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Friday 18 September

Mathematical Physics · Cross-listed from math.AP

Homogenization and averaging in the Bourgain-Brezis-Mironescu limit

We study the simultaneous asymptotic behaviour of homogenization and the Bourgain–Brezis–Mironescu limit for quadratic fractional energies with periodic coefficients. The functionals depend on two small parameters: the period of the coefficients and the fractional exponent approaching the local limit. We prove that the $\Gamma$-limit is completely determined by the relative scaling of these parameters. In the two extreme regimes, one recovers the expected separation of scales, yielding either the homogenized Dirichlet energy or the energy with averaged coefficients. At the critical logarithmic scaling, however, the two mechanisms coexist, and the limit is a convex combination of the homogenized and averaged energies, with weights depending explicitly on the relative scaling of the two asymptotic processes. The proof combines the homogenization analysis of the short-range interactions with a blow-up argument showing that long-range interactions are simply averaged using a Riemann–Lebesgue-type argument.
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High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Euclid: Quick Data Release (Q1) – Optical hotspots in powerful radio galaxies

The hotspots of powerful radio galaxies are the sites of high-energy particle acceleration, but radio observations give us limited information on the electron energy distributions that they generate, which affects our overall understanding of their physics and energetics. Optical synchrotron counterparts to radio galaxy hotspots, which probe high electron energies, have been known for many years, but have only been studied in a small number of objects selected as being very bright in the radio. By combining Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) observations with the Euclid Q1 data release in the Euclid Deep Field North, we identify 77 powerful radio galaxies with hotspots and show that a small but significant fraction of them, 7–15%, may have detected infrared and optical counterparts to their hotspots. The hotspot spectral energy distributions in our clearest cases are consistent with particle acceleration up to (but not beyond) 1\,TeV in energy on the assumption of field strengths close to equipartition, whereas non-detected hotspots either do not reach such high electron energies or would have to have very different electron energy spectra or significantly sub-equipartition magnetic field strengths. Two new candidate optical hotspots are clearly detected matching high-resolution LOFAR data; one is remarkable as both the highest-redshift optical hotspot known to date ($z \approx 1.6$) and also the first optical detection of the hotspot of the inner lobe of a restarting source. We discuss approaches to performing a large-scale study of hotspots with the full wide-area Euclid surveys, particularly when combined with the international baselines of LOFAR, enabling for the first time a statistical analysis of high-energy particle acceleration in hotspots.
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All authors M. J. Hardcastle, L. Bisigello, M. Bondi, M. Magliocchetti, L. K. Morabito, J. Petley, F. Ricci, H. J. A. Rottgering, K. Rubinur, D. J. B. Smith, D. Stern, B. Altieri, S. Andreon, N. Auricchio, C. Baccigalupi, M. Baldi, A. Balestra, S. Bardelli, P. Battaglia, A. Biviano, E. Branchini, M. Brescia, S. Camera, V. Capobianco, C. Carbone, J. Carretero, S. Casas, M. Castellano, G. Castignani, S. Cavuoti, K. C. Chambers, A. Cimatti, C. Colodro-Conde, G. Congedo, C. J. Conselice, L. Conversi, Y. Copin, A. Costille, F. Courbin, H. M. Courtois, M. Cropper, J.-G. Cuby, A. Da Silva, H. Degaudenzi, G. De Lucia, C. Dolding, H. Dole, F. Dubath, X. Dupac, M. Farina, R. Farinelli, S. Ferriol, P. Fosalba, S. Fotopoulou, M. Frailis, E. Franceschi, M. Fumana, S. Galeotta, K. George, B. Gillis, C. Giocoli, J. Gracia-Carpio, A. Grazian, F. Grupp, S. V. H. Haugan, J. Hoar, W. Holmes, I. M. Hook, F. Hormuth, A. Hornstrup, K. Jahnke, M. Jhabvala, B. Joachimi, S. Kermiche, A. Kiessling, B. Kubik, M. Kümmel, M. Kunz, H. Kurki-Suonio, A. M. C. Le Brun, S. Ligori, P. B. Lilje, V. Lindholm, I. Lloro, G. Mainetti, O. Mansutti, O. Marggraf, M. Martinelli, N. Martinet, F. Marulli, R. J. Massey, E. Medinaceli, S. Mei, M. Meneghetti, E. Merlin, G. Meylan, A. Mora, M. Moresco, L. Moscardini, R. Nakajima, C. Neissner, S.-M. Niemi, J. W. Nightingale, C. Padilla, S. Paltani, F. Pasian, K. Pedersen, W. J. Percival, V. Pettorino, S. Pires, G. Polenta, L. A. Popa, F. Raison, A. Renzi, J. Rhodes, G. Riccio, E. Romelli, M. Roncarelli, B. Rusholme, R. Saglia, Z. Sakr, D. Sapone, B. Sartoris, M. Schirmer, P. Schneider, A. Secroun, G. Seidel, E. Sihvola, P. Simon, C. Sirignano, G. Sirri, J. Skottfelt, L. Stanco, P. Tallada-Crespí, A. N. Taylor, H. I. Teplitz, I. Tereno, N. Tessore, S. Toft, R. Toledo-Moreo, F. Torradeflot, I. Tutusaus, J. Valiviita, T. Vassallo, G. Verdoes Kleijn, A. Veropalumbo, Y. Wang, J. Weller, O. R. Williams, A. Zacchei, G. Zamorani, F. M. Zerbi, E. Zucca, J. García-Bellido, V. Scottez, F. Tarsitano, J. H. Knapen

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Stellar ages from [C/N] in giant stars: applicability and limitations

The [C/N] abundance ratio is a powerful age indicator for giant stars, enabling age estimates for spectroscopic samples where traditional methods are limited. We calibrate a multivariate [C/N]-age-[Fe/H] relationship using 9,122 giant stars observed by Kepler, with asteroseismic ages and APOGEE DR17 abundances. The calibration is performed separately for lower red giant branch (LRGB), upper RGB (URGB), and red clump (RC) stars. We validate the relationships using independent samples from K2, TESS, and open clusters, finding good agreement with reference ages, particularly for LRGB stars, with typical precision of ~30% for ages between ~2 - 10 Gyr. The performance degrades for URGB and RC stars and low metallicities, likely due to extra mixing processes, for young (<2 Gyr) and old (>10 Gyr) stars, where the [C/N]-age correlation weakens. We show that the [C/N]-based ages reproduce known Milky Way features, including the age distribution across the [alpha/Fe]-[Fe/H] plane and the flaring of the Galactic disc. Compared to other chemical clocks, [C/N] provides more robust and precise age estimates within its domain of validity. Our results demonstrate that [C/N], combined with metallicity, is an effective empirical tool for deriving stellar ages of giant stars from spectroscopic surveys, particularly for LRGB stars with [Fe/H] > -1, enabling Galactic archaeology studies beyond the reach of current asteroseismic samples.
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All authors Giada Casali, Luca Casagrande, Fiorenzo Vincenzo, Andrea Miglio, Melissa Ness, Grazina Tautvaišiene, Laura Magrini, Sven Buder

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

Nonlinearly Causal General-Relativistic Two-Fluid Dissipative Magnetohydrodynamics

We present a formulation of general-relativistic (GR) 19-moment dissipative magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), capable of handling all first-order dissipative terms (viscosity, heat conductivity, resistivity and Hall terms), as well as all ideal electron degrees of freedom (number density, momentum and energy) in a GR astrophysical two-fluid plasma. We derive necessary and sufficient nonlinear causality conditions for the constrained first-order 19-moment system, as well as both necessary and sufficient conditions for strong hyperbolicity. To assess the formulation numerically, we develop a high-resolution shock-capturing scheme that solves these equations in a performance-portable fashion. The scheme expresses all evolution equations, including the dissipative and electron sectors, in flux-divergence form, allowing us to model systems with scales separated by orders of magnitude without resolving kinetic scales everywhere on the grid. In addition, we use implicit integration methods to systematically overstep kinetic scales in MHD regions, such as cyclotron and plasma frequencies. To make the scheme as robust as GRMHD codes, we construct necessary and sufficient conditions for a conserved state to be physically admissible, and based on these construct a new physicality-enforcement scheme. As an exact validation comparison, we formulate and derive a full solution to dissipative two-fluid Bondi accretion in general relativity. We then validate the equations against a series of results from kinetic particle-in-cell models of black hole accretion and magnetospheric dynamics, demonstrating that our formulation and scheme can correctly capture major features relevant for feedback on global scales of these solutions, including dimensionless reconnection rates of order $0.1$ and Braginskii-like anisotropic pressures and heat fluxes.
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High Energy Physics (Experiment)

