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The competition between the Kondo spin-screening effect and the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction in heavy-fermion systems drives the quantum phase transition between the magnetically ordered and the heavy-Fermi-liquid ground states. Despite intensive investigations of heavy quasiparticles on the Kondo-screened side of the quantum phase transition and of their breakdown at the quantum critical point, studies on the magnetically ordering side are scarce. Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, we report a suppression of the Kondo quasiparticle weight in CeCu6-xAux samples on the antiferromagnetic side of the quantum phase transition at temperatures as much as two orders of magnitude above the Neel temperature TN. The suppression results from a quantum frustration effect induced by the temperature-independent RKKY interaction. Hence, our results emphasize that besides critical fluctuations, the RKKY interaction may play an important role in the quantum-critical scenario., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

We investigate the superconducting phase diagram of twisted bilayer graphene quasicrystals (TBGQC) obtained by stacking two monolayer graphene sheets with a $30^\circ$ relative twisting. The electronic energy spectrum of TBGQC contains periodic energy ranges (PER) and quasiperiodic energy ranges (QER), where the underlying local density of states (LDOS) exhibits periodic and quasiperiodic distribution, respectively. We found that superconductivity in the PER is a simple superposition of two monolayer superconductors. This is because, particularly near the charge neutrality point of TBGQC, the two layers are weekly coupled, leading to pairing instabilities with uniform distribution in real space. On the other hand, within QER, the inhomogeneous distribution of the LDOS enhances the superconducting instability with a non-uniform distribution of pairing amplitudes, leading to quasiperiodic superconductivity. Our study can qualitatively explain the superconductivity in recently discovered moir\'e quasicrystals, which show superconductivity in its QER., Comment: 4+19 pages, 3+9 figures

Ferroelectric domain walls are nanoscale objects that can be created, positioned, and erased on demand. They often embody functional properties that are distinct from the surrounding bulk material. Enhanced conductivity, for instance, is observed at charged ferroelectric domain walls. Regrettably, domain walls of this type are scarce because of the energetically unfavorable electrostatics. This hinders the current technological development of domain-wall nanoelectronics. Here we overcome this constraint by creating robust domain-wall-like objects in epitaxial oxide heterostructures. We design charged head-to-head (HH) and tail-to-tail (TT) junctions with two ferroelectric layers (BaTiO$_{3}$ and BiFeO$_{3}$) that have opposing out-of-plane polarization. To test domain-wall-like functionalities, we insert an ultrathin ferromagnetic La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ layer into the junctions. The interfacial electron or hole accumulation at the interfaces, set by the HH and TT polarization configurations, respectively, controls the LSMO conductivity and magnetization. We thus propose that trilayers reminiscent of artificial domain walls provide magnetoelectric functionality and may constitute an important building block in the design of oxide-based electronic devices., Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures

We present Crab X-ray polarization measurements using IXPE data with a total exposure of 300ks, three times more than the initial 2022 discovery paper. Polarization is detected in three times more pulsar phase bins, revealing an S-shaped $+40^\circ$ polarization angle sweep in the main pulse and ${>}1\sigma$ departures from the OPTIMA optical polarization in both pulses, suggesting different radiation mechanisms or sites for the polarized emission at the two wavebands. Our polarization map of the inner nebula reveals a toroidal magnetic field, as seen in prior IXPE analyses. Along the southern jet, the magnetic field orientation relative to the jet axis changes from perpendicular to parallel and the polarization degree decreases by ${\sim}6\%$. These observations may be explained by kink instabilities along the jet or a collision with a dense, jet-deflecting medium at the tip. Using spectropolarimetric analysis, we find asymmetric polarization in the four quadrants of the inner nebula, as expected for a toroidal field geometry, and a spatial correlation between polarization degree and photon index., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables. Accepted by The Astrophysical Journal

We study the influence of the quantum geometry on the magnetic responses of quadratic band crossing semimetals. More explicitly, we examine the Landau levels, quantum Hall effect, and magnetic susceptibility of a general two-band Hamiltonian that has fixed isotropic quadratic band dispersion but with tunable quantum geometry, in which the interband coupling is fully characterized by the maximum quantum distance $d_\mathrm{max}$. By continuously tuning $d_\mathrm{max}$ in the range of $0\leq d_\mathrm{max}\leq 1$, we investigate how the magnetic properties of the free electron model with $d_\mathrm{max}=0$ evolve into those of the bilayer graphene with $d_\mathrm{max}=1$. We demonstrate that despite sharing the same energy dispersion $\epsilon(p) =\pm\frac{p^2}{2m}$, the charge carriers in the free electron model and bilayer graphene exhibit entirely distinct Landau levels and quantum Hall responses due to the nontrivial quantum geometry of the wave functions.

