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Xiaohui Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Xiaohui Liu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Inferring the Intrinsic Energy Function of FRB 20220912A

The statistical analysis of fast radio burst (FRB) samples from repeaters may suffer from a band-limited selection effect, which can bias the observed distribution. We investigated the impact of this selection bias on the energy function through simulations and then applied our analysis to the particular case of FRB 20220912A. Our simulations show that, in the sample of bursts observed by the Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), assuming a unimodal intrinsic energy distribution, the band selection effect alone is insufficient to produce a bimodal energy distribution; only the bimodal central frequency distribution can achieve this. The bursts' energy of FRB 20220912A that primarily fell within the observing band showed no significant correlation with the central frequency. In contrast, bursts with higher central frequency tend to exhibit narrower bandwidth and longer duration. The distribution of the intrinsic energy can be modeled as a log-normal distribution with a characteristic energy of $8.13 \times 10^{37}$ erg, and a power-law function with the index of $1.011 \pm 0.028$. In contrast to the initial energy function reported by \cite{2023ApJ...955..142Z}, the low-energy peak vanishes, and the high-energy decline becomes steeper, which implies the low-energy peak is an observational effect. The bimodality of the energy distribution seems to originate from the intrinsic radiation mechanism.

astro-ph.HE↗

Scalable Quantum State Preparation via Large-Language-Model-Driven Discovery

Efficient quantum state preparation remains a central challenge in first-principles quantum simulations of dynamics in quantum field theories, where the Hilbert space is intrinsically infinite-dimensional. Here, we introduce a large language model (LLM)-assisted framework for quantum-circuit design that systematically scales state-preparation circuits to large lattice volumes. Applied to a 1+1d XY spin chain, the LLM autonomously discovers a compact 4-parameter circuit that captures boundary-induced symmetry breaking with sub-percent energy deviation, enabling successful validation on the \texttt{Zuchongzhi} quantum processor. Guided by this insight, we extend the framework to 2+1d quantum field theories, where scalable variational ansätze have remained elusive. For a scalar field theory, the search yields a symmetry-preserving, 3-parameter shallow-depth ansatz whose optimized parameters converge to size-independent constants for lattices $n \ge 4$, providing, to our knowledge, the first scalable ansatz for this class of 2+1d models. Our results establish a practical route toward AI-assisted, human-guided discovery in quantum simulation.

quant-ph↗

A comprehensive search for Long and Short Periodic Features from an Extremely Active Cycle of FRB 20240114A

Possible periodic features in fast radio bursts (FRBs) may provide insights into their astrophysical origins. Using extensive observations from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we conduct a multi-timescale periodicity search for the exceptionally active repeater FRB~20240114A. Our analysis is based on different datasets for different timescales: for short-timescale periodicity in Time of Arrivals (TOAs), we use 57 observations from January to August 2024; for long-timescale periodicity, we employ an extended TOA dataset comprising 111 observations spanning from January 2024 to October 2025; and for burst time series analysis, we utilize individual burst data from the 57 FAST observations. We identify three candidate short-timescale periodic signals (0.673~s, 0.635~s, and 0.536~s) with significances of $3.2σ$--$6σ$, each detected in two independent observations. On longer timescales, we detect a significant $143.40\pm7.19$-day periodicity with $5.2σ$ significance, establishing FRB~20240114A as a periodic repeater. In burst time series, we find quasi-periodic oscillations in the few hundred Hz range ($3.4σ$ and $3.7σ$) and periodic burst trains with periods of several to tens of milliseconds ($3σ$--$3.9σ$), though these periodic features appear transient and short-lived. The detection of periodic signals at these different time scales indicates that FRB 20240114A exhibits intriguing periodic self-similar characteristics. Despite the comprehensive dataset, no definitive periodicity linked to the source's rotation is confirmed, placing stringent constraints on the intrinsic source properties and the modulation mechanisms. All data are available via the Science Data Bank.

