Polarized $^{3}$He neutron spin filters (NSFs) can be used as a vital tool for neutron polarization production and analysis. The China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), as one of the major neutron facilities in China, has committed resources to the development of a polarized $^3$He NSF program to support its growing polarized neutron research. A spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP)-based polarized $^{3}$He system and other necessary hardware for NSF transport has been recently developed. The performance of the system is benchmarked using an in-house developed cell named “Trident”. Neutron beam measurements yield a $^{3}$He polarization of 77% with over 200 h of on-beam relaxation time. Combining this newly developed SEOP system with the recently reported cell fabrication station, CSNS is now capable of the fully self-sustained production of $^{3}$He NSFs that shall support its future neutron polarization research.

The reversal of perpendicular magnetization (PM) by electric control is crucial for high-density integration of low-power magnetic random-access memory. Although the spin-transfer torque and spin-orbit torque technologies have been used to switch the magnetization of a free layer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, the former has limited endurance because of the high current density directly through the junction, while the latter requires an external magnetic field or unconventional configuration to break the symmetry. Here we propose and realize the orbit-transfer torque (OTT), that is, exerting torque on the magnetization using the orbital magnetic moments, and thus demonstrate a new strategy for current-driven PM reversal without external magnetic field. The perpendicular polarization of orbital magnetic moments is generated by a direct current in a few-layer WTe$_{2}$ due to the existence of nonzero Berry curvature dipole, and the polarization direction can be switched by changing the current polarity. Guided by this principle, we construct the WTe$_{2}$/Fe$_{3}$GeTe$_{2}$ heterostructures to achieve the OTT driven field-free deterministic switching of PM.

As a new electrochemical power system, safety (especially thermal safety) of Na-ion batteries (NIBs) is the key towards large-scale industrialization and market application. Thus, research on the thermal stability of NIBs is helpful to evaluate the safety properties and to provide effective strategies to prevent the occurrence of battery safety failure. Thermal stability of the high-power 26650 cylindrical NIBs using Cu-based layered oxide cathode and hard carbon anode is studied. The high power NIBs can achieve fast charge and discharge at 5–10 C rate and maintain 80% capacity after 4729 cycles at 2 C/2 C rate, where the unit C denotes a measure of the rate at which a battery is charge-discharged relative to its maximum capacity. The results of accelerating rate calorimeter and differential scanning calorimetry (ARC-DSC) test results show that NIBs have a higher initial decomposition temperature ($\ge$110 ℃) and a lower maximum thermal runaway temperature ($\le $350 ℃) than those of Li-ion batteries (LIBs), exhibiting a favorable thermal stability. It should be noted that the heat generation of cathode accounts for a large proportion of the total heat generation while the thermal stability of the anode determines the initial thermal runaway temperature, which is similar to LIBs. Finally, the whole temperature characteristics of the NIBs in the range of $-60 $ ℃–1000 ℃ are summarized, which provide guidance for the safety design and applications of NIBs.

Human experts cannot efficiently access physical information of a quantum many-body states by simply “reading” its coefficients, but have to reply on the previous knowledge such as order parameters and quantum measurements. We demonstrate that convolutional neural network (CNN) can learn from coefficients of many-body states or reduced density matrices to estimate the physical parameters of the interacting Hamiltonians, such as coupling strengths and magnetic fields, provided the states as the ground states. We propose QubismNet that consists of two main parts: the Qubism map that visualizes the ground states (or the purified reduced density matrices) as images, and a CNN that maps the images to the target physical parameters. By assuming certain constraints on the training set for the sake of balance, QubismNet exhibits impressive powers of learning and generalization on several quantum spin models. While the training samples are restricted to the states from certain ranges of the parameters, QubismNet can accurately estimate the parameters of the states beyond such training regions. For instance, our results show that QubismNet can estimate the magnetic fields near the critical point by learning from the states away from the critical vicinity. Our work provides a data-driven way to infer the Hamiltonians that give the designed ground states, and therefore would benefit the existing and future generations of quantum technologies such as Hamiltonian-based quantum simulations and state tomography.

