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We present the discovery of a second radio flare from the tidal disruption event (TDE) AT2020vwl via long-term monitoring radio observations. Late-time radio flares from TDEs are being discovered more commonly, with many TDEs showing radio emission 1000s of days after the stellar disruption, but the mechanism that powers these late-time flares is uncertain. Here we present radio spectral observations of the first and second radio flares observed from the TDE AT2020vwl. Through detailed radio spectral monitoring, we find evidence for two distinct outflow ejection episodes, or a period of renewed energy injection into the pre-existing outflow. We deduce that the second radio flare is powered by an outflow that is initially slower than the first flare, but carries more energy and accelerates over time. Through modelling the long-term optical and UV emission from the TDE as arising from an accretion disc, we infer that the second radio outflow launch or energy injection episode occurred approximately at the time of peak accretion rate. The fast decay of the second flare precludes environmental changes as an explanation, while the velocity of the outflow is at all times too low to be explained by an off-axis relativistic jet. Future observations that search for any link between the accretion disc properties and late time radio flares from TDEs will aid in understanding what powers the radio outflows in TDEs, and confirm if multiple outflow ejections or energy injection episodes are common., Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, submitted to ApJ. Comments welcome

Intense highly charged ion beam production is essential for high-power heavy ion accelerators. A novel movable Vlasov launcher for superconducting high charge state Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion source has been devised that can affect the microwave power effectiveness by a factor of about 4 in terms of highly charged ion beam production. This approach based on a dedicated microwave launching system instead of the traditional coupling scheme has led to new insight on microwave-plasma interaction. With this new understanding, the world record highly charged xenon ion beam currents have been enhanced by up to a factor of 2, which could directly and significantly enhance the performance of heavy ion accelerators and provide many new research opportunities in nuclear physics, atomic physics and other disciplines.

Physical phenomena in condensed matter normally arise from the collective effect of all atoms, while selectively addressing a lone atomic sublattice by external stimulus is elusive. The later functionality may, however, be useful for different applications due to a possible response being different from that occurring when the external stimulus affects the whole solid. Here, we introduce cross-chain antiferromagnets, where the stacking of two magnetic sublattices form a pattern of intersecting atomic chains, supportive to the sublattice selectivity. We dub this antiferromagnetic (AFM) stacking X-type and demonstrate that it reveals unique spin-dependent transport properties not present in conventional magnets. Based on high-throughput analyses and computations, we unveil three prototypes of X-type AFM stacking and identify 18 X-type AFM candidates. Using $\beta$-Fe$_{2}$PO$_{5}$ as a representative example, we predict the sublattice-selective spin-polarized transport driven by the X-type AFM stacking, where one magnetic sublattice is conducting, while the other is not. As a result, a spin torque can be exerted solely on a single sublattice, leading to unconventional ultrafast dynamics of the N\`eel vector capable of deterministic switching of the AFM order parameter. Our work uncovers a previously overlooked type of magnetic moment stacking and reveals sublattice-selective physical properties promising for high-performance spintronic applications.

Using first-principles quantum-transport calculations, we investigate spin-dependent electronic and transport properties of antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs) that consist of (110)-oriented antiferromagnetic (AFM) metal RuO$_{2}$ electrodes and an insulating TiO$_{2}$ tunneling barrier. We predict the emergence of a giant tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect in a wide energy window, a series of barrier layer thicknesses, and different interface terminations, indicating the robustness of this effect. We show that the predicted TMR cannot be explained in terms of the global transport spin-polarization of RuO$_{2}$ (110) but is well understood based on matching the momentum-dependent spin-polarized conduction channels of the two RuO$_{2}$ (110) electrodes. We predict oscillations of TMR with increasing barrier thickness, indicating a non-negligible contribution from the perfectly epitaxial interfaces. Our work helps the understanding of the physics of TMR in AFMTJs and aids in realizing efficient AFM spintronic devices., Comment: The colorbar of originl Fig. 2a was not set properly, which is corrected in this version. To be published in PRB

Recently in nanophotonics, a rigorous evolution from passive to active metasurfaces has been witnessed. This advancement not only brings forward interesting physical phenomena but also elicits opportunities for practical applications. However, active metasurfaces operating at visible frequencies often exhibit low performance due to design and fabrication restrictions at the nanoscale. In this work, we demonstrate electrochemically controlled metasurfaces with high intensity contrast, fast switching rate, and excellent reversibility at visible frequencies. We use a conducting polymer, polyaniline (PANI), that can be locally conjugated on preselected gold nanorods to actively control the phase profiles of the metasurfaces. The optical responses of the metasurfaces can be in situ monitored and optimized by controlling the PANI growth of subwavelength dimension during the electrochemical process. We showcase electrochemically controlled anomalous transmission and holography with good switching performance. Such electrochemically powered optical metasurfaces lay a solid basis to develop metasurface devices for real-world optical applications.

