Papers

Students' explanations of scientific phenomena provide important evidence of their conceptual understanding. However, because conceptual understanding can only be inferred through language rather than observed directly, distinguishing conceptual understanding from linguistic quality represents a fundamental challenge for assessment. This challenge can also be expected to arise when artificial intelligence (AI) is used to score students' text-based explanations. We investigated whether AI-based scoring approaches assess students' conceptual understanding independently of the linguistic quality of their explanations about a phenomenon taken from a physics context. Conceptual understanding scores assigned by nine machine learning-based scoring approaches and two large language model-based scoring approaches were compared with expert-assigned scores for 116 explanations produced by secondary-school students in Germany. Multinomial logistic regression analyses examined whether expert-rated linguistic quality was associated with under- or overestimation of conceptual understanding. Across all eleven AI-based scoring approaches, lower linguistic quality was associated with a greater likelihood of underestimation, although the strength and statistical significance of this association varied between approaches. AI-based scoring approaches may thus systematically underestimate the conceptual understanding expressed in linguistically weaker explanations. This pattern resembles language bias previously documented in STEM teachers' assessment practices. The findings highlight the importance of examining not only agreement with expert ratings but also whether AI-based scoring approaches inadvertently rely on construct-irrelevant information. Addressing language bias is therefore essential for the validity and fairness of AI-supported assessment in physics education and STEM education more broadly.

We show that the homogeneous and isotropic sector of linearized gravity coupled to arbitrary additional degrees of freedom takes the Caldeira-Leggett form, provided their action contains no metric time derivatives at second order in perturbations. These additional degrees of freedom constitute the model's harmonic reservoir. Eliminating them yields a generalized Langevin equation for the metric perturbation, with their influence condensed in the reservoir's spectral density. This equivalence also yields a natural setting for reduced quantization of the perturbation and stochastic gravitational dynamics. We analyze the resulting dynamics with Laplace methods, extending results presented in other open-system settings.

Electromagnetically driven centrifuges (EMDCs) rotate fluids using the Lorentz force, but their separative performance is limited by thermal dissipation that is coupled to electromagnetic forcing. This follows because local centrifugal strength is characterized by {\lambda}=mV_{\theta}^2/2k_B T, which compares directed kinetic energy that drives species separation to thermal energy that smooths concentration gradients and counteracts separation. In this work, we develop a two-temperature magnetohydrodynamic model to determine how radial geometry, current density, and magnetic field strength control the coupled evolution of rotation and heating that dictates {\lambda}. The model is benchmarked against Ar velocity, temperature, and pressure measurements spanning current density up to 15 kA/m2, magnetic field up to 0.57 T, feed pressures of 0.5-3 Torr, and annulus sizes of 1-5 cm. The results show that volumetric Lorentz forcing sustains elevated {\lambda}, and therefore greater local compositional shifts throughout a larger radial portion of the fluid volume than wall-bounded shear centrifuges, despite producing a lower peak {\lambda}. Simulations of a 40Ar/36Ar isotopic mixture demonstrate that, when electromagnetic force and geometry are jointly optimized, EMDCs can approach or match the separative performance of shear-driven centrifuges operating near material speed limits while requiring lower area-averaged values of {\lambda}, and can sustain greater radial compositional shifts than the SDC reference over much of the annulus. These results challenge assertions that viscous dissipation constrains weakly ionized plasma centrifuges to {\lambda}<1, and indicate that enhanced radial mass separation can be achieved by broadening the radial region over which {\lambda} remains elevated rather than maximizing its peak or area-averaged value.

We study the observational signatures of kinetic gravity braiding (KGB) models in relativistic cosmological probes constructed along the past light cone. Using the relativistic $N$-body code KGB-evolution, we generate light-cone outputs and compute several observables that directly probe the gravitational field, including weak gravitational lensing convergence, Shapiro time delay, the integrated Sachs-Wolfe and Rees-Sciama (ISW-RS) effects, and gravitational redshift. Full-sky maps and angular power spectra of these quantities are constructed and compared with $k$-essence models and predictions from linear perturbation theory. We find that the derivative coupling between the scalar field and the metric modifies both the amplitude and the time evolution of the gravitational potentials, producing scale-dependent deviations ranging from a few percent to tens of percent. In particular, the ISW-RS signal exhibits the largest fractional response, as the slower decay of the Weyl potential suppresses the KGB signal in the ISW-dominated regime, whereas nonlinear evolution reverses this trend at higher multipoles, producing differences of tens of percent relative to $k$-essence. Weak gravitational lensing also provides a strong complementary probe and, for the model considered here, exhibits clear deviations from the $k$-essence prediction at small scales with enhancements up to $\sim 10$-$12\%$ at multipoles $\ell \sim 10^2$-$10^3$. Our results show that linear perturbation theory accurately describes the large-scale behaviour, while nonlinear effects become important at smaller scales, particularly for the ISW-RS signal and, more moderately, for the convergence, and must therefore be included for reliable theoretical predictions.

