Papers

Testing quantum states for symmetries has multiple applications in quantum state comparison or as a primitive in more complex quantum algorithms. We present a method that determines whether an input photonic state is invariant under the action of a cyclic group defined by an operator $\hat{S}$ with eigenvalues which are roots of unity. The results generalize previously known circle and SWAP tests related to suppression laws in Fourier interferometers and offer a new test for permutations defined by a binary shift and a way to search for eigenstates in multiphoton states. Finally, we discuss the scenarios where this measurement can be used to perform Hadamard test, a fundamental primitive in variational and quantum machine-learning algorithms.

Pre-trained or 'foundational' machine-learned interatomic potentials (MLIPs) are now widely used in materials modelling. However, early pre-trained models and benchmarks have largely focused on ordered, crystalline structures, and their transferability to non-crystalline solids remains unclear. Here, we show that the amorphous state is indeed a central challenge for future universal MLIPs, based on a systematic evaluation of current mainstream models in this domain. We introduce a benchmarking framework built on a curated reference dataset of canonical amorphous systems, as well as validation for structures and properties. Our study identifies limitations in the transferability of many current pre-trained models and investigates fine-tuning strategies tailored to disordered phases. Together, our results can facilitate future applications of MLIPs in the fast-growing field of amorphous functional materials, and they provide guidance for designing next-generation training datasets and transferable atomistic models.

We investigate the use of variational quantum algorithms to prepare and characterize fractional quantum Hall states on near-term quantum processors. Focusing on the $\nu=1/3$ Laughlin phase described by the $V_1$ Haldane pseudopotential, we formulate the lowest-Landau-level problem in second quantization, and implement particle-number-preserving variational circuits combined with the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) and variational quantum deflation (VQD). We benchmark the approach in two complementary geometries: Haldane sphere and torus shape. On the Haldane sphere, the target state is a unique zero-energy Laughlin ground state, providing a controlled test of the variational workflow and of excited-state reconstruction. On the torus, the problem retains the genuinely two-dimensional periodic character of the quantum Hall liquid and exhibits the threefold topological ground-state degeneracy expected for the $\nu=1/3$ fractional filling factor. This feature makes the torus a more demanding benchmark than the quasi-one-dimensional cylinder or thin-torus limits commonly exploited in state-preparation quantum protocols. We benchmark the hardware-optimized variational states against exact diagonalization using energy estimates, error-mitigated observables, and subspace-containment diagnostics. Our results show that hybrid quantum algorithms can approximately reconstruct the low-energy structure of small fractional quantum Hall systems, including the topological ground-state manifold on the torus. Beyond serving as a benchmark for quantum hardware, this geometry-resolved approach provides a route toward quantum simulations of fractional Chern insulators and strongly correlated topological phases in realistic two-dimensional materials.

Network theoreticians hypothesize that the structure of real-world networks has a geometric origin. Especially, hyperbolic geometry was proven insightful in representing and modeling of scale-free networks. Embedders are algorithms used to find a geometric representation of a network. In this study, we introduce a fast lossless graph compression algorithm based on modern hyperbolic embedders. Experimental validation on real-world and generated networks shows that our algorithm beats state-of-the-art by up to 42% on real-world graphs.