Observation of the doubly charmed baryon $\varOmega^+_{cc}$

A search for the doubly charmed baryon $\varOmega^+_{cc}$ in the $\varOmega^0_c\pi^+$ decay channel is performed using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $6.3\text{fb}^{-1}$, collected with the upgraded LHCb detector in 2024 at a center-of-mass energy of 13.6$\text{TeV}$. A peaking structure with a global significance of $8.7\sigma$ is observed in the $\varOmega^0_c\pi^+$ mass spectrum, where the $\varOmega^0_c$ baryon is reconstructed in the $pK^-K^-\pi^+$ final state. The structure is consistent with originating from a weakly decaying particle and is identified as the doubly charmed baryon $\varOmega^+_{cc}$. Its mass is determined to be $3725.9 \pm 1.0 \,(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.2 \,(\mathrm{syst}) \pm 0.4 \,(\mathrm{lifetime}) \pm 0.6 \,(\mathrm{ext})\,\text{MeV/}c^2$, where the third uncertainty arises from the dependence of the selection-induced bias on the unknown $\varOmega^+_{cc}$ lifetime, and the fourth is due to the uncertainties on the masses of the $\varOmega^0_c$, $\varXi^+_c$, and $\varXi^{++}_{cc}$ baryons.
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All authors LHCb collaboration: R. Aaij, M. Abdelfatah, A.S.W. Abdelmotteleb, C. Abellan Beteta, F. Abudinén, T. Ackernley, A.A. Adefisoye, B. Adeva, M. Adinolfi, P. Adlarson, C. Agapopoulou, C.A. Aidala, S. Akar, K. Akiba, H. Al Saleh, P. Albicocco, J. Albrecht, R. Aleksiejunas, F. Alessio, P. Alvarez Cartelle, S. Amato, J.L. Amey, Y. Amhis, Z. Amos, L. An, L. Anderlini, P. Andreola, M. Andreotti, S. Andres Estrada, A. Anelli, D. Ao, C. Arata, F. Archilli, Z. Areg, M. Argenton, S. Arguedas Cuendis, L. Arnone, M. Artuso, E. Aslanides, R. Ataíde Da Silva, M. Atzeni, B. Audurier, J.A. Authier, D. Bacher, I. Bachiller Perea, S. Bachmann, M. Bachmayer, J.J. Back, M. Bai, Z.B. Bai, V. Balagura, A. Balboni, W. Baldini, Z. Baldwin, L. Balzani, H. Bao, J. Baptista de Souza Leite, C. Barbero Pretel, M. Barbetti, I.R. Barbosa, W. Barker, R.J. Barlow, M. Barnyakov, S. Baron, S. Barsuk, W. Barter, J. Bartz, S. Bashir, B. Batsukh, P.B. Battista, A. Bavarchee, A. Bay, A. Beck, M. Becker, F. Bedeschi, I.B. Bediaga, N.A. Behling, S. Belin, A. Bellavista, I. Belyaev, G. Bencivenni, E. Ben-Haim, J.L.M. Berkey, R. Bernet, A. Bertolin, L. Bertsch, F. Betti, J. Bex, O. Bezshyyko, S. Bhattacharya, M.S. Bieker, N.V. Biesuz, A. Biolchini, M. Birch, F.C.R. Bishop, A. Bitadze, A. Bizzeti, T. Blake, F. Blanc, J.E. Blank, S. Blusk, J.A. Boelhauve, O. Boente Garcia, T. Boettcher, A. Bohare, C. Bolognani, R.B. Bonacci, A. Bordelius, F. Borgato, S. Borghi, M. Borsato, J.T. Borsuk, E. Bottalico, S.A. Bouchiba, M. Bovill, T.J.V. Bowcock, A. Boyer, C. Bozzi, J.D. Brandenburg, A. Brea Rodriguez, N. Breer, C. Breitfeld, J. Brodzicka, J. Brown, E. Buchanan, M. Burgos Marcos, C. Burr, C. Buti, J.S. Butter, J. Buytaert, W. Byczynski, S. Cadeddu, H. Cai, Y. Cai, Y. Cai, A. Caillet, R. Calabrese, L. Calefice, M. Calvi, M. Calvo Gomez, P. Camargo Magalhaes, J.I. Cambon Bouzas, P. Campana, A. Campomagnani, A.C. Campos, A.F. Campoverde Quezada, Y. Cao, S. Capelli, M. Caporale, L. Capriotti, R. Caravaca-Mora, A. Carbone, L. Carcedo Salgado, R. Cardinale, A. Cardini, P. Carniti, L. Carus, A. Casais Vidal, R. Caspary, G. Casse, M. Cattaneo, G. Cavallero, V. Cavallini, S. Celani, I. Celestino, S. Cesare, A.J. Chadwick, M. Charles, Ph. Charpentier, E. Chatzianagnostou, R. Cheaib, M. Chefdeville, C. Chen, J. Chen, S. Chen, Z. Chen, A. Chen Hu, M. Cherif, S. Chernyshenko, X. Chiotopoulos, G. Chizhik, V. Chobanova, A. Christakakis, M. Chrzaszcz, Y. Chu, V. Chulikov, P. Ciambrone, X. Cid Vidal, P. Cifra, P.E.L. Clarke, M. Clemencic, H.V. Cliff, J. Closier, C. Cocha Toapaxi, V. Coco, A. Codovini, C. Codovini, J. Cogan, E. Cogneras, L. Cojocariu, S. Collaviti, P. Collins, T. Colombo, M. Colonna, A. Comerma-Montells, L. Congedo, J. Connaughton, A. Contu, N. Cooke, G. Cordova, C. Coronel, I. Corredoira, A. Correia, G. Corti, G.C. Costantino, C. Cotirlan, J. Cottee Meldrum, B. Couturier, D.C. Craik, N. Crepet, M. Cruz Torres, M. Cubero Campos, E. Curras Rivera, R. Currie, C.L. Da Silva, X. Dai, J. Dalseno, C. D'Ambrosio, G. Darze, A. Davidson, O. De Aguiar Francisco, C. De Angelis, F. De Benedetti, J. de Boer, K. De Bruyn, S. De Capua, M. De Cian, U. De Freitas Carneiro Da Graca, F. De Gregorio, E. De Lucia, J.M. De Miranda, L. De Paula, A. De Robertis, E. De Santis, M. De Serio, P. De Simone, F. De Vellis, J.A. de Vries, F. Debernardis, D. Decamp, S. Dekkers, L. Del Buono, B. Delaney, B. Demaire-Lepape, J. Deng, O. Deschamps, F. Dettori, B. Dey, P. Di Nezza, S. Ding, Y. Ding, L. Dittmann, J.F. Diverchy, A.D. Docheva, A. Doheny, C. Dong, F. Dordei, J. Dorta Moreno, A.C. dos Reis, J. Dos Santos Oliveira, A.D. Dowling, L. Dreyfus, W. Duan, P. Duda, L. Dufour, V. Duk, P. Durante, M.M. Duras, J.M. Durham, O.D. Durmus, K. Duwe, A. Dziurda, S. Easo, E. Eckstein, U. Egede, S. Eisenhardt, E. Ejopu, L. Eklund, M. Elashri, D. Elizondo Blanco, J. Ellbracht, S. Ely, A. Ene, T. Evans, F. Fabiano, S. Faghih, L.N. Falcao, B. Fang, R. Fantechi, L. Fantini, M. Faria, K. Farmer, F. Fassin, D. Fazzini, L. Felkowski, C. Feng, M. Feng, A. Fernandez Casani, M. Fernandez Gomez, B. Fernandez Rodino, J. Fernandez-John, A.D. Fernez, F. Ferrari, F. Ferreira Rodrigues, R.A. Fini, R. Fiorenza, M. Fiorini, M. Firlej, D.S. Fitzgerald, C. Fitzpatrick, T. Fiutowski, F. Fleuret, A. Fomin, M. Fontana, M. Fontes Vaz, L.A. Foreman, R. Forty, D. Foulds-Holt, V. Franco Lima, M. Franco Sevilla, M. Frank, E. Franzoso, G. Frau, C. Frei, D.A. Friday, J. Fu, Y. Fu, Q. Führing, T. Fulghesu, G. Galati, M.D. Galati, A. Gallas Torreira, D. Galli, S. Gambetta, M. Gandelman, P. Gandini, B. Ganie, H. Gao, R. Gao, T.Q. Gao, Y. Gao, Y. Gao, Y. Gao, L.M. Garcia Martin, P. Garcia Moreno, J. García Pardiñas, P. Gardner, L. Garrido, C. Gaspar, A. Gavrikov, E. Gersabeck, M. Gersabeck, T. Gershon, S. Ghizzo, Z. Ghorbanimoghaddam, F.I. Giasemis, V. Gibson, H.K. Giemza, A.L. Gilman, M. Giovannetti, A. Gioventù, L. Girardey, M.A. Giza, F.C. Glaser, V.V. Gligorov, C. Göbel, L. Golinka-Bezshyyko, E. Golobardes, A. Golutvin, S. Gomez Fernandez, A.G. Gomez Mongui, W. Gomulka, F. Goncalves Abrantes, I. Gonçales Vaz, M. Goncerz, G. Gong, S. Gong, J.A. Gooding, C. Gotti, E. Govorkova, J.P. Grabowski, L.A. Granado Cardoso, R. Grande Quartieri, E. Graugés, E. Graverini, L. Grazette, G. Graziani, A.T. Grecu, N.A. Grieser, L. Grillo, C. Gu, M. Guarise, L. Guerry, A.-K. Guseinov, Y. Guz, T. Gys, K. Habermann, T. Hadavizadeh, C. Hadjivasiliou, G. Haefeli, C. Haen, S. Haken, G. Hallett, P.M. Hamilton, Q. Han, S. Han, X. Han, S. Hansmann-Menzemer, N. Harnew, T.J. Harris, L. Hartman, M. Hartmann, S. Hashmi, J. He, N. Heatley, A. Hedes, F. Hemmer, C. Henderson, R. Henderson, R.D.L. Henderson, A.M. Hennequin, K. Hennessy, J. Herd, P. Herrero Gascon, J. Heuel, A. Heyn, A. Hicheur, G. Hijano Mendizabal, J. Horswill, R. Hou, Y. Hou, D.C. Houston, N. Howarth, W. Hu, X. Hu, W. Hulsbergen, R.J. Hunter, D. Hutchcroft, M. Idzik, P. Ilten, A. Iohner, S. Jacevicius, H. Jage, S.J. Jaimes Elles, S. Jakobsen, T. Jakoubek, E. Jans, A. Jawahery, C. Jayaweera, A. Jelavic, V. Jevtic, Z. Jia, E. Jiang, X. Jiang, Y. Jiang, Y.J. Jiang, E. Jimenez Moya, N. Jindal, M. John, A. John Rubesh Rajan, D. Johnson, C.R. Jones, S. Joshi, B. Jost, J. Juan Castella, N. Jurik, I. Juszczak, K. Kalecinska, D. Kaminaris, S. Kandybei, M. Kane, Y. Kang, C. Kar, M. Karacson, A. Kauniskangas, J.W. Kautz, M.K. Kazanecki, F. Keizer, M. Kenzie, T. Ketel, B. Khanji, S. Kholodenko, V. Kholoimov, G. Khreich, F. Kiraz, T. Kirn, V.S. Kirsebom, N. Kleijne, A. Kleimenova, D. Klekots, K. Klimaszewski, M.R. Kmiec, T. Knospe, R. Kolb, S. Koliiev, L. Kolk, A. Konoplyannikov, P. Kopciewicz, P. Koppenburg, A. Korchin, I. Kostiuk, O. Kot, S. Kotriakhova, E. Kowalczyk, O. Kravcov, M. Kreps, W. Krupa, W. Krzemien, O. Kshyvanskyi, S. Kubis, M. Kucharczyk, A. Kupsc, A. Kurzina, V. Kushnir, B. Kutsenko, J. Kvapil, I. Kyryllin, D. Lacarrere, P. Laguarta Gonzalez, A. Lai, A. Lampis, D. Lancierini, C. Landesa Gomez, G. Lanfranchi, C. Langenbruch, T. Latham, F. Lazzari, C. Lazzeroni, R. Le Gac, H. Lee, R. Lefèvre, M. Lehuraux, E. Lemos Cid, O. Leroy, T. Lesiak, E.D. Lesser, B. Leverington, A. Li, C. Li, C. Li, H. Li, J. Li, K. Li, L. Li, L. Li, P. Li, P.-R. Li, Q. Li, T. Li, T. Li, W. Li, Y. Li, Y. Li, Y. Li, Z. Li, Z. Lian, Q. Liang, X. Liang, Z. Liang, S. Libralon, A. Lightbody, J. Lin, S. Lin, T. Lin, R. Lindner, H. Linton, R. Litvinov, D. Liu, F.L. Liu, G. Liu, K. Liu, S. Liu, W. Liu, X. Liu, Y. Liu, Y. Liu, Y.L. Liu, G. Loachamin Ordonez, I. Lobo, A. Lobo Salvia, A. Loi, T. Long, F.C.L. Lopes, J.H. Lopes, A. Lopez Huertas, C. Lopez Iribarnegaray, Q. Lu, C. Lucarelli, D. Lucchesi, M. Lucio Martinez, Y. Luo, A. Lupato, M. Lupberger, E. Luppi, K. Lynch, J. Lyu, S. Lyu, X.-R. Lyu, H. Ma, S. Maccolini, F. Machefert, F. Maciuc, B. Mack, I. Mackay, L.M. Mackey, L.R. Madhan Mohan, M.J. Madurai, D. Magdalinski, J.J. Malczewski, S. Malde, L. Malentacca, G. Manca, C. Mancuso, R. Manera Escalero, A. Mangalasseri, F.M. Manganella, R. Mangrulkar, D. Manuzzi, S. Mao, D. Marangotto, J.F. Marchand, R. Marchevski, U. Marconi, E. Mariani, S. Mariani, C. Marin Benito, J. Marks, A.M. Marshall, L. Martel, G. Martelli, G. Martellotti, L. Martinazzoli, M. Martinelli, C. Martinez, A. Martinez Armas, D. Martinez Gomez, D. Martinez Santos, F. Martinez Vidal, A. Martorell i Granollers, A. Massafferri, R. Matev, A. Mathad, C. Matteuzzi, K.R. Mattioli, L. Matzner, A. Mauri, E. Maurice, J. Mauricio, P. Mayencourt, J. Mazorra de Cos, M. Mazurek, D. Mazzanti Tarancon, M. McCann, N.T. McHugh, A. McNab, R. McNulty, B. Meadows, S.E.R. Medaer, D. Melnychuk, D. Mendoza Granada, P. Menendez Valdes Perez, F.M. Meng, M. Merk, A. Merli, L. Meyer Garcia, D. Miao, H. Miao, M. Mikhasenko, D.A. Milanes, A. Minotti, E. Minucci, B. Mitreska, D.S. Mitzel, R. Mocanu, A. Modak, L. Moeser, R.D. Moise, E.F. Molina Cardenas, T. Mombächer, M. Monk, T. Monnard, S. Monteil, A. Morcillo Gomez, G. Morello, M.J. Morello, M.P. Morgenthaler, A. Moro, J. Moron, W. Morren, A.B. Morris, A.G. Morris, R. Mountain, Z. Mu, N. Muangkod, E. Muhammad, F. Muheim, M. Mulder, K. Müller, F. Muñoz-Rojas, V. Mytrochenko, P. Naik, T. Nakada, R. Nandakumar, G. Napoletano, I. Nasteva, M. Needham, N. Neri, S. Neubert, N. Neufeld, J. Nicolini, D. Nicotra, E.M. Niel, L. Nisi, Q. Niu, B.K. Njoki, P. Nogarolli, P. Nogga, J. Nombela Royo, C. Normand, A. Novo Cal, J. Novoa Fernandez, G. Nowak, H.N. Nur, A. Oblakowska-Mucha, T. Oeser, O. Okhrimenko, R. Oldeman, F. Oliva, E. Olivart Pino, M. Olocco, R.H. O'Neil, J.S. Ordonez Soto, D. Osthues, J.M. Otalora