Papers

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time will produce a high-volume stream of irregularly sampled multiband alerts for which spectroscopic confirmation will be available only for a small minority of sources. Tidal disruption events are rare phenomena that provide a direct probe of dormant massive black holes, but their light curves can be confused with nuclear variability and other transient subclasses. We present NAPTIME (Neural Astrophysical Photometric Transient Identification and Modeling Engine), a neural-process framework for photometric transient classification under sparse and partial observational context. NAPTIME models irregular multiband light curves directly, combining probabilistic light-curve reconstruction with classification and optional host-galaxy context, as well as photometric-redshift information. We evaluate on two simulated benchmarks: ELAsTiCC2, our primary Rubin-like broad-classification benchmark, and MALLORN, a photometry-only TDE-focused benchmark. On the 15-family ELAsTiCC2 task, the metadata-aware model reaches macro $\mathrm{F1} = 0.903$ and macro area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ($\mathrm{AUROC}$) $= 0.991$, while a matched photometry-only variant reaches 0.874 and 0.986. Viewed as a TDE-versus-rest ranking model, the classifier yields TDE average precision 0.985 with metadata and 0.979 without. Metadata is most valuable in the low-context regime. Using only the earliest 10% of retained photometric measurements, macro F1 is $\sim$0.42 with metadata and $\sim$0.34 without it. On MALLORN, NAPTIME reaches macro $\mathrm{F1} = 0.693$ and macro $\mathrm{AUROC} = 0.958$. These results show that neural processes provide a practical probabilistic framework for Rubin-like transient classification and remain effective for TDE-focused candidate recovery.

Simulating active biological tissues, such as the myocardium, requires constitutive models that are both physically faithful and computationally efficient. The most common approach relies on finite element methods that accurately discretize the underlying continuum hyperelastic problem which, in turn, require global nonlinear solve at each time step. On the other hand, fast, interaction-potential methods replace the continuum with a network of independent links approximating the mechanical response. We propose an interaction potential formulation for simulating active biological tissues that bridges this gap. The method recasts continuum hyperelastic constitutive laws in terms of tetrahedral edge strain. Unlike classical mass-spring models, the proposed formulation does not approximate the tissue as independent spring elements but preserves the energetic coupling between adjacent edges. Passive tissue mechanics is described by hyperelastic constitutive laws, while active contraction is incorporated through the active-strain multiplicative decomposition. Within the edge-based formulation, the active strain is incorporated through a time-dependent activated reference configuration. We further introduce a strategy for enforcing the material incompressibility constraint while avoiding volumetric locking. The resulting method can be interpreted as an edge-strain representation of a constant-strain tetrahedral continuum element, providing a bridge between continuum mechanics and discrete interaction potential solvers. Numerical tests demonstrate the capability of the method to effectively simulate different hyperelastic constitutive laws and to properly preserve the energy balance equation. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the active deformation of a realistic ventricle, reproducing longitudinal shortening and wall-thickening values consistent with the literature.

After almost a century of speculation, the physical processes responsible for heating the Sun's corona remain uncertain. Observations of coronal loops at extreme ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths have provided substantial insights, such as the constraint that heating rates increase monotonically with local magnetic field strength. However, there remain dozens of competing suggestions for detailed theoretical explanations of the heating. There remains a need to compare the predictions of these theories with one another, and with real data, so the most likely mechanisms can be determined. In this paper, we build three-dimensional simulations of the corona by starting with potential-field extrapolations for the magnetic field, filling in plasma densities and temperatures along individual loops using one-dimensional models, then computing optically thin intensities for comparison with data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory and Hinode. One new aspect of this forward modeling is the use of parameterizations for heating that include a wide variety of processes such as wave dissipation, reconnection, nanoflares, and turbulent cascade. We also include the effects of intermittent heating and cooling along unresolved strands in the form of time-averaged multithermal broadening of the local differential emission measure. After allowing the coronal heating prescription to vary freely, we found a narrow range of parameters that produce optimal agreement with a set of more than 500 independently measured intensities at solar minimum and maximum. The values of these parameters are consistent with those predicted by models of imbalanced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, but this does not necessarily exclude contributions from other heating processes.

