Dirac operator spectrum in tubes and layers with a zigzag-type boundary.

We derive a number of spectral results for Dirac operators in geometrically nontrivial regions in and of tube or layer shapes with a zigzag-type boundary using the corresponding properties of the Dirichlet Laplacian.

Effective lifting of the topological protection of quantum spin Hall edge states by edge coupling.

The scientific interest in two-dimensional topological insulators (2D TIs) is currently shifting from a more fundamental perspective to the exploration and design of novel functionalities. Key concepts for the use of 2D TIs in spintronics are based on the topological protection and spin-momentum locking of their helical edge states. In this study we present experimental evidence that topological protection can be (partially) lifted by pairwise coupling of 2D TI edges in close proximity.

Electron-Tunneling-Assisted Non-Abelian Braiding of Rotating Majorana Bound States.

It has been argued that fluctuations of fermion parity are harmful for the demonstration of non-Abelian anyonic statistics. Here, we demonstrate a striking exception in which such fluctuations are actively used. We present a theory of coherent electron transport from a tunneling tip into a Corbino geometry Josephson junction where four Majorana bound states (MBSs) rotate.

Aharonov-Bohm Oscillations in Minimally Twisted Bilayer Graphene.

We investigate transport in the network of valley Hall states that emerges in minimally twisted bilayer graphene under interlayer bias. To this aim, we construct a scattering theory that captures the network physics. In the absence of forward scattering, symmetries constrain the network model to a single parameter that interpolates between one-dimensional chiral zigzag modes and pseudo-Landau levels.

Aharonov and Bohm versus Welsh eigenvalues.

We consider a class of two-dimensional Schrödinger operator with a singular interaction of the type and a fixed strength supported by an infinite family of concentric, equidistantly spaced circles, and discuss what happens below the essential spectrum when the system is amended by an Aharonov-Bohm flux in the center. It is shown that if , there is a critical value such that the discrete spectrum has an accumulation point when , while for the number of eigenvalues is at most finite, in particular, the discrete spectrum is empty for any fixed and small enough.

Similar temperature scale for valence changes in Kondo lattices with different Kondo temperatures.

The Kondo model predicts that both the valence at low temperatures and its temperature dependence scale with the characteristic energy T of the Kondo interaction. Here, we study the evolution of the 4f occupancy with temperature in a series of Yb Kondo lattices using resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy. In agreement with simple theoretical models, we observe a scaling between the valence at low temperature and T obtained from thermodynamic measurements.

Probing the Hardest Branching within Jets in Heavy-Ion Collisions.

Heavy ion collisions present exciting opportunities to study the effects of quantum coherence in the formation of subatomic particle showers. We report on the first calculation of the momentum sharing and angular separation distributions between the leading subjets inside a reconstructed jet in such collisions. These observables are directly sensitive to the hardest branching within jets and can probe the early stage of the jet formation.

Top Quark Mass Calibration for Monte Carlo Event Generators.

The most precise top quark mass measurements use kinematic reconstruction methods, determining the top mass parameter of a Monte Carlo event generator m_{t}^{MC}. Because of hadronization and parton-shower dynamics, relating m_{t}^{MC} to a field theory mass is difficult. We present a calibration procedure to determine this relation using hadron level QCD predictions for observables with kinematic mass sensitivity.

Confinement-deconfinement transition due to spontaneous symmetry breaking in quantum Hall bilayers.

Band-inverted electron-hole bilayers support quantum spin Hall insulator and exciton condensate phases. Interest in quantum spin Hall effect in these systems has recently put them in the spotlight. We investigate such a bilayer in an external magnetic field.

Quantitative Morphology of Epithelial Folds.

The shape of spatially modulated epithelial morphologies such as villi and crypts is usually associated with the epithelium-stroma area mismatch leading to buckling. We propose an alternative mechanical model based on intraepithelial stresses generated by differential tensions of apical, lateral, and basal sides of cells as well as on the elasticity of the basement membrane. We use it to theoretically study longitudinal folds in simple epithelia and we identify four types of corrugated morphologies: compact, invaginated, evaginated, and wavy.

