A search for Higgs boson pair production in the bbbb final state is carried out with up to 36.1 fb(-1) of LHC proton-proton collision data collected at s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. Three benchmark signals are studied: a spin-2 graviton decaying into a Higgs boson pair, a scalar resonance decaying into a Higgs boson pair, and Standard Model non-resonant Higgs boson pair production. Two analyses are carried out, each implementing a particular technique for the event reconstruction that targets Higgs bosons reconstructed as pairs of jets or single boosted jets. The resonance mass range covered is 260-3000 GeV. The analyses are statistically combined and upper limits on the production cross section of Higgs boson pairs times branching ratio to bbbb are set in each model. No significant excess is observed; the largest deviation of data over prediction is found at a mass of 280 GeV, corresponding to 2.3 standard deviations globally. The observed 95% confidence level upper limit on the non-resonant production is 13 times the Standard Model prediction.
Results of a search for the pair production of photon-jets-collimated groupings of photons-in the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. Highly collimated photon-jets can arise from the decay of new, highly boosted particles that can decay to multiple photons collimated enough to be identified in the electromagnetic calorimeter as a single, photonlike energy cluster. Data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.7 fb(-1), were collected in 2015 and 2016. Candidate photon-jet pair production events are selected from those containing two reconstructed photons using a set of identification criteria much less stringent than that typically used for the selection of photons, with additional criteria applied to provide improved sensitivity to photon-jets. Narrow excesses in the reconstructed diphoton mass spectra are searched for. The observed mass spectra are consistent with the Standard Model background expectation. The results are interpreted in the context of a model containing a new, high-mass scalar particle with narrow width, X, that decays into pairs of photon-jets via new, light particles, a. Upper limits are placed on the cross section times the product of branching ratios sigma x B(X -> aa) x B(a -> gamma gamma)(2) for 200 GeV < m(X) < 2 TeV and for ranges of m(a) from a lower mass of 100 MeV up to between 2 and 10 GeV, depending upon m(X). Upper limits are also placed on sigma x B(X -> aa) x B(a -> 3 pi(0))(2) for the same range of m(X) and for ranges of m(a) from a lower mass of 500 MeV up to between 2 and 10 GeV.
A search for long-lived particles decaying into an oppositely charged lepton pair, mu mu, ee, or e mu, is presented using 32.8 fb(-1) of pp collision data collected at root s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Candidate leptons are required to form a vertex, within the inner tracking volume of ATLAS, displaced from the primary pp interaction region. No lepton pairs with an invariant mass greater than 12 GeV are observed, consistent with the background expectations derived from data. The detection efficiencies for generic resonances with lifetimes (c tau) of 100-1000 mm decaying into a dilepton pair with masses between 0.1-1.0 TeV are presented as a function of p(T) and decay radius of the resonances to allow the extraction of upper limits on the cross sections for theoretical models. The result is also interpreted in a supersymmetric model in which the lightest neutralino, produced via squark-antisquark production, decays into l(+) l'(-) nu(l, l' = e, mu) with a finite lifetime due to the presence of R-parity violating couplings. Cross-section limits are presented for specific squark and neutralino masses. For a 700 GeV squark, neutralinos with masses of 50-500 GeV and mean proper lifetimes corresponding to c tau values between 1 mm to 6 m are excluded. For a 1.6 TeV squark, c tau values between 3 mm to 1 m are excluded for 1.3 TeV neutralinos.
A search for non-resonant Higgs boson pair production, as predicted by the Standard Model, is presented, where one of the Higgs bosons decays via the H -> bb channel and the other via one of the H -> WW*/ZZ*/tau tau channels. The analysis selection requires events to have at least two b-tagged jets and exactly two leptons (electrons or muons) with opposite electric charge in the final state. Candidate events consistent with Higgs boson pair production are selected using a multi-class neural network discriminant. The analysis uses 139 fb(-1) of pp collision data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. An observed (expected) upper limit of 1.2 (0.9(-0.3)(+0.4)) pb is set on the non-resonant Higgs boson pair production cross-section at 95% confidence level, which is equivalent to 40 (29(-9)(+14)) times the value predicted in the Standard Model.
Searches for the Higgs boson decays H -> ee and H -> e mu are performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV at the LHC. No significant signals are observed, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. For a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, the observed (expected) upper limit at the 95% confidence level on the branching fraction B(H -> ee) is 3.6 x 10(-4) (3.5 x 10(-4)) and on B(H -> e mu) is 6.2 x 10(-5) (5.9 x 10(-5)). These results represent improvements by factors of about five and six on the previous best limits on B(H -> ee) and B(H -> e mu) respectively.
A determination of the top-quark mass is presented using 20.2 fb-1 of 8 TeV proton-proton collision data produced by the Large Hadron Collider and collected by the ATLAS experiment. The normalised differential cross section of top-quark pair production in association with an energetic jet is measured in the lepton+jets final state and unfolded to parton and particle levels. The unfolded distribution at parton level can be described using next-to-leading-order QCD predictions in terms of either the top-quark pole mass or the running mass as defined in the (modified) minimal subtraction scheme. A comparison between the experimental distribution and the theoretical prediction allows the top-quark mass to be extracted in the two schemes. The value obtained for the pole-mass scheme is: rnirle 171.1 0.4 (stat) 0.9 (syst) 173 (theo) GeV. The extracted value in the running-mass scheme is: rnt(rnt) = 162.9 0.5 (stat) 1.0 (syst) 1:12 (theo) GeV. The results for the top -quark mass using the two schemes are consistent, when translated from one scheme to the other.
