1,040 research outputs found
The functionalization of carbon nanotubes using a batch oscillatory flow reactor
This paper describes an efficient method for the functionalizing of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) using oscillatory flow mixing (OFM). A 3. l batch oscillatory flow reactor (OFR) was designed and constructed for pilot scale functionalization of MWCNT in order to potentially improve their compatibility within a thermoplastic polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) matrix. The OFM batch reactor consisted of a jacketed cylindrical vessel with a vertical axial oscillator that contained a series of baffled mixing plates. MWCNTs dispersed in dimethylformamide (DMF) were introduced into the reactor and a two stage reaction for functionalizing MWCNTs with PPS compatible groups was carried out under oscillation of baffles at elevated temperatures. Fluid mixing observations in the reactor showed that MWCNTs formed a uniform dispersion of aggregated flocs before and during the functionalization reaction. On completion of the reaction and cessation of the oscillation, the aggregated flocs of MWCNT rapidly sedimented at the bottom of the reactor; hence could be collected as a concentrated mass thereby facilitating the separation of functionalized MWCNTs from the solvent. The functionalized MWCNTs were dried and then characterized by transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy as well as thermal gravimetric analysis in order to investigate the extent of MWCNT functionalization. The characterization results confirmed the effective and relatively uniform functionalization of the MWCNTs despite formation of aggregates, indicating that OFM provides a viable approach for functionalizing MWCNTs
Untangling CP Violation and the Mass Hierarchy in Long Baseline Experiments
In the overlap region, for the normal and inverted hierarchies, of the
neutrino-antineutrino bi-probability space for appearance,
we derive a simple identity between the solutions in the (, ) plane for the different hierarchies. The
parameter sets the scale of the
appearance probabilities at the atmospheric eV whereas controls the amount of CP
violation in the lepton sector. The identity between the solutions is that the
difference in the values of for the two hierarchies equals twice
the value of divided by the {\it critical} value
of . We apply this identity to the two proposed
long baseline experiments, T2K and NOA, and we show how it can be used to
provide a simple understanding of when and why fake solutions are excluded when
two or more experiments are combined. The identity demonstrates the true
complimentarity of T2K and NOA.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, 4 postscript figures. Submitted to New Journal of
Physics, ``Focus on Neutrino Physics'' issu
Physics Potential of Very Intense Conventional Neutrino Beams
The physics potential of high intensity conventional beams is explored. We
consider a low energy super beam which could be produced by a proposed new
accelerator at CERN, the Super Proton Linac. Water Cherenkov and liquid oil
scintillator detectors are studied as possible candidates for a neutrino
oscillation experiment which could improve our current knowledge of the
atmospheric parameters and measure or severely constrain the parameter
connecting the atmospheric and solar realms. It is also shown that a very large
water detector could eventually observe leptonic CP violation. The reach of
such an experiment to the neutrino mixing parameters would lie in-between the
next generation of neutrino experiments (MINOS, OPERA, etc) and a future
neutrino factory.Comment: Talk given at the Venice Conference on Neutrino Telescopes, Venice,
March, 200
Unveiling Neutrino Mixing and Leptonic CP Violation
We review the present understanding of neutrino masses and mixings,
discussing what are the unknowns in the three family oscillation scenario.