Sulfur and lanthanum hydrides under compression display superconducting states with high observed critical temperatures. It has been recently demonstrated that carbonaceous sulfur hydride displays room temperature superconductivity. However, this phenomenon has been observed only at very high pressure. Here, we theoretically search for superconductors with very high critical temperatures, but at much lower pressures. We describe two of such sodalite-type clathrate hydrides, YbH$_{6}$ and LuH$_{6}$. These hydrides are metastable and are predicted to superconduct with $T_{\rm c} \sim 145$ K at 70 GPa and $T_{\rm c} \sim 273$ K at 100 GPa, respectively. This striking result is a consequence of the strong interrelationship between the $f$ states present at the Fermi level, structural stability, and the final $T_{\rm c}$ value. For example, TmH$_{6}$, with unfilled 4$f$ orbitals, is stable at 50 GPa, but has a relatively low value of $T_{\rm c}$ of 25 K. The YbH$_{6}$ and LuH$_{6}$ compounds, with their filled $f$-shells, exhibit prominent phonon “softening”, which leads to a strong electron-phonon coupling, and as a result, an increase in $T_{\rm c}$.

The coupling between electric ordering and magnetic ordering in two-dimensional (2D) materials is important for both fundamental research of 2D multiferroics and future development of magnetism-based information storage and operation. Here, we introduce a scheme for realizing a magnetic phase transition through the transition of electric ordering. We take CuMoP$_{2}$S$_{6}$ monolayer as an example, which is a member of the large 2D transition-metal chalcogen-phosphates family. Based on first-principles calculations, we find that it is a multiferroic with unprecedented characters, namely, it exhibits two different phases: an antiferroelectric-antiferromagnetic phase and a ferroelectric-ferromagnetic phase, in which the electric and magnetic orderings are strongly coupled. Importantly, the electric polarization is out-of-plane, so the magnetism can be readily switched by using the gate electric field. Our finding reveals a series of 2D multiferroics with special magnetoelectric coupling, which hold great promise for experimental realization and practical applications.

We report an implementation of the momentum space quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) method on the interaction model for the twisted bilayer graphene (TBG). The long-range Coulomb repulsion is treated exactly with the flat bands, spin and valley degrees of freedom of electrons taking into account. We prove the absence of the minus sign problem for QMC simulation when either the two valleys or the two spin degrees of freedom are considered. By taking the realistic parameters of the twist angle and interlayer tunnelings into the simulation, we benchmark the QMC data with the exact band gap obtained at the chiral limit, to reveal the insulating ground states at the charge neutrality point (CNP). Then, with the exact Green's functions from QMC, we perform stochastic analytic continuation to obtain the first set of single-particle spectral function for the TBG model at CNP. Our momentum space QMC scheme therefore offers the controlled computation pathway for systematic investigation of the electronic states in realistic TBG model at various electron fillings.

We report $^{121/123}$Sb nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) and $^{51}$V nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements on kagome metal CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ with $T_{\rm c}=2.5$ K. Both $^{51}$V NMR spectra and $^{121/123}$Sb NQR spectra split after a charge density wave (CDW) transition, which demonstrates a commensurate CDW state. The coexistence of the high temperature phase and the CDW phase between $91$ K and $94$ K manifests that it is a first-order phase transition. At low temperature, electric-field-gradient fluctuations diminish and magnetic fluctuations become dominant. Superconductivity emerges in the charge order state. Knight shift decreases and $1/T_{1}T$ shows a Hebel–Slichter coherence peak just below $T_{\rm c}$, indicating that CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ is an s-wave superconductor.

High-energy-density rechargeable lithium batteries are being pursued by researchers because of their revolutionary potential nature. Current advanced practical lithium-ion batteries have an energy density of around 300 W$\cdot$h$\cdot$kg$^{-1}$. Continuing to increase the energy density of batteries to a higher level could lead to a major explosion development in some fields, such as electric aviation. Here, we have manufactured practical pouch-type rechargeable lithium batteries with both a gravimetric energy density of 711.3 W$\cdot$h$\cdot$kg$^{-1}$ and a volumetric energy density of 1653.65 W$\cdot$h$\cdot$L$^{-1}$. This is achieved through the use of high-performance battery materials including high-capacity lithium-rich manganese-based cathode and thin lithium metal anode with high specific energy, combined with extremely advanced process technologies such as high-loading electrode preparation and lean electrolyte injection. In this battery material system, the structural stability of cathode material in a widened charge/discharge voltage range and the deposition/dissolution behavior of interfacial modified thin lithium electrode are studied.

