status of this commissioning campaign.

To date, two dedicated Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry (SVLBI) missions, the VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) and RadioAstron, have provided groundbreaking insights into the Universe at angular resolutions as fine as ~10 microarcseconds. The phased SKA-Mid, with its exceptional sensitivity and broad frequency coverage, will form a unique ground-based anchor for future SVLBI missions, driving major advances into previously unexplored regions of the angular resolution-sensitivity parameter space. The discovery of extreme brightness temperatures in blazars by RadioAstron demands detailed investigation with next-generation SVLBI. Such studies are crucial for understanding particle (re-)acceleration mechanisms, with direct implications for the search for high-energy neutrino sources. Combining centimeter-wavelength SVLBI with millimeter ground-based VLBI at comparable resolutions will enable detailed studies of plasma stratification and instabilities in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) jets, as well as the processes of jet formation, acceleration, collimation, and magnetic field evolution, for example through Faraday rotation mapping. The unprecedented sensitivity of the SKA-Mid will allow observations of active galactic nuclei to very high redshifts, tracing their evolution and overcoming opacity caused by the (1+z) shift of intrinsic emission frequencies. Future centimeter SVLBI experiments will also probe scattering in the interstellar medium through pulsar, maser, and AGN observations. Finally, the combination of multiple tied-array beams from the SKA telescopes and the extremely long SVLBI baselines will enable ultra-precise astrometry using the next-generation MultiView technique, allowing measurements of extragalactic parallaxes of pulsars and megamasers, proper motions of supermassive black holes, and even the astrometric detection of exoplanets.

We construct an explicit boundary-action realization of superoscillatory initial states (SIS) for inflation, in which quantum interference within a band-limited initial wavefunctional generates a spectrally localized Bogoliubov excitation with a rapidly winding phase. Starting from a quadratic boundary term on the initial time surface, we derive the Bogoliubov coefficients and the resulting primordial curvature spectrum, obtaining a localized oscillatory feature fixed by the superoscillatory parameters $(a,N)$ rather than imposed phenomenologically. We compute the projection of this feature onto CMB angular power spectra and show that transfer-function smearing strongly suppresses the oscillatory component; full CAMB calculations confirm the qualitative effect and show that a simple Gaussian approximation overestimates the peak signal by about a factor of three. Using Planck 2018 TT data, we obtain an indicative matched-filter bound $\lambda \lesssim 0.05$ for a representative feature centered near the first acoustic peak, $\Delta k/k_* = 0.05$ at $k_* = 1.45\times 10^{-2}\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$. We further derive correlated predictions for polarization and the bispectrum, identify structural constraints that distinguish SIS from generic excited-state models, and show that galaxy clustering provides a qualitatively more powerful probe because it preserves the full oscillatory structure that CMB projection suppresses. This framework provides a concrete and testable realization of how initial-state quantum interference can imprint itself on cosmological observables.

Building on the null-infinity-layer construction, we develop an H1-conforming finite-element formulation of hyperboloidal compactification for the exterior Helmholtz equation. A change of coordinates maps infinity to a finite outer boundary, and a rescaling removes the leading oscillatory decay. We derive the transformed equation and a global sesquilinear weak formulation with bounded coefficients. The compactified boundary contributes an explicit boundary mass term, and its trace gives the far-field pattern up to a known normalization. We compare the resulting method with finite-element discretizations using perfectly matched layers (PML) and report benchmark results in two and three dimensions. Numerical experiments include scattering by a unit disk, resonance in a trapping geometry, a manufactured benchmark in three dimensions, and a submarine benchmark.

We present a halo-independent framework for sub-GeV dark matter (DM) direct detection using quantum sensors with sub-eV energy thresholds. Such detectors enable access to low DM velocities and may be sensitive to departures from the Standard Halo Model that are challenging to probe with conventional direct DM detection experiments. The method expresses the DM scattering event rate in terms of a detector and particle model-dependent response function, and a universal halo function common to all experiments to be determined from data. This allows the local DM velocity distribution to be constrained. As representative implementations, we consider TES (Al) and MKID (TiN)-like sensors and show that their differing material responses probe complementary regimes of the DM velocity distribution. Applying the framework to mock data derived from several benchmark local halo models, we demonstrate how the assumed halo function could be reconstructed. This framework demonstrates the potential of quantum sensors as a new avenue for mapping the local DM velocity distribution.

This work seeks to understand the nature of Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies in a cosmological context by analyzing their star-formation histories in the IllustrisTNG100 simulation, applying a recent selection criterion. The sample at z = 2.0 includes 6051 Lyman-alpha emitters, classified into four classes (35%, 33%, 21%, and 11%) using KMeans, an unsupervised machine-learning clustering method. The first class reproduces the typical star-formation history, characterized by the most intense star formation at the time of observation. The remaining classes exhibit atypical star-formation histories, with bursts occurring 0.3, 0.7, and 1.3 Gyr before the time of observation. The first class corresponds to galaxies with lower mass, Lyman-alpha luminosity, and total star-formation rate. We conclude that the classical definition of Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies-low mass, low dust content, and a single dominant burst-remains the most representative population (35% of the total sample), although other classes account for the remaining 65% of the cosmological sample.

This review focuses on the liquid jet in crossflow (LJIC) configuration. LJIC is one of the most common strategies used for fuel injection in aerospace applications. It is popular due to its simplicity and efficient atomization characteristics. The aerodynamic force of the airflow is utilized to break liquid jet into small droplets. The objective of the present work is to give a basic overview of the physical processes involved in the breakup and penetration of LJIC. Breakup modes and underlying mechanisms are discussed in detail. Various modes are described and associated non-dimensional numbers are explained. Injector geometry which is often overlooked in literature is paid special attention. The mechanism of liquid jet instability getting triggered by velocity profile redistribution is explained using experimental and computational results. Surface waves on liquid jets are discussed. A theoretical model used to predict the wavelength of surface waves is described. DNS results are used to demonstrate the growth of surface instability on a liquid jet. Jet penetration and trajectory in the presence of crossflow are discussed. Various trajectory equations and the parameters used are discussed in detail. Progress in computational studies for LJIC is highlighted and challenges are discussed.

By certifying quantum operations from measurement statistics directly, without any assumption on the internal workings of the devices involved, self-testing enables a uniquely reliable identification of quantum objects. While such device-independent characterization has been shown to be possible for states, measurements and channels, it has so far not been extended to quantum supermaps – operations that act on quantum channels themselves and can combine them in either a well-defined causal order or also, remarkably, in an indefinite causal order. Here we show that quantum supermaps can be identified device-independently. Specifically, we obtain two levels of certification, depending on the network structure of the experiment: when each slot of the supermap accepts a single uncharacterized black box, identification up to local embedding combs is obtained; when several black boxes are inserted within each slot, identification up to local extracting and injecting maps is achieved. We illustrate our approach on four examples – the identity comb, a bit-flip error-correcting comb, the comb describing Grover's algorithm, and the quantum switch – providing in particular the first self-test of both a quantum algorithmic comb and a causally indefinite quantum process. Notably, in the latter case, this provides a new way to certify causal indefiniteness in a device-independent manner.

Most available quantum algorithms address constrained optimization problems by treating constraints as soft penalty terms within a QUBO formulation. This approach requires careful adjustment of the penalty coefficients, which scales poorly with the number of constraints and lacks a proper strategy to balance feasibility and solution quality. In this work, we introduce two extensions of standard linear-ramp QAOA (lr-QAOA) tailored to problems with multiple heterogeneous constraints. We first construct $\Lambda$-lr-QAOA, in which each penalty term is assigned its own linear-ramp schedule, promoting penalty weights from external hyperparameters to internal variational parameters of QAOA, similarly to the objective and mixer parameters. By optimizing all schedules jointly in a single run, this approach eliminates nested penalty tuning and scales more efficiently to multiple constraints. The optimization is guided by a feasibility-driven loss function that pushes the quantum state towards high-quality feasible solutions. As a further refinement, we introduce piecewise-ramp QAOA, in which the linear ramps are replaced by two-segment piecewise schedules, enhancing the expressiveness of the Ansatz at the cost of a small parameter overhead independent of the circuit depth. We benchmark both methods on Earth-observation satellite mission planning tasks formulated as budget-constrained Maximum Weight Independent Set problems. Numerical results show that piecewise-ramp QAOA consistently outperforms lr-QAOA and $\Lambda$-lr-QAOA across circuit depths and system sizes. Furthermore, both $\Lambda$-lr-QAOA and piecewise-ramp QAOA exhibit a high feasibility rate, which is crucial in industrial applications. Our analysis highlights an intrinsic feasibility-optimality trade-off, which we address by introducing a filtered variant of the loss providing a single hyperparameter to tune this balance.