The magnetism in NaV2O5 results from doping of the narrow split-off conduction band of V2O5, which becomes half-filled and leads to a Mott-insulating splitting of spin resolved bands with anti-ferromagnetic order of the spins along the zigzag chains. In the Pmmn structure the spin of this S = 1/2 system is equally shared between two vanadium atoms, residing in a molecular orbital type state. While below 34 K a charge disproportionation occurs into V4+ and V5+, the situation above this temperature is less clear and amounts to a fluctuating moment with equal probability of occupancy of each V. While traditionally described as a quarter-filled ladder system with electron spin localized on the rungs of the ladder, we here take a distributed moment approach in terms of the spin density lumped into individual atomic magnetic sites, including the small induced moments on the oxygen atoms. Exchange interactions are calculated between these sites using a linear response approach based on quasiparticle-self-consistent GW band structures. Surprisingly we find the exchange interactions between the small magnetic moments induced on the vanadyl and bridge oxygen sites to be larger than the exchange interactions between vanadium atoms. Their role in the critical temperature is found to be crucial. The spin wave spectra obtained from this classical Heisenberg type Hamiltonian contains unusual optic spin wave type collective excitations of high energy, the significance of which is discussed.

Accretion of He-rich matter onto a low-mass CO WD from a He-rich donor may lead to an explosive event of SN Ia proportion, though with low peak luminosity and peculiar nucleosynthesis. Recently such a possibility for some binaries with He-accreting WDs has been questioned, suggesting that, if the effects of rotation are accounted for in the evolution of the accretor, the latter does not explode, but it becomes a WD with a massive He-buffer. We investigate the expected evolution of the currently detached binary CD-3011223 harboring a 0.74Msun CO WD and a 0.47Msun donor with a He-burning core and a very thin H-envelope. We use the stellar evolution code FuNS to compute the evolution of CD-3011223 up to the epoch when the two components come into contact and through the RLOF phase of the donor. With respect to our earlier study of the system PTF J2238+743015.1, we also include the transport of angular momentum due to magnetic instabilities (magnetic model). During the H-accretion phase, the effects of rotation in the accretor are negligible. In the "magnetic model", the angular momentum deposited by the accreted matter is very efficiently redistributed along the whole WD due to magnetic instabilities, so that the angular velocity of the accreted layers remains very low. During the He-accretion phase, the accretor experiences two very strong He-flashes, which result in the ejection from the binary system of a large part of the matter previously accreted. The system ends its life as a CO core capped by a massive He/C/O-envelope (Delta M_env ~ 0.194Msun) and an extremely low-mass companion, remnant of the donor, like in a rotating model not including the effects of magnetic field. The system CD-3011223 cannot be regarded as the potential progenitor of Supernova Ia. Such a conclusion applies also to all detached binary systems having similar masses of components and orbital periods.

We investigate the statistical properties of random quadrangular surfaces generated by different randomization procedures: the Gruzberg-Klümper-Nuding-Sedrakyan (GKNS) construction, and two newly introduced generalizations of dynamical triangulations (DT), dynamical (DQ) and general quadrangulations (GQ). We formulate these surfaces within a unified graph-theoretic framework and establish the relationships between the elementary operations defining the different ensembles. For GKNS surfaces, we demonstrate that the construction is equivalent to two mutually constrained percolation processes and determine the associated critical point and critical exponents, revealing deviations from ordinary percolation. For DQ and GQ, we analyze the underlying Markov chains and determine the scaling of mixing and relaxation times. We further analyze all three ensembles through their degree distributions, degree correlations, distance statistics, and Hausdorff dimensions. While DQ exhibits exponentially decaying degree distributions and geometric properties similar to DT, GKNS and GQ display broad, scale-free degree distributions. Moreover, GKNS surfaces possess an asymptotic Hausdorff dimension $\Delta_H\approx 2$, whereas DQ and GQ approach $\Delta_H\approx 4$, similarly to DT. This indicates that DQ is compatible with the universal behavior of DT, while GKNS and GQ define distinct classes of random geometry, implying a different underlying measure in the space of random surfaces and a possible geometric framework for a new class of noncritical string theories.

