1,006 research outputs found
Annealing effects on superconductivity in SrFe2-xNixAs2
Superconductivity has been explored in single crystals of the Ni-doped
FeAs-compound SrFe2-xNixAs2 grown by self-flux solution method. The
antiferromagnetic order associated with the magnetostructural transition of the
parent compound SrFe2As2 is gradually suppressed with increasing Ni
concentration x and bulk-phase superconductivity with full diamagnetic
screening is induced near the optimal doping of x = 0.15 with a maximum
transition temperature Tc ~9.8 K. An investigation of high-temperature
annealing on as-grown samples indicate that the heat treatment can enhance Tc
as much as ~50 %
A robust braille recognition system
Braille is the most effective means of written communication between
visually-impaired and sighted people. This paper describes a new system
that recognizes Braille characters in scanned Braille document pages. Unlike
most other approaches, an inexpensive flatbed scanner is used and the system
requires minimal interaction with the user. A unique feature of this system is
the use of context at different levels (from the pre-processing of the image
through to the post-processing of the recognition results) to enhance robustness
and, consequently, recognition results. Braille dots composing characters are
identified on both single and double-sided documents of average quality with
over 99% accuracy, while Braille characters are also correctly recognised in
over 99% of documents of average quality (in both single and double-sided
documents)
Magnetic Field Measurement with Ground State Alignment
Observational studies of magnetic fields are crucial. We introduce a process
"ground state alignment" as a new way to determine the magnetic field direction
in diffuse medium. The alignment is due to anisotropic radiation impinging on
the atom/ion. The consequence of the process is the polarization of spectral
lines resulting from scattering and absorption from aligned atomic/ionic
species with fine or hyperfine structure. The magnetic field induces precession
and realign the atom/ion and therefore the polarization of the emitted or
absorbed radiation reflects the direction of the magnetic field. The atoms get
aligned at their low levels and, as the life-time of the atoms/ions we deal
with is long, the alignment induced by anisotropic radiation is susceptible to
extremely weak magnetic fields (G). In fact,
the effects of atomic/ionic alignment were studied in the laboratory decades
ago, mostly in relation to the maser research. Recently, the atomic effect has
been already detected in observations from circumstellar medium and this is a
harbinger of future extensive magnetic field studies. A unique feature of the
atomic realignment is that they can reveal the 3D orientation of magnetic
field. In this article, we shall review the basic physical processes involved
in atomic realignment. We shall also discuss its applications to
interplanetary, circumstellar and interstellar magnetic fields. In addition,
our research reveals that the polarization of the radiation arising from the
transitions between fine and hyperfine states of the ground level can provide a
unique diagnostics of magnetic fields in the Epoch of Reionization.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures, chapter in Lecture Notes in Physics "Magnetic
Fields in Diffuse Media". arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with
arXiv:1203.557
Bi2Fe4O9 thin films as novel visible-light-active photoanodes for solar water splitting
We report the chemical solution deposition (CSD) of a phase-pure Bi2Fe4O9 thin film for use as a photoanode in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The energy levels of Bi2Fe4O9 films have been measured and n-type characteristics have been confirmed. With band gaps determined as 2.05 eV (indirect) and 2.80 eV (direct) and valence and conduction bands straddling the water oxidation and reduction potentials, this material is highly promising as a photocatalyst for solar water splitting. The photocurrent of a planar photoanode reached 0.1 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VNHE under AM1.5G illumination. The addition of H2O2 as a hole scavenger increased the photocurrent to 0.25 mA cm−2, indicating hole injection is one limiting factor to the performance. The performance was enhanced by nearly 5-fold when the Bi2Fe4O9 photoanode is coupled to a Co–Pi surface co-catalyst. The photoanode also shows excellent stability with no change in photocurrent over three hours of continuous illumination. These results indicate that this material represents a promising addition to the growing selection of low-cost, stable photocatalysts for use in solar water splitting
Momentum Regularity and Stability of the Relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell-Boltzmann System
In the study of solutions to the relativistic Boltzmann equation, their
regularity with respect to the momentum variables has been an outstanding
question, even local in time, due to the initially unexpected growth in the
post-collisional momentum variables which was discovered in 1991 by Glassey &
Strauss \cite{MR1105532}. We establish momentum regularity within energy spaces
via a new splitting technique and interplay between the Glassey-Strauss frame
and the center of mass frame of the relativistic collision operator. In a
periodic box, these new momentum regularity estimates lead to a proof of global
existence of classical solutions to the two-species relativistic
Vlasov-Boltzmann-Maxwell system for charged particles near Maxwellian with hard
ball interaction.Comment: 23 pages; made revisions which were suggested by the referee; to
appear in Comm. Math. Phy
Measurement of the Zero Crossing in a Feshbach Resonance of Fermionic 6-Li
We measure a zero crossing in the scattering length of a mixture of the two
lowest hyperfine states of 6-Li. To locate the zero crossing, we monitor the
decrease in temperature and atom number arising from evaporation in a CO2 laser
trap as a function of magnetic field B. The temperature decrease and atom loss
are minimized for B=528(4) G, consistent with no evaporation. We also present
preliminary calculations using potentials that have been constrained by the
measured zero crossing and locate a broad Feshbach resonance at approximately
860 G, in agreement with previous theoretical predictions. In addition, our
theoretical model predicts a second and much narrower Feshbach resonance near
550 G.Comment: Five pages, four figure
Prospective, randomized, double‐blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoageing
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147746/1/bjd16918_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147746/2/bjd16918.pd
Predictive biometrics: A review and analysis of predicting personal characteristics from biometric data
Interest in the exploitation of soft biometrics information has continued to develop over the last decade or so. In comparison with traditional biometrics, which focuses principally on person identification, the idea of soft biometrics processing is to study the utilisation of more general information regarding a system user, which is not necessarily unique. There are increasing indications that this type of data will have great value in providing complementary information for user authentication. However, the authors have also seen a growing interest in broadening the predictive capabilities of biometric data, encompassing both easily definable characteristics such as subject age and, most recently, `higher level' characteristics such as emotional or mental states. This study will present a selective review of the predictive capabilities, in the widest sense, of biometric data processing, providing an analysis of the key issues still adequately to be addressed if this concept of predictive biometrics is to be fully exploited in the future
Spin echo small angle neutron scattering using a continuously pumped He-3 neutron polarisation analyser
We present a new instrument for spin echo small angle neutron scattering (SESANS) developed at the Low Energy Neutron Source at Indiana University. A description of the various instrument components is given along with the performance of these components. At the heart of the instrument are a series of resistive coils to encode the neutron trajectory into the neutron polarisation. These are shown to work well over a broad range of neutron wavelengths. Neutron polarisation analysis is accomplished using a continuously operating neutron spin filter polarised by Rb spin-exchange optical pumping of 3He. We describe the performance of the analyser along with a study of the 3He polarisation stability and its implications for SESANS measurements. Scattering from silica Stöber particles is investigated and agrees with samples run on similar instruments
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