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Physics

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Monday 21 September

Quantum Physics

Measurement-Induced Phase Transitions and Logical-Space Localization in Floquet Monitored Clifford Circuits

Hyunsoo Ha and David A. Huse

An entanglement transition can occur without a corresponding transition in purification. We demonstrate this separation in spatially local monitored Clifford circuits with a fixed number of layers per Floquet period, where a spatially random pattern of Clifford gates and Pauli measurements is repeated exactly in time. Rare spatial structures persist under this repetition and break the correspondence between entanglement and purification found in conventional spacetime-random circuits. In one spatial dimension, the late-time entanglement produced with an initial product state remains area-law, while the system remains extensively mixed in the thermodynamic and long-time limits if the initial state is maximally mixed. In two or more dimensions, we find a transition between volume-law and area-law entanglement while the system remains mixed on both sides of this transition. An extensive amount of quantum information survives indefinitely in both phases and evolves unitarily despite the repeated measurements. We introduce the logical-support radius to characterize its spatial spreading and identify the volume-law and area-law phases with delocalized and localized logical dynamics, respectively. We further introduce the logical Krylov dimension, which counts the independent logical operators dynamically generated from an initially local operator. Its scaling resolves the transition and provides evidence for a new universality class of measurement-induced phase transitions.
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Astrophysics of Galaxies

CRIMSONS: An Online Tool for Modeling Chemical Enrichment with Stochastic IMF Sampling

Martina Rossi, Lapo Querci, Stefano Ciabattini et al. (+14 more)

Chemical enrichment is a universal process shaped by several interconnected factors, including stellar feedback, the nature of chemical polluters, and the underlying distribution of stellar masses. Three key ingredients are often difficult to treat simultaneously in chemical-evolution models: the stochastic sampling of the stellar IMF, uncertainties in stellar nucleosynthesis yields, and pre-enrichment from primordial PopIII stars. In low star-formation rate environments, incomplete IMF sampling makes enrichment sensitive to the random presence or absence of massive supernova progenitors. Here, we present CRIMSONS, the first online tool designed to model chemical enrichment while self-consistently incorporating these three ingredients. The framework allows users to explore different IMFs, stellar population masses and metallicities, and multiple stellar yield sets. It follows the evolution of individual stars and tracks 30 elements(H-Zn), including contributions from SN, AGB stars, and TypeIa SNe. The current implementation adopts a closed-box framework, neglecting gas flows and spatial mixing, thus providing a controlled setup to isolate the effects of IMF sampling, stellar yields, and PopIII pre-enrichment. With CRIMSONS, we show that incomplete IMF sampling produces large abundance scatter, particularly in low-mass stellar populations. Different yield prescriptions introduce element-dependent variations, while some abundance ratios remain comparatively robust across models. Finally, comparison between models including primordial enrichment and those adopting only a metallicity floor shows that PopIII pre-enrichment can significantly affect subsequent chemical evolution. CRIMSONS therefore provides a controlled framework for quantifying the relative impact of stochastic IMF sampling, nucleosynthetic uncertainties, and primordial pre-enrichment on predicted abundance patterns
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All authors Martina Rossi, Lapo Querci, Stefano Ciabattini, Stefania Salvadori, Irene Vanni, Davide Massari, Edoardo Ceccarelli, Donatella Romano, Viola Gelli, Raffaele Pascale, Alice Mori, Elka Rusta, Ioanna Koutsouridou, Ása Skúladóttir, Laura Magrini, Riano Giribaldi, Jose Schiappacasse-Ulloa

Physics and Society · Cross-listed from cs.MA

Indirect tipping: a social attack surface in AI agent populations

Ariel Flint, Luca Maria Aiello, Sara M. Constantino et al. (+2 more)

As generative AI agents are deployed at scale, safety will depend not only on technical safeguards and individual model design, but also on collective equilibria that determine how agent populations process information, prioritize actions, and respond to uncertainty. Yet the same equilibria that enable agents to coordinate also create a social attack surface. The standard framework to assess this vulnerability is critical mass dynamics: the minimum fraction of adversarial agents required to overturn an equilibrium through direct competition. Here, we show that this approach risks underestimating system vulnerability by reducing the problem to the identification of singular tipping points, and ignoring indirect but potentially more efficient routes through which collective behavior can be redirected. Through experiments with populations of LLM agents and an analytic framework that captures their collective dynamics at scale, we map critical-mass thresholds that define a directed, weighted topology over the space of coordination equilibria, and treat this topology as a navigable landscape. We show that indirect tipping through intermediate stepping-stone equilibria can reduce the committed minority required to reach an alternative state, bypass majority requirements, and make possible transitions inaccessible through direct challenges. The diversity of available alternatives and timing of the attack further reshape this landscape, creating opportunities for control as well as risks of unintended destabilization. These results show that an equilibrium's resistance to committed intervention is not an intrinsic property but a structural feature of its competitive relations with alternative states. Securing populations of interacting AI agents therefore requires mapping this social landscape alongside individual agent capabilities and the technical channels through which they interact.
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All authors Ariel Flint, Luca Maria Aiello, Sara M. Constantino, Romualdo Pastor-Satorras, Andrea Baronchelli

Quantum Physics

Probing quantum spin liquids with multiple quantum coherences

Lukas Homeier, Simon Linsel, Lode Pollet et al. (+1 more)

Quantum simulators are beginning to prepare long-sought phases of matter that remain difficult to realize cleanly in materials. Yet identifying such phases remains a major challenge when their defining properties are inherently non-local and cannot be captured by conventional local measurements. Here we establish multiple-quantum coherences (MQCs) as phase-sensitive diagnostics for gapped $\mathbb{Z}_2$ quantum spin liquids. Focusing on the extended toric code and using large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we build a direct correspondence between the elementary anyonic excitations and the weights of different MQC sectors. MQCs thereby reveal anyon condensation across the phase transitions through characteristic signatures that remain robust against fluctuations that obscure conventional diagnostics. Subsystem-resolved MQCs further provide a bipartite entanglement witness that distinguishes a classical loop gas from a quantum-coherent closed-loops gas. We develop and benchmark a practical protocol to extract MQCs based on the return fidelity of adiabatic round trips, and show that local coherence measurements retain experimentally accessible signatures of the phase transitions. Our results establish MQCs as a practical diagnostic for the excitations, phase structure and global constraints of quantum spin liquids.
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All authors Lukas Homeier, Simon Linsel, Lode Pollet, Ana Maria Rey

Lattice Field Theory

Experiment $\leftrightarrow$ lattice QCD: understanding high-temperature QCD matter