Dense suspensions of rod-shaped granular particles are widespread in nature and manufacturing, where their fluid mechanical properties are often paramount. We have developed a particle-based simulation that models such suspensions under simple shear flow, providing predictions of the viscosity and microstructure for a given solids volume fraction and particle aspect ratio. The model tracks the trajectories of spherocylindrical rods under the action of short-range frictional contact and hydrodynamic forces, inspired by similar tools that have generated new insight into suspensions of granular spheres. It incorporates new schemes for the computation of lubrication forces between spherocylinders and the dynamic determination of the timestep. For aspect ratios up to 20, the model predicts a viscosity spike at shear start-up, giving way to steady state viscosities that increase systematically with volume fraction and aspect ratio. Likewise, particle alignment increases with volume fraction up to an aspect-ratio-dependent critical point. Our model corroborates the limited experimental rheology data available for suspensions of granular rods, and offers a tool for fundamental exploration of the fluid mechanics, microstructure and rheology of this widespread material.

Motivated by the importance of the purification principle in quantum theory and generalized probabilistic theories, we study purifications using only the geometry of a finite-dimensional proper convex cone. We prove an existence theorem for indecomposable cones and intermediate tensor cones containing the maximally entangled state; in particular, every interior point of an indecomposable homogeneous cone admits a purification. This applies to Lorentz cones, for example. We also give a criterion for uniqueness up to local automorphisms. On the boundary, we show that if every proper face of $C$ is simplicial, then only pure points can admit purifications, and we demonstrate that this conclusion fails in the presence of non-simplicial faces. Examples involving positive semidefinite cones, Lorentz cones, $k$-positive maps, PPT tensors, and polyhedral cones illustrate both existence and non-uniqueness phenomena.

Frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR) is a laser pump-probe technique widely used to measure thermal properties at the micro- and nanoscale; however, it relies on a complex data analysis procedure that demands substantial domain expertise and is susceptible to subtle human errors. Here, we present Vibe-FDTR, an agent-oriented framework that enables large language model (LLM) agents to perform reliable and reproducible FDTR analyses directly from natural language requests. This framework couples a configuration-driven FDTR code package, which enforces physical and parametric consistency, with procedural agent skills that translate user intentions into organized and verifiable analysis steps. We evaluate Vibe-FDTR using a controlled benchmark with two levels: synthetic single-step tasks and real-data multi-step tasks based on measurements of gold-coated graphite samples. Across the two levels, agents using Vibe-FDTR achieve success rates of 100% and 98.9%, respectively. In sharp contrast, ablating skills (Code-agent) reduces performance to 91.4% and 36.7%, which drops further to 38.6% and 0% when the domain package is also omitted (Agent-only). Beyond success rate, Vibe-FDTR also reduces computational cost by 87.7% relative to the Code-agent variant and cuts execution time by more than 60%. Finally, an optional expert mode supports experimental planning via autonomous sensitivity and uncertainty evaluations, and formulates physically grounded recommendations for underspecified tasks. These results demonstrate that encapsulating domain code and expert knowledge into agent skills offers a promising route toward low-barrier, autonomous, and trustworthy thermal metrology.

