arXiv preprints from January 1, 2026 through September 12, 2026 — 00:41:53 EST
The second law of thermodynamics dictates that heat flows spontaneously from a high-temperature entity to a lower-temperature one. Yet, recent advances have demonstrated that quantum correlations between a system and its thermal environment can induce a reversal of heat flow, challenging classical thermodynamic expectations. Here, we...
The BiTeX family of polar van der Waals (vdW) semiconductors offers a unique platform for exploring the interplay between polar crystalline structure and nonlinear optical phenomena. Here, we utilize second harmonic generation (SHG) polarimetry to demonstrate giant anisotropic optical nonlinearities in BiTeBr and BiTeI driven by...
The Standard Model of particle physics, though remarkably successful, leaves open several major questions that continue to motivate searches for new phenomena. Multiboson interactions involving the Higgs boson are of special interest as probes of the electroweak Lagrangian where potential new physics may be hiding. In this work, we...
Structural superlubricity (SSL) promises nearly frictionless and wearless sliding, but has until now been considered a special and extreme interfacial phenomenon limited to micro- and nanoscale contacts. Here, we demonstrate robust macroscale SSL within a single sub-millimeter graphite contact. Previously reported near-zero friction...
We study the formation and collision of one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) Gaussian-shaped and flat-top (FT) solitons in the framework of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with the cubic-quintic nonlinearity and two intersecting potential troughs. We find that Gaussian-Gaussian and Gaussian-FT collisions between the solitons,...
Within a generally covariant Hamiltonian framework of loop quantum gravity (LQG), two black hole models parameterized by a quantum correction $ζ$ have recently been constructed. Using extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) as high-precision probes, we investigate the imprints of this LQG deformation in the surrounding spacetime....
Topology forms a cornerstone in modern condensed matter and statistical physics, offering a new framework to classify the phases and phase transitions beyond the traditional Landau paradigm. However, it is widely believed that topological properties are destroyed when the bulk energy gap closes, making it highly nontrivial to consider...
A search for exotic Higgs boson decays H $\to$ $\mathcal{AA}$, with $\mathcal{A}$ $\to$ $γγ$ is presented, using events with a semi-merged topology. One of the hypothetical particles, $\mathcal{A}$, is assumed to decay promptly into a semi-merged diphoton system reconstructed as a single photon-like object, while the other...
A multi-magnetron microwave source, a metamaterial transmitting antenna, and a large power rectenna array are presented to build a near-field 2.45 GHz microwave power transmission system. The square 1 m2 rectenna array consists of sixteen rectennas with 2048 Schottky diodes for large power microwave rectifying. It receives microwave...
Synchronization control in networked dynamical systems requires regulating not only whether coherence is achieved, but also when and to what extent it emerges. We propose a physics-informed neural network (PINN) framework for continuous-time synchronization regulation, in which system trajectories and control inputs are jointly...
Thermo-optic (TO) control is crucial for thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits (PICs), offering a simple and practical method for low-frequency and DC tuning while remaining compatible with high-frequency electro-optic (EO) modulation. In x-cut TFLN, the TO response is inherently anisotropic, depending on both...
We study first-return statistics for photons undergoing three-dimensional Henyey-Greenstein scattering in a semi-infinite medium. In previous work, we showed that one-dimensional first-passage probabilities can be expanded using Catalan and Motzkin generating functions. Extending this framework to three dimensions requires introducing...
The stochastic gravitational wave background is a broadband target from diverse astrophysical and cosmological sources. The background falls within the mHz frequency band could become a potential observable for future space-based interferometers. Taiji, a proposed space mission slated for launch in the 2030s, will enable the study of...
This paper develops a process-based account of scientific explanation that reconceives grounding in terms of stabilisation. Grounding theories capture hierarchical dependence but lack criteria for when explanations remain adequate under model updates, perturbations, and theory change. Stabilisation is formally defined by a schema \(C...
Gravitational wave astronomy plays a pivotal role in testing the dynamics of gravity in strong-field regimes and probing the nature of black holes. Motivated by recent studies on late-time tails in gravitational waves, we examine the gravitational wave tails of black holes incorporating quantum corrections within the framework of...
Higher-order perturbations during the ringdown phase are essential for testing gravitational theories. This requires a perturbation framework that extends beyond General Relativity, as well as an appropriate method for reconstructing the spacetime metric. In this work, we address these challenges within the context of general...
Frequency references based on solid state spins promise simplicity, compactness, robustness, multifunctionality, ease of integration, and high densities of emitters. Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are a natural candidate, but the electronic zero-field splitting exhibits a large fractional temperature dependence, which has...
Effective graph resistance is a fundamental structural metric in network science, widely used to quantify global connectivity, compare network architectures, and assess robustness in flow-based systems. Despite its importance, current formulations rely mainly on spectral or pseudo-inverse Laplacian representations, offering limited...
We present the discovery of a free-floating planet microlensing event KMT-2024-BLG-0816. The event shows finite-source effect, significant blending light, and no microlensing signal from a putative planet host. Among the free-floating planet events with finite source effects, this is the only event with unresolved blending light. We...
Both abiotic self-organization and biological mechanisms have been put forward as the origin of a number of geological patterns. It is important to comprehend the formation mechanisms of such structures both to understand geological self-organization and in order to differentiate them from biological patterns -- fossils and...
Ultraviolet (UV) imagers are important for a variety of applications, such as quality inspection in the semiconductor industry, forensics and food quality inspection, but are often costly because they require dedicated semiconductor process flows. Here, an imaging chip is introduced that has been fabricated using standard 40 nm...
Carotenoid molecules are critical in photosynthesis, performing functions at the heart of both light-harvesting and photoprotection. As both these processes involve excitation energy transfer, fully understanding them requires a precise description of the electronic states involved. The excited state manifold of carotenoids is not yet...
Quantum computers are expected to provide a ultimate solver for quantum many-body systems, although it is a tremendous challenge to achieve that goal on current noisy quantum devices. This work illustrated quantum simulations of ab initio no-core shell model calculations of $^3$H with chiral two-nucleon and three-nucleon forces. The...
Soft elastic sheets resting on rigid surfaces develop wrinkles, rucks, and folds due to the combined influence of elasticity, gravity, and contact interactions. Despite their ubiquity, the principles governing their morphology and transitions remain unclear. We introduce a minimal experiment in which the center of a gravity-loaded...
We present results of a measurement of the near infrared Extragalactic Background Light using the dark-cloud method. Long-slit spectra covering the opaque core of the intermediate--latitude globule DC303.8-14.2 and the almost unobscured off area were measured using nodding-along-the-slit measuring technique providing a differential...