Observations of compact objects in Galactic binaries have provided tentative evidence of a dearth of masses in the so-called lower mass gap $\sim2.2-5$ M$_\odot$. Nevertheless, two such objects have been discovered in gravitational-wave data from LIGO and Virgo. Remarkably, the estimated masses of both secondaries in the coalescences GW190814 ($m_2=2.59^{+0.08}_{-0.09}$M$_\odot$) and GW200210_092254 ($m_2=2.83^{+0.47}_{-0.42}$M$_\odot$) fall near the total mass of $\sim 2.6$ M$_\odot$ of observed Galactic binary neutron star systems. The more massive components of the two binaries also have similar masses. Here we show that a neutron star merger origin of the lighter components in GW190814 and GW200210_092254 is favored over $M^{-2.3}$ (Bayes factor $\mathcal{B}\sim 5$) and uniform ($\mathcal{B}\sim 14$) mass distributions in the lower mass gap. We also examine the statistical significance of the similarity between the heavier component masses of GW190814 and GW200210_092254, and find that a model in which the mass of GW200210_092254 is drawn from the mass posterior of GW190814 is preferred ($\mathcal{B}\sim 18$) to a model in which its mass is drawn from the overall mass distribution of black holes detected in gravitational wave events. This hints at a common origin of the primary masses, as well as the secondary masses, in GW190814 and GW200210_092254., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extremely energetic, millisecond-duration radio flashes that reach Earth from extragalactic distances. Broadly speaking, FRBs can be classified as repeating or (apparently) non-repeating. It is still unclear, however, whether the two types share a common physical origin, differing only in their activity rate. Here we report on an unprecedented observing campaign that targeted one hyperactive repeating source, FRB 20201124A, for more than $2000~\mathrm{hr}$ using four $25-32\mathrm{-m}$ class radio telescopes. In total, we detect $46$ high-energy bursts, many more than one would expect given previous observations of lower-energy bursts using larger radio telescopes. We find a high-energy burst distribution that resembles that of the non-repeating FRB population, suggesting that apparently non-repeating FRB sources may simply be the rarest bursts from repeating sources. We also discuss how FRB 20201124A contributes strongly to the all-sky FRB rate and how similar sources would be observable even at very high redshift., Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures. Submitted, comments welcome

Partial spread is important in finite geometry and can be used to construct linear codes. From the results in (Designs, Codes and Cryptography 90:1-15, 2022) by Xia Li, Qin Yue and Deng Tang, we know that if the number of the elements in a partial spread is ``big enough", then the corresponding linear code is minimal. They used the sufficient condition in (IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 44(5): 2010-2017, 1998) to prove the minimality of such linear codes. In this paper, we use the geometric approach to study the minimality of linear codes constructed from partial spreads in all cases.

J. Y. Hyun, et al. (Des. Codes Cryptogr., vol. 88, pp. 2475-2492, 2020) constructed some optimal and minimal binary linear codes generated by one or two order ideals in hierarchical posets of two levels. At the end of their paper, they left an open problem: it also should be interesting to investigate the cases of more than two orders in hierarchical posets with two levels or many levels. In this paper, we use the geometric method to determine the minimality of linear codes generated by any orders in hierarchical posets with two levels. We generalize their cases of one or two orders to any orders and determine the minimality of the linear codes completely., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1911.11632, arXiv:1911.07648

Ferromagnets are known to support spin-polarized currents that control various spin-dependent transport phenomena useful for spintronics. On the contrary, fully compensated antiferromagnets are expected to support only globally spin-neutral currents. Here, we demonstrate that these globally spin-neutral currents can represent the N\'eel spin currents, i.e. staggered spin currents flowing through different magnetic sublattices. The N\'eel spin currents emerge in antiferromagnets with strong intra-sublattice coupling (hopping) and drive the spin-dependent transport phenomena such as tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) and spin-transfer torque (STT) in antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs). Using RuO$_{2}$ and Fe$_{4}$GeTe$_{2}$ as representative antiferromagnets, we predict that the N\'eel spin currents with a strong staggered spin-polarization produce a sizable field-like STT capable of the deterministic switching of the N\'eel vector in the associated AFMTJs. Our work uncovers the previously unexplored potential of fully compensated antiferromagnets and paves a new route to realize the efficient writing and reading of information for antiferromagnetic spintronics.

Anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is a fundamental spin-dependent transport property that is widely used in spintronics. It is generally expected that currents carrying net spin polarization are required to drive the AHE. Here we demonstrate that, in contrast to this common expectation, a spin-neutral tunneling AHE (TAHE), i.e. a TAHE driven by spin-neutral currents, can be realized in an antiferromagnetic (AFM) tunnel junction where an AFM electrode with a non-spin-degenerate Fermi surface and a normal metal electrode are separated by a non-magnetic barrier with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The symmetry mismatch between the AFM electrode and the SOC barrier results in an asymmetric spin-dependent momentum filtering of the spin-neutral longitudinal current generating the transverse Hall current in each electrode. We predict a sizable spin-neutral TAHE in an AFM tunnel junction with a RuO$_{2}$-type AFM electrode and a SnTe-type SOC barrier and show that the Hall currents are reversible by the N\'eel vector switching. With the Hall angle being comparable to that in conventional AHE bulk materials, the predicted spin-neutral TAHE can be used for the N\'eel vector detection in antiferromagnetic spintronics.

