The multi-million dollar investment required for modern machine learning (ML) has made large ML models a prime target for theft. In response, the field of model stealing has emerged. Attacks based on physical side-channel information have shown that DNN model extraction is feasible, even on CUDA Cores in a GPU. For the first time, our work demonstrates parameter extraction on the specialized GPU's Tensor Core units, most commonly used GPU units nowadays due to their superior performance, via near-field physical side-channel attacks. Previous work targeted only the general-purpose CUDA Cores in the GPU, the functional units that have been part of the GPU since its inception. Our method is tailored to the GPU architecture to accurately estimate energy consumption and derive efficient attacks via Correlation Power Analysis (CPA). Furthermore, we provide an exploratory analysis of hyperparameter and weight leakage from LLMs in far field and demonstrate that the GPU's electromagnetic radiation leaks even 100 cm away through a glass obstacle.

Automating C-to-Rust migration for industrial software remains difficult because build-critical context is scattered across compile configurations, macros, external symbols, and cross-module dependencies, while reusable migration knowledge is often buried in prior C/Rust evolution. As a result, existing LLM-based approaches often work well on isolated functions or small benchmarks but struggle to produce stable project-level translations in partially migrated systems. We present His2Trans, a framework for incremental C-to-Rust migration in build-complex ecosystems where C and Rust coexist. His2Trans first reconstructs a compilable project-level Rust skeleton from build traces, recovering modules, type definitions, signatures, globals, and dependency relations before function-body generation. It then retrieves Rust-side interfaces and local coding patterns mined from historical compilation-accepted C/Rust pairs to guide translation and compiler-feedback repair. We evaluate His2Trans on five OpenHarmony submodules and nine general-purpose C benchmarks. On the OpenHarmony modules, His2Trans achieves a 97.51% incremental compilation pass rate and substantially improves build feasibility over reproduced baselines; the resulting artifacts also support mixed C/Rust builds without observed interface mismatches. On general-purpose benchmarks, it maintains high compilation feasibility, reduces the unsafe ratio by 24.02 percentage points relative to C2Rust, and, with Claude-Opus-4.5, lowers warning counts on compiled outputs. In addition, the self-evolving knowledge base reduces average repair rounds on unseen modules by approximately 60%. These results suggest that combining build-aware skeleton construction with historical knowledge reuse is an effective strategy for practical, gradual C-to-Rust migration.

Quasi-Hermitian varieties arise as higher-dimensional generalizations of non-classical unitals, including the Buekenhout--Metz (BM) and Buekenhout--Tits (BT) families. After reviewing known constructions and structural properties, we determine explicitly the BC representation of BM and BT quasi-Hermitian varieties in $\mathrm{PG}(3,q^2)$ inside $\mathrm{PG}(6,q)$. We show that BM varieties correspond to quadratic cones with hyperbolic base, whereas BT varieties give rise to non-quadratic cones, and we describe the associated configuration of spread elements in the section at infinity. These results provide a geometric interpretation of the non-classical nature of BM and BT varieties within the BC framework.

We present $\mathcal{H}\mathtt{-EFTCAMB}$, the official successor to $\mathtt{EFTCAMB}$. The original $\mathtt{EFTCAMB}$ is designed as a consistent and numerically stable implementation of the effective field theory (EFT) of dark energy in the Einstein-Boltzmann code $\mathtt{CAMB}$. On top of this, $\mathcal{H}\mathtt{-EFTCAMB}$ introduces a new Horndeski module that supports computing cosmology for an arbitrary input covariant Horndeski Lagragian. $\mathcal{H}\mathtt{-EFTCAMB}$ supports both mapping the Horndeski theory to an EFT lagrangian to solve in the EFT framework as well as directly solving for the scalar field equations of motion derived from the covariant Lagrangian. The latter approach also works for the cases when the Horndeski field experiences turn-overs, e.g. oscillation, where the EFT approach breaks down. The Horndeski module has been validated by comparing internally with existing models in the original $\mathtt{EFTCAMB}$ and externally with $\mathtt{hi\_class}$. $\mathcal{H}\mathtt{-EFTCAMB}$ features a flexible Python wrapper that is seamlessly integrated into the widely utilized cosmological sampler $\mathtt{Cobaya}$. \heft~is publicly available and serves as a comprehensive tool for testing gravity against the precision data from current and next-generation surveys.

