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Monday 14 September

Quantum Physics

Correlation and Branching Mechanisms in the Quantum-to-Classical Transition of Interacting Systems

We analyze the quantum-to-classical transition of interacting systems from the viewpoint of reduced dynamical closure. Bohmian trajectories are used as a diagnostic of the probability flow generated by the full wavefunction, rather than as an alternative set of quantum predictions. A closed classical or semiclassical description of a retained coordinate can emerge either because interaction-induced correlations are suppressed or because the observable of interest is insensitive to the correlations that remain. Three models are used to isolate distinct mechanisms. In a hard-core collision, the leading tail of a broad relative-coordinate wave packet reaches the boundary before its center and generates spatial nonseparability through reflection and interference. In the Rabi model, the mixed quantum-classical Ehrenfest approximation fails when spin-position covariances prevent the spin dynamics from being determined solely by the mean oscillator coordinate. In an internal-state-dependent force model, the total mean position obeys an exact Ehrenfest equation, while the wavefunction separates into branch-resolved pointer components; mean classicality therefore does not imply branch-level classicality. These examples show that the quantum-to-classical transition of interacting systems is controlled not only by wave-packet localization but also by whether and how interaction-induced correlations enter the reduced equations of motion.
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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Quasinormal modes of Reissner-Nordström black hole from bound state spectrum

We apply a newly proposed bound state method to revisit the computation of gravitational and electromagnetic quasinormal modes (QNMs) for Reissner-Nordström black holes (RNBHs). It is found that the method yields QNM frequencies of high accuracy for low-lying modes with overtones $n\leq3$. The accuracy degrades for higher overtones, however, a homotopy deformation to the potential enables us to compute more high overtone modes reliably. It is known that the continued fraction method for computing QNMs of extremal RNBHs differs significantly from that used for nonextremal ones. In contrast, the bound state method demonstrates advantage of simplicity: one only need to account for the definition of tortoise coordinate in the extremal case, and the rest of the computational procedure remains exactly the same as that for the nonextremal case.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Forecasting Coupled Dark Energy Parameters with the One-Loop Galaxy Power Spectrum

We forecast constraints on the parameters of the coupled dark energy model using DESI and Euclid data with the one-loop galaxy power spectrum. We investigate the distinguishability of our model from the zero-coupling scenario at the $1\sigma$ level and explore how the parameter constraints depend on the fiducial coupling $\beta_{\rm fid}$, the fixed potential slope parameter $\nu$, the maximum wavenumber $k_{\max}$, and different prior choices. We find that the inclusion of mildly non-linear scales improves the constraints on the coupling by roughly a factor of five. Then, we address the question of which is the minimum value of $\beta$ that can be distinguished from zero at $1\sigma$. We find that for our reference case $k_{\rm max}=0.2 h/$Mpc, $\beta=0.15$ lies roughly $1\sigma$ above zero. In the most optimistic case with $k_{\rm max}=0.3 h/$Mpc and including a Planck prior on $\Omega_{m0}$, this value can be reduced to $0.05$. These values are substantially larger than the current constraints on $\beta$, but the latter have been obtained assuming $\beta$ to be constant from at least the decoupling epoch to today, while we only employ late-time data. We conclude therefore that only models that allow for time-varying couplings can be detected with late-time datasets.
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Quantum Physics

Exact Breit-Rabi formulae for the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond

The hyperfine structure that the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond has with its nitrogen nucleus is of immense importance for quantum sensing and quantum computing. Current methods of calculating the NV hyperfine energy eigenvalues and eigenstates with respect to an axial magnetic field - i.e., calculating the NV Breit-Rabi formula - resort to numerical methods and analytic approximations. Here we provide an exact, closed-form expression to the NV hyperfine energy eigenvalues and eigenstates for both the nitrogen-14 and -15 cases.
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Mathematical Physics · Cross-listed from math.OA

Discrete $C^*$-Frobenius Algebras and Infinite-Index Extensions in Algebraic Quantum Field Theories

We introduce discrete $C^*$-Frobenius algebras as categorical data for constructing infinite-index extensions of Möbius covariant nets. The underlying representation is a countable direct sum of simple dualized modules, while the direct sum itself is not necessarily dualizable. Accordingly, rather than requiring a single bounded multiplication morphism, we work with compatible families of bounded left and right multiplication morphisms. Using Bin Gui's theory of categorical extensions, we associate to every discrete $C^*$-Frobenius algebra two (generally non-local) Möbius covariant extensions generated by left and right charged fields, respectively. If the discrete $C^*$-Frobenius algebra is commutative, the two extensions coincide and yield a local Möbius covariant extension. As applications, for every $C^*$-tensor category generated by an invertible object with trivial self-braiding such that its fusion product rule is given by $\mathbb{Z}$, we construct two classes of examples: the simple current extension by $\mathbb{Z}$ and the discrete Longo-Rehren construction.
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Quantum Physics