Depth uncertainties for wide-angle crustal models are usually obtained by propagating an assumed picking error, yet picks from one shot gather are mutually dependent and velocity-depth trade-offs act at the level of the model class. We revisit the 210-km Perur-Chikmagalur profile across the Dharwar Craton using a permanently identified ledger of 2,000 primary P1-P2 first arrivals and 9,919 reflections from seven shots, with 852 later-turning P4 observations held aside for a conditional test. At fixed production velocity, a reciprocity-based fast-marching table makes it affordable to refit all six reflectors inside nested complete-shot validation and a receiver-coordinate block bootstrap. Withheld reflections are predicted to 68 ms RMS with standardized mean-squared residual 2.07 and 85 per cent coverage inside nominal 95 per cent limits; calibration is strongly phase-dependent, the Moho reflection specifically giving 73 ms and 2.12. First arrivals degrade from a 17 ms all-data RMS to 103 ms on untouched shots, driven by aperture extrapolation and a parameterization blind to the weathered near-surface. Exact window means place the Moho at 46.9 km beneath the western block and 39.4 km beneath the central block, a raw contrast of 7.47 km. Resampling receivers within shots gives a +/-0.10 km conditional spread; deleting whole shots gives +/-0.40 km, and two independent experiments agree the raw contrast is biased low by 0.36-0.48 km. Admissible velocity models span 6.46-8.64 km. Paired LVL-boundary reflections at 1,260 receivers separate beyond uncertainty everywhere, though the internal velocity shape stays unresolved. Sampling uncertainty and model-class uncertainty must be reported apart.

It is known that the generalized coupled nonlinear Schroedinger (GCNLS) equations can be reduced to the basic vector nonlinear Schroedinger models through various symmetry reductions. By using such reductions, soliton solutions of several interesting types can be obtained for the GCNLS system. In this paper, we show how the non-degenerate soliton solutions can be derived using one such reduction and analyze the various special features associated with the resulting soliton solutions. We find that the obtained non-degenerate soliton solutions exhibit breathing behavior, characterized by a breathing frequency. We also show that the vector solitons emerging from the reduction undergo elastic collisions with the standard phase shift, similar to the non-degenerate solitons of other coupled nonlinear Schroedinger models. Further, they undergo interesting energysharing collisions when they interact with the already known bright solitons. These collision scenarios are further confirmed by an appropriate asymptotic analysis. We have also analyzed the stability of the obtained vector solitons and found that they are stable against random perturbations. The results presented here enhance the understanding of the nature and dynamics of non-degenerate vector solitons.

A finite dusty plasma cluster of charged microparticles confined in an anisotropic potential well is investigated experimentally and through Langevin dynamics simulations. As the confinement anisotropy is increased, the cluster undergoes a structural transition from near isotropic concentric shells to a linear chain configuration. The spatiotemporal modes of the cluster are analyzed by using Singular Value Decomposition. At weaker confinement anisotropies, two modes are dominant. Mode 1, corresponding to a breathing-type oscillation of the cluster, and mode 2, representing an azimuthal rotational motion of the cluster, together carry around 99$\%$ of the signal energy. With increasing anisotropy, the dominance of mode 2 decreases and that of mode 1 increases. This mode restructuring is accompanied by an increasingly non-Gaussian particle displacement statistics as evidenced by positive values of the Non-Gaussian Parameter maintained over an extended time duration. Simultaneously, the increasing dominance of mode 1 and suppression of mode 2 is accompanied by a significant slowing down of structural relaxation, with the cluster eventually exhibiting signatures of structural arrest. At weaker anisotropy, the experimentally measured dynamical quantities are very sensitive to the initial conditions which account for the discrepancy between the experiment and initial condition averaged simulation results for these observables. This study offers insight into the mechanisms underlying anomalous transport and structural relaxation in anisotropically confined many-body systems.

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are key tracers of stellar feedback and the chemical and dynamical evolution of the interstellar medium. However, identifying SNRs in complex regions remains challenging, particularly when only archival multi-wavelength data are available. We aim to search for previously unrecognized SNR candidates in the Circinus constellation by combining optical imaging, radio continuum data, and available SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey X-ray observations, to provide a prioritized list of targets for future confirmation. Candidate remnants were classified according to the strength of the combined diagnostics. This joint analysis yields improved constraints on the morphology and spectral properties of known remnants in the region, including MSH 15-52 and G320.6- 1.6. In addition, we identify a new promising SNR candidate, G320.2-3.6. Our study provides a first multi-wavelength search of SNR candidates in the Circinus region. In addition to G320.2-3.6, three objects (G319.8-2.0, G321.8-1.1, and G320.5-1.8) emerge as promising targets for follow-up radio, spectroscopic optical, and deeper, spatially resolved X-ray observations to confirm their nature.