Na-ion batteries (NIBs) have been attracting growing interests in recent years with the increasing demand of energy storage owing to their dependence on more abundant Na than Li. The exploration of the industrialization of NIBs is also on the march, where some challenges are still limiting its step. For instance, the relatively low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of anode can cause undesired energy density loss in the full cell. In addition to the strategies from the sight of materials design that to improve the capacity and ICE of electrodes, presodiation technique is another important method to efficiently offset the irreversible capacity and enhance the energy density. Meanwhile, the slow release of the extra Na during the cycling is able to improve the cycling stability. In this review, we would like to provide a general insight of presodiation technique for high-performance NIBs. The recent research progress including the principles and strategies of presodiation will be introduced, and some remaining challenges as well as our perspectives will be discussed. This review aims to exhibit the basic knowledge of presodiation to inspire the researchers for future studies.

A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is the core component in memory technologies, such as the magnetic random-access memory, magnetic sensors and programmable logic devices. In particular, MTJs based on two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures offer unprecedented opportunities for low power consumption and miniaturization of spintronic devices. However, their operation at room temperature remains a challenge. Here, we report a large tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of up to 85% at room temperature ($T = 300$ K) in vdW MTJs based on a thin ($ < 10$ nm) semiconductor spacer WSe$_{2}$ layer embedded between two Fe$_{3}$GaTe$_{2}$ electrodes with intrinsic above-room-temperature ferromagnetism. The TMR in the MTJ increases with decreasing temperature up to 164% at $T = 10$ K. The demonstration of TMR in ultra-thin MTJs at room temperature opens a realistic and promising route for next-generation spintronic applications beyond the current state of the art.

The CsV$_{3}$Sb$_{5}$ kagome lattice holds the promise for manifesting electron correlation, topology and superconductivity. However, by far only three CsV$_{3}$Sb$_{5}$-like kagome materials have been experimentally spotted. We enlarge this family of materials to 1386 compounds via element species substitution, and the further screening process suggests that 28 promising candidates have superior thermodynamic stability, hence they are highly likely to be synthesizable. Moreover, these compounds possess several unique electronic structures, and can be categorized into five non-magnetic and three magnetic groups accordingly. It is our hope that this work can greatly expand the viable phase space of the CsV$_{3}$Sb$_{5}$-like materials for investigating or tuning the novel quantum phenomena in kagome lattice.

Enhancing the dopability of semiconductors via strain engineering is critical to improving their functionalities, which is, however, largely hindered by the lack of basic rules. In this study, for the first time, we develop a universal theory to understand the total energy changes of point defects (or dopants) with different charge states under strains, which can exhibit either parabolic or superlinear behaviors, determined by the size of defect-induced local volume change ($\Delta V$). In general, $\Delta V$ increases (decreases) when an electron is added (removed) to (from) the defect site. Consequently, in terms of this universal theory, three basic rules can be obtained to further understand or predict the diverse strain-dependent doping behaviors, i.e., defect formation energies, charge-state transition levels, and Fermi pinning levels, in semiconductors. These three basic rules could be generally applied to improve the doping performance or overcome the doping bottlenecks in various semiconductors.

Detection of ultralow magnetic field requires magnetic sensors with high sensitivity and low noise level, especially for low operating frequency applications. We investigated the transport properties of tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors based on the double indirect exchange coupling effect. The TMR ratio of about 150% was obtained in the magnetic tunnel junctions and linear response to an in-plane magnetic field was successfully achieved. A high sensitivity of 1.85%/Oe was achieved due to a designed soft pinned sensing layer of CoFeB/NiFe/Ru/IrMn. Furthermore, the voltage output sensitivity and the noise level of 10.7 mV/V/Oe, 10 nT/Hz$^{1/2}$ at 1 Hz and 3.3 nT/Hz$^{1/2}$ at 10 Hz were achieved in Full Wheatstone Bridge configuration. This kind of magnetic sensors can be used in the field of smart grid for current detection and sensing.