The possibility of a photon collider extension to the beam dump of the $17.5$ GeV European XFEL has already been discussed before as the first high energy collider of its sort. It would not only be the first proof of concept and test of a photon collider but would also be a collider without competition in the region of $E_{γγ}=5-12$ GeV for photon-photon collision. In this range, $b\bar{b}$ and $c\bar{c}$ resonances, tetraquarks and mesonic molecules can be observed. Furthermore, some BSM processes can also be reached in this range. In this paper we want to discuss the possibility of observing ALPs in the process of light-by-light scattering at such a collider. We will use a simplified description of the Compton backscattering process to get a first look at cross sections for the Standard Model light-by-light scattering and the extension including ALPs. Furthermore, we extend this to the full beam dynamics included prediction, discuss all effects that are important when working with a photon collider and show that the photon collider with energy $E_{γγ}<12$ GeV would offer an extended physics reach compared to current limits.

We initiate the lightcone bootstrap analysis of multipoint correlators in a defect conformal field theory. The setup we consider is the three-point function of two bulk and one defect operator. Requiring consistency of the crossing equation in the lightcone limit, we find constraints on the defect spectrum at large transverse spin. Specifically, to reproduce the exchange of the leading-twist operator in the bulk channel we find two new twist-accumulating families of defect operators at large transverse spin and we compute their defect CFT data in this limit.

Magnetically arrested accretion disks (MADs) in black hole jet launching simulations are very successful in modelling low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGN) like M87*. The Fishbone-Moncrief torus is well established for this purpose in numerical astrophysics. The extent of the magnetic vector potential inside the torus that we coin the filling factor has not been studied before in the case of MAD simulations. We employ five 3D general relativistic magneto-hydrodynamics (GRMHD) simulations initialized with large-scale tori, that are immersed in weak, poloidal magnetic fields. To study the impact of the spatial extent of the initial magnetic field, hence the magnetic energy content in the torus, we scale it with the filling factor w.r.t. the poloidal geometric area of the mass density distribution. A common choice of the filling factor is complimented and investigated in terms of altered energetics and angular momentum transport. Further, we investigate the polarized, radiative imprints of synchrotron emission on M87 at 86 GHz, comparing them with VLBI observations. Our simulations show that elevated filling factors significantly increase the electromagnetic energy contributions and outward angular momentum transport in the jet, due to the initially increased magnetic energy-content in the torus. High magnetic fillings exhibit increased linear polarization fractions, agreeing with the observed 15$\%$ in M87*. We find the jet morphology more prone to disk-vertical flux tubes generated by MAD events. We show, that GRMHD simulations bracket the jet width measurements at the jet base in M87*. Increased magnetic filling of the torus produces jets that are noticeably brighter downstream compared to our reference models, hence, we find high fillings well suited for extended GRMHD jet models of other low-luminosity AGN, as well.

Autonomous science platforms which make decisions on the fly are fundamentally changing the outlook for materials development. AI-driven schemes can effectively reduce the total number of iterations needed to arrive at the best stoichiometry for desired properties or optimum synthesis parameters by significant margins. Here, we demonstrate real-time closed-loop autonomous navigation of a multi-dimensional synthesis parameter space for fabricating phase-pure epitaxial films of a metastable functional oxide phase using pulsed laser deposition. Sequential growth iterations in search of the optimized recipe to stabilize the desired crystal phase were performed using frame-by-frame quantitative computer vision of electron diffraction images at the unit-cell level. Our scheme regularly resulted in > 30-fold reduction in the number of experiments compared to comprehensive parameter-space mapping. The real-time workflow developed here can be readily extended to other thin film synthesis platforms opening the door for self-driving atomic-level materials design as well as autonomous semiconductor manufacturing.