Universal Defect Statistics in Reverse Quenches

We derive an extension of the generalized Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM), which provides a stochastic approach to defect formation, to reverse quench protocols. While the universal scaling behavior of defects in reverse quenches has been observed previously in certain 1D chains, we argument from a probability-theoretical perspective that this scaling persists in general, and is given by the double of the defect density variance in forward quenches. We validate these results analytically for the one-dimensional transverse field Ising model and numerically for its bond-disordered variant governed by an infinite randomness fixed point. Starting from the paramagnetic phase, this protocol relies solely on global control of the system's magnetic field and global magnetization measurements, enabling the extraction of critical exponents without microscopic access to individual defects. This approach offers a robust and experimentally feasible method for probing quantum critical behavior through entirely global operations.
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All authors Eduard J. Braun, Daniel Rubin, Margaux Cartier, Gerhard Zürn, Matthias Weidemüller

Fluid Dynamics

A Calibrated Reduced-Order Force Model for Bacterial Hydrodynamics in Free Space and Near a Planar Boundary

Accurately resolving the near-field flow generated by many swimming bacteria while retaining computational efficiency remains challenging. Stokeslet-based models with many force points can capture detailed near-field hydrodynamics but are computationally expensive. Other approaches include far-field and low-order models that use fewer points but sacrifice near-field accuracy. We introduce a reduced-order framework based on the method of regularized Stokeslets that preserves important near-field flow features while using substantially fewer force points. The method replaces the force distribution of a high-fidelity model with forces on a sparse set of points whose strengths are determined by constrained least-squares calibration to the high-fidelity velocity field of a single bacterium. The calibrated forces yield an approximation that preserves the dominant reference-flow structure while satisfying the force-free and torque-free conditions of self-propelled swimming. Principal component analysis is then used to represent the phase-dependent variation of the calibrated forces using only a few dominant modes. By fitting the corresponding modal coefficients as continuous functions of flagellar phase, the reduced-order forces can be approximated at any phase of the flagellar cycle. The framework is applied in both free space and near a no-slip planar boundary, where it preserves the dominant flow structures and captures the wall-induced redirection of the surrounding fluid. The optimized cell-body regularization parameter depends weakly on wall distance, and the remaining velocity discrepancy is concentrated primarily near the cell body. By substantially reducing the number of force points, the reduced-order model lowers both the computational cost and memory requirements of velocity-field evaluation, making large-domain simulations of multi-swimmer flow fields more practical.
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All authors Hoa Nguyen, William Wallace, Orrin Shindell, Frank Healy, Ricardo Cortez, Bruce Rodenborn

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Measurement of Cosmic-Ray Density in the Spiral Arms toward Galactic Anticenter

Using nearly 17 years of Fermi-LAT data, we analyzed the diffuse gamma-ray emission associated with different spiral arms of the Milky Way in the ranges $l = 105^\circ$ to $145^\circ$ and $b = -5^\circ$ to $5^\circ$. The gamma-ray emissions from these spiral arms all exhibited clear pion-bump features, which can be well explained by a power-law spectrum of cosmic-ray protons. The spectral indices corresponding to the three distinct spiral arms – the Local Arm, the Perseus Arm, and the Outer Arm – are found to be approximately $-2.75$, $-2.55$, and $-2.80$, respectively. The energy densities of the cosmic rays above 10 GeV are estimated to be all around 0.2$\rm~eV~cm^{-3}$. We further compared our results with previous studies, which have established various propagation models predicting that cosmic ray density decreases and spectra soften with increasing Galactocentric radius. We found higher densities and harder spectral indices than predicted in the outer Galaxy, suggesting possible contributions from a larger halo, slower magnetic field decay, or a combination of these and other effects. In particular, the spectral hardening observed in the Perseus Arm may be attributed to locally enhanced cosmic-ray acceleration.
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Mathematical Physics

Boundary transmission and excursion geometry in the Lorentz mirror model: a numerical study