We propose an extension of the quarkyonic matter framework that includes $u$, $d$, and $s$ quarks and the full baryon octet. Within this extended framework, we impose beta-equilibrium between baryons and leptons, while determining the quark fractions from the constituent quark contents of baryons. The hadronic sector of octet baryons is described by a recently developed density, momentum and isospin dependent effective interaction based on the N3LO Skyrme pseudopotential, whereas quarks and leptons are treated as free particles. We find that the quarkyonic mechanism can obviously reduce the critical density for hyperon appearance in neutron stars due to the fact that the nucleons are displaced to higher momentum states in quarkyonic matter and their chemical potentials rise accordingly. Furthermore, the quarkyonic mechanism can significantly stiffen the equation of state of hyperon star matter and thereby enhance the hyperon star maximum mass, thus helping to mitigate the hyperon puzzle.

The La$_2$NiO$_4$ compound stabilizes in nature in the so-called T structure with octahedral oxygen coordination of the Ni site. Motivated by a similarly existing polymorph for La$_2$CuO$_4$ in the cuprate system, we here study La$_2$NiO$_4$ in the T$^\prime$-structure with square-planar oxygen coordination of Ni by means of first-principles many-body theory. The hypothetical T$^\prime$-La$_2$NiO$_4$ compound turns out to be a manifest charge-transfer insulator with a cuprate-like charge gap of $\sim 1.8$ eV. Upon doping, a strong carrier asymmetry is revealed, i.e. while holes dominantly enter O$(2p)$-derived states, electrons may become itinerant majorly within effective Ni-$d_{x^2-y^2}$ states. Nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic ordering at stoichiometry appears absent in the T$^\prime$ structure, in stark contrast to the strong antiferromagnetism in the T structure. Our theoretical study opens up new pathways for correlation physics in layered nickelates with challenging charge-transfer signatures, awaiting experimental inquiries.

This paper introduces an interactive music system with quantum musical agents that communicate by teleporting quantum states to one another. Human performers interact in real time with agents whose melodic and rhythmic behaviours are encoded as quantum states using Single Qubit Probability Amplitude Modulation (SQPAM) and structured through Quantum Phase Estimation (QPE). Up to three agents are combined within a single quantum circuit, with directed communication via quantum teleportation. We are interested in supporting ambiguous, transformative interactions reminiscent of free Jazz improvisation. Therefore, rather than treating noise and decoherence as limitations, the system embraces NISQ-era constraints as creative affordances, framing agent communication as quantum whispers, that is, deliberate, musically expressive imperfections in state transfer. We provide demonstrations and analyses based on melodic correlation, pitch-set distance, and state fidelity, where a continuum between imitation and divergence can be observed. We developed a tunable interpretation method to assess how agents reinterpret teleported states. This work positions teleportation as a promising interaction mechanism for agent-based quantum computer music and outlines future directions toward distributed ensembles connected via the Quantum Internet.

We investigate the $n$-time cumulant generating function (or $n$-Full Counting Statistics, $n$-FCS) of extensive $U(1)$ charges following a quantum quench. Exploiting space-time duality we characterise this function when evolving from initial states that are symmetric under the action of the charge. In particular, we show that if the correlations in time are sufficiently weak, e.g.\ the transport is ballistic, the $n$-FCS factorises into a sum of single-time FCS arranged in a time-shell structure. A direct implication of this structure is a drastic simplification of dynamical correlation functions: in the presence of time ordering they only depend on the smallest time entering the correlator. We support these findings with several analytical and numerical tests performed in free and interacting models.

