The effects of supercritical CO2 on the seepage characteristics and microstructure of water-bearing bituminous coal at in-situ stress conditions

CO2 geological storage (CGS) is considered to be an important technology for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutralization goals. Injecting CO2 into deep unminable coal seams can achieve both CGS and enhance coalbed methane (ECBM) production. Therefore, the deep unminable coal seams are considered as promising geological reservoirs. CO2 exists in a supercritical CO2 (ScCO2) when it was injected into deep unminable coal seams. The injection of ScCO2 can induce changes in the seepage characteristics and microstructure of deep water-bearing coal seams. In this study, typical bituminous coal from Shenmu, Shanxi Province was used to investigate the effects of ScCO2 on seepage characteristics, pore characteristics, and mineral composition through experiments such as seepage tests, low-temperature liquid nitrogen adsorption, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that ScCO2 treatment of dry and saturated coal samples caused a significant increase in clay mineral content due to the dissolution of carbonates, leading to the conversion of adsorption pores to seepage pores and an improvement in seepage pore connectivity. Therefore, the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area and pore volume of the two coal samples both decreased after ScCO2 treatment. Moreover, the permeability of dry and saturated coal samples increased by 191.53% and 231.71% at 10 MPa effective stress respectively. In semi-saturated coal samples, a large amount of dolomite dissolved, leading to the precipitation of Ca2+ and CO32- to form calcite. This caused pore throats to clog and macropores to divide. The results show that the pore volume and average pore size of coal samples decrease, while the specific surface area increases after ScCO2 treatment, providing more space for gas adsorption. However, the pore changes also reduced the permeability of the coal samples by 32.21% and 7.72% at effective stresses of 3 MPa and 10 MPa, respectively. The results enhance our understanding of carbon sequestration through ScCO2 injection into water-bearing bituminous coal seams

Particle-hole asymmetric superconducting coherence peaks in overdoped cuprates

To elucidate the superconductor to metal transition at the end of superconducting dome, the overdoped regime has stepped onto the center stage of cuprate research recently. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy to investigate the atomic-scale electronic structure of overdoped trilayer Bi-2223 and bilayer Bi-2212 cuprates. At low energies the spectroscopic maps are well described by dispersive quasiparticle interference patterns. However, as the bias increases to the superconducting coherence peak energy, a virtually non-dispersive pattern with sqrt(2)*sqrt(2) periodicity emerges. Remarkably, the position of the coherence peaks exhibits evident particle-hole asymmetry which also modulates with the same period. We propose that this is an extreme quasiparticle interference phenomenon, caused by pairing-breaking scattering between flat anti-nodal Bogoliubov bands, which is ultimately responsible for the superconductor to metal transition.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Intrinsic Electronic Structure and Nodeless Superconducting Gap of YBa2Cu3O7−δ\mathrm{YBa_{2} Cu_{3} O_{7-\delta} } Observed by Spatially-Resolved Laser-Based Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

The spatially-resolved laser-based high resolution ARPES measurements have been performed on the optimally-doped $\mathrm{YBa_{2} Cu_{3} O_{7-\delta} }$ (Y123) superconductor. For the first time, we found the region from the cleaved surface that reveals clear bulk electronic properties. The intrinsic Fermi surface and band structures of Y123 are observed. The Fermi surface-dependent and momentum-dependent superconducting gap is determined which is nodeless and consistent with the d+is gap form

Electronic Origin of High-Tc Maximization and Persistence in Trilayer Cuprate Superconductors

In high temperature cuprate superconductors, it was found that the superconducting transition temperature Tc depends on the number of CuO2 planes (n) in the structural unit and the maximum Tc is realized in the trilayer system (n=3). It was also found that the trilayer superconductors exhibit an unusual phase diagram that Tc keeps nearly constant in the overdoped region which is in strong contrast to the Tc decrease usually found in other cuprate superconductors. The electronic origin of the Tc maximization in the trilayer superconductors and its high Tc persistence in the overdoped region remains unclear. By taking high resolution laser-based angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) measurements, here we report our revelation of the microscopic origin of the unusual superconducting properties in the trilayer superconductors. For the first time we have observed the trilayer splitting in Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+d (Bi2223) superconductor. The observed Fermi surface, band structures, superconducting gap and the selective Bogoliubov band hybridizations can be well described by a three-layer interaction model. Quantitative information of the microscopic processes involving intra- and interlayer hoppings and pairings are extracted. The electronic origin of the maximum Tc in Bi2223 and the persistence of the high Tc in the overdoped region is revealed. These results provide key insights in understanding high Tc superconductivity and pave a way to further enhance Tc in the cuprate superconductors