This work proposes a novel cooperative transportation framework for multi-agent systems that does not require any prior knowledge of cargo locations or sizes. Each agent relies on local sensing to detect cargos, recruit nearby agents, and autonomously form a transportation team with an appropriate size. The core idea is that once an agent detects a cargo within its sensing range, it generates an attraction field represented by a density function, which pulls neighboring agents toward the cargo. When multiple cargos are present, the attraction fields generated by different agents are adaptively weighted and combined with Centroidal Voronoi Tessellation (CVT), enabling agents to self-organize into balanced formations while automatically allocating more agents to larger cargos. To prevent agents from clustering on one side of a large cargo, a Control Barrier Function (CBF)-based mechanism is introduced to enforce safe inter-agent distances and promote a uniform, symmetric distribution of agents around each cargo, which is essential for stable transportation. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed framework can simultaneously transport multiple cargos of different sizes in a coordinated and collision-free manner.

We study spaces of essentially bounded functions on compact subsets of the real line, equipped with the Alexiewicz norm given by the supremum norm of the primitive. Using the associated measure projection, we classify their surjective linear isometries as weighted composition operators determined by a sign and an increasing bi-Lipschitz map between the corresponding measure intervals. We also give geometric criteria characterizing when this interval-level map lifts to a homeomorphism or to a bi-Lipschitz homeomorphism between the underlying compact sets.

Superposition is the core feature that sets quantum theory apart from classical physics. Here, we investigate whether sets of quantum measurements can be modelled by using only devices that are operationally classical, in the sense that they have no superposition properties. This leads us to propose classical measurement models, which we show to be intermediate between the notion of commutative measurements and joint measurability. We determine both the exact depolarisation noise rate and the measurement loss rate at which all the projective measurements in $d$-dimensional quantum theory admit a classical model. For finite sets of quantum measurements we develop methods both for constructing classical models and for falsifying the existence of such model via prepare-and-measure setups. Furthermore, we show that this concept also has operational implications. For that, we consider whether quantum measurements with classical side-information can be implemented in sequence without causing a disturbance and we show that classical models imply an affirmative answer. Our work sheds light on superposition as a resource for quantum measurement devices.

The recent proliferation of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) systems highlights the need for all people to develop effective competencies to interact with and examine AI/ML systems. We study shifts in five experienced high school CS teachers' understanding of AI/ML systems after one year of participatory design, where they co-developed lessons on AI auditing, a systematic method to query AI/ML systems. Drawing on individual and group interviews, we found that teachers' perspectives became more situated, grounding their understanding in everyday contexts; more critical, reflecting growing awareness of harms; and more agentic, highlighting possibilities for action. Further, across all three perspectives, teachers consistently framed algorithmic justice through their role as educators, situating their concerns within their school communities. In the discussion, we consider the ways teachers' perspectives shifted, how AI auditing can shape these shifts, and the implications of these findings on AI literacy for both teachers and students.

Spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric observations, which rely on the Doppler effect, only provide access to the line-of-sight component of the solar plasma velocity (vz). However, many dynamic processes in the solar atmosphere involve strong horizontal motions (in the plane perpendicular to the line-of-sight: vx, vy). Existing methods for estimating horizontal velocities are generally insensitive to variations in height (the z-coordinate), providing them only on a single plane perpendicular to the line-of-sight: vx(x,y), vy(x,y). Motivated by the fact that modern analysis techniques allow us to retrieve the height dependence of vz and B, our goal is to infer also this height dependence for the horizontal velocity field in the solar atmosphere. As a first step, we present, and test a method for the two-dimensional case on the (y,z) plane so as to show that the z dependence can be successfully retrieved. The components of the two-dimensional magnetic induction equation are discretized via finite differences, leading to an overdetermined system whose solution provides vy. The method assumes that B, its time variation, as well as vz are known. This is currently possible through modern Stokes inversion techniques applied to spatially and temporally resolved spectropolarimetric observations. Using analytically prescribed values and two-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of the solar surface, we demonstrate that, in these idealized cases, the horizontal velocity component in a two-dimensional domain, can be successfully recovered with a mean error of about 1 %. The proposed method successfully retrieves the horizontal velocity field in the (y,z) plane, thereby establishing the foundation for future extensions to three-dimensional reconstructions of the horizontal velocity field.

This paper develops a tractable analytical channel model for first-hitting-time molecular communication (MC) systems under time-varying drift. While existing studies of nonstationary transport rely primarily on numerical solutions of advection-diffusion equations or parametric impulse-response fitting, they do not provide an explicit analytical description of trajectory-level arrival dynamics at absorbing boundaries. By adopting a change-of-measure formulation, we reveal a structural decomposition of the first-hitting-time density into a cumulative-drift displacement term and a stochastic boundary-flux modulation factor. This leads to a closed-form Corrected-Inverse-Gaussian (C-IG) density that generalizes the classical IG model to nonstationary drift while preserving O(1) evaluation complexity. Monte Carlo simulations under both smooth pulsatile and abrupt switching drift profiles confirm that the proposed C-IG model accurately captures complex transport phenomena, including phase modulation, multi-pulse dispersion, and transient backflow -- effects that traditionally complicate symbol synchronization and induce severe inter-symbol interference. The resulting framework provides a physics-informed, computationally efficient channel model suitable for system-level analysis and advanced receiver design, such as real-time maximum likelihood detection, in dynamic biological and MC environments.

Non-Hermitian multichannel Kondo problems host both non-Fermi liquid and non-Hermitian physics, which provide a prototypical model to explore exotic collective quantum phenomena driven by the two different ingredients. Here, we first propose an experimental setup that realizes this model with exact channel symmetry as well as a controllable PT symmetry. Then, we perform a multi-method study of this model, focusing on the low-energy spectrum, the thermodynamic quantities, and the transport properties associated with different fixed points. Using the Bethe ansatz approach, we identify existence of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov-like state previously found in the non-Hermitian single-channel Kondo model. Then, based on non-Hermitian numerical renormalization group calculations, we reveal clear numerical signatures of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov state emerging in the relatively strong non-Hermiticity regime of the PT-asymmetric model. Furthermore, our boundary conformal field theory, which is found to be applicable for the PT-symmetric model, uncovers an anomalous temperature dependence of the Kondo conductance, which is beyond conventional Hermitian Kondo systems.

The purpose of this study was to examine, from the perspective of secondary education students, the educational affordances and constraints of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning. The sample consisted of 45 students from the 2nd year of General Lyceum (11th grade, ages 16-17) in Greece, who, after becoming familiarized with ChatGPT-4o and completing six activities, filled in an open-ended questionnaire related to the research purpose. Open, axial, and selective coding of the data revealed that students recognize five educational affordances: the creation of new knowledge building on prior knowledge, immediate feedback, friendly interaction through messaging, ease and speed of access to information, and skills development. Concurrently, three main constraints were identified: content reliability, anxiety about AI use, and privacy concerns. The study concludes that students are positive toward AI use in education.

The parameter $S_8 \equiv σ_8 (Ω_m/0.3)^{0.5}$ quantifies the amplitude of matter density fluctuations. A persistent discrepancy exists between early-universe CMB observations and late-universe probes. This review assesses the ``$S_8$ tension'' against a new 2026 baseline: a unified ``Combined CMB'' framework incorporating Planck, ACT DR6, and SPT-3G. This combined analysis yields $S_8 = 0.836^{+0.012}_{-0.013}$, providing a higher central value and reduced uncertainties compared to Planck alone. Compiling measurements from 2019--2026, we reveal a striking bifurcation: DES Year 6 results exhibit a statistically significant tension of $2.4σ$--$2.7σ$ in $S_8$ \citep{DESY6}, whereas KiDS Legacy results demonstrate statistical consistency at $<1σ$ \citep{Wright2025}. We examine systematic origins of this dichotomy, including photometric redshift calibration, intrinsic alignment modeling, and shear measurement pipelines. We further contextualize these findings with cluster counts (where eROSITA favors high values while SPT favors low), galaxy-galaxy lensing, and redshift-space distortions. The heterogeneous landscape suggests survey-specific systematic effects contribute substantially to observed discrepancies, though new physics beyond $Λ$CDM cannot be excluded.

We show how the parabolic version of the Adams theorem and its corollary can be used to estimate in $L_{p}$ the evolution family associated to a divergence form second-order parabolic operator with parabolic Morrey lower-order terms and also how to estimate the moments of the derivatives of solutions of Itô equations with respect to the initial data when the drift term has singularities.

Dissolution in porous media and fractured rocks alters both the chemical composition of the fluid and the physical properties of the solid. Depending on system conditions, reactive flow may enlarge pores uniformly, widen pre-existing channels, or trigger instabilities that form wormholes. The resulting pattern reflects feedbacks among advection, diffusion, surface reaction, and the initial heterogeneity of the medium. Porous and fractured media can exhibit distinct characteristics -- for example, the presence of large fractures can significantly alter the network topology and overall connectivity of the system. We quantify these differences with three network models -- a regular pore network, a disordered pore network, and a discrete fracture network -- evaluated with a unified metric: the flow focusing profile. This metric effectively captures evolution of flow paths across all systems: it reveals a focusing front that propagates from the inlet in the wormholing regime, a system-wide decrease in focusing during uniform dissolution, and the progressive enlargement of pre-existing flow paths in the channeling regime. The metric shows that uniform dissolution cannot eliminate heterogeneity resulting from the network topology. This structural heterogeneity -- rather than just pore-diameter or fracture-aperture variance -- sets a fundamental limit on flow homogenization and must be accounted for when upscaling dissolution kinetics from pore or fracture scale to the reservoir level.

Quantum computing offers an alternative paradigm for addressing combinatorial optimization problems compared to classical computing. Despite recent hardware improvements, the execution of empirical quantum optimization experiments at scales known to be hard for state-of-the-art classical solvers is not yet in reach. In this work, we offer a different way to approach combinatorial optimization with near-term quantum computing. Motivated by the promising results observed in using quantum-enhanced Markov chain Monte Carlo (QeMCMC) for approximating complicated probability distributions, we combine ideas of sampling from the device with QeMCMC together with warm-starting and parallel tempering, in the context of combinatorial optimization. We demonstrate empirically that our algorithm recovers the global optima for instances of the Maximum Independent Set problem (MIS) up to 117 decision variables using 117 qubits on IBM quantum hardware. We show early evidence of a scaling advantage of our algorithm compared to similar classical methods for the chosen instances of MIS. MIS is practically relevant across domains like financial services and molecular biology, and, in some cases, already difficult to solve to optimality classically with only a few hundred decision variables.

The third and fourth density and acoustic virial coefficients of neon were determined at temperatures between 10 and 5000 K from first principles employing the path-integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) approach. For these calculations, we used the pair potential of Hellmann $\textit{et al.}$ [J. Chem. Phys. 154, 164304 (2021)], which is based on supermolecular $\textit{ab initio}$ calculations with basis sets of up to octuple-zeta quality and levels of theory up to coupled cluster with single, double, triple, quadruple, and perturbative pentuple excitations [CCSDTQ(P)]. The potential also accounts for relativistic, retardation, and post-Born$-$Oppenheimer effects and is provided with reliable uncertainty estimates. To incorporate nonadditive interactions, we developed a nonadditive three-body potential based on extensive supermolecular CCSD(T), CCSDT, and CCSDT(Q) calculations with basis sets of up to sextuple-zeta quality. This potential also accounts for relativistic effects. The very small nonadditive four-body contributions to the fourth virial coefficients were considered using a relatively simple nonadditive four-body potential based on supermolecular CCSD(T) calculations. We calculated the third and fourth density and third acoustic virial coefficients directly by PIMC and the fourth acoustic virial coefficient indirectly using thermodynamic relations between the density and acoustic virial coefficients. The uncertainties of the pair potential and those estimated for our nonadditive three-body potential were rigorously propagated in the PIMC calculations into uncertainties for the virial coefficients. These uncertainties are distinctly smaller than those of almost all of the corresponding experimental virial coefficient data.

Given a graph $H$, we investigate the $d$-regular graphs $G$ with the highest $H$-density. We reframe the problem as a continuous optimization problem on the eigenvalues of $G$ by relating injective homomorphism numbers from $H$ and homomorphism numbers from quotient graphs of $H$. For almost all $H$, this relation has non-spectral terms, which require bounding by spectral terms in a way that is sharp at the optimal graph. For bipartite $H$ and $d$ large enough, we show $G$ consists of disjoint copies of $K_{d,d}$. For non-bipartite $H$ and $d$ sufficiently large, $G$ is a collection of disjoint $K_{d+1}$ graphs. For $H=C_5$ and $d=3$, disjoint Petersen graphs emerge.