Enabling lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) to operate in a wider temperature range, e.g., as low or high as possible or capable of both, is an urgent need and shared goal. Here we report, for the first time, a low-temperature electrolyte consisting of traditional ethylene carbonate, methyl acetate, butyronitrile solvents, and 1 M LiPF$_{6}$ salt, attributed to its very low freezing point ($T_{\rm f} = -126.3\,^{\circ}\!$C) and high ion conductivity at extremely low temperatures (0.21 mS/cm at $-100\,^{\circ}\!$C), successfully extends the service temperature of a practical 9.6 Ah LIB down to $-100\,^{\circ}\!$C (49.6% capacity retention compared to that at room temperature), which is the lowest temperature reported for practical cells so far as we know, and is lower than the lowest natural temperature ($-89.2\,^{\circ}\!$C) recorded on earth. Meanwhile, the high-temperature performance of lithium-ion batteries is not affected. The capacity retention is 88.2% and 83.4% after 800 cycles at 25$\,^{\circ}\!$C and 45$\,^{\circ}\!$C, respectively. The progress also makes LIB a proper power supplier for space vehicles in astronautic explorations.

Non-Hermitian materials can exhibit not only exotic energy band structures but also an anomalous velocity induced by non-Hermitian anomalous Berry connection as predicted by the semiclassical equations of motion for Bloch electrons. However, it is unclear how the modified semiclassical dynamics modifies transport phenomena. Here, we theoretically demonstrate the emergence of anomalous oscillations driven by either an external dc or ac electric field, which arise from non-Hermitian anomalous Berry connection. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that geometric structures of electric wave functions can only affect the Hall conductivity. However, we are surprised to find a non-Hermitian anomalous Berry connection induced anomalous linear longitudinal conductivity independent of the scattering time. We also show the emergence of a second-order nonlinear longitudinal conductivity induced by non-Hermitian anomalous Berry connection, violating a well-known fact of its absence in a Hermitian system with symmetric energy spectra. These anomalous phenomena are illustrated in a pseudo-Hermitian system with large non-Hermitian anomalous Berry connection. Finally, we propose a practical scheme to realize the anomalous oscillations in an optical system.

The discovery of magnetic skyrmions provides a promising pathway for developing functional spintronic memory and logic devices. Towards the future high-density memory application, nanoscale skyrmions with miniaturized diameters, ideally down to 20 nm are required. Using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism transmission microscopy, nanoscale skyrmions are observed in the [Pt/Co/Ir]$_{15}$ multilayer at room temperature. In particular, small skyrmions with minimum diameters approaching 20 nm could be generated by the current-induced spin-orbit torques. Through implementing material specific parameters, the dynamic process of skyrmion generation is further investigated by performing micromagnetic simulations. According to the simulation results, we find that both the tube-like Néel-type skyrmions and the bobber-like Néel-type skyrmions can be electrically generated. In particular, the size of the bobber-like Néel-type skyrmions can be effectively reduced by the spin-orbit torques, which leads to the formation of 20 nm Néel-type skyrmions. Our findings could be important for understanding the formation dynamics of nanoscale Néel-type spin textures, skyrmions and bobber in particular, which could also be useful for promoting nanoscale skyrmionic memories and logic devices.

Semiconductivity and superconductivity are remarkable quantum phenomena that have immense impact on science and technology, and materials that can be tuned, usually by pressure or doping, to host both types of quantum states are of great fundamental and practical significance. Here we show by first-principles calculations a distinct route for tuning semiconductors into superconductors by diverse large-range elastic shear strains, as demonstrated in exemplary cases of silicon and silicon carbide. Analysis of strain driven evolution of bonding structure, electronic states, lattice vibration, and electron-phonon coupling unveils robust pervading deformation induced mechanisms auspicious for modulating semiconducting and superconducting states under versatile material conditions. This finding opens vast untapped structural configurations for rational exploration of tunable emergence and transition of these intricate quantum phenomena in a broad range of materials.