When electrons are subjected simultaneously to a magnetic field and a periodic potential, they form the fractal Hofstadter spectrum, whose topological gaps host quantum Hall and Chern insulating states with distinct Chern numbers. While electrical transport has established the topology of these states, whether their heat transport is likewise universal has remained unexplored. Here, we measure the thermal conductance of quantum Hall, Chern insulator, and interaction-driven symmetry-broken Chern insulator states in a bilayer graphene-hexagonal boron nitride moiré superlattice with a moirè wavelength of $\sim$14 nm using Johnson-noise thermometry. We find that the thermal conductance ($G_Q$) is quantized in units of the thermal conductance quantum ($G_Q = t\kappa_0T$) and is determined solely by the Chern number ($t$), independent of the microscopic origin of the topological state. By directly revealing universal topological heat transport in Hofstadter bands, our work establishes thermal conductance as a stringent probe of moiré topological matter and provides a route to investigating more exotic phases, including fractional Chern insulators.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows for provably secure key distribution between two trusted parties. Because the security and performance of QKD protocols rely on devices that behave according to specific assumptions, idealized or inaccurate assumptions about device behavior can introduce security loopholes. Real devices can never be perfectly characterized, and their performance metrics are always subject to certain error margins, which must be accounted for in a rigorous theoretical analysis. Only recently have rigorous finite-size results allowed for imperfect characterizations of devices (where device parameter have uncertainty margins) - an advance yet to be considered in experimental implementations of the BB84 protocol. In this work, we prove the security and analyze the performance of an implementation of the BB84 protocol using single photons generated by a semiconductor quantum dot light source in combination with dynamic polarization-state encoding. We consider the presence of incompletely characterized devices by accounting for imperfections in the single-photon source (in terms of finite g(2)(0)) as well as the receiver (non-ideal beam-splitters, finite detector efficiencies, and dark counts), all with error margins. The resulting protocol implementation shows competitive performance, paving the way towards practical and loop-hole free implementations of QKD.

Amorphous materials exhibit exceptional mechanical and functional properties, yet their rugged energy landscapes are notoriously difficult to sample. Below the glass-transition temperature, conventional molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo become inefficient because equilibration relies on rare barrier-crossing events, while data-driven generative models are constrained by scarce and biased reference ensembles. Here, we introduce ATLAS, an efficient sampler that learns a diffusion process to generate Boltzmann-distributed amorphous structures directly from a target energy function. Parameterized by an equivariant graph neural network, ATLAS generalizes across system size, temperature, and composition. By exploiting the time reversal of the diffusion process, it enables efficient estimation of thermodynamic quantities and steering toward target observables. In two-dimensional Kob-Andersen systems, ATLAS reproduces parallel tempering Markov chain Monte Carlo structural distributions, free energies and entropies, achieving below 0.2% free energy error in the low-temperature glass regime with over 500-fold fewer energy evaluations. In Cu-Zr and Cr-Co-Ni metallic glasses, ATLAS recovers experimentally observed short-range-order trends and steers structures toward prescribed order parameters and optimized bulk moduli. Moreover, composition-amortized pretraining outperforms composition-specific training from scratch, reduces inverse-design costs by several hundred-fold, and enables sampling with expensive universal machine learning interatomic potentials. Coupled to a large language model agent, ATLAS searches an eight-element space for high-entropy metallic glasses balancing stiffness and ductility, identifying a converged Pareto frontier within 480 oracle evaluations. Together, these results establish ATLAS as a foundation model for sampling, steering and designing amorphous materials.

We investigate the bound state properties of the hydrogen-like atoms in the radial screened Coulomb potential (RSCP). using three complementary analytical approaches - expectation values with Coulomb and Kratzer reference states, variational optimization with a scaled Kratzer basis, and the Hellmann-Feynman theorem - we derive approximate energy eigenvalues as function of the screening parameter c. Benchmarked against high-precision generalized pseudospectral data, the expectation value-approach with the Kratzer basis achieves relative errors of 0.63% for the first ten s-states at $c=0.1$, while the variational method improves this further. The formalism extends naturally to Positronium, demonstrating its generality for arbitrary reduced-mass systems. The complementary biases of the methods provide robust error estimation for plasma-embedded atoms.

Using large deviations theory, we solve and obtain a general expression for the free energy functional for a broad class of associative memories, including dense associative memories. We illustrate the method by reproducing classical results for the Hopfield model. For a finite number of patterns, we derive the temperature-dependent free energy functional for dense associative memories featuring polynomial interactions and Log-Sum-Exponential (LSE) activation. We also obtain the disorder-averaged ground-state energy landscape of these systems in the extensive limit. Our analytical framework reveals how memory retrieval depends on the initial state in higher-order dense networks, and gives the exact error-free threshold for the LSE model. This method provides a systematic procedure for analyzing diverse, complex architectures in associative memory.

