Papers

Pauli decomposition of an $n$-qubit operator is expensive if each of the $4^n$ Pauli strings is treated as an unstructured object. Labeling those strings by the configuration space $(\mathbb{Z}_2)^n$ makes them displacement operators $X^{\otimes x}Z^{\otimes z}$ on the computational space: shifts by~$x$ and multiplications by characters $Z^{\otimes z}$ in the computational basis. That labeling organizes the operator into $2^n$ fibers of length $2^n$, one per shift~$x$, each collecting the computational-basis amplitudes that hop by~$x$. Expanding each fiber function in the character basis of $(\mathbb{Z}_2)^n$ — a length-$2^n$ Walsh–Hadamard transform — recovers the Pauli coefficients at total cost $O(n\cdot4^n)$. The same fiber / shift–character picture extends to $(\mathbb{Z}_p)^n$ (Heisenberg–Weyl qudits). paulikit is a memory-bounded realization for qubits: for matrix-sparse inputs, peak memory need not densify to a full $2^n\times2^n$ operator. Performance is checked on a stated low-end GNU/Linux platform for a coupled-oscillator sweep beyond a billion Pauli terms.

Physical crosslinks in conventional gels are static and spatially localised, fundamentally limiting their capacity to adapt, self-heal, or perform mechanical work. Topological gels, which are held together by physical entanglements such as threadings, links, and mechanical interlocks, constitute a different paradigm by treating connectivity as a mobile, dynamic degree of freedom. Here, by using molecular dynamics simulations of semiflexible polymers and threadable colloidal rings, we establish some general design principles that transform self-assembled topological gels into programmable soft materials. We present three different modes of control. First, by controlling the mobility of the entanglements, one can tune the mechanical response of the material. Quenched anchoring forces the network to store elastic stress and yield, whereas with annealed anchoring the material can relax stresses by redistributing its entanglements whilst preserving global connectivity. Second, by controlling the degree or type of geometric confinement, it is possible to template macroscopic architecture, converting for instance 3D isotropic gels into surface-spanning 2D nets or quasi-1D topological rings with distinct graph-spectral signatures. Third, by allowing dynamical rewiring of entanglements through polymer reconnection, the material topology can be rewritten after assembly, yielding interlocked structures dominated by simple pairwise links rather than the highly complex linked states previously observed in reconnecting flexible polymers. By establishing a direct link between microscopic entanglement dynamics and emerging mechanical function, our work offers design principles for adaptive soft metamaterials and provides insights into biological topological networks such as kinetoplast DNA and chromatin loop networks.

Generative models have the potential to accelerate inorganic materials discovery by enabling inverse design, but generating experimentally realisable crystals remains challenging. Oxidation states are widely used to assess the compositional validity of crystals and guide inorganic materials discovery. While existing generative models for crystals can generate materials with charge-neutral oxidation-state assignments, they poorly reproduce the distributions of oxidation states observed in synthesised materials. To address this limitation, we propose OxiGen, an oxidation-state-aware crystal diffusion model that explicitly represents oxidation states during generation. OxiGen enforces global charge neutrality by construction using a structured output layer with exact inference over a finite-state automaton. Empirically, OxiGen substantially improves oxidation-state fidelity, generates the highest rate of stable, unique, and novel crystals among evaluated methods, and maintains high compositional validity even under property conditioning.

An analytic quadrupole octupole hexadecapole (QOH) axially symmetric model is used to provide a coherent framework for describing both octupole vibrations and octupole deformations in even-even nuclei. The model offers analytical solutions for the energy spectra and electric E1, E2 and E3 transition probabilities. The spectroscopic features are governed by three physically meaningful parameters: the stiffness constant $c_2$, the hexadecapole deformation parameter $\phi_{02}$, and the sextic potential parameter $\alpha$, directly linked to $\phi_{01}^{\pi}$ which represents the interplay between the quadrupole and octupole deformations for both even and odd angular momentum states. The model is applied across a broad range of nuclei including Ra, Th, Sm, Ba, U, Gd, Nd, Rn, Pu, Xe, and Ce isotopes, effectively capturing the characteristic properties of alternating parity bands. Detailed calculations of E1, E2, and E3 transition matrix elements have been performed for $^{220,222}$Rn, $^{222,224,228}$Ra, and $^{144,146}$Ba yielding results in good agreement with available experimental data.