It is well known that spatial symmetry in a photonic crystal (PhC) slab is capable of creating bound states in the continuum (BICs), which can be characterized by topological charges of polarization vortices. Here, we show that when a PT-symmetric perturbation is introduced into the PhC slab, a new type of BICs ($pt$-BICs) will arise from each ordinary BIC together with the creation of rings of lasing threshold modes with $pt$-BICs embedded in these rings. Different from ordinary BICs, the $Q$-factor divergence rate of a $pt$-BIC is reduced and anisotropic in momentum space. Also, $pt$-BICs can even appear at off-high symmetry lines of the Brillouin zone. The $pt$-BICs also carry topological charges and can be created or annihilated with the total charge conserved. A unified picture on $pt$-BICs and the associated lasing threshold modes is given based on the temporal coupled mode theory. Our findings reveal the new physics arising from the interplay between PT symmetry and BIC in PhC slabs.

It is known that $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ has been studied extensively because of its proximity to the Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid (QSL) phase and the possibility of approaching it by tuning the competing interactions. Here we present the first polarized inelastic neutron scattering study on $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ single crystals to explore the scattering continuum around the $\varGamma$ point at the Brillouin zone center, which was hypothesized to be resulting from the Kitaev QSL state but without concrete evidence. With polarization analyses, we find that, while the spin-wave excitations around the $M$ point vanish above the transition temperature $T_{\rm N}$, the pure magnetic continuous excitations around the $\varGamma$ point are robust against temperature. Furthermore, by calculating the dynamical spin-spin correlation function using the cluster perturbation theory, we derive magnetic dispersion spectra based on the $K$–$\varGamma$ model, which involves with a ferromagnetic Kitaev interaction of $-7.2$ meV and an off-diagonal interaction of $5.6$ meV. We find this model can reproduce not only the spin-wave excitation spectra around the $M$ point, but also the non-spin-wave continuous magnetic excitations around the $\varGamma$ point. These results provide evidence for the existence of fractional excitations around the $\varGamma$ point originating from the Kitaev QSL state, and further support the validity of the $K$–$\varGamma$ model as the effective minimal spin model to describe $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$.

We periodically modulate the lattice trapping potential of a $^{87}$Sr optical clock to Floquet engineer the clock transition. In the context of atomic gases in lattices, Floquet engineering has been used to shape the dispersion and topology of Bloch quasi-energy bands. Differently from these previous works manipulating the external (spatial) quasi-energies, we target the internal atomic degrees of freedom. We shape Floquet spin quasi-energies and measure their resonance profiles with Rabi spectroscopy. We provide the spectroscopic sensitivity of each band by measuring the Fisher information and show that this is not depleted by the Floquet dynamical modulation. The demonstration that the internal degrees of freedom can be selectively engineered by manipulating the external degrees of freedom inaugurates a novel device with potential applications in metrology, sensing and quantum simulations.

Non-Abelian anyons are exotic quasiparticle excitations hosted by certain topological phases of matter. They break the fermion-boson dichotomy and obey non-Abelian braiding statistics: their interchanges yield unitary operations, rather than merely a phase factor, in a space spanned by topologically degenerate wavefunctions. They are the building blocks of topological quantum computing. However, experimental observation of non-Abelian anyons and their characterizing braiding statistics is notoriously challenging and has remained elusive hitherto, in spite of various theoretical proposals. Here, we report an experimental quantum digital simulation of projective non-Abelian anyons and their braiding statistics with up to 68 programmable superconducting qubits arranged on a two-dimensional lattice. By implementing the ground states of the toric-code model with twists through quantum circuits, we demonstrate that twists exchange electric and magnetic charges and behave as a particular type of non-Abelian anyons, i.e., the Ising anyons. In particular, we show experimentally that these twists follow the fusion rules and non-Abelian braiding statistics of the Ising type, and can be explored to encode topological logical qubits. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to implement both single- and two-qubit logic gates through applying a sequence of elementary Pauli gates on the underlying physical qubits. Our results demonstrate a versatile quantum digital approach for simulating non-Abelian anyons, offering a new lens into the study of such peculiar quasiparticles.