The type D ASEP is an asymmetric two–species interacting particle system on $\Z$, in which two separately conserved species hop, bind into a composite “bound pair”, and split. The model, along with its reversible measures and orthogonal polynomial duality, was constructed using the representation theory of $U_q(\so_{2n})$. The reversible measures and orthogonal polynomial duality are each a product of two copies of the single-species ASEP reversible measures and orthogonal polynomial duality. In this paper, we study the long-time asymptotics of the type D ASEP. In the fixed–$q$ regime, using an exact current–decoupling identity, we prove that the asymptotic hydrodynamic limit and Tracy–Widom fluctuations decouple, as predicted from the duality. In the weak–asymmetry (Edwards–Wilkinson) regime, when $q=1-c/N^2$, we prove that the two density fluctuation fields \underline{decouple}: each converges to a linear stochastic heat equation, with no cross–coupling in either the drift or the noise, the limiting noises having vanishing cross–correlation. More surprisingly, we then prove that the two limiting normal random variables are \underline{correlated} with a seemingly new correlation function. The correlation is exactly equal to $(1-e^{-4c})/(4c)$, with the positive parts of the normal random variables having correlations expressed by the Bessel–Struve function. This paper, with the exception of the abstract and introduction, was written entirely by Claude Opus 4.8 and Fable 5. The proofs were then formalized in Lean, using Aristotle by Harmonic AI. The human author of this paper verified the proofs manually.

We numerically study perturbations of spatially homogeneous and orthogonal solutions to the Einstein-Euler equations with positive cosmological constant and linear equation of state $p=K\rho$ for $K \in (\frac{1}{3},1)$. Recent numerical and analytic work has demonstrated that the fluid density gradient in these perturbed spacetimes can form steep gradients and blow up as future timelike infinity is approached, a phenomenon now known as the `Rendall instability'. In this article, we study the onset of this instability outside of one spatial dimension for the first time. Our results provide compelling evidence that the Rendall instability causes a forward ultraviolet cascade and $H^{s}$ norm inflation in the energy density of the fluid from small $U(1)$-symmetric perturbations. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first example of small data norm inflation for solutions of the field equations with a positive cosmological constant.

Conformal field theory (CFT) offers a modern viewpoint for understanding phase transitions. However, directly accessing the conformal algebra and microscopically uncovering the emergent conformal symmetry, especially in higher dimensions, remains a significant challenge. Motivated by recent advances in revealing CFT features via the fuzzy two-sphere, here we generalize this approach to higher dimensions and aim to expose the conformality at the (3+1)-D quantum critical point. We demonstrate this framework by investigating quantum phase transitions belonging to the Ising and Yang-Lee universality classes in a (3+1)-D quantum model (equivalent to a classical four-dimensional system), realized via Landau level projection on the fuzzy three-sphere. By computing the energy spectra at criticality, we explicitly verify the state-operator correspondence, a hallmark of conformal invariance. Together with prior advances, this work establishes a new pathway for the microscopic study of emergent conformality in higher-dimensional phase transitions.

Moment-based relaxations of the positive partial transpose (PPT) criterion have been recently introduced, as a hierarchy of entanglement criteria involving only experimentally accessible quantities of a given bipartite state. The goal of this work is to study their typical detection performance on high-dimensional bipartite systems. Concretely, we investigate whether random bipartite mixed states on $\mathbb C^d\otimes\mathbb C^d$, obtained as the marginal over an environment $\mathbb C^s$ of a uniformly distributed pure state, generically satisfy or violate them. For each fixed level $m\in\mathbb N$ in this hierarchy of moment-based PPT criteria, we are able to identify a threshold environment dimension $s=\lambda_md^2$ at which the behavior of the associated random state switches from violating to satisfying it, with probability going to $1$ as $d$ grows. The proof combines combinatorics of permutations techniques to estimate the average value of moments of partially transposed random states and concentration of measure arguments to bound the probability of deviating from such average, when the underlying local dimension $d$ is large. We additionally need tools from the theory of Hankel determinant evaluation via orthogonal polynomials.