Machine-learning interatomic potentials enable large-scale atomistic simulations of vanadium alloys relevant to fusion applications, but reliable training and validation remain challenging in multicomponent systems. Here, we develop a descriptor-based DeepMD-DPA1 potential for the V-Ti-Cr system using a two-stage workflow: broad configuration sampling driven by the MatterSim foundation model followed by fine-tuning to density-functional-theory data computed with VASP. The model achieves root-mean-square errors of 9.2 meV/atom for energies and 0.23 eV/angstrom for force components. Using this potential in large-cell LAMMPS simulations, we compute Young's modulus, bulk modulus, and Poisson's ratio for V-4Ti-xCr and V-xTi-4Cr alloys at T = 300 K and T = 1073 K. We find that increasing Cr fraction increases the elastic moduli of the alloy, while increasing Ti fraction decreases them; all compositions are softer at 1073 K than at 300 K. Two-phase simulations give a melting temperature for pure V of 1950 K, in good agreement with experimental data.

We derive the local pressure tensor generated by the original Rosenfeld fundamental measure theory (FMT) for hard-sphere fluids from an arbitrary infinitesimal deformation. The variation of a finite-distance FMT kernel is written via the line integrals of the local deformation gradient along the straight segment connecting its endpoints. The resulting symmetric pressure tensor consists of a local term expressed through the standard FMT weighted densities and a finite-range chord term. For a monodisperse hard-sphere fluid, differential relations between the Rosenfeld measures reduce the tensor to a closed one-body form. We demonstrate that no independent pair density or inhomogeneous Ornstein–Zernike equation is required. In the limit of homogeneous fluid the tensor reproduces the Percus–Yevick compressibility equation of state. In planar confinement the normal stress satisfies the hard-wall contact relation, the mechanical surface tension agrees with the surface excess grand potential, and the disjoining pressure agrees with the derivative of the confined grand potential with respect to slit width. The finite-range chord term extends the deformation method from local field theories to nonlocal weighted-density functionals.

Relations between electroweak parameters can be measured with ever-increasing precision and a future lepton collider will require major advances in the theoretical predictions. We derive top-quark mediated four-loop QCD corrections to $\Delta r$ and $\Delta \kappa$, that is to the relations between the weak boson masses, the electroweak couplings, and the weak mixing angle. To this end, we expand the vacuum polarization functions of charged and neutral gauge bosons in $M_Z^2 \ll m_t^2$, finding a negligible truncation error after six terms. Our results imply a shift of a few hundred keV in the W boson mass, which will be numerically relevant for measurements at the FCC-ee.

We prove the localization dichotomy conjecture for non-periodic Hall insulators on the lattice. That is, we show that the Fermi projector $P$ of a gapped exponentially local Hamiltonian on $l^2(\mathbb{Z}^2) \otimes \mathbb{C}^n$ admits an exponentially localized Wannier basis if and only if $P$ has vanishing Chern number.

Giant impacts (collisions between planet-sized bodies) are violent events that fundamentally alter the properties of planets and the structure of planetary systems. Observations of these events provide important constraints on the role of giant impacts in the formation of planetary systems. However, relating such observations to the specifics of the impact responsible is challenging, since numerical simulations struggle to resolve the expected extreme low densities of observable material at the edge of ongoing impact structures. In particular, lower limits on density are often enforced in SPH codes for computational efficiency. Here, we present a method of post-processing output from smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of giant impacts, that emulates realistic physical properties in multi-phase and multi-material collisions, in order to better understand these low-density outer regions. We apply our novel post-processing pipeline to determine the direct thermal emission and potential observational signatures of giant impacts, and obtain consistent photic surface geometries for an example impact simulated for a range of resolutions and code parameters. We find that during the first days after this terrestrial giant impact event, the emission from hot, unbound ejecta can be comparable in temperature and luminosity to that of an M-Dwarf star, and as such can be astronomically observable. Our work begins to bridge the gap between observations and theoretical models, and could allow high cadence, large-sky surveys, such as that to be carried out by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, to place constraints on the frequency and properties of giant impacts in our local neighbourhood.

We proposed to boost the photon bunching effect of classical light via a modified Fabry-Pérot cavity with one of the cavity mirrors being replaced by a spatial light modulator, through which multiple independent transverse modulations, each was to encode independently spatially correlated phase on the wave front of the light field, was cascaded in sequence in the longitudinal propagation direction in the cavity. The two-photon bunching peak and the three-photon bunching peak of the generated superbunching light field were measured to be $36.9\pm2.0$ and $\rm (2.46\pm0.12)\times10^{3}$, respectively, which, as compared to those of thermal light, were improved by one-order and three-order of magnitude, respectively. Correspondingly, the ghost image visibility reconstructed with the superbunching light was demonstrated experimentally to be improved by $\sim 40$ times as compared to that with the pseudo-thermal light. Such classical superbunching light field is of essential importance not only for fundamental physics but also for potential applications such as correlated imaging, ghost interference and nonlinear optics.

We investigated the microscopic magnetic state of the itinerant-electron ferromagnet LuInCo4 with a cobalt pyrochlore lattice by means of powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction measurements. The powder neutron diffraction profiles at zero field are well described by a simple q = 0 collinear ferromagnetic structure with an ordered Co moment of 0.9 uB. Single-crystal neutron diffraction experiments further suggest the absence of both antiferromagnetic order and long-period helical magnetic modulation. In addition, diffuse magnetic scattering was observed around q = 0, with its intensity distribution gradually broadened in reciprocal space upon cooling. Based on these observations, we propose a possible microscopic origin of the low-temperature metamagnetic transition in terms of a ferromagnetic instability enhanced by gradual localization of the itinerant Co-3d electrons. These results suggest that LuInCo4 provides a model system for investigating the interplay between electron localization and itinerant-electron ferromagnetism in cobalt-based metallic pyrochlore compounds.

The hard disk model is a fundamental reference system for excluded volume physics, liquid structure, and 2D ordering. Yet, despite its apparent simplicity, an analytical formulation of its thermodynamics has remained difficult because the free volume available to disks centers has a highly nontrivial many-body geometry. Here we show that this geometry admits a closed and exact representation: for any given hard disk configuration, the free volume can be analytically expressed through intersection areas of up to five exclusion disks. This provides a direct geometrical route from particle coordinates to the configurational partition function and entropy. We prove that the N disk partition function factorizes into a product of conditional free volumes and identify its two limiting asymptotic forms: the low density fluid regime controlled by extensive cavities and the high density fluid regime controlled by intensive private cells. Using the geometric measures computed from representative equilibrium particle configurations, the resulting theory reproduces the established hard disk equation of state over almost the entire density range up to close packing. At intermediate densities, the analysis reveals a mixed fluid regime in which localized caged defects provide an additional configurational entropy within the density interval preceding liquid hexatic coexistence. Finally, the five disk intersection area is shown to be a sensitive local scalar measure of hexagonal ordering, complementing the orientational order parameter and emphasizing the central role of many-body correlations.

The density dependence of four-quark condensates is a major source of uncertainty in operator product expansion analyses of hadrons in nuclear matter. Their determination is particularly relevant to the $N$–$J/\psi$ interaction, whose long-range attraction appears to be well described by two-pion exchange in lattice QCD. We evaluate the pion-coupled four-quark condensates using one-nucleon intermediate-state insertions and incorporate them into the QCD sum rule analysis for the $J/\psi$ meson in nuclear matter. At normal nuclear matter density, we find a mass shift of $-1.75$ MeV, which is of the same order as the approximately $-5$ MeV attraction inferred from a two-pion exchange potential fitted to lattice QCD results. A previous factorization-based treatment required the introduction of unnaturally large phenomenological parameters to obtain a comparable shift. Our result shows that one-nucleon intermediate states provide a significant contribution to the in-medium four-quark condensates and improve the connection between the operator product expansion and the long-range $N$–$J/\psi$ interaction.

Skyrmion lines and semi-local strings are examples of infrared-finite cosmic strings that arise in theories with spontaneously broken global symmetries. Unlike global $U(1)$ strings, they do not support the long-range Nambu-Goldstone boson (NGB) profile responsible for a logarithmically infrared-divergent string tension. We argue that NGB emission from their low-frequency oscillations is strongly suppressed. Consequently, their gravitational-wave signals may be comparable to those from local strings.