The polypyrrole/titanium dioxide nano composites and polypyrrole/titanium dioxide-MWCNT nano composites were synthesized by chemical polymerization technique in the presence of an ammonium persulphate (oxidizing agent). Different concentrations viz. 15, 30, 45 and 60 wt% of titanium dioxide (TiO2) as well as mixture of TiO2-MWCNT in polypyrrole (PPy) respectively were used in the present study. The nano composites have almost spherical type shaped particles which have cluster formation as confirmed from SEM photos. The XRD graphs reveal that the PPy/TiO2 (PT) nano composites have shown the semi-crystalline nature and also, the graphs indicate the changeover of the structure of PPy/TiO2-MWCNT (PTM) nano composites from amorphous to semi-crystalline nature. From the FTIR figures, shift in wavenumber towards lower side is noticed in the case of PT and PTM nano composites when compared to PPy. The dielectric properties such as dielectric constant, dielectric loss and tangent loss have shown good behavior. This reveals that, the TiO2 as well as mixture of TiO2-MWCNT particles have shown strong dependence on PPy and helps to form good composites. So, the nano composites are good dielectric materials.
There has been a growing interest in understanding how firms allocate their trucks across hauls, and how this allocation changes under various economic environments. This study investigates how variations in route/haul, carrier and vehicle characteristics affect the optimal vehicle size choice and the associated choice of shipment size. We show that the two choices are derived from the same optimization problem. There can be a continuum of shipment sizes, but decision-makers in freight transport have to choose from a limited number of vehicle alternatives. Therefore, we use a discrete-continuous econometric model where shipment size is modeled as a continuous variable, and vehicle size/type choice as a discrete variable. The results indicate that when faced with higher demand, and during longer trips firms are more likely to use heavier vehicles and ship in larger quantities which suggest that firms are realizing economies of scale and economies of distance. The study also discusses the effect of vehicle operating cost on the vehicle selection process and its policy implications.
Zinc-based nanostructured nickel (Ni) free metal oxide electrode material Zn-0.60/CU0.20Mn0.20 oxide (CMZO) was synthesized by solid state reaction and investigated for low temperature solid oxide fuel cell (LTSOFC) applications. The crystal structure and surface morphology of the synthesized electrode material were examined by XRD and SEM techniques respectively. The particle size of ZnO phase estimated by Scherer's equation was 31.50 nm. The maximum electrical conductivity was found to be 12.567 S/cm and 5.846 S/cm in hydrogen and air atmosphere, respectively at 600 degrees C. The activation energy of the CMZO material was also calculated from the DC conductivity data using Arrhenius plots and it was found to be 0.060 and 0.075 eV in hydrogen and air atmosphere, respectively. The CMZO electrode-based fuel cell was tested using carbonated samarium doped ceria composite (NSDC) electrolyte. The three layers 13 mm in diameter and 1 mm thickness of the symmetric fuel cell were fabricated by dry pressing. The maximum power density of 728.86 mW/cm(2) was measured at 550 degrees C.
Zn-based nanostructured Ba0.05Cu0.25Fe0.10Zn0.60O (BCFZ) oxide electrode material was synthesized by solid-state reaction for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell. The cell was fabricated by sandwiching NK-CDC electrolyte between BCFZ electrodes by dry press technique, and its performance was assessed. The maximum power density of 741.87 mW-cm(-2) was achieved at 550 degrees C. The crystal structure and morphology were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and SEM. The particle size was calculated to be 25 nm applying Scherer's formula from XRD data. Electronic conductivities were measured with the four-probe DC method under hydrogen and air atmosphere. AC Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy of the BCFZ oxide electrode was also measured in hydrogen atmosphere at 450 degrees C.
A novel three-layer anode having the composition Ti/TiHx/Ni-Sb-SnO2 (Ti/TiHx/NATO) was successfully prepared by a spin-coating and pyrolysis process aiming at a long service lifetime and good electrocatalytic properties for ozone formation. The TiHx as an interlayer was produced by electrochemical cathodic reduction of a coated layer of the TiOx on the titanium substrate. Spin coating and thermal decomposition were used to deposit the Sn-Sb-Ni precursor on the surface of the prepared Ti/TiHx electrode. Cyclic and linear scanning voltammetry, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to reveal the electrode performance and morphology. Results show that the onset potential for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) of Ti/TiHx /NATO is higher than for Ti/NATO. They also indicate that the service lifetime of the Ti/TiHx/NATO is twice as long as the Ti/NATO at a current density of 50 mA.cm(-2) at room temperature. Electrochemical ozone generation and degradation of the methylene blue were investigated to confirm selectivity and activity of the electrodes. After 5 min electrolysis, a current efficiency for ozone generation of 56% was obtained the electrode with TiHx while 38% was obtained on Ti/NATO under same conditions. The results also confirm that the Ti/TiH x /NATO has a higher kinetic rate constant and decolorization efficiency for removal of the methylene blue compare to the Ti/NATO. The rate constant for the pseudo-first ordered reaction of methylene blue degradation showed high values of 350 x 10(-3) min(-1) for Ti/NATO and 440 x 10(-3) min(-1) for Ti/TiHx/NATO.
EUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder mission for the Extreme Universe Space Observatory onboard the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM-EUSO). It was launched on the moonless night of the 25(th) of August 2014 from Timmins, Canada. The flight ended successfully after maintaining the target altitude of 38 km for five hours. One part of the mission was a 2.5 hour underflight using a helicopter equipped with three UV light sources (LED, xenon flasher and laser) to perform an inflight calibration and examine the detectors capability to measure tracks moving at the speed of light. We describe the helicopter laser system and details of the underflight as well as how the laser tracks were recorded and found in the data. These are the first recorded laser tracks measured from a fluorescence detector looking down on the atmosphere. Finally, we present a first reconstruction of the direction of the laser tracks relative to the detector.
JEM-EUSO is a space mission designed to investigate Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos (E > 5.10(19) eV) from the International Space Station (ISS). Looking down from above its wide angle telescope is able to observe their air showers and collect such data from a very wide area. Highly specific trigger algorithms are needed to drastically reduce the data load in the presence of both atmospheric and human activity related background light, yet retain the rare cosmic ray events recorded in the telescope. We report the performance in offline testing of the first level trigger algorithm on data from JEM-EUSO prototypes and laboratory measurements observing different light sources: data taken during a high altitude balloon flight over Canada, laser pulses observed from the ground traversing the real atmosphere, and model landscapes reproducing realistic aspect ratios and light conditions as would be seen from the ISS itself. The first level trigger logic successfully kept the trigger rate within the permissible bounds when challenged with artificially produced as well as naturally encountered night sky background fluctuations and while retaining events with general air-shower characteristics.
Hierarchical porous zeolitic imidazolate frameworks nanoparticles (ZIF-8 NPs) were synthesized at room temperature via a template-free approach under dynamic conditions (stirring) using water as a solvent. The ZIF-8 NPs were evaluated as adsorbents for rare earth elements (La3+, Sm3+ and Dy3+). Adsorption equilibrium was reached after 7h and high adsorption capacities were obtained for dysprosium and samarium (430.4 and 281.1 mg g(-1), respectively) and moderate adsorption capacity for lanthanum (28.8 mg g(-1)) at a pH of 7.0. The high adsorption capacitiese, as well as the high stability of ZIF-8 NPs, make the hierarchical ZIF-8 materials as an efficient adsorbent for the recovery of La3+, Sm3+ and Dy3+ from aqueous solution.
The Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has collected the largest ever sample of high-energy cosmic-ray electron and positron events since the beginning of its operation. Potential anisotropies in the arrival directions of cosmic-ray electrons or positrons could be a signature of the presence of nearby sources. We use almost seven years of data with energies above 42 GeV processed with the Pass 8 reconstruction. The present data sample can probe dipole anisotropies down to a level of 10(-3). We take into account systematic effects that could mimic true anisotropies at this level. We present a detailed study of the event selection optimization of the cosmic-ray electrons and positrons to be used for anisotropy searches. Since no significant anisotropies have been detected on any angular scale, we present upper limits on the dipole anisotropy. The present constraints are among the strongest to date probing the presence of nearby young and middle-aged sources.
The light emitted by all galaxies over the history of the Universe produces the extragalactic background light (EBL) at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths. The EBL is a source of opacity for gamma rays via photon-photon interactions, leaving an imprint in the spectra of distant gamma-ray sources. We measured this attenuation using 739 active galaxies and one gamma-ray burst detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This allowed us to reconstruct the evolution of the EBL and determine the star formation history of the Universe over 90% of cosmic time. Our star formation history is consistent with independent measurements from galaxy surveys, peaking at redshift z similar to 2. Upper limits of the EBL at the epoch of reionization suggest a turnover in the abundance of faint galaxies at z similar to 6.
The Design for Repeatedly Utilization (DFRU) is a proposed conceptto be used in the product realizationprocess to ensure optimum useable life (forinstance in terms of economy, resourceusage, environmental impact etc.) ofproducts or parts of products enablingmultiple lifecycle. In the DFRU approachproducts are restored as new like productsthrough remanufacturing processes. Theterm remanufacturing has been interpreteddifferently by different researchers and theindustries that are involved inremanufacturing business use differentapproaches to remanufacture theirproducts. In this paper the starter motorand alternator of automotives has beenused to demonstrate the novel concepts.The purpose of this paper is to expresswhat remanufacturing means in ourconcept, model their major lifecycleaspects and create a simulation modelfrom it. This is a preliminary work towardsdefining and specifying the processes,methods and design properties in DFRU.The work will be further extended to aholistic business model which can facilitateDFRU approach in an efficient way. Infuture the model will be developed andadopted to create new models for otherproducts appropriate for remanufacturingand eventually DFRU.