Bedangadas Mohanty

Relativistic heavy-ion collisions provide a unique experimental opportunity to study strongly interacting matter at extreme temperature and density, while lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) offers a first-principles approach to the equilibrium properties of such matter in the non-perturbative regime. The interplay between experiment and lattice QCD has therefore become central to establishing the properties and phase structure of QCD matter. Selected areas where this connection is particularly informative are discussed, including the QCD equation of state and its role in hydrodynamic descriptions of heavy-ion collisions, transport properties of the quark-gluon plasma, conserved-charge fluctuations and their relation to experimental cumulants, and the ongoing search for a critical point in the QCD phase diagram. Particular attention is given to the limitations involved in confronting equilibrium lattice calculations with the finite, dynamical and experimentally constrained systems produced in heavy-ion collisions. Recent developments increasingly allow quantitative tests of QCD thermodynamics over an extended range of temperature and baryon chemical potential. The continuing experimental programmes at RHIC and the LHC, together with future measurements at FAIR, NICA and the Electron-Ion Collider, provide important opportunities for an increasingly close interplay between lattice QCD, phenomenology and experiment.
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Mathematical Physics · Cross-listed from cs.FL

Causal graph rewriting

Pablo Arrighi, Marin Costes and Luidnel Maignan

We introduce causal graph rewriting, a model of computation in which local rules are applied on directed acyclic graphs in an asynchronous manner. The non-determinism arising from asynchrony is disciplined by the oriented edges, which must be understood as both computational dependencies and locality constraints—and are themselves subject to the rewriting. We illustrate the model through two examples: a particle system, and a time-dilation example—reminiscent of general relativity. We study the well-definedness and properties of induced subgraphs and graph composition, which isolate and recombine the region affected by a rewrite. We then study locality with respect to these constructions, showing how a local rewrite preserves positions, borders, and context. Our main result concerns sequential composition: locality extends from single rule applications to arbitrary valid sequences, as any local rule is automatically $*$-local and $*$-extensive. We also formalise and prove the simulation of any one-dimensional cellular automaton.
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High Energy Physics (Theory) · Cross-listed from math.QA

On Haagerup-Izumi fusion categories

Terry Gannon, Andrew Schopieray and Harshit Yadav

For every odd $N$, we construct a Haagerup-Izumi (HI) category for $\mathbb Z/N$, using Barnes double-sine functions. Equivariantization gives near-group categories of type $((\mathbb Z/N)^2,N^2)$ for every odd $N$. We classify connected separable algebras up to Morita equivalence in such HI categories and describe their dual categories. These duals are often HI for noncyclic groups with nontrivial pointed associators. We prove the Evans-Gannon conjecture that the modular data of the center is always a smashed sum involving a finite metric group of order $N^2+4$ and recover this group and its quadratic form directly from the data of the HI category. We also give the HI equations and reconstruction in arbitrary characteristic and prove a Frobenius symmetry in characteristic two. Using this, we obtain the complete list of (untwisted, subfactor type) HI categories over $\mathbb{C}$ for odd $N\le 43$. Other applications include finding three pairwise non-Morita-equivalent $\mathbb Z/15$ categories whose centers have the same modular data. We show that the center of a $\mathbb Z/5$ HI category cannot be defined (i.e., admits no split ribbon form) over a cyclotomic field, disproving a conjecture of Davidovich-Hagge-Wang.
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High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

System-size dependence of bottomonium suppression from Pb-Pb to light-ion collisions

Nora Brambilla, Tom Magorsch and Antonio Vairo

We test the system-size dependence of bottomonium suppression using the same open-quantum-system transport framework for Pb-Pb, O-O, and Ne-Ne collisions. The microscopic transport coefficients are retained from previous Pb-Pb analyses. Using QTraj, we solve the next-to-leading-order pNRQCD Lindblad equation in anisotropic hydrodynamic backgrounds and calculate integrated $\Upsilon$ double ratios. The QGP-induced evolution reproduces the observed sequential hierarchy and overall magnitude of the O-O suppression measured by CMS and LHCb. We quantify the sensitivity to both transport coefficients and to the termination temperature of the in-medium evolution. The Ne-Ne measurement favors somewhat stronger suppression than predicted, although the present experimental uncertainty is large. The extension from Pb-Pb to light ions supports, at least for observables less sensitive to cold nuclear matter effects, a common microscopic origin of bottomonium suppression in deconfined matter, characterized by the same temperature-dependent transport coefficients despite the large change in collision-system size.
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High Energy Physics (Experiment)

Discovery of an unexpectedly light and narrow beauty-strange state

LHCb collaboration: R. Aaij, M. Abdelfatah, A.S.W. Abdelmotteleb et al. (+1176 more)

As the essential building blocks of visible matter, hadrons have traditionally been classified by the quark model as mesons composed of quark-antiquark pairs and baryons built from three valence quarks. Yet, this classical picture does not account for the intricate chiral dynamics of the strong force and the emergence of exotic multi-quark hadrons. While experimental evidence for such unconventional dynamics has surfaced in the charm sector, the open-beauty system remains the long-sought frontier for testing the universality of these mechanisms. Here the observation of a new resonance in the beauty-strange sector with a global significance exceeding seven standard deviations is reported using proton-proton collision data recorded by the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). It exhibits a narrow natural width and a substantial mass deficit compared to the conventional quark model predictions. This result marks the first observation of a nonconventional single-beauty hadron, providing crucial insights into the chiral dynamics of the strong interaction and heavy-quark spin symmetry in the exotic domain.
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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.S. 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, 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. 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Zhuo, T. Zies, D. Zuliani, G. Zunica, X. Zuo

Nuclear Theory

Quarkyonic matter suppresses neutron-star $g$ modes and reverses their mass trend

Probit J Kalita and Bharat Kumar

Gravity (g) modes are the only neutron-star oscillations that report on the composition of dense matter rather than on its stiffness, and work on hybrid stars has established that a first-order quark transition raises their frequency. Quarkyonic matter does the opposite. Quark-nucleon chemical equilibrium is maintained by the strong interaction, so the quarks acquire no thermodynamic freedom on an oscillation period and $c_s^2-c_e^2$ reduces to a positive-definite quadratic form in the lepton gradients alone. The nucleon momentum shell stiffens both sound speeds together instead of separating them, so the buoyancy factor collapses by a factor of 9.5 to 19 at an early transition and the core is left only weakly stratified. Solving the $l=2$ relativistic Cowling problem for ten equations of state that share one isoscalar sector, seven quarkyonic and three nucleonic controls at matched symmetry-energy slope, we found the g-mode confined to the nucleonic shell outside the core, with the horizontal flow that it lives on excluded from the core while the core is displaced almost rigidly. Its frequency falls from 158-522 Hz across the controls to $81-254$~Hz across the quarkyonic models, and by 14% at 1.4$M_\odot$ for the matched pair at $L=50\mev$; more important than the shift, it decreases with mass where the controls rise. Writing each frequency as the dynamical frequency $(GM/R^3)^{1/2}$ times a dimensionless remainder separates structure from composition. The $f$ and $p_1$ trends prove to be inherited from the mass–radius relation; the $g_1$ remainder, constant to $2-9\%$ along a nucleonic sequence, falls by a quarter to a third along a quarkyonic one and departs by a factor of two from the nucleonic $g$-mode relation at fixed compactness and $L/K_0$. These are Cowling values, lower bounds at the ten-per-cent level, and the sign of the trend survives a correction of that size.
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Physics and Society

