Effect of graphene substrate on the SERS Spectra of Aromatic bifunctional molecules on metal nanoparticles

The design of molecular sensors plays a very important role within nanotechnology and especially in the development of different devices for biomedical applications. Biosensors can be classified according to various criteria such as the type of interaction established between the recognition element and the analyte or the type of signal detection from the analyte (transduction). When Raman spectroscopy is used as an optical transduction technique the variations in the Raman signal due to the physical or chemical interaction between the analyte and the recognition element has to be detected. Therefore any significant improvement in the amplification of the optical sensor signal represents a breakthrough in the design of molecular sensors. In this sense, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) involves an enormous enhancement of the Raman signal from a molecule in the vicinity of a metal surface. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of a monolayer of graphene oxide (GO) on the distribution of metal nanoparticles (NPs) and on the global SERS enhancement of paminothiophenol (pATP) and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4MBA) adsorbed on this substrate. These aromatic bifunctional molecules are able to interact to metal NPs and also they offer the possibility to link with biomolecules. Additionally by decorating Au or Ag NPs on graphene sheets, a coupled EM effect caused by the aggregation of the NPs and strong electronic interactions between Au or Ag NPs and the graphene sheets are considered to be responsible for the significantly enhanced Raman signal of the analytes [1-2]. Since there are increasing needs for methods to conduct reproducible and sensitive Raman measurements, Grapheneenhanced Raman Scattering (GERS) is emerging as an important method [3].Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Fermi edge singularities in X-ray spectra of strongly correlated fermions

We discuss the problem of the X-ray absorption in a system of interacting fermions and, in particular, those features in the X-ray spectra that can be used to discriminate between conventional Fermi-liquids and novel "strange metals". Focusing on the case of purely forward scattering off the core-hole potential, we account for the relevant interactions in the conduction band by means of the bosonization technique. We find that the X-ray Fermi edge singularities can still be present, although modified, even if the density of states vanishes at the Fermi energy, and that, in general, the relationship between the two appears to be quite subtle.Comment: Latex, 16 pages, Princeton preprin

Holographic description of Kerr-Bolt-AdS-dS Spacetimes

We show that there exists a holographic 2D CFT description of a Kerr-Bolt-AdS-dS spacetime. We first consider the wave equation of a massless scalar field propagating in extremal Kerr-Bolt-AdS-dS spacetimes and find in the "near region", the wave equation in extremal limit could be written in terms of the $SL(2,R)$ quadratic Casimir. This suggests that there exist dual CFT descriptions of these black holes. In the probe limit, we compute the scattering amplitudes of the scalar off the extremal black holes and find perfect agreement with the CFT prediction. Furthermore we study the holographic description of the generic four dimensional non-extremal Kerr-Bolt-AdS-dS black holes. We find that if focusing on the near-horizon region, for the massless scalar scattering in the low-frequency limit, the radial equation could still be rewritten as the $SL(2,R)$ quadratic Casimir, suggesting the existence of dual 2D description. We read the temperatures of the dual CFT from the conformal coordinates and obtain the central charges by studying the near-horizon geometry of near-extremal black holes. We recover the macroscopic entropy from the microscopic counting. We also show that for the superradiant scattering, the retarded Green's functions and the corresponding absorption cross sections are in perfect match with CFT prediction.Comment: 17 pages, typos corrected, references adde

Sustainability Improvement of a composite materials’ industry through recycling and re-engineering process approaches

Recent Advances in Mechanics and Materials in DesignThis case study was aimed at measuring and assessing the potential improvements that could be made on the eco-efficiency performance of a composite materials’ industry, specifically a glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) pultrusion manufacturing company. For this purpose, all the issues involved in the pultrusion process of GFRP profiles were analysed, the current ecoefficiency performance of the company was determined, all the procedures applied in the production process were revised, and improvement strategies were planned and investigated with basis on the performed analysis. The new eco-efficiency ratios were estimated taking into account the implementation of new proceedings and procedures through re-engineering the manufacturing process and recycling approaches. These features lead to significant improvements on the sequent assessed eco-efficiency ratios, yielding to a more sustainable product and manufacturing process of pultruded GFRP profiles