In this research, we attempt to generate fonts automatically using a modification of a Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network (DCGAN) by introducing class consideration. DCGANs are the application of generative adversarial networks (GAN) which make use of convolutional and deconvolutional layers to generate data through adversarial detection. The conventional GAN is comprised of two neural networks that work in series. Specifically, it approaches an unsupervised method of data generation with the use of a generative network whose output is fed into a second discriminative network. While DCGANs have been successful on natural images, we show its limited ability on font generation due to the high variation of fonts combined with the need of rigid structures of characters. We propose a class discriminative DCGAN which uses a classification network to work alongside the discriminative network to refine the generative network. This results of our experiment shows a dramatic improvement over the conventional DCGAN.
The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) collaboration recently published their 2HWC catalog, listing 39 very high energy (VHE; >100 GeV) gamma-ray sources based on 507 days of observation. Among these, 19 sources are not associated with previously known teraelectronvolt (TeV) gamma-ray sources. We have studied 14 of these sources without known counterparts with VERITAS and Fermi-LAT. VERITAS detected weak gamma-ray emission in the 1 TeV-30 TeV band in the region of DA 495, a pulsar wind nebula coinciding with 2HWC J1953+294, confirming the discovery of the source by HAWC. We did not find any counterpart for the selected 14 new HAWC sources from our analysis of Fermi-LAT data for energies higher than 10 GeV. During the search, we detected gigaelectronvolt (GeV) gamma-ray emission coincident with a known TeV pulsar wind nebula, SNR G54.1+0.3 (VER J1930+188), and a 2HWC source, 2HWC J1930+188. The fluxes for isolated, steady sources in the 2HWC catalog are generally in good agreement with those measured by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. However, the VERITAS fluxes for SNR G54.1+0.3, DA 495, and TeV J2032+4130 are lower than those measured by HAWC, and several new HAWC sources are not detected by VERITAS. This is likely due to a change in spectral shape, source extension, or the influence of diffuse emission in the source region.
The Fornax galaxy cluster was observed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System for a total live time of 14.5 hr, searching for very high energy (VHE; E > 100GeV) gamma-rays from dark matter (DM) annihilation. No significant signal was found in searches for point-like and extended emissions. Using several models of the DM density distribution, upper limits on the DM velocity-weighted annihilation cross-section <sigma upsilon > as a function of the DM particle mass are derived. Constraints are derived for different DM particle models, such as those arising from Kaluza-Klein and supersymmetric models. Various annihilation final states are considered. Possible enhancements of the DM annihilation gamma-ray flux, due to DM substructures of the DM host halo, or from the Sommerfeld effect, are studied. Additional gamma-ray contributions from internal bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton radiation are also discussed. For a DM particle mass of 1 TeV, the exclusion limits at 95% of confidence level reach values of <sigma upsilon >(95% C.L.) similar to 10(-23) cm(3) s(-1), depending on the DM particle model and halo properties. Additional contribution from DM substructures can improve the upper limits on <sigma upsilon > by more than two orders of magnitude. At masses around 4.5 TeV, the enhancement by substructures and the Sommerfeld resonance effect results in a velocity-weighted annihilation cross-section upper limit at the level of <sigma upsilon >(95% C.L.) similar to 10(-26) cm(3) s(-1).
In this research, we present a local Moho model, named MOHV19, including Moho depth and Moho density contrast (or shortly Moho constituents) with corresponding uncertainties, which are mapped from altimetric and gravimetric data (DSNSC08) in addition to seismic tomographic (CRUST1.0) and Earth topographic data (Earth2014) to a resolution of 1 degrees x 1 degrees based on a solution of Vening Meinesz-Moritz' theory of isostasy. The MOHV19 model covers the area of entire European plate along with the surrounding oceans, bounded by latitudes (30 degrees N-82 degrees N) and longitudes (40 degrees W-70 degrees E). The article aims to interpret the Moho model resulted via altimetric and gravimetric information from the geological and geophysical perspectives along with investigating the relation between the Moho depth and Moho density contrast. Our numerical results show that estimated Moho depths range from 7.5 to 57.9 km with continental and oceanic averages of 41.3 +/- 4.9 km and 21.6 +/- 9.2 km, respectively, and an overall average of 30.9 +/- 12.3 km. The estimated Moho density contrast ranges from 60.2 to 565.8 kg/m(3), with averages of 421.8 +/- 57.9 and 284.4 +/- 62.9 kg/m(3) for continental and oceanic regions, respectively, with a total average of 350.3 +/- 91.5 kg/m(3). In most areas, estimated uncertainties in the Moho constituents are less than 3 km and 40 kg/m(3), respectively, but they reach to much more significant values under Iceland, parts of Gulf of Bothnia and along the Kvitoya Island. Comparing the Moho depths estimated by MOHV19 and those derived by CRUST1.0, MDN07, GRAD09 and MD19 models shows that MOHV19 agree fairly well with CRUST1.0 but rather poor with other models. The RMS difference between the Moho density contrasts estimated by MOHV19 and CRUST1.0 models is 49.45 kg/m(3).
We present a combined method for estimating a new global Moho model named KTH15C, containing Moho depth and Moho density contrast (or shortly Moho parameters), from a combination of global models of gravity (GOCO05S), topography (DTM2006) and seismic information (CRUST1.0 and MDN07) to a resolution of 1 degrees x 1 degrees based on a solution of Vening Meinesz-Moritz' inverse problem of isostasy. This paper also aims modelling of the observation standard errors propagated from the Vening Meinesz-Moritz and CRUST1.0 models in estimating the uncertainty of the final Moho model. The numerical results yield Moho depths ranging from 6.5 to 70.3 km, and the estimated Moho density contrasts ranging from 21 to 650 kg/m(3), respectively. Moreover, test computations display that in most areas estimated uncertainties in the parameters are less than 3 km and 50 kg/m(3), respectively, but they reach to more significant values under Gulf of Mexico, Chile, Eastern Mediterranean, Timor sea and parts of polar regions. Comparing the Moho depths estimated by KTH15C and those derived by KTH11C, GEMMA2012C, CRUST1.0, KTH14C, CRUST14 and GEMMA1.0 models shows that KTH15C agree fairly well with CRUST1.0 but rather poor with other models. The Moho density contrasts estimated by KTH15C and those of the KTH11C, KTH14C and VMM model agree to 112, 31 and 61 kg/m(3) in RMS. The regional numerical studies show that the RMS differences between KTH15C and Moho depths from seismic information yields fits of 2 to 4 km in South and North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and Antarctica, respectively.
—Work-related injuries and disorders constitute a major burden and cost for employers, society in general and workers in particular. We@Work is a project that aims to develop an integrated solution for promoting and supporting a safe and healthy working life by combining wearable technologies, Big Data analytics, ergonomics, and information and communication technologies. The We@Work solution aims to support the worker and employer to ensure a healthy working life through pervasive monitoring for early warnings, prompt detection of capacity-loss and accurate risk assessments at workplace as well as self-management of a healthy working life. A multiservice platform will allow unobtrusive data collection at workplaces. Big Data analytics will provide real-time information useful to prevent work injuries and support healthy working life
We present a search for spatial extension in high-latitude (vertical bar b vertical bar > 5 degrees) sources in recent Fermi point source catalogs. The result is the Fermi High-Latitude Extended Sources Catalog, which provides source extensions (or upper limits thereof) and likelihood profiles for a suite of tested source morphologies. We find 24. extended sources, 19 of which were not previously characterized as extended. These include sources that are potentially associated with supernova remnants and star-forming regions. We also found extended.-ray emission in the vicinity of the Cen. A radio lobes and-at GeV energies for the first time-spatially coincident with the radio emission of the SNR CTA 1, as well as from the Crab Nebula. We also searched for halos around active galactic nuclei, which are predicted from electromagnetic cascades induced by the e(+)e(-) pairs that are deflected in intergalactic magnetic fields. These pairs are produced when gamma-rays interact with background radiation fields. We do not find evidence for extension in individual sources or in stacked source samples. This enables us to place limits on the flux of the extended source components, which are then used to constrain the intergalactic magnetic field to be stronger than 3 x 10(-16) G for a coherence length lambda greater than or similar to 10 kpc, even when conservative assumptions on the source duty cycle are made. This improves previous limits by several orders of magnitude.
The gamma-ray sky has been observed with unprecedented accuracy in the last decade by the Fermi-large area telescope (LAT), allowing us to resolve and understand the high-energy Universe. The nature of the remaining unresolved emission [unresolved gamma-ray background (UGRB)] below the LAT source detection threshold can be uncovered by characterizing the amplitude and angular scale of the UGRB fluctuation field. This Letter presents a measurement of the UGRB autocorrelation angular power spectrum based on eight years of Fermi-LAT Pass 8 data products. The analysis is designed to be robust against contamination from resolved sources and noise systematics. The sensitivity to subthreshold sources is greatly enhanced with respect to previous measurements. We find evidence (with similar to 3.7 sigma significance) that the scenario in which two classes of sources contribute to the UGRB signal is favored over a single class. A double power law with exponential cutoff can explain the anisotropy energy spectrum well, with photon indices of the two populations being 2.55 +/- 0.23 and 1.86 +/- 0.15.
The spatial extension of gamma-ray source is an essential ingredient to determine its spectral properties, as well as its potential multiwavelength counterpart. The capability to spatially resolve gamma-ray sources is greatly improved by the newly delivered Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) Pass 8 event-level analysis, which provides a greater acceptance and an improved point-spread function, two crucial factors for the detection of extended sources. Here, we present a complete search for extended sources located within 7 degrees from the Galactic plane, using 6 yr of Fermi-LAT data above 10 GeV. We find 46 extended sources and provide their morphological and spectral characteristics. This constitutes the first catalog of hard Fermi-LAT extended sources, named the Fermi Galactic Extended Source Catalog, which allows a thorough study of the properties of the Galactic plane in the sub-TeV domain.
