3,066 research outputs found
Mass Composition of Cosmic Rays in the Range 2 x 10^17 - 3 x 10^18 Measured with Haverah Park Array
At the Haverah Park Array a number of air shower observables were measured
that are relevant to the determination of the mass composition of cosmic rays.
In this paper we discuss measurements of the risetime of signals in large area
water-Cherenkov detectors and of the lateral distribution function of the
water-Cherenkov signal. The former are used to demonstrate that the CORSIKA
code, using the QGSJET98 model, gives an adequate description of the data with
a low sensitivity, in this energy range, to assumptions about primary mass. By
contrast the lateral distribution is sufficiently well measured that there is
mass sensitivity. We argue that in the range 0.2-1.0 EeV the data are well
represented with a bi-modal composition of 34+-2 % protons and the rest iron.
We also discuss the systematic errors induced by the choice of hadronic model.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physic
From spin coating to roll-to-roll: investigating the challenge of upscaling lead halide perovskite solar cells
Spin coating, typically used to achieve nanometre thick films, is the established method for depositing perovskite precursors at lab scale for use in solar cells. This study investigates the dynamics of spin coating perovskite. By combining experimental measurement with a semi-empirical model the evaporation rate of the dimethylformamide solvent during the spin coating of a mixed lead halide precursor is determined to be 1.2 × 10 –8 m/s. When K-bar coating the same precursor the solvent does not significantly evaporate during the deposition process and when this film is crystallised on a hot plate a rough film results which gives a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of less than 2%. By increasing the airflow of the K-bar coated perovskite film during crystallisation to 2.7 × 10 –4 m/s the PCE increases significantly to 8.5% through an improvement in short-circuit current and fill factor
The rate of cosmic ray showers at large zenith angles: a step towards the detection of ultra-high energy neutrinos by the Pierre Auger Observatory
It is anticipated that the Pierre Auger Observatory can be used to detect
cosmic neutrinos of >10^19 eV that arrive at very large zenith angles. However
showers created by neutrino interactions close to the detector must be picked
out against a background of similar events initiated by cosmic ray nuclei. As a
step towards understanding this background, we have made the first detailed
analysis of air showers recorded at Haverah Park (an array which used similar
detectors to those planned for the Auger Observatory) with zenith angles above
60 degs. We find that the differential shower rate from 60 degs to 80 degs. can
be predicted accurately when we adopt the known primary energy spectrum above
10^17 eV and assume the QGSJET model and proton primaries. Details of the
calculation are given.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Astroparticle Physic
Interface state contribution to the photovoltaic effect in organic phototransistors:Photocapacitance measurements and optical sensing
Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T16:50:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0
Previous issue date: 2018-01-01Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Eletrônica OrgânicaWe report the results of an investigation into the contribution that trapping in interface states makes to the photovoltaic effect observed in organic phototransistors. To isolate this effect from other processes that occur in the transistor structure when under illumination, we focus attention on the photo-response of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitors - the core structure of transistors. The capacitors comprised poly(3-hexylthiophene), (P3HT), as the active semiconductor in combination with one of three insulators, namely, poly(amide-imide), (PAI), SU-8 photoresist and polysilsesquioxane (PSQ). Following initial characterization in the dark, the capacitor response was measured both during and after irradiation with light in the wavelength range 400–700 nm. Three different approaches were employed to study the photo-response, each providing a different insight into the processes occurring. Capacitance-voltage sweeps before, during and after illumination provided direct evidence supporting the view that the photovoltaic effect occurred as a result of electron trapping in interface states of density up to ∼2 × 1012 cm−2 in the P3HT/PAI combination but lower for SU-8 and PSQ. The dynamic photo-response, in which device capacitance was held constant by changing the applied bias, showed a fast component related to optically induced photoconduction in the semiconductor and a slower component reflecting the dynamics of interface electron trapping. Finally, photo-induced capacitance changes occurring with constant applied voltage were used to demonstrate a simple 3 × 3 imaging array.School of Electronic Engineering Bangor University, Dean StreetBrazilian Nanotechnology National Laboratory (LNNano) Brazilian Centre of Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Department of Physics São Paulo State University (UNESP), PO Box 266Institute of Physics of São Carlos University of São Paulo (USP), PO Box 369Catarinense Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology, PO Box 21Department of Physics São Paulo State University (UNESP), PO Box 26
The Importance of Time Congruity in the Organisation.