Statistical physics of language change inferred from time evolving maps

James Burridge and Bert Vaux

Language change may be studied by tracking linguistic variant frequencies through space and time. Observed frequencies may be viewed as realisations of a statistical field. We first set out an efficient cross validated method for inferring the empirical field — the variant frequency distribution estimated directly from data — in our case, high resolution surveys from 20th century USA. We then derive a model of the statistical field, assuming that individuals diffuse locally, periodically migrate, and copy one another based on a form of replicator dynamics involving both bias and linguistic accommodation. We infer model parameters by comparing changes in model and empirical fields. Our inferences demonstrate that spatial linguistic patterns can be rapidly destroyed by migration but that accommodation can create them, protect them, and in combination with diffusion, produce partially predictable pattern dynamics. The results provide the strongest evidence yet for surface tension driven phase ordering in human dialects. We quantify the model's forecasting ability up to a time horizon of twenty five years using the Kullback-Leibler divergence between forecasts and observations.
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Nuclear Theory

Persistent State Method for Resonances on Classical and Quantum Computers

Cong-Wu Wang, Lukas Bovermann, Evgeny Epelbaum et al. (+4 more)

We introduce a new method for extracting resonance pole positions that does not require non-Hermitian extensions of a Hamiltonian. The complex resonance poles are extracted from unitary time evolution of a persistent state, a compact trial state chosen such that its survival amplitude is governed by a single exponential over an extended time window. We solve several two- and three-body systems interacting via short- and long-range forces on a lattice and show that the pole positions obtained using the persistent state method converge approximately exponentially with the linear size of the system. We also consider a gate-based quantum implementation of our method using the Rodeo algorithm and a Hamiltonian variational ansatz, and outline an extension to two-cluster scattering.
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All authors Cong-Wu Wang, Lukas Bovermann, Evgeny Epelbaum, Hermann Krebs, Dean Lee, Yu-Gang Ma, Avik Sarkar

Nuclear Theory

Universal $Z^{2/3}/\sqrt{Q_\alpha}$ Scaling Law in Alpha Decay from Nuclei to Neutron-Star Mergers

Hisham Anwer, B. Salah and A. R. Abdulghany

We establish a universal scaling law for $\alpha$-decay half-lives based on the variable $X_a = Z^a/\sqrt{Q_\alpha}$, which collapses experimental and theoretical data spanning over twenty orders of magnitude onto a single linear correlation. Global optimization over the complete set of even-even $\alpha$ emitters reveals a uniquely sharp optimum at $a \simeq 2/3$. This exponent is theoretically motivated by the leading geometric scaling of heavy nuclei and emerges quantitatively from the correlated nuclear systematics, driven by the correlated $(Z, Q_\alpha)$ manifold of the nuclear chart. Strikingly, five structurally distinct semi-empirical models and an independent microscopic WKB calculation, when independently optimized with respect to the exponent $a$, yield values clustered around $2/3$, while the corresponding $a=2/3$ correlations remain highly linear without refitting the original model parameters. This emergent scaling law implies smooth variations of decay times along the heavy $r$-process path. We demonstrate analytically that, given a roughly uniform distribution of this variable, the scaling law naturally supports a quasi-power-law radioactive heating rate ($\dot{\epsilon} \propto t^{-1.24}$), consistent with full network calculations. Furthermore, integrating these scaling predictions directly into nuclear source terms for radiative-diffusion models yields multimessenger observables that accurately reproduce the kilonova AT2017gfo associated with the gravitational-wave event GW170817, demonstrating that the $Z^{2/3}/\sqrt{Q_\alpha}$ scaling coordinate provides a robust tool for modeling the radioactive engines of neutron-star mergers.
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High Energy Physics (Theory)

On Thermodynamic Universalities and Optics of B-deformed Reissner–Nordström–AdS Black Holes

Adil Belhaj and Maryem Jemri

Using machine learning techniques, we study the Reissner–Nordström–AdS black holes in the framework of extended space-time derivatives inspired by non-commutative geometry in string theory where the deformation parameters are related to the inverse of the NS-NS B-field. We refer to these solutions as B-deformed Reissner–Nordström–AdS black holes. Precisely, we examine the thermodynamic and the optical behaviors of such stringy deformed AdS black holes. Exploiting advanced numerical computations, we first examine the corresponding thermodynamic Van der Waals behaviors by calculating the universal ratios describing the P-V criticality and the Joule-Thomson expansion features. Applying such numerical results, we construct reliable training data for a fully connected neural network being developed to determine whether such stringy black hole configurations exhibit thermodynamic Van der Waals aspects. Concretely, we reveal that the fully connected and trained neural network accurately detects Van der Waals behaviors. Supported by the observational data reported by the Event Horizon Telescope international collaborations, we investigate the optical shadows of such B-deformed Reissner–Nordström–AdS black holes using machine learning methods. In order to provide corroborated models, we constraint the involved parameters including the stringy one B by making use of M87* and Sgr A* black hole empirical data.
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Chemical Physics

Reply to Comment on "Efficient implementation of the superposition of atomic potentials initial guess for electronic structure calculations in Gaussian basis sets"

Susi Lehtola, Lucas Visscher and Eberhard Engel

We reply to the Comment by Surjuse, Deng, Asadchev, and Valeev [arXiv:2603.16989] on our article "Efficient implementation of the superposition of atomic potentials initial guess for electronic structure calculations in Gaussian basis sets" [J. Chem. Phys. 152, 144105 (2020)]. We do not disagree with their work, but point out that they appear to have misinterpreted a statement in our original abstract: our suggestion to evaluate the matrix elements of the superposition of atomic potentials (SAP) using two-electron integral code was made on grounds of portability rather than as a recommendation against a dedicated one-electron implementation. Such an implementation is in fact already available in existing codes - in Dirac, for example, where a Gaussian SAP potential is formally indistinguishable from a Gaussian finite-nucleus model at the level of the nuclear attraction integral routine. We further note that both routes reduce to the same three-Gaussian overlap kernel through the Obara-Saika Laplace transform, and that SAP itself enjoys a rigorous theoretical justification through Theophilou's theorem on spherical densities and its extensions by Nagy.
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High Energy Physics (Experiment)

