The antiferromagnet on the ruby lattice is expected to host a range of exotic emergent phenomena, yet its material realization has remained elusive. Here we show that the layered transition metal fluorides CsBaFe$_3$F$_{12}$ and CsBaCr$_3$F$_{12}$ with Fe$^{3+}$ and Cr$^{3+}$ ions realize only slightly distorted ruby lattice geometries with spin moments $S=5/2$ and $S=3/2$, respectively. Their microscopic Hamiltonians, calculated with DFT energy mapping, are dominated by short-ranged antiferromagnetic interactions within the ruby layers. Classical Monte Carlo simulations reveal strong frustration in both compounds, with local Néel correlations on the hexagonal plaquettes and distinct long-range ordering tendencies governed by weaker triangular links. For CsBaFe$_3$F$_{12}$, the calculated thermodynamic behaviour is consistent with the experimentally reported magnetic ordering scale. For CsBaCr$_3$F$_{12}$, classical Monte Carlo and Luttinger-Tisza analysis reveal competing low-energy ordering wave vectors, strong finite-size sensitivity, and a tendency toward incommensurate order. Overall, our results establish these fluorides as experimentally accessible ruby-lattice antiferromagnets and provide quantitative predictions for future neutron-scattering studies.

We present a control-variate method for reducing the variance of power spectrum covariance matrix estimates from simulations of large-scale structure. The key idea is to pair each mock simulation with a cheap Zeldovich-approximation realization sharing the same initial conditions, and to use the known statistical properties of the Zeldovich field to remove correlated sample variance from the covariance estimator. Under a Gaussian disconnected approximation, we derive fully analytic expressions for both the optimal control-variate coefficient, $β(k,\ell;k',\ell')$, and the corresponding correlation, $ρ(k,\ell;k',\ell')$, in terms of the auto- and cross-power spectra of the target and control fields. In the monopole case, the correlation takes the particularly simple form $ρ(k,k') = r^2(k),r^2(k')$, where $r(k)$ is the standard cross-correlation coefficient between the target and Zeldovich fields, implying that covariance estimation remains highly efficient whenever the two fields are strongly correlated. For masked redshift-space lognormal mocks, resembling Luminous Red Galaxies from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), we find that the control-variate estimator reduces the variance of the covariance matrix by approximately an order of magnitude on large scales, $k \lesssim 0.05\,h\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$, precisely where accurate covariance estimation is most challenging. The gains are smaller for higher $k$ but typically accelerate convergence by a factor of 2-3, substantially lowering the computational cost of covariance estimation for current and upcoming large-scale structure surveys. Due to its simplicity, this method is readily implementable in current imaging and spectroscopic surveys (e.g., DESI, Euclid, LSST, PFS, SPHEREx).

Two-dimensional van der Waals materials exhibit a variety of correlated electron phases, and optical driving offers a promising route toward manipulating them. For example, cavity-enhanced, continuous-wave (CW) Raman excitation has been suggested as a way to coherently and superradiantly populate phonons or charge density waves via material excitons. A steady-state phonon population may be sustained with sufficiently strong electron-phonon coupling to drive novel collective response. We describe an apparatus built to meet the requirements of such an experimental program: Namely, an ultrahigh-vacuum system housing a length-tunable confocal Fabry-Pérot cavity with an intracavity sample, both cryogenically cooled and stabilized against vibrations. A four-axis nanopositioner aligns the sample and supports electrical leads for sample carrier density modulation and transport measurements. Transmission through the multimode cavity enables in situ sample imaging for alignment; the sample is a transition metal dichalcogenide in this work. Operating near the confocal geometry concentrates the optical field into a localized supermode that substantially enhances light-matter coupling. This enhancement is preserved despite the millimeter-scale cavity length, which provides room for sample alignment and exchange.