Black holes with masses below approximately 10(15) g are expected to emit gamma-rays with energies above a few tens of MeV, which can be detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Although black holes with these masses cannot be formed as a result of stellar evolution, they may have formed in the early universe and are therefore called primordial black holes (PBHs). Previous searches for PBHs have focused on either short-timescale bursts or the contribution of PBHs to the isotropic gamma-ray emission. We show that, in cases of individual PBHs, the Fermi-LAT is most sensitive to PBHs with temperatures above approximately 16 GeV and masses 6 x 10(11) g, which it can detect out to a distance of about 0.03 pc. These PBHs have a remaining lifetime of months to years at the start of the Fermi mission. They would appear as potentially moving point sources with gamma-ray emission that become spectrally harder and brighter with time until the PBH completely evaporates. In this paper, we develop a new algorithm to detect the proper motion of gamma-ray point sources, and apply it to 318 unassociated point sources at a high galactic latitude in the third Fermi-LAT source catalog. None of the unassociated point sources with spectra consistent with PBH evaporation show significant proper motion. Using the nondetection of PBH candidates, we derive a 99% confidence limit on the PBH evaporation rate in the vicinity of Earth, <(rho)over dot>(PBH) < 7.2 x 10(3) pc(-3) yr(-1). This limit is similar to the limits obtained with ground-based gamma-ray observatories.
Studying the prediction of new links in evolutionary networks is a captivating question that has received the interest of different disciplines. Link prediction allows to extract missing information and evaluate network dynamics. Some algorithms that tackle this problem with good performances are based on the sociability index, a measure of node interactions over time. In this paper, we present a case study of this predictor in the evolutionary graph that represents the CCIA co-authorship network from 2005 to 2015. Moreover, we present a generalized version of this sociability index, that takes into account the time in which such interactions occur. We show that this new index outperforms existing predictors. Finally, we use it in order to predict new co-authorships for CCIA 2016.
We present here a new perovskite oxide with low lanthanum content doped in calcium manganite, La0.1Ca0.9MnO3 (LCM) as a functional material for low temperature solid oxide fuel cell (LTSOFC) and electrolyte-layer free fuel cell (EFFC). The LCM introduces an intrinsic mixed-ion and electron conduction. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis shows high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity with an extremely low activation energy which enables an excellent cathode activity. Fuel cells using LCM as cathode with oxide ion conducting electrolyte samarium doped ceria (SDC) and NCAL as an anode, demonstrate a maximum power density of 650 mW cm(-2) at 550 degrees C, which is higher than most of the cathode materials reported for SOFC at this temperature. For EFFC, maximum power density of 750 mW cm(-2) is achieved using LCM as a semiconductor material with SDC ion conducting material. The present work highlights the development of new active air electrode especially for developing low temperature solid oxide fuel cells.
Engine simulation based on one-dimensional gas dynamics is well suited for integration of all aspects arising in engine and powertrain developments. Commonly used turbocharger performance maps in engine simulation are measured in non-pulsating flow and without taking into account the heat transfer. Since on-engine turbochargers are exposed to pulsating flow and varying heat transfer situations, the maps in the engine simulation, i.e. GT-POWER, have to be shifted and corrected which are usually done by mass and efficiency multipliers for both turbine and compressor. The multipliers change the maps and are often different for every load point. Particularly, the efficiency multiplier is different for every heat transfer situation on the turbocharger. The aim of this paper is to include the heat transfer of the turbocharger in the engine simulation and consequently to reduce the use of efficiency multiplier for both the turbine and compressor. A set of experiment has been designed and performed on a water-oil-cooled turbocharger, which was installed on a 2 liter GDI engine with variable valve timing, for different load points of the engine and different conditions of heat transfer in the turbocharger. The experiments were the base to simulate heat transfer on the turbocharger, by adding a heat sink before the turbine and a heat source after the compressor. The efficiency multiplier of the turbine cannot compensate for all heat transfer in the turbine, so it is needed to put out heat from the turbine in addition to the using of efficiency multiplier. Results of this study show that including heat transfer of turbocharger in engine simulation enables to decrease the use of turbine efficiency multiplier and eliminate the use of compressor efficiency multiplier to correctly calculate the measured gas temperatures after turbine and compressor.
Small-scale woody biomass energy systems have an inherent ability to aid in emissions reduction while stimulating local economies and, as collective energy systems, are strongly connected to supply chain design based on local conditions and stakeholder integration. Despite an abundance of forest area alongside the promotion of biomass in energy policies, however, woody biomass utilization still remains low in Japan. The woody biomass supply chain, considered as a socio-technical system, involves a complex, cross-sectoral stakeholder network in which inter-organizational dynamics necessitates well-organized management based on an understanding of formal factors such as technology, as well as informal factors such as social relations and culture. In this paper, success factor perceptions from across the woody biomass supply chain are investigated based on semi-structured interviews with four stakeholders in the Kyushu region of Japan. Identified success factors here are: 1) respect of values & traditions, 2) transportation infrastructure, 3) business model integration, 4) relationship & trust, 5) local vitalization and 6) biomass quality control. A convergence as well as divergence of perceptions are observed, involving both formal and informal dimensions. Aiming to balance perceptions and to enable long-term success of woody biomass in Japan, a series of policy implications are drawn, including cross-ministerial integration, knowledge building on wood logistics, forest certification, local coordinators, biomass quality control standards and a feed-in-tariff for heat. This paper suggests a new arena of policy-making based on the importance of considering both informal and formal dimensions in energy policy.