Promising implementations of first generation quantum repeaters are predicted to require atomic-based quantum memory systems interfaced with photonic sources. Integrated photonics provides a promising solution for fibre-based, field-deployed operation of quantum repeaters, however many leading quantum memory platforms require narrow-bandwidth photons that are challenging to generate with integrated photonics. Narrowband photons also present significant technical challenges when implementing entanglement-swapping, particularly with regards to systems-level stabilisation. This work addresses some of these fundamental and technical challenges, by demonstrating entanglement-swapping using state-of-the-art integrated photon sources with bandwidths compatible with multiple atomic-based quantum memory platforms. We obtained a background-subtracted (net) HOM visibility of 0.99$\,\pm\,$0.01, showing high photon indistinguishability and purity, with a net swapped state visibility of $\mathcal{V}$=0.88$\,\pm\,$0.06 demonstrating that the final entanglement would be sufficient to violate a Bell inequality. The experiment used independent pump lasers for each photon pair source, with highly different frequencies to mimic entanglement swapping between different repeater nodes or platforms. Phase and frequency stabilisation spanning 1.6 THz was achieved using all-fibre, commercially-available components. These results address important challenges in implementing field-deployed quantum repeaters, from the integrated photonic solutions for narrowband photon pairs, to systems-level stabilisation between independent quantum repeater nodes.

This thesis studies $4d$ massless higher-spin interactions in the Light-Front approach by analysing the closure of the Poincaré algebra at quartic order. We first solve the light-cone quartic holomorphic constraint in flat space and show the existence of infinitely many interacting local higher-spin theories with either a finite or infinite number of fields. We classify all one- and two-derivative theories, corresponding to higher-spin extensions of gauge and gravitational interactions. These are consistent subsectors of higher-spin extensions of self-dual Yang–Mills and gravity, themselves truncations of Chiral Higher-Spin Gravity. We then clarify the relation between the OPE associativity in celestial CFT, the vanishing of tree-level amplitudes for generic kinematics, the Jacobi identity of the associated ”gauge algebra” (kinematical algebra), and the light-cone holomorphic constraints. Finally, we investigate the non-holomorphic quartic constraint involving both MHV and anti-MHV vertices. We recover the existence of Yang-Mills theory and gravity, and the inconsistency of interacting multi-graviton theories. We then show that once higher-derivative cubic vertices are included, nontrivial solutions to the full quartic constraint exist. We classify all unitary local higher-spin theories, identify new families of local quasi-chiral theories, and determine all local higher-spin four-point amplitudes using the spinor-helicity formalism together with locality in the form of consistent factorisation.

Operators invariant under a symmetry group are also invariant under any finite-index subgroup. The equivariant indices of such operators must be consistent under symmetry breaking. We use this principle to establish a canonical weak/strong dichotomy for equivariant indices, building on an idea originating in the theory of topological insulators in solid-state physics. We also study the relationship to coarse-geometric, or macroscopic, indices.

Although Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies are increasingly well studied, considerable uncertainty still exists as to both their range in properties and their evolutionary history. LSB galaxies provide a fascinating extreme in galaxy formation and evolution, allowing excellent tests of galaxy formation and evolution theories. Previously, our group successfully measured the HI gas and dynamical mass properties of 350 LSB galaxies, significantly increasing the number of known extreme LSB galaxies (massive, gas rich, etc.) in the process. Here we oresent 100-m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope 21-cm HI line observations of a further 35 LBG galaxies, only two of which have previously published data. Of the 35, 19 were detected. This paper also includes the HI information for five additional galaxies detected accidentally (in the blank sky region or at alternative velocities), none of which has previously published HI results.

We use numerical experiments to explore two possibilities: (i) that Bipolar H II Regions are the result of Cloud-Cloud Collisions (CCCs), and (ii) that – when allowance is made for the chaotic nature of such collisions, the short duration of the bipolar phase, and different viewing angles – a large proportion of all H II Regions might be the aftermath of CCCs. To reduce the parameter space, our experiments only consider head-on collisions between two $500$ M$_\odot$ clouds, with three different levels of turbulence, and two different collision velocities; the collision velocities define the `collision axis'. In all experiments, OB stars only condense out after a Shock-Compressed Layer has formed (perpendicular to the collision axis), and fragmented to produce a Hub Filament System, with the OB stars forming in the Hub. Ionising radiation from the OB stars excites an H II Region, which tends to expand more rapidly in directions close to the collision axis, and more slowly in directions orthogonal to the collision axis, where it encounters the dense gas of the Shock-Compressed Layer. Consequently, the H II Region may appear bipolar, for a short period during its evolution, if observed at sufficiently large angle to the collision axis. Viewed from smaller angles, the waist appears as a Bright-Rim, similar to conventional approximately spherical H II Regions. Under this circumstance, there are other metrics – based on the extent of diffuse freefree emission, the velocity dispersion of Radio Recombination Lines, dust emission at mid-infrared wavelengths – that might indicate the aftermath of a CCC, and establish CCCs as a dominant trigger for high-mass star formation.