Observation of $\eta(2600)$ and Threshold Enhancements in the $\Lambda\bar{\Lambda}$ System

BESIII Collaboration: M. Ablikim, M. N. Achasov, P. Adlarson et al. (+740 more)

Using $2712.4 \pm 14.3$ million $\psi(3686)$ events collected with the BESIII detector, the $\Lambda\bar{\Lambda}$ system produced in $\psi(3686)$ radiative decays is studied. A model-independent partial wave analysis reveals a significant threshold enhancement structure dominated by the $^1S_0$ and $^3P_0$ partial waves, corresponding to $J^{PC} = 0^{-+}$ and $0^{++}$, respectively. In addition, a new pseudoscalar resonance, designated as $\eta(2600)$, is observed in the $^1S_0$ partial wave with a mass value consistent with the previously reported $X(2600)$ state, which represents the heaviest light meson observed to date. These results enhance our understanding of baryon-antibaryon threshold dynamics and the pseudoscalar light hadron spectroscopy.
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All authors BESIII Collaboration: M. Ablikim, M. N. Achasov, P. Adlarson, X. C. Ai, C. S. Akondi, R. Aliberti, A. Amoroso, Q. An, Y. H. An, Y. Bai, O. Bakina, Y. Ban, H.-R. Bao, X. L. Bao, V. Batozskaya, K. Begzsuren, N. Berger, M. Berlowski, M. B. Bertani, D. Bettoni, F. Bianchi, E. Bianco, A. Bortone, I. Boyko, R. A. Briere, A. Brueggemann, H. Cai, M. H. Cai, X. Cai, A. Calcaterra, G. F. Cao, N. Cao, S. A. Cetin, X. Y. Chai, J. F. Chang, T. T. Chang, G. R. Che, Y. Z. Che, C. H. Chen, Chao Chen, G. Chen, H. S. Chen, H. Y. Chen, M. L. Chen, S. J. Chen, S. M. Chen, T. Chen, W. Chen, X. R. Chen, X. T. Chen, X. Y. Chen, Y. B. Chen, Y. Q. Chen, Z. K. Chen, J. Cheng, L. N. Cheng, S. K. Choi, X. Chu, G. Cibinetto, F. Cossio, J. Cottee-Meldrum, H. L. Dai, J. P. Dai, X. C. Dai, A. Dbeyssi, R. E. de Boer, D. Dedovich, C. Q. Deng, Z. Y. Deng, A. Denig, I. Denisenko, M. Destefanis, F. De Mori, X. X. Ding, Y. Ding, Y. Ding, Y. X. Ding, J. Dong, L. Y. Dong, M. Y. Dong, X. Dong, M. C. Du, S. X. Du, S. X. Du, X. L. Du, Y. Q. Du, Y. Y. Duan, Z. H. Duan, P. Egorov, G. F. Fan, J. J. Fan, Y. H. Fan, J. Fang, J. Fang, S. S. Fang, W. X. Fang, Y. Q. Fang, L. Fava, F. Feldbauer, G. Felici, C. Q. Feng, J. H. Feng, L. Feng, Q. X. Feng, Y. T. Feng, M. Fritsch, C. D. Fu, J. L. Fu, Y. W. Fu, H. Gao, Y. Gao, Y. N. Gao, Y. N. Gao, Y. Y. Gao, Z. Gao, S. Garbolino, I. Garzia, L. Ge, P. T. Ge, Z. W. Ge, C. Geng, E. M. Gersabeck, A. Gilman, K. Goetzen, J. Gollub, J. B. Gong, J. D. Gong, L. Gong, W. X. Gong, W. Gradl, S. Gramigna, M. Greco, M. D. Gu, M. H. Gu, C. Y. Guan, A. Q. Guo, J. N. Guo, L. B. Guo, M. J. Guo, R. P. Guo, X. Guo, Y. P. Guo, Z. Guo, A. Guskov, J. Gutierrez, J. Y. Han, T. T. Han, X. Han, F. Hanisch, K. D. Hao, X. Q. Hao, F. A. Harris, C. Z. He, K. K. He, K. L. He, F. H. Heinsius, C. H. Heinz, Y. K. Heng, C. Herold, P. C. Hong, G. Y. Hou, X. T. Hou, Y. R. Hou, Z. L. Hou, H. M. Hu, J. F. Hu, Q. P. Hu, S. L. Hu, T. Hu, Y. Hu, Y. X. Hu, Z. M. Hu, G. S. Huang, K. X. Huang, L. Q. Huang, P. Huang, X. T. Huang, Y. P. Huang, Y. S. Huang, T. Hussain, N. Hüsken, N. in der Wiesche, J. Jackson, Q. Ji, Q. P. Ji, W. Ji, X. B. Ji, X. L. Ji, L. K. Jia, X. Q. Jia, Z. K. Jia, D. Jiang, H. B. Jiang, P. C. Jiang, S. J. Jiang, X. S. Jiang, Y. Jiang, J. B. Jiao, J. K. Jiao, Z. Jiao, L. C. L. Jin, S. Jin, Y. Jin, M. Q. Jing, X. M. Jing, T. Johansson, S. Kabana, X. L. Kang, X. S. Kang, B. C. Ke, V. Khachatryan, A. Khoukaz, O. B. Kolcu, B. Kopf, L. Kröger, L. Krümmel, Y. Y. Kuang, M. Kuessner, X. Kui, N. Kumar, A. Kupsc, W. Kühn, Q. Lan, W. N. Lan, T. T. Lei, M. Lellmann, T. Lenz, C. Li, C. Li, C. H. Li, C. K. Li, C. K. Li, D. M. Li, F. Li, G. Li, H. B. Li, H. J. Li, H. L. Li, H. N. Li, H. P. Li, Hui Li, J. S. Li, J. W. Li, K. Li, K. L. Li, L. J. Li, Lei Li, M. H. Li, M. R. Li, P. L. Li, P. R. Li, Q. M. Li, Q. X. Li, R. Li, S. Li, S. X. Li, S. Y. Li, Shanshan Li, T. Li, T. Y. Li, W. D. Li, W. G. Li, X. Li, X. H. Li, X. K. Li, X. L. Li, X. Y. Li, X. Z. Li, Y. Li, Y. G. Li, Y. P. Li, Z. H. Li, Z. J. Li, Z. L. Li, Z. X. Li, Z. Y. Li, C. Liang, H. Liang, Y. F. Liang, Y. T. Liang, G. R. Liao, L. B. Liao, M. H. Liao, Y. P. Liao, J. Libby, A. Limphirat, C. C. Lin, D. X. Lin, T. Lin, B. J. Liu, B. X. Liu, C. Liu, C. X. Liu, F. Liu, F. H. Liu, Feng Liu, G. M. Liu, H. Liu, H. B. Liu, H. M. Liu, Huihui Liu, J. B. Liu, J. J. Liu, K. Liu, K. Liu, K. Y. Liu, Ke Liu, L. Liu, L. C. Liu, Lu Liu, M. H. Liu, P. L. Liu, Q. Liu, S. B. Liu, T. Liu, W. M. Liu, W. T. Liu, X. Liu, X. K. Liu, X. L. Liu, X. P. Liu, X. Y. Liu, Y. Liu, Y. Liu, Y. B. Liu, Z. A. Liu, Z. D. Liu, Z. L. Liu, Z. Q. Liu, Z. Y. Liu, X. C. Lou, H. J. Lu, J. G. Lu, X. L. Lu, Y. Lu, Y. H. Lu, Y. P. Lu, Z. H. Lu, C. L. Luo, J. R. Luo, J. S. Luo, M. X. Luo, T. Luo, X. L. Luo, Z. Y. Lv, X. R. Lyu, Y. F. Lyu, Y. H. Lyu, F. C. Ma, H. L. Ma, Heng Ma, J. L. Ma, L. L. Ma, L. R. Ma, Q. M. Ma, R. Q. Ma, R. Y. Ma, T. Ma, X. T. Ma, X. Y. Ma, Y. M. Ma, F. E. Maas, I. MacKay, M. Maggiora, S. Malde, Q. A. Malik, H. X. Mao, Y. J. Mao, Z. P. Mao, S. Marcello, A. Marshall, F. M. Melendi, Y. H. Meng, Z. X. Meng, G. Mezzadri, H. Miao, T. J. Min, R. E. Mitchell, X. H. Mo, B. Moses, N. Yu. Muchnoi, J. Muskalla, Y. Nefedov, F. Nerling, H. Neuwirth, Z. Ning, S. Nisar, Q. L. Niu, W. D. Niu, Y. Niu, C. Normand, S. L. Olsen, Q. Ouyang, S. Pacetti, X. Pan, Y. Pan, A. Pathak, Y. P. Pei, M. Pelizaeus, G. L. Peng, H. P. Peng, X. J. Peng, Y. Y. Peng, K. Peters, K. Petridis, J. L. Ping, R. G. Ping, S. Plura, V. Prasad, F. Z. Qi, H. R. Qi, M. Qi, S. Qian, W. B. Qian, C. F. Qiao, J. H. Qiao, J. J. Qin, J. L. Qin, L. Q. Qin, L. Y. Qin, P. B. Qin, X. P. Qin, X. S. Qin, Z. H. Qin, J. F. Qiu, Z. H. Qu, J. Rademacker, C. F. Redmer, A. Rivetti, M. Rolo, G. Rong, S. S. Rong, F. Rosini, Ch. Rosner, M. Q. Ruan, N. Salone, A. Sarantsev, Y. Schelhaas, K. Schoenning, M. Scodeggio, W. Shan, X. Y. Shan, Z. J. Shang, J. F. Shangguan, L. G. Shao, M. Shao, C. P. Shen, H. F. Shen, W. H. Shen, X. Y. Shen, B. A. Shi, H. Shi, J. L. Shi, J. Y. Shi, M. H. Shi, S. Y. Shi, X. Shi, H. L. Song, J. J. Song, M. H. Song, T. Z. Song, W. M. Song, Y. X. Song, Zirong Song, S. Sosio, S. Spataro, S. Stansilaus, F. Stieler, M. Stolte, S. S Su, G. B. Sun, G. X. Sun, H. Sun, H. K. Sun, J. F. Sun, K. Sun, L. Sun, R. Sun, S. S. Sun, T. Sun, W. Y. Sun, Y. C. Sun, Y. H. Sun, Y. J. Sun, Y. Z. Sun, Z. Q. Sun, Z. T. Sun, C. J. Tang, G. Y. Tang, J. Tang, J. J. Tang, L. F. Tang, Y. A. Tang, L. Y. Tao, M. Tat, J. X. Teng, J. Y. Tian, W. H. Tian, Y. Tian, Z. F. Tian, I. Uman, E. van der Smagt, B. Wang, B. Wang, Bo Wang, C. Wang, C. Wang, Cong Wang, D. Y. Wang, H. J. Wang, H. R. Wang, J. Wang, J. J. Wang, J. P. Wang, K. Wang, L. L. Wang, L. W. Wang, M. Wang, M. Wang, N. Y. Wang, S. Wang, Shun Wang, T. Wang, T. J. Wang, W. Wang, W. P. Wang, X. F. Wang, X. L. Wang, X. N. Wang, Xin Wang, Y. Wang, Y. D. Wang, Y. F. Wang, Y. H. Wang, Y. J. Wang, Y. L. Wang, Y. N. Wang, Y. N. Wang, Yaqian Wang, Yi Wang, Yuan Wang, Z. Wang, Z. Wang, Z. L. Wang, Z. Q. Wang, Z. Y. Wang, Ziyi Wang, D. Wei, D. H. Wei, H. R. Wei, F. Weidner, S. P. Wen, U. Wiedner, G. Wilkinson, M. Wolke, J. F. Wu, L. H. Wu, L. J. Wu, Lianjie Wu, S. G. Wu, S. M. Wu, X. W. Wu, Z. Wu, H. L. Xia, L. Xia, B. H. Xiang, D. Xiao, G. Y. Xiao, H. Xiao, Y. L. Xiao, Z. J. Xiao, C. Xie, K. J. Xie, Y. Xie, Y. G. Xie, Y. H. Xie, Z. P. Xie, T. Y. Xing, D. B. Xiong, C. J. Xu, G. F. Xu, H. Y. Xu, M. Xu, Q. J. Xu, Q. N. Xu, T. D. Xu, X. P. Xu, Y. Xu, Y. C. Xu, Z. S. Xu, F. Yan, L. Yan, W. B. Yan, W. C. Yan, W. H. Yan, W. P. Yan, X. Q. Yan, Y. Y. Yan, H. J. Yang, H. L. Yang, H. X. Yang, J. H. Yang, R. J. Yang, Y. Yang, Y. H. Yang, Y. H. Yang, Y. M. Yang, Y. Q. Yang, Y. Z. Yang, Z. Y. Yang, Z. P. Yao, M. Ye, M. H. Ye, Z. J. Ye, Junhao Yin, Z. Y. You, B. X. Yu, C. X. Yu, G. Yu, J. S. Yu, L. W. Yu, T. Yu, X. D. Yu, Y. C. Yu, Y. C. Yu, C. Z. Yuan, H. Yuan, J. Yuan, J. Yuan, L. Yuan, M. K. Yuan, S. H. Yuan, Y. Yuan, C. X. Yue, Ying Yue, A. A. Zafar, F. R. Zeng, S. H. Zeng, X. Zeng, Y. J. Zeng, Y. J. Zeng, Y. C. Zhai, Y. H. Zhan, S. N. Zhang, B. L. Zhang, B. X. Zhang, D. H. Zhang, G. Y. Zhang, G. Y. Zhang, H. Zhang, H. Zhang, H. C. Zhang, H. H. Zhang, H. Q. Zhang, H. R. Zhang, H. Y. Zhang, J. Zhang, J. J. Zhang, J. L. Zhang, J. Q. Zhang, J. S. Zhang, J. W. Zhang, J. X. Zhang, J. Y. Zhang, J. Y. Zhang, J. Z. Zhang, Jianyu Zhang, Jin Zhang, L. M. Zhang, Lei Zhang, N. Zhang, P. Zhang, Q. Zhang, Q. Y. Zhang, Q. Z. Zhang, R. Y. Zhang, S. H. Zhang, Shulei Zhang, X. M. Zhang, X. Y. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Y. T. Zhang, Y. H. Zhang, Y. P. Zhang, Z. D. Zhang, Z. H. Zhang, Z. L. Zhang, Z. L. Zhang, Z. X. Zhang, Z. Y. Zhang, Z. Y. Zhang, Z. Y. Zhang, Zh. Zh. Zhang, G. Zhao, J.-P. Zhao, J. Y. Zhao, J. Z. Zhao, L. Zhao, L. Zhao, M. G. Zhao, R. P. Zhao, S. J. Zhao, Y. B. Zhao, Y. L. Zhao, Y. P. Zhao, Y. X. Zhao, Z. G. Zhao, A. Zhemchugov, B. Zheng, B. M. Zheng, J. P. Zheng, W. J. Zheng, W. Q. Zheng, X. R. Zheng, Y. H. Zheng, B. Zhong, C. Zhong, H. Zhou, J. Q. Zhou, S. Zhou, X. Zhou, X. K. Zhou, X. R. Zhou, X. Y. Zhou, Y. X. Zhou, Y. Z. Zhou, A. N. Zhu, J. Zhu, K. Zhu, K. J. Zhu, K. S. Zhu, L. X. Zhu, Lin Zhu, S. H. Zhu, T. J. Zhu, W. D. Zhu, W. J. Zhu, W. Z. Zhu, Y. C. Zhu, Z. A. Zhu, X. Y. Zhuang, J. H. Zou

