6,909 research outputs found
From vertex detectors to inner trackers with CMOS pixel sensors
The use of CMOS Pixel Sensors (CPS) for high resolution and low material
vertex detectors has been validated with the 2014 and 2015 physics runs of the
STAR-PXL detector at RHIC/BNL. This opens the door to the use of CPS for inner
tracking devices, with 10-100 times larger sensitive area, which require
therefore a sensor design privileging power saving, response uniformity and
robustness. The 350 nm CMOS technology used for the STAR-PXL sensors was
considered as too poorly suited to upcoming applications like the upgraded
ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS), which requires sensors with one order of
magnitude improvement on readout speed and improved radiation tolerance. This
triggered the exploration of a deeper sub-micron CMOS technology, Tower-Jazz
180 nm, for the design of a CPS well adapted for the new ALICE-ITS running
conditions. This paper reports the R&D results for the conception of a CPS well
adapted for the ALICE-ITS.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, VCI 2016 conference proceeding
Search for transient optical counterparts to high-energy IceCube neutrinos with Pan-STARRS1
In order to identify the sources of the observed diffuse high-energy neutrino flux, it is crucial to discover their electromagnetic counterparts. To increase the sensitivity of detecting counterparts of transient or variable sources by telescopes with a limited field of view, IceCube began releasing alerts for single high-energy (Eν >  60 TeV) neutrino detections with sky localisation regions of order 1° radius in 2016. We used Pan-STARRS1 to follow-up five of these alerts during 2016–2017 to search for any optical transients that may be related to the neutrinos. Typically 10–20 faint (miP1 ≲ 22.5 mag) extragalactic transients are found within the Pan-STARRS1 footprints and are generally consistent with being unrelated field supernovae (SNe) and AGN. We looked for unusual properties of the detected transients, such as temporal coincidence of explosion epoch with the IceCube timestamp, or other peculiar light curve and physical properties. We found only one transient that had properties worthy of a specific follow-up. In the Pan-STARRS1 imaging for IceCube-160427A (probability to be of astrophysical origin of ∼50%), we found a SN PS16cgx, located at 10.0′ from the nominal IceCube direction. Spectroscopic observations of PS16cgx showed that it was an H-poor SN at redshift z = 0.2895 ± 0.0001. The spectra and light curve resemble some high-energy Type Ic SNe, raising the possibility of a jet driven SN with an explosion epoch temporally coincident with the neutrino detection. However, distinguishing Type Ia and Type Ic SNe at this redshift is notoriously difficult. Based on all available data we conclude that the transient is more likely to be a Type Ia with relatively weak Si II absorption and a fairly normal rest-frame r-band light curve. If, as predicted, there is no high-energy neutrino emission from Type Ia SNe, then PS16cgx must be a random coincidence, and unrelated to the IceCube-160427A. We find no other plausible optical transient for any of the five IceCube events observed down to a 5σ limiting magnitude of miP1 ≈ 22 mag, between 1 day and 25 days after detection
An integrative clustering approach combining particle swarm optimization and formal concept analysis
Modeling creep behaviour of boiler grade steels - Application to grade 92 steel
International audiencePower generation is now striving to improve the global efficiency of boiler plants, targeting 50% or higher. To accommodate the necessary increase in steam temperature, new materials may be developed and/or existing materials must be employed to their best. This is mandatory for the design of boiler components. One contribution by V&M in that direction is the setting up of numerical models for major boiler grades regarding their creep resistance. In coordination with Mines ParisTech, the first application has been made to Grade 92.The methodology is presented together with the first simulations. Typically, creep is modelled using two deformation mechanisms which correspond respectively to a low stress regime and a high stress regime. Damage is also taken into account. Calculations were carried out using ABAQUS ®. Numerical results are compared with a series of creep tests performed at Vallourec Research Aulnoye (VRA). Further development and applications of the model are finally discussed
Addendum to "Coherent radio pulses from GEANT generated electromagnetic showers in ice"