Transitional millisecond pulsars constitute a peculiar subclass of neutron stars in which the pulsar alternates between accretion-powered and rotation-powered states, depending on the variations in the mass accretion flow coming from a low-mass companion star. A third intermediate state, referred to as “sub-luminous disk state”, has been identified. During this state, observations indicate the presence of a disk surrounding the pulsar, and the system exhibits intriguing features, such as broad optical and X-ray pulsations characterized by a high luminosity. To date, no ab initio model of a pulsar wind interacting with an accretion disk has been developed to address these observables. We perform three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of a pulsar magnetosphere surrounded by a perfectly conducting torus to model the interaction between the pulsar wind and the disk. We find that the presence of the disk induces a significant reconfiguration of the magnetosphere compared to the rotation-powered state, leading to enhanced plasma density at the inner disk boundary, increased magnetic field strength, and more efficient plasma isotropization and particle acceleration. As a result, the synchrotron radiation is substantially enhanced, and characterized by a strong continuous component and either one or two-peaked light curves, depending on the pulsar's magnetic obliquity. The polarization degree is reduced compared to isolated systems, and its energy dependence is explored. The rotation of the polarization angle can also be altered, depending on the observer's viewing angle. The model successfully reproduces some of the main features of the optical and X-ray pulsed emission originating from PSR J1023+0038, thereby corroborating the scenario in which these pulsations originate from synchrotron radiation generated as the pulsar wind interacts with the inner edge of the disk.

Realizing the full scientific potential of the SKA requires not only revolutionary instrumentation but also accurate modeling of light propagation in an evolving, expanding Universe, in order to translate intensity and polarization data into physical insight about magnetic fields and cosmic plasma. When all-sky cosmological polarized radiative transfer (CPRT) calculations meets SKA observations, theory and data interlock to deliver a predictive, and testable picture of the evolving magneto-ionic Universe. This synergy transforms polarization observations – assembled into empirical maps of diffuse emission and rotation-measure (RM) grids of discrete sources – from descriptive data products into powerful astrophysical probes, advancing our understanding of cosmic magnetism across space and time. The CPRT formalism – derived from fundamental conservation laws and incorporating relativistic, cosmological, and full radiative-transfer effects – provides a robust platform and a common framework for observers, theorists, and simulation experts to pursue shared scientific goals. Observers gain synthetic templates to interpret RM grids and polarization maps; theorists can directly confront models of magnetogenesis and magnetic-field evolution with data; and simulation experts obtain a post-processing tool to transform cosmological magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) outputs into observable skies. Furthermore, CPRT serves as a powerful testbed when traditional RM-based methods reach their limitations – for example, in interpreting complex Faraday spectra, disentangling multiple intervening magnetized media, or achieving a coherent picture when diverse observational diagnostics – such as dispersion measure, synchrotron emission and spectral index, and dust polarization – are combined.

A discrete outcome quantum sensor network is one in which we are only interested in which detectors are activated. This can be studied in either the strong or weak interaction regime. If the detectors interact strongly with the environment, it is possible to definitely find which ones were activated. If the interaction is weaker, there is a possibility of making an error, and the object is to minimize the probability of this happening. Here we will be interested in this weaker interaction regime. We will also assume that only certain patterns of detectors will be activated, different patterns being translated versions of a fundamental one. Our object will be to find which pattern has been activated. We will look at both one and two-dimensional detector arrays and make use of techniques from minimum-error state discrimination.

Understanding the origin and evolution of cosmic magnetic fields is a key science goal for the SKAO. Recent advances in metre-wavelength (m-$\lambda$) Faraday rotation measure (RM) grids are enabling precision probes of cosmic magnetism, with implications extending to early-Universe physics, AGN feedback, and the magnetized circumgalactic medium. Here we model the m-$\lambda$ polarized source counts to predict an RM Grid density with SKA-Low of $N(>P) \sim 5 ({P}/{100{\rm \mu Jy}})^{-0.75}\,\, {\rm deg}^{-2} $, where $P$ is the polarized intensity detection threshold. This represents at least an order of magnitude improvement over the current state-of-the-art. For a representative wide-area SKA-Low AA4 survey covering 10,000 deg$^2$ in $\sim$3,200 hours, we predict more than 50,000 RMs. Coupled with an expected RM precision of $\sim$0.05 rad/m$^2$, SKA-Low promises to produce the leading RM Grid survey for constraining the origin of cosmic magnetism in the SKA era. These predictions can be partially tested during the Science Verification phase using the AA* Sky Model data. For example, at a nominal detection threshold of 240~$\mu$Jy/beam (8 times the noise in Stokes $Q$ and $U$), we expect $\sim$2.6 RMs/deg$^2$ (5x the current best m-$\lambda$ RM Grid density). Combining both wide-area and all-sky data, SKA-Low could detect up to 100,000 m-$\lambda$ RMs across its observable sky. Finally, we demonstrate new constraints on the origin of cosmic magnetism by comparing cosmological MHD simulations with the LOFAR m-$\lambda$ RMs, and highlight the transformative advances an SKA-Low RM Grid will enable for precision studies of cosmic magnetism.