We develop an exact framework for neutrino decoherence in power-law correlated turbulent matter, as encountered in core-collapse supernovae. Employing the Nakajima--Zwanzig projection technique, we derive an exact non-Markovian master equation for the neutrino density matrix. For kernels \( K(t) \propto t^{-ν} \), the spectral index \(ν\) characterizes the correlation structure: smaller (including negative) values of \(ν\) correspond to stronger long-range correlations. To treat ultraviolet singularities for \( ν\geq 1 \) without spoiling the fractional structure, we use a renormalization prescription based on Hadamard finite parts and analytic continuation. The exact Laplace-space solution for the survival probability is obtained. In the high-density matter basis relevant to supernovae, the solution is expressed through Mittag-Leffler functions, establishing a direct link to anomalous diffusion phenomena. For negative spectral indices (\( ν< 0 \)), the memory integral corresponds to a higher-order fractional operator. Our work clarifies how spectral index, renormalization scale, and decoherence efficiency interrelate, providing a complete analytical description and practical tools for supernova neutrino simulations. The fractional calculus formulation reveals fundamental mathematical connections between neutrino flavor evolution and other systems governed by long-range temporal correlations.

We investigate the non-linear evolution of matter perturbations in $f(R)$ models with the Chameleon screening mechanism. The novel feature of our investigation is an iterative solution for the non-linear equation for the scalar field $χ= Φ- Ψ$, where $Φ$ and $Ψ$ are the potentials that characterise scalar perturbations of the metric. We demonstrate the scheme on spherical perturbations - smooth, compensated top-hats of varying length scales. We find that the effect of the Chameleon mechanism is seen most prominently on scales where the size of the top-hat is comparable to the Compton scale of the background. There is a density enhancement near the outer edge of the top-hat and the top-hat does not retain its shape. We explain this well-known observation in the context of the spatio-temporal evolution of the Compton scale. Additionally, we find a slight enhancement of the density near the origin, a feature not reported previously in the literature. On scales much smaller or much larger than the background Compton length, including the Chameleon screening has no appreciable effect on the perturbations. In the former, the growth is enhanced as compared to GR and is almost the same as GR in the latter. Finally, we examine the non-linear density velocity divergence (DVDR) relation and find that for evolution affected by Chameleon screening, the DVDR is no longer one-to-one even for a single profile. The relation between density and velocity depends on the location within the perturbation.

The interplay among electronic correlation, topology, and time-reversal-symmetry (TRS) often leads to exotic quantum states of matter, as highlighted by the discoveries of fractional Chern insulators (FCIs) in twisted bilayer MoTe2 (tMoTe2). Among the FCIs in tMoTe2, the most robust is at a hole filling factor of v=-2/3 per moiré unit cell. Here, employing pump-probe circular dichroism (CD) measurement on tMoTe2 at twist angles (3.9 and 3.7 degrees), we show that a correlated state at v =-4/3 exhibits an unusual Ising antiferromagnet behavior. The v =-4/3 state with no net magnetization undergoes first order phase transitions at extremely low magnetic fields of ~ 2-6 mT to partially valley polarized (PVP) states. This behavior is notably absent for all other correlated states in tMoTe2 and also disappears for v =-4/3 at higher or lower twist angles (4.0 or 3.3 degree). The observed magnetic signature is consistent with a theoretically proposed fractional topological insulator (FTI), consisting of two copies of v =-2/3 FCIs with opposite chirality in the two K valleys. The experimental results are supported by interacting continuum model calculations that reveal the extreme closeness in energy ( < 1 meV) between the putative FTI and PVP states. Our findings present a candidate FTI with TRS and call for advanced transport and imaging measurements to establish the quantized helical edge modes.