Electromagnetic form factors of light vector mesons

The electromagnetic form factors G_E(q^2), G_M(q^2), and G_Q(q^2), charge radii, magnetic and quadrupole moments, and decay widths of the light vector mesons rho^+, K^{*+} and K^{*0} are calculated in a Lorentz-covariant, Dyson-Schwinger equation based model using algebraic quark propagators that incorporate confinement, asymptotic freedom, and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, and vector meson Bethe-Salpeter amplitudes closely related to the pseudoscalar amplitudes obtained from phenomenological studies of pi and K mesons. Calculated static properties of vector mesons include the charge radii and magnetic moments: r_{rho+} = 0.61 fm, r_{K*+} = 0.54 fm, and r^2_{K*0} = -0.048 fm^2; mu_{rho+} = 2.69, mu_{K*+} = 2.37, and mu_{K*0} = -0.40. The calculated static limits of the rho-meson form factors are similar to those obtained from light-front quantum mechanical calculations, but begin to differ above q^2 = 1 GeV^2 due to the dynamical evolution of the quark propagators in our approach.Comment: 8 pages of RevTeX, 5 eps figure

Experimental study on polyester based concretes filled with glass fibre reinforced plastic recyclates – a contribution to composite materials sustainability

The development and applications of thermoset polymeric composites, namely fibre reinforced plastics (FRP), have shifted in the last decades more and more into the mass market [1]. Despite of all advantages associated to FRP based products, the increasing production and consume also lead to an increasing amount of FRP wastes, either end-of-lifecycle products, or scrap and by-products generated by the manufacturing process itself. Whereas thermoplastic FRPs can be easily recycled, by remelting and remoulding, recyclability of thermosetting FRPs constitutes a more difficult task due to cross-linked nature of resin matrix. To date, most of the thermoset based FRP waste is being incinerated or landfilled, leading to negative environmental impacts and supplementary added costs to FRP producers and suppliers. This actual framework is putting increasing pressure on the industry to address the options available for FRP waste management, being an important driver for applied research undertaken cost efficient recycling methods. [1-2]. In spite of this, research on recycling solutions for thermoset composites is still at an elementary stage. Thermal and/or chemical recycling processes, with partial fibre recovering, have been investigated mostly for carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) due to inherent value of carbon fibre reinforcement; whereas for glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP), mechanical recycling, by means of milling and grinding processes, has been considered a more viable recycling method [1-2]. Though, at the moment, few solutions in the reuse of mechanically-recycled GFRP composites into valueadded products are being explored. Aiming filling this gap, in this study, a new waste management solution for thermoset GFRP based products was assessed. The mechanical recycling approach, with reduction of GFRP waste to powdered and fibrous materials was applied, and the potential added value of obtained recyclates was experimentally investigated as raw material for polyester based mortars. The use of a cementless concrete as host material for GFRP recyclates, instead of a conventional Portland cement based concrete, presents an important asset in avoiding the eventual incompatibility problems arisen from alkalis silica reaction between glass fibres and cementious binder matrix. Additionally, due to hermetic nature of resin binder, polymer based concretes present greater ability for incorporating recycled waste products [3]. Under this scope, different GFRP waste admixed polymer mortar (PM) formulations were analyzed varying the size grading and content of GFRP powder and fibre mix waste. Added value of potential recycling solution was assessed by means of flexural and compressive loading capacities of modified mortars with regard to waste-free polymer mortars

A case study on the eco-efficiency performance of a composite processing industry: evaluation and quantification of potential improvements

In this study, an attempt was made in order to measure and evaluate the eco-efficiency performance of a pultruded composite processing company. For this purpose the recommendations of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WCSD) and the directives of ISO 14301 standard were followed and applied. The main general indicators of eco-efficiency, as well as the specific indicators, were defined and determined. With basis on indicators’ figures, the value profile, the environmental profile, and the pertinent eco-efficiency ratios were established and analyzed. In order to evaluate potential improvements on company eco-performance, new indicators values and eco-efficiency ratios were estimated taking into account the implementation of new proceedings and procedures, at both upstream and downstream of the production process, namely: i) Adoption of a new heating system for pultrusion die-tool in the manufacturing process, more effective and with minor heat losses; ii) Recycling approach, with partial waste reuse of scrap material derived from manufacturing, cutting and assembly processes of GFRP profiles. These features lead to significant improvements on the sequent assessed eco-efficiency ratios of the present case study, yielding to a more sustainable product and manufacturing process of pultruded GFRP profiles