In the daily practice of Machine Learning, fully labeled datasets are a luxury: labels demand expensive and time-consuming human annotation, whereas raw, unlabeled data can be harvested automatically and in bulk. Semi-supervised learning, where the network jointly exploits the few labeled and the many unlabeled examples at its disposal, is the standard answer to this asymmetry, yet a statistical mechanical theory of semi-supervised Hebbian learning is still lacking. In this paper we fill this gap for the Hopfield network: we prescribe a synaptic coupling given by the convex combination, weighted by a mixing parameter \lambda in [0,1], of the supervised and unsupervised Hebbian kernels built from the same archetypes, and we solve for the emergent computational capabilities of the resulting network. A signal-to-noise analysis yields the one-step Mattis magnetization and the learning threshold, i.e. the minimum dataset size for stable retrieval. Using Guerra's interpolation, we then derive the Replica Symmetric quenched pressure in the high-storage regime, treating the correlated disorder generated by the supervised and unsupervised channels through a particular eigen-channel decomposition. The resulting phase diagram shows that a mixed strategy outperforms both pure protocols. Finally, we prove that the quenched pressure is convex in \lambda, so thermodynamics cannot select an interior mixture: \lambda is therefore a learning hyperparameter. All the analytical findings are successfully checked against extensive Monte Carlo simulations.

The paper examines the features of critical evolution in an active medium modeled by a cellular automaton. The system evolves according to stochastic rules, exhibiting two qualitatively distinct dynamical regimes: one of fading activity and another of all-filling activity waves. Each regime is characterized by its own fractal dimension and fluctuation statistics, both of which are analyzed in detail. Within the critical interval, the system displays a nontrivial fractal dimension and a fluctuation distribution that bridges the two regimes. This bridging behavior arises because, in the critical interval, the dynamics are governed by avalanches.

In this work, we theoretically investigate the decay mechanism of $D_s^+ \to \pi^+ \pi^0 \pi^0 \eta$ based on BESIII data, considering two mechanisms: the production of two dynamically generated resonances, $D_s^+ \to a_0(980)^+ f_0(500,980)$, and a process with one dynamically generated resonance, $D_s^+ \to a_1(1260)^+\eta$. In the first mechanism, the interactions $\pi^+\eta$ and $K^+\bar{K}^0$ are included to generate the $a_0(980)^+$, while coupled-channel interactions involving $\pi^+\pi^-$, $\pi^0\pi^0$, $K^+K^-$, $K^0\bar{K}^0$, $\eta\eta$, and $\pi^0\eta$ are adopted to generate the $f_0(500)$ as well as the $f_0(980)$. For the second mechanism, the $\pi\rho$ and $\bar{K}^*{K} - K^*\bar{K}$ channels are included to generate the $a_1(1260)$. With these interactions, the amplitudes are calculated in the chiral unitary approach and used to compute the invariant mass spectra of $D_s^+ \to \pi^+ \pi^0 \pi^0 \eta$. The results suggest that the peak near 1000~\text{MeV} in the $\pi^+\eta$ invariant mass spectrum can be well interpreted as the $a_0(980)^+$ arising from a cusp effect. The $f_0(980)$, generated together with the $f_0(500)$, is responsible for the small structure near 1000 MeV in the $\pi^0\pi^0$ spectrum. The $a_1(1260)^+$ and its decay to $\rho^+\pi^0$ followed by the subsequent $\rho^+$ decay provide a good description of the $\pi^+\pi^0\pi^0$ and $\pi^+\pi^0$ mass spectra. The inclusion of an additional resonance near 800 MeV in the $\pi^+\eta$ spectrum leads to only a marginal improvement of the fit.