We investigate the self-assembly of two-dimensional dodecagonal quasicrystals driven by cyclic shear, effectively replacing thermal fluctuations with plastic rearrangements. Using particles interacting via a smoothed square-shoulder potential, we demonstrate that cyclic shearing drives initially random configurations into ordered quasicrystalline states. The resulting non-equilibrium phase diagram qualitatively mirrors that of thermal equilibrium, exhibiting square, quasicrystalline, and hexagonal phases, as well as phase coexistence. Remarkably, the shear-stabilised quasicrystal appears even where the zero-temperature equilibrium ground state favours square-hexagonal coexistence, suggesting that mechanical driving can stabilise quasicrystalline order in a way analogous to entropic effects in thermal systems. The structural quality of the self-assembled state is maximised near the yielding transition, even though the dynamics are slowest there. Yet, the system still quickly forms monodomain quasicrystals without any complex annealing protocols, unlike at equilibrium, where thermal annealing would be required. Finite-size scaling analysis reveals that global orientational order decays slowly with system size, indicative of quasi-long-range order comparable to equilibrium hexatic phases. Overall, our results establish cyclic shear as an efficient pathway for the self-assembly of complex structures.

Levitated nanodiamonds hosting a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center provide an ultra-low-frequency mechanical mode with widely tunable dissipation and spin backaction under microwave dressing and optical pumping. We demonstrate that the driven NV spin can be tuned to act as an inverted gain medium for the center-of-mass motion, thereby stabilizing an autonomous phonon maser. In the separation-of-timescales regime where spin dynamics is fast, adiabatic elimination yields a reduced mechanical master equation with closed-form, detuning-dependent transition rates and a sharp threshold given by the sign change of the phonon-number damping. For representative levitated-NV parameters, we find that a percent-level dressed-basis inversion is sufficient to reach the threshold, and the small-signal gain can exceed the intrinsic mechanical loss by orders of magnitude. Full master-equation simulations confirm above-threshold self-oscillation and a phase-diffusing, coherent steady state, whose saturation follows the Maxwell-Bloch prediction.

We present the discovery of HE0144-4657, an ultra metal-poor, CNO-enhanced star dynamically associated with the Helmi Stream disrupted dwarf-galaxy remnant. This star was first identified as a carbon-enhanced, metal-poor star candidate from the Hamburg/ESO objective-prism survey, then followed up with medium- and high-resolution spectroscopy. At [Fe/H]=-4.11, HE0144-4657 is the lowest metallicity star found in a stellar stream to date. Its chemistry is consistent with field halo stars in the same metallicity regime, and the light-element (atomic number Z<=30) chemical abundance pattern suggests that HE0144-4657 is a bona-fide second-generation star with a possible Population III progenitor in the 50Msun mass range with low explosion energy. One possible scenario for the origin of HE0144-4657 is that it was formed in an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy accreted by the Helmi Stream progenitor system before merging with the Milky Way. This discovery provides further evidence for the extragalactic origin of carbon-enhanced ultra metal-poor stars in the Milky Way and for the specific environments conducive to their formation.

Bouncing cosmologies offer an alternative to inflation by resolving the initial singularity through a contracting phase followed by a bounce into expansion. In many such models, the contracting phase is dominated by a single matter component, typically pressureless dust, which leads to an almost scale-invariant spectrum of scalar cosmological perturbations with a slight blue tilt, so that generating the observed red-tilted spectrum within this framework was challenging. In this work, we consider a more realistic scenario in which the contracting phase includes both matter and radiation, as required on physical grounds. We show that the presence of radiation can naturally induce a red tilt in the spectrum of curvature perturbations seeded by quantum vacuum fluctuations in the remote past of the contraction. Since the perturbations of the two fluids are coupled via gravity, vacuum initial conditions must be carefully defined. We demonstrate that, without fine-tuning, the resulting entropy perturbations are subdominant with respect to curvature perturbations. This suggests that a minimal two-component bounce model, involving only ordinary matter and radiation, can connect to the standard expanding cosmology with observationally viable initial conditions.

We present a theoretical analysis of the process $Λ_c^+ \to p\bar{K}^0 π^0$ within the chiral unitary approach, with particular emphasis on the dynamically generated $N(1535)$ resonance. In addition to $N(1535)$, our model incorporates contributions from other intermediate resonances including $N(1650)$, $K^*(892)$, $K_0^*(1430)$, $N(1440)$, and $Σ(1750)$. The calculated invariant mass distributions and Dalitz plot are in good agreement with the recent Belle measurements. Our analysis highlights the crucial role of $N(1535)$ state in this decay channel and supports its interpretation as a dynamically generated state arising from coupled-channel meson-baryon interactions.