Instrumentation and Detectors

Pulse-shape discrimination with machine learning for CZT detectors at the DA$\Phi$NE beam test facility

Simone Manti, Francesco Artibani, Leonardo Abbene et al. (+36 more)

Cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors offer versatility, operational simplicity, and room-temperature X- and gamma-ray spectroscopy, making them attractive for collider applications, yet their use under high-flux conditions remains limited. Here, we present a preliminary feature-based pulse-shape analysis employing machine learning, on data acquired with a quasi-hemispherical CZT detector at the DA$\\Phi$NE beam test facility of the National Laboratory of Frascati of INFN. A 300-MeV electron beam impinging on a lead target produced characteristic Pb X-rays together with a broad background extending up to the electron-positron annihilation region. Physically motivated temporal and morphological features were extracted from the recorded waveforms and used to distinguish nominal photon-like pulses from anomalous events. An XGBoost classifier trained and validated on 10,000 labeled waveforms achieved an accuracy of approximately 97%, with most of its classification performance reached using only a few hundred labeled examples. The trained model was applied to more than 700,000 events, substantially reducing the spectral continuum and coincidence peaks, while preserving the characteristic Pb X-ray lines up to the 511-keV annihilation peak. These preliminary results demonstrate the potential of machine-learning-assisted pulse-shape discrimination for improving CZT spectroscopy in collider environments.
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All authors Simone Manti, Francesco Artibani, Leonardo Abbene, Massimiliano Bazzi, Manuele Bettelli, Giacomo Borghi, Damir Bosnar, Mario Bragadireanu, Antonino Buttacavoli, Mario Carminati, Alberto Clozza, Francesco Clozza, Luca De Paolis, Raffaele Del Grande, Kamil Dulski, Carlo Fiorini, Ivica Friščić, Gaetano Gerardi, Carlo Guaraldo, Mihai Iliescu, Masa Iwasaki, Alexander Khreptak, Johan Marton, Pawel Moskal, Hiroaki Ohnishi, Kristian Piscicchia, Fabio Principato, Alessandro Scordo, Francesco Sgaramella, Michał Silarski, Diana Sirghi, Florin Sirghi, Magdalena Skurzok, Antonio Spallone, Kairo Toho, Oton Vazquez Doce, Andrea Zappettini, Johann Zmeskal, Catalina Curceanu

High Energy Physics (Experiment)

Search for boosted vector boson scattering $W^{\pm}W^{\pm}H$ production in final states with same-sign leptons and $b$-jets in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

ATLAS Collaboration

A search for the electroweak production of a Higgs boson in association with a same-sign $W$ boson pair and two forward jets ($W^{\pm}W^{\pm}Hjj$) is presented. The full Run 2 proton-proton collision dataset recorded at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$. The search targets events where both $W$ bosons decay leptonically, yielding a final state with two same-sign charged leptons, missing transverse momentum, and a Higgs boson candidate. The high-momentum Higgs-boson candidate decaying into a $b\bar{b}$ pair is reconstructed as a single large-radius jet. This process provides direct sensitivity to the quartic $WWHH$ interaction. Possible deviations from the Standard Model prediction are parameterized through the coupling modifier $\kappa_{WW}$, where $\kappa_{WW}=1$ corresponds to the Standard Model. No significant excess over the Standard Model prediction is observed. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the $W^{\pm}W^{\pm}Hjj$ production cross-section as a function of $\kappa_{WW}$. Observed (expected) values of $\kappa_{WW}$ outside the interval $-2.1 < \kappa_{WW} < 4.1$ ($-1.9 < \kappa_{WW} < 3.9$) are excluded.
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Medical Physics

Towards Sustainable Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Insights from long-term, high-resolution energy recordings across an entire scanner fleet

Florian Leonhard Raab, Fiona Mankertz, Nour Maalouf et al. (+17 more)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is among the most energy-intensive diagnostic modalities in healthcare, yet its energy consumption and the factors influencing it remain insufficiently understood. This study aims to establish a comprehensive baseline of MRI energy consumption by characterizing energy demand across a scanner fleet, examining scanner utilization and operating patterns in clinical practice. Concurrently, it investigates the relationships between energy consumption and relevant operational and acquisition features. On average, a single MRI measurement consumed 0.43 kWh, while a complete examination consumed 13.50 kWh. In general, substantial differences in energy consumption were observed between MRI scanners and their corresponding operating modes (scan, idle, and eco-power mode). These variations may be related to differences in scanner operating patterns, employed examination protocols, and their resulting acquisition parameters. Idle and eco-power modes accounted for more cumulative energy consumption than active scanning. However, these energy shares should always be interpreted in relation to scanner occupancy, as utilization patterns strongly influence the distribution of energy across those operating modes. Lastly, linear regression analysis showed that energy consumption was more strongly associated with scan duration than with average power, suggesting that scan duration may be an important factor influencing MRI energy consumption. ...
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All authors Florian Leonhard Raab, Fiona Mankertz, Nour Maalouf, Josephine Berger, Andreas Lingg, Reza Dehdab, Sebastian Werner, Judith Herrmann, Andreas Brendlin, Sebastian Gassenmaier, Suhas Siddaramu, Fabian Wagner, Julian Wohlers, Shreeja Varadarajan, Gurlal Singh, Jens Gühring, Rainer Schneider, Konstantin Nikolaou, Saif Afat, Thomas Küstner

Optics

Spin-multiplexed terahertz image edge detection based on extrinsic chirality in all-dielectric metasurface

Yuxin Tang, Shichao Zhao, Li Luo et al. (+3 more)

Extrinsically chiral metasurfaces can exhibit pronounced chiral responses in planar structures without intrinsic chirality, making them attractive for spin-selective light manipulation. Here, we propose a transmissive all-dielectric terahertz metasurface for image edge detection. Owing to the extrinsic chiral response, the metasurface enables edge-enhanced imaging under right-handed circularly polarized incidence near 0.69 THz, while preserving bright-field imaging under left-handed circularly polarized incidence. Spatial-frequency analysis shows that the effective numerical aperture of the device is approximately 0.4, indicating the terahertz image edge detection can be achieved over a broad spatial-frequency range. This work provides a new design route toward transmissive terahertz all-optical image processing with spin selectivity and a large numerical aperture.
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All authors Yuxin Tang, Shichao Zhao, Li Luo, Tingting Tang, Hang Xu, Jie Li

Medical Physics

Clinical Commissioning of the First Ultra-Compact Gantry-less Upright Proton Therapy System

Serdar Charyyev, Adam Johansson, Zhuoran Jiang et al. (+17 more)

This study reports the comprehensive clinical commissioning and benchmarking of a novel ultra-compact, gantry-free, upright PT system.
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All authors Serdar Charyyev, Adam Johansson, Zhuoran Jiang, Veng Jean Heng, Cynthia Fu-Yu Chuang, Melanie R Piantino, Samuel Graham, Lawrie B Skinner, Nataliya Kovalchuk, Vivek Maradia, Xianjin Dai, Xuejun Gu, Bin Han, Lloyd Emmanuel Kamole Ghomsi, Susan M Hiniker, Yuan James Rao, Billy W Loo Jr, Lei Xing, Murat Surucu, Yong Yang

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Event Detection and Finite-Grid Effects at an Imposed Absorbing Boundary in Newtonian Black Hole Orbit Integrations

Gregory M Davis

Numerical classification of black-hole orbits can depend on how prescribed inner capture or absorbing boundaries are implemented. This study investigated how discrete evaluation of such a boundary affects orbit classification. Massless particles were integrated about an isolated Newtonian point mass and initialized at periapsis with an absorbing boundary at rsink = 104RS. Because the Keplerian periapsis q is constant, the expected classification can be analytically determined. A classifier omitting evaluation at initialization can miss particles that already satisfy the removal criterion, but evaluation at t = 0 reproduced the analytic classification on every sampled grid. As the grid resolution increased, the inferred critical periapsis approached the imposed sink radius. These results demonstrate that an apparent critical periapsis can depend on both the imposed boundary and its numerical evaluation, emphasizing the need to distinguish numerical effects from genuine dynamical thresholds.
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Biological Physics · Cross-listed from q-bio.PE

Stochastic Field Theory of HIV Latency: Instanton Dynamics and the Path to Viral Rebound

Jose de Jesus Bernal-Alvarado, David Delepine and Georges Delepine

The transition from clinical latency to active HIV infection is a stochastic process. Traditional deterministic models based on ordinary differential equations (ODEs) fail to capture the extinction boundary and the subsequent rebound of the virus because they neglect demographic noise in the small-population limit. We map the resulting Master Equation onto a coherent-state path integral using the Doi-Peliti second-quantization formalism and verify that the stochastic Hamiltonian reproduces the correct mean-field ODEs on the classical manifold $\bar{\phi}_i = 1$. In the semiclassical (large system-size) limit we derive eight coupled Hamilton-Jacobi equations, identify the virus-free and endemic fixed points, and obtain the basic reproduction number $R_0$ for the four-species network. For the analytically tractable case of single-virion bursting ($n=1$) we show that the stochastic Hamiltonian factorizes into two bilinear terms, exposing a non-trivial zero-energy surface that constitutes the instanton trajectory. A quasi-steady-state reduction then yields a first-order linear ODE whose closed-form solution gives the instanton action $S_{\rm inst}$ in terms of biological parameters. Calibrating to clinical data—infected-cell half-life $\delta_I^{-1}\approx 2\,\rm d$, viral burst size $N\approx 10^3$, clearance rate $\delta_V\approx 23\,\rm d^{-1}$, reactivation rate $\eta\approx 10^{-3}\,\rm d^{-1}$, and latent reservoir size $L_0\approx 10^6$ cells—we obtain a mean first-passage time (MFPT) to viral rebound of $\approx 6$ months for a typical patient, with a range of days to years depending on reservoir size. These predictions are qualitatively consistent with observed post-interruption rebound timescales.
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Quantum Physics

Pulsed coherent and squeezed driving of a spin-$S$ emitter as a deterministic source of Wigner-negative light

Rory Robertson and Scott Parkins

Generating propagating Wigner-negative states of light is an important and difficult task for many quantum technologies. Historically, the proposed methods of creating such states have been intrinsically probabilistic, relying on conditional measurements or photon heralding. More recently, methods have been proposed involving the steady-state driving of two-level emitters, where Wigner-negative temporal modes are present in the outgoing field. We theoretically demonstrate through the simulation of a cascaded-systems model that this approach can be improved significantly with pulsed coherent or squeezed driving of a spin-1/2 emitter. This enables the deterministic generation of strongly Wigner-negative states, using only driving-source states with positive Gaussian Wigner distributions. This method is extended to the driving of a spin-$S$ emitter with $S\geq 1$ to generate still more exotic, highly non-classical states. The array of states demonstrated in this work includes close approximations to displaced N-photon states, squeezed Schrödinger cat states, and finite-energy Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) states.
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General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Analytical estimates of core optics stray light noise and design requirements for ground based gravitational wave detectors