Supernova remnants (SNRs) provide insights into cosmic-ray acceleration and magnetic field dynamics at shock fronts. Recent X-ray polarimetric measurements by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) have revealed radial magnetic fields near particle acceleration sites in young SNRs, including Cassiopeia A, Tycho, and SN 1006. We present here the spatially-resolved IXPE X-ray polarimetric observation of the northwestern rim of SNR RX J1713.7-3946. For the first time, our analysis shows that the magnetic field in particle acceleration sites of this SNR is oriented tangentially with respect to the shock front. Because of the lack of precise Faraday-rotation measurements in the radio band, this was not possible before. The average measured polarization degree (PD) of the synchtrotron emission is 12.5 {\pm} 3.3%, lower than the one measured by IXPE in SN 1006, comparable to the Tycho one, but notably higher than the one in Cassiopeia A. On sub-parsec scales, localized patches within RX J1713.7-3946 display PD up to 41.5 {\pm} 9.5%. These results are compatible with a shock-compressed magnetic field. However, in order to explain the observed PD, either the presence of a radial net magnetic field upstream of the shock, or partial reisotropization of the turbulence downstream by radial magneto-hydrodynamical instabilities, can be invoked. From comparison of PD and magnetic field distribution with {\gamma}-rays and 12 CO data, our results provide new inputs in favor of a leptonic origin of the {\gamma}-ray emission., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, published in ApJ Letters

The Euler class characterizes the topology of two real bands isolated from other bands in two-dimensions. Despite various intriguing topological properties predicted up to now, the candidate real materials hosting electronic Euler bands are extremely rare. Here, we show that in a quantum spin Hall insulator with two-fold rotation $C_{2z}$ about the $z$-axis, a pair of bands with nontrivial $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant turn into magnetic Euler bands under in-plane Zeeman field or in-plane ferromagnetic ordering. The resulting magnetic insulator generally carries a nontrivial second Stiefel-Whitney invariant. In particular, when the topmost pair of occupied bands carry a nonzero Euler number, the corresponding magnetic insulator can be called a magnetic Euler insulator. Moreover, the topological phase transition between a trivial magnetic insulator and a magnetic Stiefel-Whitney or Euler insulator is mediated by a stable topological semimetal phase in which Dirac nodes carrying non-Abelian topological charges exhibit braiding processes across the transition. Using the first-principles calculations, we propose various candidate materials hosting magnetic Euler bands. We especially show that ZrTe$_5$ bilayers under in-plane ferromagnetism are a candidate system for magnetic Stiefel-Whitney insulators in which the non-Abelian braiding-induced topological phase transitions can occur under pressure.

In the rapidly evolving field of autonomous systems, the safety and reliability of the system components are fundamental requirements. These components are often vulnerable to complex and unforeseen environments, making natural edge-case generation essential for enhancing system resilience. This paper presents GENESIS-RL, a novel framework that leverages system-level safety considerations and reinforcement learning techniques to systematically generate naturalistic edge cases. By simulating challenging conditions that mimic the real-world situations, our framework aims to rigorously test entire system's safety and reliability. Although demonstrated within the autonomous driving application, our methodology is adaptable across diverse autonomous systems. Our experimental validation, conducted on high-fidelity simulator underscores the overall effectiveness of this framework.

The quantum valley Hall effect (QVHE) is characterized by the valley Chern number (VCN) in a way that one-dimensional (1D) chiral metallic states are guaranteed to appear at the domain walls (DW) between two domains with opposite VCN for a given valley. Although in the case of QVHE, the total BC of the system is zero, the BC distributed locally around each valley makes the VCN well-defined as long as inter-valley scattering is negligible. Here, we propose a new type of valley-dependent topological phenomenon that occurs when the BC is strictly zero at each momentum. Such zero Berry curvature (ZBC) QVHE is characterized by the valley Euler number (VEN) which is computed by integrating the Euler curvature around a given valley in two-dimensional (2D) systems with space-time inversion symmetry. 1D helical metallic states can be topologically protected at the DW between two domains with the opposite VENs when the DW configuration preserves either the mirror symmetry with respect to the DW or the combination of the DW space-time inversion , and chiral symmetries. We establish the fundamental origin of ZBC-QVHE. Also, by combining tight-binding model study and first-principles calculations, we propose stacked hexagonal bilayer lattices including h-BX (X=As, P) and large-angle twisted bilayer graphenes as candidate systems with robust helical DW states protected by VEN., Comment: 3+3 figure