The azimuthal hadronic flow observed in ultra-relativistic ion-ion collisions provides a sensitive probe of many-body ground-state correlations in the colliding nuclei. In particular, collective correlations associated with nuclear "intrinsic deformation" are expected to leave pronounced fingerprints on specific final-state observables. However, such effects are commonly interpreted within a classical rigid-rotor picture, despite the intrinsically quantum nature of nuclei. In this Letter, the validity of this interpretation is assessed systematically across the nuclear chart by comparing the quantum quadrupole rotor with its classical rigid-rotor limit. Quantum contributions associated with the fermionic nature of the nucleons are shown to be largely independent of shell effects, and hence of the intrinsic deformation. While they account for nearly all of the quantum rotor effective quadrupole deformation in light and/or spherical nuclei, they drop below 10% in intrinsically well deformed heavy nuclei. The present letter demonstrates that a quantitative interpretation of nuclear-structure effects in final-state observables requires going beyond the classical rigid-rotor paradigm. Beyond the quantum contributions quantified presently, correlations associated with collective vibrations and with the non-collective nucleonic motion must be further included and characterized.

Microwave devices capable of near-quantum-limited signal processing are essential components in the toolbox of solid-state quantum technologies. The manipulation and readout of single-photon microwave signals through amplifiers, mixers, isolators, etc. must fulfill strict requirements in terms of signal integrity to ensure reliable operation. These active microwave quantum devices operate in complex cryo-electronic setups. This poses challenges to their characterization, since all relevant figures of merit must be expressed at the reference planes of their ports. Even though cryogenic S-parameter calibration is non-trivial, metrological approaches are converging toward rigorous methods. Furthermore, preserving signal integrity must be quantified via absolute noise levels at the ports of the Device Under Test (DUT), requiring an absolute power reference. In this work, we present an in situ noise metrology protocol based on substituting a controllable noise source for the DUT. We motivate this choice by showing that placing the noise source at the DUT input impacts the separability of the calibration from the DUT characteristics. Our proposed architecture combines Planck spectroscopy using a Variable Temperature Stage with Short-Open-Load-Reciprocal scattering-parameter calibration, so that noise and scattering quantities are referred to the same cryogenic reference planes. In this configuration, the readout-chain calibration is separated from the internal dynamics of the DUT. As a demanding use case, we apply the protocol to a Josephson Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier and extract its gain and input-referred added noise under pump conditions activating multimode nonlinear behavior. This illustrates how our device-agnostic protocol supports portable noise characterization of nonlinear cryogenic microwave devices.

Gravitino masses above the electroweak scale provide the simplest solution to the gravitino problem, but such large mass scales lie far beyond the reach of collider experiments. We show that the stochastic gravitational wave background offers a direct probe of this otherwise inaccessible regime. Despite decaying before Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), these gravitinos naturally generate a period of early matter domination in the early universe. This non-standard epoch leaves a characteristic imprint on any primordial gravitational wave background, characterised by two frequencies corresponding to the onset and end of this phase. We demonstrate that these features can be used to directly infer both the gravitino mass and its initial abundance in a direct mapping. Future gravitational wave observatories span a vast frequency range, enabling sensitivity to gravitino masses from the BBN bound of $\mathcal{O}(100)\,\text{TeV}$ all the way up to $\mathcal{O}(10^{10})\,\text{TeV}$, with recent signal by NANOGrav already probing masses in the range $500$-$10^4$ TeV. Gravitational wave observables therefore probe an enormous region of parameter space, far beyond the reach of collider experiments. We are entering an era in which supergravity can be probed through gravitational wave backgrounds alongside collider experiments.

Ferroelectric materials can be used for the development of multiple device concepts combining non-volatility, small dimensions, low-power actuation, and electrical tunability. Such development demands efficient and precise design of simulation tools describing the polarization texture. However, most existing ferroelectric solvers are CPU-based and rely on simplified electrostatic treatments and reduced-dimensional representations of the polarization field. These approximations limit their ability to capture finite-size and boundary effects and restrict the range of domain structures and domain walls that can be realistically simulated. Here, we present a fully GPU (graphics processing units)-accelerated and scalable numerical solver, named PETASPIN_microelectrics, for computing the full polarization vector field of ferroelectric systems using the Ginzburg-Landau formalism. Our solver incorporates an optimized and validated calculation of the full electrostatic field and enables the parallel execution of multiple simulations. We systematically validated the solver with several benchmark problems, including phase transitions in BaTiO3 and ferroelectric domain wall profiles. Our simulations reproduce temperature-driven hysteretic phase transitions in BaTiO3. We also reproduce hysteresis loops and demonstrate stabilization of a three-dimensional hybrid skyrmion in a PbTiO3/SrTiO3 bilayer system. Our results show quantitative agreement with predictions from an analytical theory and prior experimental studies. The proposed solver provides an efficient, accurate platform for large-scale simulations of ferroelectric materials including stabilization of topological textures supporting predictive modeling for next-generation of ferroelectric device design.

Experimental synthesis of theoretically predicted materials with controlled elemental coordination environments can lead to realization of useful properties, such as facile ion transport or ferroelectric switching. Among such materials are new ternary nitrides in the Mg-W-N composition space, where several new stable and metastable compounds have been predicted and synthesized recently in bulk and film forms. Here, we report for the first time on the bulk synthesis of Mg$_3$WN$_4$ in a wurtzite-derived crystal structure via a solid state metathesis reaction. $In$ $situ$ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction shows how the ion exchange proceeds from Li$_6$WN$_4$ + 3 MgCl$_2$ precursors to Mg$_3$WN$_4$ + 6 LiCl products, with the reaction starting slowly near 380 $^\circ$C and completing by 600 $^\circ$C, including the presence of a competing disordered rocksalt-derived phase (Mg,W)N above 440 $^\circ$C. The follow up $ex$ $situ$ powder synthesis at 400 $^\circ$C for 0.5 hour with 10% excess MgCl$_2$ reveals the cation-ordered nature of the wurtzite-derived Mg$_3$WN$_4$ structure with polar symmetry confirmed by second harmonic generation measurements. Optical absorption spectra, chemical composition analysis, and electron microscopy imaging suggests that bulk wurtzite Mg$_3$WN$_4$ is prone to defect formation. Overall, this study shows that selective $ex$ $situ$ synthesis of the phase pure ternary nitrides, informed by \textit{in situ} measurements, is possible by carefully controlling the thermal budget of the reaction, and paves a way towards property characterization of wurtzite Mg$_3$WN$_4$.

Liquid water is fundamentally important, and its accurate computer simulation has been the driving force for myriad methodological developments. Ab initio molecular dynamics with forces obtained from density functional theory (DFT) is now a standard tool widely used by researchers. However, we reveal that previous studies of liquid water using the same widely-used density functional (revPBE-D3) exhibit significant discrepancies with one another, varying by over 20% in the diffusion coefficient and 10% in the density, raising fundamental questions about reproducibility. By combining modern long-range machine-learning interatomic potentials that enable robust statistical sampling with carefully converged DFT training data, we resolve these discrepancies, achieving consensus across six diverse community codes. Our predictions differ markedly from previous literature: we show that most previous results overestimate the density and underestimate the diffusion coefficient of revPBE-D3 water due to basis set incompleteness and pseudopotential inconsistencies, coupled with limitations in statistical sampling (in some cases). These benchmark values provide a reliable reference for validating current and future implementations of DFT-based ab initio molecular dynamics. Reaching agreement establishes confidence and credibility and serves as a prerequisite for the systematic assessment of new density functionals and numerical approximations.

High-precision cosmological observations have revealed persistent tensions within the standard $Λ$CDM paradigm, most notably the discrepancy in the Hubble constant and the lower than predicted amplitude of late-time matter clustering quantified by $S_8$. We propose a unified thermodynamic framework in which entropic backreaction generated during cosmic structure formation modifies both the background expansion history and the growth of matter perturbations. As gravitational instability drives the growth of cosmic structures, the configuration entropy associated with the matter distribution decreases through the nonlinear redistribution of gravitational binding energy. The resulting entropic energy density contributes a late-time backreaction that enhances the cosmic expansion rate without altering early-Universe physics or the CMB sound horizon. Simultaneously, the same irreversible entropy dissipation process induces a dissipative correction within the cosmic velocity flow, suppressing the efficiency of coherent gravitational clustering at late times. The framework operates entirely within standard General Relativity: the Einstein field equations, Poisson equation, and gravitational coupling remain unmodified, and no new propagating degrees of freedom or fifth forces are introduced. Entropic backreaction therefore provides a thermodynamically motivated, theoretically conservative, and observationally testable mechanism that may simultaneously alleviate the major late-time cosmological tensions.

Sharing entanglement among multiple users remains a central challenge for scalable quantum networks. Recent work proposed an on-demand entanglement packet architecture in which a controller uses a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) approach to allocate network resources. Quantum nodes are assigned a periodic schedule that probabilistically fulfills application requests for end-to-end entanglements. The schedule is recomputed periodically using well-known algorithms, such as Earliest Deadline First (EDF). However, a static schedule offers limited flexibility when outcomes are stochastic and arrivals are asynchronous. To overcome this limitation, we propose an online scheduler that dynamically schedules, defers, retries, or drops entanglement distribution reservations. In our simulations, the dynamic scheduler achieves lower completion time, higher completion ratio, and higher throughput than the static baseline. Furthermore, when the network is overloaded, the dynamic scheduler continues to construct deadline-feasible schedules and degrades gracefully.

We propose a definition of a non-invertible symmetry enriched topological order (NI-SETO), and we implement our definition for string net models. We do so in two ways, using full inclusions of unitary fusion categories (UFCs), as well as anyon condensation. In both cases, the NI-SETO is a relative center of UFCs. All NI-SETOs can be realized in either model, where we can use enriched UFCs to get chiral examples on the boundary of a 3D Walker-Wang model representing the anomaly. We describe several examples of NI-SETOs and compute the qualitative symmetry action on anyons and symmetry defects using tube algebra techniques.

We demonstrate electron magnetic linear dichroism as a quantitative probe of vectorial magnetic order parameters with nanometer resolution in transmission electron microscopy. Explicit inclusion of vectorial core-level exchange splitting into mixed dynamic form factor simulations accounting for dynamical diffraction enables direct reconstruction of the magnetic spin axis from momentum-resolved electron energy-loss spectra. The resulting dichroic signal is intrinsically separable from nonmagnetic anisotropy, exhibits a well-defined dependence on the Néel vector or magnetization orientation, and remains robust down to the atomic scale. Applied to the collinear antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic phase of cubic FeRh, this approach allows quantitative real-space mapping of the magnetic vector. These results open a pathway to nanoscale spectroscopy and imaging of antiferromagnets and altermagnets where the generalized approach to electron dichroism provides direct access to different magnetic order parameters.

We study a class of quantum error-correcting codes through the geometry of complex abelian varieties. These codes, introduced by Gottesman--Kitaev--Preskill, are built from symplectically integral lattices and therefore naturally define polarized complex abelian varieties. We give a precise mathematical formulation of this relationship and extend it to a dictionary between the main structures of GKP code theory and classical objects in the theory of abelian varieties. For instance, under this dictionary, the finite-dimensional code space becomes the space of theta functions $H^0(X, L)$, logical Pauli gates arise from the theta group, passive logical Clifford gates correspond to automorphisms of the polarized abelian variety, and concatenation with stabilizer codes corresponds to isogeny. We also prove several key results that give precise mathematical formulations of statements about these codes that often appear in heuristic form in the physics literature. In particular, we prove that the encoding is asymptotically isometric, that every logical Clifford gate is realized by a Gaussian unitary, and that, for noise of small variance, the failure probability is governed to first order by the shortest nontrivial displacement in the kernel of the polarization isogeny, a systolic invariant of the underlying polarization. This leads naturally to optimization problems on the moduli space of polarized abelian varieties.

Supermassive Population III.1 stars, i.e., formed from pristine, metal-free gas leading to conditions where dark matter annihilation heating is significant, have been proposed as the progenitors of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the early universe ($z \sim 20-40$). Since such Pop III.1 stars only form from non-irradiated gas in dark matter minihalos, they are predicted to appear isolated from each other and other sources of feedback. The previous papers in this series used the isolation distance of Pop III.1 stars as a free parameter to seed SMBH in cosmological simulations of dark matter halos. Here we develop a feedback-regulated model of Pop III.1 isolation, based on the growth of HII regions around each Pop III.1 star and lower-mass, irradiated Pop III.2 stars. Our model considers the time delay between the formation of a minihalo and its Pop III.1 star, R-type expansion of HII regions that expand into the intergalactic medium (IGM), and the redshift dependence of Strömgren spheres for longer-lived ionizing sources. For a fiducial Pop III.1 star H-ionizing photon luminosity of $10^{53}\:{\rm s}^{-1}$ and lifetime of $10\:$Myr we find an R-type HII region radius of $R_{\rm R}\simeq1.3\:$cMpc, approximately independent of redshift. The median formation redshift is $\sim20$, with the process essentially complete by $z\sim16$. The overall number density of SMBHs produced in this model is then $n_{\rm SMBH}\simeq 3 ϕ_V/(4πR_{\rm R}^3)\simeq 0.2\:{\rm cMpc}^{-3}$. We also discuss predictions for the abundance of binary SMBHs, which may appear as dual active galactic nuclei (AGN; $\lesssim 0.3\%$ for $z>6$), and SMBH binary merger rates, measurable by the forthcoming LISA mission.

We present a comprehensive study of the spectrophotometric evolution of the classical nova QY Mus from eruption to quiescence. The light curve shows a notable dust dip, classifying it as a D (137)-type nova, with dust formation beginning at $\sim$123 days post-outburst and reaching a maximum optical depth of $τ\sim 3.2$. We classify QY Mus as a slow nova with $t_2 = 87 \pm 6$ days, and derive an absolute magnitude of $M_V = -6.55 \pm 0.54$ using the MMRD relation. The spectroscopic evolution, traced from 94 to 1348 days, shows prominent P-Cygni profiles in Balmer and Fe II lines during the early decline, consistent with an Fe II-type nova. The transition to the nebular phase occurs around $\sim$233 days, marked by the emergence of [O III] emission. Photoionization modeling using \textsc{Cloudy} of 41 emission lines on day 590 yields a central source temperature of $(7.08 \pm 0.20)\times10^{5}$ K, with enhanced nitrogen and oxygen abundances and moderate neon enrichment, suggesting that QY Mus is not a neon nova. Mid-infrared WISE observations at $\sim$502 days indicate the presence of cool dust at $\sim$400 K. Using a Gaia-based color magnitude diagram constructed in this work for 34 quiescent novae, we find that QY Mus occupies a region consistent with systems hosting main-sequence or subgiant secondaries; its orbital period further supports a subgiant companion. These results establish QY Mus as a slow, dust-forming nova with well-characterized evolution and a subgiant secondary.

The chemical and mass evolution of exoplanet atmospheres is shaped by their specific X-ray through ultraviolet (5 - 3200 Angstroms) irradiance history. X-ray and EUV (5 - 911 Angstroms) radiation largely contributes to atmospheric heating via photoionization, while far- and near-UV emission (912 - 3200 Angstroms) drives photochemistry. The (uncharacterized) variance between young star spectra in this wavelength range for the same spectral type causes significant uncertainty in interpreting present-day transmission spectra of young exoplanets, directly impacting the science return of the James Webb Space Telescope and other programs. Additionally, the lack of direct X-ray through UV characterization for stars of all ages leads to large uncertainties in the high-energy irradiance history of all planetary systems, propagating into uncertainties in their chemical and mass evolution. This influences current and future observing programs, as well as the goal of the future flagship Habitable Worlds Observatory to find and characterize habitable exoplanets. There are less than a handful of young planet hosts with well-characterized X-ray through UV environments. The Hubble Space Telescope is the only observatory capable of measuring the UV spectrum and enabling the characterization of exoplanet high-energy environments. We advocate for an observing program to measure the UV, estimate the EUV, and measure the X-ray where possible and needed of all amenable young planet hosts, addressing the Space Telescope Science Institute's call for Building a Roadmap for Hubble Science into the 2030s.

Inspired by strict-monotonicity criteria for the time constant in first passage percolation, we investigate convex ordering of point processes in relation to the time constant in first contact percolation. In a nutshell, first contact percolation models the spread of an infection as a contact process without recovery based on a generalized graphical representation, where the usual homogeneous Poisson point processes on the edges are replaced by general simple point processes. Based on a notion of convex ordering for point processes, we prove monotonicity in the number and existence of infection paths. We argue that this convex ordering is however not enough to ensure strict monotonicities in the asymptotic speed of the infection. Instead, we propose a criterion based on an ordering of void probabilities and prove a speed-up for one-dimensional systems based on $\mathbb{Z}$-stationary point processes.

When the Fermi surface and the Brillouin zone boundary touch at a Van Hove point, mean-field analysis predicts a ferromagnetic (Stoner) instability at finite $T_{MF}$ for any coupling strength due to the divergent density of states. However, the predicted effect has not been observed experimentally. Several qualitative theoretical proposals have been put forward to explain why the mean-field prediction fails. Based on numerically exact results for the two-dimensional Hubbard model with an ordinary Van Hove singularity, we uncover the mechanisms behind the suppression of the ferromagnetic instability. We employ two diagrammatic Monte Carlo approaches: (i) the four-channel self-consistent approximation and (ii) numerically exact method of combinatorial summation of diagrams with controlled resummation of the truncated expansion. We find that the system avoids the Stoner instability down to temperatures an order of magnitude below $T_{MF}$ due to the combination of the downward renormalization of the effective coupling and the suppression of the density of states by the loss of the quasiparticle residue.

We investigate how the environment of a dynamically unrelaxed galaxy cluster influences the structure and dynamics of stellar bars. In particular, we examine cluster-centric variations in normalised bar size and bar pattern speed in Abell 2199. Our analysis is based on 578 spectroscopically confirmed members of Abell 2199, including a master sample of 325 galaxies with homogeneous stellar mass and star formation rate measurements. We identify 39 barred galaxies and measure their structural properties using isophotal ellipse fitting and three-component (bulge+disc+bar) photometric decompositions. For 22 barred galaxies with MaNGA integral-field spectroscopy, we estimate bar pattern speeds using the Tremaine-Weinberg method, obtaining robust measurements for 12 galaxies. Stellar population age and projected specific angular momentum are analysed using $D4000_{R_{\mathrm{e}}}$ and $λ_{R_{\mathrm{e}}}$ from the MaNGA Pipe3D catalogue. Abell2199 exhibits star formation-density and morphology-density relations despite its non-relaxed dynamical state. Early-type spiral (ETS) barred galaxies show systematic cluster-centric variations in normalised bar size, with relatively larger bars towards the cluster centre and smaller bars at intermediate radii. A corresponding variation in bar pattern speed with cluster-centric distance is also observed. These trends motivate a division at $\sim$0.5$R_{\mathrm{vir}}$, within which morphology-dependent environmental signatures become clearer, as barred galaxies in the inner region tend to host older stellar populations and lower projected angular momentum than those in the outskirts, with ETS+Bar galaxies retaining higher angular momentum compared to S0+Bar galaxies at comparable radii.

In the standard Breit-Wigner approach to scattering the phase shift is to have a form $\tanδ_{\rm BW} =Γ_1/(E_1-E)$ at a real energy resonance. This leads to complex energy poles in the scattering amplitude at $E_{\rm BW}=E_1-iΓ_1$, poles that are identified with unstable physical particles. By solving the square well scattering problem we identify some challenges to this approach. We find that setting $\tanδ_{\rm BW} =Γ_1/(E_1-E)$ is not always a good description of the real energy scattering amplitude, that $Γ_1$ can be negative, that $E_{\rm BW}$ is not in fact an energy eigenvalue (and thus not a physical particle), and that states that decay in energy possess spatial wave functions that unacceptably grow exponentially. All of this is resolved by noting that because of its antilinear $PT$ symmetry solutions to the square well Schrödinger equation appear in complex conjugate energy pairs $E_{\mp}=E_2\mp i Γ_2$ with $E_- \neq E_{\rm BW}$, doing so in a way that gives a time independent probability amplitude that neither grows nor decays in time or space, and leads to just one now observable physical resonance not two.

Close-in substellar companions experience strong tidal and magnetic interactions with their host stars and are therefore subject to fast orbital evolution. The solar-type pulsator KIC 9139163 exhibits in its light curve a stable 0.6-day modulation for which the best explanation is the presence of a close-in non-transiting companion that we therefore attempt to characterise. We combine Kepler and TESS photometric data with spectroscopic observations obtained with HARPS-N. The analysis of the radial velocities obtained with HARPS-N provides a companion mass $M_p \sin i = 7.3 \pm 1.4 \, \mathrm{M}_{\oplus}$. We infer a planetary radius of $2.43 \pm 0.14 \, \mathrm{R}_\oplus$, which, combined with the measured mass and retrieved inclination, implies a bulk density consistent with a hot water-rich world. This places the non-transiting companion candidate of KIC 9139163 within the Neptunian desert, a regime where planets are expected either to have lost their primordial hydrogen/helium envelopes or to harbour metal-enriched atmospheres. We further detect significant variations in amplitude between the Kepler and TESS phase curves, obtained six years apart, as well as a secular increase in amplitude over the Kepler baseline. Our fit favours a model with two distinct longitudinal cloud offsets over a single-offset scenario. Both datasets indicate a moderate-to-high geometric albedo and low-to-moderate heat redistribution. The opposite phase offsets observed in the Kepler and TESS datasets suggest a time-variable longitudinal brightness distribution. While making KIC 9139163 an interesting candidate for future ground follow-ups, it also suggests that searching for other non-transiting planets around fast stellar rotators in space-borne photometric surveys might provide new insights into the physics of the Neptunian planets located in the desert. [shortened]

Stokes' theorem turns Abelian Berry phases into curvature fluxes, whereas path ordering precludes such a simple formula for non-Abelian holonomies. We show that a quantitative form of this intuition survives: arbitrary Wilczek--Zee holonomies obey a universal quantum geometric limit~(QGL), in which the holonomy magnitude is bounded by a surface integral of the non-Abelian curvature norm. Recasting holonomic evolution as an effective Stokes--Schrödinger dynamics driven by transported curvature, we identify the QGL as the geometric counterpart of conventional quantum speed limits, with a time-integrated generator norm replaced by a surface-integrated curvature cost. The induced contour--surface variational problem is governed by a non-Abelian Lorentz force, which we address with a brachistochrone ansatz of curvature-weighted geodesics. Applied to an SU(2) tripod dark subspace, near-optimal protocols spontaneously align the transported curvature along a single Lie-algebra direction, effectively taming non-Abelianity.

We demonstrate how the two-dimensional gravity emerges within ``GR from RG'' program initiated in \cite{Adami:2025pqr, Sheikh-Jabbari:2026uol}. To achieve this, we consider a generic 2d CFT with a 3d holographic description, which we assume to be well-described by pure Einstein-AdS$_3$ gravity in the bulk. We study the holographic RG flow for the 2d CFT action and show that the renormalization group (RG) corrected action at an arbitrary energy scale contains a 2d scalar-tensor gravity theory. In the simplest case, the flow induces Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity, where the bulk radial lapse function seeds the dynamical dilaton field of the JT gravity. We show that the standard T$\bar{\text{T}}$ deformation of the 2d CFT is recovered as a special case in the Fefferman-Graham limit where the lapse is fixed. We further establish the robustness of the RG induced gravity picture by verifying its consistency under holographic renormalization and by generalizing the result to a one-parameter family of boundary conditions. Our results provide a first-principles derivation of the JT gravity at a finite cutoff as an intrinsic manifestation of the holographic RG flow in a non-Fefferman-Graham gauge

Block tensor decomposition (BTD) and canonical polyadic decomposition (CPD) are combined into a unified $O(N^3)$-scaling framework for second-order perturbation theory (PT2), demonstrated on MP2 and renormalized PT2 (rPT2). BTD constructs the tensor hyper-contraction kernel at $O(N^3)$ via a dual-grid scheme; CPD factorizes the exchange channel through a block-based two-stage ALS. An asymmetric half-kernel design applies bare Coulomb to one vertex and coupling-constant-averaged screening to the other, capturing the SOSEX component of rPT2 without a frequency-dependent CPD. For MP2, BTD-CPD reproduces canonical RI-MP2 to 0.058~kcal/mol per heavy atom. For rPT2@PBE0 on the S66x8 benchmark, the mean absolute error is 0.36~kcal/mol (ME $-$0.19, RMSE 0.46) over 528 data points. The CPD-compressed intermediates yield $O(N^2)$ storage alongside $O(N^3)$ scaling.

The wormhole contribution to the gravitational path integral may be interpreted as smooth remnant of correlations among the erratic large-$N$ behaviors of dual CFTs. In this work, we investigate this idea in (2+1)-dimensional gravity. We show that one-sided boundary gravitons are intrinsically incomplete in the sense that the associated observable algebra has a nontrivial center regardless of choices of boundary conditions. Based on asymptotic symmetries, we bootstrap a general Poisson bracket to construct completions of the boundary gravitons. In the simplest completion, the commutant of the boundary graviton observable algebra is given by an observable algebra of monodromy data which we interpret as an effective description of one-sided black holes. We show that, to describe Lorentzian multi-boundary wormholes, only the monodromy data with a positivity restriction is needed. The positivity restriction results in emergent erratic large-$N$ behaviors for some observables. We filter out the erratic observables by restricting to a subspace on which they act trivially. The monodromy observables generate nonlocal symmetries lack of corresponding local currents. We show that gauging the nonlocal symmetries is equivalent to filtering out the erratic observables. For one CFT, gauging the nonlocal symmetries at the quantum level removes all black hole states. Filtering the partition function of CFTs leads to an apparent ensemble averaging. For two CFTs, a Hilbert subspace describing wormholes survives after gauging global part of the nonlocal symmetries. The filtered partition function of the two CFTs is an ensemble average over quantum gates entangling the monodromy degrees of freedom the two CFTs. The correlation between the erratic observables of the two CFTs is preserved, which contributes to the filtered partition function as a wormhole term.

