CPV tests with rare kaon decays

The K_S \to pi+/- e+ e- decay mode has been investigated using the data collected in 2002 by the NA48/1 collaboration. With about 23k signal events and 59k K_L \to pi+ pi- pi0_D normalization decays, the K_S \to pi+ pi- e+ e- branching ratio was determined. This result is also used to set an upper limit on the presence of E1 direct emission in the decay amplitude. The CP-violating asymmetry has been also measured. We report on measurements of the rare decays K +/- \to pi+/- e+ e- and K+/- \to pi+/- mu+ mu- . The full NA48/2 data set was analyzed, leading to more than 7200 reconstructed events in the electronic and more than 3000 events in the muonic channel, the latter exceeding the total existing statistics by a factor of four. For both channels the selected events are almost background-free. From these events, we have determined the branching fraction and form factors of K+/- \to pi+/- e+ e- using different theoretical models. Our results improve the existing world averages significantly. In addition, we measured the CP violating asymmetry between K+ and K- in this channel to be less than a few percent.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, To appear in the proceedings of IX International Conference on Hyperons, Charm and Beauty Hadrons (BEACH2010), Perugia, Italy, 21-26 June 201

Minimalistic Unsupervised Learning with the Sparse Manifold Transform

We describe a minimalistic and interpretable method for unsupervised learning, without resorting to data augmentation, hyperparameter tuning, or other engineering designs, that achieves performance close to the SOTA SSL methods. Our approach leverages the sparse manifold transform, which unifies sparse coding, manifold learning, and slow feature analysis. With a one-layer deterministic sparse manifold transform, one can achieve 99.3% KNN top-1 accuracy on MNIST, 81.1% KNN top-1 accuracy on CIFAR-10 and 53.2% on CIFAR-100. With a simple gray-scale augmentation, the model gets 83.2% KNN top-1 accuracy on CIFAR-10 and 57% on CIFAR-100. These results significantly close the gap between simplistic ``white-box'' methods and the SOTA methods. Additionally, we provide visualization to explain how an unsupervised representation transform is formed. The proposed method is closely connected to latent-embedding self-supervised methods and can be treated as the simplest form of VICReg. Though there remains a small performance gap between our simple constructive model and SOTA methods, the evidence points to this as a promising direction for achieving a principled and white-box approach to unsupervised learning

Polarization anisotropy in the optical properties of silicon ellipsoids

A new real space quantum mechanical approach with local field effects included is applied to the calculation of the optical properties of silicon nanocrystals. Silicon ellipsoids are studied and the role of surface polarization is discussed in details. In particular, surface polarization is shown to be responsible for a strong optical anisotropy in silicon ellipsoids, much more pronounced with respect to the case in which only quantum confinement effects are considered. The static dielectric constant and the absorption spectra are calculated, showing that the perpendicular and parallel components have a very different dependence on the ellipsoid aspect ratio. Then, a comparison with the classical dielectric model is performed, showing that the model only works for large and regular structures, but it fails for thin elongated ellipsoids.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, International Conference on NANO-Structures Self-Assemblin

HI intensity mapping with FAST

We discuss the detectability of large-scale HI intensity fluctuations using the FAST telescope. We present forecasts for the accuracy of measuring the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations and constraining the properties of dark energy. The FAST $19$-beam L-band receivers ($1.05$--$1.45$ GHz) can provide constraints on the matter power spectrum and dark energy equation of state parameters ($w_{0},w_{a}$) that are comparable to the BINGO and CHIME experiments. For one year of integration time we find that the optimal survey area is $6000\,{\rm deg}^2$. However, observing with larger frequency coverage at higher redshift ($0.95$--$1.35$ GHz) improves the projected errorbars on the HI power spectrum by more than $2~\sigma$ confidence level. The combined constraints from FAST, CHIME, BINGO and Planck CMB observations can provide reliable, stringent constraints on the dark energy equation of state.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, submitted to "Frontiers in Radio Astronomy and FAST Early Sciences Symposium 2015" conference proceedin

Pt decorated amorphous RuIr alloys as high efficiency electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation

This study focuses primarily on improving the utilization and activity of anodic catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation. The Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) anodic catalyst, a carbon supported Pt decorated amorphous RuIr nanoparticles catalyst (Pt@RuIr/C) was prepared by a two-step reduction method. The structure of Pt@RuIr/C nanoparticles was confirmed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The Pt@RuIr electrocatalysts exhibited good uniformity in distribution. Cyclic Voltammetry experiments showed that under the same quality of noble-metal, the Pt@RuIr/C catalyst had higher activity than the PtRuIr/C catalyst for methanol oxidation. It was also shown that the as-prepared structure of the Pt decorated amorphous RuIr alloys could obviously decrease the usage of noble-metal and enhance its catalytic activity at the same time.Web of Scienc