The magnetic topological materials have attracted significant attention due to their potential realization of variety of novel quantum phenomena. EuIn$_2$As$_2$ has recently been theoretically recognized as a long awaited intrinsic antiferromagnetic bulk axion insulator. However, the experimental study on transport properties arising from the topological states in this material is scarce. In this paper, we perform the detailed magnetoresistance (MR) and Hall measurements to study the magnetotransport properties of this material. We find that the transport is strongly influenced by the spin configuration of the Eu moments from the concomitant change in the field dependence of the MR and that of the magnetization below the N\'eel temperature. Most importantly, an anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and a large topological Hall effect (THE) are observed. We suggest that the AHE is originated from a nonvanishing net Berry curvature due to the helical spin structure and that the THE is attributed to the formation of a noncoplanar spin texture with a finite scalar spin chirality induced by the external magnetic field in EuIn$_2$As$_2$. Our studies provide a platform to understand the influence of the interplay between the topology of electronic bands and the field-induced magnetic structure on magnetoelectric transport properties. In addition, our observations give a hint to realize axion insulator states and high-order topological insulator states through manipulating the magnetic state of EuIn$_2$As$_2$., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Physical Review Reaseach

The 2020 update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics emphasised the importance of an intensified and well-coordinated programme of accelerator R&D, supporting the design and delivery of future particle accelerators in a timely, affordable and sustainable way. This report sets out a roadmap for European accelerator R&D for the next five to ten years, covering five topical areas identified in the Strategy update. The R&D objectives include: improvement of the performance and cost-performance of magnet and radio-frequency acceleration systems; investigations of the potential of laser / plasma acceleration and energy-recovery linac techniques; and development of new concepts for muon beams and muon colliders. The goal of the roadmap is to document the collective view of the field on the next steps for the R&D programme, and to provide the evidence base to support subsequent decisions on prioritisation, resourcing and implementation., Comment: 270 pages, 58 figures. Editor: N. Mounet. LDG chair: D. Newbold. Panel chairs: P. V\'edrine (HFM), S. Bousson (RF), R. Assmann (plasma), D. Schulte (muon), M. Klein (ERL). Panel editors: B. Baudouy (HFM), L. Bottura (HFM), S. Bousson (RF), G. Burt (RF), R. Assmann (plasma), E. Gschwendtner (plasma), R. Ischebeck (plasma), C. Rogers (muon), D. Schulte (muon), M. Klein (ERL)

We present experimental data illustrating how heat load affects the performance of a cryogenically cooled monochromator under intense X-ray Free-Electron Laser pulses. The measurements are in good agreement with a depth-uniform model of X-ray dynamical diffraction taking beam absorption and heat deformation of the crystals into account., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Optics Express

Object detection in autonomous driving applications implies that the detection and tracking of semantic objects are commonly native to urban driving environments, as pedestrians and vehicles. One of the major challenges in state-of-the-art deep-learning based object detection are false positives which occur with overconfident scores. This is highly undesirable in autonomous driving and other critical robotic-perception domains because of safety concerns. This paper proposes an approach to alleviate the problem of overconfident predictions by introducing a novel probabilistic layer to deep object detection networks in testing. The suggested approach avoids the traditional Sigmoid or Softmax prediction layer which often produces overconfident predictions. It is demonstrated that the proposed technique reduces overconfidence in the false positives without degrading the performance on the true positives. The approach is validated on the 2D-KITTI objection detection through the YOLOV4 and SECOND (Lidar-based detector). The proposed approach enables interpretable probabilistic predictions without the requirement of re-training the network and therefore is very practical., Comment: This work has been accepted for publication as a REGULAR PAPER in the Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems-ITS

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are highly dispersed millisecond-duration radio bursts. Recent observations of a Galactic FRB suggest that at least some FRBs originate from magnetars, but the origin of cosmological FRBs is still not settled. Here we report the detection of 1863 bursts in 82 hr over 54 days from the repeating source FRB~20201124A. These observations show irregular short-time variation of the Faraday rotation measure (RM), which probes the density-weighted line-of-sight magnetic field strength, of individual bursts during the first 36 days, followed by a constant RM. We detected circular polarisation in more than half of the burst sample, including one burst reaching a high fractional circular polarisation of 75%. Oscillations in fractional linear and circular polarisations as well as polarisation angle as a function of wavelength were detected. All of these features provide evidence for a complicated, dynamically evolving, magnetised immediate environment within about an astronomical unit (au; Earth-Sun distance) of the source. Our optical observations of its Milky-Way-sized, metal-rich host galaxy reveal a barred spiral, with the FRB source residing in a low stellar density, interarm region at an intermediate galactocentric distance. This environment is inconsistent with a young magnetar engine formed during an extreme explosion of a massive star that resulted in a long gamma-ray burst or superluminous supernova., Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, updated to match the published version

Based on the Keldysh Green's function method, we report an unconventional two-parameter quantum pumping in graphene with a line defect. It is found that different from the conventional sinusoidal relation, the pumped current in this device is cosinusoid dependence on the phase difference between the two pumping potentials, which adopts its positive/nagative maximum value at while tends to zero at . This phenomenon is related to the peculiar valley tunneling characteristics across the line defects and the exchange of valley indices on both sides of the line defect. Moreover, the pumped currents from the two valleys will flow in opposite directions along the line defect, indicating that the controllable valley current can be pumped out in the line defect without the application of strain field in graphene., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures

The proposed Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) imposes new challenges for the vertex detector in terms of high resolution, low material, fast readout and low power. The Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS) technology has been chosen as one of the most promising candidates to satisfy these requirements. A MAPS prototype, called TaichuPix1, based on a data-driven structure, together with a column drain readout architecture, benefiting from the ALPIDE and FE-I3 approaches, has been implemented to achieve fast readout. This paper presents the overall architecture of TaichuPix1, the experimental characterization of the FE-I3-like matrix, the threshold dispersion, the noise distribution of the pixels and verifies the charge collection using a radioactive source. These results prove the functionality of the digital periphery and serializer are able to transmit the collected charge to the data interface correctly. Moreover, the individual self-tests of the serializer verify it can work up to about 3 Gbps. And it also indicates that the analog front-end features a fast-rising signal with a short time walk and that the FE-I3-like in-pixel digital logic is properly operating at the 40 MHz system clock., Comment: 14 pages and 12 figures

