616 research outputs found
Effects of photon reabsorption phenomena in confocal micro-photoluminescence measurements in crystalline silicon
Confocal micro-photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy has become a powerful characterization technique for studying novel photovoltaic (PV) materials and structures at the micrometer level. In this work, we present a comprehensive study about the effects and implications of photon reabsorption phenomena on confocal micro-PL measurements in crystalline silicon (c-Si), the workhorse material of the PV industry. First, supported by theoretical calculations, we show that the level of reabsorption is intrinsically linked to the selected experimental parameters, i.e., focusing lens, pinhole aperture, and excitation wavelength, as they define the spatial extension of the confocal detection volume, and therefore, the effective photon traveling distance before collection. Second, we also show that certain sample properties such as the reflectance and/or the surface recombination velocity can also have a relevant impact on reabsorption. Due to the direct relationship between the reabsorption level and the spectral line shape of the resulting PL emission signal, reabsorption phenomena play a paramount role in certain types of micro-PL measurements. This is demonstrated by means of two practical and current examples studied using confocal PL, namely, the estimation of doping densities in c-Si and the study of back-surface and/or back-contacted Si devices such as interdigitated back contact solar cells, where reabsorption processes should be taken into account for the proper interpretation and quantification of the obtained PL data.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
On the upstream mobility scheme for two-phase flow in porous media
When neglecting capillarity, two-phase incompressible flow in porous media is
modelled as a scalar nonlinear hyperbolic conservation law. A change in the
rock type results in a change of the flux function. Discretizing in
one-dimensional with a finite volume method, we investigate two numerical
fluxes, an extension of the Godunov flux and the upstream mobility flux, the
latter being widely used in hydrogeology and petroleum engineering. Then, in
the case of a changing rock type, one can give examples when the upstream
mobility flux does not give the right answer.Comment: A preprint to be published in Computational Geoscience
A Global Forum on Ultramafic Ecosystems: From Ultramafic Ecology to Rehabilitation of Degraded Environments
The 9th International Conference on Serpentine Ecology (ICSE) was held in Tirana and Pogradec (Albania) from June 5 to 9, 2017. More than 100 delegates from 29 countries around the world gathered to present their research on recent advances in: (i) ultramafic soils, (ii) biogeochemistry, (iii) diversity of ultramafic flora, microflora and fauna, (iv) ecophysiology of ultramafic-adapted organisms, (v) interactions between ultramafic organisms and their ecology, (vi) nature rehabilitation of degraded ultramafic environments (resulting from mining activities), and (vii) the production of bio-based metals through agromining technology. Additionally, the ICSE featured the first symposium on ultramafic aquatic ecology and ecotoxicology. Albania has one of the most diverse ultramafic floras in Europe. During the conference delegates visited some of the most emblematic ultramafic sites in Albania as well as the first agromining field trial in Europe. Here, we present the major topics and provide some highlights of the 25 contributions in this Special Issue (Vol. 33 no.3 and 4)
Old lineage on an old island : Pixibinthus, a new cricket genus endemic to New Caledonia shed light on gryllid diversification in a hotspot of biodiversity
Few studies have focused on the early colonization of New Caledonia by insects, after the re-emergence of the main island, 37 Myr ago. Here we investigate the mode and tempo of evolution of a new endemic cricket genus, Pixibinthus, recently discovered in southern New Caledonia. First we formally describe this new monotypic genus found exclusively in the open shrubby vegetation on metalliferous soils, named 'maquis minier', unique to New Caledonia. We then reconstruct a dated molecular phylogeny based on five mitochondrial and four nuclear loci in order to establish relationships of Pixibinthus within Eneopterinae crickets. Pixibinthus is recovered as thesister clade of the endemic genus Agnotecous, mostly rainforest-dwellers. Dating results show that the island colonization by their common ancestor occurred around 34.7 Myr, shortly after New Caledonia re-emergence. Pixibinthus and Agnotecous are then one of the oldest insect lineages documented so far for New Caledonia. This discovery highlights for the first time two clear-cut ecological specializations between sister clades, as Agnotecous is mainly found in rainforests with 19 species, whereas Pixibinthus is found in open habitats with a single documented species. The preference of Pixibinthus for open habitats and of Agnotecous for forest habitats nicely fits an acoustic specialization, either explained by differences in body size or in acoustic properties of their respective habitats. We hypothesize that landscape dynamics, linked to major past climatic events and recent change in fire regimes are possible causes for both present-day low diversity and rarity in genus Pixibinthus. The unique evolutionary history of this old New Caledonian lineage stresses the importance to increase our knowledge on the faunal biodiversity of 'maquis minier', in order to better understand the origin and past dynamics of New Caledonian biota
Precise measurement of the top quark mass in the dilepton channel at D0
We measure the top quark mass (mt) in ppbar collisions at a center of mass
energy of 1.96 TeV using dilepton ttbar->W+bW-bbar->l+nubl-nubarbbar events,
where l denotes an electron, a muon, or a tau that decays leptonically. The
data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb-1 collected with the D0
detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We obtain mt = 174.0 +- 1.8(stat)
+- 2.4(syst) GeV, which is in agreement with the current world average mt =
173.3 +- 1.1 GeV. This is currently the most precise measurement of mt in the
dilepton channel.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Measurement of the top quark pair production cross section in the lepton+jets channel in proton-antiproton collisions at =1.96 TeV
We present a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross
section in \ppbar collisions at (\sqrt{s}=1.96) TeV utilizing data
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of \lumi\ collected with the D0
detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We consider final states containing
one high- isolated electron or muon and at least two jets, and we
perform three analyses: one exploiting specific kinematic features of \ttbar
events, the second using -jet identification, and the third using both
techniques to separate \ttbar\ signal from background. In the third case, we
determine simultaneously the cross section and the ratio of the
production rates of +heavy flavor jets and +light flavor jets, which
reduces the impact of the systematic uncertainties related to the background
estimation. Assuming a top quark mass of 172.5 GeV, we obtain
pb. This result agrees with
predictions of the standard model.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Direct measurement of the mass difference between top and antitop quarks
We present a direct measurement of the mass difference between top and
antitop quarks (dm) in lepton+jets top-antitop final states using the "matrix
element" method. The purity of the lepton+jets sample is enhanced for
top-antitop events by identifying at least one of the jet as originating from a
b quark. The analyzed data correspond to 3.6 fb-1 of proton-antiproton
collisions at 1.96 TeV acquired by D0 in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider. The combination of the e+jets and mu+jets channels yields dm = 0.8
+/- 1.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst) GeV, which is in agreement with the standard
model expectation of no mass difference.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
Measurement of the semileptonic charge asymmetry in B0 meson mixing with the D0 detector
We present a measurement of the semileptonic mixing asymmetry for B0 mesons,
a^d_{sl}, using two independent decay channels: B0 -> mu+D-X, with D- ->
K+pi-pi-; and B0 -> mu+D*-X, with D*- -> antiD0 pi-, antiD0 -> K+pi- (and
charge conjugate processes). We use a data sample corresponding to 10.4 fb^{-1}
of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, collected with the D0 experiment at
the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We extract the charge asymmetries in these two
channels as a function of the visible proper decay length (VPDL) of the B0
meson, correct for detector-related asymmetries using data-driven methods, and
account for dilution from charge-symmetric processes using Monte Carlo
simulation. The final measurement combines four signal VPDL regions for each
channel, yielding a^d_{sl} = [0.68 \pm 0.45 \text{(stat.)} \pm 0.14
\text{(syst.)}]%. This is the single most precise measurement of this
parameter, with uncertainties smaller than the current world average of B
factory measurements.Comment: Version includes minor textual changes following peer review by
journal, most notably the updating of Ref. [21] to reflect the most recent
publicatio
Measurement of spin correlation in ttbar production using dilepton final states
We measure the correlation between the spin of the top quark and the spin of
the anti-top quark in (ttbar -> W+ W- b bbar -> l+ nu b l- nubar bbar) final
states produced in ppbar collisions at a center of mass energy sqrt(s)=1.96
TeV, where l is an electron or muon. The data correspond to an integrated
luminosity of 5.4 fb-1 and were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab
Tevatron collider. The correlation is extracted from the angles of the two
leptons in the t and tbar rest frames, yielding a correlation strength C=
0.10^{+0.45}_{-0.45}, in agreement with the NLO QCD prediction within two
standard deviations, but also in agreement with the no correlation hypothesis.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PL
Search for Higgs bosons decaying to tautau pairs in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV
We present a search for the production of neutral Higgs bosons decaying into
tautau pairs in ppbar collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The
data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb-1, were collected by
the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We set upper limits at the
95% C.L. on the product of production cross section and branching ratio for a
scalar resonance decaying into tautau pairs, and we then interpret these limits
as limits on the production of Higgs bosons in the minimal supersymmetric
standard model (MSSM) and as constraints in the MSSM parameter space.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PL
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