Recent advances in the study of biocorrosion: an overview Avanços recentes no estudo da biocorrosão: uma revisão

Biocorrosion processes at metal surfaces are associated with microorganisms, or the products of their metabolic activities including enzymes, exopolymers, organic and inorganic acids, as well as volatile compounds such as ammonia or hydrogen sulfide. These can affect cathodic and/or anodic reactions, thus altering electrochemistry at the biofilm/metal interface. Various mechanisms of biocorrosion, reflecting the variety of physiological activities carried out by different types of microorganisms, are identified and recent insights into these mechanisms reviewed. Many modern investigations have centered on the microbially-influenced corrosion of ferrous and copper alloys and particular microorganisms of interest have been the sulfate-reducing bacteria and metal (especially manganese)-depositing bacteria. The importance of microbial consortia and the role of extracellular polymeric substances in biocorrosion are emphasized. The contribution to the study of biocorrosion of modern analytical techniques, such as atomic force microscopy, Auger electron, X-ray photoelectron and Mössbauer spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and microsensors, is discussed.<br>Processos de biocorrosão na superfície de metais são associados com microrganismos ou com os seus produtos metabólicos, tais como: enzimas, exopolímeros, ácidos orgânicos e inorgânicos, e compostos voláteis como amônio ou sulfeto de hidrogênio. Todos estes produtos podem afetar reações catódicas e/ou anódicas, alterando processos eletroquímicos na interface biofilme/metal. Esta revisão discute diversos mecanismos de biocorrosão causados pelos diferentes atividades fisiológicas associadas com microrganismos e os conhecimentos mais recentes. Estudos modernos da corrosão microbiologicamente influenciada focalizam problemas em ligas de ferro e de cobre. Microrganismos especialmente enfocados são as bactérias redutoras de sulfato e bactérias que depositam metais, destacando aquelas que depositam manganês. A importância de consórcios microbianos e o papel de substâncias poliméricas extracelulares na biocorrosão são enfatizados nesta revisão. Considera-se a contribuição de técnicas analíticas modernas, tais como microscopia de força atómica, espectroscopia Auger, espectroscopia de raio-X, espectroscopia Mössbauer, espectroscopia de infra-vermelho de reflectância total com transformação de Fourier e microsensores

Search for Eccentric Black Hole Coalescences during the Third Observing Run of LIGO and Virgo

International audienceDespite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass $M>70$$M_\odot$) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities $0 < e \leq 0.3$ at $0.33$ Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$ at 90% confidence level

Search for Eccentric Black Hole Coalescences during the Third Observing Run of LIGO and Virgo

International audienceDespite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass $M>70$$M_\odot$) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities $0 < e \leq 0.3$ at $0.33$ Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$ at 90% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

International audienceAmong the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for $U(1)_{B-L}$ gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the $U(1)_{B-L}$ gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM