Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics

Quantum integrability has proven to be a useful tool to study quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium. In this paper we construct a generic framework for integrable quantum circuits through the procedure of Floquet Baxterisation. The integrability is guaranteed by establishing a connection between Floquet evolution operators and inhomogeneous transfer matrices obtained from the Yang-Baxter relations. This allows us to construct integrable Floquet evolution operators with arbitrary depths and various boundary conditions. Furthermore, we focus on the example related to the staggered 6-vertex model. In the scaling limit we establish a connection of this Floquet protocol with a non-rational conformal field theory. Employing the properties of the underlying affine Temperley-Lieb algebraic structure, we demonstrate the dynamical anti-unitary symmetry breaking in the easy-plane regime. We also give an overview of integrability-related quantum circuits, highlighting future research directions.

In the version of the article initially published, in the first paragraph of the "Collaboration meetings" section, in the sentence now reading "The respondents are part of a number of collaborations ranging from 0 to 8 collaborations, with a median of 2 collaborations", the last two instances of "collaborations" incorrectly appeared as "people". The errors have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

Vertical alignment delivers a smooth, organized curriculum. We explored an approach to apply Learning by Teaching (LbT) to support the alignment of the educational robotics curriculum and, in turn, strengthen the connections among different age groups to foster digital and social inclusion. We applied LbT in the context of teaching an introductory course in robotics in a high school, and we summarized our experience in a report that analyzes two relevant aspects: a) Understanding whether LbT supports teaching-students in learning robotics concepts and b) outlining the effectiveness of LbT for interactive activities targeting younger children during Science Festival. The observations reported in this work show that teaching-students are a relevant support for actual instructors; moreover, their activity offers several advantages, including enhanced engagement and active participation, which contribute to improved comprehension and knowledge transfer.

Gap junction channels (GJCs) mediate intercellular communication by connecting two neighboring cells and enabling direct exchange of ions and small molecules. Cell coupling via connexin-43 (Cx43) GJCs is important in a wide range of cellular processes in health and disease -, yet the structural basis of Cx43 function and regulation has not been determined until now. Here we describe the structure of a human Cx43 GJC solved by cryo-EM and single particle analysis at 2.26 Å resolution. The pore region of Cx43 GJC features several lipid-like densities per Cx43 monomer, located close to a putative lateral access site at the monomer boundary. We found a previously undescribed conformation on the cytosolic side of the pore, formed by the N-terminal domain and the transmembrane helix 2 of Cx43 and stabilized by a small molecule. Structures of the Cx43 GJC and hemichannels in nanodiscs reveal a similar gate arrangement. The features of the Cx43 GJC and hemichannel cryo-EM maps and the channel properties revealed by molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the captured states of Cx43 are consistent with a closed state.

In this paper, we consider the effects of adding curvature in extended cosmologies involving a free-to-vary neutrino sector and different parametrizations of dark energy (DE). We make use of the Planck 2018 cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization data, baryon acoustic oscillations and Pantheon type Ia supernovae data. Our main result is that a nonflat Universe cannot be discarded in light of the current astronomical data, because we find an indication for a closed Universe in most of the DE cosmologies explored in this work. On the other hand, forcing the Universe to be flat can significantly bias the constraints on the equation of state of the DE component and its dynamical nature.

The need to bridge the digital world to the physical one is growing quickly and the RFID technology is mature enough to meet this need. Moreover, the versatility of RFIDs inspires researchers from all over the world to find new techniques that further improve the technology for new cross-disciplinary applications involving localization, healthcare, energy harvesting, computer science and so on.

Abstract How Galileo Galilei discovered the law of fall, and the difference that this makes Galileo’s law of fall is one of the crucial building blocks of classical mechanics. The question how this law was discovered has often been a topic of debate. This article offers a reconstruction of the developments within Galileo’s research that led to the discovery of the law. This reconstruction is offered to make a philosophical point regarding the epistemic status of experimental results: Galileo’s experiments can offer sufficient justification for the acceptance of the law of fall only because of their place in a broad research programme.