Ubiquitous Coexisting Electron-Mode Couplings in High Temperature Cuprate Superconductors

In conventional superconductors, the electron-phonon coupling plays a dominant role in pairing the electrons and generating superconductivity. In high temperature cuprate superconductors, the existence of the electron coupling with phonons and other boson modes and its role in producing high temperature superconductivity remain unclear. The evidence of the electron-boson coupling mainly comes from the angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) observations of the ~70meV nodal dispersion kink and the ~40meV antinodal kink. However, the reported results are sporadic and the nature of the involved bosons are still under debate. Here we report new findings of ubiquitous two coexisting electron-mode couplings in cuprate superconductors. By taking ultra-high resolution laser-based ARPES measurements, combined with the improved second derivative analysis method, we discovered that the electrons are coupled simultaneously with two sharp phonon modes with energies of ~70meV and ~40meV in different superconductors with different doping levels, over the entire momentum space and at different temperatures above and below the superconducting transition temperature. The observed electron-phonon couplings are unusual because the associated energy scales do not exhibit an obvious change across the superconducting transition. We further find that the well-known "peak-dip-hump" structure, which has long been considered as a hallmark of superconductivity, is also omnipresent and consists of finer structures that originates from electron coupling with two sharp phonon modes. These comprehensive results provide a unified picture to reconcile all the reported observations and pinpoint the origin of the electron-mode couplings in cuprate superconductors. They provide key information to understand the role of the electron-phonon coupling in generating high temperature superconductivity

Feel data: Public data visualization as a medium to motivate data donation

In our everyday activities, trackers and IoT devices are recording an increasing amount of data in the wild. It is believed that incorporating these data will contribute to more inclusive products and services as well as stimulate designers' creativity. As a result of the General Data Protection Regulation, users can now access their data and take the control of its usage. Under such circumstances, one can freely donate personal data for research purposes. Moreover, users have the opportunity to utilize their data more efficiently and to be aware of the importance of their privacy. This project is about exploring how an effective public data visualization could be designed to encourage more people to donate personal data at the very beginning of the data collection process, with a limit on the amount of data that may be manipulated. Students who are not experts in data visualization are the target audience. And the brightspace platform is chosen since it is the simplest and most convenient way for students to receive faculty notifications. As data visualization outcomes and people's willingness to donate data vary depending on the type of data, according to the research insights, this project focuses exclusively on public photo visualizations. A series of two design iterations was conducted in order to leverage the intrinsic motivation of students to donate photos of their home working environment to be used for research purposes. This project explores motivation from the perspective of self-determination theory, and proposes criteria and design directions for designing photo visualizations for behavior change purpose. In this study, the author identified five fundamental needs, including autonomy, competence, connectedness, purpose, and stimulation in order to evaluate data visualization's effects on the intimate data donation experience. Autonomy: Donors should feel free to choose the type of photos they want to donate. Their photos can also be used to express themselves creatively. Competence: Users should feel their photos are needed for the visualization. Relatedness: Users could feel connected with the visualization platform as they explored or interacted with it. Additionally, they believe they could build relationships by donating photos. Purpose: Users believe that donating their photos is meaningful to themselves or to researchers who require them. Stimulation: The way to ask for their donation is novel. And the entire experience with this visualization platform is enjoyable and interesting.Through the study of three types of photo visualization, it was discovered that whether the visualization is explanation dominant or exploration dominant has an impact on users' willingness and results in varying types of photo donations. Further, design directions for effective self-determined public photo visualization in terms of information, function, and visual form were synthesized as a starting point for more future data visualization projects to motivate autonomous data donation behavior.Design for Interactio