We study boundary transmission and excursion geometry in the planar Lorentz mirror model through finite-volume numerical experiments. Cylinder penetration quantiles grow approximately linearly with circumference over the simulated range, with a systematic upward drift in the normalized quantiles when vacancies are present. Estimated slab-transmission probabilities yield exponential confinement bounds with quantified statistical confidence at the tested widths. Planar excursions conditioned to reach a distant boundary exhibit transverse ranges proportional to the exit radius, while their repeated-visit fractions vary strongly with mirror density. Endpoint-label collision probabilities substantially exceed a general gluing lower bound, although they account for only part of the observed same-column crossing probability. Finally, rerouting at repeated vertices preserves the exit while substantially shortening the sampled paths. These findings characterize finite-volume transport and excursion geometry without determining an asymptotic scaling exponent or resolving infinite-plane localization.
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Quantum Physics

Entanglement free Metrology Exploiting Multimode Hong Ou Mandel Sensor Advantage

The Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference in the multimode frequency domain has been explored for precision metrology, with several experimental demonstrations exploiting its robustness against dispersion and phase noise, as well as its large dynamic range and compatibility with fragile samples. Conventional multimode HOM metrology exploits frequency-entangled states, which naturally satisfy bosonic exchange symmetry under any centered symmetric joint spectral distribution, to provide these advantages. However, these entangled states are typically generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC), requiring strong pump lasers that hinder practical implementation. In this paper, we employ frequency product states, which do not possess entanglement or path-mode exchange symmetry, as the probe state and post-select measurement outcomes exhibiting frequency anti-correlation. Our results demonstrate that these advantages,peak narrowing, dispersion cancellation, phase-noise immunity, a large dynamic range, and compatibility with fragile samples, arise neither from entanglement nor from bosonic exchange symmetry, but rather from spectral anti-correlation. We further show that entanglement is not the source of the measurement precision: the entanglement-free approach attains the same quantum Fisher information as the entangled-state scheme, indicating that the fundamental precision limit does not originate from entanglement.
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Materials Science

Quantitative control and recording of materials-synthesis processes using an automated experimentation platform

Data-driven materials development requires the collection of large amounts of high-quality materials data. Full autonomy of materials experiments is anticipated, but its technical hurdles are high and its adoption remains limited. In this study, we constructed a simple, easy-to-deploy automated experimentation platform that focuses not on full autonomy but on the reliable automation and quantitative recording of experimental processes. Specifically, commercially available instruments such as robot arms, electric pipettes, web cameras, and an electronic balance are combined, components such as fixtures are fabricated with a 3D printer, and the instruments are operated by control code generated by an AI agent based on a large language model. As a demonstration, we applied the platform to a two-solution mixing experimental system and synthesized ZIF-8, a metal-organic framework. A white suspension phase was observed in the product, and X-ray diffraction measurements confirmed that it was ZIF-8. We also found that its particle size distribution depends strongly on the solution dispensing speed of the electric pipette, which is a parameter that is difficult to control or record in manual operation. This dependence was reproduced in repeated runs, confirming the repeatability of the automated synthesis. This result is a good example showing that the control and recording of process parameters that are rarely quantified in manual work can govern the quality of materials data. All control code, CAD models, and documentation are made publicly available to encourage the spread of laboratory-scale automation of experiments.
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All authors Yusuke Hashimoto, Takaya Muramoto, Hikari Terada, Harim Song, Yuan Wang, Takaaki Tomai

Materials Science

Machine Learning Guided CALPHAD Design of Ru-Stabilized BCC B2 Refractory Alloys

Refractory alloys with a ductile body-centered-cubic (BCC) matrix strengthened by ordered B2 precipitates offer a high-temperature analogue to the gamma/gamma-prime architecture of Ni-based superalloys. Ruthenium is particularly attractive as a B2 stabilizer because RuHf, RuZr, and RuTi can retain ordered phases well above 1300 C. In this work, equilibrium CALPHAD calculations were coupled with random-forest-guided active learning to explore a ten-element Nb-based, Ru-bearing composition space containing Nb, Ta, Mo, V, Ru, Ti, Zr, Hf, Al, and Y at 1 at.% resolution. Across 500 CALPHAD-evaluated alloys, the calculations reproduced the principal trends reported for the Ru-B2 design space. RuHf and RuZr remained stable to the solidus, RuTi commonly exhibited a solutionizing window, and Al-containing alloys preferentially formed competing sigma and A15 phases. The upper bound of the BCC+B2 field increased from a median of approximately 1570 C at 5 at.% Ru to approximately 1980 C near 9-10 at.% Ru. Among the group-IV additions, Hf, Zr, and Ti produced progressively lower two-phase stability. Re-screening using physically motivated criteria identified 100 alloys satisfying requirements for high-temperature BCC+B2 stability, absence of liquid, phase purity, and appropriate secondary-phase fraction, including 19 Ru-lean compositions and two independently reported HfRu-B2 alloys. The results establish practical compositional design rules for Ru-stabilized dual-phase refractory alloys and identify phase-specific BCC/B2 lattice misfit as a key target for future design cycles.
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All authors Nathan Peterson, Avik Mahata, Nick Beaver, Mohsen Kivy

