Radiation from Wavepackets

Volume 1 of the FCC Feasibility Report presents an overview of the physics case, experimental programme, and detector concepts for the Future Circular Collider (FCC). This volume outlines how FCC would address some of the most profound open questions in particle physics, from precision studies of the Higgs and EW bosons and of the top quark, to the exploration of physics beyond the Standard Model. The report reviews the experimental opportunities offered by the staged implementation of FCC, beginning with an electron-positron collider (FCC-ee), operating at several centre-of-mass energies, followed by a hadron collider (FCC-hh). Benchmark examples are given of the expected physics performance, in terms of precision and sensitivity to new phenomena, of each collider stage. Detector requirements and conceptual designs for FCC-ee experiments are discussed, as are the specific demands that the physics programme imposes on the accelerator in the domains of the calibration of the collision energy, and the interface region between the accelerator and the detector. The report also highlights advances in detector, software and computing technologies, as well as the theoretical tools/reconstruction techniques that will enable the precision measurements and discovery potential of the FCC experimental programme. The content and structure of this report are guided by the scope and priorities defined in the mandate of the FCC Feasibility Study. It is therefore not intended to serve as an exhaustive review of the full physics potential of FCC. Several topics, already covered in earlier reports such as the FCC CDR, are not reiterated here or are addressed only briefly, in alignment with the study’s focus. This volume reflects the outcome of a global collaborative effort involving hundreds of scientists and institutions, aided by a dedicated community-building coordination, and provides a targeted assessment of the scientific opportunities and experimental foundations of the FCC programme.

In August 2023, the Antares 230 launched successfully for the NG-19 resupply mission to the International Space Station. Acoustic measurements were taken at various locations around the launch pad, ranging from 60 to 200 m away from the vehicle. The analysis focused on azimuthal and polar angles to investigate the vehicle’s sound directivity during the launch. Spectral data were evaluated as functions of frequency, angular position around the pad, and orientation relative to the vehicle. A spatio-spectral analysis was conducted to interpret the data effectively. Initial findings reveal that maximum sound levels are associated with wider angles relative to the plume for stations closer to the source. The peak frequency at all stations was observed to be between 20 and 60 Hz, which is common for vehicles of this size. Although proximity to the rocket complicates distinguishing between angles, making directivity analysis challenging, a spatio-spectral analysis best reveals the spectral features of the noise.

Molecule generation is advancing rapidly in chemical discovery and drug design. Flow-matching methods have recently set the state of the art (SOTA) in unconditional molecule generation, surpassing score-based diffusion models. However, diffusion models still lead in property-guided generation. In this work, we introduce PropMolFlow, an approach for property-guided molecule generation based on geometry-complete SE(3)-equivariant flow matching. Integrating five different property embedding methods with a Gaussian expansion of scalar properties, PropMolFlow achieves competitive performance against previous SOTA diffusion models in conditional molecule generation while maintaining high structural stability and validity. Additionally, it enables higher sampling speed with fewer time steps compared with baseline models. We highlight the importance of validating the properties of generated molecules through density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, we introduce a task to assess the model’s ability to propose molecules with under-represented property values, assessing its capacity for out-of-distribution generalization.

Therapeutic proteins face a critical pharmacokinetic challenge: rapid clearance from circulation limits their clinical efficacy. Albumin-binding domains (ABDs) offer an elegant solution by enabling therapeutic proteins to “hitchhike” on serum albumin’s favorable 19-day half-life through FcRn-mediated recycling. Clinical validation through approved therapeutics like ozoralizumab demonstrates the success of this approach, with preclinical studies showing fusion to an ABD extended half-life to 18 days. This review provides an analysis of ABD-fusion protein design, integrating structural biology, computational prediction, and rational engineering principles. We catalog the major classes of albumin-binding modalities, including bacterial three-helix bundle domains, engineered peptides, antibody-derived binders, and alternative scaffolds, comparing their binding properties, size contributions, cross-species reactivity, and production cost. Critical examination of linker architectures reveals that flexible glycine-serine linkers (particularly the widely successful (GGGGS)3 motif) provide optimal balance between domain independence and molecular economy, though linker choice profoundly influences not only spatial separation but also binding affinity, folding, stability, and pharmacokinetics. We evaluate the utility and limitations of the structure prediction tools for ABD-fusion design. We establish practical guidelines for integrating computational screening with experimental validation. This review provides protein engineers and synthetic biologists with a comprehensive framework for rational design of albumin-binding therapeutics, emphasizing the synergistic integration of structural insight, computational prediction, and systematic experimental validation to accelerate development of next-generation long-acting biotherapeutics.

 The detection and characterization of exoplanets in the habitable zone of stars is one of the aims of the Habitable Worlds Observatory mission concept. An internal coronagraph, which can extinguish light from the planets’ parent star to a contrast ratio of about 10⁻¹⁰ is key for characterizing Earth-sized exoplanets. Knowing the polarization behavior of optical elements as a function of angle-of-incidence (AOI) and wavelength is critical for this instrument, because polarization aberrations can impact the contrast. The diattenuation and retardance for freshly deposited and aged aluminum mirrors between 140 and 1600 nm with AOIs between 15 deg and 70 deg were measured using variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. These mirrors are protected by thin LiF evaporated on a XeF₂-passivated Al thin film (Al + XeLiF). Long-term environmental testing showed that the retardance of samples increased while diattenuation was not significantly affected by increased temperature and humidity.

Analysis of the previously classified delta Scuti variable star MW Camelopardalis using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite sparked a deeper inquiry due to unexpected patterns within the target’s observed − calculated (O − C) diagram. The shape could be seen as either a saw-toothed pattern or a set of steps. The pattern was found to be replicated in the O − C diagrams of seven additional targets: TIC 17931346, TIC 44845403, TIC 123580083, TIC 173503902, TIC 302394816, TIC 194944219m and TIC 396465600. The Q value for the targets, their position in the δ Scuti star Leavitt Law, and their location in the instability strip show these objects to be low-mass, fundamental mode pulsators. Seven of the eight stars fill the full range between the blue and red edges of the fundamental-mode instability strip.