XAS study of the local environment of impurities in doped TiO2 thin films

In this work we present an X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy characterization of the local environment of the impurity in room temperature ferromagnetic anatase TiO2 thin films doped with Co, Ni, Cu, or Zn, deposited on LaAlO3 substrate by Pulsed Laser Deposition. It was found that there is a considerable amount of impurity atoms substituting Ti in TiO2 anatase, although the presence of metal transition monoxide clusters can not be discarded. From our results we infer that the observed room temperature ferromagnetism of the samples could be assigned to the metal transition atoms replacing Ti in TiO2 anatase.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, Physica B (in press

Search for high-mass resonances in the dilepton final state in p-p collisions at √s = 13TeV with 2016 and 2017 data sets with the CMS detector

A search for new high-mass resonances decaying into electron or muon pairs has been performed using data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 13fb−1; preliminary results using 2017 data, corresponding to 43fb−1, are shown. Upper limits on the product of production cross-section and branching fraction are calculated in a model-independent manner which permits the interpretation of the limits in all models predicting a narrow dielectron or dimuon resonance structure, including the Sequential Standard Model, a Superstring inspired model or the Randall-Sundrum Model with the Kaluza-Klein graviton. Limits are set on the masses of hypothetical particles that could appear in new-physics scenarios

Appearance of room temperature ferromagnetism in Cu-doped TiO2−δ_{2-\delta} films

In recent years there has been an intense search for room temperature ferromagnetism in doped dilute semiconductors, which have many potentially applications in spintronics and optoelectronics. We report here the unexpected observation of significant room temperature ferromagnetism in a semiconductor doped with nonmagnetic impurities, Cu-doped TiO$_2$ thin films grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition. The magnetic moment, calculated from the magnetization curves, resulted surprisingly large, about 1.5 $\mu_B$ per Cu atom. A large magnetic moment was also obtained from ab initio calculations using the supercell method for TiO$_2$ with Cu impurities, but only if an oxygen vacancy in the nearest-neighbour shell of Cu was present. This result suggests that the role of oxygen vacancies is crucial for the appearance of ferromagnetism. The calculations also predict that Cu doping favours the formation of oxygen vacancies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published in Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Comm.

Passive vibration control of tyres using embedded mechanical resonators

An investigation is carried out on structure-borne vibration and noise propagation of tyres’ models at low frequencies. The idea is to use embedded resonant meta-materials to damp the tyres’ vibrations and thus reduce the transferred energy to the main attached structures. A simplified tyre model is used, being the investigation of the effects of the embedded substructures the main target of the work; internal pressure and tyre rotation effects are neglected at this stage. Different configurations are tested targeting different natural modes of the tyre, while mechanical excitation is assumed on one section of the tyres. The results show how the proposed designs are a feasible solution for vibration control

The modelling of the flow-induced vibrations of periodic flat and axial-symmetric structures with a wave-based method

International audienceThe stochastic response of periodic flat and axial-symmetric structures, subjected to random and spatially-correlated loads, is here analysed through an approach based on the combination of a wave finite element and a transfer matrix method. Although giving a lower computational cost, the present approach keeps the same accuracy of classic finite element methods. When dealing with homogeneous structures, the accuracy is also extended to higher frequencies, without increasing the time of calculation. Depending on the complexity of the structure and the frequency range, the computational cost can be reduced more than two orders of magnitude. The presented methodology is validated both for simple and complex structural shapes, under deterministic and random loads

Investigations about periodic design for broadband increased sound transmission loss of sandwich panels using 3D-printed models

International audienceTwo types of sandwich panels are designed by using the periodic structure theory. A double-wall panel with mechanical links and a sandwich panel with rectangular core are studied. An oriented optimization of the elastic bending waves' propagation versus the acoustic wavenumbers is achieved by using shifted core walls and by keeping the mass and stiffness of the system constant. Standard and optimized configurations are 3D-printed and sound transmission measurements are carried out by using a facility with an uncoupled reverberant-anechoic configuration. The experimental evidences of enlarged bending band-gaps and deformation mechanisms are proved using a reverse approach based on the acoustic radiation of the panels

A WFE and Hybrid FE/WFE technique for the Forced Response of Stiffened Cylinders

International audienceThe present work shows many aspects concerning the use of a numerical wave-based methodology for the computation of the structural response of periodic structures, focusing on cylinders. Taking into account the periodicity of the system, the Bloch-Floquet theorem can be applied leading to an eigenvalue problem, whose solutions are the waves propagation constants and wavemodes of the periodic structure. Two different approaches are presented, instead, for computing the forced response of stiffened structures. The first one, dealing with a Wave Finite Element (WFE) methodology, proved to drastically reduce the problem size in terms of degrees of freedom, with respect to more mature techniques such as the classic FEM. The other approach presented enables the use of the previous technique even when the whole structure can not be considered as periodic. This is the case when two waveguides are connected through one or more joints and/or different waveguides are connected each other. Any approach presented can deal with deterministic excitations and responses in any point. The results show a good agreement with FEM full models. The drastic reduction of DoF (degrees of freedom) is evident, even more when the number of repetitive substructures is high and the substructures itself is modelled in order to get the lowest number of DoF at the boundaries

Simulating the sound transmission loss of complex curved panels with attached noise control materials using periodic cell wavemodes

International audienceThe sound transmission loss of complex curved aircraft panels under diffuse acoustic field excitation is experimentally and numerically studied. Two different aircraft sidewall panels are considered: a thick composite sandwich panel and a thin aluminium panel with stiffening elements (stringers and frames). Both bare configuration and with attached soundproofing material are tested in laboratory conditions in coupled rooms. The numerical approach relies on a wave finite element method including modal order reduction at cell scale and an extension based on the transfer matrix method, for the inclusion of poroelastic treatments. The results obtained show that the proposed numerical scheme is efficient for predicting the sound transmission loss of such complex structures

The problem of a metal impurity in an oxide: ab-initio study of electronic and structural properties of Cd in Rutile TiO2

In this work we undertake the problem of a transition metal impurity in an oxide. We present an ab-initio study of the relaxations introduced in TiO2 when a Cd impurity replaces substitutionally a Ti atom. Using the Full-Potential Linearized-Augmented-Plane-Wave method we obtain relaxed structures for different charge states of the impurity and computed the electric-field gradients (EFGs) at the Cd site. We find that EFGs, and also relaxations, are dependent on the charge state of the impurity. This dependence is very remarkable in the case of the EFG and is explained analyzing the electronic structure of the studied system. We predict fairly anisotropic relaxations for the nearest oxygen neighbors of the Cd impurity. The experimental confirmation of this prediction and a brief report of these calculations have recently been presented [P.R.L. 89, 55503 (2002)]. Our results for relaxations and EFGs are in clear contradiction with previous studies of this system that assumed isotropic relaxations and point out that no simple model is viable to describe relaxations and the EFG at Cd in TiO2 even approximately.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, Revtex 4, published in Physical Review

Quantitative determination of free D-Asp, L-Asp and N-methyl-D-aspartate in mouse brain tissues by chiral separation and Multiple Reaction Monitoring tandem mass spectrometry

Several studies have suggested that free D-Asp has a crucial role in N-methyl D-Asp receptor-mediated neurotransmission playing very important functions in physiological and pathological processes. This paper describes the development of an analytical procedure for the direct and simultaneous determination of free D-Asp, L-Asp and N-methyl D-Asp in specimens of different mouse brain tissues using chiral LC-MS/MS in Multiple Reaction Monitoring scan mode. After comparing three procedures and different buffers and extraction solvents, a simple preparation procedure was selected the analytes of extraction. The method was validated by analyzing L-Asp, D-Asp and N-methyl D-Asp recovery at different spiked concentrations (50, 100 and 200 pg/μl) yielding satisfactory recoveries (75-110%), and good repeatability. Limits of detection (LOD) resulted to be 0.52 pg/μl for D-Asp, 0.46 pg/μl for L-Asp and 0.54 pg/μl for NMDA, respectively. Limits of quantification (LOQ) were 1.57 pg/μl for D-Asp, 1.41 pg/μl for L-Asp and 1.64 pg/μl for NMDA, respectively. Different concentration levels were used for constructing the calibration curves which showed good linearity. The validated method was then successfully applied to the simultaneous detection of D-Asp, L-Asp and NMDA in mouse brain tissues. The concurrent, sensitive, fast, and reproducible measurement of these metabolites in brain tissues will be useful to correlate the amount of free D-Asp with relevant neurological processes, making the LC-MS/MS MRM method well suited, not only for research work but also for clinical analyses