astro-ph.HE↗

ABACUS: An Electronic Structure Analysis Package for the AI Era

ABACUS (Atomic-orbital Based Ab-initio Computation at USTC) is an open-source software for first-principles electronic structure calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. It mainly features density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics functions and is compatible with both plane-wave basis sets and numerical atomic orbital basis sets. ABACUS serves as a platform that facilitates the integration of various electronic structure methods, such as Kohn-Sham DFT, stochastic DFT, orbital-free DFT, and real-time time-dependent DFT, etc. In addition, with the aid of high-performance computing, ABACUS is designed to perform efficiently and provide massive amounts of first-principles data for generating general-purpose machine learning potentials, such as DPA models. Furthermore, ABACUS serves as an electronic structure platform that interfaces with several AI-assisted algorithms and packages, such as DeePKS-kit, DeePMD, DP-GEN, DeepH, DeePTB, HamGNN, etc.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Iterated Agent for Symbolic Regression

Symbolic regression (SR), the automated discovery of mathematical expressions from data, is a cornerstone of scientific inquiry. However, it is often hindered by the combinatorial explosion of the search space and a tendency to overfit. Popular methods, rooted in genetic programming, explore this space syntactically, often yielding overly complex, uninterpretable models. This paper introduces IdeaSearchFitter, a framework that employs Large Language Models (LLMs) as semantic operators within an evolutionary search. By generating candidate expressions guided by natural-language rationales, our method biases discovery towards models that are not only accurate but also conceptually coherent and interpretable. We demonstrate IdeaSearchFitter's efficacy across diverse challenges: it achieves competitive, noise-robust performance on the Feynman Symbolic Regression Database (FSReD), outperforming several strong baselines; discovers mechanistically aligned models with good accuracy-complexity trade-offs on real-world data; and derives compact, physically-motivated parametrizations for Parton Distribution Functions in a frontier high-energy physics application. IdeaSearchFitter is a specialized module within our broader iterated agent framework, IdeaSearch, which is publicly available at https://www.ideasearch.cn/.

physics.comp-ph↗

The magnetar model's energy crisis for a prolific repeating fast radio burst source

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are widely considered to originate from magnetars that power the explosion through releasing magnetic energy. Active repeating FRBs have been seen to produce hundreds of bursts per hour and can stay active for months, thus may provide stringent constraints on the energy budget of FRBs' central engine. Within a time span of 214 days, we detected 11,553 bursts from the hyper-active FRB 20240114A that reached a peak burst rate of 729 hr$^{-1}$. This is the largest burst sample from any single FRB source, exceeding the cumulative total of all published bursts from all known FRBs to date. Assuming typical values of radio efficiency and beaming factor, the estimated total isotropic burst energy of this source exceeds 86% of the dipolar magnetic energy of a typical magnetar. The total released energy from this source exceeds that of other known repeaters by about one and a half orders of magnitude, yielding the most stringent lower limit of $4.7\times10^{32}$ G cm$^3$ for the magnetar's magnetic moment. The source remained active at the end of this observation campaign. Our findings thus require either the FRB's central magnetar engine's possessing exceptionally high emission efficiency or a more powerful compact object than a typical magnetar.

astro-ph.HE↗

Electron Doping Stabilization of Highly-Polar Supertetragonal BaSnO3

Could electrons stabilize ferroelectric polarization in unpolarized system? Basically, electron doping was thought to be contrary to polarization due to the well-known picture that the screening effect on Coulomb interaction diminishes ferroelectric polarization. However, in this paper, we propose a novel mechanism of stabilizing highly-polar supertetragonal BaSnO3 by electron doping. With moderate compressive strain applied, less than -5.5%, BaSnO3 exhibits stable nonpolarized normal tetragonal structure and an unstable supertetragonal state which is characterized with extremely large c/a ratio and giant polarization. We found that the band gap of the supertetragonal state is much smaller than the normal tetragonal state, with a difference around 1.2eV. Therefore, the energy of the doped electrons selectively favors the smaller gap supertetragonal state than the larger band gap normal tetragonal state, and the critical strain to stabilize the supertetragonal phase could be reduced by electron doping. This mechanism guarantees the controllable supertetragonal structures by electron doping and ensures the coexistence of giant polarization and conducting in high-mobility BaSnO3, and is promising to design high-mobility ferroelectrics conductor.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Quantum Scaling in Energy Correlators Beyond the Confinement Transition

