A simple one step process for enhancement of titanium foil dye sensitised solar cell anodes

The photo-conversion efficiency and stability of back-illuminated dye sensitised solar cells with titanium foil based photoanodes are enhanced by a simple nitric acid treatment through which the foil is passivated. This treatment changes the morphology of the titanium foil and increases its electrochemical double layer capacitance

Use of Machine Learning for gamma/hadron separation with HAWC

Background showers triggered by hadrons represent over 99.9% of all particles arriving at ground-based gamma-ray observatories. An important stage in the data analysis of these observatories, therefore, is the removal of hadron-triggered showers. Currently, the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma-ray observatory employs an algorithm based on a single cut in two variables, unlike other ground-based gamma-ray observatories (e.g. H.E.S.S., VERITAS), which employ a large number of variables to separate the primary particles. In this work, we explore machine learning techniques (Boosted Decision Trees and Neural Networks) to identify the primary particles detected by HAWC. Our new gamma/hadron separation techniques were tested on data from the Crab nebula, the standard reference in Very High Energy astronomy, showing an improvement compared to the standard HAWC background rejection method.Comment: Presented at the 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2021), Berlin, Germany - Onlin

Electrodeposited metal-organic framework films as self-assembled hierarchically superstructured supports for stable omniphobic surface coatings

Superhierarchically rough films are rapidly synthesised on metal substrates via electrochemically triggered self-assembly of meso/macroporous-structured metal-organic framework (MOF) crystals. These coatings are applied to immobilise a functional oil with low surface energy to provide stable coatings repellent to a wide range of hydrophobic as well as hydrophilic fluids. Such omniphobic surfaces are highly interesting for several applications such as anti-fouling, anti-icing, and dropwise condensation, and become easily scalable with the presented bottom-up fabrication approach. As investigated by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), the presented perfluorinated oil-infused Cu-BTC coating constitutes of a flat liquid-covered surface with protruding edges of octahedral superstructured MOF crystals. Water and non-polar diiodomethane droplets form considerably high contact angles and even low-surface-tension fluids, e.g. acetone, form droplets on the infused coating. The repellent properties towards the test fluids do not change upon extended water spraying in contrast to oil-infused porous copper oxide or native copper surfaces. It is discussed in detail, how the presented electrodeposited MOF films grow and provide a proficient surface morphology to stabilise the functional oil film due to hemiwicking

Lifetime determination of excited states in Cd-106

Two separate experiments using the Differential Decay Curve Method have been performed to extract mean lifetimes of excited states in 106 Cd. The inedium-spin states of interest were populated by the Mo-98(C-12, 4n) Cd-106 reaction performed at the Wright Nuclear Structure Lab., Yale University. From this experiment, two isomeric state mean lifetimes have been deduced. The low-lying states were populated by the Mo-96(C-13, 3n)Cd-106 reaction performed at the Institut fur Kernphysik, Universitat zu Koln. The mean lifetime of the I-pi = 2(1)(+) state was deduced, tentatively, as 16.4(9) ps. This value differs from the previously accepted literature value from Coulomb excitation of 10.43(9) ps

The Intrinsic Origin of Spin Echoes in Dipolar Solids Generated by Strong Pi Pulses

In spectroscopy, it is conventional to treat pulses much stronger than the linewidth as delta-functions. In NMR, this assumption leads to the prediction that pi pulses do not refocus the dipolar coupling. However, NMR spin echo measurements in dipolar solids defy these conventional expectations when more than one pi pulse is used. Observed effects include a long tail in the CPMG echo train for short delays between pi pulses, an even-odd asymmetry in the echo amplitudes for long delays, an unusual fingerprint pattern for intermediate delays, and a strong sensitivity to pi-pulse phase. Experiments that set limits on possible extrinsic causes for the phenomena are reported. We find that the action of the system's internal Hamiltonian during any real pulse is sufficient to cause the effects. Exact numerical calculations, combined with average Hamiltonian theory, identify novel terms that are sensitive to parameters such as pulse phase, dipolar coupling, and system size. Visualization of the entire density matrix shows a unique flow of quantum coherence from non-observable to observable channels when applying repeated pi pulses.Comment: 24 pages, 27 figures. Revised from helpful referee comments. Added new Table IV, new paragraphs on pages 3 and 1

Gluino Decay as a Probe of High Scale Supersymmetry Breaking

A supersymmetric standard model with heavier scalar supersymmetric particles has many attractive features. If the scalar mass scale is O(10 - 10^4) TeV, the standard model like Higgs boson with mass around 125 GeV, which is strongly favored by the LHC experiment, can be realized. However, in this scenario the scalar particles are too heavy to be produced at the LHC. In addition, if the scalar mass is much less than O(10^4) TeV, the lifetime of the gluino is too short to be measured. Therefore, it is hard to probe the scalar particles at a collider. However, a detailed study of the gluino decay reveals that two body decay of the gluino carries important information on the scalar scale. In this paper, we propose a test of this scenario by measuring the decay pattern of the gluino at the LHC.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures; version published in JHE

TeV Gamma-Ray Sources from a Survey of the Galactic Plane with Milagro

A survey of Galactic gamma-ray sources at a median energy of ~20 TeV has been performed using the Milagro Gamma Ray Observatory. Eight candidate sources of TeV emission are detected with pre-trials significance $>4.5\sigma$ in the region of Galactic longitude $l\in[30^\circ,220^\circ]$ and latitude $b\in[-10^\circ,10^\circ]$. Four of these sources, including the Crab nebula and the recently published MGRO J2019+37, are observed with significances $>4\sigma$ after accounting for the trials involved in searching the 3800 square degree region. All four of these sources are also coincident with EGRET sources. Two of the lower significance sources are coincident with EGRET sources and one of these sources is Geminga. The other two candidates are in the Cygnus region of the Galaxy. Several of the sources appear to be spatially extended. The fluxes of the sources at 20 TeV range from ~25% of the Crab flux to nearly as bright as the Crab.Comment: Submitted to Ap