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This summary of the second Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry (TVLBAI) Workshop provides a comprehensive overview of our meeting held in London in April 2024, building on the initial discussions during the inaugural workshop held at CERN in March 2023. Like the summary of the first workshop, this document records a critical milestone for the international atom interferometry community. It documents our concerted efforts to evaluate progress, address emerging challenges, and refine strategic directions for future large-scale atom interferometry projects. Our commitment to collaboration is manifested by the integration of diverse expertise and the coordination of international resources, all aimed at advancing the frontiers of atom interferometry physics and technology, as set out in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by over 50 institutions., Comment: Summary of the second Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop held at Imperial College London: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1369392/

The type-II Dirac cone is a special feature of the band structure, whose Fermi level is represented by a pair of crossing lines. It has been demonstrated that such a structure is useful for investigating topological edge solitons, and more specifically, for mimicking the Kline tunneling. However, it is still not clear what the interplay between type-II Dirac cones and the non-Hermiticity mechanism will result in. Here, this question is addressed; in particular, we report the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric photonic lattices with type-II Dirac cones for the first time. We identify a slope-exceptional ring and name it the type-II exceptional ring. We display the restoration of the $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry of the lattice by reducing the separation between the sites in the unit cell. Curiously, the amplitude of the beam during propagation in the non-Hermitian lattice with $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry only decays because of diffraction, whereas in the $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry-broken lattice it will be amplified, even though the beam still diffracts. This work establishes the link between the non-Hermiticity mechanism and the violation of Lorentz invariance in these physical systems., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Optics Letters. Comments are welcome

This document presents a summary of the 2023 Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop hosted by CERN. The workshop brought together experts from around the world to discuss the exciting developments in large-scale atom interferometer (AI) prototypes and their potential for detecting ultralight dark matter and gravitational waves. The primary objective of the workshop was to lay the groundwork for an international TVLBAI proto-collaboration. This collaboration aims to unite researchers from different institutions to strategize and secure funding for terrestrial large-scale AI projects. The ultimate goal is to create a roadmap detailing the design and technology choices for one or more km-scale detectors, which will be operational in the mid-2030s. The key sections of this report present the physics case and technical challenges, together with a comprehensive overview of the discussions at the workshop together with the main conclusions., Comment: Summary of the Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop held at CERN: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1208783/

We summarize the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with ESA and national space and research funding agencies., Comment: Summary of the Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space and corresponding Road-map: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1064855/

Rabi oscillation, an inter-band oscillation, depicts the periodic flopping between two states that belong to different energy levels in the presence of an oscillatory driving field. In photonics, Rabi oscillation can be mimicked by applying a weak longitudinal periodic modulation to the refractive index change of the system. However, the Rabi oscillation of nonlinear states has yet to be discussed. We report Rabi oscillations of azimuthons---spatially modulated vortex solitons---in weakly nonlinear waveguides with different symmetries, both numerically and theoretically. The period of Rabi oscillation can be determined by applying the coupled mode theory, which largely depends on the modulation strength. Whether the Rabi oscillation between two states can be obtained or not is determined by the spatial symmetry of the azimuthons and the modulating potential. In this paper we succeeded in obtaining the Rabi oscillation of azimuthons in the weakly nonlinear waveguides with different symmetries. Our results not only enrich the Rabi oscillation phenomena, but also provide a new avenue in the study of pattern formation and spatial field manipulation in nonlinear optical systems., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Advanced Photonics

We propose in this White Paper a concept for a space experiment using cold atoms to search for ultra-light dark matter, and to detect gravitational waves in the frequency range between the most sensitive ranges of LISA and the terrestrial LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA/INDIGO experiments. This interdisciplinary experiment, called Atomic Experiment for Dark Matter and Gravity Exploration (AEDGE), will also complement other planned searches for dark matter, and exploit synergies with other gravitational wave detectors. We give examples of the extended range of sensitivity to ultra-light dark matter offered by AEDGE, and how its gravitational-wave measurements could explore the assembly of super-massive black holes, first-order phase transitions in the early universe and cosmic strings. AEDGE will be based upon technologies now being developed for terrestrial experiments using cold atoms, and will benefit from the space experience obtained with, e.g., LISA and cold atom experiments in microgravity. This paper is based on a submission (v1) in response to the Call for White Papers for the Voyage 2050 long-term plan in the ESA Science Programme. ESA limited the number of White Paper authors to 30. However, in this version (v2) we have welcomed as supporting authors participants in the Workshop on Atomic Experiments for Dark Matter and Gravity Exploration held at CERN: ({\tt https://indico.cern.ch/event/830432/}), as well as other interested scientists, and have incorporated additional material., Comment: V2 -- added support authors