We investigate the Ti-doping effect on the charge density wave (CDW) of 1T-TaS2 by combining scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements and first-principle calculations. Although the Ti-doping induced phase evolution seems regular with increasing of the doping concentration (x), an unexpected chiral CDW phase is observed in the sample with x = 0.08, in which Ti atoms almost fully occupy the central Ta atoms in the CDW clusters. The emergence of the chiral CDW is proposed to be from the doping-enhanced orbital order. Only when x = 0.08, the possible long-range orbital order can trigger the chiral CDW phase. Compared with other 3d-elements doped 1T-TaS2, the Ti-doping retains the electronic flat band and the corresponding CDW phase, which is a prerequisite for the emergence of chirality. We expect that introducing elements with a strong orbital character may induce a chiral charge order in a broad class of CDW systems. The present results open up another avenue for further exploring the chiral CDW materials., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

To cope with fast-fluctuating distributed energy resources (DERs) and uncontrolled loads, this paper formulates a time-varying optimization problem for distribution grids with DERs and develops a novel non-iterative algorithm to track the optimal solutions. Different from existing methods, the proposed approach does not require iterations during the sampling interval. It only needs to perform a single one-step calculation at each interval to obtain the evolution of the optimal trajectory, which demonstrates fast calculation and online-tracking capability with an asymptotically vanishing error. Specifically, the designed approach contains two terms: a prediction term tracking the change in the optimal solution based on the time-varying nature of system power, and a correction term pushing the solution toward the optimum based on Newton's method. Moreover, the proposed algorithm can be applied in the absence of an accurate network model by leveraging voltage measurements to identify the true voltage sensitivity parameters. Simulations for an illustrative distribution network are provided to validate the approach., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures. This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication

By engineering an anti-parity-time (anti-PT) symmetric cavity magnonics system with precise eigenspace controllability, we observe two different singularities in the same system. One type of singularity, the exceptional point (EP), is produced by tuning the magnon damping. Between two EPs, the maximal coherent superposition of photon and magnon states is robustly sustained by the preserved anti-PT symmetry. The other type of singularity, arising from the dissipative coupling of two anti-resonances, is an unconventional bound state in the continuum (BIC). At the settings of BICs, the coupled system exhibits infinite discontinuities in the group delay. We find that both singularities co-exist at the equator of the Bloch sphere, which reveals a unique hybrid state that simultaneously exhibits the maximal coherent superposition and slow light capability., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

We present results from the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser (SACLA) XFEL facility, using a high intensity ($\sim\!10^{20}\,$W/cm$^2$) X-ray pump X-ray probe scheme to observe changes in the ionic structure of silicon induced by X-ray heating of the electrons. By avoiding Laue spots in the scattering signal from a single crystalline sample, we observe a rapid rise in diffuse scattering, which we attribute to a loss of lattice order and a transition to a liquid state within 100 fs of irradiation, a timescale which agrees well with first principles simulations, but is faster than that predicted by purely inertial behavior. This method is capable of observing liquid scattering without masking or filtering of signal from the ambient solid, allowing the liquid structure to be measured throughout and beyond the phase change., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Updated title and abstract

The nodal-line semimetals have attracted immense interest due to the unique electronic structures such as the linear dispersion and the vanishing density of states as the Fermi energy approaching the nodes. Here, we report temperature-dependent transport and scanning tunneling microscope (spectroscopy) (STM[S]) measurements on nodal-line semimetal ZrSiSe.Our experimental results and theoretical analyses consistently demonstrate that the temperature induces Lifshitz transitions at 80 and 106 K in ZrSiSe, which results in the transport anomalies at the same temperatures. More strikingly, we observe a V-shaped dip structure around Fermi energy from the STS spectrum at low temperature,which can be attributed to co-effect of the spin-orbit coupling and excitonic instability. Our observations indicate the correlation interaction may play an important role in ZrSiSe, which owns the quasi-two-dimensional electronic structures., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

We present the discovery with Keck of the extremely infrared (IR) luminous transient AT 2017gbl, coincident with the Northern nucleus of the luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) IRAS 23436+5257. Our extensive multi-wavelength follow-up spans ~900 days, including photometry and spectroscopy in the optical and IR, and (very long baseline interferometry) radio and X-ray observations. Radiative transfer modelling of the host galaxy spectral energy distribution and long-term pre-outburst variability in the mid-IR indicate the presence of a hitherto undetected dust obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN). The optical and near-IR spectra show broad 2000 km/s hydrogen, He I and O I emission features that decrease in flux over time. Radio imaging shows a fast evolving compact source of synchrotron emission spatially coincident with AT 2017gbl. We infer a lower limit for the radiated energy of 7.3 x 10^50 erg from the IR photometry. An extremely energetic supernova would satisfy this budget, but is ruled out by the radio counterpart evolution. Instead, we propose AT 2017gbl is related to an accretion event by the central supermassive black hole, where the spectral signatures originate in the AGN broad line region and the IR photometry is consistent with re-radiation by polar dust. Given the fast evolution of AT 2017gbl, we deem a tidal disruption event (TDE) of a star a more plausible scenario than a dramatic change in the AGN accretion rate. This makes AT 2017gbl the third TDE candidate to be hosted by a LIRG, in contrast to the so far considered TDE population discovered at optical wavelengths and hosted preferably by post-starburst galaxies., Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS. 32 pages, 22 figures

We report the superconductivity of PbTaS2 single crystals with the centrosymmetric structure. The systematic measurements of magnetization, electric transport and specific heat indicate that PbTaS2 is a weakly coupled type-II superconductor with transition temperature Tc = 2.6 K. Furthermore, the band structure calculations predicted four nodal lines near the Fermi energy with drumhead-like surface states, suggesting centrosymmetric PbTaS2 is a candidate of topological nodal line semimetals. These results demonstrate that PbTaS2 may open up another avenue for further exploring the properties of superconductivity and topological nodal-line states., Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

Reinforcement learning is a general technique that allows an agent to learn an optimal policy and interact with an environment in sequential decision making problems. The goodness of a policy is measured by its value function starting from some initial state. The focus of this paper is to construct confidence intervals (CIs) for a policy's value in infinite horizon settings where the number of decision points diverges to infinity. We propose to model the action-value state function (Q-function) associated with a policy based on series/sieve method to derive its confidence interval. When the target policy depends on the observed data as well, we propose a SequentiAl Value Evaluation (SAVE) method to recursively update the estimated policy and its value estimator. As long as either the number of trajectories or the number of decision points diverges to infinity, we show that the proposed CI achieves nominal coverage even in cases where the optimal policy is not unique. Simulation studies are conducted to back up our theoretical findings. We apply the proposed method to a dataset from mobile health studies and find that reinforcement learning algorithms could help improve patient's health status. A Python implementation of the proposed procedure is available at https://github.com/shengzhang37/SAVE.

The transient acoustic response of a free-standing, polycrystalline thin Au film upon femtosecond optical excitation has been studied by time-resolved Debye-Scherrer X-ray diffraction using ultrashort Cu K$_{\alpha}$ X-ray pulses from a laser-driven plasma X-ray source. The temporal strain evolution has been determined from the transient shifts of multiple Bragg diffraction peaks. The experimental data are in good agreement with the results of calculations based on the two-temperature model and an acoustic model assuming uni-axial strain propagation in the laser-excited thin film., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

We use time-resolved momentum microscopy at a free-electron laser (FEL) and extend orbital tomography into the time domain to image the electronic wave functions of excited molecular orbitals. This technique provides unprecedented insight into the ultrafast interplay between structural and electronic dynamics. In this work we prove general applicability and establish the experimental conditions at FEL sources to minimize space charge effects and radiation damage. We investigate a bilayer pentacene film on Ag(110) by optical laser pump and FEL probe experiments. From the momentum microscopy signal, we obtain time-dependent momentum maps of the excited-state dynamics of both pentacene layers separately. Combining experimental observations with a theoretical study, we interpret the observed signal for the bottom layer as resulting from the charge redistribution between the molecule and the substrate induced by excitation. We identify that the dynamics of the top pentacene layer resembles excited-state molecular dynamics., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

Plasma-based accelerators have made impressive progress in recent years. However, the beam energy spread obtained in these accelerators is still at ~ 1 % level, nearly one order of magnitude larger than what is needed for challenging applications like coherent light sources or colliders. In plasma accelerators, the beam energy spread is mainly dominated by its energy chirp (longitudinally correlated energy spread). Here we demonstrate that when an initially chirped electron beam from a linac with a proper current profile is sent through a low-density plasma structure, the self wake of the beam can significantly reduce its energy chirp and the overall energy spread. The resolution-limited energy spectrum measurements show at least a threefold reduction of the beam energy spread from 1.28 % to 0.41 % FWHM with a dechirping strength of ~ 1 (MV/m)/(mm pC). Refined time-resolved phase space measurements, combined with high-fidelity three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, further indicate the real energy spread after the dechirper is only about 0.13 % (FWHM), a factor of 10 reduction of the initial energy spread.

Acceleration of ultrathin plasma foils by laser radiation pressure promises compact alternatives to the conventional ion accelerators. It was shown, that a major showstopper for such schemes is a strong transverse instability, which develops the surface ripples, and is often attributed to the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) type. However, simulations indicate, that these perturbations develop the features, that cannot be consistently explained by the RT mechanism. Here we develop a three-dimensional (3D) theory of this instability, which shows that its linear stage is mainly driven by strong electron-ion coupling, while the RT contribution is actually weak. Our model provides the instability spectral structure and its growth rate, that agrees with the large scale 3D particle-in-cell simulations. Numerical modeling shows, that target destruction results from a rapid plasma heating induced by the instability field. Possible paths to instability mitigation are discussed.

The collective excitation of ordered spins, known as spin waves or magnons, can in principle radiate by emitting travelling photons to an open system when decaying to the ground state. However, in contrast to the electric dipoles, magnetic dipoles contributed by magnons are more isolated from electromagnetic environment with negligible radiation in the vacuum, limiting their application in coherent communication by photons. Recently, strong interaction between cavity standing-wave photons and magnons has been reported, indicating the possible manipulation of magnon radiation via tailoring photon states. Here, with loading an yttrium iron garnet sphere in a one-dimensional circular waveguide cavity in the presence of both travelling and standing photon modes, we demonstrate an efficient photon emissions from magnon and a significant magnon radiative damping with radiation rate found to be proportional to the local density of states (LDOS) of photon. By modulating the LDOS including its magnitude and/or polarization, we can flexibly tune the photon emission and magnon radiative damping on demand. Our findings provide a general way in manipulating photon emission from magnon radiation for harnessing energy and angular momentum generation, transfer and storage modulated by magnon in the cavity and waveguide electrodynamics., Comment: 9+7 pages, 4+2 figures

