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Pyrochlore magnets have proven to provide an excellent arena for the realization of a variety of many-body phenomena such as classical and quantum order-by-disorder, as well as spin liquid phases described by emergent gauge field theories. These phenomena arise from the competition between different symmetry-breaking magnetic orders. In this work, we consider a subspace of the most general bilinear nearest-neighbor Hamiltonian on the pyrochlore lattice, parameterized by the local interaction parameter $J_{z\pm}$, where three symmetry-breaking phases converge. We demonstrate that for small values of $|J_{z\pm}|$, a conventional $\mathbf q=0$ ordered phase is selected by a thermal order-by-disorder mechanism. For $|J_{z\pm}|$ above a certain finite threshold, a novel spin-nematic phase is stabilized at low temperatures. Instead of the usual Bragg peaks, the spin-nematic phase features lines of high intensity in the spin structure factor. At intermediate temperatures above the low-temperature orders, a rank-2 U(1) classical spin liquid is realized for all $J_{z\pm} \neq 0$. We fully characterize all phases using classical Monte-Carlo simulations and a self-consistent Gaussian approximation., Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures

Quantum batteries, quantum systems for energy storage, have gained interest due to their potential scalable charging power density. A quantum battery proposal based on the Dicke model has been explored using organic microcavities, which enable a cavity-enhanced energy transfer process called superabsorption. However, energy storage lifetime in these devices is limited by fast radiative emission losses, worsened by superradiance. Here, we demonstrate a promising approach to extend the energy storage lifetime of Dicke quantum batteries using molecular triplet states. We examine a type of multi-layer microcavities where an active absorption layer transfers energy to the molecular triplets of a storage layer, identifying two regimes based on exciton-polariton resonances. We tested one of these mechanisms by fabricating and characterising five devices across a triplet-polariton resonance. We conclude by discussing potential optimisation outlooks for this class of devices., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. 6 supplementary pages, 4 supplementary figures

Classical spin-liquids are paramagnetic phases which feature nontrivial patterns of spin correlations within their ground-state manifold whose degeneracy scales with system size. Often they harbor fractionalized excitations, and their low-energy fluctuations are described by emergent gauge theories. In this work, we discuss a model composed of chiral three-body spin interactions on the pyrochlore lattice that realizes a novel classical chiral spin-liquid. Employing both analytical and numerical techniques, we show that the ground-state manifold of this spin-liquid is given by a subset of the so-called color-ice states. We demonstrate that the ground states are captured by an effective gauge theory which possesses a divergence-free condition and an additional chiral term that constrains the total flux of the fields through a single tetrahedron. The divergence-free condition results in two-fold pinch points in the spin structure factor and the identification of bionic charges as the elementary excitations of the system. We discuss how the mobility of these elementary charges is restricted by the additional chiral term, which in turn suggests that these charges are fractons., Comment: 13 pages, 19 figures

Order-by-disorder, whereby fluctuations lift an accidental classical ground state degeneracy to stabilize a subset of ordered states, is a recurrent and prominent theme in the field of frustrated magnetism where magnetic moments, or spins, are subject to competing interactions. Thus far, such a phenomenon has been discussed in systems where the quantum ground state is not a product state. In this circumstance, both thermal and quantum fluctuations act to lift the accidental classical degeneracy, begging the question whether one mechanism of order-by-disorder is possible without the other. In this paper, we present results exposing a novel route to order-by-disorder, without quantum zero-point fluctuations, in a family of ferromagnetic Heisenberg materials with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction as the leading perturbation. We prove that any colinear ferromagnetic state is an exact eigenstate, even in the presence of the anisotropic DM interaction, while thermal fluctuations give rise to a preference in the magnetization direction. Here, we present in detail an example of the pyrochlore Heisenberg ferromagnet with DM interactions. Using both linear spin-wave theory and classical Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the magnetization can spontaneously rotate at intermediate temperature(s) within the colinear ferromagnetic phase when the DM interaction is large. Additionally, we find that in the large DM regime, the ferromagnetic ground state becomes unstable within the framework of non-linear spin-wave theory. Our results show that thermal order-by-disorder is possible even in the absence of quantum zero-point fluctuations., Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures

Strong light-matter coupling is a quantum process in which light and matter are coupled together, generating hybridized states. This is similar to the notion of molecular hybridization, but one of the components is light. Here, we utilized the idea and prepared quantum phototransistors using donor-acceptor combinations that can transfer energy via Rabi oscillations. As a prototype experiment, we used a cyanine J-aggregate (TDBC; donor) and MoS2 monolayer (acceptor) in a field effect transistor cavity and studied the photoresponsivity. The energy migrates through the newly formed polaritonic ladder, and the relative efficiency of the device is nearly seven-fold at the ON resonance. Further, the photon mixing fraction is calculated for each independent device and correlated with energy transfer efficiency. In the strongly coupled system, newly formed polaritonic states reshuffle the probability function. A theoretical model based on the time dependent Schr\"odinger equation is also used to interpret the results. Here, the entangled light-matter states act as a strong channel for funnelling the energy to the MoS2 monolayer, thereby boosting its ability to show the highest photoresponsivity at ON-resonance. These experimental findings and the proposed model suggest novel applications of strong light-matter coupling in quantum materials.