M. Andrés-Carcasona and M. Evans

We present an analytical framework to translate detector sensitivity into stray light requirements for the core optics region of ground based gravitational wave interferometers. We derive analytical estimates for several relevant scattering regimes, extend the treatment to collections of planar baffles, and obtain an analogous requirement for deterministic ghost beams intercepted by beam dumps. The framework is intended to provide conservative design requirements before a complete optical layout is available. We apply it to Cosmic Explorer to show how these estimates can be used to derive requirements for next generation detectors. The resulting expressions provide a compact set of tools for stray light budgeting and early design studies in current and future gravitational wave detectors.
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Mathematical Physics

Don't mind the gap: Absolutely Continuous Edge Spectrum in a Mobility Gap

Simon Becker and Mengxuan Yang

We study the edge spectrum of two-dimensional lattice Hamiltonians and magnetic Schrödinger operators in a mobility gap, an energy interval in which the bulk spectrum is potentially localized rather than necessarily absent. Under suitable localization and boundary assumptions, we prove that a constant nonzero bulk topological index implies that the entire interval belongs to the absolutely continuous spectrum of the corresponding half-space operator. The absolutely continuous spectral multiplicity is bounded below by the absolute value of the index at almost every energy in the interval. The first version of the auxiliary-space cut construction in Section 2.3 was generated using ChatGPT 6.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Statistical Fluctuations as Primordial Correlators in the CMB: Finite Chemical Potential Thermodynamics

Anish Ghoshal, Anupam Mazumdar and Bartłomiej Sikorski

Can primordial cosmological correlations originate from statistical fluctuations of an early-universe thermal system? We connect grand-canonical thermodynamics, stochastic transport, and gauge-invariant cosmological perturbations for a charged fluid at finite chemical potential. Energy-charge susceptibilities determine curvature, charge-isocurvature, and cross-correlation amplitudes, while transport sets when each mode leaves equilibrium. For an isolated, adiabatic conformal plasma with conserved charge-to-entropy ratio and power-law diffusion, diffusive freeze-out yields the universal spectrum $\mathcal P_S(k)\propto k^3$, with $n_{\rm iso}=4$, while equal-time local-equilibrium curvature-isocurvature covariance vanishes in the conformal source basis. Thus neither finite chemical potential nor replacing Hubble crossing by diffusion crossing alone yields approximate scale invariance. We evade this obstruction with an open subsystem of massless Dirac fermions during a sourced quasi-de Sitter phase. There, grand-canonical energy cumulants generate a nearly scale-invariant red curvature spectrum. A benchmark gives $\mathcal P_{\zeta_X}(k_\star)=2.10\times10^{-9}$ and $n_s(k_\star)=0.9649$, stays within $0.30%$ of the fitted power law over $0.002\leq k/k_\star\leq4$, and predicts weak negative running and small positive intrinsic non-Gaussianity from higher-order cumulants, $f_{\rm NL}(k_\star)\simeq0.106$ and $g_{\rm NL}(k_\star)\simeq0.0158$. With a two-helicity vacuum tensor spectrum, the tensor-to-scalar ratio is $r_{t/s}(k_\star)=1.82\times10^{-4}$. This isolates the limitation of isolated conformal thermal seeding and the open-system ingredient needed to overcome it. Thermal energy-charge fluctuations thus provide a calculable source of realistic scalar correlations, while reservoir dynamics, equilibration, and later curvature-isocurvature transfer must come from a microscopic model.
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Statistical Mechanics

Quantum Mpemba effect from Stark localization

Nico Albert, Masudul Haque and Shovan Dutta

In classical systems, rugged potential energy landscapes provide a transparent mechanism for the celebrated Mpemba effect, in which hotter initial states cool down faster. This picture generally does not survive in quantum systems. Here we show how to design a quantum energy landscape with local dissipation leading to an Mpemba effect with parametrically separated timescales. Our approach uses Stark localization to design an energy landscape and localized incoherent hopping as cooling mechanism. The hops are triggered by rare "detection" events whose rate grows with energy, allowing hotter states to cool faster and producing super-exponentially separated cooling rates for localized initial states. We further show that the effect is dramatically enhanced by collective hopping of bound pairs in the presence of attractive on-site interactions. These findings have clear experimental signatures accessible in present-day setups.
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Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Multi-Stage and Multi-Field Inflation in Random Inflationary Landscapes

Xingang Chen, Lucas Pinol, Zhong-Zhi Xianyu et al. (+1 more)

Generic potentials in an inflationary landscape are typically too steep to support a prolonged period of cosmic inflation. Atypical flat regions of the landscape are required to support successful inflation. The occurrence of such regions leads broadly to two possibilities: a single prolonged period of slow-roll inflation (which we call single-stage inflation), or multiple shorter periods of inflation separated by transient departures from slow roll (which we call multi-stage inflation), giving rise to primordial features and other departures from the behavior of the simplest slow-roll model. The former is the possibility most commonly assumed when deriving the primordial density fluctuations for the Big Bang model. In this paper, using Gaussian random potentials as a simple model of the inflationary landscape, we study the relative occurrence of these two possibilities. We find a substantial fraction of multi-stage inflationary trajectories in landscapes with field-space dimensions one, two, and three, and this fraction increases with dimensionality at fixed typical landscape curvature. In constructing the inflationary landscapes and identifying successful inflationary trajectories, we also define several relevant quantities and classify detailed properties of both multi-stage and multi-field inflationary trajectories.
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All authors Xingang Chen, Lucas Pinol, Zhong-Zhi Xianyu, Yisong Zhang

High Energy Physics (Phenomenology)

Three-Flavoured Thermal Leptogenesis Without Tuning

Angus Spalding

We investigate thermal leptogenesis in an extension of the Type-I seesaw in which a real singlet scalar couples non-diagonally to the right-handed neutrinos. The interactions $-y_{ij}\phi N_iN_j$, with $i\neq j$, introduce new sources of CP violation in heavy-neutrino decays with a negligible enhancement of the standard leptonic washout. We derive an analytic upper bound on the scalar-induced CP asymmetry and present numerical results using fully flavoured Boltzmann equations and the density-matrix formalism. We show that the observed baryon asymmetry can be generated with a hierarchical right-handed-neutrino spectrum at the electroweak scale. In the minimal Type-I seesaw, lowering the scale of decay leptogenesis typically requires either a tuned quasi-degeneracy of the right-handed-neutrino masses or cancellations between the tree-level and one-loop contributions to the light-neutrino masses, while hierarchical leptogenesis instead requires a high scale that aggravates the Higgs hierarchy problem. This singlet-scalar extension appears to avoid these tensions, allowing successful leptogenesis with a hierarchical right-handed-neutrino spectrum down to the electroweak scale.
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