Split Ga vacancies are the dominant native acceptor in $β$-$Ga_2O_3$; however, their role in $α$ and $κ$ phases has been largely overlooked or assumed to be unfavorable. A detailed understanding of these defects is critical for tailoring the electrical conductivity and optical properties and optimising $Ga_2O_3$-based devices. In this work, we used machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) to accelerate the discovery of non-local defect reconstructions, followed by HSE06 hybrid DFT to accurately quantify defect properties of single vacancy $V_{\text{Ga}}$, split vacancy $V_{\text{Ga}}^{\text{i}}$ and substitutional donors ($\mathrm{Hf_{Ga}}$ and $\mathrm{Si_{Ga}}$) across a wide range of experimentally relevant conditions for the oxygen chemical potential. We find that split vacancies are the ground-state vacancy for all studied polymorphs ($β$, $α$, and $κ$). Split vacancies are more stable than simple vacancies by ~0.75 eV ($β$), ~0.41 eV ($α$), and ~0.14 eV ($κ$). Notably, MLIPs correctly identified the specific split-vacancy ground states and yielded an energetic ordering of symmetry-inequivalent defect configurations in excellent agreement with HSE06 results. While Hf and Si show low formation energy and act as shallow donors, especially under oxygen-poor conditions, their efficiency is limited by split-vacancy compensation. The growth under oxygen-poor conditions is a universal requirement to suppress these defects and achieve high n-type conductivity across the $Ga_2O_3$ polymorph.

The correct gravitational representation of the supersymmetric index is a smooth complex solution, rather than the na\"ıve Euclidean continuation of the Lorentizan BPS black hole. We construct such saddles for black holes with \(\mathrm{AdS}_3\times S^3\) boundary conditions in the STU model. We arrive at the same finite-temperature BTZ \(\times S^3\) geometries in two independent ways: from two-center four-dimensional BPS solutions with complex dipole charges, and from six-dimensional black strings after imposing the BPS relation among conserved charges. We analyze the resulting smoothness and periodicity conditions and show that they are precisely those required for globally well-defined supersymmetry and for the thermodynamic potentials of the supersymmetric index.

We present a catalogue of HI sources extracted from the MIGHTEE survey data cubes covering the COSMOS field. The catalogue contains 293 sources in the redshift range of 0.004 < z < 0.093. In addition to HI masses and velocity widths, the catalogue includes optical through near-infrared photometry and inferred stellar masses and star-formation rates. The quantity of sources in the HI catalogue acquired through untargeted source finding is greatly influenced by the source finding methods used. This study therefore also provides a well-characterised expected completeness of the detected sample of galaxies based on their properties, informing of any detection biases, inferred through a comparative study of different source finding algorithms. We have tested the performance of widely-used source finders: PyBDSF, ProFound and SoFiA, along with new source finder LESHI, focusing exclusively on HI source detection rather than source characterisation in the first instance. The source finders were tested by injecting a sample of simulated galaxies divided into narrow bins of mass, inclination and distance into a MeerKAT data cube. The results inform the source finding strategies for the MeerKAT International GigaHertz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration (MIGHTEE) survey, as well as upcoming SKAO surveys.

The hierarchy problem between the electroweak (EW) and Planck scales remains a central puzzle in modern physics. We discuss a promising solution operating through the cosmological selection of the EW vacuum in a multiverse landscape, where the EW scale is dynamically approached as the configuration that maximizes the vacuum energy. By extending the Standard Model with a complex scalar singlet and right-handed neutrinos, charged under a global $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry, the model not only explains the smallness of the EW scale. It can also account for neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism and the matter-antimatter asymmetry via leptogenesis. In addition, it provides a viable dark matter candidate that is testable in future neutrino experiments.