Black-hole X-ray binaries exhibit different spectral and timing properties in different accretion states. The X-ray outburst of a recently discovered and extraordinarily bright source, Swift$~$J1727.8$-$1613, has enabled the first investigation of how the X-ray polarization properties of a source evolve with spectral state. The 2$-$8 keV polarization degree was previously measured by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) to be $\approx$ 4% in the hard and hard intermediate states. Here we present new IXPE results taken in the soft state, with the X-ray flux dominated by the thermal accretion-disk emission. We find that the polarization degree has dropped dramatically to $\lesssim$ 1%. This result indicates that the measured X-ray polarization is largely sensitive to the accretion state and the polarization fraction is significantly higher in the hard state when the X-ray emission is dominated by up-scattered radiation in the X-ray corona. The combined polarization measurements in the soft and hard states disfavor a very high or low inclination of the system., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures

We present a detailed analysis of the observations with the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope of the black hole X-ray transient 4U~1543-47 during its outburst in 2021. We find a clear state transition during the outburst decay of the source. Using previous measurements of the black-hole mass and distance to the source, the source luminosity during this transition is close to the Eddington limit. The light curves before and after the transition can be fitted by two exponential functions with short ($\sim 16$ days) and long ($\sim 130$ days) decay time scales, respectively. We detect strong reflection features in all observations that can be described with either the RelxillNS or Reflionx_bb reflection models, both of which have a black-body incident spectrum. In the super-Eddington state, we observe a Comptonized component characterized by a low electron temperature of approximately 2.0 keV. We suggest that this component appears exclusively within the inner radiation-pressure dominated region of the supercritical disk as a part of the intrinsic spectrum of the accretion disk itself. This feature vanishes as the source transitions into the sub-Eddington state. The emissivity index of the accretion disk in the reflection component is significantly different before and after the transition, $\sim3.0$-$5.0$ and $\sim7.0$-$9.0$ in the super- and sub-Eddington states, respectively. Based on the reflection geometry of returning disk radiation, the geometrically thicker the accretion disk, the smaller the emissivity index. Therefore, we propose that the transition is primarily driven by the change of the accretion flow from a supercritical to a thin disk configuration.

Despite its abundance in nature, predicting the occurrence of ferromagnetism in the ground state is possible only under very limited conditions such as in a flat band system with repulsive interaction or in a band with a single hole under infinitely large Coulomb repulsion, etc. Here, we propose a general condition to achieve saturated ferromagnetism based on the quantum geometry of electronic wave functions in itinerant electron systems. By analyzing multi-band repulsive Hubbard models with an integer band filling, relevant to either ferromagnetic insulators or semimetals, we propose a rigorous quantum geometric upper bound on the spin stiffness. By employing this geometric bound, we establish that saturated ferromagnetism is prohibited in the absence of interband coupling, even when the local Hubbard repulsion is infinitely large. As a corollary, this shows that saturated ferromagnetism is forbidden in any half-filled Hubbard model. We also derive the condition that the upper bound of the spin stiffness can be completely characterized by the Abelian quantum metric. We believe that our findings reveal a profound connection between quantum geometry and ferromagnetism, which can be extended to various symmetry-broken ground states in itinerant electronic systems., Comment: 7+10 pages, 3+1 figures

The pyrochlore lattice, a three-dimensional network of corner-sharing tetrahedra, is a promising material playground for correlated topological phases arising from the interplay between spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and electron-electron interactions. Due to its geometrically frustrated lattice structure, exotic correlated states on the pyrochlore lattice have been extensively studied using various spin Hamiltonians in the localized limit. On the other hand, the topological properties of the electronic structure in the pyrochlore lattice have rarely been explored, due to the scarcity of pyrochlore materials in the itinerant paramagnetic limit. Here, we explore the topological electronic band structure of pyrochlore superconductor RbBi$_{2}$ using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Thanks to the strong SOC of the Bi pyrochlore network, we experimentally confirm the existence of three-dimensional (3D) massless Dirac fermions enforced by nonsymmorphic symmetry, as well as a 3D quadratic band crossing protected by cubic crystalline symmetry. Furthermore, we identify an additional 3D linear Dirac dispersion associated with band inversion protected by threefold rotation symmetry. These observations reveal the rich non-trivial band topology of itinerant pyrochlore lattice systems in the strong SOC regime. Through manipulation of electron correlations and SOC of the frustrated pyrochlore lattices, this material platform is a natural host for exotic phases of matter, including the fractionalized quantum spin Hall effect in the topological Mott insulator phase, as well as axion electrodynamics in the axion insulator phase., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures

Hybridization between the localized f-electrons and the delocalized conduction electrons together with the crystal electric field (CEF) play a determinant role in governing the many-body ground state of a correlated-electron system. Here, we investigate the low-energy CEF states in CeAg_2Ge_2, a prototype Kondo-lattice antiferromagnet where Kondo correlation is found to exist within the antiferromagnetic phase. Using time-domain THz reflection spectroscopy, we show the first direct evidence of two low-energy CEF transitions at 0.6 THz (2.5 meV) and 2.1 THz (8.7 meV). The presence of low-frequency infrared-active phonon modes further manifests as a Fano-modified lineshape of the 2.1 THz CEF conductivity peak. The temporal spectral weights obtained directly from the THz time traces, in addition, corroborate the corresponding CEF temperature scales of the compound., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures

In strongly correlated systems such as heavy-fermion materials, the coherent superposition of localized and mobile spin states leads to the formation of Kondo resonant states, which on a dense, periodic array of Kondo ions develop lattice coherence. Characteristically, these quantum-coherent superposition states respond to a terahertz (THz) excitation by a delayed THz pulse on the scale of the material's Kondo energy scale and, hence, independent of the pump-light intensity. However, delayed response is also typical for superradiance in an ensemble of excited atoms. In this case, quantum coherence is established by the coupling to an external, electromagnetic mode and, hence, dependent on the pump-light intensity. In the present work, we investigate the physical origin of the delayed pulse, i.e., inherent, correlation-induced versus light-induced coherence, in the prototypical heavy-fermion compound CeCu_5.9Au_0.1. We study the delay, duration and amplitude of the THz pulse at various temperatures in dependence on the electric-field strength of the incident THz excitation, ranging from 0.3 to 15.2 kV/cm. We observe a robust delayed response at approximately 6 ps with an amplitude proportional to the amplitude of the incident THz wave. This is consistent with theoretical expectation for the Kondo-like coherence and thus provides compelling evidence for the dominance of condensed-matter versus optical coherence in the heavy-fermion compound., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures

Understanding the relationship between quantum geometry and topological invariants is a central problem in the study of topological states. In this work, we establish the relationship between the quantum metric and the Euler curvature in two-dimensional systems with space-time inversion $I_{ST}$ symmetry satisfying $I^2_{ST}=+1$. As $I_{ST}$ symmetry imposes the reality of the wave function with vanishing Berry curvature, the well-known inequality between the quantum metric and the Berry curvature is not meaningful in this class of systems. We find that the non-abelian quantum geometric tensor of two real bands exhibits an intriguing inequality between the off-diagonal Berry curvature and the quantum metric, which in turn gives the inequality between the quantum volume and the Euler invariant. Moreover, we show that the saturation condition of the inequality is deeply related to the ideal condition for Euler bands, which provides a criterion for the stability of fractional topological phases in interacting Euler bands. Our findings demonstrate the potential of the quantum geometry as a powerful tool for characterizing symmetry-protected topological states and their interaction effect., Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures

We report on an observational campaign on the bright black hole X-ray binary Swift J1727.8$-$1613 centered around five observations by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). These observations track for the first time the evolution of the X-ray polarization of a black hole X-ray binary across a hard to soft state transition. The 2--8 keV polarization degree decreased from $\sim$4\% to $\sim$3\% across the five observations, but the polarization angle remained oriented in the North-South direction throughout. Based on observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), we find that the intrinsic 7.25 GHz radio polarization aligns with the X-ray polarization. Assuming the radio polarization aligns with the jet direction (which can be tested in the future with higher spatial resolution images of the jet), our results imply that the X-ray corona is extended in the disk plane, rather than along the jet axis, for the entire hard intermediate state. This in turn implies that the long ($\gtrsim$10 ms) soft lags that we measure with the Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) are dominated by processes other than pure light-crossing delays. Moreover, we find that the evolution of the soft lag amplitude with spectral state does not follow the trend seen for other sources, implying that Swift J1727.8$-$1613 is a member of a hitherto under-sampled sub-population., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 21 pages, 8 figures