Since its discovery in 2008, iron-based superconductors (FeSCs) have become a central platform for exploring high-temperature superconductivity in multiband, electron-correlated materials. This review focuses on major developments over the past decade or so, emphasizing experimental advances, pairing mechanisms, and emerging applications. Structural tuning through chemical substitution, pressure, and epitaxial growth enables precise control of the electronic, magnetic, and superconducting ground states, thereby revealing their interplay. In particular, the electronic nematic phase and stripe-type antiferromagnetic order-often coexisting or competing-are central to understanding the phase diagrams. Spin waves in magnetically ordered parent compounds and spin excitations (fluctuations) in doped superconductors are extensively characterized by inelastic neutron scattering. While high-energy spin excitations in doped superconductors retain substantial spectral weight across a wide energy range reminiscent of spin waves in their undoped parents, the low-energy response reveals a collective spin excitation termed "resonance" coupled to superconductivity. The momentum structure of superconductivity-induced resonance provides strong evidence for sign-changing pairing in many FeSCs, while disorder effects, orbital-fluctuation scenarios, quasiparticle damping, and compound-dependent gap structures indicate that $s_{\pm}$, $s_{++}$, nodal $s$, $d$-wave, and multicomponent states must be discussed in a material-specific framework. Advances in thin-film growth, intercalation chemistry, and interface engineering-particularly in FeSe-based systems-have enabled enhanced $T_{c}$ and novel device geometries. With high upper critical fields, moderate anisotropy, and improving current densities, FeSCs continue to drive both fundamental insight and technological applications in superconductivity.

Tipping transitions are abrupt reorganizations between statistical regimes, usually anticipated through critical slowing down: recovery slows, autocorrelation and variance rise, and spectral power shifts toward low frequencies. In noisy, spatially extended systems, however, these signatures alone cannot distinguish weakening resilience, increasingly likely excursions toward a competing state, and spatial reorganization. We address these questions in the stochastic Ghil-Sellers energy balance model, whose ice-albedo feedback supports warm and snowball metastable regimes, through three viewpoints. Reduced Ruelle-Pollicott resonances and Kolmogorov modes diagnose relaxation and response in physically interpretable observables; Extreme Value Theory probes the accessibility and persistence of tail excursions; and Data-Adaptive Harmonic Modes diagnose the frequency-resolved organization of the temperature field. Near tipping, several reduced decay rates slow together and their modes become geometrically harmonized along a common transition direction, while Green functions show delayed recovery and enhanced low-frequency susceptibility only when the response residues are nonzero. Cold extremes become less sharply bounded and more clustered, and the full field becomes less compressible as its phase distribution broadens, even as a dominant low-frequency component emerges. Read jointly, these diagnostics reconcile apparently contrasting signatures and connect statistical indicators to the physical geometry of competing climate states. We further show that a small localized albedo change can create an additional pair of folds, so that a distance to tipping may carry structural as well as statistical uncertainty. The results provide a framework for interpreting early warnings that distinguishes changes in the system's dynamics from uncertainty in the model's bifurcation structure.

We have developed a compact liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC), NanoGRAMS, as a technology demonstrator for the Gamma-Ray and AntiMatter Survey (GRAMS). LArTPCs have the potential to enable Compton cameras with unprecedented effective area in the MeV gamma-ray band. NanoGRAMS has an active volume of $5.12 \times 5.12 \times 10~\mathrm{cm^3}$ and is equipped with a low-noise scintillation and charge readout system. The scintillation light is detected by an array of 16 SiPMs ($6 \times 6~\mathrm{mm^2}$ each), whose signals are summed and amplified by a low-noise transimpedance amplifier operable at liquid argon temperature. Ionization electrons are read out with $3.2\,\mathrm{mm}$-pitch pixels and processed by VATA-SGD ASICs, with synchronization provided by an FPGA-based data acquisition system. We irradiated the detector with a $^{60}\mathrm{Co}$ source (1173 and $1332\,\mathrm{keV}$) and successfully detected both 1-hit and 2-hit events. The collected charge was converted to deposited energy using a phenomenological recombination model, and the detector response was evaluated with a Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulation. The reconstructed energy spectrum shows Compton edges at 963 and $1118\,keV$, consistent with the expected values. For 2-hit events, the sequence of interactions was identified, and the reconstructed back-projection image agrees with the source position. These results demonstrate the feasibility of NanoGRAMS as a Compton camera for MeV gamma-ray imaging spectroscopy.

