2,019 research outputs found
Enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit in vertical graphene junctions
In this work, we investigate thermoelectric properties of junctions
consisting of two partially overlapped graphene sheets coupled to each other in
the cross-plane direction. It is shown that because of the weak van-der Waals
interactions between graphene layers, the phonon conductance in these junctions
is strongly reduced, compared to that of single graphene layer structures,
while their electrical performance is weakly affected. By exploiting this
effect, we demonstrate that the thermoelectric figure of merit can reach values
higher than 1 at room temperature in junctions made of gapped graphene
materials, for instance, graphene nanoribbons and graphene nanomeshes. The
dependence of thermoelectric properties on the junction length is also
discussed. This theoretical study hence suggests an efficient way to enhance
thermoelectric efficiency of graphene devices.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitte
Methane hydrate: shifting the coexistence temperature to higher temperatures with an external electric field
In the present work, we used molecular dynamic simulations of the equilibrium NPT ensemble to examine the effect of an external electric field on the three-phase coexistence temperature of methane gas, liquid water and methane hydrate. For these simulations, we used the TIP4P/Ice rigid water model and a single-site model for methane. The simulations were implemented at two pressures, 400 and 250bar, over temperatures ranging from 285 to 320K and from 280 to 315K, respectively. The application of an external electric field in the range of 0.1-0.9caused the effect of the thermal vibrations of the water molecules to become attenuated. This resulted in a shift of the three-phase coexistence temperature to higher temperatures. Electric fields below this range did not cause a difference in the coexistence temperature, and electric fields above this range enhanced the thermal effect. The shift had a magnitude of 22.5K on average.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
A quantum trampoline for ultra-cold atoms
We have observed the interferometric suspension of a free-falling
Bose-Einstein condensate periodically submitted to multiple-order diffraction
by a vertical 1D standing wave. The various diffracted matter waves recombine
coherently, resulting in high contrast interference in the number of atoms
detected at constant height. For long suspension times, multiple-wave
interference is revealed through a sharpening of the fringes. We use this
scheme to measure the acceleration of gravity
Nonlinear aspects of the EEG during sleep in children
Electroencephalograph (EEG) analysis enables the neuronal behavior of a
section of the brain to be examined. If the behavior is nonlinear then
nonlinear tools can be used to glean information on brain behavior, and aid in
the diagnosis of sleep abnormalities such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
(OSAS). In this paper the sleep EEGs of a set of normal and mild OSAS children
are evaluated for nonlinear behaviour. We consider how the behaviour of the
brain changes with sleep stage and between normal and OSAS children.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, 4 table
Study of phonon transport across several Si/Ge interfaces using full-band phonon Monte Carlo simulation
A Full Band Monte Carlo simulator has been developed to consider phonon
transmission across interfaces that are perpendicular to the heat flux. This
solver of the Boltzmann transport equation which does not require any
assumption on the shape the phonon distribution can naturally consider all
phonon transport regimes from the diffusive to the fully ballistic regime.
Hence, this simulator is used to study single and double Si/Ge heterostructures
from the micrometer scale down to the nanometer scale i.e. in all phonon
transport regime from ballistic to fully diffusive. A methodology to estimate
the thermal conductivities and the thermal interfaces is presented
Spin Gap in the Single Spin-1/2 Chain Cuprate SrCaCuO
We report Cu nuclear magnetic resonance and muon spin rotation
measurements on the S=1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain compound
SrCaCuO. An exponentially decreasing spin-lattice
relaxation rate 1/T indicates the opening of a spin gap. This behavior is
very similar to what has been observed for the cognate zigzag spin chain
compound SrCaCuO, and confirms that the occurrence of a
spin gap upon Ca doping is independent of the interchain exchange coupling
. Our results therefore generally prove the appearance of a spin gap in an
antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain induced by a local bond disorder of the
intrachain exchange coupling . A low temperature upturn of 1/T evidences
growing magnetic correlations. However, zero field muon spin rotation
measurements down to 1.5 K confirm the absence of magnetic order in this
compound which is most likely suppressed by the opening of the spin gap.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
The Philia project – for the successful integration of the young through their empowerment and social network development
The Philia+ project has been approved for funding within the Erasmus + Programme. Several partners from Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal and Romania (from higher education and social work institutions) have worked to support the academic success and social inclusion of (pre)adolescents aged 13-18 in foster care, and to enhance, preserve and develop their support networks. Training programmes were held for teachers, trainers and researchers involved in the project, as well as for students and social work professionals and young people in difficulty in the care of associations and organizations providing them social and psychological support. The aim has always been to change their position according to the theoretical DPAPC (empowerment of individuals and communities) framework and to the methodological RAC (collaborative research-action) framework, in order to enable them to understand the mechanism of the social determinism of success and failure and to enhance their support networks. We managed to create two training modules, teasers of experienced testimonies (focus groups, comprehensive conversations), educational films for the two modules, educational films on accompanying Roma and unaccompanied minors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Rapid determination of HLA B*07 ligands from the West Nile virus NY99 genome.
Defined T cell epitopes for West Nile (WN) virus may be useful for developing subunit vaccines against WN virus infection and diagnostic reagents to detect WN virus-specific immune response. We applied a bioinformatics (EpiMatrix) approach to search the WN virus NY99 genome for HLA B*07 restricted cytotoxic T cell (CTL) epitopes. Ninety-five of 3,433 WN virus peptides scored above a predetermined cutoff, suggesting that these would be likely to bind to HLA B*07 and would also be likely candidate CTL epitopes. Compared with other methods for genome mapping, derivation of these ligands was rapid and inexpensive. Major histocompatibility complex ligands identified by this method may be used to screen T cells from WN virus-exposed persons for cell-mediated response to WN virus or to develop diagnostic reagents for immunopathogenesis studies and epidemiologic surveillance
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