A resistive coupling circuit is used to model the recently discovered dissipative coupling in a hybridized cavity photon-magnon system. With this model as a basis we have designed a planar cavity in which a controllable transition between level attraction and level repulsion can be achieved. This behaviour can be quantitatively understood using an LCR circuit model with a complex coupling strength. Our work therefore develops and verifies a circuit method to model level repulsion and level attraction and confirms the universality of dissipative coupling in the cavity photon-magnon system. The realization of both coherent and dissipative couplings in a planar cavity may provide new avenues for the design and adaptation of dissipatively coupled systems for practical applications in information processing., Comment: 7 papges, 4 figures and 2 additional figures in the appendix

Quasi-elastic scattering measurements have been performed using $^{16}$O and $^{24}$Mg projectiles off $^{90}$Zr at energies around the Coulomb barrier. Experimental data have been analyzed in the framework of coupled channels (CC) calculations using the code CCFULL. The quasi-elastic scattering excitation function and derived barrier distribution for $^{16}$O + $^{90}$Zr reaction are well reproduced by the CC calculations using the vibrational coupling strengths for $^{90}$Zr reported in the literature. Using these vibrational coupling strengths, a Bayesian analysis is carried out for $^{24}$Mg + $^{90}$Zr reaction. The $\beta_{2}$ and $\beta_{4}$ values for $^{24}$Mg are determined to be $+0.43 \pm 0.02$ and $ - 0.11 \pm 0.02$, respectively. The $\beta_{2}$ parameter determined in the present work is in good agreement with results obtained using inelastic scattering probes. The hexadecapole deformation of $^{24}$Mg has been measured very precisely for the first time. Present results establish that quasi-elastic scattering could provide a useful probe to determine the ground state deformation of atomic nuclei., Comment: This is a slightly modified version, accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B

A new scheme of proton acceleration from a laser-driven near-critical-density plasma is proposed. Plasma with a tailored density profile allows a two-stage acceleration of protons. The protons are pre-accelerated in the laser-driven wakefields, and are then further accelerated by the collisionless shock, launched from the rear side of the plasma. The shock has a small transverse size, and it generates a strong space-charge field, which defocuses protons in such a way, that only those protons with the highest energies and low energy spread remains collimated. Theoretical and numerical analysis demonstrates production of high-energy proton beams with few tens of percents energy spread, few degrees divergence and charge of few nC. This scheme indicates the efficient generation of quasi-monoenergetic proton beams with energies up to several hundreds of MeV with PW-class ultrashort lasers.

We studied the feasibility of observing light-by-light scattering in a photon-photon collider based on an existing accelerator complex and a commercially available laser system. We investigated the statistical significance of the signal over the QED backgrounds through a Monte Carlo simulation with a detector model. The study showed that light-by-light scattering can be observed with a statistical significance of 8 to 10 sigma in a year of operation, depending on the operating conditions., Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures

Zircaloy-4 (Zr-1.5%Sn-0.2%Fe-0.1%Cr wt. %) was electrochemically charged with deuterium to create deuterides and subsequently analysed with atom probe tomography and scanning transmission electron microscopy to understand zirconium hydride formation and embrittlement. At the interface between the hexagonal close packed (HCP) \alpha-Zr matrix and a face centred cubic (FCC) \delta deuteride (ZrD1.5-1.65), a HCP \zeta phase deuteride (ZrD0.25-0.5) has been observed. Furthermore, Sn is rejected from the deuterides and segregates to the deuteride/\alpha-Zr reaction front.

The scaling laws for laser wakefield acceleration in the nonlinear, self-guided regime [Lu et al. Phys. Rev. Spec. Top. Accel. Beams 10, 061301 (2007)] are examined in detail using the quasi-3D version of the particle-in-cell code OSIRIS. We find that the scaling laws continue to work well as the plasma density is reduced while the normalized laser amplitude is kept fixed. For fixed laser energy, the energy gain of an isolated bunch of electrons can be improved with some loss in the bunch charge by shortening the normalized pulse length until self-guiding no longer occurs, and through the use of asymmetric longitudinal profiles with rapid rise times. For example, without any external guiding a 15 J,.8\mu m laser with a pulse length of 46 fs (39 fs) is found to generate a quasi-mono-energetic bunch of 355pC (227pC) with a max energy of 3.25 (4.04) GeV with an acceleration distance of 2.43 cm (3.08cm). Furthermore, a bunch with 39.4pC and a maximum energy 4.6 GeV is produced for an asymmetric laser with a rapid rise time. Studies for 30 J and 100 J lasers are also presented.