We use the large $N$ critical point formalism to examine the interplay of supersymmetry and chiral symmetry on the location or otherwise of multiple zetas in the renormalization group functions of several related field theories. In particular we determine that the anomalous dimension of the matter field of the Lagrangian corresponding to the bosonic sector of the $O(N)$ Wess-Zumino is free of multiple zetas to $O(1/N^3)$.

N63A is one of the brightest supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud and provides an excellent laboratory for studying SNR evolution in an H II region. We present a detailed X-ray analysis of N63A using Chandra and XMM-Newton observations, combining both imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy. Our global spectral fitting reveals three distinct thermal plasma components with temperatures $kT$$\sim$0.3, 0.7, and 1.5 keV. Spatially-resolved spectroscopy with Chandra shows substantial variations in physical parameters across the remnant, with the eastern lobes of the optical nebula exhibiting significantly higher ionization timescales than the western region. These multi-temperature plasma components indicate that N63A is evolving in a cloudy interstellar medium: the low-temperature component arises from evaporated dense cloudlets that are engulfed by the blast wave, the intermediate-temperature component represents shocked inter-cloud medium, and the highest-temperature component likely results from the shocks reflected by the clouds. We estimate a Sedov age of approximately 4.5 kyr and an explosion energy of about $4\times10^{51}$ erg. Comparison of the observed abundance ratios and masses of metal elements with the nucleosynthesis models constrains the progenitor mass to approximately $20 M_{\odot}$, supporting a single-star core-collapse origin for N63A.

The abundances of heavy elements observed in metal-poor, r-process-enhanced stars provide unique information about the astrophysical conditions in which the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) occurs. We present a Bayesian framework to infer these conditions from stellar abundance patterns. Building on a large site-independent r-process survey, we use a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler to fit observed abundances with weighted superpositions of abundances from nucleosynthesis calculations, each parameterized by an initial electron fraction, entropy, and expansion timescale. Applying this framework to the nearly complete r-process template star HD222925, we find that two components are required: A heavier H-component producing elements from the second to the third peak and a lighter L-component producing elements from the first to the second peak. Increasing the number of components does not significantly improve the agreement with observations. Extending the analysis to the limited-r stars HD128279 and HD122563, and to the solar r-process residuals, we find that their abundances can be reproduced by almost the same two components, albeit with different relative weights. Moreover, the lightest neutron-capture elements ($Z \lesssim 35$) in the Sun require additional contributions absent in HD222925. Residual discrepancies are concentrated in elements sensitive to observational systematics (e.g., Ag and Cd) or nuclear-physics inputs (around the third peak). Our study highlights the power of combining stellar abundances with nucleosynthesis calculations to constrain the astrophysical conditions of the r-process, and motivates further improvements in both observational data and nuclear-physics inputs.

We derive the Belinfante–Rosenfeld symmetrization procedure from the metric-affine conservation law by means of an affine lift of flat-spacetime field theories. Following minimal coupling to an independent affine connection, variation of the action with respect to the connection defines the hypermomentum current. Taking the flat-spacetime limit of the resulting conservation law, we recover the Belinfante–Rosenfeld relation, with the divergence of the hypermomentum current reproducing the Belinfante improvement term. We thoroughly study the form of the couplings with this property and their physical significance. The construction is illustrated for Quantum Electrodynamics and Quantum Chromodynamics.

We present a momentum-space framework for the consistent treatment of Coulomb interactions in femtoscopic correlation functions based on a modified Vincent–Phatak method that is more amenable to numerical implementation. The formalism provides a practical approach to incorporating Coulomb effects at the short distances relevant for femtoscopy within the Lippmann–Schwinger equation, while preserving a unified treatment of the strong interaction. As an application, we study the $S=-4$ pseudoscalar–baryon decuplet interaction in the $\bar{K}\Omega$ system and present predictions for the singly and doubly negatively charged channels, $\bar{K}^0\Omega^-$ and $K^-\Omega^-$. As an additional validation of the formalism, we have also applied it to the well-studied $pp$ system. We further assess the limitations of the asymptotic wave-function approximation and quantify corrections accounting for the short-distance structure of the interaction potential. We introduce a phenomenological parameter that effectively absorbs contributions from both the finite source size and the off-shell structure of the interaction, the latter being one of the main obstacles to extracting detailed information on hadron–hadron interactions from femtoscopic measurements in a model-independent way.

Characterising post-common envelope binaries (PCEBs) containing a white dwarf and a main-sequence companion is essential for improving theories of binary evolution. This paper presents the first direct spectroscopic confirmations of the white dwarf components in four PCEB systems within 20 pc of the Sun: G 203-47, GJ 207.1, LHS 1817, and Wolf 1130. To detect the white dwarfs we obtained near-UV spectroscopy from STIS on the Hubble Space Telescope, fitting with white dwarf models and M dwarf proxy spectra. We provide estimates of the white dwarf effective temperatures, which range from approximately 5300 K to 6300 K. We compare these parameters to those determined from modelling with photometry alone, and find a 5 - 8 per cent discrepancy, due to emission features. Notably, 27 years after its initial detection, we confirm the presence of a white dwarf in G 203-47, which is the ninth closest white dwarf to the Sun. Using Swift XRT data, we find that despite the 14.9-day orbital period of G 203-47, it is not tidally locked, possessing a rotation period likely exceeding 100 days, and making it a rare example of a long-period PCEB formed via a brief common envelope interaction. We update the local white dwarf space density to (5.2 $\pm $0.4) $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ pc$^{-3}$, and compare our results to models from the Binary Populations and Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) framework, finding a good agreement with the predicted and observed numbers of PCEBs within 20 pc.

We present a search for high energy gamma rays in the energy range from 1–300~GeV from the galaxy cluster PSZ2~G181.06+48.47 using 17.9~years of Fermi-LAT data. A binned likelihood analysis employing the 16-year source catalog reveals a significant $\gamma$-ray excess at the cluster position. Modelling the emission as a point source yields a detection with $\mathrm{TS}=19.0 (4.3 \sigma)$, a photon index of $\Gamma=3.20 \pm 0.62$, and an integrated photon flux of $(9.75\pm2.74)\times10^{-11}\,\mathrm{ph\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$, but leaves statistically significant residual emission at the cluster center. Replacing the point-source hypothesis with a RadialGaussian spatial template significantly improves the fit, with a preferred width of $\sigma=0.4^{\circ}$ and an extension significance of $\mathrm{TS}_{\rm ext}=36.8 (6.0\sigma)$. The adopted Gaussian model yields a source detection significance of $\mathrm{TS}=55.0 (7.4\sigma)$, a photon index of $\Gamma=2.62\pm0.26$, and an integrated photon flux of $(3.22\pm0.50)\times10^{-10}\,\mathrm{ph\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$, while reducing the residual emission at the cluster position to a level consistent with zero. The cluster spectral energy distribution shows significant emission only in the lowest energy interval (1.0–3.13~GeV), while all higher-energy bins are consistent with upper limits, indicating a soft $\gamma$-ray spectrum with no evidence for emission above $\sim5$~GeV. These results provide strong evidence that the $\gamma$-ray emission associated with PSZ2~G181.06+48.47 is spatially extended on a scale of $\sigma\approx0.4^{\circ}$ and is more consistent with diffuse intracluster emission than with a single unresolved point source.

We control the spectral distribution of a spin ensemble by applying a magnetic field gradient using an anti-Helmholtz coil inside a dilution refrigerator, and demonstrate impedance matching between the ensemble and a transmission line, achieving -50 dB absorption of incident radiation. This represents a first step toward a spin-ensemble-based quantum memory for itinerant microwave photons. We further model the spectral distribution under the applied gradient to predict the spin-resonator response, and use the device to systematically tune the weak-to-strong coupling transition in both continuous-wave and time-domain pulsed measurements.