In this work, we formulate and analyze a nonlocal four-fermion theory in which the usual Dirac operator is deformed by an entire nonlocal form factor. After introducing an auxiliary scalar field, we derive the mean-field effective action and the corresponding gap equation for the dynamical mass. A central technical point of the analysis is that the nonlocal form factor is a matrix function of the Dirac operator, so the inverse propagator must be treated as an element of the closed algebra generated by the identity and $\not{\!p}$ operators, rather than as a purely scalar quantity. We obtain explicit expressions for the gap kernel for two representative choices of a form factor, $f_{I}(\not{\!\partial})=e^{-\not{\partial}/\Lambda}$ and $f_{II}(\not{\!\partial})=e^{-i\not{\partial}/\Lambda}$. Following the IR/UV matching method used in the recent Dirac-like nonlocal spinor theory [1], the momentum integral is split at an intermediate scale $M\ll \Omega\ll \Lambda$, expanded analytically in the infrared and ultraviolet regions, and compared with the usual local NJL/Gross-Neveu result. We show that the hyperbolic form factor enhances the gap integral and lowers the critical coupling, whereas the oscillatory form factor suppresses it and raises the critical coupling. The finite-temperature and finite-density extension is formulated through Matsubara sums and a corrected contour representation, with the local thermal gap equation recovered in the limit $\Lambda\to\infty$.

Red-giant asteroseismology yields precise stellar parameters, making it a powerful tool for studying stellar structure and evolution, as demonstrated by the Kepler mission. However, due to Kepler's limited field of view, it primarily sampled the more populous low-mass red giants found outside of the Galactic plane, leading to limited detections of red giants above $\rm 3\ M_{\odot}$. Here we use the all-sky TESS data to isolate 227 intermediate-mass candidates from large catalogs with a pre-selection based on photometric and spectroscopic data. We optimize TESS light curves using a boutique light curve detrending method with custom apertures. Compared to the MIT Quick Look Pipeline, this yields a 12% average increase in the power-to-background ratio within the oscillation envelope, even in the heavily crowded Galactic plane. We detect solar-like oscillations in 98 targets, including 43 with $\rm M_* > 3\ M_{\odot}$. Our sample also includes 10 stars having masses greater than $5\ \rm{M}_{\odot}$, among the highest-mass solar-like oscillators detected to date. From our detections, we find that the APOGEE DR19 spectroscopic $\log g$ is systematically larger by, on average, 0.23 dex compared to the seismic $\log g$. This offset is possibly due to the lack of intermediate-mass giants observed by Kepler, which was used to calibrate the spectroscopic $\log g$ in the APOGEE pipeline. Extending the same pre-selection criteria to TESS targets with Gaia XP spectroscopic parameters identifies up to 37,000 candidate intermediate-mass solar-like oscillators for follow-up and population studies.

Neutral-atom quantum computers offer arbitrary connectivity enabled by atom transport. Some logical operations can then be simplified or reduced entirely to geometric rearrangements of the atoms. Minimizing the duration of these movements is therefore essential for high logical throughput. We introduce new primitives to shear, rotate and reflect 2D arrays of atoms in a static lattice using sweeps of a single dynamic crossed acousto-optic deflector (AOD) pair. Using (nega-)binary and geometric decompositions, we achieve an AOD stroke count scaling logarithmically in the linear size of the array. In one example, we use the Paeth decomposition to implement a $90^{\circ}$ rotation for a transversal Hadamard gate in a rotated surface code of distance $d$ in $3\lfloor\log_2(d-1)\rfloor + 4$ AOD strokes and $O(d^{1/3})$ constant-jerk time, against $O(d^2)$ strokes and $O(d^{7/3})$ time for atom-by-atom rearrangement.

A supersymmetric index has interior zeros ($|q|<1$) if and only if the arithmetic coefficients $\delta(\nu)$ underlying the supersymmetric zeta function grow exponentially at a rate set by the nearest zero. Each $\delta(\nu)$ follows from finitely many $q$-series coefficients, so interior zeros are detectable from the expansion alone and obstruct a free or s-confining infrared description, as we show for 4d $\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(2)$ SQCD. With a giant graviton expansion interior zeros are a finite $N$ effect, located by the energy of one giant graviton, verified for the $\mathcal{N}=4$ $U(N)$ Schur index.