We describe a Segre-Veronese construction of polynomial solutions to the interpolation conditions of the numerators of tree-level MHV gravity amplitudes given by Hodges' formula. The five- and six-point Hodges numerators arise from Segre determinants, while for every $n\geq7$ suitable Segre determinants lead to solutions linearly independent of the Hodges numerator. The existence of such independent elements for $n=7,8$ was recently established by Mai and Zhang.

Accurate transport properties calculations in transition metals require treating inter-orbital hybridization, which is often poorly captured by simplified single-band models. We propose an ab initio approach combining maximally localized Wannier functions and the Allen's method to correctly account for this mixing, overcoming the artifacts inherent to the Souza-Marzari-Vanderbilt scheme. Our method enables efficient orbital-resolved analysis of transport spectral functions. Applied to face-centered cubic Pd and body-centered cubic Mo, we reveal universal scattering mechanisms despite distinct electronic structures in these metals. Crucially, the parallel addition of distinct scattering channels perfectly reproduces full Allen's method calculations, rigorously validating this decomposition. We show that the absence of a $d$-peak at Fermi level in Mo enhances $s$-$s$ scattering, while the same contribution to resistivity and electron thermal conductivity of Pd is close to the experimental data for Ag. Ultimately, the proposed method provides a universal and efficient tool for the microscopic analysis of electron-phonon scattering mechanisms in systems with strong hybridization between localized and delocalized electron states.

A program for fluctuating kinetic theory is proposed in this paper to study nonlinear Lévy-type fluctuation corrections to kinetic PDEs in a unified way. The Vlasov–Fokker–Planck (VFP), Landau, and Boltzmann equations can each be decomposed into a kinetic transport term and a generalized gradient structure generated by a nonlinear dual pair of dissipation potentials. Going beyond the linear Onsager structure and the classical fluctuation–dissipation relation, we propose a new nonlinear Lévy-type fluctuation–dissipation relation that identifies the thermal fluctuations associated with this generalized gradient structure. On a regular tilted class, the canonical action of the generalized gradient structure agrees with the Freidlin–Wentzell-type action predicted by the resulting SPDE. This consistency gives thermodynamic support for the new nonlinear fluctuation–dissipation relation and leads to a master fluctuating kinetic equation. We further establish a sufficient condition on the nonlinear dual dissipation potential under which its centered cumulant admits a Lévy–Khintchine representation, and show that the resulting Lévy current can be realized through Gaussian white noise and a compensated Poisson random measure. As an application of this framework, an \(\alpha\)-stable Lévy-type Dean-Kawasaki equation is derived. Furthermore, by rescaling the fluctuating Boltzmann equation under a distinguished relation between the noise intensity and the hydrodynamic scaling parameter, we prove that its Hamiltonian converges to the Hamiltonian of the Landau–Lifshitz–Navier–Stokes equations. This reveals a scaling relation between kinetic fluctuations and fluctuating hydrodynamics.

HOMFLY-PT polynomials describe analytic continuation of Wilson averages in Chern-Simons theory to arbitrary complex values of two independent parameters $q$ and $A$. They also depend on the knot and representation of the gauge group. However, when $q^2$ is a primitive $m$-th root of unity, e.g. $q=\pm e^{i\pi/m}$, these polynomials exhibit a universal (knot-independent) factorization: $H_R$ becomes the product of the polynomials for the $m$-core of the Young diagram $R$ and of one and the same factor $H_{[m]}$ for every $m$-ribbon of $R$. In all the examples which we computed this factor is just the special polynomial at $A^m$. At $q=\pm1$ factorization follows from the singularity of the cabled HOMFLY, which is the same for all representations. At $m>1$ the relevant singularity is in the projector, and what survives of it is a finite sum of braids $X_m$ – the $m$-th power sum inside the cable, which can be freely moved through the other strands. For the proof we use the Murnaghan-Nakayama rule and the Adams operation. Discovery of this hidden structure explains the old factorization puzzle.