Monte Carlo particle transport codes are powerful tools, but their use requires substantial knowledge of input preparation, execution, and result analysis. In this study, we present a code-side strategy for applying existing AI assistants and AI agents to PHITS. Two complementary sets of AI-ready resources were prepared from manuals, lecture materials, sample inputs, utility information, and developer-curated cautions: a bundled knowledge base for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)-based assistants and a compact agent reference for direct use by AI agents. The knowledge base was loaded into Gemini Notebook to provide conversational PHITS support, while the agent reference was combined with PHITS-specific policies and execution rules to enable AI agents to edit input files, execute calculations, inspect errors, analyze results, and assist with source-code modification and compilation. To evaluate the agent-driven workflow, five demonstration tasks were executed ten times with different AI agents and computing environments. The results showed that AI agents could handle complex PHITS workflows when appropriate resources and rules were provided. Practical lessons included precise prompts, human verification, well-documented sample files, explicit execution policies, and command-line-accessible tools. These findings support bundling AI-ready resources with particle transport codes to enable the use of general-purpose AI tools without requiring dedicated code-specific applications.

Privacy of a quantum metrological protocol concerns the extent to which single parameters can be kept inaccessible to an observer or to other users of the network. In this work, an information geometric framework is developed to quantify privacy and accessibility of functions of parameters effectively, that is, up to a finite accuracy in state discrimination. Both quantities are defined by measuring volumes in the parameter space induced by the underlying quantum states. This construction subsumes previous definitions of privacy based on the degeneracy of quantum Fisher information, naturally encompassing imperfect implementations. Using extended-GHZ states as a representative example of a quantum network scenario, privacy and accessibility are characterized by quantum correlations and accuracy, providing scaling laws depending on imperfect measurements and entanglement.

Moiré structure emerging in photonic bilayers stacked with a twist enables the controllable frequency selective resonant response. Here, we employ twist tunable resonances to boost second harmonic generation (SHG) at a desired frequency in twisted photonic bilayers integrated with two-dimensional nonlinear crystals. We develop an analytical theory relating the resonance frequencies and the SHG enhancement factor to the material parameters of the dielectric layers and the twist angle. The theory reveals a critical twist angle separating two distinct regimes of photonic bilayer operation: with open and closed moiré diffraction channels. Above the critical angle, the photon leakage from the guided mode is suppressed and the SHG enhancement factor rises by orders of magnitude. The paper offers a compact route to nonlinear conversion in moiré photonic structures efficient and tunable over a wide spectral range.

Recent Gaia studies have identified numerous open clusters (OCs) & tidal tail catalogues, enabling systematic searches for white dwarfs (WDs) associated with clusters & their extended structures. We compile a literature-based sample of OC-WD pairs to validate WD membership in cluster cores & tails, investigate the initial-final mass relation (IFMR), identify WDs formed through non-canonical evolution, and interpret the observed WD populations using a grid of N-body simulations. We combine Gaia DR3 cluster & tail catalogues with UV-IR photometry to analyse the OC-WD pairs. WD masses, cooling ages, radii, temperatures & luminosities are estimated using colour-magnitude diagrams & spectral energy distributions. These observations are interpreted in the context of N-body simulations. We identify 235 OC-WD pairs (99 in tails) in 80 clusters. More than 28% of the pairs are likely spurious, with contamination substantially higher in the tails (>48%) than in the cluster cores (>13%), indicating significant field-star contamination in current Gaia-based catalogues. The Pleiade tails also show severe contamination by old WDs. Simulations predict that the fraction of core WDs increases with cluster age, reaching >10%, whereas the observed fractions remain systematically lower, consistent with the WD deficit problem. Despite the high contamination rate, most tail WDs (~83%) are consistent with having been born inside the tidal radius. We also identify 63 candidate binary-origin WDs & 47 new IFMR candidates. WDs provide a powerful probe of contamination in cluster and tail catalogues and place important constraints on cluster detection methods & N-body simulations. Resolving the WD deficit and improving membership validation will require improved observations, membership methods, WD physics, and spectroscopic follow-up, enabling stronger constraints on dynamical cluster evolution & the WD IFMR.