Herein, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has been utilized as an efficient sorbent in microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS). The combination of MEPS and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry has been used to develop a method for the extraction and determination of three local anesthetics (i.e. lidocaine, prilocaine, and ropivacaine) in human plasma and saliva samples. The results showed that the utilization of RGO in MEPS could minimize the matrix effect so that no interfering peaks at the retention times of the analytes or internal standard was observed. The high extraction efficiency of this method was approved by mean recoveries of 97.26-106.83% and 95.21-105.83% for the studied analytes in plasma and saliva samples, respectively. Intra- and inter-day accuracies and precisions for all analytes were in good accordance with the international regulations. The accuracy values (as percentage deviation from the nominal value) of the quality control samples were between - 2.1 to 13.9 for lidocaine, - 4.2 to 11.0 for prilocaine and between - 4.5 to - 2.4 for ropivacaine in plasma samples while the values were ranged from - 4.6 to 1.6 for lidocaine, from - 4.2 to 15.5 for prilocaine and from - 3.3 to - 2.3 for ropivacaine in human saliva samples. Lower and upper limit of quantification (LLOQ, ULOQ) were set at 5 and 2000 nmol L-1 for all of the studied drugs. The correlation coefficients values were >= 0.995. The limit of detection values were obtained 4 nmol L-1 for lidocaine and prilocaine, and 2 nmol L-1 for ropivacaine.
Soil microorganisms living in close contact with minerals play key roles in the biogeochemical cycling of elements, soil formation, and plant nutrition. Yet, the composition of microbial communities inhabiting the mineralosphere (i.e., the soil surrounding minerals) is poorly understood. Here, we explored the composition of soil microbial communities associated with different types of minerals in various soil horizons. To this effect, a field experiment was set up in which mineral specimens of apatite, biotite, and oligoclase were buried in the organic, eluvial, and upper illuvial horizons of a podzol soil. After an incubation period of two years, the soil attached to the mineral surfaces was collected, and microbial communities were analyzed by means of Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the 16S (prokaryotic) and 18S (eukaryotic) ribosomal RNA genes. We found that both composition and diversity of bacterial, archaeal, and fungal communities varied across the different mineral surfaces, and that mineral type had a greater influence on structuring microbial assemblages than soil horizon. Thus, our findings emphasize the importance of mineral surfaces as ecological niches in soils.
This paper discusses novel joint (intracell and intercell) resource allocation algorithms for self-organized interference coordination in multicarrier multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) small cell networks. The proposed algorithms enable interference coordination autonomously, over multiple degrees of freedom, such as base station transmit powers, transmit precoders, and user scheduling weights. A generic a-fair utility maximization framework is considered to analyze performance-fairness tradeoff and to quantify the gains achievable in interference-limited networks. The proposed scheme involves limited inter-base station signaling in the form of two step (power and precoder) pricing. Based on this decentralized coordination, autonomous power and precoder update decision rules are considered, leading to algorithms with different characteristics in terms of user data rates, signaling load, and convergence speed. Simulation results in a practical setting show that the proposed pricing-based self-organization can achieve up to 100% improvement in cell-edge data rates when compared to baseline optimization strategies. Furthermore, the convergence of the proposed algorithms is also proved theoretically.
The flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1441+25 at a redshift of z = 0.940 is detected between 40 and 250 GeV with a significance of 25.5σ using the MAGIC telescopes. Together with the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 (z = 0.944), PKS 1441+25 is the most distant very high energy (VHE) blazar detected to date. The observations were triggered by an outburst in 2015 April seen at GeV energies with the Large Area Telescope on board Fermi. Multi-wavelength observations suggest a subdivision of the high state into two distinct flux states. In the band covered by MAGIC, the variability timescale is estimated to be 6.4 ±1.9 days. Modeling the broadband spectral energy distribution with an external Compton model, the location of the emitting region is understood as originating in the jet outside the broad-line region (BLR) during the period of high activity, while being partially within the BLR during the period of low (typical) activity. The observed VHE spectrum during the highest activity is used to probe the extragalactic background light at an unprecedented distance scale for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy.
We present the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) observations of the binary neutron star merger event GW170817 and the associated short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) GRB 170817A detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor. The LAT was entering the South Atlantic Anomaly at the time of the LIGO/Virgo trigger (t(GW)) and therefore cannot place constraints on the existence of high-energy (E > 100 MeV) emission associated with the moment of binary coalescence. We focus instead on constraining high-energy emission on longer timescales. No candidate electromagnetic counterpart was detected by the LAT on timescales of minutes, hours, or days after the LIGO/Virgo detection. The resulting flux upper bound (at 95% C. L.) from the LAT is 4.5. x. 10(-10) erg cm(-2) s(-1) in the 0.1-1 GeV range covering a period from tGW. +. 1153 s to t(GW). +. 2027 s. At the distance of GRB 170817A, this flux upper bound corresponds to a luminosity upper bound of 9.7. x. 10(43) erg s(-1), which is five orders of magnitude less luminous than the only other LAT SGRB with known redshift, GRB 090510. We also discuss the prospects for LAT detection of electromagnetic counterparts to future gravitational-wave events from Advanced LIGO/Virgo in the context of GW170817/GRB 170817A.