Despite the anticipated success coming from the planned long baseline neutrino
experiments in unraveling the leptonic mixing sector, there are two important
unknowns which may remain obscure: the mixing angle and the
CP-phase . The measurement of these two parameters has led us to
consider the combination of superbeams and neutrino factories as the key to
unveil the neutrino oscillation picture.Comment: Invited brief review, 18 pages, 6 figure
Study of the eightfold degeneracy with a standard -Beam and a Super-Beam facility
The study of the eightfold degeneracy at a neutrino complex that includes a
standard -Beam and a Super-Beam facility is presented for the first time
in this paper. The scenario where the neutrinos are sent toward a Megaton water
Cerenkov detector located at the Fr\'{e}jus laboratory (baseline 130 Km) is
exploited. The performance in terms of sensitivity for measuring the continuous
( and ) and discrete ( and
) oscillation parameters for the -Beam
and Super-Beam alone, and for their combination has been studied. A brief
review of the present uncertainties on the neutrino and antineutrino
cross-sections is also reported and their impact on the discovery potential
discussed
Precision on leptonic mixing parameters at future neutrino oscillation experiments
We perform a comparison of the different future neutrino oscillation
experiments based on the achievable precision in the determination of the
fundamental parameters theta_{13} and the CP phase, delta, assuming that
theta_{13} is in the range indicated by the recent Daya Bay measurement. We
study the non-trivial dependence of the error on delta on its true value. When
matter effects are small, the largest error is found at the points where CP
violation is maximal, and the smallest at the CP conserving points. The
situation is different when matter effects are sizable. As a result of this
effect, the comparison of the physics reach of different experiments on the
basis of the CP discovery potential, as usually done, can be misleading. We
have compared various proposed super-beam, beta-beam and neutrino factory
setups on the basis of the relative precision of theta_{13} and the error on
delta. Neutrino factories, both high-energy or low-energy, outperform
alternative beam technologies. An ultimate precision on theta_{13} below 3% and
an error on delta of < 7^{\circ} at 1 sigma (1 d.o.f.) can be obtained at a
neutrino factory.Comment: Minor changes, matches version accepted in JHEP. 30 pages, 9 figure
A Beta Beam complex based on the machine upgrades for the LHC
The Beta Beam CERN design is based on the present LHC injection complex and
its physics reach is mainly limited by the maximum rigidity of the SPS. In
fact, some of the scenarios for the machine upgrades of the LHC, particularly
the construction of a fast cycling 1 TeV injector (``Super-SPS''), are very
synergic with the construction of a higher Beta Beam. At the energies
that can be reached by this machine, we demonstrate that dense calorimeters can
already be used for the detection of at the far location. Even at
moderate masses (40 kton) as the ones imposed by the use of existing
underground halls at Gran Sasso, the CP reach is very large for any value of
that would provide evidence of appearance at T2K or
NOA (). Exploitation of matter effects at the
CERN to Gran Sasso distance provides sensitivity to the neutrino mass hierarchy
in significant areas of the plane
Tribological performance of nylon composites with nanoadditives for self-lubrication purposes
A systematic study comparing the wear behaviour of composites with nylon matrix (PA66, PA46, PA12) and different nanoadditives and reinforcing additives (graphite, graphene, MoS2 and ZrO2) has been carried out in order to achieve a proper self-lubricant material for bearing cages. The wear characterisation was done using pin-on-disc tests, SEM and EDX analysis. The results show that better outcomes are obtained for composites based on PA12. The addition of ZrO2 offers negative values of wear due to the metallic particle transference from the counterface to the polymeric pin
The Complementarity of Eastern and Western Hemisphere Long-Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiments
We present a general formalism for extracting information on the fundamental
parameters associated with neutrino masses and mixings from two or more long
baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. This formalism is then applied to
the current most likely experiments using neutrino beams from the Japan Hadron
Facility (JHF) and Fermilab's NuMI beamline. Different combinations of muon
neutrino or muon anti-neutrino running are considered. To extract the type of
neutrino mass hierarchy we make use of the matter effect. Contrary to naive
expectation, we find that both beams using neutrinos is more suitable for
determining the hierarchy provided that the neutrino energy divided by baseline
() for NuMI is smaller than or equal to that of JHF. Whereas to determine
the small mixing angle, , and the CP or T violating phase
, one neutrino and the other anti-neutrino is most suitable. We make
extensive use of bi-probability diagrams for both understanding and extracting
the physics involved in such comparisons.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, 3 postscript figure
Neutrino tomography - Learning about the Earth's interior using the propagation of neutrinos
Because the propagation of neutrinos is affected by the presence of Earth
matter, it opens new possibilities to probe the Earth's interior. Different
approaches range from techniques based upon the interaction of high energy
(above TeV) neutrinos with Earth matter, to methods using the MSW effect on the
neutrino oscillations of low energy (MeV to GeV) neutrinos. In principle,
neutrinos from many different sources (sun, atmosphere, supernovae, beams etc.)
can be used. In this talk, we summarize and compare different approaches with
an emphasis on more recent developments. In addition, we point out other
geophysical aspects relevant for neutrino oscillations.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. Proceedings of ``Neutrino sciences 2005:
Neutrino geophysics'', December 14-16, 2005, Honolulu, USA. Minor changes,
some references added. Final version to appear in Earth, Moon, and Planet
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