Abell 3266 (A3266) is a dynamically active galaxy cluster embedded in a dense environment of galaxy groups and clusters at similar redshift. Data from the Spektrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG)/eROSITA all-sky survey enable the study of faint X-ray emission in cluster outskirts. We investigate the previously unexplored outskirts of A3266 out to $3R_{100}$, characterize its nearest neighboring galaxy group, and search for connecting filaments using X-ray emission and galaxy number density. We performed X-ray imaging, surface brightness, and spectral analyses in selected regions and sectors. These were complemented by the distribution of member galaxies from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database NED and by comparison with the cosmological simulation Simulating the LOcal Web (SLOW). We detect an X-ray filament connecting A3266 to its nearest northwestern group over a 3D length of $L_{R_{200}\text{--}R_{200}} = {1.1}_{-0.1}^{+0.5},\mathrm{Mpc}$ with a significance of $3.6,\sigma$. The group exhibits cool-core properties and is embedded within the filament. The filament has a temperature of $T={1.2}_{-0.2}^{+0.3},\mathrm{keV}$, metallicity $Z={0.07}_{-0.05}^{+0.09},Z{\odot}$, and, assuming a simple geometry, an electron number density of $n_{\rm e}={8}_{-2}^{+1}\times 10^{-5},\mathrm{cm}^{-3}$. Our findings reveal a coherent network of galaxy groups around A3266, tracing its ongoing assembly along the large-scale structure. The filament is hotter and denser than expected for pristine warm-hot intergalactic medium, consistent with gas processed in the cluster environment and influenced by the infall of the northwestern group. Comparison with SLOW shows that the observed group distribution and filamentary connections are qualitatively consistent with an actively accreting cluster embedded in the cosmic web.

While significant progress has been achieved in active galactic nuclei (AGN), jet collimation profiles in X-ray binaries (XRBs) have not been directly measured. Here we report the first measurement of jet collimation profiles in an XRB using very long baseline interferometry data from SS 433. The approaching jet exhibits a well-constrained quasi-parabolic profile in the 1995 and 1998 data, whereas the prominent local oscillations present in the 2000 jet-width measurements preclude a robust characterization of the jet collimation profile. Nevertheless, the 2000 data suggest that the intrinsic jet opening angle decreases gradually from $\sim 20^\circ$ at 8$\times 10^{14}$ cm to $\sim 3^\circ$ at $9\times 10^{15}$ cm (deprojected), providing evidence for progressive jet collimation. The width and opening angle of the receding jet are also presented, although their interpretation is limited by the free–free absorption effect. In addition, we measure the frequency-dependent core positions at four bands and derive a core-shift relation. These results establish SS 433 as the first XRB in which jet collimation, opening-angle evolution, and core-shift relation are constrained.

The oxidation state of rocky exoplanets is expected to play a fundamental role in shaping the chemical composition of their secondary atmospheres by influencing the chemical composition of volcanically released gasses. Distinguishing planetary redox states through direct atmospheric characterization would offer insight into the formation and evolution of secondary atmospheres on exoplanets and inform the background chemistry of putative biosignatures. The Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE) mission concept aims to employ a space-based mid-infrared nulling interferometer to characterize exoplanetary atmospheres. In this work, we assess LIFE's performance in distinguishing the redox states of rocky exoplanets by direct spectroscopic measurements. We focus on the observability and spectral features of redox-sensitive molecules in secondary atmospheres of Earth-sized exoplanets. We develop and apply a retrieval framework based on the ARtful modeling Code for exoplanet Science (ARCiS) and the LIFE mission simulator (LIFEsim) to simulate observations of Earth-sized planets with atmospheres from a range of plausible mantle redox conditions. Our simulations show that LIFE in its baseline configuration can successfully constrain dominant atmospheric species (e.g. CO2, CH4 and NH3) with sufficient accuracy to distinguish redox states for planets orbiting a Sun-like star at 10 pc. Retrieved redox-sensitive molecules show clear trends across oxidation states, with CO2 dominating in oxidizing (with oxygen fugacity fO2 $\sim$ IW+2 to IW+6, where IW is the iron-w$\"u$stite buffer) environments and NH3 in reducing (fO2 $\sim$ IW-2 to IW-6) environments, and CH4 serving as a strong tracer among intermediate (fO2 $\sim$ IW+4 to IW-4) oxidation states.