Plasma-based electron and positron wakefield acceleration has made great strides in the past decade. However one major challenge for its applications to coherent light sources and colliders is the relatively large energy spread of the accelerated beams, currently at a few percent level. This energy spread is usually correlated with particle position in the beam arising from the longitudinal chirp of the wakefield amplitude. Therefore a dechirper is highly desirable for reducing this spread down to $\sim0.1\%$ level, while at the same time for maintaining the emittance of the accelerated beam. Here we propose that a low-density hollow channel plasma can act as a near-ideal dechirper for both electrons and positrons. We demonstrate the concept through large-scale three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We show that the initial positive correlated energy spread (chirp) on the beam exiting a plasma accelerator can be compensated by the nearly linear self-wake induced by the beam in the hollow channel from few percent level down to $\leq 0.1\%$. Meanwhile, the beam emittance can be preserved due to the negligible transverse field inside the channel. This passive method may significantly improve the beam quality of plasma-based accelerators, paving the way for their applications to future compact free electron lasers and colliders., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures

This release includes data and information necessary to perform independent analyses of the COHERENT result presented in Akimov et al., arXiv:1708.01294 [nucl-ex]. Data is shared in a binned, text-based format, including both "signal" and "background" regions, so that counts and associated uncertainties can be quantitatively calculated for the purpose of separate analyses. This document describes the included information and its format, offering some guidance on use of the data. Accompanying code examples show basic interaction with the data using Python.

The primary goal of the COHERENT collaboration is to measure and study coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) using the high-power, few-tens-of-MeV, pulsed source of neutrinos provided by the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The COHERENT collaboration reported the first detection of CEvNS [Akimov:2017ade] using a CsI[Na] detector. At present the collaboration is deploying four detector technologies: a CsI[Na] scintillating crystal, p-type point-contact germanium detectors, single-phase liquid argon, and NaI[Tl] crystals. All detectors are located in the neutron-quiet basement of the SNS target building at distances 20-30 m from the SNS neutrino source. The simultaneous measurement in all four COHERENT detector subsystems will test the $N^2$ dependence of the cross section and search for new physics. In addition, COHERENT is measuring neutrino-induced neutrons from charged- and neutral-current neutrino interactions on nuclei in shielding materials, which represent a non-negligible background for CEvNS as well as being of intrinsic interest. The Collaboration is planning as well to look for charged-current interactions of relevance to supernova and weak-interaction physics. This document describes concisely the COHERENT physics motivations, sensitivity, and next plans for measurements at the SNS to be accomplished on a few-year timescale., Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures

$k$ paths exactly with $C_{3v}$ symmetry allow to find triply degenerate points (TDPs) in band structures. The paths that host the type-II Dirac points in PtSe$_2$ family materials also have the $C_{3v}$ spatial symmetry. However, due to Kramers degeneracy (the systems have both inversion symmetry and time reversal symmetry), the crossing points in them are Dirac ones. In this work, based on symmetry analysis, first-principles calculations, and $k\cdot p$ method, we predict that PtSe$_2$ family materials should undergo topological transitions if the inversion symmetry is broken, \emph{i.e.} the Dirac fermions in PtSe$_2$ family materials split into TDPs in PtSeTe family materials (PtSSe, PtSeTe, and PdSeTe) with orderly arranged S/Se (Se/Te). It is different from the case in high-energy physics that breaking inversion symmetry $I$ leads to the splitting of Dirac fermion into Weyl fermions. We also address a possible method to achieve the orderly arranged in PtSeTe family materials in experiments. Our study provides a real example that Dirac points transform into TDPs, and is helpful to investigate the topological transition between Dirac fermions and TDP fermions.

Hollow channel plasma wakefield acceleration is a proposed method to provide high acceleration gradients for electrons and positrons alike: a key to future lepton colliders. However, beams which are misaligned from the channel axis induce strong transverse wakefields, deflecting beams and reducing the collider luminosity. This undesirable consequence sets a tight constraint on the alignment accuracy of the beam propagating through the channel. Direct measurements of beam misalignment-induced transverse wakefields are therefore essential for designing mitigation strategies. We present the first quantitative measurements of transverse wakefields in a hollow plasma channel, induced by an off-axis 20 GeV positron bunch, and measured with another 20 GeV lower charge trailing positron probe bunch. The measurements are largely consistent with theory., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letters

CrI3, which belongs to a rare category of two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic semiconductors, is of great interest for spintronic device applications. Unlike CrCl3 whose magnetism presents a 2D-Heisenberg behavior, CrI3 exhibits a larger van der Waals gap, smaller cleavage energy, and stronger magnetic anisotropy which could lead to a 3D magnetic characteristic. Hence, we investigate the critical behavior of CrI3 in the vicinity of magnetic transition. We use the modified Arrott plot and Kouvel-Fisher method, and conduct critical isotherm analysis to estimate the critical exponents near the ferromagnetic phase transition. This shows that the magnetism of CrI3 follows the crossover behavior of a 3D-Ising model with mean field type interactions where the critical exponents \b{eta}, {\gamma}, and {\delta} are 0.323, 0.835, and 3.585, respectively, at the Curie temperature of 64 K. We propose the crossover behavior can be attributed to the strong uniaxial anisotropy and inevitable interlayer coupling. Our experiment demonstrates the applicability of crossover behavior to a 2D ferromagnetic semiconductor., Comment: Accepted by Appl. Phys. Lett

Femtosecond electron bunches with complex temporal structures play a crucial role in THz generation, free-electron lasers and plasma wakefield accelerators. The ultrashort electron pulse duration can be reconstructed from the coherent transition radiation (CTR) spectrum based on prior knowledge. A weighted greedy sparse phase retrieval (WGESPAR) algorithm is developed to reduce the ambiguities for reconstructing the distribution of the beam current. This algorithm achieves better performance than iterative algorithms, especially for truncated noisy spectra of multibunch structures. Based on the WGESPAR algorithm, the complex temporal structures of femtosecond electron bunches generated from laser wakefield accelerators can be successfully reconstructed.

