Highly Efficient Solar Cells Based on the Copolymer of Benzodithiophene and Thienopyrroledione with Solvent Annealing

Highly efficient PBDTTPD-based photovoltaic devices with the configuration of ITO/poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly­(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/PBDTTPD: methanofullerene (6,6)-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) (weight ratio being from 1:1 to 1:4)/LiF (5 Å)/Al (100 nm), were realized with ortho-dichlorobenzene (DCB) solvent annealing treatment. It was revealed that the best photovoltaic device was obtained when the blend ratio of PBDTTPD:PC₆₁BM was modulated to be 1:2 and processed with DCB solvent annealing for 12 h. The short-circuit current density (<i>J</i>_sc) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) values were measured to be 10.52 mA/cm² and 4.99% respectively, which were both higher than the counterparts treated with chlorobenzene (CB) solvent annealing or the thermal annealing. Atomic force microscopy measurements of the active layer after solvent annealing treatment were also carried out. The phase separation length scale of the PBDTTPD:PC₆₁BM­(1:2) layer was comparable to the exciton diffusion length when the active layer was treated under DCB solvent annealing, which facilitated effective exciton dissociation and carrier diffusion in the active layer. Therefore, highly efficient PBDTTPD-based photovoltaic devices could be achieved with DCB solvent annealing, which indicated that solvent annealing with proper solvent might be an easily processed, low-cost, and room-temperature alternative to thermal annealing for polymer solar cells

The BEST framework for the search for the QCD critical point and the chiral magnetic effect

International audienceThe Beam Energy Scan Theory (BEST) Collaboration was formed with the goal of providing a theoretical framework for analyzing data from the Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at the relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The physics goal of the BES program is the search for a conjectured QCD critical point as well as for manifestations of the chiral magnetic effect. We describe progress that has been made over the previous five years. This includes studies of the equation of state and equilibrium susceptibilities, the development of suitable initial state models, progress in constructing a hydrodynamic framework that includes fluctuations and anomalous transport effects, as well as the development of freezeout prescriptions and hadronic transport models. Finally, we address the challenge of integrating these components into a complete analysis framework. This document describes the collective effort of the BEST Collaboration and its collaborators around the world

Dense Nuclear Matter Equation of State from Heavy-Ion Collisions

The nuclear equation of state (EOS) is at the center of numerous theoretical and experimental efforts in nuclear physics. With advances in microscopic theories for nuclear interactions, the availability of experiments probing nuclear matter under conditions not reached before, endeavors to develop sophisticated and reliable transport simulations to interpret these experiments, and the advent of multi-messenger astronomy, the next decade will bring new opportunities for determining the nuclear matter EOS, elucidating its dependence on density, temperature, and isospin asymmetry. Among controlled terrestrial experiments, collisions of heavy nuclei at intermediate beam energies (from a few tens of MeV/nucleon to about 25 GeV/nucleon in the fixed-target frame) probe the widest ranges of baryon density and temperature, enabling studies of nuclear matter from a few tenths to about 5 times the nuclear saturation density and for temperatures from a few to well above a hundred MeV, respectively. Collisions of neutron-rich isotopes further bring the opportunity to probe effects due to the isospin asymmetry. However, capitalizing on the enormous scientific effort aimed at uncovering the dense nuclear matter EOS, both at RHIC and at FRIB as well as at other international facilities, depends on the continued development of state-of-the-art hadronic transport simulations. This white paper highlights the role that heavy-ion collision experiments and hadronic transport simulations play in understanding strong interactions in dense nuclear matter, with an emphasis on how these efforts can be used together with microscopic approaches and neutron star studies to uncover the nuclear EOS

Dense nuclear matter equation of state from heavy-ion collisions

International audienceThe nuclear equation of state (EOS) is at the center of numerous theoretical and experimental efforts in nuclear physics. With advances in microscopic theories for nuclear interactions, the availability of experiments probing nuclear matter under conditions not reached before, endeavors to develop sophisticated and reliable transport simulations to interpret these experiments, and the advent of multi-messenger astronomy, the next decade will bring new opportunities for determining the nuclear matter EOS, elucidating its dependence on density, temperature, and isospin asymmetry. Among controlled terrestrial experiments, collisions of heavy nuclei at intermediate beam energies (from a few tens of MeV/nucleon to about 25 GeV/nucleon in the fixed-target frame) probe the widest ranges of baryon density and temperature, enabling studies of nuclear matter from a few tenths to about 5 times the nuclear saturation density and for temperatures from a few to well above a hundred MeV, respectively. Collisions of neutron-rich isotopes further bring the opportunity to probe effects due to the isospin asymmetry. However, capitalizing on the enormous scientific effort aimed at uncovering the dense nuclear matter EOS, both at RHIC and at FRIB as well as at other international facilities, depends on the continued development of state-of-the-art hadronic transport simulations. This white paper highlights the essential role that heavy-ion collision experiments and hadronic transport simulations play in understanding strong interactions in dense nuclear matter, with an emphasis on how these efforts can be used together with microscopic approaches and neutron star studies to uncover the nuclear EOS