This work presents a compact, quad-band planar antenna intended for assimilation into flexible and conformal devices. The CPW-fed semicircular shaped prototype with rake-shaped slots is designed, realized and characterized experimentally. The frequency bands covered by the proposed radiator are centered at 2.5, 3.7, 5.5 and 8 GHz with measured impedance bandwidths of 16%, 13.5%, 11.8% and 14.63%, respectively. The proposed antenna is thus enabled to support WLAN, ISM, Bluetooth, WiMAX LTE and X-band applications. The antenna exhibits a significant gain. The radiation characteristics of the proposed radiator are measured in concave and convex bent shapes at various radii to analyze its flexibility. Performance of the antenna remains almost unaffected in the bent situation. Measurements demonstrate good coherence with simulations. The compactness and good performance of the design both in bent and unbent conditions proves it to be the better contender for future multiband conformal wireless applications.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Scania are entering the GCDC 2011 under the name Scoop –Stockholm Cooperative Driving. This paper is an introduction to their team and to the technical approach theyare using in their prototype system for GCDC 2011.
First-principles calculations are performed using density function theory to explore the effects of dopant Ca in ceria (Ce1-x CaxO2-delta). The impact of oxygen vacancy on band gap and density of states is examined in doped ceria using generalized gradient approximations. Vacancy association and vacancy formation energies of the doped ceria are calculated to reveal the effect of dopant on ion conduction. The experimental study of the sample Ce0.875Ca0.125O2-delta) was performed to compare with the theoretical results. The obtained results from theoretical calculation and experimental techniques show that oxygen vacancy increases the volume, lattice constant (5.47315 angstrom) but decrease the band gap (1.72 eV) and bulk modulus. The dopant radius (1.173 angstrom) and lattice constant (5.4718 angstrom) are also calculated by equations which is close to the DFT lattice parameter. The result shows that oxygen vacancy shifts the density of states to lower energy region. Band gap is decreased due to shifting of valence states to conduction band. Vacancy formation shows a significance increase in density of states near the Fermi level. Density of states at Fermi level is proportional to the conductivity, so an increase in density of states near the Fermi level increases the conductivity. The experimental measured ionic conductivity is found to 0.095 S cm(-1) at 600 degrees C. The microstructural studies is also reported in this work.
Charge injection and generation mechanisms under intense electric fields (up to 10(9)Vm(-1)) in mineral oil are assessed experimentally and numerically. For this, current-voltage characteristics under positive and negative polarities are measured in a needle-plane configuration using sharp needles (with tip radius R-tip <= 1.1 mu m). In addition, a state of the art electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) model is implemented to calculate the contribution of the different mechanisms on the high-field conduction currents in the liquid. In order to evaluate exclusively the contribution of field emission, experiments are also performed in vacuum. It is found that neither field emission nor field ionisation can explain the conduction currents measured in mineral oil. It is proposed that field molecular ionisation, as described by Zener tunnelling model for solids, and electron impact ionisation are the processes dominating the generation of excess electron-ion pairs in mineral oil under positive and negative polarity, respectively. It is also shown that Zener molecular ionisation alone grossly overestimates the measured currents when parameters previously suggested in the literature for mineral oil are used. Preliminary model parameters for these mechanisms that best fit the conduction currents measured in mineral oil are presented and discussed.
In this work we summarize the solution developed by Team KTH for the Amazon Picking Challenge 2016 in Leipzig, Germany. The competition simulated a warehouse automation scenario and it was divided in two tasks: a picking task where a robot picks items from a shelf and places them in a tote and a stowing task which is the inverse task where the robot picks items from a tote and places them in a shelf. We describe our approach to the problem starting from a high level overview of our system and later delving into details of our perception pipeline and our strategy for manipulation and grasping. The solution was implemented using a Baxter robot equipped with additional sensors.
This work presents ways into a design space of butterflies in the stomach; a qualia of belly tingling sensation possible of pleasure, discomfort and presence heightening. Three design instances are presented. From and within those are three conceptual directions drawn and exemplified. Conditional availability involves tuning the availability of an interaction to certain geographic locations, environmental conditions and time-of-day in strive for particular aesthetics. Erratic and dubious presence is about making interactions unpredictable and/or feeding a doubt whether the user is engaged in an interaction or not, in strive for confusion and startle. Sensorial evidence of interaction is a way of thinking about narratives within an interaction through elements of planning, exploration and suddenness in strive for experiential qualities like anticipation, surprise, and fascination of discovery. My felt experiences of a two-day camping trip were used as a design resource. Reflections of these experiences were used in the design and concept development through visualizations, textual narratives, technical implementation detailing, and thematic analysis. This work is a provocative step expanding on what human-computer interaction can be in the outdoors.