We investigate the formation and propagation of vector vortex solitons (VS) and unipolar soliton (US) in a cold atomic gas with Bessel lattices (BLs). The system we consider is a cold, coherent atomic gas with a tripod or multipod level configuration. Dueing to the giant enhancement of Kerr nonlinearity contributed by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), a vector weak vortex soliton can be effectively formed with ultraslow propagating velocity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the characteristics of 2D VS and US can be controlled and manipulated via adjusting BLs. The results predicted here may be used to design all-optical switching at very low light level., Comment: 14 pages and 5 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1604.05046 by other authors

We demonstrate a novel method for producing optically-induced Lieb and super-honeycomb lattices, by employing the fractional Talbot effect of specific periodic beam structures. Our numerical and analytical results display the generation of Lieb and super-honeycomb lattices at fractional Talbot lengths effectively and with high beam quality. By adjusting the initial phase shifts of the interfering beams, the incident periodic beam structures, as well as the lattices with broken inversion symmetry, can be constructed in situ. This research suggests not only a possible practical utilization of the Talbot effect in the production of novel optically-induced lattices but also in the studies of related optical topological phenomena., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures

We investigate linear and nonlinear evolution dynamics of light beams propagating along a dislocated edge-centered square lattice. The band structure and Brillouin zones of this novel lattice are analyzed analytically and numerically. Asymmetric Dirac cones as well as the corresponding Bloch modes of the lattice are obtained. By adopting the tight-binding approximation, we give an explanation of the asymmetry of Dirac cones. By utilizing the appropriate Bloch modes, linear and nonlinear asymmetric conical diffraction is demonstrated. We find that both the focusing and defocusing nonlinearities can enhance the asymmetry of the conical diffraction., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures

We investigate higher-order breathers of the cubic nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation on an elliptic background. We find that, beyond first-order, any arbitrarily constructed breather is a single-peaked solitary wave on a disordered background. These "quasi-rogue waves" are also common on periodic backgrounds. We assume the higher-order breather is constructed out of constituent first-order breathers with commensurate periods (i.e., higher-order harmonic waves). In that case, one obtains "quasi-periodic" breathers with distorted side-peaks. Fully periodic breathers are obtained when their wavenumbers are harmonic multiples of the background and each other. They are truly rare, requiring finely-tuned parameters. Thus, on a periodic background, we arrive at the paradoxical conclusion that the apparent higher-order rogue waves are rather common, while the truly periodic breathers are exceedingly rare., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), specifically in computer vision (CV) and deep learning (DL), have created opportunities for novel systems in many fields. In the last few years, deep learning applications have demonstrated impressive results not only in fields such as autonomous driving and robotics, but also in the field of medicine, where they have, in some cases, even exceeded human-level performance. However, despite the huge potential, adoption of deep learning-based methods is still slow in many areas, especially in veterinary medicine, where we haven't been able to find any research papers using modern convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in medical image processing. We believe that using deep learning-based medical imaging can enable more accurate, faster and less expensive diagnoses in veterinary medicine. In order to do so, however, these methods have to be accessible to everyone in this field, not just to computer scientists. To show the potential of this technology, we present results on a real-world task in veterinary medicine that is usually done manually: feline reticulocyte percentage. Using an open source Keras implementation of the Single-Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) model architecture and training it on only 800 labeled images, we achieve an accuracy of 98.7% at predicting the correct number of aggregate reticulocytes in microscope images of cat blood smears. The main motivation behind this paper is to show not only that deep learning can approach or even exceed human-level performance on a task like this, but also that anyone in the field can implement it, even without a background in computer science., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures

We address propagation of light in nonlinear twisted multi-core fibers with alternating amplifying and absorbing cores that are arranged into the PT - symmetric structure. In this structure, the coupling strength between neighboring cores and global energy transport can be controlled not only by the nonlinearity strength, but also by gain and losses and by the fiber twisting rate. The threshold level of gain/losses, at which PT -symmetry breaking occurs, is a non-monotonic function of the fiber twisting rate and it can be reduced nearly to zero or, instead, notably increased just by changing this rate. Nonlinearity usually leads to the monotonic reduction of the symmetry breaking threshold in such fibers., Comment: 6 pages,5 figures, to appear in Optics Letters

In a recent paper [A. Alberucci, C. Jisha, N. Smyth, and G. Assanto, Phys. Rev. A 91, 013841 (2015)], Alberucci et al. have studied the propagation of bright spatial solitary waves in highly nonlocal media. We find that the main results in that and related papers, concerning soliton shape and dynamics, based on the accessible soliton (AS) approximation, are incorrect; the correct results have already been published by others. These and other inconsistencies in the paper follow from the problems in applying the AS approximation in earlier papers by the group that propagated to the later papers. The accessible soliton theory cannot describe accurately the features and dynamics of solitons in highly nonlocal media., Comment: 2 pages

A self-consistent nonlinear hydrodynamic theory is presented of the propagation of a long and thin relativistic electron beam through a plasma that is relatively strongly magnetized, $|\Omega_e|\sim\omega_{pe}$ and whose density is much bigger than that of the beam. In the regime when the parallel phase velocity in the comoving frame is much smaller than the thermal speed and the beam electrons are thermalized, a stationary solution for the beam is found when the electron motion in the transverse direction is negligibile and the transverse localization comes from the nonlinearity of its 3-D adiabatic expansion. Conversely, when the parallel phase velocity is sufficiently large to prevent the heat convection along the magnetic field, a helicoidally shaped stationary beam is found whose transverse profile is determined from a nonlinear dispersion relation and depends on the transverse size of the beam and its pitch angle.