Non-classical dynamics in open quantum systems can be hidden in temporal correlations that are invisible to standard state- and channel-based tests. We define coherence for multi-time quantum processes and show that access to intermediate times can reveal coherence absent from all corresponding pairwise channels. Incoherent processes are fixed points of dephasing on all input and output spaces, and their coherence is quantified by relative entropy. As a proof of principle, we use an Ising model in which all three pairwise channels are incoherent while the full three-time process remains coherent. We observe this multi-time coherence on a superconducting quantum processor using a coherence witness and full process tomography.

We show that linear-growth-rate heterogeneity combined with complex global coupling can generate quasiperiodicity and chaos in a finite population of Stuart-Landau oscillators with identical natural frequencies and no Kerr-type nonlinear frequency shift. Lyapunov spectra identify limit cycles, quasiperiodic tori, and chaotic attractors, while the order-parameter amplitude exhibits signatures consistent with period-doubling-like transitions towards chaos. We further derive a finite-size invariant manifold of vanishing-order-parameter phase-locked solutions represented by closed polygons with fixed side lengths and demonstrate their configuration-dependent transverse stability. Ensemble sampling reveals pronounced coexistence among polygonal and ordinary phase-locked cycles, quasiperiodic tori, and chaotic attractors. An amplitude-time rescaling identifies the leading parameter approximately organizing the regime boundaries and the similar bifurcation and multistability patterns. These results advance our understanding of collective dynamics in amplitude-inclusive oscillator networks by revealing how heterogeneity and complex coupling jointly shape dynamical complexity, bifurcation structure, and multistability.

We introduce an inertial counterdiabatic (CD) protocol that reformulates shortcut-to-adiabaticity design as a moving-frame diagonalization problem. The method employs the Magnus expansion to construct a variational propagator generated by an accessible CD ansatz. In the new rotating frame, the controls are optimized to suppress the off-diagonal Hamiltonian terms, and the CD terms are defined to counteract the corresponding inertial contribution. The propagator generated with the Magnus expansion naturally exploits additional control directions generated through its nested commutator, while the sequential design of the propagator introduces temporal nonlocality into the optimization. We benchmark the method on a two-qubit system and on the one-dimensional quantum Ising chain, where it consistently outperforms variational CD protocols based on action minimization. The largest improvements are observed near gap-closing regions, demonstrating the advantage of combining temporal and algebraic nonlocality for suppressing diabatic excitations.

Conventional compressed sensing (CS) has a measurement lower bound of M = {\Omega}(K log(N/K)) under non-adaptive measurements. Recent experiments on quantum compressed sensing (QCS) have reported numbers of measurements below this classical lower bound. In this work, we establish lower bounds on the measurement complexity of QCS from an information-theoretic and quantum-physical perspective. QCS exploits quantum parallelism, enabling a unitary domain-alignment evolution to act on a superposition of all N basis states and map the sparse basis onto the measurement basis in a one-to-one manner. Consequently, the locations of nonzero components are explicitly carried by measurement-index labels. If only basic statistical information about the K nonzero components is required, the total number of effective index samples satisfies the coarse necessary condition Ms = {\Omega}(K). Under independent single-index projective measurements, when the support is unknown, the nonzero probabilities satisfy pn = {\Theta}(1/K), and exact support recovery is required with a fixed success probability, the sampling-coverage requirement leads to Ms = {\Theta}(K ln K). If each nonzero amplitude coefficient is further required to achieve a coordinate-wise relative root-mean-square error {\epsilon}, the optimal effective index sample complexity is Ms = {\Theta}(K ln K + K/{\epsilon}2), which reduces to {\Theta}(K ln K) for fixed {\epsilon}. Multimode photon-number-resolving detection can reduce the number of experimental rounds but not the total effective index sample complexity. These results show that quantum parallelism is not only a core resource for quantum computing but can also play a transformative role in measurement science.

Nonlinear neural networks develop structured internal representations, yet how their geometry is determined by the tasks being learned remains poorly understood. Here, we develop an analytical framework for piecewise-linear feedforward and recurrent networks that links learning, activation-region structure, and neural selectivity. We show that, at any stationary point of gradient-aligned learning, a nonlinear network decomposes into local linear regressions over its activation regions. Deviations from the corresponding least-squares solutions are jointly constrained by network weights shared across regions and vanish in the low-error regime, yielding an approximate piecewise least-squares decomposition of the task. This structure admits a decision-tree interpretation, which we recover numerically by fitting trees to predict network activation patterns from the input. We further derive how the regions in which neurons are active determine the task statistics they capture, thereby organizing neural selectivity into distinct subpopulations. The resulting predictions closely match the selectivity geometry observed in simulated networks and two empirical neural datasets. Finally, we show that neural baseline regulates activation pattern diversity, placing networks along a continuum between coarse, generalizing representations and fine-grained, expressive representations. Together, these results establish activation regions as a unifying framework for describing how nonlinear networks decompose task structure into local computations and how those computations can be revealed through neural activity.

We consider a Bardeen black hole (BBH) with variable mass and magnetic charge within the framework of an extended model of gravity and electrodynamics, where the boundary terms in the varied action are treated as geometric quantum fluctuations of spacetime. We propose that the extended Riemann manifold is generated by a new connection, $\hat{\delta\Gamma}^{\mu}_{\alpha\beta}$. These connection components contain geometric information regarding both gravitational and electromagnetic fluctuations on the background curved metric described by a Riemann manifold. Furthermore, we calculate the expectation values for the magnetic field components using a nonlinear and non-commutative quantum algebra for the gravitational and electromagnetic potentials. Our results are consistent with a radiating massive magnetic monopole that produces a radial component of the magnetic field confined to distances $r<\sqrt{3/\lambda_0}$, which are restricted by the vacuum energy density. The field $\hat{A}^{\mu}$ describes massive photons found in the vicinity of a BBH, forming a gravito-electromagnetic structure analogous to that of an atom, which could be a candidate for dark matter in the early universe.

Dispersion is a key limiting factor in ultrafast systems as it modifies the temporal structure of ultrashort optical pulses. Conventional dispersion compensation techniques, though widely used, rely on a combination of several bulky optical components and complex, long propagation paths, posing challenges for integration into compact photonic platforms. All-dielectric resonant metasurfaces operating in the Huygens' regime of spectrally overlapping electric and magnetic dipolar resonances offer a promising route to low-loss dispersion control at the sub-wavelength scale; however, the achievable dispersion from a single layer remains fundamentally limited by its phase gradient and spectral bandwidth. Here, we experimentally demonstrate in-line dispersion control of femtosecond laser pulses using a multilayer architecture of dielectric Huygens' metasurfaces, without requiring spatial separation of their spectral components, as typically employed in Fourier-plane dispersion compensation schemes. The phase dispersion accumulates across stacked layers approaching a total of 8pi, corresponding to a maximum group delay dispersion of around 3969 fs2. This enables efficient compensation of the input chirp and results in a significant compression of femtosecond laser pulses in the telecom wavelength range. Importantly, the metasurface stack functions as a single compact transmissive element, which is simply inserted into the beam path. Overall, our results establish a compact, scalable platform for integrated pulse compression and ultrafast dispersion engineering.

In this study, we address the seemingly open question of disparity between the experimentally and theoretically observed Raman spectra for the altermagnetic $\alpha$-MnTe. We establish that the consideration of long range (LR) dipole-dipole interaction is crucial to accurately estimate the phonon band structure and thereby capturing each of the experimentally observed Raman signatures. The LR correction brings about substantial changes to the high-frequency optical modes and their group-theoretical representations. Specifically, for the highly debated Raman peak around 175 cm$^{-1}$, alongside the Raman silent B$_{1u}$ mode, the LR corrections introduce Raman-active longitudinal optical A$^{\prime}$ and A$_1$, and transverse optical A$_1$ modes. Overall, the calculated Raman spectra suggest that the intensity of these modes is weak in the pristine system, while certain prescribed distortions can increase their intensity. The Raman peak around 140 cm$^{-1}$, as observed experimentally, is identified to be emerging from a higher-order Raman process due to zone off-center contributions, while the other debated 120 cm$^{-1}$ peak has both the zone center and off-center contributions.

Quantum automated learning (QAL) trains quantum models by directly updating quantum states, offering an approach to quantum machine learning that avoids optimizing variational circuit parameters. However, post-selection constrains the probability of obtaining the final learned model. We develop a post-selection-free QAL algorithm that organizes a complete training path into a coherent quantum circuit and uses fixed-point amplitude amplification to increase the probability of obtaining the learned model. We provide theoretical guarantees on output error and learning loss, and identify conditions under which additional coherent resources reduce the cost of restarting failed trajectories. The construction gives QAL a coherent implementation with explicit learning guarantees and resource costs, enabling a model with certified learning quality and controlled output error to be obtained with high probability.