Time-differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC or PAC) analysis is an ill-conditioned inverse problem in which site count, interaction type, correlated hyperfine parameters, damping, and initialization choices can produce competing numerical solutions. This software paper presents PAC Studio ML, a human-in-the-loop Python desktop environment for physics-informed inverse analysis of PAC spectra. The software integrates a Hamiltonian-based forward PAC model, user-defined synthetic training libraries, feature extraction, one-, two-, and three-site machine-learning predictors, direct parameter prediction, Auto sites model-family screening, ML-seeded nonlinear least-squares refinement, visualization, benchmarking, diagnostics, model-card reporting, and export tools. The ML component is designed to support, not replace, conventional fitting and expert interpretation by accelerating parameter exploration, suggesting plausible initialization regions, comparing site-count hypotheses, and improving reproducibility. Held-out synthetic tests demonstrate proof of operation and illustrate the unequal recoverability of PAC parameters in difficult inverse problems. Selected BiFeO3 examples demonstrate conventional, direct-ML, ML-seeded, and Auto sites workflows as software case studies, not as a complete experimental validation corpus. PAC Studio ML is therefore positioned as a supporting tool for expert PAC analysis: it improves workflow speed and diagnostic transparency while final model choice, physical constraints, and materials interpretation remain the responsibility of the researcher.

Accurate catheter digitization in CT-guided interstitial brachytherapy is a critical but time-consuming task, especially for complex implant configurations. We developed a data-efficient, physics-guided framework for automated multi-catheter digitization with minimal clinical annotation. The pipeline consists of two stages. First, an implant region-aware network was pretrained on synthetic CT volumes with simulated metallic signatures and then fine-tuned using only 10 clinical cases. Second, a structure-aware reconstruction module combined a direction-constrained 3D Hough transform with synchronous physics-constrained inward tracking to separate adherent catheter trajectories. The method was evaluated by patient-level five-fold cross-validation on 203 treatment fractions from 38 patients. The fine-tuned network achieved an HD95 of 0.853 +/- 0.362 mm. End-to-end evaluation yielded an F1 score of 0.891 +/- 0.178, with shaft and tip errors of 0.334 +/- 0.367 mm and 0.896 +/- 0.680 mm, respectively. In cases with severe catheter adhesion, the tracking F1 score remained 0.843 +/- 0.190. The complete workflow required approximately 11.6 s per case. These results indicate that combining few-shot synthetic-to-real learning with physics-guided structural tracking can provide robust and efficient multi-catheter digitization for time-sensitive clinical workflows.

Scaling amplitudes describing $pp$ elastic scattering differential cross-sections in the dip-bump region of momentum transfer at the LHC have been recently derived~\cite{scaling}. We check that the same scaling is verified by the $p\bar p$ cross-section at the highest energy of the Tevatron. Applying the general "energy to phase" relation for a given signature, coming from the analiticity properties inherent to the S-Matrix formalism~\cite{chew}, we derive the scaling amplitude with positive signature (i.e. the Pomeron). Fitting the $pp$ differential cross-sections measured by the TOTEM collaboration leads to some tension with data in the experimental dip observed at moderate momentum transfer. Concentrating the study to the dip/bump region, we are able to determine a contribution of a negative signature amplitude (i.e. the Odderon) leading to a parameter free prediction for the $p\bar p$ differential cross-section which is in agreement with the D0 data. The extraction of the Odderon amplitude in both modulus and phase is then performed and discussed.