A self-consistent nonlinear hydrodynamic theory is presented of the propagation of a long and thin relativistic electron beam, for a typical plasma wake field acceleration configuration in an unmagnetized and overdense plasma. The random component of the trajectories of the beam particles as well as of their velocity spread is modelled by an anisotropic temperature, allowing the beam dynamics to be approximated as a 3-D adiabatic expansion/compression. {It is shown that even in the absence of the {nonlinear plasma wake force}, the localization of the beam in the transverse direction can be achieved owing to the} nonlinearity associated with the adiabatic compression/rarefaction and a coherent stationary state is constructed. Numerical calculations reveal the possibility of the beam focussing and defocussing, but the lifetime of the beam can be significantly extended by the appropriate adjustments, so that transverse oscillations are observed, {similar to those} predicted within the thermal wave and Vlasov kinetic models.

We investigate numerically light propagation in a single spiral waveguide formed in a nonlinear photorefractive medium for a low spatial frequency of the waveguide rotation. We present the general procedure for finding solitonic solutions in spiral waveguiding structures, as well as the variational approach to calculate soliton parameters analytically. Solitons supported by the spiral waveguide perform robust stable rotational oscillatory motion, with the period predicted by their static characteristics, without any signatures of wave radiation or soliton decay over many rotation periods and diffraction lengths., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, submitted to PRA

Nonlinear effects of the trapping of resonant particles by the combined action of the electric field and the magnetic mirror force is studied using a gyrokinetic description that includes the finite Larmor radius effects. A general nonlinear solution is found that is supported by the nonlinearity arising from the resonant particles, trapped by the combined action of the parallel electric field and the magnetic mirror force. Applying these results to the space plasma conditions, we demonstrate that in the magnetosheath plasma, coherent nonlinear magnetic depression may be created associated with the nonlinear mirror mode and supported by the population of trapped ions forming a hump in the distribution function. These objects may appear either isolated or as the train of weakly correlated structures (the cnoidal wave). In the Solar wind and in the Earths magnetopause, characterized with anisotropic electron and ion temperatures that are of the same order of magnitude, we find coherent magnetic holes of the same form that are attributed to the two branches of the nonlinear magnetosonic mode, the electron mirror and the field swelling mode, including also the kinetic Alfven mode, and supported by the population of trapped electrons. The localized magnetic holes may have the form of a moving oblique slab or of an ellipsoid parallel to the magnetic field and strongly elongated along it, that propagates along the magnetic field and may be convected in the perpendicular direction by a plasma flow. While the ion mirror structures are purely compressional magnetic, featuring negligible magnetic torsion and electric field, the magnetosonic and kinetic Alfven structures possess a finite electrostatic potential, magnetic compression, and magnetic torsion, but the ratio of the perpendicular and parallel magnetic fields remains small.

In-situ observations in the Earth's and Saturn's magnetosheaths and in the solar wind reveal the presence of Alfv\'en vortices as intermittent structures in the range of scales from fluid lengths down to few ion lengths. The density and the magnetic field associated with them appear to be compressible for higher plasma betas. Until now, only incompressible Alfv\'en vortices have been known. Motivated by space plasma observations we develop a new model of magnetic vortices in high-beta plasmas with anisotropic temperature, possessing compressible density and magnetic field, whose typical size ranges from fluid to ion scales. At magneto-fluid scales we find novel non-propagating field-aligned cylindrical monopoles and inclined propagating dipoles. Their transverse magnetic and velocity fluctuations are aligned, but not identical, {and they exhibit density and compressible magnetic field fluctuations $\delta n$ and $\delta B_\Vert$ localized inside the vortex core. In the presence of thermal anisotropy and acoustic effects, they may be correlated or anti-correlated $\delta n/\delta B_\Vert={\rm constant}\gtrless 0$; fluctuations whose velocity along the magnetic field is below the ion thermal speed are always correlated.} At ion or kinetic scales (with the smallest radii $\sim c/\omega_{pi}, \rho_{L i}$) {and in the absence of acoustic perturbations}, only dipolar Alfv\'en vortices survive with similar properties as those at fluid scales, except for their $\delta n/n_0$ that reaches the level of $\delta B_\Vert/B_0$. At kinetic scales we find also pressure balanced dipolar structures, possessing finite parallel electric field $E_\Vert$ and purely compressional magnetic field perturbation.