We describe IXPE polarization observations of the Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN) MSH15-52, the `Cosmic Hand'. We find X-ray polarization across the PWN, with B field vectors generally aligned with filamentary X-ray structures. High significance polarization is seen in arcs surrounding the pulsar and toward the end of the `jet', with polarization degree PD>70%, thus approaching the maximum allowed synchrotron value. In contrast, the base of the jet has lower polarization, indicating a complex magnetic field at significant angle to the jet axis. We also detect significant polarization from PSR B1509-58 itself. Although only the central pulse-phase bin of the pulse has high individual significance, flanking bins provide lower significance detections and, in conjunction with the X-ray image and radio polarization, can be used to constrain rotating vector model solutions for the pulsar geometry., Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal

We report the first detection of the X-ray polarization of the bright transient Swift J1727.8-1613 with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. The observation was performed at the beginning of the 2023 discovery outburst, when the source resided in the bright hard state. We find a time- and energy-averaged polarization degree of 4.1%+/-0.2% and a polarization angle of 2.2+/-1.3 degrees (errors at 68% confidence level; this translates to about 20-sigma significance of the polarization detection). This finding suggests that the hot corona emitting the bulk of the detected X-rays is elongated, rather than spherical. The X-ray polarization angle is consistent with that found in sub-mm wavelengths. Since the sub-mm polarization was found to be aligned with the jet direction in other X-ray binaries, this indicates that the corona is elongated orthogonal to the jet., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitted

Young supernova remnants (SNRs) strongly modify surrounding magnetic fields, which in turn play an essential role in accelerating cosmic rays (CRs). X-ray polarization measurements probe magnetic field morphology and turbulence at the immediate acceleration site. We report the X-ray polarization distribution in the northeastern shell of SN1006 from a 1 Ms observation with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). We found an average polarization degree of $22.4\pm 3.5\%$ and an average polarization angle of $-45.4\pm 4.5^\circ$ (measured on the plane of the sky from north to east). The X-ray polarization angle distribution reveals that the magnetic fields immediately behind the shock in the northeastern shell of SN 1006 are nearly parallel to the shock normal or radially distributed, similar to that in the radio observations, and consistent with the quasi-parallel CR acceleration scenario. The X-ray emission is marginally more polarized than that in the radio band. The X-ray polarization degree of SN 1006 is much larger than that in Cas A and Tycho, together with the relatively tenuous and smooth ambient medium of the remnant, favoring that CR-induced instabilities set the turbulence in SN 1006 and CR acceleration is environment-dependent., Comment: 15 pages, 4 Figures, 2 Tables; accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

We explore the relationship among the magnetic ordering in real space, the resulting spin texture on the Fermi surface, and the related superconducting gap structure in non-collinear antiferromagnetic metals without spin-orbit coupling. Via a perturbative approach, we show that a non-collinear magnetic ordering in a metal can generate a momentum-dependent spin texture on its Fermi surface, even in the absence of spin-orbit coupling, if the metal has more than three sublattices in its magnetic unit cell. Thus, our theory naturally extends the idea of altermagnetism to non-collinear spin structures. When superconductivity is developed in a magnetic metal, as the gap-opening condition is strongly constrained by the spin texture, the nodal structure of the superconducting state is also enforced by the magnetism-induced spin texture. Taking the non-collinear antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice as a representative example, we demonstrate how the Fermi surface spin texture induced by noncollinear antiferromagnetism naturally leads to odd-parity spin-triplet superconductivity with nontrivial topological properties.

We study the relation between the quantum geometry of wave functions and the Landau level (LL) spectrum of two-band Hamiltonians with a quadratic band crossing point (QBCP) in two-dimensions. By investigating the influence of interband coupling parameters on the wave function geometry of general QBCPs, we demonstrate that the interband coupling parameters can be entirely determined by the projected elliptic image of the wave functions on the Bloch sphere, which can be characterized by three parameters, i.e., the major $d_1$ and minor $d_2$ diameters of the ellipse, and one angular parameter $\phi$ describing the orientation of the ellipse. These parameters govern the geometric properties of the system such as the Berry phase and modified LL spectra. Explicitly, by comparing the LL spectra of two quadratic band models with and without interband couplings, we show that the product of $d_1$ and $d_2$ determines the constant shift in LL energy while their ratio governs the initial LL energies near a QBCP. Also, by examining the influence of the rotation and time-reversal symmetries on the wave function geometry, we construct a minimal continuum model which exhibits various wave function geometries. We calculate the LL spectra of this model and discuss how interband couplings give LL structure for dispersive bands as well as nearly flat bands., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, 1 table