In weakly anharmonic qubits, coherent control errors take two generic forms – over/under-rotation and phase errors – whose suppression normally requires iterated experiments. We show that, for any symmetric $\pi/2$ pulse in the weak-driving regime, both follow from a single parametrization, $\mathcal{X}(\pi/2)=Z(\delta)X(\pi/2+\epsilon)Z(\delta)$, that ties the rotation error $\epsilon$ and the phase error $\delta$ directly to the system parameters. The parametrization enables DRAPE, a Ramsey-type protocol in which sweeping the phase-error correction reveals a crossing point that fixes both corrections at once. The phase correction is estimated with Heisenberg scaling while the rotation error saturates the standard quantum limit. We experimentally demonstrate DRAPE by calibrating a $\pi/2$ gate on the $|1\rangle\leftrightarrow |2\rangle$ transition of an IBM transmon, reducing the over-rotation from $0.997^\circ$ to $-0.007^\circ$ and the phase error from $2.52^\circ$ to $0.0052^\circ$ per gate, validated independently by phase- and rotation-error amplification protocols.

The Lindemann criterion that a solid loses stability once atomic vibrations reach roughly a tenth of the interparticle spacing, has remained an empirical rule for over a century. The numerical value was reproduced by mode-coupling and replica theories but never isolated as the consequence of a simple, verifiable argument. Here we show that for hard spheres in $d$ dimensions the rule follows from three exact geometric ingredients. The contact theorem fixing the coordination number from the equation of state, an isotropy identity fixing how non touching neighbors project onto an escape direction, and a first-passage argument which is derived, in which the elementary hop spans one interparticle spacing rather than one particle diameter. The resulting parameter-free master equation locates the kinetic glass transition, random close packing, the Kauzmann point, glass close packing, and equilibrium crystal melting in $d=3$–$12$, each to within a few per cent of reported independent simulation and replica-theory values, and places all five on a single barrier surface. The theory makes two predictions that are verifiable, the Lindemann constant, $\c_L(3)=0.13$ per neighbor spacing in $3$ dimensions derived from the theory, which must fall systematically with increasing dimensions. The other being in two dimensions, the current theory predicts the arrest in the volume fraction $\eta_g=0.781$, the jamming at $\eta=0.832$, and both steps of the two-stage melting scenario, all of which are already corroborated by independent simulations and experiments.

We study the impact of small-transverse-momentum resummation for neutral-current Drell-Yan lepton-pair production on the determination of collinear parton distribution functions (PDFs). We focus on measurements of the Z-boson transverse-momentum spectrum performed by ATLAS and CMS at the LHC at centre-of-mass energies of 8 and 13 TeV, and include them in PDF fits based on the NNPDF methodology. Theoretical predictions are computed at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbative QCD and are supplemented with small-transverse-momentum resummation corrections at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy obtained with RadISH. Missing higher-order uncertainties are accounted for through a theory covariance matrix constructed from renormalisation- and factorisation-scale variations. We first revisit the treatment of the 8 TeV data, replacing the fixed-order predictions used in previous analyses with numerically stable NNLO calculations, and removing the additional numerical uncertainties introduced in earlier fits. We then assess the impact of the 13 TeV measurements, of resummation corrections, and of progressively lowering the minimum cut on the dilepton transverse momentum. We find that resummation improves the description of the Z boson transverse-momentum data and is essential for ensuring the overall consistency of the PDF fits. Nevertheless, it does not conclusively support extending the fitted kinematic region to transverse momenta below a few tens of GeV. The impact of resummation on PDFs is moderate, leading primarily to a stabilisation of the gluon PDF in a kinematic region of relevance for LHC phenomenology. Finally, we comment on the fact that the treatment of correlations among theoretical uncertainties may play a central role in PDF fits to measurements with percent- and sub-percent-level precision.

