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Physics

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Monday 24 August

Fluid Dynamics

Dynamics of an internally actuated elastic particle in a plane Poiseuille flow

Shashikant Verma, Prateek Anand and Navaneeth Kizhakke Marath

We analytically analyse the dynamics of an internally actuated particle, modelled as a compressible elastic sphere embedded with a magnetic bead at its undeformed centre, translating in a plane Poiseuille flow in the Stokes limit. The particle is constrained to translate with a prescribed velocity while remaining at an arbitrary position within the flow by applying an external point force and external point torque at its undeformed centre. The governing equations for the fluid and particle are the Stokes and Navier elasticity equations, respectively. We use the series solutions to the governing equations and the domain perturbation method to capture the deformed shape of the particle, assuming $\alpha \ll 1$. Here, $\alpha$ quantifies the elastic strain induced in the particle due to the viscous stress from the fluid. The external force and external torque are obtained until O($\alpha^2$). The particle translating along the channel length experiences an elastic-induced hydrodynamic lift as well as hydrodynamic torque both at O($\alpha$) and O($\alpha^2$). The leading-order lift depends linearly on the local shear rate and on the combined effects of slip velocity and flow curvature, where the slip velocity is defined as the particle velocity relative to the local ambient flow. The particle reaches a stable equilibrium position away from the centreline, where the net lift vanishes. We show that the direction of deformation-induced lateral migration of the internally actuated particle is qualitatively distinct from that of drops, capsules, and vesicles in the Stokes limit and from that of rigid spheres undergoing inertial migration.
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Quantum Physics

Partial-Moment PINNs for Caldeira–Leggett Parameter Learning in Quantum Brownian Motion

Krishna Bhatia

We study parameter recovery in the Caldeira–Leggett (quantum Brownian) oscillator from partial moment traces. Our model is a moment-level PINN that predicts the five first/second moments and enforces the linear CL/HPZ ODEs by automatic differentiation. Physical structure is imposed through a PSD (Cholesky) covariance head, high-temperature CL assumptions with $D_{xp}\approx0$, and fluctuation–dissipation ties between $D_{pp}$ and $\gamma$. On synthetic CL data with channels ${\mu_x,\sigma_{xx},\sigma_{xp}}$, the constrained variant recovers $(\omega,\gamma)$ accurately, stabilizes $D_{pp}$, and achieves low rollout error compared to finite differences and Kalman–EM (expectation–maximization) with exact Van Loan discretization. Fisher-style checks confirm that diffusion needs at least one variance observable, and sparse $\sigma_{pp}$ “anchors” restore conditioning. We also show that the same PINN can learn time-varying HPZ coefficients.
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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Gravitationally-decoupled hairy black holes: probing geometric, optical, and quasinormal mode signatures

Paul Allen M. Gonzales, Anna Chrysostomou, Alan S. Cornell et al. (+1 more)

Gravitational-decoupling provides a systematic framework for constructing black hole geometries from known (seed) solutions (such as the Schwarzschild), whose exterior properties closely resemble those of the seed solution while still retaining potentially distinguishable features. Using this approach, we study a class of static, spherically symmetric hairy black holes and examine how such deformations affect their horizon structure, photon spheres, shadow scales, and scalar quasinormal modes (QNMs). We first determine the physically controlled regions of the parameter space by imposing the relevant horizon and energy condition requirements, while retaining configurations outside these domains only for exploratory comparison. To isolate geometric effects, we compare solutions at a common horizon radius, while accounting explicitly for the distinction between the mass parameter entering the seed geometry and the ADM mass measured asymptotically. The resulting ADM normalized shadow scales are used for an illustrative comparison with the characteristic angular scales of M87* and Sgr A*. We also compute massless scalar QNMs using the sixth-order Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation and the improved Asymptotic Iteration Method, finding close agreement over the modes considered. Our results show that fixing the horizon radius does not uniquely determine either the optical or perturbative properties of the spacetime, and that mass normalization can significantly alter the interpretation of geometric trends. Horizon structure, null geodesic observables, and scalar QNMs therefore provide complementary probes of gravitationally-decoupled black hole geometries.
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All authors Paul Allen M. Gonzales, Anna Chrysostomou, Alan S. Cornell, Emmanuel Rodulfo

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Effects of near-surface sedimentary structure on Newtonian noise for the Einstein Telescope: a 2-D numerical study

Shi Yao, Patrick Schillings, Johannes Erdmann et al. (+1 more)

Near-surface low-velocity sediments can strongly modify seismic wavefields and therefore affect estimates of Newtonian noise at underground gravitational-wave observatories. We investigate these effects using 2-D viscoelastic simulations of a sediment layer overlying hard-rock basement. Controlled experiments examine the influence of sediment-basement interface geometry, sediment shear-wave velocity, attenuation, and test-mass position. Relative to a homogeneous model, the sediment layer produces frequency-dependent changes through wave trapping, interference, and attenuation. A constant-thickness layer generates a more laterally coherent wavefield and a sharper spectral enhancement than a basin-shaped interface, whereas lateral thickness variations broaden and shift the response. Sediment shear-wave velocity primarily controls the frequencies of the spectral features, while attenuation mainly controls their amplitudes. Newtonian noise is most sensitive to sediment structure for test masses located within or several hundred meters below the sediment layer. The sensitivity to lateral variations in sediment thickness decreases with burial depth and is weak at 2 km depth in the present model. These results demonstrate that near-surface sedimentary structure should be represented explicitly when assessing site-dependent Newtonian noise, particularly for test masses located between 200 m and 300 m depths.
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All authors Shi Yao, Patrick Schillings, Johannes Erdmann, Andreas Rietbrock

Superconductivity

Three-dimensional Ising superconductors designed via inversion-symmetry breaking in intercalated NbSe$_2$ and NbTe$_2$

Wenqian Tu, Run Lv, Xiaoying Li et al. (+4 more)

Ising superconductors exhibit in-plane upper critical fields far exceeding the Pauli paramagnetic limit, a hallmark first established in two-dimensional (2D) monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). This field resilience requires the coexistence of strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and broken inversion symmetry, yet three-dimensional (3D) bulk realizations remain scarce because equilibrium stacking typically restores inversion symmetry. Here we demonstrate that intercalation provides a practical route to break this symmetry, systematically designing 16 NbSe$_2$- and NbTe$_2$-based compounds from four intercalants (In, Sn, Pb, Bi) across two polytypes: non-centrosymmetric $P\bar{6}m2$ and centrosymmetric $P6_3/mmc$. Four compounds in the $P\bar{6}m2$ phase, InNbSe$_2$, SnNbSe$_2$, PbNbSe$_2$, and PbNbTe$_2$, emerge as promising 3D Ising superconductors. They exhibit SOC splittings of 80-100 meV near the Fermi level, dominant out-of-plane spin polarization, and anisotropic superconductivity with $T_c=2.6$-$5.4$ K. Notably, spin-texture analysis reveals that the efficiency of Ising protection is governed not by the magnitude of SOC splitting alone but by the out-of-plane spin purity on the Fermi surface. Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) calculations predict in-plane upper critical fields reaching 4-7 times the Pauli limit. These findings establish intercalation as a promising symmetry-engineering strategy for realizing 3D Ising superconductors in TMDs.
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All authors Wenqian Tu, Run Lv, Xiaoying Li, Li'e Liu, Dingfu Shao, Yuping Sun, Wenjian Lu

Strongly Correlated Electrons

Interplay of Magnetic Order, Structural Stability, and Orbital Ordering in BaFe2X3 (X = S and Se)

Kunihiko Yamauchi, Takuya Aoyama and Kenya Ohgushi

BaFe2X3 (X= S and Se) are quasi-one-dimensional Mott insulators with a ladder structure that exhibit Stripe- and Block-type antiferromagnetic order, respectively. The ladder arrangement of Fe atoms and strong electron correlations give rise to rich magnetic and orbital phenomena, including pressure-induced superconductivity and orbital-selective electronic states. Both compounds also show resistivity anomalies above the Neel temperature, suggesting that orbital degrees of freedom play an important role in their electronic properties. To clarify the interplay among magnetic order, structural stability, orbital ordering, and transport properties, we performed resistivity measurements and first-principles calculations for BaFe2S3 and BaFe2Se3, systematically comparing candidate magnetic and crystal structures. We find that the magnetic configuration strongly influences the stable crystal structure, orbital ordering, and transport anisotropy, providing a microscopic understanding of the contrasting electronic properties of the two compounds.
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Materials Science

X-ray driven displacive excitation of coherent phonons

Oleg Dogadov, Remi Claude, Christoph Emeis et al. (+29 more)

Modulating electron-phonon coupling offers a route to control structural displacements and tune material functionality. Valence-to-conduction band transitions, however, provide limited leverage over the driving force. Here, we demonstrate coherent lattice dynamics in trigonal tellurium using free-electron laser pulses tuned to the Te N4,5-edge. Over a broad fluence range, the oscillation amplitude obeys the displacive excitation of coherent phonons framework, extended to core resonance with twice the driving efficiency of a visible pump. Ab initio calculations decompose the force into competing multiband contributions, inaccessible to optical excitation, whose balance shifts as carriers relax. Tunable extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray pulses thus open a regime in which the displacive response is set by band-dependent coupling to the lattice, not by the number and temperature of the photocarriers alone.
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All authors Oleg Dogadov, Remi Claude, Christoph Emeis, Giovanni Batignani, Giuseppe Fumero, Roberto Costantini, Agata Azzolin, Sabine Rockenstein, Paolo Cattaneo, Rebeca Gomez Castillo, Matteo Manzi, Angelo Giglia, Dario De Angelis, Ettore Paltanin, Zeinab Ebrahimpour, Marija Krstulovic, Gabor Kurdi, Miltcho Danailov, Luca Giannessi, Riccardo Mincigrucci, Emiliano Principi, Alberto Crepaldi, Giulio Cerullo, Giovanni De Ninno, Claudio Masciovecchio, Laura Foglia, Tullio Scopigno, Fabrizio Carbone, Francesca Calegari, Fabio Caruso, Michele Puppin, Oliviero Cannelli

Optics

Extreme Ultrafast Dynamics of the Refractive Index in Transparent Conductive Oxides: Theory and Experiment

Noa Konforty, Graham G. Brown, Ohad Segal et al. (+5 more)

Recent experiments in transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) have revealed light-induced order-unity variations in the refractive index occurring at extreme time scales, as short as a few-femtoseconds. These experimental observations remain unexplained, especially the ultrafast 10-20 femtoseconds relaxation of the index change, that cannot be explained by known phonon-mediated relaxation processes. Here, we present a simplified model followed by comprehensive simulations describing the phenomena, relying on the microscopic dynamics of electrons in TCOs under powerful ultrafast laser pulses. With this physical model, we predict and experimentally observe the unexplored regime of intraband modulation of electrons in the conduction band, leading to ultrafast oscillations of the refractive index. The observation of the oscillations validates the theory as a predictive tool, utilizing it to design experiments targeting novel effects that hinge on extreme alterations of optical properties of materials, such as photonic time-crystals and a plethora of novel extreme ultrafast phenomena.
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All authors Noa Konforty, Graham G. Brown, Ohad Segal, Oded Schiller, Yonatan Plotnik, Vladimir M. Shalaev, Misha Ivanov, Mordechai Segev

High Energy Physics (Theory)

Love at the String Scale: Tidal Deformability Across the Black Hole-String Transition

Roberto Emparan, Luis Lehner and Stefano Trezzi

Tidal deformability provides a sensitive probe of the structure of compact objects, and black holes are exceptional in having vanishing static Love numbers in four-dimensional Einstein gravity. We ask what happens to this fine-tuned rigidity across the black hole-string transition, where the same states are expected to admit a weakly coupled description as a self-gravitating highly excited string, or "string star". We compute the static tidal Love numbers of the Horowitz-Polchinski (HP) string star for multipoles $\ell=2,3,4$ in $D=4,5,6$. The response is non-zero in all cases, as in the available $\alpha'$-corrected black hole results, so the zero-Love structure of four-dimensional Einstein gravity does not survive on either side of the transition. On the string side, however, the response has a distinctive multipolar structure: the Love numbers grow rapidly with $\ell$, and we show analytically that this growth originates from the competition between the multipolar weight of the tidal field and the exponential tail of the winding condensate, with the result that the radial scale probed by the deformability grows linearly with $\ell$ at large multipole number. This provides a direct tidal signature of the extended, surface-less nature of the string star. We discuss the comparison with $\alpha'$-corrected black holes and the limitations of the currently available perturbative results at large $\ell$.
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Biological Physics