Quantum Physics

The Ergotropy of Quantum Batteries under Unruh Effect

We study the effects of uniform acceleration on the ergotropy of quantum batteries modeled as Unruh-DeWitt detectors, in both bipartite and tripartite setups. In the bipartite system, we systematically compare three scenarios: accelerating the battery, accelerating the charger, and accelerating both simultaneously. We find that only battery acceleration can induce a sudden emergence of ergotropy at a critical acceleration threshold, while the corresponding composite-system energy change may increase or decrease depending on the initial state at the onset of acceleration. Charger acceleration leaves the battery ergotropy constant within the perturbative regime, while simultaneous acceleration leads to monotonic decay due to coherent cancellation of the q-dependence. Extending to a tripartite system with one battery and two chargers, we find that battery acceleration again induces ergotropy emergence, whereas accelerating adjacent charger does not–consistent with the bipartite charger-acceleration case. These results reveal that the Unruh effect plays a dual role, both enhancing and degrading quantum battery performance, depending on which subsystem is accelerated and on the multipartite structure, bridging relativistic quantum field theory and quantum thermodynamics with relevance to experimentally accessible platforms.
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All authors Yiding Wang, Shengyan Ma, Xiaofen Huang, Tinggui Zhang

History and Philosophy of Physics · Cross-listed from cs.DL

Geometric Signatures of Conceptual Reorganization: A Counterfactual Embedding Framework for Detecting Scientific Revolutions

We introduce document embedding geometry as a quantitative observable of conceptual reorganization and develop a counterfactual ablation framework for measuring how individual concepts influence the organization of scientific knowledge, providing a quantitative framework for detecting scientific revolutions. The observable is defined by the geometric perturbation induced when removing documents associated with a candidate concept from the embedding space before and after its historical emergence. Statistical validation is performed using five historical case studies spanning physics, mathematics, and machine learning: special relativity, Gödel's incompleteness theorems, the Higgs mechanism, deep learning, and the attention mechanism underlying transformer architectures. Across the historical case studies, the framework identifies measurable geometric signatures associated with conceptual reorganization, while the validation studies expose important limitations arising from document assignment and sparse historical data. These results establish embedding geometry as a medium for quantifying conceptual reorganization, providing a new approach for studying how scientific fields restructure over time.
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All authors Dimitris Ntounis, Ariel Schwartzman, Chris Chafe, Thomas A. Ryckman

Materials Science

Neural-Network Solutions to Real-Space Charge Density and Generalization

The Hohenberg-Kohn theorem establishes that, in principle, the ground state (GS) charge density contains all GS information of a many-electron system, such that all GS observables can be expressed as functionals of the GS charge density. Conventional Kohn-Sham density functional theory requires iterative solution of the self-consistent-field equations at substantial computational cost, motivating the development of deep learning surrogates for electronic structure calculations and, in turn, accelerating computer-aided materials design. Here, we propose AIDEN, an Atomic-Interaction Density Equivariant Network for solving real-space charge density. AIDEN separates the element-dependent one-center density from environment-induced density redistribution and represents the latter through complementary atom- and edge-centered tensor correlations. A continuous low-rank Gaussian decoder then reconstructs the density at arbitrary spatial coordinates while reusing atomic encodings independently of the evaluation grid. AIDEN achieves state-of-the-art accuracy on periodic crystal benchmarks while remaining competitive for molecular systems, and further demonstrates zero-shot transferability across several structurally distinct out-of-distribution case studies. Furthermore, AIDEN provides substantially faster inference than both baseline models and full SCF calculations, enabling efficient charge density reconstruction for large-scale electronic structure calculations.
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All authors Yuxuan Zeng, Tong Xie, Taoyuze Lv, Zhicheng Zhong

High Energy Physics (Theory) · Cross-listed from math.AG

Geometric Invariant Theory for Affine Superschemes

We develop Geometric Invariant Theory for affine superschemes under the action of reductive algebraic supergroups, formulating the theory in terms of coordinate Hopf superalgebras in order to accommodate anticommuting and nilpotent variables. Within this algebraic setting, we construct affine superquotients and establish their basic structural properties under suitable hypotheses. We then prove a supergeometric analogue of the Hilbert-Mumford criterion, giving a numerical test for the semistability and stability of points under natural constraints on the supergroup coaction. We show that this numerical criterion can be used to construct the GIT superquotient of these superschemes, and we give examples illustrating how the supergeometric GIT superquotient differs from its classical counterpart.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