In this paper we formally define the hierarchical clustering network problem (HCNP) as the problem to find a good hierarchical partition of a network. This new problem focuses on the dynamic process of the clustering rather than on the final picture of the clustering process. To address it, we introduce a new ierarchical clustering algorithm in networks, based on a new shortest path betweenness measure. To calculate it, the communication between each pair of nodes is weighed by he importance of the nodes that establish this communication. The weights or importance associated to each pair of nodes are calculated as the Shapley value of a game, named as the linear modularity game. This new measure, (the node-game shortest path betweenness measure), is used to obtain a hierarchical partition of the network by eliminating the link with the highest value. To evaluate the performance of our algorithm, we introduce several criteria that allow us to compare different dendrograms of a network from two point of view: modularity and homogeneity. Finally, we propose a faster algorithm based on a simplification of the node-game shortest path betweenness measure, whose order is quadratic on sparse networks. This fast version is competitive from a computational point of view with other hierarchical fast algorithms, and, in general, it provides better results., Comment: 29 pages

In this paper we define a new auction, called the Draw auction. It is based on the implementation of a draw when a minimum price of sale is not reached. We find that a Bayesian Nash equilibrium is reached in the Draw auction when each player bids his true personal valuation of the object. Furthermore, we show that the expected profit for the seller in the Draw auction is greater than in second price auctions, with or without minimum price of sale. We make this affirmation for objects whose valuation can be modeled as a bimodal density function in which the first mode is much greater than the second one. Regarding the Myerson auction, we show that the expected profit for the seller in the Draw auction is nearly as good as the expected profit in the optimal auction, with the difference that our method is much more simple to implement than Myerson's one. All these results are shown by computational tests, for whose development we have defined an algorithm to calculate Myerson auction., Comment: 37 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables

In this paper we introduce the concept of multiple bipolar fuzzy measures as a generalization of a bipolar fuzzy measure. We also propose a new definition of a group, which is based on the multidimensional bipolar fuzzy relations of its elements. Taking into account this information, we provide a novel procedure (based on the well-known Louvain algorithm) to deal with community detection problems. This new method considers the multidimensional bipolar information provided by multiple bipolar fuzzy measures, as well as the information provided by a graph. We also give some detailed computational tests, obtained from the application of this algorithm in several benchmark models., Comment: 14 pages

On the basis of network analysis, and within the context of modeling imprecision or vague information with fuzzy sets, we propose an innovative way to analyze, aggregate and apply this uncertain knowledge into community detection of real-life problems. This work is set on the existence of one (or multiple) soft information sources, independent of the network considered, assuming this extra knowledge is modeled by a vector of fuzzy sets (or a family of vectors). This information may represent, for example, how much some people agree with a specific law, or their position against several politicians. We emphasize the importance of being able to manage the vagueness which usually appears in real life because of the common use of linguistic terms. Then, we propose a constructive method to build fuzzy measures from fuzzy sets. These measures are the basis of a new representation model which combines the information of a network with that of fuzzy sets, specifically when it comes to linguistic terms. We propose a specific application of that model in terms of finding communities in a network with additional soft information. To do so, we propose an efficient algorithm and measure its performance by means of a benchmarking process, obtaining high-quality results., Comment: 22 pages

In this paper we address the problem of fuzzy measures index calculation. On the basis of fuzzy sets, Murofushi and Soneda proposed an interaction index to deal with the relations between two individuals. This index was later extended in a common frame-work by Grabisch. Both indices are fundamental in the literature of fuzzy measures. Nevertheless, the corresponding calculation still presents a highly complex problem for which no approximation solution has been proposed yet. Then, using a representation of the Shapley based on orders, here we suggest an alternative calculation of the interaction index, both for the simple case of pairs of individuals, and for the more complex situation in which any set could be considered. This alternative representation facilitates the handling of these indices. Moreover, we draw on this representation to define two polynomial methods based on sampling to estimate the interaction index, as well as a method to approximate the generalized version of it. We provide some computational results to test the goodness of the proposed algorithms., Comment: 17 pages

