10,227 research outputs found
Biobutanol as Fuel for Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells-Investigation of Sn-Modified Pt Catalyst for Butanol Electro-oxidation
Direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) mostly use low molecular weight alcohols such as methanol and ethanol as fuels. However, short-chain alcohol molecules have a relative high membrane crossover rate in DAFCs and a low energy density. Long chain alcohols such as butanol have a higher energy density, as well as a lower membrane crossover rate compared to methanol and ethanol. Although a significant number of studies have been dedicated to low molecular weight alcohols in DAFCs, very few studies are available for longer chain alcohols such as butanol. A significant development in the production of biobutanol and its proposed application as an alternative fuel to gasoline in the past decade makes butanol an interesting candidate fuel for fuel cells. Different butanol isomers were compared in this study on various Pt and PtSn bimetallic catalysts for their electro-oxidation activities in acidic media. Clear distinctive behaviors were observed for each of the different butanol isomers using cyclic voltammetry (CV), indicating a difference in activity and the mechanism of oxidation. The voltammograms of both n-butanol and iso-butanol showed similar characteristic features, indicating a similar reaction mechanism, whereas 2-butanol showed completely different features; for example, it did not show any indication of poisoning. Ter-butanol was found to be inactive for oxidation on Pt. In situ FTIR and CV analysis showed that OHads was essential for the oxidation of primary butanol isomers which only forms at high potentials on Pt. In order to enhance the water oxidation and produce OHads at lower potentials, Pt was modified by the oxophilic metal Sn and the bimetallic PtSn was studied for the oxidation of butanol isomers. A significant enhancement in the oxidation of the 1° butanol isomers was observed on addition of Sn to the Pt, resulting in an oxidation peak at a potential ?520 mV lower than that found on pure Pt. The higher activity of PtSn was attributed to the bifunctional mechanism on PtSn catalyst. The positive influence of Sn was also confirmed in the PtSn nanoparticle catalyst prepared by the modification of commercial Pt/C nanoparticle and a higher activity was observed for PtSn (3:1) composition. The temperature-dependent data showed that the activation energy for butanol oxidation reaction over PtSn/C is lower than that over Pt/C
Simplified approach to the application of the geometric collective model
The predictions of the geometric collective model (GCM) for different sets of
Hamiltonian parameter values are related by analytic scaling relations. For the
quartic truncated form of the GCM -- which describes harmonic oscillator,
rotor, deformed gamma-soft, and intermediate transitional structures -- these
relations are applied to reduce the effective number of model parameters from
four to two. Analytic estimates of the dependence of the model predictions upon
these parameters are derived. Numerical predictions over the entire parameter
space are compactly summarized in two-dimensional contour plots. The results
considerably simplify the application of the GCM, allowing the parameters
relevant to a given nucleus to be deduced essentially by inspection. A
precomputed mesh of calculations covering this parameter space and an
associated computer code for extracting observable values are made available
through the Electronic Physics Auxiliary Publication Service. For illustration,
the nucleus 102Pd is considered.Comment: RevTeX 4, 15 pages, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Superconductivity in a layered cobalt oxyhydrate NaCoO1.3HO
We report the electrical, magnetic and thermal measurements on a layered
cobalt oxyhydrate NaCoO1.3HO. Bulk superconductivity
at 4.3 K has been confirmed, however, the measured superconducting fraction is
relatively low probably due to the sample's intrinsic two-dimensional
characteristic. The compound exhibits weak-coupled and extreme type-II
superconductivity with the average energy gap and the
Ginzburg-Landau parameter of 0.50 meV and 140,
respectively. The normalized electronic specific heat data in the
superconducting state well fit the dependence, suggesting point nodes
for the superconducting gap structure.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Spin-charge gauge approach to metal-insulator crossover and transport properties in High-T cuprates
The spin-charge gauge approach to consider the metal-insulator crossover
(MIC) and other anomalous transport properties in High-T cuprates is
briefly reviewed. A U(1) field gauging the global charge symmetry and an SU(2)
field gauging the global spin-rotational symmetry are introduced to study the
two-dimensional model in the limit . The MIC as a clue to the
understanding of the ``pseudogap'' (PG) phase, is attributed to the competition
between the short-range antiferromagnetic order and dissipative motion of
charge carriers coupled to the slave-particle gauge field. The composite
particle formed by binding the charge carrier (holon) and spin excitation
(spinon) via the slave particle gauge field exhibits a number of peculiar
properties, and the calculated results are in good agreement with experimental
data for both PG and ``strange metal'' phases. Connections to other gauge field
approaches in studying the strong correlation problem are also briefly
outlined.Comment: 32 pages, to appear in the special issue on "Correlated Electrons" of
J. Phys.: Condens. Mat
Can we identify non-stationary dynamics of trial-to-trial variability?"
Identifying sources of the apparent variability in non-stationary scenarios is a fundamental problem in many biological data analysis settings. For instance, neurophysiological responses to the same task often vary from each repetition of the same experiment (trial) to the next. The origin and functional role of this observed variability is one of the fundamental questions in neuroscience. The nature of such trial-to-trial dynamics however remains largely elusive to current data analysis approaches. A range of strategies have been proposed in modalities such as electro-encephalography but gaining a fundamental insight into latent sources of trial-to-trial variability in neural recordings is still a major challenge. In this paper, we present a proof-of-concept study to the analysis of trial-to-trial variability dynamics founded on non-autonomous dynamical systems. At this initial stage, we evaluate the capacity of a simple statistic based on the behaviour of trajectories in classification settings, the trajectory coherence, in order to identify trial-to-trial dynamics. First, we derive the conditions leading to observable changes in datasets generated by a compact dynamical system (the Duffing equation). This canonical system plays the role of a ubiquitous model of non-stationary supervised classification problems. Second, we estimate the coherence of class-trajectories in empirically reconstructed space of system states. We show how this analysis can discern variations attributable to non-autonomous deterministic processes from stochastic fluctuations. The analyses are benchmarked using simulated and two different real datasets which have been shown to exhibit attractor dynamics. As an illustrative example, we focused on the analysis of the rat's frontal cortex ensemble dynamics during a decision-making task. Results suggest that, in line with recent hypotheses, rather than internal noise, it is the deterministic trend which most likely underlies the observed trial-to-trial variability. Thus, the empirical tool developed within this study potentially allows us to infer the source of variability in in-vivo neural recordings
Discovery of Very High Energy Gamma Rays from 1ES 1440+122
The BL Lacertae object 1ES 1440+122 was observed in the energy range from 85
GeV to 30 TeV by the VERITAS array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes.
The observations, taken between 2008 May and 2010 June and totalling 53 hours,
resulted in the discovery of -ray emission from the blazar, which has a
redshift =0.163. 1ES 1440+122 is detected at a statistical significance of
5.5 standard deviations above the background with an integral flux of
(2.8) 10
cm s (1.2\% of the Crab Nebula's flux) above 200 GeV. The
measured spectrum is described well by a power law from 0.2 TeV to 1.3 TeV with
a photon index of 3.1 0.4 0.2.
Quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope
(0.3--300 GeV) and the Swift X-ray Telescope (0.2--10 keV) are additionally
used to model the properties of the emission region. A synchrotron self-Compton
model produces a good representation of the multi-wavelength data. Adding an
external-Compton or a hadronic component also adequately describes the data.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
LHC String Phenomenology
We argue that it is possible to address the deeper LHC Inverse Problem, to
gain insight into the underlying theory from LHC signatures of new physics. We
propose a technique which may allow us to distinguish among, and favor or
disfavor, various classes of underlying theoretical constructions using
(assumed) new physics signals at the LHC. We think that this can be done with
limited data , and improved with more data. This is because of
two reasons -- a) it is possible in many cases to reliably go from
(semi)realistic microscopic string construction to the space of experimental
observables, say, LHC signatures. b) The patterns of signatures at the LHC are
sensitive to the structure of the underlying theoretical constructions. We
illustrate our approach by analyzing two promising classes of string
compactifications along with six other string-motivated constructions. Even
though these constructions are not complete, they illustrate the point we want
to emphasize. We think that using this technique effectively over time can
eventually help us to meaningfully connect experimental data to microscopic
theory.Comment: 50 Pages, 13 Figures, 3 Tables, v2: minor changes, references adde
VERITAS and Multiwavelength Observations of the BL Lacertae Object 1ES 1741+196
We present results from multiwavelength observations of the BL Lacertae
object 1ES 1741+196, including results in the very-high-energy -ray
regime using the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System
(VERITAS). The VERITAS time-averaged spectrum, measured above 180 GeV, is
well-modelled by a power law with a spectral index of
. The integral flux above 180
GeV is
m s, corresponding to 1.6% of the Crab Nebula flux on average.
The multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of the source suggests that
1ES 1741+196 is an extreme-high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object. The
observations analysed in this paper extend over a period of six years, during
which time no strong flares were observed in any band. This analysis is
therefore one of the few characterizations of a blazar in a non-flaring state.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Sanitation of blackwater via sequential wetland and electrochemical treatment
The discharge of untreated septage is a major health hazard in countries that lack sewer systems and centralized sewage treatment. Small-scale, point-source treatment units are needed for water treatment and disinfection due to the distributed nature of this discharge, i.e., from single households or community toilets. In this study, a high-rate-wetland coupled with an electrochemical system was developed and demonstrated to treat septage at full scale. The full-scale wetland on average removed 79 +/- 2% chemical oxygen demand (COD), 30 +/- 5% total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), 58 +/- 4% total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN), and 78 +/- 4% orthophosphate. Pathogens such as coliforms were not fully removed after passage through the wetland. Therefore, the wetland effluent was subsequently treated with an electrochemical cell with a cation exchange membrane where the effluent first passed through the anodic chamber. This lead to in situ chlorine or other oxidant production under acidifying conditions. Upon a residence time of at least 6 h of this anodic effluent in a buffer tank, the fluid was sent through the cathodic chamber where pH neutralization occurred. Overall, the combined system removed 89 +/- 1% COD, 36 +/- 5% TKN, 70 +/- 2% TAN, and 87 +/- 2% ortho-phosphate. An average 5-log unit reduction in coliform was observed. The energy input for the integrated system was on average 16 +/- 3 kWh/m(3), and 11 kWh/m(3) under optimal conditions. Further research is required to optimize the system in terms of stability and energy consumption
A Detailed Study on the Equal Arrival Time Surface Effect in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
Due to the relativistic motion of gamma-ray burst remnant and its
deceleration in the circumburst medium, the equal arrival time surfaces at any
moment are not spherical, but should be distorted ellipsoids. This will leave
some imprints in the afterglows. In this article, we study the effect of equal
arrival time surfaces numerically under various conditions, i.e., for isotropic
fireballs, collimated jets, density jump conditions, and energy injection
events. For each condition, direct comparison between the two instances when
the effect is and is not included, is presented. For isotropic fireballs and
jets viewed on axis, the effect slightly hardens the spectra and postpones the
peak time of afterglows, but does not change the shapes of the spectra and
light curves significantly. In the cases when a density jump or an energy
injection is involved, the effect smears the variability of the afterglows
markedly.Comment: Accepted for publication in: Chin. J. Astron. Astrophys., 15 pages, 8
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