We investigate the self-organization of charged dust dimers in plasma using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, with emphasis on both positional and orientational ordering. For a finite number of dimers confined by a radial electric field, the system evolves from simple arrangements to ring-like structures as the particle number increases. These rings exhibit diverse orientational states, including radial, transverse, and mixed alignments of the dimer axis, reflecting a strong coupling between spatial confinement and orientational degrees of freedom. For larger systems studied under periodic boundary conditions, bulk-like behavior emerges with coupled positional and orientational correlations. The results highlight the significance of anisotropy in determining equilibrium structures and demonstrate that orientational order plays a crucial role alongside positional ordering in complex plasmas with shaped particles. This work provides motivation for experimental studies involving shaped dust particles to explore orientational ordering phenomena beyond conventional spherical dust particle systems.

In this work, we present the calculation of the next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD and electroweak corrections to the thermally averaged cross section of Dark Matter (DM) annihilation in the framework of the complex singlet extended Standard Model (CxSM) with one DM candidate. We derive the corresponding NLO QCD and electroweak corrected relic density and discuss the impact of the corrections as well as the remaining theoretical uncertainty due to missing higher-order corrections. This is estimated through a variation of the renormalization schemes for the singlet vacuum expectation value $v_S$ and the Higgs mixing angle $\alpha$. For the bulk of the scanned parameter points, the QCD and electroweak corrections are found to be of typical size with the remaining theoretical uncertainty ranging at the percent level. The larger corrections that are found, can be attributed to a large counterterm for $v_S$ emerging in the case of large mass gaps in the decay channel used for the renormalization. The corrections are of phenomenological impact. There are parameter points that are allowed at leading order (LO), but are excluded after including the NLO corrections to the relic density, and vice versa. Our corrections have been implemented in the new code RelExt@NLO based on the LO code RelExt, which has been made publicly available. This work marks a first step towards the calculation of the QCD and electroweak corrected relic densities in models with DM candidates stabilized by a discrete $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry.

Information is widely regarded as the resource underlying the thermodynamic advantages enabled by conditional control. We show, however, that informational quantities such as Holevo information and accessible distinguishability, although constraining the achievable advantage, do not uniquely determine its thermodynamic value. The missing ingredient is a passive spectral rearrangement vector that characterizes the effect of conditioning on the ensemble. Specifically, the conditional-control advantage is exactly determined by the geometric pairing between this vector and the Hamiltonian energy-gap structure. This result reveals a thermodynamic geometry of conditional control, explains how informationally equivalent ensembles can possess different thermodynamic values, and identifies the passive spectral rearrangement vector as the minimal operational descriptor required to determine the thermodynamic value of conditional control for a fixed Hamiltonian.

Large catalogs of blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars are essential for studying substructures and kinematics of the Galactic halo. And accurate determination of atmospheric parameters for BHB stars provides insight into stellar evolution. In this work, we perform a systematic search for BHB stars based on LAMOST DR11, and identify $13\,988$ BHB spectra, corresponding to $10\,236$ unique BHB stars. We estimate an identification rate of $\sim80\%-90\%$, and a contamination rate of $\lesssim10\%$ for our sample. Atmospheric parameters for these BHB stars are estimated via the data-driven method named the Stellar LAbel Machine (SLAM). We demonstrate the necessity of including color indices in the spectral labeling to effectively break the degeneracy between effective temperature and surface gravity. We note a bump in the distribution of [Fe/H], and most of these metal-rich BHB stars belong to the disk population. We also provide a list of 4282 blue straggler (BS) stars with determined atmospheric parameters.

We present an improved version and further validation of a method originally introduced by Stodilka (2016) for reconstructing horizontal velocity fields in the solar atmosphere from physical parameters typically derived from spectroscopic observations through inversion techniques. This approach relies on the continuity equation and the assumption of negligible vertical vorticity. We implemented several algorithmic modifications to allow application to large spatial grids, including the compact storage of a sparse matrix of the system of linear equations. The method was tested using snapshots from the realistic 3D MHD Bifrost simulation en024048_hion of the solar atmosphere, covering heights from 20 to 980 km. Horizontal velocities were reconstructed from model density and vertical velocity values. We applied a sinc filter with a Lanczos window to the reconstructed horizontal velocity maps to reduce artefacts related primarily to the use of horizontal periodic boundary conditions. In the photospheric layers, the reconstructed horizontal velocity fields show a high level of agreement with the model values, with the Pearson correlation coefficient in the range 0.8-0.9. The method performs best within granules, whereas larger discrepancies occur in intergranular lanes due to complex counter-streaming flows. In the chromospheric layers, the reconstruction quality decreases significantly with height, consistent with the increasing importance of vortex motions and the breakdown of the underlying assumption. The improved method provides a reliable and efficient tool for reconstructing horizontal flows in the solar photosphere. The proposed improvements make the method applicable to large observational datasets.