In 1991 Kaufman, Lane, and Lindquist proposed that time congruity in terms of an individual's time preferences and the time use methods of an organisation would lead to satisfactory performance and enhancement of quality of work and general life. The research reported here presents a study which uses commensurate person and job measures of time personality in an organisational setting to assess the effects of time congruity on one aspect of work life, job-related affective well-being. Results show that time personality and time congruity were found to have direct effects on well-being and the influence of time congruity was found to be mediated through time personality, thus contributing to the person–job (P–J) fit literature which suggests that direct effects are often more important than indirect effects. The study also provides some practical examples of ways to address some of the previously cited methodological issues in P–J fit research
Chiral dynamics of p-wave in K^- p and coupled states
We perform an evaluation of the p-wave amplitudes of meson-baryon scattering
in the strangeness S=-1 sector starting from the lowest order chiral
Lagrangians and introducing explicitly the Sigma^* field with couplings to the
meson-baryon states obtained using SU(6) symmetry. The N/D method of
unitarization is used, equivalent, in practice, to the use of the
Bethe-Salpeter equation with a cut-off. The procedure leaves no freedom for the
p-waves once the s-waves are fixed and thus one obtains genuine predictions for
the p-wave scattering amplitudes, which are in good agreement with experimental
results for differential cross sections, as well as for the width and partial
decay widths of the Sigma^*(1385).Comment: LaTeX, 18 pages, 6 figure
Statistical methods applied to composition studies of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays
The mass composition of high energy cosmic rays above eV is a
crucial issue to solve some open questions in astrophysics such as the
acceleration and propagation mechanisms. Unfortunately, the standard procedures
to identify the primary particle of a cosmic ray shower have low efficiency
mainly due to large fluctuations and limited experimental observables. We
present a statistical method for composition studies based on several
measurable features of the longitudinal development of the CR shower such as
, , asymmetry, skewness and kurtosis. Principal component
analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the relevance of each parameter in the
representation of the overall shower features and a linear discriminant
analysis (LDA) was used to combine the different parameters to maximize the
discrimination between different particle showers. The new parameter from LDA
provides a separation between primary gammas, proton and iron nuclei better
than the procedures based on only. The method proposed here was
successfully tested in the energy range from to eV even
when limitations of shower track length were included in order to simulate the
field of view of fluorescence telescopes
A rapid allele-specific assay for HLA-A*32:01 to identify patients at risk for vancomycin-induced Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and systemic symptoms
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles have been implicated as risk factors for immune-mediated adverse drug reactions. We recently reported a strong association between HLA-A*32:01 and vancomycin-induced drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). Identification of individuals with the risk allele prior to or shortly after the initiation of vancomycin therapy is of great clinical importance to prevent morbidity and mortality, improve drug safety and antibiotic treatment options. A prerequisite to the success of a pharmacogenetic screening tests is the development of simple, robust, cost-effective single HLA allele test that can be implemented in routine diagnostic laboratories. In this study, we developed a simple, real-time allele-specific PCR for typing the HLA-A*32:01 allele. Four-hundred and fifty-eight DNA samples including thirty HLA-A*32:01-positive samples were typed by allele-specific PCR. Compared to ASHI accredited sequence-based high-resolution, full allelic HLA typing, this assay demonstrates 100% accuracy, sensitivity of 100% (95% CI: 88.43% to 100%) and specificity of 100% (95% CI: 99.14% to 100%). The lowest limit of detection of this assay using the Power Up SYBR Green is 10 ng of template DNA. The assay demonstrates a sensitivity and specificity to differentiate HLA-A*32:01 allele from closely related non-HLA-A*32 alleles and may be used in clinical settings to identify individuals with the risk allele prior or during the course of vancomycin therapy
A multiwavelength study of the supernova remnant G296.8-0.3
We report XMM-Newton observations of the Galactic supernova remnant
G296.8-0.3, together with complementary radio and infrared data. The spatial
and spectral properties of the X-ray emission, detected towards G296.8-0.3, was
investigated in order to explore the possible evolutionary scenarios and the
physical connexion with its unusual morphology detected at radio frequencies.
G296.8-0.3 displays diffuse X-ray emission correlated with the peculiar radio
morphology detected in the interior of the remnant and with the shell-like
radio structure observed to the northwest side of the object. The X-ray
emission peaks in the soft/medium energy range (0.5-3.0 keV). The X-ray
spectral analysis confirms that the column density is high (NH \sim 0.64 x
10^{22} cm^{-2}) which supports a distant location (d>9 kpc) for the SNR. Its
X-ray spectrum can be well represented by a thermal (PSHOCK) model, with kT
\sim 0.86 keV, an ionization timescale of 6.1 x 10^{10} cm^{-3} s, and low
abundance (0.12 Z_sun). The 24 microns observations show shell-like emission
correlated with part of the northwest and southeast boundaries of the SNR. In
addition a point-like X-ray source is also detected close to the geometrical
center of the radio SNR. The object presents some characteristics of the
so-called compact central objects (CCO). Its X-ray spectrum is consistent with
those found at other CCOs and the value of NH is consistent with that of
G296.8-0.3, which suggests a physical connexion with the SNR.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc
Swinging Atwood's Machine: Experimental and Theoretical Studies
A Swinging Atwood Machine (SAM) is built and some experimental results
concerning its dynamic behaviour are presented. Experiments clearly show that
pulleys play a role in the motion of the pendulum, since they can rotate and
have non-negligible radii and masses. Equations of motion must therefore take
into account the inertial momentum of the pulleys, as well as the winding of
the rope around them. Their influence is compared to previous studies. A
preliminary discussion of the role of dissipation is included. The theoretical
behaviour of the system with pulleys is illustrated numerically, and the
relevance of different parameters is highlighted. Finally, the integrability of
the dynamic system is studied, the main result being that the Machine with
pulleys is non-integrable. The status of the results on integrability of the
pulley-less Machine is also recalled.Comment: 37 page
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