Tracing Stellar Populations through the Mg-Al Anti-Correlation in Gaia-ESO Globular Clusters

Context. Globular clusters (GCs) are fragments of the chemical history and evolution of the Milky Way. Their notable intra-cluster abundance variations have been used to characterise chemical trends and stellar populations. However, the origins of these populations and GCs in general are still largely unknown. Aims. Our aim is to explore the origin of the stellar populations belonging to 14 GCs making use of their abundances derived from the Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) spectra. In particular, we use the Mg-Al anti-correlation to separate the populations. Methods. The GES spectra were revisited to derive additional homogenous chemical abundances for Mg and Al. A Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) was applied to the [Mg/Al] distribution for each cluster to define a threshold between the two main populations. Results. Eight clusters imply the presence of Mg-Al anti-correlations and dual populations. We find there is a regime transition near [Fe/H] approximately -1.4, where, the Mg-Al anti-correlation disappears at higher metallicity. Several clusters, regardless of their Mg-Al anti- correlation behaviour, exhibit metallicity spreads (e.g., NGC 2808, NGC 6752) and s-process variations (e.g., NGC 7078, NGC 1851), suggesting complex enrichment histories. Conclusions. The presence and spread of the Mg-Al anti-correlation depend on cluster mass and metallicity, with metal poor and/or massive clusters exhibiting the clearest anti-correlation. This work demonstrates additional abundances that can be retrieved from Gaia-ESO Survey spectra and provides further insight into the chemistry of multiple stellar populations within GCs. These findings highlight the chemical complexity of GCs and the need for large, homogeneous datasets to trace their formation histories.
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All authors H. Sinclair-Wentworth, C. C. Worley, P. Jofre, J. Schiappacasse-Ulloa, L. Magrini

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Dalitz decays of vector heavy quarkonia into $\chi_{QJ}(1P)$ in the Bethe-Salpeter approach

We systematically investigate the Dalitz decays of vector heavy quarkonia into $\chi_{QJ}(1P)\ell^+\ell^-$ ($Q=c,b$; $J=0,1,2$; $\ell=e,\mu$) within the instantaneous Bethe–Salpeter framework. The study covers $\psi(2S)$, $\psi(1D)$, $\Upsilon(2S)$, and the so-far unobserved $\Upsilon(1D)$ states. For $\psi(2S)$ electron channels, our predictions are in excellent agreement with BESIII data. We further provide the first relativistic predictions for $\psi(1D)$ decays, with branching ratios for several electron channels reaching the $10^{-5}$ level, which is accessible at current BESIII statistics. For bottomonium, $\Upsilon(2S)\to\chi_{bJ}e^+e^-$ decays yield branching fractions of $\mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$, suggesting potential observability at Belle~II. Muonic channels are also discussed, with kinematic constraints carefully addressed. Our results establish a coherent theoretical basis for future experimental searches for heavy quarkonium Dalitz decays.
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All authors Xin-Wen Wang, Wen-Yuan Ke, Su-Yan Pei, Tianhong Wang, Qiang Li, Guo-Li Wang

Optics

Gaussian-splatting ptychography via explicit and interpretable primitives

Ptychography overcomes the limits of lenses by co-designing optics and computation. Yet prevailing implementations reconstruct on a pixel grid, where weakly-constrained modes drift and recovery demands redundant data. Here we introduce Gaussian-splatting ptychography, representing object and probe as Gaussian primitives. Relocation concentrates primitives where structure is dense, and overlapping primitives couple neighbouring pixels to suppress mode drift. The scheme unexpectedly restores the low-frequency phase that conventional approaches lose, enabling uniform phase transfer across spatial frequencies. The probe is represented and updated in its pupil plane from a random start. In Fourier ptychography, the pupil-plane model recovers severe aberrations where pixel-grid solvers fail. In conventional optical, X-ray and electron ptychography, the pupil-plane primitives also recover the real-space probes with no model of beam-forming optics. The representation cuts memory up to 14-fold and recovers specimens from fewer acquisitions. At electron wavelengths, it resolves atomic structure at tens of electrons per square angstrom.
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All authors Qianhao Zhao, Zhixuan Hong, David Brady, Changhuei Yang, Andrew Maiden, Zhongtian Zheng, Ruihai Wang, Daniel Gage, Mary Lipton, Christopher Anderton, Arunima Bhattacharjee, Guoan Zheng