Optimization problems are among the leading candidates for industrially relevant quantum advantage. Decoded quantum interferometry (DQI) has been proposed to tackle approximate optimization, establishing a connection to classical decoding problems. While previous work has primarily focused on the theoretical complexity of DQI, comparatively little is known about its empirical performance relative to classical algorithms. In this work, we shed further light on the complexity of DQI and investigate numerically whether classical sampling methods can emulate the optimization capabilities of DQI. We first present a simplified analytical characterization of DQI that connects its expected performance to binomial statistics, and we identify concrete obstacles in further studying the complexity of DQI. Exploiting the fact that DQI output probabilities are efficiently computable, we apply Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques, particularly block-Gibbs sampling, to sample from the induced distribution. We study the runtime scaling of these methods for two optimization problems called max-XORSAT, where we reach beyond $1000$ effective qubits; and OPI, where we reach beyond $150$ effective qubits. Our results show that MCMC algorithms can reliably attain the approximation ratios expected from DQI across a broad range of problem sizes. In OPI, in the regime where a super-polynomial advantage is claimed for DQI, we observe an empirical runtime for MCMC that scales approximately as $1.1^{n}$, indicating exponential growth with a comparatively small base. Our findings do not refute existing quantum advantage claims but provide new empirical evidence that classical sampling algorithms can closely match DQI's optimization performance, offering a more nuanced perspective on the practical advantage of DQI.

The study of nuclei and hypernuclei production is a powerful tool to investigate the formation mechanism of loosely bound states in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. A key prediction from coalescence models is a strong suppression of the hypertriton (${}^{3}_{\Lambda}\rm{H}$) compared to ${}^{3}\rm{He}$ production in small collision systems due to the larger radius of ${}^{3}_{\Lambda}\rm{H}$. In this letter, the STAR collaboration reports measurements on (hyper)nuclei ($^{3}_{\Lambda}\rm{H}, {}^{3}_{\bar{\Lambda}}\rm{\bar{H}}, {}^{3}\rm{He}, {}^{3}\rm{\overline{He}}, t$) production at mid-rapidity in Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=200$ GeV as a function of collision centrality. We find that the ratios $N_{t}N_{p}/N_{d}^{2}$ and $S_{3} =(N_{{}^{3}_{\Lambda}\rm{H}}/N_{{}^{3}_{}\rm{He}})/(N_{\Lambda}/N_{p})$ deviate significantly from thermal model expectations. Coalescence calculations incorporating realistic non-Gaussian wave functions for the $d$ and ${}^{3}_{\Lambda}\rm{H}$ provide an improved description of the data, while Gaussian descriptions of the ${}^{3}_{\Lambda}\rm{H}$ wave function fail to simultaneously reproduce the measured $S_{3}$ and the binding energy of ${}^{3}_{\Lambda}\rm{H}$. These results suggest that the ${}^{3}_{\Lambda}\rm{H}$ wave function contains larger short-distance $d$–$\Lambda$ probability than implied by a Gaussian ansatz, demonstrating the potential of heavy-ion production measurements as a probe of hypernuclear wave functions and the underlying hyperon–nucleon interaction.

Recent analyses of the central compact object in the HESS J1731–347 supernova remnant suggest an unusual combination of a low mass and small radius, while its thermal emission indicates a relatively high surface temperature at its estimated age. Reconciling these structural and thermal properties within a unified theoretical framework may provide important constraints on the equation of state and composition of dense matter. In this work, we investigate the thermal consequences of negatively charged kaon condensation, an exotic phase that softens the equation of state and facilitate the reproduction of the inferred bulk properties of HESS J1731–347. We find that the onset of kaon condensation strongly accelerates the thermal evolution, leading to surface temperature substantially below the observationally inferred range. Within the adopted cooling framework, kaon condensation therefore cannot simultaneously account for the structural and thermal properties of HESS J1731–347.

Kardar–Parisi–Zhang (KPZ) universality provides an example of macroscopic scaling generated by microscopic violation of detailed balance. While one- and two-dimensional realizations have been explored in driven condensates and growing interfaces, demonstrating KPZ scaling in three spatial dimensions remains a major challenge. Here we propose a three-dimensional exciton-polariton crystal as a platform for observation of 3D KPZ universality. Starting from a stochastic driven-dissipative Gross-Pitaevskii equation for a condensate formed in a three-dimensional photonic-crystal lower-polariton band, we eliminate the massive density and reservoir modes and obtain an effective $3+1$-dimensional KPZ equation for the condensate phase. Numerical simulations of both the KPZ equation and the full driven-dissipative polariton model show an intermediate-asymptotic regime in which the first-order coherence obeys $-\ln |\gone(0,\Delta t)|\propto |\Delta t|^{2\beta}$ and $-\ln |\gone(\Delta r,0)|\propto |\Delta r|^{2\chi}$, with exponents consistent with the $3+1$ KPZ benchmarks $\beta= 0.1845$, $\chi= 0.3135$. Our results identify three-dimensional polariton crystals as a controllable quantum fluid route to higher-dimensional nonequilibrium universality.