Enzymatic and genetic polymorphisms of paraoxonase- 1 in the Gabonese population: The relation to lipid parameters in patients with diabetes

Background: The objective was to study the relationship between the paraoxonase-1 activity, genetic polymorphisms and lipid parameters in a black patient population.Method: This study investigates patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension for which concentrations of total high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein AI, apolipoprotein B100, the latency time of oxidation of small and dense LDL, arylesterase activity and genetic polymorphism of paraoxonase-1 at positions T(-107)C, L55M and Q192R were determined and compared to healthy subjects.Results: Concerning the T(-107C) polymorphism, the -107T allele is higher in healthy subjects (0.325) than in those with diabetes (0.660). This was the same for the 55M allele, whereas the -107C allele was lower in healthy patients (0.675) than in patients with diabetes (0.340). Paraoxonase-1 activity was lower in patients with diabetes than in healthy subjects, irrespective of genotype. The -107CC genotypes had higher HDL cholesterol AI apolipoprotein I concentrations than -107TT in the control group (p-value = 0.0001), patients with diabetes (p-value = 0.002), and patients with hyptertension (p-value = 0.001). This result was also obtained with the 55LL genotype.Conclusion: The prevalence of paraoxonase-1 alleles associated with lesser enzyme activities was found to be more common in patients with diabetes than in the control group. Possibly, this genetic distribution contributes to the high cardiovascular risk that is observed in certain black patients, compared to that in white patients

Atomically precise lateral modulation of a two-dimensional electron liquid in anatase TiO2 thin films

Engineering the electronic band structure of two-dimensional electron liquids (2DELs) confined at the surface or interface of transition metal oxides is key to unlocking their full potential. Here we describe a new approach to tailoring the electronic structure of an oxide surface 2DEL demonstrating the lateral modulation of electronic states with atomic scale precision on an unprecedented length scale comparable to the Fermi wavelength. To this end, we use pulsed laser deposition to grow anatase TiO2 films terminated by a (1 x 4) in-plane surface reconstruction. Employing photo-stimulated chemical surface doping we induce 2DELs with tunable carrier densities that are confined within a few TiO2 layers below the surface. Subsequent in-situ angle resolved photoemission experiments demonstrate that the (1 x 4) surface reconstruction provides a periodic lateral perturbation of the electron liquid. This causes strong backfolding of the electronic bands, opening of unidirectional gaps and a saddle point singularity in the density of states near the chemical potential

El sabotaje durante la Guerra Civil: la industria naval de Cartagena

Anàlisi del sabotatge dut a terme a l'Arsenal i la factoria cartagenera de la Societat Espanyola de Construcció Naval, un sector estratègic per a la defensa de la República, atesa la seva significació en el manteniment de la flota i la producció armamentística. Queden de manifest l'àmplia xarxa quintacolumnista, el desenvolupament i les actuacions, i es pot deduir la contribució a la derrota republicana.Analysis of the sabotage carried out in the Arsenal and the Cartagena factory of the Spanish Shipbuilding Society, a strategic sector for the defense of the Republic, given its significance in fleet maintenance and arms production. The extensive fifth columnist network, its development and actions are evident, and its contribution to the republican defeat can be deduced.Análisis del sabotaje llevado a cabo en el Arsenal y la factoría cartagenera de la Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval, un sector estratégico para la defensa de la República, dada su significación en el mantenimiento de la flota y la producción armamentística. Quedan de manifiesto la amplia red quintacolumnista, su desarrollo y actuaciones, pudiendo deducirse su contribución a la derrota republicana

Light management in highly-textured perovskite solar cells: From full-device ellipsometry characterization to optical modelling for quantum efficiency optimization

While perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are now reaching high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs), further performance improvement requires a fine management and an optimization of the light pathway and harvesting in the cells. These go through an accurate understanding, characterization and modelling of the optical processes occurring in these complex, often textured, multi-layered systems. In the present work, we have considered a typical methylammonium lead iodide (MAPI) solar cell built on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrode of high roughness (43 nm RMS). By variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) of the full PSC device, we have been able to determine the optical constants of all the device layers. We have designed a one-dimensional (1D) optical model of the stacked layers where the rough texture is described as layers of effective-medium index. We have supported the model using data extracted from scanning electron microscopy, diffuse spectroscopy and photovoltaic efficiency measurements. We show that the 1D model, while insufficient to describe scattering by the FTO plate alone, gives an accurate description of the full device optical properties. By comparison with the experimental external quantum efficiency (EQE), we estimate the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and the effect of the losses related to electron transfer. Based on this work, we finally discuss the optical losses mechanisms and the possible strategies that can be implemented to improve light management within PSC devices and further increase their performances.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure