Annals of Quantum and Condensed Matter Physics - Articles

Haddad, I., Rao, P., Moreau, L.

In schools around the world students are sorted to different groups, courses, or classes. In increasingly diverse societies, such sorting practices play an important role to social cohesion. They set the structural conditions for students to form friendships across demographic divides. This article highlights the importance of attribute consolidation in learning contexts, the extent to which demographic categories align or cross-cut each other, a compositional feature largely overlooked in practical school settings. In Study 1, a comprehensive analysis of the association of attribute consolidation and friendship segregation in 524 school classes in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden reveals the outstanding significance of gender consolidation . This means that friendships are far more segregated along an attribute when it aligns with gender in a classroom than when it coincides with other attributes, such as socio-economic status or place of residence. Based on this finding, Study 2 uses simulations to examine the potential effects of class-placement strategies that reduce gender consolidation. The results suggest that, relative to observed class placement in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, class placement that minimizes gender consolidation can decrease friendship segregation in that it reduces students’ share of ingroup friends by 4–7 percentage points. More generally, the potential impact of paying attention to gender consolidation in class placement is the largest in diverse schools, which are mostly located in diverse countries with low levels of between-school segregation.

Cai, Y., Martinache, O., Bertrand, M., Callet, C., Thouvenin, O., Grieve, K., Mecê, P.

Adaptive optics (AO) enables cellular-resolution retinal imaging by correcting ocular aberrations, but its widespread clinical adoption remains limited by the narrow field of view (FOV) imposed by the isoplanatic patch of the eye. In this study, we present a deformable mirror (DM)–based sensorless AO time-domain full-field OCT (FFOCT) system that overcomes these limitations by leveraging the inherent robustness of FFOCT to ocular aberrations under spatially incoherent illumination. Using both phantom eye simulations and in vivo experiments, we demonstrate that correction of only three to five Zernike modes (defocus, astigmatism, and coma) is sufficient to significantly enhance SNR and resolve fine retinal structures. This includes reliable visualization of cone photoreceptors as close as 0.3∘ from the foveal center and depth-resolved imaging of inner retinal features such as nerve fiber bundles, vessel walls, capillaries, internal limiting membrane, macrophage-like cells, and Gunn’s dots, across a 5∘×5∘ FOV at 500 Hz. By simplifying AO implementation while achieving wide-field cellular resolution, this approach addresses key limitations of current AO ophthalmoscopes and offers a promising pathway toward a wider clinical deployment of high-resolution retinal imaging.

Goddu, S., Holloingsworth, S., Green, W., Goddu, M., Mazur, T., Owen, D., Zhang, H., Hao, Y., Perkins, S., Darafsheh, A.

Objective. Radiation therapy at ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) has emerged in the past decade as a novel technique with potential to improve the therapeutic index through a phenomenon referred to as ‘FLASH effect’. Its reliable pre-clinical studies and safe clinical deployment would benefit from dosimeters with high spatiotemporal resolution, ideally with capability to perform pulse-by-pulse dosimetry for pulsed beams. Scintillation imaging has shown potential for high spatiotemporal resolution dosimetry that may be well-suited for UHDR beams. Our aim is to develop an ultra-high resolution scintillation imaging dosimetry system for characterization of pulsed UHDR proton beams on a pulse-by-pulse basis. Approach. A gantry-mounted proton therapy synchrocyclotron was used to deliver UHDR beams at ∼90 Gy s−1 average dose rate. A BC-408 plastic scintillator block (30 × 30 × 5 cm3), facing a high-speed camera inside an optically sealed housing, was used for range, relative dose-per-pulse, vertical spot position, Bragg peak (BP) widths, and beam size measurements. Another BC-408 plastic scintillator block (30 × 30 × 0.5 cm3), facing a mirror at 45°, was used to measure the spots’ lateral size and position. A high-speed complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor camera system, temporally gated with the accelerator’s pulse train, was used for imaging. Series of proton pulses with different ranges were delivered at various dose rates per pulse while the corresponding scintillation images were recorded to extract various beam parameters. Results. Individual image frames corresponding to each delivered pulse were successfully obtained at ∼0.08 mm per-pixel resolution. The integrated image intensity at the BP showed a linear correlation with the delivered charge-per-pulse. The scintillation signal agreed with the charge reading from the transmission ionization chamber within 1%. Our measurements did not demonstrate appreciable dose rate dependency of the ionization quenching in the scintillator. Range measurements on a pulse-by-pulse basis agreed within 1 mm of the programmed range and were confirmed with a multi-layer ionization chamber device. Spot sizes were measured within 0.3 mm of the expected values. Significance. Synchronized scintillation imaging can provide ultra-high spatiotemporal resolution dosimetry of pulsed UHDR proton beams desired for beam characterization. A strong correlation between measured scintillation intensity and beam current suggests that our system can be expanded for quantitative multidimensional dosimetry.

Lefèvre, L., Okafor, K.

Iontronic power source harnesses ion-electron coupling effect for energy conversion, offering great potential in wearable electronics and bioelectronics. However, its limited power density and insufficient current hinder the progress toward commercialization. Here we report an iontronic electricity generator based on intrinsic asymmetric interfaces and controllable energy-release, which reaches a maximum volumetric power density of up to 3680 W m -3 , area power density of 18.4 W m -2 , and peak current of more than 5 A. Cycling power generation is ascribed to reversible electron-coupled ion-oscillation at interface. Synergistically, the intrinsic asymmetric interfaces facilitate ion-electron coupling interaction, and the energy-release gate optimizes the energy conversion pathway, thus ensuring giant power output. The developed generator shows large-scale manufacturability and good flexibility. These exceptional performances in iontronic power source not only offer useful paradigms for wearable electronics, but also indicate a strategy and direction into high-power energy conversion from low-grade environmental source.

Böller, S., Kruse, H.

In schools around the world students are sorted to different groups, courses, or classes. In increasingly diverse societies, such sorting practices play an important role to social cohesion. They set the structural conditions for students to form friendships across demographic divides. This article highlights the importance of attribute consolidation in learning contexts, the extent to which demographic categories align or cross-cut each other, a compositional feature largely overlooked in practical school settings. In Study 1, a comprehensive analysis of the association of attribute consolidation and friendship segregation in 524 school classes in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden reveals the outstanding significance of gender consolidation. This means that friendships are far more segregated along an attribute when it aligns with gender in a classroom than when it coincides with other attributes, such as socio-economic status or place of residence. Based on this finding, Study 2 uses simulations to examine the potential effects of class-placement strategies that reduce gender consolidation. The results suggest that, relative to observed class placement in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, class placement that minimizes gender consolidation can decrease friendship segregation in that it reduces students’ share of ingroup friends by 4–7 percentage points. More generally, the potential impact of paying attention to gender consolidation in class placement is the largest in diverse schools, which are mostly located in diverse countries with low levels of between-school segregation.

Böller, S., Kruse, H.

In schools around the world students are sorted to different groups, courses, or classes. In increasingly diverse societies, such sorting practices play an important role to social cohesion. They set the structural conditions for students to form friendships across demographic divides. This article highlights the importance of attribute consolidation in learning contexts, the extent to which demographic categories align or cross-cut each other, a compositional feature largely overlooked in practical school settings. In Study 1, a comprehensive analysis of the association of attribute consolidation and friendship segregation in 524 school classes in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden reveals the outstanding significance of gender consolidation. This means that friendships are far more segregated along an attribute when it aligns with gender in a classroom than when it coincides with other attributes, such as socio-economic status or place of residence. Based on this finding, Study 2 uses simulations to examine the potential effects of class-placement strategies that reduce gender consolidation. The results suggest that, relative to observed class placement in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, class placement that minimizes gender consolidation can decrease friendship segregation in that it reduces students’ share of ingroup friends by 4–7 percentage points. More generally, the potential impact of paying attention to gender consolidation in class placement is the largest in diverse schools, which are mostly located in diverse countries with low levels of between-school segregation.

Kapoor, N., Dubois, L., Osei, T., Johansson, M., Silva, L., Delacroix, C., Sørensen, S., Dąbrowski, K., Reyes, B., Hayashi, A.

This study systematically investigates the effects of Fe and Si impurities on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Cu-Li alloys. Five alloy compositions with controlled Fe (0.03–0.12 wt.%) and Si (0.03–0.12 wt.%) contents were fabricated and processed through homogenization, hot extrusion, solution treatment, and aging. Microstructural characterization demonstrates that Fe promotes the formation of coarse skeletal Al 7 Cu 2 Fe intermetallics, while Si facilitates the precipitation of blocky α-AlFeSi phases and eutectic Si particles. An elevated Fe content substantially deteriorates strength, ductility, and fracture toughness, primarily due to two mechanisms: the persistence of thermally stable impurity phases that serve as stress concentrators and preferential crack initiation sites throughout thermomechanical processing, and the consumption of Cu that reduces the volume fraction of primary T 1 (Al 2 CuLi) strengthening precipitates. In contrast, Si exhibits comparatively moderate detrimental effects. The findings establish that stringent Fe control is essential for maintaining mechanical performance, whereas strategic Si adjustment offers a viable approach for cost management in recycled alloy production.

Böller, S., Kruse, H.

In schools around the world students are sorted to different groups, courses, or classes. In increasingly diverse societies, such sorting practices play an important role to social cohesion. They set the structural conditions for students to form friendships across demographic divides. This article highlights the importance of attribute consolidation in learning contexts, the extent to which demographic categories align or cross-cut each other, a compositional feature largely overlooked in practical school settings. In Study 1, a comprehensive analysis of the association of attribute consolidation and friendship segregation in 524 school classes in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden reveals the outstanding significance of gender consolidation. This means that friendships are far more segregated along an attribute when it aligns with gender in a classroom than when it coincides with other attributes, such as socio-economic status or place of residence. Based on this finding, Study 2 uses simulations to examine the potential effects of class-placement strategies that reduce gender consolidation. The results suggest that, relative to observed class placement in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, class placement that minimizes gender consolidation can decrease friendship segregation in that it reduces students’ share of ingroup friends by 4–7 percentage points. More generally, the potential impact of paying attention to gender consolidation in class placement is the largest in diverse schools, which are mostly located in diverse countries with low levels of between-school segregation.

Jahin, G., Maliha, F., Nafisa, N., Hassan, M., Patwary, M.

Cyberbullying has become a major concern in the digital world, with social media platforms facilitating harmful interactions that target individuals. Although there has been significant research, studies specifically focusing on Bengali cyberbullying remain scarce. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing over 70,000 social media comments in the Bengali language. The dataset is preprocessed for sentiment analysis to classify positive and negative comments, followed by topic modeling for negative comments using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to extract features from age, gender, ethnicity, religion-based, and miscellaneous comments. Various models are applied, including Support Vector Machine, XGBoost, CNN+BiLSTM+GRU, mBERT, XLM-R, etc. Among the evaluated models, mBERT demonstrated the highest performance, attaining an accuracy of 92%. While the CNN+BiLSTM+GRU hybrid model outperformed with an accuracy of 91%. Further improvements are done by incorporating BERT embeddings into CNN and ANN models, and achieved an accuracy of 93%. To enhance model transparency and trust, Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations is applied to interpret predictions.

Haddad, Y.