Detecting the Exchange Phase of Majorana Bound States in a Corbino Geometry Topological Josephson Junction.

A phase from an adiabatic exchange of Majorana bound states (MBS) reveals their exotic anyonic nature. For detecting this exchange phase, we propose an experimental setup consisting of a Corbino geometry Josephson junction on the surface of a topological insulator, in which two MBS at zero energy can be created and rotated. We find that if a metallic tip is weakly coupled to a point on the junction, the time-averaged differential conductance of the tip-Majorana coupling shows peaks at the tip voltages eV=±(α-2πl)ℏ/T_{J}, where α=π/2 is the exchange phase of the two circulating MBS, T_{J} is the half rotation time of MBS, and l an integer.

Elasticity of polymeric nanocolloidal particles.

Softness is an essential mechanical feature of macromolecular particles such as polymer-grafted nanocolloids, polyelectrolyte networks, cross-linked microgels as well as block copolymer and dendrimer micelles. Elasticity of individual particles directly controls their swelling, wetting, and adsorption behaviour, their aggregation and self-assembly as well as structural and rheological properties of suspensions. Here we use numerical simulations and self-consistent field theory to study the deformation behaviour of a single spherical polymer brush upon diametral compression.

Embryo-scale tissue mechanics during Drosophila gastrulation movements.

Morphogenesis of an organism requires the development of its parts to be coordinated in time and space. While past studies concentrated on defined cell populations, a synthetic view of the coordination of these events in a whole organism is needed for a full understanding. Drosophila gastrulation begins with the embryo forming a ventral furrow, which is eventually internalized.

Entropy meters and the entropy of non-extensive systems.

In our derivation of the second law of thermodynamics from the relation of adiabatic accessibility of equilibrium states, we stressed the importance of being able to scale a system's size without changing its intrinsic properties. This leaves open the question of defining the entropy of macroscopic, but unscalable systems, such as gravitating bodies or systems where surface effects are important. We show here how the problem can be overcome, in principle, with the aid of an 'entropy meter'.

Genetic algorithms predict formation of exotic ordered configurations for two-component dipolar monolayers.

We employ genetic algorithms (GA), which allow for an unbiased search for the global minimum of energy landscapes, to identify the ordered equilibrium configurations formed by binary dipolar systems confined on a plane. A large variety of arrangements is identified, the complexity of which grows with increasing asymmetry between the two components and with growing concentration of the small particles. The effects of the density are briefly discussed and a comparison with results obtained via conventional lattice-sum minimization is presented.

Entangling power of passive optical elements.

We investigate the entangling capability of passive optical elements, both qualitatively and quantitatively. We present a general necessary and sufficient condition for the possibility of creating distillable entanglement in an arbitrary multimode Gaussian state with the help of passive optical elements, thereby establishing a general connection between squeezing and the entanglement that is attainable by nonsqueezing operations. Special attention is devoted to general two-mode Gaussian states, for which we provide the optimal entangling procedure, present an explicit formula for the attainable degree of entanglement, and discuss several practically important special cases.

Activating distillation with an infinitesimal amount of bound entanglement.

We show that bipartite quantum states of any dimension, which do not have a positive partial transpose (NPPT), become 1-distillable when one adds an infinitesimal amount of bound entanglement. To this end we investigate the activation properties of a new class of symmetric bound entangled states of full rank. It is shown that in this set there exist universal activator states capable of activating the distillation of any NPPT state.

Requirement of optical coherence for continuous-variable quantum teleportation.

We show that the sender and the receiver each require coherent devices in order to achieve unconditional continuous variable quantum teleportation (CVQT), and this requirement cannot be achieved with conventional laser sources, linear optics, ideal photon detectors, and perfect Fock state sources. The appearance of successful CVQT in recent experiments is due to interpreting the measurement record fallaciously in terms of one preferred ensemble (or decomposition) of the correct density matrix describing the state. Our analysis is unrelated to technical problems such as laser phase drift or finite squeezing bandwidth.