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1. Characterization of SABRE crystal NaI-33 with direct underground counting

   https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09098-5  

   Antonello, M. ; Arnquist, I. J. ; Barberio, E. ; Baroncelli, T. ; Benziger, J. ; Bignell, L. J. ; Bolognino, I. ; Calaprice, F. ; Copello, S. ; Dafinei, I. ; et al ( April 2021 , The European Physical Journal C)

   Ultra-pure NaI(Tl) crystals are the key element for a model-independent verification of the long standing DAMA result and a powerful means to search for the annual modulation signature of dark matter interactions. The SABRE collaboration has been developing cutting-edge techniques for the reduction of intrinsic backgrounds over several years. In this paper we report the first characterization of a 3.4 kg crystal, named NaI-33, performed in an underground passive shielding setup at LNGS. NaI-33 has a record low$$^{39}$$${}^{39}$K contamination of 4.3 ± 0.2 ppb as determined by mass spectrometry. We measured a light yield of 11.1 ± 0.2 photoelectrons/keV and an energy resolution of 13.2% (FWHM/E) at 59.5 keV. We evaluated the activities of$$^{226}$$${}^{226}$Ra and$$^{228}$$${}^{228}$Th inside the crystal to be$$5.9\pm 0.6~\upmu $$$5.9\pm 0.6\mu$Bq/kg and$$1.6\pm 0.3~\upmu $$$1.6\pm 0.3\mu$Bq/kg, respectively, which would indicate a contamination from$$^{238}$$${}^{238}$U and$$^{232}$$${}^{232}$Th at part-per-trillion level. We measured an activity of 0.51 ± 0.02 mBq/kg due to$$^{210}$$${}^{210}$Pb out of equilibrium and a$$\alpha $$$\alpha$quenching factor of 0.63 ± 0.01 at 5304 keV. We illustrate the analyses techniques developed to reject electronic noise in the lower part of the energy spectrum. A cut-based strategy and a multivariate approach indicated a rate, attributed to the intrinsic radioactivity of the crystal, of$$\sim $$$\sim$1 count/day/kg/keV in the [5–20] keV region.

    

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2. A multiple-timing analysis of temporal ratcheting

   https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-024-00421-y  

   Hashemi, Aref ; Gilman, Edward T. ; Khair, Aditya S. ( April 2024 , The European Physical Journal E)

   We develop a two-timing perturbation analysis to provide quantitative insights on the existence of temporal ratchets in an exemplary system of a particle moving in a tank of fluid in response to an external vibration of the tank. We consider two-mode vibrations with angular frequencies$$\omega $$$\omega$and$$\alpha \omega $$$\alpha \omega$, where$$\alpha $$$\alpha$is a rational number. If$$\alpha $$$\alpha$is a ratio of odd and even integers (e.g.,$$\tfrac{2}{1},\,\tfrac{3}{2},\,\tfrac{4}{3}$$$\frac{2}{1},\frac{3}{2},\frac{4}{3}$), the system yields a net response: here, a nonzero time-average particle velocity. Our first-order perturbation solution predicts the existence of temporal ratchets for$$\alpha =2$$$\alpha =2$. Furthermore, we demonstrate, for a reduced model, that the temporal ratcheting effect for$$\alpha =\tfrac{3}{2}$$$\alpha =\frac{3}{2}$and$$\tfrac{4}{3}$$$\frac{4}{3}$appears at the third-order perturbation solution. More importantly, we find closed-form formulas for the magnitude and direction of the induced net velocities for these$$\alpha $$$\alpha$values. On a broader scale, our methodology offers a new mathematical approach to study the complicated nature of temporal ratchets in physical systems.

    

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3. The $$L^p$$-Fisher–Rao metric and Amari–C̆encov $$\alpha $$-Connections

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00526-024-02660-5  

   Bauer, Martin ; Le Brigant, Alice ; Lu, Yuxiu ; Maor, Cy ( February 2024 , Calculus of Variations and Partial Differential Equations)

   We introduce a family of Finsler metrics, called the$$L^p$$$L^p$-Fisher–Rao metrics$$F_p$$$F_p$, for$$p\in (1,\infty )$$$p\in (1,\infty )$, which generalizes the classical Fisher–Rao metric$$F_2$$$F_2$, both on the space of densities$${\text {Dens}}_+(M)$$${\text{Dens}}_{+}\left(M\right)$and probability densities$${\text {Prob}}(M)$$$\text{Prob}\left(M\right)$. We then study their relations to the Amari–C̆encov$$\alpha $$$\alpha$-connections$$\nabla ^{(\alpha )}$$${\nabla }^{\left(\alpha \right)}$from information geometry: on$${\text {Dens}}_+(M)$$${\text{Dens}}_{+}\left(M\right)$, the geodesic equations of$$F_p$$$F_p$and$$\nabla ^{(\alpha )}$$${\nabla }^{\left(\alpha \right)}$coincide, for$$p = 2/(1-\alpha )$$$p=2/(1-\alpha )$. Both are pullbacks of canonical constructions on$$L^p(M)$$$L^p\left(M\right)$, in which geodesics are simply straight lines. In particular, this gives a new variational interpretation of$$\alpha $$$\alpha$-geodesics as being energy minimizing curves. On$${\text {Prob}}(M)$$$\text{Prob}\left(M\right)$, the$$F_p$$$F_p$and$$\nabla ^{(\alpha )}$$${\nabla }^{\left(\alpha \right)}$geodesics can still be thought as pullbacks of natural operations on the unit sphere in$$L^p(M)$$$L^p\left(M\right)$, but in this case they no longer coincide unless$$p=2$$$p=2$. Using this transformation, we solve the geodesic equation of the$$\alpha $$$\alpha$-connection by showing that the geodesic are pullbacks of projections of straight lines onto the unit sphere, and they always cease to exists after finite time when they leave the positive part of the sphere. This unveils the geometric structure of solutions to the generalized Proudman–Johnson equations, and generalizes them to higher dimensions. In addition, we calculate the associate tensors of$$F_p$$$F_p$, and study their relation to$$\nabla ^{(\alpha )}$$${\nabla }^{\left(\alpha \right)}$.

    

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4. Multi-atom quasiparticle scattering interference for superconductor energy-gap symmetry determination

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-020-00303-4  

   Sharma, Rahul ; Kreisel, Andreas ; Sulangi, Miguel Antonio ; Böker, Jakob ; Kostin, Andrey ; Allan, Milan P. ; Eisaki, H. ; Böhmer, Anna E. ; Canfield, Paul C. ; Eremin, Ilya ; et al ( January 2021 , npj Quantum Materials)

   Complete theoretical understanding of the most complex superconductors requires a detailed knowledge of the symmetry of the superconducting energy-gap$${\mathrm{{\Delta}}}_{\mathbf{k}}^\alpha$$${\Delta }_k^{\alpha }$, for all momentakon the Fermi surface of every bandα. While there are a variety of techniques for determining$$|{\mathrm{{\Delta}}}_{\mathbf{k}}^\alpha |$$$\mid {\Delta }_k^{\alpha }\mid$, no general method existed to measure the signed values of$${\mathrm{{\Delta}}}_{\mathbf{k}}^\alpha$$${\Delta }_k^{\alpha }$. Recently, however, a technique based on phase-resolved visualization of superconducting quasiparticle interference (QPI) patterns, centered on a single non-magnetic impurity atom, was introduced. In principle, energy-resolved and phase-resolved Fourier analysis of these images identifies wavevectors connecting allk-space regions where$${\mathrm{{\Delta}}}_{\mathbf{k}}^\alpha$$${\Delta }_k^{\alpha }$has the same or opposite sign. But use of a single isolated impurity atom, from whose precise location the spatial phase of the scattering interference pattern must be measured, is technically difficult. Here we introduce a generalization of this approach for use with multiple impurity atoms, and demonstrate its validity by comparing the$${\mathrm{{\Delta}}}_{\mathbf{k}}^\alpha$$${\Delta }_k^{\alpha }$it generates to the$${\mathrm{{\Delta}}}_{\mathbf{k}}^\alpha$$${\Delta }_k^{\alpha }$determined from single-atom scattering in FeSe where s_±energy-gap symmetry is established. Finally, to exemplify utility, we use the multi-atom technique on LiFeAs and find scattering interference between the hole-like and electron-like pockets as predicted for$${\mathrm{{\Delta}}}_{\mathbf{k}}^\alpha$$${\Delta }_k^{\alpha }$of opposite sign.

    

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5. Hot-carrier dynamics in InAs/AlAsSb multiple-quantum wells

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89815-y  

   Piyathilaka, Herath P. ; Sooriyagoda, Rishmali ; Esmaielpour, Hamidreza ; Whiteside, Vincent R. ; Mishima, Tetsuya D. ; Santos, Michael B. ; Sellers, Ian R. ; Bristow, Alan D. ( May 2021 , Scientific Reports)

   A type-II InAs/AlAs$$_{0.16}$$${}_{0.16}$Sb$$_{0.84}$$${}_{0.84}$multiple-quantum well sample is investigated for the photoexcited carrier dynamics as a function of excitation photon energy and lattice temperature. Time-resolved measurements are performed using a near-infrared pump pulse, with photon energies near to and above the band gap, probed with a terahertz probe pulse. The transient terahertz absorption is characterized by a multi-rise, multi-decay function that captures long-lived decay times and a metastable state for an excess-photon energy of$$>100$$$>100$meV. For sufficient excess-photon energy, excitation of the metastable state is followed by a transition to the long-lived states. Excitation dependence of the long-lived states map onto a nearly-direct band gap ($$E{_g}$$$E{}_g$) density of states with an Urbach tail below$$E{_g}$$$E{}_g$. As temperature increases, the long-lived decay times increase$$$<E{}_g$, due to the increased phonon interaction of the unintentional defect states, and by phonon stabilization of the hot carriers$$>E{_g}$$$>E{}_g$. Additionally, Auger (and/or trap-assisted Auger) scattering above the onset of the plateau may also contribute to longer hot-carrier lifetimes. Meanwhile, the initial decay component shows strong dependence on excitation energy and temperature, reflecting the complicated initial transfer of energy between valence-band and defect states, indicating methods to further prolong hot carriers for technological applications.

    

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