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Probing $\Upsilon({1S})$, $\eta_b$ and $h_b$ resonances in proton-lead collisions at the LHCb

We explore the production of bottomonium states in proton–lead (pPb) collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) within the frameworks of Non-Relativistic Quantum Chromodynamics (NRQCD) and modified NRQCD (MNRQCD). In this work, we present theoretical predictions for the production cross-section, the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm pPb}$ and the forward-to-backward production ratio $R_{\rm FB}$ of $\Upsilon(1S)$ as functions of transverse momentum and rapidity in the LHCb kinematic region. The MNRQCD framework, which incorporates perturbative soft-gluon emissions from color-octet states, provides description of quarkonium production in heavy-ion collision. Furthermore, using heavy-quark spin symmetry, we estimate the production cross-sections and expected event yields of the spin-singlet bottomonium states $\eta_b$ and $h_b$ within both NRQCD and MNRQCD. The predictions show significant differences between the two approaches in the integrated cross-sections and transverse momentum distributions of these resonances. Therefore, these results could provide important benchmarks for future experimental measurements at LHCb and contribute to a deeper understanding of bottomonia production and nuclear modifications in proton–lead collisions.
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All authors Sudhansu S. Biswal, Priyabrata Dash, Sushree S. Mishra, K. Sridhar

Quantum Physics

Quantum Geometry in Hyperbolic Band Theory

Hyperbolic band theory (HBT) has recently unveiled a wealth of exotic physical phenomena in negatively curved spaces. Concurrently, the quantum metric has emerged as a fundamental tensor governing quantum geometry and topological phases. In this Letter, we bridge these two frontiers by investigating the quantum metric in HBT. Because conventional Euclidean metric extraction protocols fundamentally fail in these non-commutative geometries, we introduce holonomy shaking, a novel, experimentally viable technique utilizing periodic lattice driving to dynamically extract the metric. Using the {8,3} regular hyperbolic and kagome-like lattices as concrete examples, we demonstrate the high-fidelity dynamical extraction of the quantum metric. Our results establish a robust blueprint for probing hyperbolic quantum geometries, paving the way for the discovery of exotic topological phenomena in hyperbolic quantum matter.
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All authors Ahmed Adel Mahmoud, Riccardo Sorbello, Ronny Thomale, Steven Rayan

Optics

Proximal-Only Transmission Matrix Recovery of an Arbitrarily Deformed Graded-Index Multimode Fiber

The multimode fiber is among the thinnest imaging conduits available, carrying hundreds to thousands of spatial modes through a cross-section comparable to a human hair, but its endoscopic capabilities are currently limited by the sensitivity of the transmission matrix to the fiber's deformed state. Proximal-only recovery of the fiber's transmission matrix is an appealing approach for enabling general use multimode fiber endoscopy, and within the last decade, machine learning techniques have been applied to both single-ended and double-ended transmission matrix recovery tasks. We present a new approach to this interdisciplinary problem and show that neural networks can generalize to recover transmission matrices of an arbitrarily deformed graded-index multimode fiber from proximal measurements alone.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Field-Level Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Reconstruction of the DESI DR1 Luminous Red Galaxies with Linear Field Transformer (LiFT)

We present the first application of neural field-level baryon-acoustic oscillation (BAO) reconstruction to real spectroscopic survey data. We develop Linear Field Transformer (LiFT), a 3D vision transformer that takes as input the observed galaxy field, its standard reconstruction, and a set of context channels encoding local line of sight, survey coverage, and redshift, and learns to correct standard reconstruction toward the linear density field. We construct a forward-modeling pipeline to produce mock lightcones similar to the DESI Data Release 1 (DR1) luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample, and train LiFT on these. We validate LiFT on held-out simulations, as well as on additional mocks which differ in gravity solver, halo finder, HOD, cosmology, and fiber-assignment history, as well as on mocks analyzed with a distorted distance-redshift relation; ultimately, we find unbiased dilation parameters with consistently tighter constraints than standard reconstruction. Applied to the DESI DR1 LRGs, LiFT improves errors on $\alpha_{\rm iso}$ by 13%, 24%, and 30% and on $\alpha_{\rm AP}$ by 5%, 22%, and 30% relative to the DESI DR1 standard reconstruction analysis in the LRG1, LRG2, and LRG3 bins respectively; meanwhile, our DR1 central values remain consistent with DR1 and DR2. This equates to a factor of 1.2, 1.7 and 2.0 increase in Figure of Merit (or effective survey volume) if one were to only use standard reconstruction. Ultimately, these results establish LiFT as a validated, survey-ready tool for current and upcoming galaxy surveys.
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All authors Liam Parker, Uroš Seljak, Adrian E. Bayer, Richard Feder, David Valcin

Sunday 13 September

Quantum Physics

Empirical Scaling Laws of Quantum Vision Transformers

Quantum machine learning (QML) is a promising application of quantum computing, yet when and how practical learning models can achieve quantum advantage remains poorly understood. Even a polynomial improvement in the resources needed to attain a given predictive performance would be significant. In this work, we investigate empirical scaling laws of quantum vision transformers (QViTs), which connect QML to the transformer architecture underlying modern large language models. We ask whether QViTs exhibit scaling behavior analogous to classical models and how this behavior changes when qubit number is included alongside dataset size and model parameters. The validation losses in our numerical image-classification experiments are well described by a joint shifted power-law model in qubit number, transformer depth, and training dataset size. Expressing this fit in terms of the classical encoder parameter budget identifies a regime in which increasing the number of qubits can compensate for fewer classical encoder parameters at comparable predicted performance. This finding is consistent with earlier observations of parameter efficiency in quantum learning models and suggests a direction for exploring possible resource savings in QML.
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All authors Yuqing Li, Fengyi Gao, Xin Jin, Xiaowei Jia, Qi Cheng, Junyu Liu

Computational Physics · Cross-listed from cs.CE

A Generalized Source Integral Equation for Homogeneous Penetrable Scatterers

The generalized source integral equation (GSIE)approach is extended to enhance the compressibility of moment matrices for essentially-convex homogeneous penetrable scatterers. In the proposed indirect surface integral equation (SIE) formulation, the scattered field representations use a single distribution of generalized sources that radiate only weakly into the scatterer. A separate distribution of conventional sources is used for representing the interior fields. The wave interactions between surface subdomains via the generalized kernel are of a reduced effective dimensionality. The corresponding exterior integral operator moment matrix blocks exhibit enhanced rank deficiency. For lossy scatterers, this secures the low-rank (LR) compressibility of hierarchical matrix structures for the full system. For scatterers in a much slower background medium, significant savings with very delayed asymptotic scaling of the costs can be achieved. The GSIE is formulated for the transverse magnetic (TM) scattering problem. It is validated for representative examples and its superior compressibility is demonstrated.
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Instrumentation and Detectors

A rotation-based Hall-probe magnetic compass

In many physics and space experiments the direction of a magnetic field must be known to one milliradian or better. We have developed a new type of magnetic compass, based on rotation, in which a spinning Hall probe (HP) produces an alternating signal proportional to the component of the magnetic field transverse to the axis of rotation. Aligning the rotation axis so that this signal vanishes gives the direction of the field. The device requires no calibration and is insensitive to electronics drift. A spinning-HP compass was built and used in a recent experiment at Jefferson Lab, where it determined the direction of the 25~G holding field of a polarized $^3$He target to about 1~mrad; the direction of the rotation axis was transferred to the laboratory frame with a laser and a flat mirror attached to the rotor. A second implementation of the rotation approach, a spinning field concentrator (SFC) with a stationary Hall probe, was also built. With 10 seconds of averaging the SFC compass resolves a transverse field of 18~$\mu$G, corresponding to a directional resolution of 70~$\mu$rad in a field of 0.25 G, close to the Earth's field.
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All authors B. Wojtsekhowski, C. Cuevas, R. Dawson, W. Henry, N. Liyanage, G. Ron, J. Wilson

Mathematical Physics · Cross-listed from math.CV

Generators of stability-preserving semigroups, spectral gaps, and classical ground-state computation

We classify the generators of stability-preserving semigroups on polynomial spaces with bounded coordinate degrees. The generators have differential order at most two, with principal coefficients characterized by low-degree nonnegativity conditions. In disk coordinates, positive degree damping gives strict zero-freeness and a sharp spectral gap, extending the Hermitian gap of Bravyi, Gosset, Liu, and Wong to complex generators. The resulting analytic domain yields deterministic classical algorithms for ground energies and stable product-state queries for bounded-degree Suzuki-Fisher Hamiltonians with bounded local strength and fixed positive fields. Field perturbation gives zero-field energy-value approximation schemes for bounded-degree unweighted EPR and bipartite Quantum MaxCut. We also prove that, up to scalars, the Hermitian qubit Hamiltonians whose full Gibbs tensors are Lee-Yang at every temperature in a fixed basis are precisely the edgewise phase-rotated Suzuki-Fisher family. With strictly positive longitudinal fields, these tensors are zero-free on a polydisk of radius greater than one at each positive inverse temperature. These two statements answer questions of Wong, Bravyi, Gosset, and Liu. Degree-preserving, coefficient-positive stability semigroups have concave sector growth rates, yielding token-graph concavity. We also give a counterexample to a proposed explicit ground-state radius.
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Instrumentation and Detectors