Goicochea, P. Owen, A. Oyanguren, O. Ozcelik, F. Paciolla, A. Padee, K.O. Padeken, B. Pagare, T. Pajero, A. Palano, L. Palini, L. Palombini, M. Palutan, C. Pan, X. Pan, S. Panebianco, S. Paniskaki, L. Paolucci, A. Papanestis, M. Pappagallo, L.L. Pappalardo, C. Pappenheimer, C. Parkes, D. Parmar, G. Passaleva, D. Passaro, A. Pastore, M. Patel, J. Patoc, C. Patrignani, A. Paul, C.J. Pawley, A. Pellegrino, J. Peng, X. Peng, M. Pepe Altarelli, S. Perazzini, H. Pereira Da Costa, M. Pereira Martinez, A. Pereiro Castro, C. Perez, A. Perez Casas, P. Perret, A. Perrevoort, A. Perro, M.J. Peters, A. Petkovic, K. Petridis, A. Petrolini, S. Pezzulo, J.P. Pfaller, H. Pham, L. Pica, M. Piccini, L. Piccolo, B. Pietrzyk, R.N. Pilato, D. Pinci, F. Pisani, M. Pizzichemi, V.M. Placinta, M. Plo Casasus, T. Poeschl, F. Polci, M. Poli Lener, A. Poluektov, I. Polyakov, E. Polycarpo, S. Ponce, D. Popov, K. Popp, K. Prasanth, C. Prouve, D. Provenzano, V. Pugatch, A. Puicercus Gomez, G. Punzi, J.R. Pybus, Q. Qian, W. Qian, N. Qin, R. Quagliani, R.I. Rabadan Trejo, B. Rachwal, R. Racz, J.H. Rademacker, M. Rama, M. Ramírez García, V. Ramos De Oliveira, M. Ramos Pernas, G. Ramsey, M.S. Rangel, G. Raven, M. Rebollo De Miguel, F. Redi, J. Reich, F. Reiss, Z. Ren, P.K. Resmi, M. Ribalda Galvez, R. Ribatti, G. Ricart, D. Riccardi, S. Ricciardi, K. Richardson, M. Richardson-Slipper, F. Riehn, K. Rinnert, P. Robbe, G. Robertson, E. Rodrigues, A. Rodriguez Alvarez, E. Rodriguez Fernandez, J.A. Rodriguez Lopez, E. Rodriguez Rodriguez, J. Roensch, A. Rogovskiy, D.L. Rolf, P. Roloff, A. Romano, V. Romanovskiy, A. Romero Vidal, G. Romolini, F. Ronchetti, T. Rong, W. Rose, M. Rotondo, M.S. Rudolph, M. Ruiz Diaz, J. Ruiz Vidal, J. Ruz Armendariz, J.J. Saavedra-Arias, J.J. Saborido Silva, D. Sahoo, N. Sahoo, B. Saitta, M. Salomoni, I. Sanderswood, R. Santacesaria, C. Santamarina Rios, M. Santimaria, L. Santoro, E. Santovetti, A. Saputi, A. Sarnatskiy, G. Sarpis, M. Sarpis, C. Satriano, A. Satta, M. Saur, H. Sazak, F. Sborzacchi, A. Scarabotto, S. Schael, S. Scherl, M. Schiller, H. Schindler, M. Schmelling, B. Schmidt, N. Schmidt, S. Schmitt, H. Schmitz, O. Schneider, A. Schopper, N. Schulte, H. Schumacher, M.H. Schune, G. Schwering, B. Sciascia, A. Sciuccati, G. Scriven, I. Segal, S. Sellam, M. Senghi Soares, A. Sergi, N. Serra, L. Sestini, B. Sevilla Sanjuan, Y. Shang, D.M. Shangase, R.S. Sharma, L. Shchutska, T. Shears, S. Shelton, J. Shen, Z. Shen, S. Sheng, B. Shi, J. Shi, Q. Shi, W.S. Shi, E. Shmanin, R. Silva Coutinho, G. Simi, S. Simone, M. Singha, I. Siral, N. Skidmore, T. Skwarnicki, M.W. Slater, E. Smith, M. Smith, L. Soares Lavra, M.D. Sokoloff, F.J.P. Soler, A. Solomin, K. Solovieva, N.S. Sommerfeld, R. Song, Y. Song, Y. Song, Y.S. Song, F.L. Souza De Almeida, G. Souza De Castro, B. Souza De Paula, K.M. Sowa, E. Spadaro Norella, E. Spedicato, J.G. Speer, P. Spradlin, F. Stagni, M. Stahl, S. Stahl, S. Stanislaus, M. Stefaniak, O. Steinkamp, F. Suljik, J. Sun, L. Sun, M. Sun, D. Sundfeld, P. Svihra, V. Svintozelskyi, J. Swallow, K. Swientek, F. Swystun, A. Szabelski, T. Szumlak, Y. Tan, Y. Tang, Y.T. Tang, M.D. Tat, J.A. Teijeiro Jimenez, F. Terzuoli, F. Teubert, E. Thomas, D.J.D. Thompson, A.R. Thomson-Strong, R. Thornton, H. Tilquin, V. Tisserand, S. T'Jampens, M. Tobin, T.T. Todorov, L. Tomassetti, G. Tonani, X. Tong, T. Tork, L. Toscano, D.Y. Tou, C. Trippl, G. Tuci, N. Tuning, L.H. Uecker, A. Ukleja, A. Upadhyay, B. Urbach, A. Usachov, U. Uwer, V. Vagnoni, A. Vaitkevicius, A. Valassi, V. Valcarce Cadenas, G. Valenti, N. Valls Canudas, J. van Eldik, H. Van Hecke, E. van Herwijnen, C.B. Van Hulse, R. Van Laak, M. van Veghel, P. Varrella, R. Vazquez Gomez, P. Vazquez Regueiro, C. Vázquez Sierra, S. Vecchi, J. Velilla Serna, J.J. Velthuis, M. Veltri, A. Venkateswaran, M. Verdoglia, M. Vesterinen, W. Vetens, D. Vico Benet, P. Vidrier Villalba, M. Vieites Diaz, X. Vilasis-Cardona, E. Vilella Figueras, A. Villa, P. Vincent, B. Vivacqua, F.C. Volle, D. vom Bruch, K. Vos, C. Vrahas, J. Wagner, J. Walsh, N. Walter, E.J. Walton, G. Wan, A. Wang, B. Wang, C. Wang, C. Wang, G. Wang, H. Wang, J. Wang, J. Wang, J. Wang, J. Wang, M. Wang, N.W. Wang, X. Wang, X. Wang, X. Wang, X.W. Wang, Y. Wang, Y. Wang, Y.H. Wang, Z. Wang, Z. Wang, J.A. Ward, A. Wasili, M. Waterlaat, N.K. Watson, D. Websdale, Y. Wei, Z. Weida, J. Wendel, B.D.C. Westhenry, A.S. White, C. White, M. Whitehead, E. Whiter, A.R. Wiederhold, D. Wiedner, M.A. Wiegertjes, C. Wild, G. Wilkinson, M.K. Wilkinson, M. Williams, M.J. Williams, M.R.J. Williams, R. Williams, S. Williams, Z. Williams, F.F. Wilson, M. Winn, W. Wislicki, M. Witek, L. Witola, T. Wolf, E. Wood, G. Wormser, S.A. Wotton, H. Wu, J. Wu, X. Wu, Y. Wu, Z. Wu, K. Wyllie, S. Xian, Z. Xiang, Y. Xie, T.X. Xing, A. Xu, L. Xu, M. Xu, R. Xu, Z. Xu, Z. Xu, Z. Xu, Z. Xu, S. Yadav, K. Yang, X. Yang, Y. Yang, Y. Yang, Z. Yang, Z. Yang, H. Yeung, H. Yin, X. Yin, C.Y. Yu, J. Yu, K. Yu, X. Yuan, Y Yuan, S. Zalambani, J.A. Zamora Saa, F. Zangari, M. Zavertyaev, M. Zdybal, F. Zenesini, C. Zeng, M. Zeng, S.H Zeng, C. Zhang, C. Zhang, D. Zhang, J. Zhang, L. Zhang, Q.Z. Zhang, R. Zhang, S. Zhang, S.L. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Z. Zhang, J. Zhao, M. Zhao, Y. Zhao, A. Zhelezov, S.Z. Zheng, X.Z. Zheng, Y. Zheng, T. Zhou, X. Zhou, V. Zhovkovska, L.Z. Zhu, X. Zhu, X. Zhu, Y. Zhu, V. Zhukov, J. Zhuo, T. Zies, D. Zuliani, X. Zuo

Optics

Quantized Transport of Gap Solitons in the Harper-Hofstadter Model

We investigate the dynamics of gap solitons found in the Harper-Hofstadter model with an additional cubic nonlinearity, such as that describing weakly-interacting cold atoms or a Kerr nonlinearity in an optical platform. We find that certain solitons with frequencies deep in the band gap travel with a robust, quantized velocity perpendicular to the applied force and maintain their spatial profile over long timescales. Crucially, this velocity is linearly proportional to the applied force, allowing for arbitrary steering of the nonlinear wavepacket, without breakdown, using only a tunable external force. This quantized transport persists despite a highly non-uniform occupation of the linear Bloch states, and contrasts with solitons near the band edge, which deform and delocalize under the same force. These results point to a robust and highly controllable mechanism for steering nonlinear solitons in experimentally accessible platforms.
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All authors Oliver Ashfield, Henry Davenport, Tom Sheppard, David G. Reid, Holly A. J. Middleton-Spencer, A. C. Berceanu, Frank Schindler, Iacopo Carusotto, Hannah M. Price

Quantum Physics

Asymptotics for Frequency Redundancies in Quantum Machine Learning Models

The redundancy distribution of the frequency spectrum has been shown in the literature to impact the expressivity and trainability of Quantum Fourier Models (QFMs). In this work, we address the question of how this redundancy spectrum is shaped by the choice of eigenvalues of the data re-uploading Hamiltonians, using a simple mathematical formalism based on generating functions. We derive exact and asymptotic redundancy profiles for several structured eigenvalue choices identical for every layer, including arithmetic progressions and single-qubit Pauli encodings, and show that both approach a Gaussian profile as the number of layers grows. We then show that this Gaussian limit is not specific to these constructions but is a generic feature of QFMs built from integer eigenvalues that are identical in every layer. These results can be tied to the central limit theorem for random walks. These results clarify why generic or unstructured encoding choices give rise to a redundancy bias that favours low frequencies, highlighting the importance of well-thought-out encoding strategies when constructing a QFM.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Modified Gravity from growth data: goodness-of-fit and gravitational coupling

While background expansion data alone cannot discriminate among cosmological models, the growth of large-scale structures directly probes the underlying theory of gravity, offering a path to distinguish General Relativity from its modifications. In this work, we constrain three representative $F(R)$ modified gravity models (Starobinsky, Hu-Sawicki, and $R^2$-corrected Appleby-Battye) using measurements of the growth rate $f(z)$ and the matter fluctuation amplitude $\sigma_8(z)$. Our analyses combine MCMC parameter estimation, Gaussian Process reconstructions, and goodness-of-fit statistics including Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC). All investigated models provide statistically comparable fits to the current growth data, with information criteria differences too small to establish a preference for any particular scenario. To overcome this degeneracy, we reconstruct the effective gravitational coupling $\mu(z)$ from the MCMC posterior samples, providing a physically motivated diagnostic that complements standard goodness-of-fit criteria. The Starobinsky and Hu-Sawicki models predict moderate departures from General Relativity, remaining compatible with constraints on both $\mu(z)$ and $S_8$. In contrast, the $R^2$-AB model predicts $\mu_0 \sim 3.5$ and $S_8 = 0.638$, a $3.2\sigma$ tension with Planck 2018, rendering it physically disfavored despite its competitive statistical performance.
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All authors Manoel V. S. Filho, Fernanda Oliveira, Wiliam S. Hipólito-Ricaldi, Felipe Avila, Armando Bernui

Nuclear Theory

Axial $U(1)$ Symmetry Breaking in Hot QCD: From Topology to the Chiral Phase Transition

Heating matter can restore symmetries spontaneously broken at low temperature. The axial $U(1)$ symmetry of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is different: it is present in the classical theory with massless quarks but is broken upon quantization by the axial anomaly. The anomaly persists at every temperature, yet its observable effects can weaken. Can hot matter nevertheless behave as though this symmetry were restored at long distances? Whether such effective axial $U(1)$ restoration occurs depends on how microscopic quark and gluon dynamics governs the strength and spatial range of axial breaking. This review brings together theoretical developments and first-principles lattice QCD calculations. We examine how gluon-field topology shapes the low-lying Dirac modes and their correlations, how these modes contribute to axial breaking at different spatial scales, and what this implies for the order and critical behavior of the chiral phase transition as quark masses approach zero.
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Materials Science

Low resistance NiO/\beta-Ga_{2}O_{3} heterojunction diodes grown via molecular beam epitaxy

NiO is one of the most important p-type oxide contact materials used in many semiconductor technologies. However, current NiO growth methods can induce interfacial damage that diminishes device performance. Fine control of interfaces is especially important in implementing NiO heterojunction diodes and transistors based on ultra wide band gap (UWBG) semiconductors such as AlGaN and Ga_{2}O_{3} used for power electronic applications. Here, we report on how molecular beam epitaxy can be used to achieve low-defect, lightly doped NiO contact layers for a \beta-Ga_{2}O_{3} diodes. Although high-temperature growth does not measurably decrease the on-state resistance of the diode, increased growth rates up to 600 nm/hr lower on-state resistance in p– NiO / \beta-Ga_{2}O_{3} heterojunction diodes without reducing film quality. At a NiO growth rate of 380 nm/hr, unoptimized diodes with 35 nm thick p– NiO layers demonstrate a device-average specific on-state resistance of 1.46 \Omega-cm^{2} and an ideality factor of 1.46. Individual devices grown at this condition show specific on-state resistance as low as 25 m{\Omega}-cm2 with a rectification ratio of 2.7x106. Scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging reveals the (100) NiO/ (100) \beta-Ga_{2}O_{3} interface is coherent and atomically abrupt. These results open a new avenue to optimizing the NiO interface to produce robust, competitive kV-class power electronic devices based on \beta-Ga_{2}O_{3} and other UWBG semiconductors.
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All authors Dagny Sacksteder, Anna Sacchi, Renae Gannon, Michelle Smeaton, Megan E. Holtz, Andriy Zakutayev, M. Brooks Tellekamp

Quantum Physics

The Quantum KKL Inequality

In this paper, we resolve the quantum KKL conjecture of Montanaro and Osborne \cite{MO2010} for quantum Boolean functions on the $n$-qubit hypercube. More precisely, for every self-adjoint unitary $T$, we bound the largest $L_2$-influence from below by a constant multiple of $\mathrm{Var}(T)\log(n)/n$. The proof heavily depends on upper and lower commutator estimates on the Hilbert space.
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All authors Yong Jiao, Wenlong Lin, Sijie Luo, Dejian Zhou

Statistical Mechanics

Multi-Resolution Wire-Fencing for Efficient Path Sampling

Path sampling methods enable the computation of thermodynamic and kinetic properties through Monte Carlo (MC) moves that generate trajectories from short forward and backward molecular dynamics (MD) segments. Recently, the wire-fencing move was developed to achieve near-unity acceptance while also rapidly decorrelating successive paths, two properties that are usually in conflict in conventional MC schemes. However, in large systems, such as biomolecular simulations, the frame-saving frequency is often kept low to reduce storage requirements. Likewise, when evaluating the order parameter is expensive, frames are saved less frequently to reduce the associated cost. In either situation, this can severely limit the number of available shooting points, in extreme situations leaving only a single point, typically the one with the highest order parameter value, accessible for shooting. Repeated shootings may then originate from the same configuration, reducing sampling efficiency. Here, we introduce a multi-resolution variant of the wire-fencing move in which selected subtrajectories are propagated at higher temporal resolution than the stored trajectories. This refinement affects only the MC move and does not alter the structure or storage of the generated paths, but enhances the diffusion of shooting points along the trajectory and thereby improves sampling efficiency. The approach is demonstrated on two model systems and a realistic protein–ligand unbinding process, with the latter showing an estimated efficiency improvement of more than an order of magnitude.
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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Structure and astrophysical properties of dark energy admixed neutron stars

The presence of a dark energy (DE) core, made of a Chaplygin dark fluid, is capable of influencing the diverse observable properties of neutron stars (NSs). However, there is also the possibility that NSs could contain a mixture of ordinary nuclear matter and DE. In this perspective, we propose an equation of state (EoS) that includes both normal matter and DE, where a free parameter $f$ quantifies the ratio of DE density with respect to the total energy density. As expected, in the limit $f \rightarrow 0$ we recover the already known results corresponding to pure nuclear matter. Remarkably, increasing this fraction $f$ leads to a softer EoS and thus strongly favors the fulfillment of the causality condition. As a consequence of our mass–radius results, the central compact object in HESS J1731-347 can be satisfactorily described as a DE admixed NS. For sufficiently high stellar masses, our calculations further indicate that both the gravitational redshift and the fundamental nonradial oscillation frequency increase significantly with an increasing DE fraction, whereas the opposite trend is observed for the total gravitational mass and tidal deformability. As is typical for compact stars composed purely of ordinary matter, we find that in our DE admixed stellar models the central density corresponding to the maximum-mass configuration coincides with the point at which the squared radial vibration frequency vanishes. Moreover, higher DE concentrations lead to enhanced stability of these configurations.
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All authors Juan M. Z. Pretel, Sergio B. Duarte, Mariana Dutra, Odilon Lourenço

Quantum Physics

Ensemble Dependence of the Critical Exponent at a Quantum Error Correction Threshold

In thermodynamics it is common to assume that the choice of ensemble (e.g., micro-canonical, canonical, or grand-canonical) should not affect the underlying physics in the thermodynamics limit. We show that this does not necessarily hold for critical exponents. Examining a simplified model of quantum error correction (single step encoding and decoding by a random unitary) and the behavior of both the fidelity and magic at the corresponding threshold, we find different exponents when using generic channels or supposedly equivalent quantum trajectories. Interestingly, the obtained exponents saturate a recently derived information theoretic bound by Feldman et al. (2026), which we extend from the grand-canonical to the canonical case, including intermediate ensembles which we define. Moreover, even the existence of the transition is shown to be ensemble-dependent.
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Mathematical Physics · Cross-listed from math.AP

Velocity Averaging for the Wigner Equation with Electromagnetic Fields

We discuss the application of $L^2$-based velocity averaging to the Wigner kinetic equation governing the quantum evolution of the Wigner transform of a density operator of a particle subjected to an external electromagnetic field. This extends the $L^2$-based averaging lemma from [F. Golse, J. Möller: Commun. Math. Sci. (2026)] to electromagnetic fields. We make use of the magnetic or gauge-invariant Wigner transform due to Stratonovich [Sov. Phys. D., (1)414-418, 1956] which differs from the usual definition by a phase factor involving the circulation of the magnetic vector potential along a line segment. The magnetic Wigner transform obeys the Wigner equation in the generalized phase space variables $(x,v=\xi-A(t,x))$, which is a more natural setting for the application of velocity averaging. Since the magnetic Wigner equation contains a first order derivative in the spatial variable, we obtain compactness in $L^2$ but no gain in regularity.
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Materials Science

PhonoMC: Occupation-based deviational Monte Carlo for phonon transport with temperature-dependent scattering

Nanoscale self-heating involves phonon transport across confined geometries, material interfaces, and temperature fields over which the scattering rates can vary substantially. We develop PhonoMC, an occupation-based deviational Monte Carlo method for solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation within the relaxation-time approximation. A fixed equilibrium state is retained as the deviational reference, while the local temperature reconstructed from the represented energy is used to evaluate mode-dependent scattering rates. Collisions are updated with a separately determined relaxation temperature to conserve energy over each time step, and prescribed lattice heating is introduced by changing carrier occupations rather than continuously adding computational particles. For cross-plane transport through a 100-nm Si film, the deviational formulation reproduces the full-population heat flux while reducing its standard deviation by a factor of approximately 3.3 at \(\Delta T=100\)~K with \(10^5\) carriers. In contrast, keeping the scattering rates fixed at 300~K overestimates the heat flux by 23.7% at \(\Delta T=250\)~K. Calculations of Si thin films distinguish finite-length effects from surface-scattering suppression, and Si/3C-SiC bilayers are used to examine interfacial thermal resistance. The method is further applied to localized heating in FinFET-like structures, where replacing the lower Si substrate with higher-conductivity 3C-SiC leads to a higher hotspot temperature because of the additional resistance associated with the confined Si region and the Si/SiC interface. These results show that a fixed deviational reference can be combined with local temperature-dependent scattering and sustained heat deposition in a mode-resolved Monte Carlo description of nanoscale thermal transport.
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All authors Shixian Liu, Fei Yin, Gang Wang, Bin Liu, Ge Zhang, Alexander A. Barinov, Ke Xu

Chemical Physics

Orbital-Free Surrogate Functionals Yield Transferable Interatomic Potentials and Electron Densities

Orbital-free density functional theory seeks to compute the energy of an electronic system directly from its electron density, avoiding one-electron wave functions and thereby offering a route to scalable electronic structure calculations. Machine-learned orbital-free density functionals have recently achieved promising results on small organic molecules, predicting energies with sub-millihartree accuracy. However, their convergence in density optimization remains sensitive to hyperparameter tuning and architectural choices. Here, we extend the recently introduced (weak) surrogate functional framework - designed to predict ground-state electron densities only - to also yield their energy, resulting in "strong" surrogate functionals. We find that these learned functionals enable stable convergence across all tested neural network backbones, reducing electron density errors relative to the Kohn-Sham reference by an order of magnitude compared to previous OF-DFT methods. More importantly, the predicted energies are competitive with state-of-the-art machine-learned interatomic potentials (MLIPs) trained only on energies, while exhibiting superior generalization to larger, unseen systems.
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All authors Simon Wagner, Marc K. Ickler, Manuel V. Klockow, Fred A. Hamprecht, Roman Remme

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

Time-resolved JWST Retrieval Analysis of the Coldest Brown Dwarf: Temperature and Chemical Variations in WISE 0855-07

WISE J0855-07 is the coldest known brown dwarf (estimated Teff~250 K), offering a rare opportunity to probe atmospheric physics in the temperature and mass regime that overlaps directly with exoplanets. At these temperatures, modest perturbations to the thermal structure and chemical abundances can produce measurable changes in the emergent mid-infrared spectrum, making time-resolved spectroscopy a powerful way to test whether the atmosphere is longitudinally and temporally homogeneous. Using James Webb Space Telescope NIRSpec/G395M time-series spectra spanning ~3 to 5.2 {\mu}m over 11 hr, we analyze every third spectrum from the dataset with a series of time-resolved atmospheric retrievals using the Brewster retrieval framework. Using this approach, we model epoch-to-epoch changes in the atmospheric state that drive the observed variability, including the thermal structure and key molecular abundances. From the time-series retrievals, we find that the primary source of the observed spectral variability is driven by the variations in the thermal structure, which range from ~1 to <100 K from epoch to epoch, particularly between the pressures of ~0.4 and 10 bar. In addition, changes in the abundances of CO, and possibly PH3 and CO2, further modulate the spectrum within specific molecular features. These measurements provide a retrieval-based view of atmospheric variability in an ultracold, planet-like object, directly constraining how thermal and chemical structure evolve on observable timescales.
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All authors Harshil Kothari, Caroline V. Morley, Brittany E. Miles, Melanie J. Rowland, Natasha Batalha, Michael C. Cushing, Andrew J. Skemer, James Mang, Brianna Lacy, Johanna M. Vos, Channon Visscher, Adam C. Schneider, Genaro Suarez, Mikayla J. Wilson, Allison M. McCarthy

Quantum Physics

Uhlmann Geometry of Fixed-Rank Density Matrices: A Fiber-Bundle Approach

For full-rank density matrices the state space is contractible, the Uhlmann bundle is topologically trivial, and the holonomy admits no quantized invariants; although the Uhlmann phase is genuinely geometric, this topological poverty has kept it from serving as a robust physical diagnostic of mixed-state matter. Mixed states of fixed rank below the Hilbert-space dimension, however, are ubiquitous: reduced states of constrained subsystems, states confined to invariant sectors, and states supported on decoherence-free subspaces can have a support smaller than the Hilbert space, a support that can vary with parameters. Their geometry is far richer: the support carries genuine curvature, non-Abelian holonomy, and Chern topology. We formulate Uhlmann's theory directly on the manifold of rank-$k$ density matrices: minimal purifications make the fixed-rank stratum the base of a principal $U(k)$-bundle whose Uhlmann connection is uniquely determined by a Sylvester equation, and in an eigenframe this connection takes a closed form reducing to the Berry, Wilczek–Zee, and faithful Uhlmann connections at $k=1$, at equal weights, and at $k=N$. The fixed-rank bundle inherits the topology of the Grassmannian, and non-factorizable higher Chern topology requires failure of the global eigenline splitting, which in the present spectral setting requires degeneracy, minimally realized by a rank-2 Yang monopole whose quantized second Chern number links the geometry to the four-dimensional quantum Hall response. Solvable models, from a genuinely non-Abelian holonomy to a dissipatively driven orbit whose Uhlmann holonomy is steered by the reservoir through an elliptic-integral spectral dressing, illustrate the content: the supporting subspace carries the topology, the spectral weights shape the transport, and Uhlmann holonomy provides a direct geometric probe of the resulting mixed-state structures.
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High Energy Physics (Theory)

Diagnosing Inconsistencies in 4d N=1 Gauge Theories with Explainable AI

Brane tilings are bipartite graphs on a 2-torus that encode the Lagrangians of 4d N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories arising on D3-branes probing toric Calabi-Yau 3-folds. Among these bipartite graphs, only those that satisfy geometric consistency conditions correspond to well-behaved quantum field theories. We train a convolutional neural network (CNN) to distinguish geometrically consistent from inconsistent brane tilings directly from their Kasteleyn matrices. We study a family of 4d N=1 theories obtained by adding diagonal edges to the hexagonal faces of the brane tiling for the abelian orbifold C^3/Z_3 x Z_3, and find that the CNN identifies geometric inconsistency with high accuracy. For inconsistent brane tilings that can be rendered consistent by Higgsing a single bifundamental chiral field, we show that gradient-based saliency analysis can be used to localize the responsible chiral fields with accuracy well above a matched random baseline. These results demonstrate that explainable AI (XAI) can be used to identify local defects responsible for inconsistencies in supersymmetric gauge theories.
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Superconductivity

Tunneling Spectroscopy Study of Low Baked Bulk Niobium for Superconducting RF Cavity Applications

Point-contact tunneling (PCT) spectroscopy was used to probe the local superconducting properties of cavity-grade niobium following surface treatments representative of superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities. Electropolished (EP) samples were compared with samples baked at 120~$^\circ$C for 48 h and subjected to a two-step bake at 75~$^\circ$C for 2 h followed by 120~$^\circ$C for 48 h. Although the superconducting gap $\Delta$ is predominantly distributed around the bulk Nb value (~1.5 meV), regions exhibiting strongly suppressed gaps (minigaps) are observed in 15–29% of junctions on EP samples. Their occurrence decreases to 6% after the 120~$^\circ$C bake and to only 1% after the two-step treatment. Spectra exhibiting minigaps are well described by the Usadel proximity-effect model, consistent with superconducting Nb coupled to normal regions that we attribute to hydride formation. These results provide direct microscopic evidence that low-temperature baking suppresses regions of degraded surface superconductivity in cavity-grade Nb. The pronounced reduction achieved by the two-step bake further supports a link between hydride-related proximity effects and the surface superconducting properties governing SRF cavity performance.
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All authors Ivana Curci, Gregoire Jullien, Luc Maurice, Fabien Eozenou, Patrick Sahuquet, Thomas Proslier

Instrumentation and Detectors

Proof-of-Concept and User Perspective on Photon-to-Digital Converter Applications in Particle Physics

Photon-to-Digital Converters (PDCs) are photosensors with single photon resolution and large dynamic range that digitise the output of individual single-photon avalanche diodes directly on-chip, offering potential advantages with respect to analogue Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPMs). In this work, we assess the PDC technology from the perspective of particle physics, using early, low-coverage PDC prototypes for proof-of-concept studies in calorimetry and tracking. Under simple, but extrapolable, detector conditions, we qualitatively compare PDCs with SiPM-based systems to illustrate their potential in terms of detector performance and readout. As the first application of this technology to particle physics instrumentation, we place particular emphasis on the user perspective, reporting on the practical experience of operating PDCs, from setup and calibration to data handling, and highlighting the relative ease of integration compared to conventional SiPM readout. We discuss the potential of PDCs to address key challenges in large-scale instrumentation, and their prospective integration into next-generation high-energy physics experiments.
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All authors M. Á. García-Peris, B. Palmeiro, G. Lessard, R. Guenette, S. A. Charlebois, E. Gramellini, J.-F. Pratte, T. Rossignol, N. Roy, F. Vachon

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

A two-component profile of baryonic feedback: hydrostatic and diffuse gas

Baryonic feedback processes redistribute gas within and beyond dark matter halos, however, the resulting gas distribution remains highly uncertain, limiting predictions of the matter distribution for precision cosmology. We introduce a physically motivated approach to modelling the gas distribution that decomposes it into an approximately hydrostatic inner component and a diffuse outer component. This approach takes advantage of the growing observational landscape: X-ray measurements primarily probe the dense inner halo, while the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect is sensitive to diffuse ionized gas extending to larger radii. We implement this two-component profile within the baryonification framework, though we note that it is applicable to any model of the large-scale gas distribution. We jointly fit X-ray gas-fraction measurements from the HSC-XXL and eROSITA samples with stacked kSZ effect measurements of BOSS CMASS galaxies from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, demonstrating that the proposed profile retains sufficient flexibility. This proof-of-concept shows that a decomposition between hydrostatic and diffuse gas provides a simple, physically interpretable framework for connecting complementary observations of the gas distribution, and a foundation for future models of baryonic feedback.
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All authors Kaitlyn Shavelle, Jared Siegel, Leah Bigwood, Alexandra Amon, Romain Teyssier

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

GIARPS simultaneous optical and infrared high-spectral-resolution observations of Cepheids I. Limb darkening from cross-correlated radial velocities

The Baade-Wesselink method, while theoretically applicable for calibrating the distance scale via Cepheids, is not currently employed in the cosmic distance ladder. There are various versions of this method. In all these approaches, the projection factor used to convert the radial into the pulsation velocity remains the limiting quantity. By comparing for the first time simultaneous cross-correlated optical and H-band radial velocities of five Cepheids, we aim to better understand the geometric part of the projection factor that is directly linked to the limb darkening of the stars. The five Cepheids were observed with the HARPS-N and GIANO-B instruments mounted at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo in the GIARPS configuration. A two-parameter linear fit was applied to the simultaneous radial velocity measurements of each star in order to extract the amplitude ratio of both curves (fVH) as well as the difference in mean velocities. We find a mean value of fVH of 1.056 with a root mean square over the five stars of 0.016, which means that the V-band radial velocity amplitudes are around 5% larger than the ones obtained in the H band. In addition, we find that the H-band radial velocity curves have an average (i.e., a gamma-velocity) of about 1 km/s blueshifted compared to the visible ones, except for one star, X Cyg, which has a blueshift of 0.4 km/s. At first order, the fVH values are directly linked to the ratio of limb darkening coefficients in both bands (or equivalently the ratio of geometrical projection factors). The fVH values are found to be consistent with expectations from static stellar atmosphere models. This work shows that the differential limb darkening of Cepheids in visible and H bands, and consequently the geometrical part of the projection factor, follows what is expected from stellar atmosphere models.
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All authors N. Nardetto, R. S. Rathour, M. C. Bailleul, V. Hocdé, P. Kervella, G. Bras, W. Gieren, J. Storm, G. Pietrzynski, B. Zgirski, P. Wielgorski, A. Merand, A. Gallenne, E. Poretti, M. Rainer, L. Breuval, M. Duparc, B. Apostolova, W. Kiviaho, K. Sivkova

Astrophysics of Galaxies

Supernova origin of galactic turbulence revealed by superbubbles

Supernovae (SNe) are among the leading candidates for powering galactic-scale turbulence. SNe drive expanding shells of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) known as superbubbles. Due to the lack of a sensitive, dynamically complete, galaxy-wide census, superbubbles have not been used to quantify the galactic-scale turbulent energy budget. Here we present a combined Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) and Jansky Very Large Array HI survey of the Andromeda galaxy (M31), the nearest giant spiral, with superior sensitivity and dynamical coverage. We identify 118 superbubbles across the entire disk of M31 with dynamical ages up to 40 Myr, consistent with the expected duration of SN activity in a star cluster and extending the age coverage well beyond previous surveys. Inferred from these superbubbles, the kinetic energy injection rates ($10^{49}$–$10^{51.5}$ erg kpc$^{-3}$ Myr$^{-1}$) from SNe closely match the turbulence dissipation rates derived independently from the same data, in both magnitude and spatial distribution. These results demonstrate that clustered SN feedback is sufficient to sustain galactic-scale turbulence, which shapes disk structure and influences galaxy evolution.
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All authors Fanyi Meng, Chao-Wei Tsai, Jingwen Wu, Sihan Jiao, Mordecai-Mark Mac Low, Zhi-Yu Zhang, Amélie Saintonge, Hui Li, Zongnan Li, Jie Wang, Lile Wang, Haitao Xu, Yanbin Yang, Kai Zhang, Rouyu Li, Di Li

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Orbital and stellar parameter determination of eclipsing $\beta$ Cep pulsators

Eclipsing binaries provide precise constraints on stellar properties and evolution, making those hosting $\beta$ Cep pulsators particularly valuable for characterising massive pulsating stars. In this paper, thirteen eclipsing binaries with massive primary components are spectroscopically and photometrically analysed to derive the orbital and stellar parameters, and infer their possible evolutionary status. The systems were spectroscopically observed using SALT HRS, HERMES, CHIRON and a spectrograph at Skalnate Pleso Observatory (SPO), and photometrically observed using TESS. Radial velocities and atmospheric parameters are determined, binary systems are modelled, and their absolute parameters are derived using appropriate modelling tools. The rotational properties, circularisation, and synchronisation of the systems are also investigated, and the general properties of the sample are discussed. The sample shows one slow rotator, two circularised and synchronised fast rotating systems, as well as five circular and five eccentric systems with asynchronous fast rotation. The systems are predominantly SB1 or SB2 with faint companions, resulting in dynamical mass estimates at $5$ – $12\%$ precision and radius estimates at $1.5$ – $3.9\%$ precision. The secondary components appear to cut across a wide mass spectrum ranging from low-mass to intermediate mass systems. The eccentricity of the systems shows certain trends with the projected rotational velocity ($v \sin i$) although there is no universal correlation between them. Also, there could be circularisation without co-rotation or synchronisation even for circularised short-period close binary systems.
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All authors C. I. Eze, G. Handler, F. Kahraman Aliçavuş, T. Pawar, P. De Cat

High Energy Physics (Experiment)

Search for resonant and nonresonant production of pairs of dijet resonances with b jets in the final state in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

A search is presented for pair-produced dijet resonances of identical mass, each decaying into a bottom (b) quark and a light-flavor quark. The search uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 136 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the CMS detector in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV. Results are presented separately for nonresonant production and for the case where the four-jet production proceeds via an intermediate resonant state. Upper limits are reported on the production of four-jet and dijet resonances with b jets in the final state. This is the first LHC search for resonant production of pairs of fully resolved dijet resonances with b jets in the final state, in which all resonances considered correspond to non-standard-model states. For nonresonant production, the most significant excess occurs at an average dijet mass of 1.0 TeV, with a local significance of 2.1 standard deviations. Additionally, the results exclude pair production of top squarks with masses between 0.5 and 0.8 TeV, extending previous searches for $R$-parity-violating decays to strange and b quarks. In the search for resonant production, the most significant excess occurs at a four-jet resonance mass of 3.1 TeV and a dijet resonance mass of 1.3 TeV, with a local significance of 2.6 standard deviations. The results are also used to set limits at 95% confidence level on the diquark-to-diquarks model and exclude the heavier diquark masses between 2 and 7 TeV.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

ALP Distributions from Hadron Structure

We investigate how hadron structure and quark-flavor couplings shape axion-like particle (ALP) radiation in hadron collisions. For the elastic pole, the virtuality integral is ultraviolet finite at fixed momentum fraction if the pseudoscalar form factor falls as a positive power of $1/Q^2$ at large $Q^2$, eliminating the point-particle beam-energy logarithm. Pion-pole and lattice-QCD isovector benchmarks suppress the process-weighted elastic contribution by roughly three orders of magnitude relative to the point-particle result. Two coefficient sets matched to the same leading low-energy nucleon source yield process-weighted resolved leading logarithms differing by four orders of magnitude, demonstrating the sensitivity of resolved ALP radiation to heavy-quark coupling configurations.
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Quantum Physics

Sine-Gordon Model with Bosonic Tensor Networks: Continuum Matching and Soliton Scattering

We use bosonic tensor networks to connect the lattice sine-Gordon model in the Hamiltonian formulation quantitatively to its continuum theory. Matching the lattice vertex operator to its conformal normalization at the free-boson ultraviolet fixed point yields the exact relation between the bare lattice coupling and the renormalized continuum mass parameter. The soliton mass then approaches Zamolodchikov's exact continuum prediction throughout the studied parameter range, without adjustable parameters. Using uniform matrix product states and a quasiparticle ansatz, we also recover the relativistic soliton dispersion and the two lightest breather masses at the percent level. We simulate real-time collisions of Gaussian soliton-antisoliton wave packets near a reflectionless point and extract the Wigner spatial displacement. We compare this displacement with the exact continuum prediction obtained from the momentum derivative of the transmission phase, recovering its characteristic rapidity dependence. Our bosonic simulations provide a foundation for nonintegrable extensions, offer lessons for renormalization in other Hamiltonian lattice field theories, including gauge theories, and provide benchmarks for continuous-variable quantum simulations.
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Superconductivity

Strong-coupling multigap superconductivity in the Heusler compound ScAu$_2$Al

ScAu$_2$Al is the Heusler superconductor with the highest reported transition temperature, Tc, close to 5 K. Here, we combine high-resolution ac calorimetry and electrical-transport measurements with first-principles-based Eliashberg calculations. The large specific-heat jump, ${\Delta}C/{\gamma_nT_c} =$ 2.2, well above the weak-coupling BCS value of 1.43, together with an electron-phonon coupling constant ${\lambda} = $1.1, establishes ScAu2Al as a strong-coupling superconductor. The electronic specific heat is described better by a two-gap {\alpha} model, with $2{\Delta}_S/k_BT_c = $ 4.1 and $2{\Delta}_L/k_BT_c = $ 4.8, than by a single-gap model. The thermodynamic upper critical field follows a conventional WHH-like temperature dependence with $B_{c2}(0) = 0.18$ T, whereas the resistively determined critical field reaches values about three times larger and exhibits a pronounced positive curvature. We attribute the enhanced resistive field scale to superconductivity in disordered grain-boundary and interfacial regions. The experimental results are supported by calculations of the heat capacity and upper critical field within the Eliashberg formalism using Fermi-surface and electron-phonon parameters obtained from first-principles calculations
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All authors Jozef Kačmarčík, Zuzana Pribulová, Yevhen Petrenko, Gabriel Kuderowicz, Paweł Wójcik, Michał J. Winiarski, Szymon M. Królak, Filip Košuth, Pavol Szabó, Tomasz Klimczuk, Bartlomiej Wiendlocha, Peter Samuely