Lithium plays an increasingly important role in scientific and industrial processes, and it is extremely important to extract lithium from a high Mg$^{2+}$/Li$^{+}$ mass ratio brine or to recover lithium from the leachate of spent lithium-ion batteries. Conventional wisdom shows that Li$^{+}$ with low valence states has a much weaker adsorption (and absorption energy) with graphene than multivalent ions such as Mg$^{2+}$. Here, we show the selective adsorption of Li$^{+}$ in thermally reduced graphene oxide (rGO) membranes over other metal ions such as Mg$^{2+}$, Co$^{2+}$, Mn$^{2+}$, Ni$^{2+}$, or Fe$^{2+}$. Interestingly, the adsorption strength of Li$^{+}$ reaches up to 5 times the adsorption strength of Mg$^{2+}$, and the mass ratio of a mixed Mg$^{2+}$/Li$^{+}$ solution at a very high value of $ 500\!:\!1$ can be effectively reduced to $ 0.7\!:\!1$ within only six experimental treatment cycles, demonstrating the excellent applicability of the rGO membranes in the Mg$^{2+}$/Li$^{+}$ separation. A theoretical analysis indicates that this unexpected selectivity is attributed to the competition between cation–$\pi$ interaction and steric exclusion when hydrated cations enter the confined space of the rGO membranes.

Two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with high electron mobility is highly desired to study the emergent properties and to enhance future device performance. Here we report the formation of 2DEG with high mobility at the interface between rock-salt BaO and perovskite SrTiO$_{3}$. The interface consists of the ionically compensated BaO$_{1-\delta}$ layer and the electronically compensated TiO$_{2}$ layer, which is demonstrated as a perfect interface without lattice mismatch. The so-formed interface features metallic conductivity with ultralow square resistance of $7.3 \times 10^{-4}\,\Omega /\square$ at 2 K and high residual resistance ratios $R_{\rm 300\,K}/R_{\rm 2\,K}$ up to 4200. The electron mobility reaches 69000 cm$^{2}$$\cdot$V$^{-1}$$\cdot$s$^{-1}$ at 2 K, leading to Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations of resistance. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the effective charge transfers from BaO to the Ti 3$d_{xy}$ orbital occur at the interface, leading to the conducting TiO$_{2}$ layer. Our work unravels that BaO can adapt itself by removing oxygen to minimize the lattice mismatch and to provide substantial carriers to SrTiO$_{3}$, which is the key to forming 2DEGs with high mobility at the interfaces.

Perfect vector beams are a class of special vector beams with invariant radius and intensity profiles under changing topological charges. However, with the limitation of current devices, the generation of these vector beams is limited in the visible and infrared wavebands. Herein, we generate perfect vector beams in the ultraviolet region assisted by nonlinear frequency conversion. Experimental and simulation results show that the radius of the generated ultraviolet perfect vector beams remains invariant and is thus independent of the topological charge. Furthermore, we measure the power of the generated ultraviolet perfect vector beams with the change of their topological charges. This study provides an alternative approach to generating perfect vector beams for ultraviolet wavebands and may promote their application to optical trapping and optical communication.

Understanding the interplay between superconductivity and charge-density wave (CDW) in NbSe$_{2}$ is vital for both fundamental physics and future device applications. Here, combining scanning tunneling microscopy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, we study the CDW phase in the monolayer NbSe$_{2}$ films grown on various substrates of bilayer graphene (BLG), SrTiO$_{3}$(111), and Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$(0001). It is found that the two stable CDW states of monolayer NbSe$_{2}$ can coexist on NbSe$_{2}$/BLG surface at liquid-nitrogen temperature. For the NbSe$_{2}$/SrTiO$_{3}$(111) sample, the unidirectional CDW regions own the kinks at $\pm 41$ meV and a wider gap at 4.2 K. It is revealed that the charge transfer from the substrates to the grown films will influence the configurations of the Fermi surface, and induce a 130 meV lift-up of the Fermi level with a shrink of the Fermi pockets in NbSe$_{2}$/SrTiO$_{3}$(111) compared with the NbSe$_{2}$/BLG. Combining the temperature-dependent Raman experiments, we suggest that the electron-phonon coupling in monolayer NbSe$_{2}$ dominates its CDW phase transition.