We reevaluate our published calculations of electromagnetic showers generated
by GEANT 3.21 and the radio frequency pulses they produce in ice. We are
prompted by a recent report showing that GEANT 3.21-modeled showers are
sensitive to internal settings in the electron tracking subroutine. We report
the shower and pulse characteristics obtained with different settings of GEANT
3.21 and with GEANT 4. The default setting of electron tracking in GEANT 3.21
we used in previous work speeds up the shower simulation at the cost of
information near the end of the tracks. We find that settings tracking electron
and positron to lower energy yield a more accurate calculation, a more intense
shower, and proportionately stronger radio pulses at low frequencies. At high
frequencies the relation between shower tracking algorithm and pulse spectrum
is more complex. We obtain radial distributions of shower particles and phase
distributions of pulses from 100 GeV showers that are consistent with our
published results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Ammonia trace measurements at ppb level based on near-IR photoacoustic spectroscopy
A photoacoustic sensor using a laser diode emitting near 1532nm in combination with an erbium-doped fibre amplifier has been developed for ammonia trace gas analysis at atmospheric pressure. NH3 concentration measurements down to 6ppb and a noise-equivalent detection limit below 3ppb in dry air are demonstrated. Two wavelength-modulation schemes with 1f and 2f detection using a lock-in amplifier were investigated and compared to maximise the signal-to-noise ratio. A quantitative analysis of CO2 and H2O interference with NH3 is presented. Typical concentrations present in ambient air of 400ppm CO2 and 1.15% H2O (50% relative humidity at 20°C) result in a NH3 equivalent concentration of 36ppb and 100ppb, respectivel
Charm meson resonances in decays
Motivated by recent experimental results we reconsider semileptonic decays within a model which combines heavy quark symmetry and
properties of the chiral Lagrangian. We include excited charm meson states,
some of them recently observed, in our Lagrangian and determine their impact on
the charm meson semileptonic form factors. We find that the inclusion of
excited charm meson states in the model leads to a rather good agreement with
the experimental results on the shape of the form factor. We
also calculate branching ratios for all decays.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; minor corrections, added some discussion, version
as publishe
Nonlinear Competition Between Small and Large Hexagonal Patterns
Recent experiments by Kudrolli, Pier and Gollub on surface waves,
parametrically excited by two-frequency forcing, show a transition from a small
hexagonal standing wave pattern to a triangular ``superlattice'' pattern. We
show that generically the hexagons and the superlattice wave patterns bifurcate
simultaneously from the flat surface state as the forcing amplitude is
increased, and that the experimentally-observed transition can be described by
considering a low-dimensional bifurcation problem. A number of predictions come
out of this general analysis.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, revised, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Dihydroxyacetone conversion into lactic acid in an aqueous medium in the presence of metal salts: influence of the ionic thermodynamic equilibrium on the reaction performance
International audienceThe catalytic conversion of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) to lactic acid (LA) via pyruvaldehyde (PA) in aqueous media was studied using different homogeneous metal salts. A kinetic model was developed and the parameters corresponding to each reaction steps were estimated. Agreement between experiments and simulated results was excellent and the performance of the different catalysts was consistent with previous studies described in the literature. Aluminium salts, which show the best performance, were tested in a whole range of concentrations and at different pH, in order to identify the catalytically active ionic species. It was confirmed that the DHA to pyruvaldehyde (PA) dehydration step is catalyzed by both Brønsted and Lewis acids whereas the consecutive reaction of PA to LA is solely catalyzed by Lewis acids. Moreover, comparing thermodynamic analysis of the reaction media and kinetic parameters demonstrated that cationic hydroxyl-aluminium complexes [Al(OH)h] (3-h)+ formed in situ by the hydrolysis of the aluminium aqua complexes like [Al(OH2)6] 3+ are the most active Lewis acids
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