We investigate a class of local quantum quenches in which the conformal boundary condition of a (1+1)-dimensional conformal field theory is abruptly changed. We derive a remarkably simple and universal expression for the time evolution of one-point functions on the half-line. This result provides a direct description of the propagation of the disturbance generated by the quench and, in turn, allows us to determine the dynamics of bipartite entanglement for subsystems adjacent to the boundary. We show that, once the subsystem becomes fully causally connected to the quench event, the entanglement entropy undergoes a sharp finite jump whose magnitude is universally given by the logarithm of the ratio of the boundary g-factors associated with the initial and final boundary conditions. We benchmark these analytical predictions against Matrix Product State simulations of the critical Ising spin chain, finding excellent agreement. The numerical analysis further allows us to investigate the time evolution of the spin-flip entanglement asymmetry, revealing how the symmetry-breaking perturbation emitted from the boundary propagates through the system. Our results uncover universal dynamical signatures of boundary quenches and establish a direct connection between nonequilibrium entanglement dynamics and boundary critical phenomena.

Ordered stripe domains in ferromagnetic thin films form a natural one-dimensional crystal for propagating spin waves. Their spatial periodicity can be tuned readily with an applied magnetic field, making these systems an attractive platform for exploring how magnon band structures evolve as a function of the lattice constant $a$, a tuning that is difficult to achieve in physically patterned materials. In this work we employ micromagnetic simulations to calculate the spin-wave spectra of a model iron-garnet film, focusing on the influence of the external field and of cubic anisotropy. We find that band gaps at the Brillouin-zone center ($k = 0$) and at the zone boundary ($k = \pm \pi/a$) respond differently to the applied field, appearing over a broad range of frequencies and wave vectors. When a perpendicular magnetic field or cubic anisotropy is present, additional gaps can appear at the middle of the reduced Brillouin zone ($k = \pm \pi/2a$). This behavior is interpreted as a Peierls-type distortion of the domain-wall lattice, wherein “up” and “down” domains alternately expand and contract under the influence of the effective perpendicular field.

We present a comprehensive analysis of the physical properties of galaxies in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Data Release 1 (DR1) Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS), based on full spectral fitting of $\sim 6.7$ million galaxy spectra. Using a customized spectral fitting pipeline, we derive key physical parameters including stellar mass, stellar velocity dispersion, stellar population age, dust attenuation, and emission-line properties. To quantify the reliability and systematic uncertainties of our measurements, we construct a large set of mock spectra that closely reproduce the observed properties of DESI data, including realistic noise and spectral features. By comparing the recovered parameters with the known inputs, we assess the performance of the spectral fitting as a function of stellar continuum signal-to-noise ratio (S/N, defined as the ratio of the median continuum flux to its associated error) and redshift. We find that stellar masses can be robustly recovered with negligible bias for spectra with $\mathrm{S/N} \gtrsim 5$, while low-S/N spectra ($\mathrm{S/N} \lesssim 5$) show a mild systematic overestimation of $\sim 0.1$ dex and increased scatter. Similar trends are observed for stellar population parameters, while emission-line fluxes are recovered with high accuracy and minimal bias. We further validate our stellar mass estimates by comparison with independent measurements from photometric spectral energy distribution fitting, finding good overall consistency within the expected systematic uncertainties. The value-added catalog presented in this work enables a wide range of statistical studies of galaxy evolution with DESI, and provides a foundation for future analyses.