Extremal black holes in D=5: SUSY vs. Gauss-Bonnet corrections

We analyse near-horizon solutions and compare the results for the black hole entropy of five-dimensional spherically symmetric extremal black holes when the N=2 SUGRA actions are supplied with two different types of higher-order corrections: (1) supersymmetric completion of gravitational Chern-Simons term, and (2) Gauss-Bonnet term. We show that for large BPS black holes lowest order \alpha' corrections to the entropy are the same, but for non-BPS are generally different. We pay special attention to the class of prepotentials connected with K3\times T^2 and T^6 compactifications. For supersymmetric correction we find beside BPS also a set of non-BPS solutions. In the particular case of T^6 compactification (equivalent to the heterotic string on $T^4\times S^1$) we find the (almost) complete set of solutions (with exception of some non-BPS small black holes), and show that entropy of small black holes is different from statistical entropy obtained by counting of microstates of heterotic string theory. We also find complete set of solutions for K3\times T^2 and T^6 case when correction is given by Gauss-Bonnet term. Contrary to four-dimensional case, obtained entropy is different from the one with supersymmetric correction. We show that in Gauss-Bonnet case entropy of small ``BPS'' black holes agrees with microscopic entropy in the known cases.Comment: 28 pages; minor changes, version to appear in JHE

Vertex Cover Kernelization Revisited: Upper and Lower Bounds for a Refined Parameter

An important result in the study of polynomial-time preprocessing shows that there is an algorithm which given an instance (G,k) of Vertex Cover outputs an equivalent instance (G',k') in polynomial time with the guarantee that G' has at most 2k' vertices (and thus O((k')^2) edges) with k' <= k. Using the terminology of parameterized complexity we say that k-Vertex Cover has a kernel with 2k vertices. There is complexity-theoretic evidence that both 2k vertices and Theta(k^2) edges are optimal for the kernel size. In this paper we consider the Vertex Cover problem with a different parameter, the size fvs(G) of a minimum feedback vertex set for G. This refined parameter is structurally smaller than the parameter k associated to the vertex covering number vc(G) since fvs(G) <= vc(G) and the difference can be arbitrarily large. We give a kernel for Vertex Cover with a number of vertices that is cubic in fvs(G): an instance (G,X,k) of Vertex Cover, where X is a feedback vertex set for G, can be transformed in polynomial time into an equivalent instance (G',X',k') such that |V(G')| <= 2k and |V(G')| <= O(|X'|^3). A similar result holds when the feedback vertex set X is not given along with the input. In sharp contrast we show that the Weighted Vertex Cover problem does not have a polynomial kernel when parameterized by the cardinality of a given vertex cover of the graph unless NP is in coNP/poly and the polynomial hierarchy collapses to the third level.Comment: Published in "Theory of Computing Systems" as an Open Access publicatio

Fundamental Superstrings as Holograms

The worldsheet of a macroscopic fundamental superstring in the Green-Schwarz light-cone gauge is viewed as a possible boundary hologram of the near horizon region of a small black string. For toroidally compactified strings, the hologram has global symmetries of AdS_3 \times S^{d-1} \times T^{8-d}, (d =3,..,8), only some of which extend to local conformal symmetries. We construct the bulk string theory in detail for the particular case of d=3. The symmetries of the hologram are correctly reproduced from this exact worldsheet description in the bulk. Moreover, the central charge of the boundary Virasoro algebra obtained from the bulk agrees with the Wald entropy of the associated small black holes. This construction provides an exact CFT description of the near horizon region of small black holes both in Type-II and heterotic string theory arising from multiply wound fundamental superstrings.Comment: 46 pages, JHEP style. v2: Comments, references adde