We study the QCD scaling behavior of the small-angle Energy-Energy Correlator (EEC), focusing on the transition between its perturbative pre-confinement and non-perturbative post-confinement regimes. Applying the light-ray Operator Product Expansion (OPE), we develop a formalism that describes the scaling of the EEC with the input energy $Q$ in the transition and the post-confinement region, where the latter quantum scaling is determined by the $J=5$ DGLAP anomalous dimension. A key result of our work is a novel connection between the light-ray OPE and the dihadron fragmentation function (DFF), where we show that the non-perturbative OPE coefficients correspond to moments of the DFF. This finding establishes a new paradigm for studying hadronization. Our theoretical predictions are validated against Monte Carlo simulations for both $e^+e^-$ and $pp$ collisions, showing excellent agreement. The potential role of the quantum scaling in the precision determination of $α_s$ is also discussed.

hep-ph↗

Doping-induced Polyamorphic Transitions in Fluorite Oxides

Fluorite oxides such as HfO$_2$ exhibit rich and tunable phase behavior, making them promising candidates for next generation electronic devices. A key challenge is to design amorphous HfO$_2$-based high-$k$ materials with both structural and performance stability. Here, using molecular dynamics simulations supported by experimental measurements, we reveal that Ba doping stimulates a polyamorphic transition in HfO$_2$, yielding a semi-ordered amorphous (SA) phase characterized by disordered oxygens embedded within an ordered metal sublattice. We find that this phase arises from degenerate short-range symmetry breaking modes, consistent with Pauling's parsimony rule. Notably, the SA structure is thermodynamically stable and displays a wider bandgap and higher dielectric constant than conventional random-packing amorphous structure, owing to suppressed subgap states and increased Born effective charges. We further demonstrate that this structural motif generalizes to Ba-, Sr-, and Ca-doped HfO$_2$ and ZrO$_2$, establishing a broadly applicable strategy for designing high-performance amorphous dielectrics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Polarization Position Angle Swing and the Rotating Vector Model of Repeating Fast Radio Bursts

Fast radio bursts (FRBs), typically highly polarized, usually have a nearly constant polarization position angle (PA) during each burst. Some bursts show significant PA variations, and one of them was claimed to have a PA variation pattern consistent with the prediction of the rotating vector model (RVM) commonly adopted to fit the PA variations in radio pulsars. We systematically study the PA evolution pattern of 1727 bursts from three active repeating FRB sources monitored by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). We identify 46 bursts whose PA variations are fully consistent with the RVM. However, the inferred geometrical parameters and rotation periods derived from these RVM fitting are inconsistent from each other. This suggests that the magnetosphere of the FRB central engine is constantly distorted by the FRB emitter, and the magnetic configuration is dynamically evolving.

astro-ph.HE↗

Decentralized Quantile Regression for Feature-Distributed Massive Datasets with Privacy Guarantees

In this paper, we introduce a novel decentralized surrogate gradient-based algorithm for quantile regression in a feature-distributed setting, where global features are dispersed across multiple machines within a decentralized network. The proposed algorithm, \texttt{DSG-cqr}, utilizes a convolution-type smoothing approach to address the non-smooth nature of the quantile loss function. \texttt{DSG-cqr} is fully decentralized, conjugate-free, easy to implement, and achieves linear convergence up to statistical precision. To ensure privacy, we adopt the Gaussian mechanism to provide $(ε,δ)$-differential privacy. To overcome the exact residual calculation problem, we estimate residuals using auxiliary variables and develop a confidence interval construction method based on Wald statistics. Theoretical properties are established, and the practical utility of the methods is also demonstrated through extensive simulations and a real-world data application.

stat.CO↗

Pseudo-Label Guided Real-World Image De-weathering: A Learning Framework with Imperfect Supervision

Real-world image de-weathering aims at removingvarious undesirable weather-related artifacts, e.g., rain, snow,and fog. To this end, acquiring ideal training pairs is crucial.Existing real-world datasets are typically constructed paired databy extracting clean and degraded images from live streamsof landscape scene on the Internet. Despite the use of strictfiltering mechanisms during collection, training pairs inevitablyencounter inconsistency in terms of lighting, object position, scenedetails, etc, making de-weathering models possibly suffer fromdeformation artifacts under non-ideal supervision. In this work,we propose a unified solution for real-world image de-weatheringwith non-ideal supervision, i.e., a pseudo-label guided learningframework, to address various inconsistencies within the realworld paired dataset. Generally, it consists of a de-weatheringmodel (De-W) and a Consistent Label Constructor (CLC), bywhich restoration result can be adaptively supervised by originalground-truth image to recover sharp textures while maintainingconsistency with the degraded inputs in non-weather contentthrough the supervision of pseudo-labels. Particularly, a Crossframe Similarity Aggregation (CSA) module is deployed withinCLC to enhance the quality of pseudo-labels by exploring thepotential complementary information of multi-frames throughgraph model. Moreover, we introduce an Information AllocationStrategy (IAS) to integrate the original ground-truth imagesand pseudo-labels, thereby facilitating the joint supervision forthe training of de-weathering model. Extensive experimentsdemonstrate that our method exhibits significant advantageswhen trained on imperfectly aligned de-weathering datasets incomparison with other approaches.

cs.GR↗

Propagation-induced Frequency-dependent Polarization Properties of Fast Radio Burst

Frequency-dependent polarization properties provide crucial insights into the radiation mechanisms and magnetic environments of fast radio bursts (FRBs). We explore an analytical solution of radiative transfer of the polarization properties of FRBs as a strong incoming wave propagates in a homogeneous magnetized plasma. The cases of a thermal plasma is studied in detail. The rotational axis of the polarization spectrum undergoes precession with frequency on the Poincaré sphere when the medium has both strong Faraday rotation and conversion. Such precession on the Poincaré sphere could occur in hot or cold plasma with a strong magnetic field component perpendicular to the line of sight. Significant absorption can exist in a dense plasma medium, which may give rise to a highly circularly polarized outgoing wave. We apply the analytical solution with the mixing Faraday case to fit the observations of frequency-dependent Stokes parameters for FRB 20180301A and FRB 20201124A. The analytical solution offers a more physical description of FRBs' magnetic environment properties than the empirical ``generalized Faraday rotation'' method commonly adopted in the literature. The frequency-dependent Stokes parameters may be associated with reversing rotation measures or the presence of a persistent radio source around an FRB.

astro-ph.HE↗

Robust Super-Moiré in Large Angle Single-Twist Bilayers

Forming long wavelength moiré superlattices (MSL) at small-angle twist van der Waals (vdW) bilayers has been a key approach to creating moiré flat bands. The small-angle twist, however, leads to strong lattice reconstruction, causing domain walls and moiré disorders, which pose considerable challenges in engineering such platforms. At large twist angles, the rigid lattices render a more robust, but shorter wavelength MSL, making it difficult to engineer flat bands. Here, we depict a novel approach to tailoring robust super-moiré (SM) structures that combines the advantages of both small-twist and large-twist transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) bilayers using only a single twist angle near a commensurate angle. Structurally, we unveil the spontaneous formation of a periodic arrangement of three inequivalent commensurate moiré (CM) stacking, where the angle deviation from the commensurate angle can tune the periodicity. Electronically, we reveal a large set of van Hove singularities (VHSs) that indicate strong band hybridization, leading to flat bands near the valence band maximum. Our study paves the way for a new platform of robust SM bilayers with structural rigidity and controllable wavelength, extending the investigation of the interplay among band topology, quantum geometry, and moiré superconductivity to the large twist angle regime.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Experimental signature of layer skyrmions and implications for band topology in twisted WSe2 bilayers

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) twisted homobilayers have been established as an ideal platform for studying strong correlation phenomena, as exemplified by the recent discovery of fractional Chern insulator (FCI) states in twisted MoTe2 and Chern insulators (CI) and unconventional superconductivity in twisted WSe2 (tWSe2). In these systems, nontrivial topology in the strongly layer-hybridized regime can arise from a spatial patterning of interlayer tunneling amplitudes and layer-dependent potentials that yields a lattice of layer skyrmions. Here we report on experimental signatures of skyrmion textures in the layer degree of freedom of Rhombohedral-stacked (R-stacked) tWSe2 homobilayers. This observation is based on scanning tunneling spectroscopy that separately resolves the Gamma-valley and K-valley moiré electronic states. We show that Gamma-valley states are subjected to a moiré potential with an amplitude of ~ 120 meV. At ~150 meV above the Gamma-valley, the K-valley states are subjected to a weaker moiré potential of ~30 meV. Most significantly, we reveal opposite layer polarizations of the K-valley at the MX and XM sites within the moiré unit cell, confirming the theoretically predicted layer skyrmion texture. The dI/dV mappings allow the parameters that enter the continuum model of moiré bands in twisted TMD bilayers to be determined experimentally, further establishing a direct correlation between the shape of the LDOS profile in real space and the topology of topmost moiré band.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

The Light Source of the TRIDENT Pathfinder Experiment

In September 2021, a site scouting mission known as the TRIDENT pathfinder experiment (TRIDENT EXplorer, T-REX for short) was conducted in the South China Sea with the goal of envisaging a next-generation multi-cubic-kilometer neutrino telescope. One of the main tasks is to measure the in-situ optical properties of seawater at depths between $2800~\mathrm{m}$ and $3500~\mathrm{m}$, where the neutrino telescope will be instrumented. To achieve this, we have developed a light emitter module equipped with a clock synchronization system to serve as the light source, which could be operated in pulsing and steady modes. Two light receiver modules housing both photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and cameras are employed to detect the photons emitted by the light source. This paper presents the instrumentation of the light source in T-REX, including its design, calibration, and performance.

astro-ph.IM↗

Supertetragonal BaSnO3 induced giant ferroelectricity in SrTiO3/BaSnO3 superlattices

Perovskite BaSnO3 has an Sn s-orbital conduction band minimum, which makes it of interest as a transparent-conducting oxide parent compound but also contraindicates the ferroelectric instability characteristic of the related compound BaTiO3. In this work, we studied the effect of (001) compressive strain on BaSnO3 using first-principles methods. We found that, with low compressive strain, symmetry breaking takes cubic BaSnO3 to a nonpolar tetragonal state, with a first-order phase transition to a hidden highly-polarized ferroelectric supertetragonal state at about -5%. Based on the facts that the mismatch of lattice constant in experiment between BaSnO3 and SrTiO3 is about -5.2% and coherent growth of BaSnO3 on SrTiO3 has been experimentally realized for BaSnO3 layers thinner than 3 unit-cells, we studied a series of SrTiO3/BaSnO3 superlattices with one or two unit-cells of BaSnO3 and several unit-cells of SrTiO3. We found that the superlattices are ferroelectric with large polarizations. We propose that the origin of ferroelectricity in the superlattices is the mechanical and electrical coupling of the BaSnO3 and SrTiO3 layers, with polarized supertetragonal state of BaSnO3 induced by compressive-strain from the SrTiO3 layers and polarization of the SrTiO3 layers by the polar BaSnO3 layers. Due to the distinctive electronic states in the BaSnO3 layers, the realization of ferroelectricity holds promise for the design of novel electronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Valley-mediated singlet- and triplet-polaron interactions and quantum dynamics in a doped WSe$_2$ monolayer

In doped transition metal dichalcogenides, optically created excitons (bound electron-hole pairs) can strongly interact with a Fermi sea of electrons to form Fermi polaron quasiparticles. When there are two distinct Fermi seas, as is the case in WSe$_2$, there are two flavors of lowest-energy (attractive) polarons -- singlet and triplet -- where the exciton is coupled to the Fermi sea in the same or opposite valley, respectively. Using two-dimensional coherent electronic spectroscopy, we analyze how their quantum decoherence evolves with doping density and determine the condition under which stable Fermi polarons form. Because of the large oscillator strength associated with these resonances, intrinsic quantum dynamics of polarons as well as valley coherence between coupled singlet- and triplet polarons occur on sub-picosecond time scales. Surprisingly, we find that a dark-to-bright state conversion process leads to a particularly long-lived singlet polaron valley polarization, persisting up to 200-800 ps. Valley coherence between the singlet- and triplet polaron is correlated with their energy fluctuations. Our finding provides valuable guidance for the electrical and optical control of spin and valley indexes in atomically thin semiconductors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