A Transient-Network Model of Condensate Aging and Morphology Transition in Phase Separation

Bhanjan Debnath

Biomolecular condensates can undergo striking changes, such as transitioning from a liquid-like to a gel- or a solid-like aggregate due to changes in molecular interactions in response to changes in the biochemical environment. The question of how modified molecular interactions lead to such a transition in the material properties and spatial organization of condensates has not yet been elucidated. To address this question, we represent the biochemical environment as a triphasic mixture comprising a liquid-like protein-rich phase, a network-like protein-rich phase, and solvent. Owing to a change in the biochemical environment, protein molecules can reversibly switch between two conformational states. In a switched conformational state, the cross-linking domains of molecules are exposed which promote transient network formation in phase separated states. We develop a transient-network model and a continuum framework that couples phase separation, molecular switching, and dynamic cross-linking to predict condensate morphology and mechanics. The transient-network model predicts that a non-aging network behaves like a Maxwell fluid. When a network slowly ages via stabilization of cross-links, it shows Maxwell-like behavior and waiting time-dependent relaxation. However, a strongly aged network shows elastic recoil like characteristic of a Kelvin-Voigt solid. Our coupled continuum model demonstrates that the interplay of molecular switching and dynamic cross-linking in network formation shapes the spatial organization of condensate phases. In summary, this work demonstrates a mechanistic route explaining how conformational switching and molecular cross-linking regulate material properties and morphology of condensates.
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Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

When a neural surrogate cannot accelerate a solver: runtime share, closed-loop drift, and the economics of uncertainty gating in a stiff coupled simulation

L. Thümmler and T. Kuroda

Learned surrogates for expensive inner solver blocks are a widely pursued route to faster multiphysics simulation. We report a controlled, end-to-end negative result and identify three structural barriers, none of them a deficiency of the network we trained. The testbed is the implicit Newton solve coupling energy-dependent neutrino radiation to matter in a general-relativistic radiation-hydrodynamics code, its most expensive physics routine per call. First, per-call cost and share of runtime are different quantities, and only the second bounds acceleration. An exclusive self-time profile puts the target block at 16.9% of critical-rank wall clock, capping any surrogate at ~1.2x by Amdahl's law. A surrogate 5.8x cheaper per call merely ties the solver, and the configuration stable enough to run without fallback reaches only parity. Second, offline accuracy cannot rank surrogates for deployment: across fourteen networks the pooled Spearman error-versus-survival correlation (rho = +0.73) is a between-family confound that vanishes under control (rho = -0.04). Third, a correct out-of-distribution gate cannot accelerate a loop that leaves its training distribution. We give the break-even deferral fraction in closed form: because the visited states sit 73x off the data manifold, the gate defers 96.8 to 99.7% of cells, almost invariant to surrogate quality. Including its own cost, the gated loop is a 0.94 to 0.96x slowdown. We further separate stability from fidelity: a never-crashing gated run accumulates a linear -19.9% density bias over 6000 steps. The error is a directed, ballistically accumulating bias, not the variance-driven divergence the autoregressive literature targets.
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High Energy Physics (Theory)

Renormalization, cutoff, and gluing for a quartic model with boundary

A. V. Ivanov

In this paper, we study the renormalization of a three-dimensional quartic model on a compact connected Riemannian manifold with a boundary. We show that, in addition to the standard shift of the mass parameter, it is necessary to take into account boundary contributions involving singular coefficients. This indicates the need to extend the classical action within the framework of standard renormalization theory. The requirements of consistency regarding the gluing of manifolds lead to renormalization of an operator on the boundary.
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Nuclear Theory

Modeling quasielastic lepton-nucleus interactions with ab initio spectral functions from infinite nuclear matter

Alma L. Cavallin, Francesco Marino and Joanna E. Sobczyk

We present a study of quasielastic lepton-nucleus scattering within the local density approximation, using ab initio spectral functions from infinite nuclear matter derived with self-consistent Green's functions theory and interpolated by neural networks. We include final-state interactions in terms of the particle spectral function and investigate the importance and range of validity of this treatment for varying momentum transfer. The performance of the model is tested for inclusive electron scattering on different isospin-symmetric target nuclei, and we present results for $^{12}$C, $^{16}$O, and $^{40}$Ca. Theoretical uncertainties originating from the neural network interpolation and the Hamiltonian dependence are assessed. We also present a calculation of charged-current responses of $^{16}$O and the flux-averaged total $\nu_\mu-^{12}$C cross section. Our model shows good agreement with experimental data within the range of validity of our approximations. The framework can be readily extended to include additional dynamical mechanisms, such as pion production, as well as other nuclear Hamiltonians.
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Optics

Photonic Crystal Defect Nanocavities Based on Monocrystalline Yttrium Iron Garnet

Kota Taniguchi, Siyuan Gao, Tatsuya Kitai et al. (+5 more)

Monocrystalline yttrium iron garnet (YIG) is a key material for magneto optics and quantum magnonics owing to its high optical transparency, large magneto-optical (MO) effects at room temperature, and exceptionally-long spin coherence. While rich MO phenomena have been demonstrated in the microwave regime, extending these concepts to technologically important telecommunication wavelengths remains challenging due to the difficulty of fabricating high-quality YIG nanostructures. Here, we demonstrate photonic crystal (PhC) defect nanocavities based on monocrystalline Bi-substitudted YIG by developing a YIG-on-insulator platform and high-precision YIG nanopatterning. The fabricated nanocavities exhibit cavity resonances around lambda = 1500 nm with Q factors up to 1,800 and a mode volume V of 1.1(lambda/n)^3, corresponding to Q/V reaching around 10^3. The measured Q factor is primarily governed by intentionally introduced lattice modulations for out-of-plane light coupling, suggesting that further optimization of the cavity geometry and measurement configuration could yield an order-of-magnitude improvement of the experimental Q factor. YIG-based PhC nanocavities provide a platform for strongly confined light-magnetism interactions in the optical regime, opening pathways toward downsized nonreciprocal photonic devices and enhanced photon-magnon coupling.
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All authors Kota Taniguchi, Siyuan Gao, Tatsuya Kitai, Takeru Yambe, Daisuke Sato, Hironobu Yoshimi, Satoshi Iwamoto, Yasutomo Ota

Nuclear Theory

Signed Sound-Speed Deformations of BSk24-Anchored Barotropes: Neutron-Star Response

Ioannis Papathanasiou

Background: Localized structure in the equilibrium squared sound speed can affect neutron-star observables, but modifying $dP/d\epsilon$ requires thermodynamically consistent reconstruction and assessment over the complete declared domain. Purpose: We quantify the response to positive and negative localized sound-speed changes around a unified BSk24 baseline while keeping the deformation geometry, admission criteria, reconstruction, and fixed-mass comparison protocol fixed. Method: A Gaussian profile with quintic smootherstep activation is added to $c_{\rm s}^2$. Proposals violating $P>0$ or $0<c_{\rm s}^2\leq1$ anywhere in the retained domain are rejected before reconstruction. Passing cases are reconstructed as effective cold one-fluid barotropes and evolved with the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff and tidal equations. Results: The $A=0$ case reproduces the undeformed control exactly. A localized change produces a persistent pressure offset, relocates the fixed-mass central state, and yields a mass-dependent, nonlinear, sign-asymmetric response. For $A=-0.8$ and $+0.8$, respectively, $\Delta\Lambda/\Lambda_0=(-46.02\%,+35.33\%)$ at $1.4\,M_\odot$ and $(-63.52\%,+87.17\%)$ at $2.0\,M_\odot$. The reached stiffened feature remains core connected at the reporting endpoints, whereas the softened feature becomes an off-center shell at high mass. Conclusions: These phenomenological BSk24-anchored effective barotropes illustrate how a local sound-speed intervention propagates through thermodynamic reconstruction and stellar structure. They are not BSk24 predictions or evidence for a microscopic composition or phase transition.
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Quantum Physics

What do position and time mean in the quantum wavefunction?

Mustafa Bakr, Zichi Zhang and Margot Stakenborg

The notation $\psi(x,t)$ is among the first pieces of quantum mechanics that students learn. It is also among the easiest to over-interpret. Because $x$ and $t$ occur as arguments of the same function, students may ask whether they have the same mathematical status. They may also ask whether $\psi(t)$ should require a generalized bra $\bra{t}$ in the same way that $\psi(x)=\braket{x}{\psi}$ is often written. A related question is whether the absence of a universal time operator follows simply from Pauli's argument. These questions mix several structures that are usually introduced in different parts of the curriculum. We present a unified pedagogical treatment built around two maps hidden in $\psi(x,t)$. Time evolution selects a state along a trajectory in Hilbert space. A spectral representation then maps that state to amplitudes labelled by outcomes of a chosen observable. We formulate the position representation without generalized eigenkets. We recover Dirac's $\ket{x}$ notation as a controlled continuum shorthand and use a finite-grid limit to show where delta normalization enters. We distinguish background coordinates, translation parameters, observables, spectral labels, and physical records. We also clarify the Stone-theorem analogy, compare prescribed-time position measurements with arrival-time measurements, state what the strong form of Pauli's argument excludes, and exhibit an exactly solvable boundary case in which a canonical self-adjoint time observable exists. Spin, circuit-QED, and optical-clock examples provide experimentally grounded checks. The aim is not a new interpretation of time. It is a reusable teaching framework for separating mathematical role from notation.
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Quantum Physics

Full-Trajectory Learning of Open Quantum Systems: Dynamical Emulation and the Limits of Hamiltonian Identifiability

Ahmad Salmanogli

Accurate identification of unknown quantum systems is essential for quantum computing, sensing, and control because the Hamiltonian governs quantum state evolution. This work proposes a QNN based framework for black box Hamiltonian learning and quantum system emulation using full density matrix trajectory learning. Unlike approaches based only on final states or selected observables, the method exploits the complete temporal evolution of the density matrix under Lindblad dynamics. A synthetic dataset of physically admissible Hamiltonians and dissipation parameters is generated to emulate experimental measurements. The QNN learns a nonlinear mapping from control inputs to a 32-dimensional Hamiltonian coefficient vector, enabling reconstruction and differentiable emulation of the unknown system. Chirped excitation and randomized initial quantum states are incorporated to improve robustness and provide richer dynamical information. Performance is evaluated using trajectory density loss, quantum-state fidelity, and trace distance. Randomized initialization improves state-level reconstruction, increasing fidelity to 0.929 for the single qubit benchmark and 0.787 for the unknown system, while reducing trace distance to 0.124 and 0.316, respectively. In contrast, chirped excitation primarily improves optimization by accelerating convergence and reducing trajectory density loss. Finally, the learned Hamiltonian is mapped onto a physical two qubit bus resonator architecture in the dispersive regime, yielding key circuit parameters including transmon capacitances, Josephson inductances, qubit separation, and bus-resonator length. The framework therefore establishes a data-driven pathway from black box quantum system identification to physical quantum emulation, with potential applications in quantum digital twin modeling.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Neural Boltzmann Equations

Jonas Spinner and Jack D. Shergold

The dynamics of particles in the early universe are described by Boltzmann equations, which involve high-dimensional phase-space integrals. Classical approaches use quadrature integration and evolve the system on a fixed momentum grid, which scales poorly to complicated systems and parameter scans, severely limiting the complexity of processes that can be studied. We introduce Neural Boltzmann Equations (NBEs), which combine three coupled concepts to overcome these limitations. First, particle properties are encoded in physics-inspired neural distribution functions, with parameters that can be predicted using neural networks, enabling efficient parameter scans. Second, phase-space integrals are evaluated with Monte Carlo, using importance sampling tools from collider physics. Third, we use the natural gradient method to evolve the system. After demonstrating the individual benefits of NBEs, we use the framework to perform the most numerically precise calculation to date of the effective number of relativistic neutrino degrees of freedom, $N_\mathrm{eff}$, in the Standard Model.
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High Energy Physics (Experiment)

Search for the lepton-flavor-violating decay $ \tau^{\pm} \to \mu^{\pm} \gamma$ at Belle II

Belle II Collaboration: M. Abumusabh, I. Adachi, A. Aggarwal et al. (+466 more)

We present a search for the lepton-flavor-violating decay $\tau^{\pm}\to\mu^{\pm}\gamma$ using a data sample that corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 428 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. We employ a multivariate classifier to suppress the backgrounds from the Standard Model processes, and the signal extraction is performed using an extended maximum-likelihood fit. Since no significant excess over the expected background is observed, we set an upper limit on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(\tau^{\pm}\to\mu^{\pm}\gamma) < 9.5$ $ (12.2)\times10^{-8}$ at the 90% (95%) confidence level, using the CL${_s}$ technique.
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All authors Belle II Collaboration: M. Abumusabh, I. Adachi, A. Aggarwal, H. Ahmed, Y. Ahn, H. Aihara, M. Akdag, N. Akopov, S. Alghamdi, M. Alhakami, A. Aloisio, N. Althubiti, K. Amos, M. Angelsmark, N. Anh Ky, C. Antonioli, K. Arai, D. M. Asner, H. Atmacan, T. Aushev, V. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, H. Bae, N. K. Baghel, S. Bahinipati, P. Bambade, Sw. Banerjee, S. Bansal, M. Barrett, M. Bartl, J. Baudot, A. Baur, A. Beaubien, F. Becherer, J. Becker, J. V. Bennett, F. U. Bernlochner, V. Bertacchi, M. Bertemes, E. Bertholet, M. Bessner, S. Bettarini, V. Bhardwaj, B. Bhuyan, F. Bianchi, T. Bilka, A. Biswas, D. Biswas, A. Bobrov, D. Bodrov, A. Bondar, G. Bonvicini, J. Borah, A. Boschetti, A. Bozek, M. Bračko, P. Branchini, T. E. Browder, A. Budano, S. Bussino, F. Callet, Q. Campagna, M. Campajola, M. Carminati, G. Casarosa, C. Cecchi, M.-C. Chang, P. Cheema, L. Chen, B. G. Cheon, C. Cheshta, H. Chetri, K. Chilikin, K. Chirapatpimol, H.-E. Cho, K. Cho, S.-J. Cho, S.-K. Choi, S. Choudhury, S. Chutia, J. Cochran, J. A. Colorado-Caicedo, I. Consigny, L. Corona, H. Crotte Ledesma, S. Cuccuini, J. X. Cui, E. De La Cruz-Burelo, S. A. De La Motte, G. de Marino, G. De Nardo, G. De Pietro, R. de Sangro, M. Destefanis, S. Dey, R. Dhayal, A. Di Canto, J. Dingfelder, Z. Doležal, I. Domínguez Jiménez, T. V. Dong, X. Dong, M. Dorigo, K. Dugic, G. Dujany, P. Ecker, D. Epifanov, J. Eppelt, R. Farkas, P. Feichtinger, T. Ferber, T. Fillinger, C. Finck, G. Finocchiaro, F. Forti, A. Frey, B. G. Fulsom, A. Gabrielli, P. Gagneja, A. Gale, E. Ganiev, M. Garcia-Hernandez, R. Garg, A. Garmash, L. Gärtner, G. Gaudino, V. Gaur, V. Gautam, A. Gaz, P. Gebeline, A. Gellrich, G. Ghevondyan, D. Ghosh, H. Ghumaryan, G. Giakoustidis, R. Giordano, A. Giri, P. Gironella Gironell, B. Gobbo, R. Godang, O. Gogota, W. Gradl, E. Graziani, D. Greenwald, Y. Guan, K. Gudkova, I. Haide, H. Haigh, Y. Han, K. Hayasaka, H. Hayashii, S. Hazra, C. Hearty, M. T. Hedges, A. Heidelbach, G. Heine, I. Heredia de la Cruz, M. Hernández Villanueva, T. Higuchi, M. Hoek, M. Hohmann, R. Hoppe, P. Horak, X. T. Hou, C.-L. Hsu, T. Humair, T. Iijima, K. Inami, N. Ipsita, A. Ishikawa, R. Itoh, M. Iwasaki, P. Jackson, D. Jacobi, W. W. Jacobs, D. E. Jaffe, E.-J. Jang, S. Jia, Y. Jin, A. Johnson, K. K. Joo, H. Kakuno, M. Kaleta, K. H. Kang, S. Kang, G. Karyan, T. Kawasaki, F. Keil, C. Ketter, M. Khan, C. Kiesling, C. Kim, D. Y. Kim, H. Kim, J.-Y. Kim, K.-H. Kim, H. Kindo, K. Kinoshita, P. Kodyš, T. Koga, S. Kohani, A. Korobov, S. Korpar, E. Kovalenko, R. Kowalewski, M. Krein, P. Križan, P. Krokovny, T. Kuhr, Y. Kulii, D. Kumar, J. Kumar, K. Kumara, T. Kunigo, A. Kuzmin, Y.-J. Kwon, S. Lacaprara, T. Lam, L. Lanceri, J. S. Lange, T. S. Lau, M. Laurenza, R. Leboucher, F. R. Le Diberder, H. Lee, M. J. Lee, C. Lemettais, P. Leo, C. Li, H.-J. Li, L. K. Li, Q. M. Li, S. X. Li, W. Z. Li, Y. Li, Y. B. Li, Y. P. Liao, J. Libby, J. Lin, S. Lin, Z. Liptak, V. Lisovskyi, C. Liu, G. Liu, M. H. Liu, Q. Y. Liu, Y. Liu, Z. Q. Liu, D. Liventsev, S. Longo, A. Lozar, T. Lueck, C. Lyu, J. L. Ma, Y. Ma, M. Maggiora, S. P. Maharana, R. Maiti, G. Mancinelli, R. Manfredi, E. Manoni, M. Mantovano, D. Marcantonio, S. Marcello, M. Marfoli, C. Marinas, C. Martellini, A. Martens, T. Martinov, L. Massaccesi, M. Masuda, T. Matsuda, K. Matsuoka, D. Matvienko, S. K. Maurya, M. Maushart, F. Mawas, J. A. McKenna, Z. Mediankin Gruberová, R. Mehta, F. Meier, D. Meleshko, M. Merola, C. Miller, M. Mirra, K. Miyabayashi, H. Miyake, R. Mizuk, G. B. Mohanty, S. Moneta, A. L. Moreira de Carvalho, H.-G. Moser, N. Mudgal, Th. Muller, H. Murakami, R. Mussa, I. Nakamura, K. R. Nakamura, M. Nakao, Y. Nakazawa, M. Naruki, Z. Natkaniec, A. Natochii, M. Nayak, M. Neu, M. Niiyama, S. Nishida, R. Nomaru, A. Novosel, S. Ogawa, R. Okubo, H. Ono, Y. Onuki, I. Ostrowski, P. Pakhlov, G. Pakhlova, A. Panta, S. Pardi, K. Parham, J. Park, K. Park, S.-H. Park, A. Passeri, S. Patra, S. Paul, T. K. Pedlar, R. Pestotnik, M. Piccolo, L. E. Piilonen, P. L. M. Podesta-Lerma, T. Podobnik, L. Polat, A. Prakash, V. Prasad, C. Praz, S. Prell, E. Prencipe, M. T. Prim, S. Privalov, I. Prudiiev, H. Purwar, P. Rados, S. Raiz, K. Ravindran, J. U. Rehman, M. Reif, S. Reiter, M. Remnev, L. Reuter, D. Ricalde Herrmann, I. Ripp-Baudot, G. Rizzo, S. H. Robertson, J. M. Roney, A. Rostomyan, N. Rout, G. Russo, S. Saha, L. Salutari, D. A. Sanders, S. Sandilya, L. Santelj, C. Santos, V. Savinov, B. Scavino, J. Schmitz, S. Schneider, M. Schnepf, K. Schoenning, C. Schwanda, Y. Seino, K. Senyo, J. Serrano, M. E. Sevior, C. Sfienti, W. Shan, C. P. Shen, X. D. Shi, T. Shillington, T. Shimasaki, J.-G. Shiu, D. Shtol, A. Sibidanov, F. Simon, J. B. Singh, J. Skorupa, R. J. Sobie, M. Sobotzik, A. Soffer, A. Sokolov, E. Solovieva, W. Song, S. Spataro, K. Špenko, B. Spruck, M. Starič, P. Stavroulakis, S. Stefkova, R. Stroili, J. Strube, M. Sumihama, K. Sumisawa, N. Suwonjandee, M. Takahashi, M. Takizawa, U. Tamponi, K. Tanida, F. Tenchini, F. Testa, A. Thaller, T. Tien Manh, O. Tittel, R. Tiwary, E. Torassa, K. Trabelsi, F. F. Trantou, I. Tsaklidis, M. Uchida, I. Ueda, T. Uglov, K. Unger, Y. Unno, K. Uno, S. Uno, P. Urquijo, Y. Ushiroda, S. E. Vahsen, R. van Tonder, K. E. Varvell, M. Veronesi, A. Vinokurova, V. S. Vismaya, L. Vitale, V. Vobbilisetti, R. Volk, R. Volpe, M. Wakai, S. Wallner, M.-Z. Wang, A. Warburton, M. Watanabe, S. Watanuki, C. Wessel, E. Won, X. P. Xu, B. D. Yabsley, S. Yamada, W. Yan, W. Yan, J. Yelton, K. Yi, J. H. Yin, K. Yoshihara, C. Z. Yuan, J. Yuan, L. Yuan, Y. Yusa, L. Zani, F. Zeng, M. Zeyrek, B. Zhang, X. Zhao, V. Zhilich, J. S. Zhou, Q. D. Zhou, X. Y. Zhou, L. Zhu, R. Žlebčík

High Energy Physics (Theory)

A Combinatorial Origin of Locality

Laurentiu Rodina, Giuseppe Sellaroli and Yan Ni

Locality and unitarity are fundamental principles of quantum field theory. For tree-level scattering amplitudes, locality determines which propagator poles may occur together, while unitarity fixes their residues through factorization. Previous uniqueness theorems have repeatedly shown that unitarity can emerge from locality combined with other physical principles. In this Letter we give the first complete all-multiplicity proof for the emergence of locality in this setting. We focus on Tr($\phi^3$) theory and phrase locality as a problem in geometric combinatorics. Planar propagators are chords of a polygon, and a denominator is local exactly when its chords triangulate the polygon, and non-local otherwise. We show that hidden zeros—regular kinematic conditions on which the amplitude vanishes—enforce pole compatibility and therefore imply a local singularity structure. The proof rests on two ingredients: a graphical star test determines when a chosen zero eliminates a pole product, and a smoothing procedure finds such a zero. Thus, once the planar pole alphabet and denominator bound are specified, locality and unitarity emerge together from a single on-shell principle: hidden zeros. Equivalently, our proof provides a novel characterization of a familiar concept: polygon triangulations are precisely the chord configurations that evade every star test.
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Optics

Sensitivity Limits for $\phi$-OTDR

Juan M. Marin, Roman Ermakov, Huwei Wang et al. (+2 more)

We demonstrate a new lower bound on the sensitivity of $\phi$-OTDR by estimating phase using Kalman filtering. Numerical analysis shows a $\sim$35-dB reduction in the minimum detectable SNR, compared to when using conventional phase estimation.
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All authors Juan M. Marin, Roman Ermakov, Huwei Wang, Francesco Da Ros, Darko Zibar

Materials Science

Displacement-field-driven reconstruction of low energy transport in few-layer PtSe2

Xiao Liu, Yaroslav Zhumagulov, Yuang Jie et al. (+9 more)