The coherent elastic scattering of neutrinos off nuclei has eluded detection for four decades, even though its predicted cross-section is the largest by far of all low-energy neutrino couplings. This mode of interaction provides new opportunities to study neutrino properties, and leads to a miniaturization of detector size, with potential technological applications. We observe this process at a 6.7-sigma confidence level, using a low-background, 14.6-kg CsI[Na] scintillator exposed to the neutrino emissions from the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Characteristic signatures in energy and time, predicted by the Standard Model for this process, are observed in high signal-to-background conditions. Improved constraints on non-standard neutrino interactions with quarks are derived from this initial dataset.

Ultra-intense lasers produce and manipulate plasmas, allowing to locally generate extremely high static and electromagnetic fields. This Letter presents a concept of an ultra-intense optical tweezer, where two counter-propagating circularly polarized intense lasers of different frequencies collide on a nano-foil. Interfering inside the foil, lasers produce a beat wave, which traps and moves plasma electrons as a thin sheet with an optically controlled velocity. The electron displacement creates a plasma micro-capacitor with an extremely strong electrostatic field, that efficiently generates narrow-energy-spread ion beams from the multi-species targets, e.g. protons from the hydrocarbon foils. The proposed ion accelerator concept is explored theoretically and demonstrated numerically with the multi-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.

We did the resistivity and scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy (STM/STS) experiments at different temperatures and magnetic fields to investigate the origin of the turn-on (t-o) phenomenon of Td-MoTe2. There are two interesting observations. Firstly, magnetoresistance (MR) follows the Kohler rule scaling: MR - (H/p0)m with m - 1.92 and the t-o temperature T under different magnetic fields can also be scaled by T - (H-Hc)u with u = 1/2. Secondly, a combination of compensated electron-hole pockets and a possible electronic structure phase transition induced by the temperature have been validated in Td-MoTe2 by the STM/STS experiments. Compared with the STS of Td-MoTe2 single crystal under H = 0, the STS hardly changes even when the applied field is up to 7 T. The origins of the t-o phenomenon in Td-MoTe2 are discussed. Meanwhile, we analyzed the universality and applicability of the t-o phenomenon in the extreme MR materials with almost balanced hole and electron densities as well as with other systems where the density of hole or electron is in dominant position., Comment: Attepted by Phys. Rev. B

We investigate the effects of the in-plane biaxial strain and charge doping on the charge density wave (CDW) order of monolayer $1T$-TiSe$_2$ by using the first-principles calculations. Our results show that the tensile strain can significantly enhance the CDW order, while both compressive strain and charge doping (electrons and holes) suppress the CDW instability. The tensile strain may provide an effective method for obtaining higher CDW transition temperature on the basis of monolayer $1T$-TiSe$_2$. We also discuss the potential superconductivity in charge-doped monolayer $1T$-TiSe$_2$. Controllable electronic phase transition from CDW state to metallic state or even superconducting state can be realized in monolayer $1T$-TiSe$_2$, which makes $1T$-TiSe$_2$ possess a promising application in controllable switching electronic devices based on CDW., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures

We performed the angle dependent magnetoresistance (MR), Hall effect measurements, the temperature dependent magneto-thermoelectric power (TEP) S(T) measurements, and the first-principles calculations to study the electronic properties of orthorhombic phase MoTe2 (Td-MoTe2), which was proposed to be electronically two-dimensional (2D). There are some interesting findings about Td-MoTe2: (1) A scaling approach {\epsilon}{\theta}=(sin2{\theta}+{\gamma}-2cos2{\theta})1/2 is applied, where {\theta} is the magnetic field angle with respect to the c axis of the crystal and {\gamma} is the mass anisotropy. Unexpectedly, the electronically 3D character with {\gamma} as low as 1.9 is observed in Td-MoTe2; (2) The possible Lifshitz transition and the following electronic structure change can be verified around T~150 K and T~60 K, which is supported by the evidence of the slop changing of the temperature dependence of TEP, the carrier density extracted from Hall resistivity and the onset temperature of {\gamma} obtained from the MR measurements. The extremely large MR effect in Td-MoTe2 could originate from the combination of the electron-hole compensation and a particular orbital texture on the electron pocket, which is supported by the calculations of electronic structure. Our results may provide a general scaling relation for the anisotropic MR and help to recognize the origins of the MR effect in other systems, such as the Weyl semimetals and the Dirac ones., Comment: Phys. Rev. B 94, 235154 (2016)

CrGeTe3 recently emerges as a new two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic semiconductor that is promising for spintronic device applications. Unlike CrSiTe3 whose magnetism can be understood using the 2D-Ising model, CrGeTe3 exhibits a smaller van der Waals gap and larger cleavage energy, which could lead to a transition of magnetic mechanism from 2D to 3D. To confirm this speculation, we investigate the critical behavior CrGeTe3 around the second-order paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition. We obtain the critical exponents estimated by several common experimental techniques including the modified Arrott plot, Kouvel-Fisher method and critical isotherm analysis, which show that the magnetism of CrGeTe3 follows the tricritical mean-field model with the critical exponents \b{eta}, {\gamma}, and {\delta} of 0.240, 1.000, and 5.070, respectively, at the Curie temperature of 67.9 K. We therefore suggest that the magnetic phase transition from 2D to 3D for CrGeTe3 should locate near a tricritical point. Our experiment provides a direct demonstration of the applicability of the tricritical mean-field model to a 2D ferromagnetic semiconductor., Comment: Accepted by Phys. Rev. B