50175 research outputs found
Sort by
Search for heavy Majorana neutrinos in same-sign dilepton channels in proton-proton collisions at root s = TeV
No full textA search is performed for a heavy Majorana neutrino (N), produced in leptonic decay of a W boson propagator and decaying into a W boson and a lepton, with the CMS detector at the LHC. The signature used in this search consists of two same-sign leptons, in any flavor combination of electrons and muons, and at least one jet. The data were collected during 2016 in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The results are found to be consistent with the expected standard model background. Upper limits are set in the mass range between 20 and 1600 GeV in the context of a Type-I seesaw mechanism, on |V-eN|(2), |V-N|(2), and |VeNV *|(2)/(|V-eN|(2)+|V-N|(2)), where V-N is the matrix element describing the mixing of N with the standard model neutrino of flavor = e, . For N masses between 20 and 1600 GeV, the upper limits on |V-N|(2) range between 2.3 x 10(-5) and unity. These are the most restrictive direct limits for heavy Majorana neutrino masses above 430 GeV
Long-period structural modulation on the global length scale as the characteristic feature of the morphotropic phase boundaries in the Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 based lead-free piezoelectrics
No full textThe inherent structural disorder has a profound effect on the dielectric, ferroelectric and the electromechanical response of the Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT) based lead-free piezoelectrics. While analogous to the lead-based classical morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) systems the existence of MPB has been recognized in some derivatives of NBT displaying enhanced electromechanical response, there is a lack of clarity on the structural state of the MPB compositions on NBT-based systems on the global length scale. We have examined this issue on the well known MPB system (1-x)Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-(x)K0.5Bi0.5TiO3(NBT-KBT) by carrying out structural investigations on local and global length scales using Eu+3 photoluminiscence and high-resolution neutron powder diffraction techniques, respectively. Our study reveals that the MPB of this system is characterized by the onset of a long-period modulated structure with a periodicity of similar to 40 angstrom on the global scale. Temperature depedent neutron diffraction study revealed that the intermediate temperature P4bm phase which appears in NBT is suppressed for the MPB composition. The MPB composition rather develops a long-period modulated phase on cooling from the cubic phase. The ergodic-nonergodic relaxor ferroelectric transition occurs within this long-period modulated phase. In the non-ergodic regime, however, strong electric field irreversibly transforms the long-period modulated phase to the rhombohedral ferroelectric (R3c). We demonstrate that thermal depolarization of this system is a distinct structural event characterized by the system losing its field-induced long range rhombohedral (R3c) coherence and transforming back to the long-period modulated phase. Our study suggests that the long-period modulated phase is the primary structural feature of the MPB compositions in NBT-based piezoelectrics. (C) 2018 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Fast High-Dimensional Kernel Filtering
No full textThe bilateral and nonlocal means filters are instances of' kernel-based filters that are popularly used in image processing. It was recently shown that fast and accurate bilateral filtering of grayscale images can he performed using a low-rank approximation of the kernel matrix. More specifically, based on the eigendecomposition of the kernel matrix, the overall filtering was approximated using spatial convolutions, for which efficient algorithms are available. Unfortunately, this technique cannot be scaled to high-dimensional data such as color and hyperspectral images. This is simply because one needs to compute/store a large matrix and perform its eigendecomposition in this case. We show how this problem can be solved using the Nystrom method, which is generally used for approximating the eigendecomposition of large matrices. The resulting algorithm can also be used for nonlocal means filtering. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposal for bilateral and nonlocal means filtering of color and hyperspectral images. In particular, our method is shown to be competitive with state-of-the-art fast algorithms, and moreover, it comes with a theoretical guarantee on the approximation error
Noninvasive sampling reveals population genetic structure in the Royle's pika, Ochotona roylei, in the western Himalaya
No full textUnderstanding population genetic structure of climate-sensitive herbivore species is important as it provides useful insights on how shifts in environmental conditions can alter their distribution and abundance. Herbivore responses to the environment can have a strong indirect cascading effect on community structure. This is particularly important for Royle's pika (Lagomorpha: Ochotona roylei), a herbivorous talus-dwelling species in alpine ecosystem, which forms a major prey base for many carnivores in the Himalayan arc. In this study, we used seven polymorphic microsatellite loci to detect evidence for recent changes in genetic diversity and population structure in Royle's pika across five locations sampled between 8 and 160 km apart in the western Himalaya. Using four clustering approaches, we found the presence of significant contemporary genetic structure in Royle's pika populations. The detected genetic structure could be primarily attributed to the landscape features in alpine habitat (e.g., wide lowland valleys, rivers) that may act as semipermeable barriers to gene flow and distribution of food plants, which are key determinants in spatial distribution of herbivores. Pika showed low inbreeding coefficients (F-IS) and a high level of pairwise relatedness for individuals within 1 km suggesting low dispersal abilities of talus-dwelling pikas. We have found evidence of a recent population bottleneck, possibly due to effects of environmental disturbances (e.g., snow melting patterns or thermal stress). Our results reveal significant evidence of isolation by distance in genetic differentiation (F-ST range = 0.04-0.19). This is the first population genetics study on Royle's pika, which helps to address evolutionary consequences of climate change which are expected to significantly affect the distribution and population dynamics in this talus-dwelling species
Photo and thermally induced properties change in Bi/Ag/Se trilayer thin film