We study the quantum valley Hall effect and related domain wall modes in twisted bilayer graphene at a large commensurate angle. Due to the quantum valley and sub-valley Hall effect, a small deviation from the commensurate angle generates two-dimensional conducting network patterns composed of one-dimensional domain wall conducting channels, which can induce non-Fermi liquid transport behavior within an accessible temperature range. The domain wall modes can be manipulated by using the layer shifting and external electric fields which, in turn, leads to the sub-valley Haldane and Semenoff masses on the domain wall modes. The large-angle twisted bilayer graphene and related materials can be a new setup to harness the quantum valley and sub-valley Hall effect with enhanced tunability., Comment: 3+5 figures; 1+0 tables; 4+5 pages

Establishing the fundamental relation between the homotopy invariants and the band topology of Hamiltonians has played a critical role in the recent development of topological phase research. In this work, we establish the homotopy invariant and the related band topology of three-dimensional (3D) real-valued Hamiltonians with two occupied and two unoccupied bands. Such a real Hamiltonian generally appears in $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric spinless fermion systems where $\mathcal{P}$ and $\mathcal{T}$ indicate the inversion and time-reversal symmetries, respectively. We show that the 3D band topology of the system is characterized by two independent Hopf invariants when the lower-dimensional band topology is trivial. Thus, the corresponding 3D band insulator with nonzero Hopf invariants can be called a real Hopf insulator (RHI). In sharp contrast to all the other topological insulators discovered up to now, the topological invariants of RHI can be defined only when the fixed number of both the occupied and unoccupied states are simultaneously considered. Thus, the RHI belongs to the category of delicate topological insulators proposed recently. We show that finite-size systems with slab geometry support surface states with nonzero Chern numbers in a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric manner independent of the Fermi level position, and establish the bulk-boundary correspondence. We also discuss the bulk-boundary correspondence of rotation symmetric RHIs using the returning Thouless pump., Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures, 1 table

In this work, we show that a buckled honeycomb lattice can host a boundary-obstructed topological superconductor (BOTS) in the presence of f-wave spin-triplet pairing (fSTP). The underlying buckled structure allows for the manipulation of both chemical potential and sublattice potential using a double gate setup. Although a finite sublattice potential can stabilize the fSTP with a possible higher-order band topology, because it also breaks the relevant symmetry, the stability of the corner modes is not guaranteed. Here we show that the fSTP on the honeycomb lattice gives BOTS under nonzero sublattice potential, thus the corner modes can survive as long as the boundary is gapped. Also, by examining the large sublattice potential limit where the honeycomb lattice can be decomposed into two triangular lattices, we show that the boundary modes in the normal state are the quintessential ingredient leading to the BOTS. Thus the effective boundary Hamiltonian becomes nothing but the Hamiltonian for Kitaev chains, which eventually gives the corner modes of the BOTS., Comment: 4+8 pages, 4+4 figures

Supernova remnants are commonly considered to produce most of the Galactic cosmic rays via diffusive shock acceleration. However, many questions about the physical conditions at shock fronts, such as the magnetic-field morphology close to the particle acceleration sites, remain open. Here we report the detection of a localized polarization signal from some synchrotron X-ray emitting regions of Tycho's supernova remnant made by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. The derived polarization degree of the X-ray synchrotron emission is 9+/-2% averaged over the whole remnant, and 12+/-2% at the rim, higher than the 7-8% polarization value observed in the radio band. In the west region the polarization degree is 23+/-4%. The X-ray polarization degree in Tycho is higher than for Cassiopeia A, suggesting a more ordered magnetic-field or a larger maximum turbulence scale. The measured tangential polarization direction corresponds to a radial magnetic field, and is consistent with that observed in the radio band. These results are compatible with the expectation of turbulence produced by an anisotropic cascade of a radial magnetic-field near the shock, where we derive a magnetic-field amplification factor of 3.4+/-0.3. The fact that this value is significantly smaller than those expected from acceleration models is indicative of highly anisotropic magnetic-field turbulence, or that the emitting electrons either favor regions of lower turbulence, or accumulate close to where the magnetic-field orientation is preferentially radially oriented due to hydrodynamical instabilities., Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Revised version