The development of high-fidelity two-qubit quantum gates is essential for digital quantum computing. Here, we propose and realize an all-microwave parametric controlled-Z (CZ) gates by coupling strength modulation in a superconducting Transmon qubit system with tunable couplers. After optimizing the design of the tunable coupler together with the control pulse numerically, we experimentally realized a 100 ns CZ gate with high fidelity of 99.38%$ \pm 0.34$% and the control error being 0.1%. We note that our CZ gates are not affected by pulse distortion and do not need pulse correction, providing a solution for the real-time pulse generation in a dynamic quantum feedback circuit. With the expectation of utilizing our all-microwave control scheme to reduce the number of control lines through frequency multiplexing in the future, our scheme draws a blueprint for the high-integrable quantum hardware design.

Van der Waals magnet VI$_{3}$ demonstrates intriguing magnetic properties that render it great for use in various applications. However, its microscopic magnetic structure has not been determined yet. Here, we report neutron diffraction and susceptibility measurements in VI$_{3}$ that revealed a ferromagnetic order with the moment direction tilted from the $c$-axis by $\sim $$36^{\circ}$ at 4 K. A spin reorientation accompanied by a structure distortion within the honeycomb plane is observed, before the magnetic order completely disappears at $T_{\rm C} = 50$ K. The refined magnetic moment of $\sim $$1.3 \mu_{\scriptscriptstyle {\rm B}}$ at 4 K is much lower than the fully ordered spin moment of $2\mu_{\scriptscriptstyle {\rm B}}$/V$^{3+}$, suggesting the presence of a considerable orbital moment antiparallel to the spin moment and strong spin–orbit coupling in VI$_{3}$. This results in strong magnetoelastic interactions that make the magnetic properties of VI$_{3}$ easily tunable via strain and pressure.

Hermitian systems possess unitary scattering. However, the Hermiticity is unnecessary for a unitary scattering although the scattering under the influence of non-Hermiticity is mostly non-unitary. Here we prove that the unitary scattering is protected by certain type of pseudo-Hermiticity and unaffected by the degree of non-Hermiticity. The energy conservation is violated in the scattering process and recovers after scattering. The subsystem of the pseudo-Hermitian scattering center including only the connection sites is Hermitian. These findings provide fundamental insights on the unitary scattering, pseudo-Hermiticity, and energy conservation, and are promising for light propagation, mesoscopic electron transport, and quantum interference in non-Hermitian systems.

Neon (Ne) can reveal the evolution of planets, and nitrogen (N) is the most abundant element in the Earth's atmosphere. Considering the inertness of neon, whether nitrogen and neon can react has aroused great interest in condensed matter physics and space science. Here, we identify three new Ne–N compounds (i.e., NeN$_6$, NeN$_{10}$, and NeN$_{22}$) under pressure by first-principles calculations. We find that inserting Ne into N$_2$ substantially decreases the polymeric pressure of the nitrogen and promotes the formation of abundant polynitrogen structures. Especially, NeN$_{22}$ acquires a duplex host-guest structure, in which guest atoms (Ne and N$_2$ dimers) are trapped inside the crystalline host N$_{20}$ cages. Importantly, both NeN$_{10}$ and NeN$_{22}$ not only are dynamically and mechanically stable but also have a high thermal stability up to 500 K under ambient pressure. Moreover, ultra-high energy densities are obtained in NeN$_{10}$ (11.1 kJ/g), NeN$_{22}$ (11.5 kJ/g), tetragonal t-N$_{22}$ (11.6 kJ/g), and t-N$_{20}$ (12.0 kJ/g) produced from NeN$_{22}$, which are more than twice the value of trinitrotoluene (TNT). Meanwhile, their explosive performance is superior to that of TNT. Therefore, NeN$_{10}$, NeN$_{22}$, t-N$_{22}$, and t-N$_{20}$ are promising green high-energy-density materials. This work promotes the study of neon-nitrogen compounds with superior properties and potential applications.