In layered semiconductors, a perpendicular displacement field generates an interlayer potential difference that competes with interlayer hybridization, modifying both the band gap and the finite-density electronic states that carry current. Resolving this interplay requires a material lying close to the semiconductor-to-semimetal transition, where moderate electric fields can strongly reshape the low-energy electronic structure. Here, we investigate displacement-field-driven transport in dual-gated semiconducting PtSe2, whose pronounced thickness-dependent electronic structure provides access to this low-band-gap regime. Unlike thinner layers, the displacement-field response is strong in six-layer PtSe2, which lies at the verge of the semiconductor-to-semimetal crossover with only a small residual transport gap. Even weak displacement fields rapidly suppress this residual gap near charge neutrality, driving the system toward a band-overlap regime. At the same time, the conductivity decreases in the heavily hole-doped regime, demonstrating that the displacement field modifies not only the gap but also the conducting valence-band states. Fixed-relaxation-time Wannier transport calculations reproduce both responses, showing that they originate from field-induced band overlap together with reconstruction of the valence-band dispersion. These results establish finite-density transport as a sensitive probe of displacement-field-driven electronic structure reconstruction and extend electrical control beyond conventional band-gap engineering.
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All authors Xiao Liu, Yaroslav Zhumagulov, Yuang Jie, Ahmet Enes Bozcali, Johan Felisaz, Qi Zhang, Oldvrich Cicvarek, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Zdeněk Sofer, Oleg V. Yazyev, Ahmet Avsar

Quantum Physics

Exact and Optimal Recursive Quantum Search via Hilbert-Space Decomposition

John Burke and Ciaran McGoldrick

Current approaches to quantum search fail to deeply exploit extant structure in the underlying Hilbert space. Decomposing the search by this structure empowers new strategies and formulations for quantum search and algorithm design. We present a new decomposition technique acting directly on this structure by recursively decomposing the Hilbert space and constructing the search operator from reflections over the resulting partition. When initial and target states factorise over this partition, dynamics reduce to a single rotation in a two-dimensional plane at each level, with angle given by a scalar recurrence. This recurrence avoids error accumulation from separately bounding success probabilities at each level, yielding an exact state description enabling treatment of the recursion as a whole. We obtain the target state deterministically and derive oracle and non-oracle costs independently of the search setting. For unstructured search, our approach attains the simultaneously optimal $\Theta(\sqrt{N})$ oracle and non-oracle gate counts. For spatial search on $d$-dimension grids, it recovers the $O(\sqrt{N})$ time for $d\geq3$ and the $O\bigl(\sqrt{N}(\log N)^{3/2}\bigr)$ bound of Aaronson and Ambainis for $d=2$. The exact description of the recursion extends over our decomposition to new subdivision structures and provides a new approach for applying and analysing recursion in quantum algorithm design.
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Chemical Physics

An Interacting-Response Constraint for Photon Density Functionals

Xiaoyu Zhang

When the coupling to a quantized field becomes weak, the leading term of the photon exchange–correlation action depends on the fluctuations of the interacting electronic system, not those of a density-matched noninteracting reference. We establish this requirement by proposing an adiabatic connection formulation of electron-photon coupling at fixed electronic density and controlling the density derivatives. Approximating the response in the integral yields a ring functional in terms of the Kohn–Sham response and electronic kernel. Exact model tests verify fourth-order rather than second-order errors. In a two-electron Hubbard dimer, the functional correctly predicts a correlation-induced polarization reversal, while two Kohn–Sham photon prescriptions don't. In an interacting quantum-dot resonator model with electron injection and escape, the functional recovers resonant photon-assisted transport missed by two Kohn–Sham photon prescriptions.
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Disordered Systems and Neural Networks · Cross-listed from cs.LG

A Physical Response-and-Memory Model for Muon Optimization

Yinze Hu, Hongjun Xiang, Xingao Gong et al. (+1 more)

Training large language models is costly. How low a loss the same compute can ultimately reach depends on how each step's gradient is converted into a weight update; the rule that performs this conversion is the optimizer. From SGD and AdamW to the recent Muon, effective update rules have mostly been shaped by engineering intuition and then selected on benchmarks. Muon semi-orthogonalizes the momentum matrix before applying the update and has kept breaking records on public training benchmarks; yet why the semi-orthogonalized direction works, and over how long a history the momentum should average, are two questions at present answered mainly by experience. Here we treat the weight matrix during training as a responsive medium with memory and build a physical model for it, in which both questions find answers: the semi-orthogonalized direction is the maximally dissipative response under an output-side safety budget, which explains why it works; momentum is the internal stress accumulated by the medium; how long it should average is set by the relaxation of this stress, and a real medium relaxes on more than one timescale, the simplest form being one fast and one slow. On this basis we propose the Bi-Maxwell optimizer. The framework further yields a testable consequence: gradient directions change fast early in training and more slowly later, so the optimal memory length should grow with training stage; step-by-step measurements of a proxy for it by a read-only probe across 8 independent training trajectories are consistent with this consequence. Replacing the memory kernel alone, from a single timescale to two, brings training to the target loss in noticeably fewer steps on a public large-language-model optimizer benchmark.
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All authors Yinze Hu, Hongjun Xiang, Xingao Gong, Hongyu Yu

Materials Science

Discovery of New Zintl Films and Nanowires Grown by Topotaxy Conversion of III-V Semiconductors

Man Suk Song, Lothar Houben, Jean Souza et al. (+8 more)

Zintl phases draw broad interest for their diverse structural, magnetic, thermoelectric, topological and optical properties. Recently, Zintl Eu$_3$In$_2$As$_4$ and Eu$_5$In$_2$As$_6$ nanowires with axion magneto-topology have been synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy via topotactic conversion of InAs wurtzite and zincblende nanowires. Here we extend this methodology, demonstrating that topotaxial mutual-exchange growth applies not only to a broader set of III-V semiconductors beyond InAs but also to three-dimensional substrates whose surfaces are converted into Zintl thin films, as well as to nanowires. We report the growth of two new compounds: Eu$_5$Ga$_2$As$_6$ thin films converted from GaAs substrates, and Eu$_5$Al$_2$As$_6$ thin films from AlAs films. We also convert GaAs nanowires of both wurtzite and zincblende structures into Eu$_5$Ga$_2$As$_6$ nanowires. Though the stoichiometry is the same as in the previously reported Eu$_5$In$_2$As$_6$ case, microscopy and diffraction reveal a single-phase Pnma symmetry group rather than Pbam, highlighting symmetry-guided topotactic pathways to new Zintl frameworks. The compounds host an intricate magnetic phase diagram with three magnetic transitions, including two distinct antiferromagnetic orders and a canted antiferromagnetic phase that evolves into another antiferromagnetic phase under applied field through a spin-flop transition. Ab initio calculations predict that both Zintls are semiconductors with gaps of 0.79 eV in Eu$_5$Ga$_2$As$_6$ and 0.90 eV in Eu$_5$Al$_2$As$_6$. The lower symmetry and increased structural complexity suggest suppressed lattice thermal conductivity, pointing to thermoelectric potential alongside prospects in spintronics and detector technologies. These results give an epitaxy-compatible route for discovering and integrating magnetic Zintl thin films and nanowires directly from relevant III-V semiconductors.
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All authors Man Suk Song, Lothar Houben, Jean Souza, Edanel Fishbein, Moshe Haim, Ambikesh Gupta, Yufei Zhao, Anna-Eden Kossoy, Binghai Yan, Haim Beidenkopf, Hadas Shtrikman