Studying the chemical composition of the warm gas surrounding embedded solar-type protostars is one of the areas for which the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is particularly well suited. Recently, the ALMA Large Program “Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys” (COMPASS) carried out an observing campaign of a sample of 11 protostellar regions to investigate the chemical impact of their environments and evolutionary stages. The aim of this paper is to provide the observational and procedural information necessary for the community to understand the analysis presented in forthcoming scientific papers by the COMPASS collaboration, and to enable archival research using the data products provided by our team and the ALMA Science Archive. This paper describes the technical setup of the observations, and it outlines the data-processing pipeline and primary data products from this initiative. The Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) was used for initial calibration following the standard ALMA Pipeline, and then IMAGER was used for self-calibration and imaging. We describe post-processing done with Python to achieve favorable continuum subtraction, correct for the primary beam response, and extract spectra. We discuss our strategy for mitigating data challenges, including those related to data volume and continuum subtraction for spectral line analysis. The incorporation of IMAGER in our workflow was advantageous in terms of the computing efficiency which allowed us to benchmark several imaging parameters and techniques; we also demonstrate that the imaging outcomes using IMAGER or CASA are scientifically comparable. Numerous data products are generated for the program, including image cubes for the 36 spectral windows targeting each source, extracted spectra, and continuum images.

Multimodal vision-language systems typically fuse image and text embeddings through classical operators such as concatenation, attention, bilinear pooling, or tensor interactions. We propose Quantum Entangled Multimodal Fusion Networks (QEMFN), a hybrid quantum-classical framework that introduces parameterized entanglement as a structured inductive bias for multimodal fusion. Pretrained visual and textual features are projected into compact latent spaces, encoded as angle-parameterized quantum states, processed through intra-modal and paired cross-modal entangling circuits, and measured to produce fused representations for retrieval. Under matched parameter budgets and identical frozen CLIP backbones, QEMFN outperforms classical fusion baselines on COCO-5k and Flickr30k, including multilayer perceptron, tensor fusion, FiLM, cross-attention, compact transformer, and a dequantized paired-topology analogue. An ablation suite isolates the quantum module's contribution from the surrounding classical projections, and quantum-centric analyses report Meyer-Wallach entangling capability, expressibility, gradient variance against barren-plateau bounds, and entropy-performance correlation under controls for training progress alongside an intervention study on the entangling component. QEMFN is executed under shot-based estimation, a noise-modeled fake backend, and a real superconducting device with zero-noise extrapolation. This work does not claim quantum computational advantage; the contribution is the framework together with a controlled empirical and quantum-centric evaluation that positions trainable entanglement as an interpretable, hardware-executable fusion mechanism at scales accessible on contemporary devices.

Fringe Projection Profilometry (FPP) requires precise system characterisation to achieve reliable three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions; however, characterisation accuracy strongly depends on robust checkerboard feature localisation, which can deteriorate under challenging imaging conditions such as lens blur and characterisation target orientations. Existing deep learning-based corner detectors are typically assessed using detection metrics and camera reprojection error alone, without considering their wider impact on projector characterisation, camera-projector stereo characterisation consistency, or overall measurement accuracy. In this work, we introduce a complete FPP characterisation pipeline that incorporates deep learning-based corner detection into the standard camera characterisation workflow. We also characterise the projector by sampling phase values at the centres of the white squares in the characterisation target. Rather than treating corner detection as an isolated task, the proposed framework explicitly analyses how localisation errors propagate throughout the entire FPP characterisation chain. Performance is evaluated using detection metrics (e.g., precision and recall), camera and projector reprojection errors, and the camera and projector stereo characterisation. Across a mixed dataset of clean and degraded images, the camera reprojection error is reduced from 1.237 pixels to 0.259 pixels, while the projector reprojection error is reduced by roughly 50%. Dimensional evaluation of reconstructed artefacts shows improved geometric accuracy compared with those resulting from the conventional pipeline. Overall, the findings indicate increased robustness of system-level characterisation under challenging imaging conditions, thereby enabling more reliable industrial FPP measurements.