In this paper, we address one of the most important topics in the field of Social Networks Analysis: the community detection problem with additional information. That additional information is modeled by a fuzzy measure that represents the risk of polarization. Particularly, we are interested in dealing with the problem of taking into account the polarization of nodes in the community detection problem. Adding this type of information to the community detection problem makes it more realistic, as a community is more likely to be defined if the corresponding elements are willing to maintain a peaceful dialogue. The polarization capacity is modeled by a fuzzy measure based on the JDJpol measure of polarization related to two poles. We also present an efficient algorithm for finding groups whose elements are no polarized. Hereafter, we work in a real case. It is a network obtained from Twitter, concerning the political position against the Spanish government taken by several influential users. We analyze how the partitions obtained change when some additional information related to how polarized that society is, is added to the problem., Comment: 27 pages

Gauge theories are powerful tools in theoretical physics, allowing complex phenomena to be reduced to simple principles, and are used in both high-energy and condensed matter physics. In the latter context, gauge theories are becoming increasingly popular for capturing the intricate spin correlations in spin liquids, exotic states of matter in which the dynamics of quantum spins never ceases, even at absolute zero temperature. We consider a spin system on a three-dimensional pyrochlore lattice where emergent gauge fields not only describe the spin liquid behaviour at zero temperature but crucially determine the system's temperature evolution, with distinct gauge fields giving rise to different spin liquid phases in separate temperature regimes. Focusing first on classical spins, in an intermediate temperature regime, the system shows an unusual coexistence of emergent vector and matrix gauge fields where the former is known from classical spin ice systems while the latter has been associated with fractonic quasiparticles, a peculiar type of excitation with restricted mobility. Upon cooling, the system transitions into a low-temperature phase where an entropic selection mechanism depopulates the degrees of freedom associated with the matrix gauge field, rendering the system spin ice like. We further provide numerical evidence that in the corresponding quantum model, a spin liquid with coexisting vector and matrix gauge fields has a finite window of stability in the parameter space of spin interactions down to zero temperature. Finally, we discuss the relevance of our findings for non-Kramers pyrochlore materials., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures

The singularly perturbed Gierer-Meinhardt (GM) system in a bounded $d$-dimensional domain ($d\geq 2$) is known to exhibit boundary layer (BL) solutions for a non-zero activator flux. It was previously shown that such BL solutions can be destabilized by decreasing the activator flux below a stability threshold. Moreover, numerical simulations previously indicated that solutions consisting of a boundary layer and interior spike emerge after the destabilization of a BL solution. In this paper we use the method of matched asymptotic expansions to investigate the structure and stability of such "boundary layer spike" (BLS) solutions in the presence of an asymptotically small activator diffusivity $\varepsilon^2\ll 1$. We find that two types of BLS solutions, one of which is unconditionally linearly stable and the other unstable, can be constructed provided that the activator flux is sufficiently small. In this way we determine that there is an asymptotically large range of activator flux values for which both the BL solution and one of the BLS solutions are linearly stable. Formal asymptotic calculations are further validated by numerically simulating the singularly perturbed GM system., Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures

First hitting times (FHTs) describe the time it takes a random "searcher" to find a "target" and are used to study timescales in many applications. FHTs have been well-studied for diffusive search, especially for small targets, which is called the narrow capture or narrow escape problem. In this paper, we study the first hitting time to small targets for a one-dimensional superdiffusive search described by a Levy flight. By applying the method of matched asymptotic expansions to a fractional differential equation we obtain an explicit asymptotic expansion for the mean FHT (MFHT). For fractional order $s\in(0,1)$ (describing a $(2s)$-stable Levy flight whose squared displacement scales as $t^{1/s}$ in time $t$) and targets of radius $\varepsilon\ll1$, we show that the MFHT is order one for $s\in(1/2,1)$ and diverges as $\log(1/\varepsilon)$ for $s=1/2$ and $\varepsilon^{2s-1}$ for $s\in(0,1/2)$. We then use our asymptotic results to identify the value of $s\in(0,1]$ which minimizes the average MFHT and find that (a) this optimal value of $s$ vanishes for sparse targets and (b) the value $s=1/2$ (corresponding to an inverse square Levy search) is optimal in only very specific circumstances. We confirm our results by comparison to both deterministic numerical solutions of the associated fractional differential equation and stochastic simulations., Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures

Localized solutions are known to arise in a variety of singularly perturbed reaction-diffusion systems. The Gierer-Meinhardt (GM) system is one such example and has been the focus of numerous rigorous and formal studies. A more recent focus has been the study of localized solutions in systems exhibiting anomalous diffusion, particularly with L\'evy flights. In this paper we investigate localized solutions to a one-dimensional fractional GM system for which the inhibitor's fractional order is supercritical. Using the method of matched asymptotic expansions we reduce the construction of multi-spike solutions to solving a nonlinear algebraic system. The linear stability of the resulting multi-spike solutions is then addressed by studying a globally coupled eigenvalue problem. In addition to these formal results we also rigorously establish the existence and stability of ground-state solutions when the inhibitor's fractional order is nearly critical. The fractional Green's function, for which we present a rapidly converging series expansion, is prominently featured throughout both the formal and rigorous analysis in this paper. Moreover, we emphasize that the striking similarities between the one-dimensional supercritical GM system and the classical three-dimensional GM system can be attributed to the leading order singular behaviour of the fractional Green's function., Comment: 41 pages, 10 figures

We investigate the ground state and critical temperature phase diagrams of the classical and quantum $S=1/2$ pyrochlore lattice with nearest-neighbor Heisenberg and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMI). We consider ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic Heisenberg exchange as well as direct and indirect DMI. Classically, three ground states are found: all-in/all-out, ferromagnetic and a locally ordered $XY$ phase, known as $\Gamma_5$, which displays an accidental classical U(1) degeneracy. Quantum zero-point energy fluctuations are found to lift the classical ground state degeneracy and select the $\psi_3$ state in most parts of the $\Gamma_5$ regime. Likewise, thermal fluctuations treated classically, select the $\psi_3$ state at $T=0^+$. In contrast, classical Monte Carlo finds that the system orders at $T_c$ in the $\psi_2$ state of $\Gamma_5$ for antiferromagnetic Heisenberg exchange and indirect DMI with a transition from $\psi_2$ to $\psi_3$ at a temperature $T_{\Gamma_5}

Accessibility percolation is a new type of percolation problem inspired by evolutionary biology: a random number, called its fitness, is assigned to each vertex of a graph, then a path in the graph is accessible if fitnesses are strictly increasing through it. In the Rough Mount Fuji (RMF) model the fitness function is defined on the graph as $\omega(v)=\eta(v)+\theta\cdot d(v)$, where $\theta$ is a positive number called the drift, $d$ is the distance to the source of the graph and $\eta(v)$ are i.i.d. random variables. In this paper we determine values of $\theta$ for having RMF accessibility percolation on the hypercube and the two-dimensional lattices $\mathbb{L}^2$ and $\mathbb{L}^2_{alt}$.

Online malware scanners are one of the best weapons in the arsenal of cybersecurity companies and researchers. A fundamental part of such systems is the sandbox that provides an instrumented and isolated environment (virtualized or emulated) for any user to upload and run unknown artifacts and identify potentially malicious behaviors. The provided API and the wealth of information inthe reports produced by these services have also helped attackers test the efficacy of numerous techniques to make malware hard to detect.The most common technique used by malware for evading the analysis system is to monitor the execution environment, detect the presence of any debugging artifacts, and hide its malicious behavior if needed. This is usually achieved by looking for signals suggesting that the execution environment does not belong to a the native machine, such as specific memory patterns or behavioral traits of certain CPU instructions. In this paper, we show how an attacker can evade detection on such online services by incorporating a Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm into a malware sample. Specifically, we leverage the asymptotic behavior of the computational cost of PoW algorithms when they run on some classes of hardware platforms to effectively detect a non bare-metal environment of the malware sandbox analyzer. To prove the validity of this intuition, we design and implement the POW-HOW framework, a tool to automatically implement sandbox detection strategies and embed a test evasion program into an arbitrary malware sample. Our empirical evaluation shows that the proposed evasion technique is durable, hard to fingerprint, and reduces existing malware detection rate by a factor of 10. Moreover, we show how bare-metal environments cannot scale with actual malware submissions rates for consumer services.

In this paper, we illustrate how polarized neutron scattering can be used to isolate the spin-spin correlations of modes forming flat bands in a frustrated magnetic system hosting a classical spin liquid phase. In particular, we explain why the nearest-neighbor spin ice model, whose interaction matrix has two flat bands, produces a dispersionless (i.e. "flat") response in the non-spin-flip (NSF) polarized neutron scattering channel, and demonstrate that NSF scattering is a highly sensitive probe of correlations induced by weak perturbations which lift the flat band degeneracy. We use this to explain the experimentally measured dispersive (i.e. non-flat) NSF channel of the dipolar spin ice compound $\mathrm{Ho}_2 \mathrm{Ti}_2 \mathrm{O}_7$., Comment: 6+18 pages, 3+10 figures