No full textIn this article, we have demonstrated the optical and structural properties change in Bi/Ag/Se trilayer thin films by the influence of thermal and photon energy. The trilayer films prepared by thermal evaporation technique were annealed and laser irradiated at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction study revealed the Ag2Se phase formation and the surface morphology change is being studied by Field emission scanning electron microscopy. The optical properties of the studied films were characterized by using FTIR spectrophotometer in the wavelength range 400-1200 nm. The reduction of optical band gap by both thermal and laser irradiation is being discussed on the basis of chemical disorderness, defect states and density of localized states in the mobility gap. The Raman shift due to annealing and irradiation supports the changes in the film. The large change in optical band gap in thermal annealing is useful for memory device and waveguide fabrication
Structural, optical, and morphological stability of ZnO nano rods under shock wave loading conditions
No full textShock wave recovery experiment on crystalline materials is a hot research topic for aerospace applications. In this research article, authors present and demonstrate the stability of physical properties of ZnO nano rods (ZnO NRs) under shock wave loaded conditions. The test sample is synthesized by hydrothermal method and the shock waves were generated using a table top semi automatic pressure driven shock tube. A shock wave of 2.2 Mach number which has a transient pressure of 2.0 MPa and temperature 864 K was made to strike four test samples for the counts of 50,100,150 and 200, respectively. The shock loaded samples were subjected to XRD and optical analysis so as to understand the influence of shock waves in the structural and optical properties. The results show that ZnO NRs have magnificent molecular, optical, structural and morphological stability for 50,100 and 150 shocks. Though, when the number of shock pulses was increased to 200 and a blue shift was observed in UV-vis spectrum, no changes in structural properties took place which was evidenced from XRD. From this shock wave recovery experiment, it is clear that ZnO NRs are highly stable against shock waves and hence this material is suggested for the aerospace and military applications
Shape factor of the turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate and the Reynolds shear stress in the outer region
No full textIt has recently been shown by Wei and Klewicki Phys. Rev. Fluids 1, 082401 (2016)] that in a zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer flow, the product of the nondimensional free-stream velocities in the streamwise (U-infinity(+)) and wall-normal (V-infinity(+)) directions is the flow shape parameter (H): U infinity+V infinity+ = H. It is suggested here that this result is a consequence of the variation of the Reynolds shear stress with U infinity V in the outer region of the boundary layer
Influence of Ta2O5 Interfacial Oxide Layer Thickness on Electronic Parameters of Al/Ta2O5/p-Si/Al Heterostructure
No full textWe describe the impact of Ta2O5 interfacial oxide layer thickness (ranging from 100-350 nm) on electrical and structural properties of Al/Ta2O5/p-Si/Al Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor (MIS) Schottky barrier diodes using RF magnetron sputtering. We studied the Schottky barrier device parameters such as ideality factor, barrier height and series resistance and are evaluated from current-voltage (I-V) measurements. The barrier height and ideality factor values are significantly varying with Ta2O5 oxide layer thickness and found to be 0.58 eV, 2.35, 0.71 eV, 2.10 and 0.78 eV, 1.87 for 20, 40 and 60 nm, respectively. It was noticed that the calculated barrier height and ideality values for this prepared Al/Ta2O5/p-Si/Al MIS Schottky barrier diode were greatly improved than those conventional metal-semiconductor (MS) Schottky diodes. The XRD studies revealed that the 100-nm thickness film exhibited poor crystallinity whereas 200 and 350 nm thickness films showed improved crystallinity with orthorhombic phase of -Ta2O5. The presence of this orthorhombic phase of -Ta2O5 is confirmed with FTIR studies. To explore the structural transformations in Ta2O5 films with varying thicknesses, Raman spectroscopy was utilized. In addition, the improvement in Schottky diode parameters was correlated with the enhanced crystallinity noticed in XRD studies
Study of the underlying event in top quark pair production in pp collisions at 13 TeV
No full textMeasurements of normalized differential cross sections as functions of the multiplicity and kinematic variables of charged-particle tracks from the underlying event in top quark and antiquark pair production are presented. The measurements are performed in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13<, and are based on data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9fb(-1). Events containing one electron, one muon, and two jets from the hadronization and fragmentation of b quarks are used. These measurements characterize, for the first time, properties of the underlying event in top quark pair production and show no deviation from the universality hypothesis at energy scales typically above twice the top quark mass
Electrical noise inside the band gap of bilayer graphene
No full textBilayer graphene (BLG), endowed with its electrostatically tunable band gap, plays a special role in next generation 2D materials based electronics. However, important aspects of its device characteristics are not fully understood, including in particular, the mechanism of electrical noise in its gapped state, which is essential to its operation. Here, we present the first systematic study of 1/f noise in conductance G in a dual-gated BLG as we tune the Fermi energy inside its large band gap. The normalized conductance noise <delta G(2)>/G(2) initially increases dramatically by over an order of magnitude, which our analysis indicates, as arising due to percolative charge transport. When the Fermi energy reaches the charge neutrality point, we observe a remarkably constant <delta G(2)> irrespective of the magnitude of band gap, even though G decreases exponentially with band gap. We discuss that this is likely to be consequence of fluctuations in activated charge carriers far from the Fermi energy, enabled by charge traps of the substrate. Our results provide a coherent description of low frequency electrical noise in gapped BLG, paving the way for its implementation in the next-generation devices as well as representing benchmark for other gapped 2D materials