Quantum Physics

`It from Bit': is there a second law of quantum complexity?

S. Davatolhagh, A. Sheykhi and M.H. Zarei

At a deeper level the principle of least action is interpreted as the law of least entropy increase consistent with Prigogine's principle of minimum entropy production, and the implications of quasistatic information quantization rule (Proc. R. Soc. A 480: 20240024), are explored for the conjectured second law of quantum complexity. It is thus shown that the conjectured second law of complexity is derivable from the information quantization rule such that long after heat-death the quantum state complexity evolves as $C(t)=C_{\rm max}\exp(-1/t)$, increasing with time to a saturation value $C_{\rm max}$ that is exponential in the equilibrium entropy $S_{\rm max}$. For the out-of-equilibrium circumstances, however, the quantum complexity can decrease with the time, asymptotically tending to a minimum determined by the distance from equilibrium.
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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Curvature and Isocurvature Perturbations in multi-field Gauss-Bonnet inflation

Seoktae Koh

We study cosmological perturbations in multi-field inflation in which the scalar fields couple to the Gauss-Bonnet terms through a general coupling function $f(\phi^a)$. We derive the complete quadratic action for the field perturbations in spatially flat gauge and find that, besides corrections to the kinetic, gradient and mass matrices, the Gauss-Bonnet coupling induces an antisymmetric velocity coupling that vanishes in Einstein gravity. Decomposing the field perturbations into curvature and isocurvature modes, we show that the effective mass of the curvature perturbation and the non-derivative mixing mass vanish identically, $\mathcal{M}_{\mathcal{R}}^2 = \mathcal{M}_{\rm mix}^2 =0$ which are justified by the Weinberg's adiabatic mode. We then compute the curvature power spectrum in two limits. First, when the isocurvature mode is heavy, it can be integrated over all scales. This yields an effective single-field theory of the curvature perturbation with a modified sound speed. Second, when the gradient of the coupling function is aligned with the background trajectory ($f_N =0$), the derivative mixings disappear and the superhorizon transfer of isocurvature into curvature perturbations is governed by the turn rate, which is modified by the Gauss-Bonnet corrections. We also present the tensor power spectrum and the tensor-to-scalar ratio at linear order in the coupling.
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Optics

Multiphysics simulation of all-optical switching and sequential magneto-optic readout in an integrated Si$_3$N$_4$/GdFeCo waveguide

Muhammad Arief Mulyana, Budi Adiperdana and Ayi Bahtiar

In an integrated all-optical magnetic device, a guided pulse writes a magnetic state and a later optical signal reads it out. We study both steps for an 8 nm GdFeCo film inserted across a Si$_3$N$_4$ waveguide. A three-dimensional dispersive finite-difference time-domain calculation gives the energy absorbed from an 800 nm pump pulse. This energy drives a four-temperature model and calibrated stochastic two-sublattice Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch dynamics. After relaxation, a separate 532 nm probe is propagated through the fixed magnetic state for the optical readout. At the reference pump fluence, the model reverses 0.859 of the film from either saturated state. The switched fraction remains within 0.81-0.87 over a 2.4-fold range of incident fluence. A threshold rule applied to the local absorption map reproduces the five three-dimensional simulation points to within $8\times10^{-4}$, showing that, within the model, incomplete reversal results from non-uniform guided-mode absorption. When the film starts from zero magnetization, thermal noise orients the recovered local moments at random; over 16 realizations, $0.502 \pm 0.004$ of the cells end with a negative $x$ component of the FeCo moment. Among the simulated states, the probe transmission, reflection, and absorption fractions vary by at most 0.02. The magnetic Faraday and Kerr rotations are much more sensitive and become about 12 and 130 times smaller, respectively, in the stochastically recovered state than in a saturated film. The reflected signal also contains a magnetization-independent geometric background, which can be removed by subtracting a reference signal. These results link the switching efficiency to the guided-mode absorption profile and predict polarization-based readout of the simulated magnetic states. The model assumes a homogeneous film and neglects spatial exchange stiffness and subsequent domain coarsening.
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Quantum Physics

Batched and Complete U-Statistics for Trace-Polynomial Estimation from Classical Shadows

Xinyu Song

We study estimation of the trace polynomial $\operatorname{tr} p(P\rho P)$ from global classical shadows, where $\rho$ is an unknown quantum state and $P$ is a fixed projector. Disjoint batching and complete U-statistics yield unbiased estimators of the same trace moments, but assign different sample-size factors to the degenerate terms in their Hoeffding decompositions. Under the global Clifford protocol, exact degree-two variance formulas show that, on a null projected block of rank $s$, the quadratic degenerate term has order $s^2/N$ under batching and $s^2/N^2$ under complete symmetrization. For a logarithmic-degree polynomial used in entropy approximation, the quadratic coefficient raises the batched variance to at least order $s^2N\log^2N$ at the classical entropy cutoff. For complete U-statistics, we derive a cross-degree covariance identity and an exact variance decomposition for polynomial estimators. We also bound every Hoeffding order at a fixed degree and obtain a growing-dimensional risk bound for a small-spectrum entropy functional. The higher-order bounds retain a polynomial dependence on the ambient dimension and therefore do not cover logarithmically increasing degrees. Monte Carlo experiments confirm the degree-two formulas, and exact calculations illustrate the entropy risks.
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