We present the IXPE observation of GRB 221009A which includes upper limits on the linear polarization degree of both prompt and afterglow emission in the soft X-ray energy band. GRB 221009A is an exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst (GRB) that reached Earth on 2022 October 9 after travelling through the dust of the Milky Way. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) pointed at GRB 221009A on October 11 to observe, for the first time, the 2-8 keV X-ray polarization of a GRB afterglow. We set an upper limit to the polarization degree of the afterglow emission of 13.8% at a 99% confidence level. This result provides constraints on the jet opening angle and the viewing angle of the GRB, or alternatively, other properties of the emission region. Additionally, IXPE captured halo-rings of dust-scattered photons which are echoes of the GRB prompt emission. The 99% confidence level upper limit to the prompt polarization degree depends on the background model assumption and it ranges between ~55% to ~82%. This single IXPE pointing provides both the first assessment of X-ray polarization of a GRB afterglow and the first GRB study with polarization observations of both the prompt and afterglow phases., Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal Letters

Topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) can host anomalous surface states which inherits the characteristics of crystalline symmetry that protects the bulk topology. Especially, the diversity of magnetic crystalline symmetries indicates the potential for novel magnetic TCIs with distinct surface characteristics. Here, we propose a topological magnetic Dirac insulator (TMDI), whose two-dimensional surface hosts fourfold-degenerate Dirac fermions protected by either the $p'_c4mm$ or $p4'g'm$ magnetic wallpaper group. The bulk topology of TMDIs is protected by diagonal mirror symmetries, which give chiral dispersion of surface Dirac fermions and mirror-protected hinge modes. We propose candidate materials for TMDIs including Nd$_4$Te$_8$Cl$_4$O$_{20}$ and DyB$_4$ based on first-principles calculations, and construct a general scheme for searching TMDIs using the space group of paramagnetic parent states. Our theoretical discovery of TMDIs will facilitate future research on magnetic TCIs and illustrate a distinct way to achieve anomalous surface states in magnetic crystals., Comment: 10+36 pages, 4+23 figures, published version

Some antiferromagnets under a magnetic field develop magnetization perpendicular to the field as well as more conventional ones parallel to the field. So far, the transverse magnetization (TM) has been attributed to either spin canting effect or the presence of cluster magnetic multipolar ordering. However, a general theory of TM based on microscopic understanding is still missing. Here, we construct a general microscopic theory of TM in antiferromagnets with cluster magnetic multipolar ordering by considering classical spin Hamiltonians with spin anisotropy that arises from the spin-orbit coupling. First, from general symmetry analysis, we show that TM can appear only when all crystalline symmetries are broken other than the antiunitary mirror, antiunitary two-fold rotation, and inversion symmetries. Moreover, by analyzing spin Hamiltonians, we show that TM always appears when the degenerate ground state manifold of the spin Hamiltonian is discrete. On the other hand, when the degenerate ground state manifold is continuous, TM generally does not appear except when the magnetic field direction and the spin configuration satisfy specific geometric conditions under single-ion anisotropy. Finally, we show that TM can induce anomalous planar Hall Effect, a unique transport phenomenon that can be used to probe multipolar antiferromagnetic structures. We believe that our theory provides a useful guideline for understanding the anomalous magnetic responses of the antiferromagnets with complex magnetic structures., Comment: 4 Figures, 8 Supplementary Figures, 3 Tables, 23 Pages

A universal phenomenon in phase transitions is critical slowing down (CSD) - systems, after an initial perturbation, take an exceptionally long time to return to equilibrium. It is universally observed in the dynamics of bosonic excitations, like order-parameter collective modes, but it is not generally expected to occur for fermionic excitations because of the half-integer nature of the fermionic spin. Direct observation of CSD in fermionic excitations or quasiparticles would therefore be of fundamental significance. Here, we observe fermionic CSD in the heavy-fermion (HF) compound YbRh$_2$Si$_2$ by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. HFs are compound objects with a strongly enhanced effective mass, composed of itinerant and localized electronic states. We see that near the quantum phase transition in YbRh$_2$Si$_2$ the build-up of spectral weight of the HFs towards the Kondo temperature $T_K\approx 25$ K is followed by a logarithmic rise of the quasiparticle excitation rate on the heavy-Fermi-liquid side of the quantum phase transition below $10$ K. A critical two-band HF liquid theory shows that this is indicative of fermionic CSD. This CSD is a clear indication that the HF quasiparticles experience a breakdown near the quantum phase transition, and the critical exponent of this breakdown introduces a classification of fermionic quantum phase transitions analogous to thermodynamic phase transitions - solution to a long-standing problem., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Nature Phys. (2023)