Weak values (WVs) arise from weak measurements performed within a time-symmetric formulation of quantum mechanics, where a system is both pre- and post-selected. Anomalous WVs that lie far outside the eigenvalue spectrum of the observable hold both fundamental and practical significance. However, their generation typically relies on near-orthogonal pre- and post-selection, which confines them to a single post-selection outcome with extremely low success probability. This constraint limits experimental accessibility and hinders the full exploitation of time symmetry. To overcome these limitations, we utilize quantum entanglement and post-selection-controlled operations to generate correlated pairwise two-state vectors. By changing the role of post-selection from passive filtering to active engineering, this approach enables the observation of anomalous complementary WVs associated with mutually exclusive post-selection branches. Our results extend the operational accessibility of time-symmetric quantum structures associated with the two-state vector formalism, and open new avenues for exploring the applications of time symmetry in quantum information processing.

The short Doppler-limited coherence time of the laser-excited Rydberg state, usually orders of magnitude shorter than the lifetime of the Rydberg state, hinders the Rydberg-mediated quantum technologies. Here, we show that a 649~nm~$-$~658~nm two-photon excitation of the $6sng~^1G_4$ Rydberg state from a long-lived d-orbital clock state of barium can be achieved with a two-photon wavevector that is tiny, which effectively removes the Doppler-limited decoherence. Moreover, the $6sng~^1G_4$ Rydberg state has strong dipole-dipole interaction due to small Förster defect with nearby Rydberg states and possesses long radiative lifetime. These can benefit quantum computing based on individually trapped neutral atoms, and can enable long-lived Rydberg polaritons in atomic media, which brings fresh opportunities in all-optical quantum information.

Let $H=-\Delta+V(|x|)$ be a nonnegative radial Schrödinger operator on $\mathbb{R}^d$, $d\ge 2$, whose positive harmonic function satisfies $U(r)\simeq r^{-\sigma_0}$ for $0<r\le 1$ and $U(r)\simeq r^{-\sigma_\infty}$ for $r\ge 1$, with $-d/2<\sigma_0,\sigma_\infty<d/2$. Assuming the two-sided ground-state heat-kernel estimate of Ishige, Kabeya, and Ouhabaz, we determine the maximal open range in which the kernel of $H^{-s/2}$ admits the clean two-sided estimate $K_s^H(x,y)\simeq |x-y|^{s-d}U(|x|)U(|y|)/[U(|x|+|x-y|)U(|y|+|x-y|)]$, namely $0<s<\min\{d,d-2\sigma_0,d-2\sigma_\infty\}$. In this range we give a complete necessary-and-sufficient classification of the broken-power estimate $\|w_{-\beta_0,-\beta_\infty}H^{-s/2}f\|_{L^{q,v}}\lesssim \|w_{\alpha_0,\alpha_\infty}f\|_{L^{p,u}}$ for $1<p,q<\infty$ and $1\le u,v\le\infty$. The result covers signed ground-state exponents, the full range $q<p$, all one-sided weight equalities, both scale equalities, and simultaneous endpoint corners. Scale equality is governed by $u\le v$, including when $q<p$; an input or output power endpoint requires respectively $u=1$ or $v=\infty$; and at a same-side power/scale corner the only admissible pair is $(u,v)=(1,\infty)$. The proof combines clean-kernel analysis, local Lorentz-Hardy-Littlewood-Sobolev estimates, rank-one endpoint arguments, geometric annular sequence spaces, a triangular matrix theorem, and a nine-block decomposition.

We study the emergence of multi-soliton regimes in 1D ridge polariton waveguides of two different lengths. We show that by varying the position of the gain, which in out-of-equilibrium polariton systems is provided by the pumping laser and its associated excitonic reservoir, it is possible to tune the regime of soliton formation between single and multiple solitons. This soliton dynamics can be quantitatively reproduced by solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equations of the coupled exciton-photon system, which show that the soliton splitting mechanism is governed by the exciton reservoir dynamics.