Probabilistic forecast models can be machine-learned from data using loss functions based on scoring rules such as the Continuous Ranked Probability Score (CRPS). This note summarises a preliminary study comparing versions of AIFS-CRPS, a global weather forecast model, trained with different univariate and multivariate scoring rules that aim to explicitly represent scale-awareness in the loss function. In the first part, we compare the (almost) fair CRPS, a fair global energy score, and a graph energy score based on node neighbourhoods. Across standard verification metrics, forecast skill is broadly similar. In the extratropics we find only small differences, while in the tropics the graph energy score setup performs somewhat better and the global energy score shows some degradation. These results suggest that multivariate scores are a viable alternative to CRPS-based training for global machine-learned weather forecasting. In the second part of the study, we analyse how different scoring rules and scale-aware loss constraints shape the spectra of forecast fields. It is apparent that any form of explicit scale-awareness improves realism. Here, the largest differences are likely associated with different effective weights per scale.

We represent scalar logistic iterates as multiplication operators on $L^2([0,1])$ and study their fixed matrix elements in the normalized shifted-Legendre basis. Three parameter regimes permit analytical control. At $r=5/2$, every fixed matrix element converges to $3\delta_{kl}/5$, where $\delta_{kl}$ is the Kronecker delta. At $r=16/5$, the attracting period-two orbit yields phase-resolved limits for the even and odd subsequences. At $r=4$, an exact Chebyshev-moment representation gives an $O(4^{-n})$ approach of every fixed matrix element at iteration $n$ to $\delta_{kl}/2$. The case $r=37/10$ is treated only by a controlled finite numerical refinement study. Complementary finite diagnostics comprise matrix-element time dependence, a bifurcation-style plot, a time-averaged mean intensity, a normalized second-order intensity moment, and normalized scalar OTOC-type commutator correlation matrices. We also examine the separate finite-dimensional recursion $X_{k+1}=R X_k(I-X_k)R^\dagger$, with fixed matrix $R$, using diagonal and tridiagonal amplitude profiles. These operator-valued calculations are exploratory finite-time numerics. The analytical statements concern fixed matrix elements for the specified basis indices; they are distinct from the finite-resolution observations and do not imply operator-norm convergence. A regularized phase-space lift is included as a controlled visualization.

Understanding charge carrier dynamics within electronic devices is crucial, as it governs both the internal evolution of signals and the externally measurable current. Yet, direct imaging of these dynamics remains elusive: existing approaches are often indirect or inherently perturbative. Here, we introduce Carrier Dynamics by Pockels Imaging (CDPI), a sensitive, quantitative, and non-invasive method that enables direct access to internal charge dynamics. By probing the local electric field, CDPI visualizes photogenerated electron clouds in real space while simultaneously correlating their evolution with both conduction and displacement currents, thereby establishing a unified picture of carrier transport. The technique provides direct insight into fundamental mechanisms \textemdash including drift, diffusion, carrier-carrier interactions, trapping and detrapping \textemdash as well as the spatiotemporal evolution of carrier cloud morphology. Demonstrated in CdTe radiation detectors with micrometre-scale spatial resolution and nanosecond temporal resolution, CDPI is broadly applicable to systems exhibiting appreciable electro-optic responses. Beyond conventional semiconductors, the approach extends to organic, perovskite, and two-dimensional optoelectronic materials, offering a new paradigm for directly linking internal carrier dynamics to device-level functionality.

Adaptive agents realise complex reactive behaviours by using a memory of past input stimuli and output actions to guide structured future responses. Quantum adaptive agents can operate while storing less information in memory than optimal classical counterparts; yet, this does not necessarily translate into a reduced dimension of the memory that must be physically realised. We introduce a route-truncate-repair procedure that can convert entropic quantum memory advantages into reductions in memory dimension. Routing a reference input process through an agent yields a temporal matrix product state representation whose canonical bond is identified with the joint reference–agent memory. Truncating the agent's share of this bond and locally repairing the resulting dynamics produces a smaller, physically-valid agent that remains capable of responding to arbitrary input sequences. A fidelity-divergence certificate quantifies the resulting trade-off between accuracy and memory dimension. Benchmark adaptive processes exhibit substantial dimension reduction whilst preserving the underlying behaviour with high fidelity. The construction extends to feedback and coherent quantum interactions, with accuracy guarantees under arbitrary adaptive interrogation for a class of agents. For a resettable clock, four quantum memory dimensions attain an input–output fidelity divergence rate first matched with eleven states in our search over classical reduced models. These results establish a route from entropic memory advantages to practical, dimension-reduced adaptive quantum agents.