Cross-Detector Transfer Learning with Parnassus: From ALEPH to SLD

Parnassus is a fast detector-simulation and reconstruction framework that maps truth-level particles directly to reconstructed particles. In this work, we investigate cross-detector transfer learning by adapting a Parnassus model for the ALEPH detector to the SLD detector. ALEPH and SLD have similar detector responses, as they were both targeting hadronic $Z$-pole $e^+e^-$ events, while differing substantially in the underlying detector technology, reconstruction, and archived data representation. We initialize the SLD particle model with weights learned on ALEPH, fine-tune it on SLD, and compare it with the same architecture trained directly on SLD. The ALEPH-initialized model gives substantially improved particle- and jet-level agreement with the SLD reference, including a factor of 5.2 improvement in the charged-particle angular response and an improvement in the jet angular resolution from $1.73$ to $1.15$ times the SLD reference. The results show that detector-response information learned on ALEPH can be reused when modeling SLD and motivate reusable pretrained Parnassus models for legacy $e^+e^-$ detectors, which is especially critical for experiments without access to the original software pipeline. With this paper, we also release an AI-ready version of simulated SLD $e^+e^-$ events.
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Materials Science

Predicting energy and structural response to force correction in molecular dynamics

We predict how force correction changes energy exchange and structural statistics by measuring leading response coefficients on shared reference trajectories. Residual power and the displacement virial distinguish the transfer of energy from the change in restoring forces, including intermittent reference updates. Independent simulations then test the predicted kinetic and configurational shifts. A matched-timetable experiment shows that reference timing affects heating through its coupling to the evolving state. In an anharmonic chain, the displacement virial predicts a structural shift missed by a power-only description. Local force constants in silicon predict a complementary directional tradeoff: scalar calibration repairs optical motion while degrading an already accurate low-frequency direction. Full nonlinear trajectories confirm this tradeoff and distinguish the benefits of static curvature correction and repeated reference impulses. Independent finite-temperature integrals in orthorhombic tin selenide (SnSe) support the configurational-response direction predicted from separate reference calculations. These results provide a physical basis for choosing how reference information enters molecular dynamics. The framework assesses force correction through its effect on atomic motion and statistical observables, beyond the accuracy of individual force evaluations.
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All authors Peng Kang, Da Wan, Shulin Bai, Pengfei Zhang, Peng Wang, Chenglong Wen, Zhen Li, Yu Liu, Lei Zheng, Li-Dong Zhao

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Gravitating sources with zero energy density in cosmology

A cosmological source can have identically zero comoving energy density and still gravitate through its pressure. This differs from an energy density passing through zero at an isolated time. Maintaining zero density with nonzero pressure requires energy exchange in a nonstatic FLRW universe. We construct proportional-pressure and constant-pressure backgrounds, including steady-state, bouncing, recollapsing, and $\Lambda$CDM expansion histories, and relate them to creation pressure, bulk viscosity, and time-dependent vacuum descriptions. Scalar fields can realize zero density along a trajectory; imposing it as an identity on a timelike $P(X,\phi)$ domain selects $P=A(\phi)\sqrt{X}$, locally a signed potential-free cuscuton for nonzero $A$. We formulate linear perturbations without dividing by the vanishing background density. For a nondegenerate $P(X,\phi)$ scalar with a timelike field gradient, zero density and negative pressure cannot coexist with positive kinetic and gradient coefficients when the interaction leaves its principal kinetic structure unchanged. Two models couple the scalar to number-conserving dust through a field-dependent mass. The proportional-pressure trajectory is a homogeneous saddle and has no growing power-law dust mode on its accelerating branch in the matter-sourced quasistatic subhorizon approximation. A distinct constant-pressure model reproduces the $\Lambda$CDM expansion history, but in the same approximation the dust mode that initially grows during matter domination reaches a maximum at low redshift and then decays. These restrictions apply to the stated scalar class and models. Exact Bianchi I solutions demonstrate separately conserved zero-density sources supported by anisotropic stress. An inverse-pressure construction distinguishes the density of an interacting constituent from an inferred dark-energy density that may cross zero.
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All authors Özgür Akarsu, Cihad K{\i}br{\i}s, Burcu Öztürk, N. Merve Uzun