Linking structure is a new concept characterizing topological semimetals, which indicates the interweaving of gap-closing nodes at the Fermi energy ($E_F$) with other nodes below $E_F$. As the number of linked nodes can be changed only via pair-creation or pair-annihilation, a linked node is more stable and robust than ordinary nodes without linking. Here we propose a new type of a linked nodal structure between a nodal line (nodal surface) at $E_F$ with another nodal line (nodal surface) below $E_F$ in two-dimensional (three-dimensional) spinless fermion systems with $\mathcal{IT}$ symmetry where $\mathcal{I}$ and $\mathcal{T}$ indicate inversion and time-reversal symmetries, respectively. Because of additional chiral and rotational symmetries, in our system, a double band inversion creates a pair of linked nodes carrying the same topological charges, thus the pair are unremovable via a Lifshiftz transition, which is clearly distinct from the cases of the linked nodes reported previously. A realistic tight binding model and effective theory are developed for such a linking structure. Also, using density functional theory calculations, we propose a class of materials, composed of stacked bilayer graphene with Kekul\'{e} texture, as a candidate system hosting the new type of the linked nodal structure.

We report on a $\sim 5\sigma$ detection of polarized 3-6 keV X-ray emission from the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The overall polarization degree of $1.8 \pm 0.3$% is detected by summing over a large region, assuming circular symmetry for the polarization vectors. The measurements imply an average polarization degree for the synchrotron component of $\sim 2.5$%, and close to 5% for the X-ray synchrotron-domimated forward-shock region. These numbers are based on an assessment of the thermal and non-thermal radiation contributions, for which we used a detailed spatial-spectral model based on Chandra X-ray data. A pixel-by-pixel search for polarization provides a few tentative detections from discrete regions at the $\sim 3\sigma$ confidence level. Given the number of pixels, the significance is {insufficient} to claim a detection for individual pixels, but implies considerable turbulence on scales smaller than the angular resolution. Cas A's X-ray continuum emission is dominated by synchrotron radiation from regions within $\lesssim 10^{17}$ cm of the forward- and reverse shocks. We find that i) the measured polarization angle corresponds to a radially-oriented magnetic field, similar to what has been inferred from radio observations; ii) the X-ray polarization degree is lower than in the radio band ($\sim 5$%). Since shock compression should impose a tangential magnetic field structure, the IXPE results imply that magnetic-fields are reoriented within $\sim 10^{17}$cm of the shock. If the magnetic-field alignment is due to locally enhanced acceleration near quasi-parallel shocks, the preferred X-ray polarization angle suggests a size of $3\times 10^{16}$ cm for cells with radial magnetic fields., Comment: IXPE collaboration paper. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. This version reflects the version accepted by ApJ. With respect to version 1: new figures added to the Appendix and extension to the text, in particular the discussion section and Appendix

UTe2 is a promising candidate for spin-triplet superconductors, in which a paramagnetic normal state becomes superconducting due to spin fluctuations. The subsequent discovery of various unusual superconducting properties has promoted the use of UTe2 as an exciting playground to study unconventional superconductivity, but fathoming the normal state fermiology and its influence on the superconductivity still requires further investigation. Here, we theoretically show that electron correlation induces a dramatic change in the normal state fermiology with an emergent correlated Fermi surface (FS) driven by Kondo resonance at low temperatures. This emergent correlated FS can account for various unconventional superconducting properties in a unified way. In particular, the geometry of the correlated FS can naturally host topological superconductivity in the presence of odd-parity pairings, which become the leading instability due to strong ferromagnetic spin fluctuations. Moreover, two pairs of odd-parity channels appear as accidentally degenerate solutions, which can naturally explain the multicomponent superconductivity with broken time-reversal symmetry. Interestingly, the resulting time-reversal breaking superconducting state is a Weyl superconductor in which Weyl points migrate along the correlated FS as the relative magnitude of nearly degenerate pairing solutions varies. We believe that the correlated normal state fermiology we discovered provides a unified platform to describe the unconventional superconductivity in UTe2., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures and 1 table in the main text, and 10 figures and 1 table in the Supplementary Information