Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Microhydration on the Mechanisms of Hydrolysis and Cl- Substitution in Reactions of N2O5 and Seawater.

The reaction of N2O5 at atmospheric interfaces has recently received considerable attention due to its importance in atmospheric chemistry. N2O5 reacts preferentially with Cl- to form ClNO2/NO3- (Cl- substitution), but can also react with H2O to form 2HNO3 (hydrolysis). In this paper, we explore these competing reactions in a theoretical study of the clusters N2O5/Cl-/nH2O (n=2-5), resulting in the identification of three reaction motifs. First, we uncovered an SN2-type Cl- substitution reaction of N2O5 that occurs very quickly due to low barriers to reaction. Second, we found a lowlying pathway to hydrolysis via a ClNO2 intermediate (two-step hydrolysis). Finally, we found a direct hydrolysis pathway where H2O attacks N2O5 (one-step hydrolysis). We find that Cl- substitution is the fastest reaction in every cluster. Between one-step and two-step hydrolysis, we find that one-step hydrolysis barriers are lower, making two-step hydrolysis (via ClNO2 intermediate) likely only when concentrations of Cl- are high.
Nucleation as a rate-determining step in catalytic gas generation reactions from liquid phase systems

The observable reaction rate of heterogeneously catalyzed reactions is known to be limited either by the intrinsic kinetics of the catalytic transformation or by the rate of pore and/or film diffusion. Here, we show that in gas generation reactions from liquid reactants, the nucleation of gas bubbles in the catalyst pore structure represents an additional important rate-limiting step. This is highlighted for the example of catalytic hydrogen release from the liquid organic hydrogen carrier compound perhydro-dibenzyltoluene. A nucleation-inhibited catalytic system produces only dissolved hydrogen with fast saturation of the fluid phase around the active site, while bubble formation enhances mass transfer by more than a factor of 50 in an oscillating reaction regime. Nucleation can be efficiently triggered not only by temperature changes and catalyst surface modification but also by a mechanical stimulus. Our work sheds new light on performance-limiting factors in reactions that are of highest relevance for the future green hydrogen economy.
Laser-written integrated platform for quantum storage of heralded single photons

Efficient and long-lived interfaces between light and matter are crucial for the development of quantum information technologies. Integrated photonics solutions for quantum storage devices offer improved performances due to light confinement and enable more complex and scalable designs. We demonstrate a novel platform for quantum light storage based on laser written waveguides. The new writing regime adopted allows us to attain waveguides with improved confining capabilities compared to previous demonstrations. We report the first demonstration of single photon storage in laser written waveguides. While we achieve storage efficiencies comparable to those observed in massive samples, the power involved for the memory preparation is strongly reduced, by a factor 100, due to an enhancement of the light-matter interaction of almost one order of magnitude. Moreover, we demonstrate excited state storage times 100 times longer than previous realizations with single photons in integrated quantum memories. Our system promises to effectively fulfill the requirements for efficient and scalable integrated quantum storage devices.
Kinetic modeling of the electromagnetic precursor from an axisymmetric binary pulsar coalescence

Context. The recent detection of gravitational waves associated with a binary neutron star merger revives interest in interacting pulsar magnetospheres. Current models predict that a significant amount of magnetic energy should be released prior to the merger, leading to electromagnetic precursor emission. Aims. In this paper, we revisit this problem in the light of the recent progress in kinetic modeling of pulsar magnetospheres. We limit our work to the case of aligned magnetic moments and rotation axes, and thus neglect the orbital motion. Methods. We perform global two-dimensional axisymmetric particle-in-cell simulations of two pulsar magnetospheres merging at a rate consistent with the emission of gravitational waves. Both symmetric and asymmetric systems are investigated. Results. Simulations show a significant enhancement of magnetic dissipation within the magnetospheres as the two stars approach one another. Even though the magnetospheric configuration depends on the relative orientations of the pulsar spins and magnetic axes, all configurations present nearly the same radiative signature, indicating that a common dissipation mechanism is at work. The relative motion of both pulsars drives magnetic reconnection at the boundary between the two magnetospheres, leading to efficient particle acceleration and high-energy synchrotron emission. Polar-cap discharge is also strongly enhanced in asymmetric configurations, resulting in vigorous pair production and potentially additional high-energy radiation. Conclusions. We observe an increase in the pulsar radiative efficiency by two orders of magnitude over the last orbit before the merger, exceeding the spindown power of an isolated pulsar. The expected signal is too weak to be detected at high energies even in the nearby universe. However, if a small fraction of this energy is channeled into radio waves, it could be observed as a non-repeating fast radio burst.
Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in Nearby Galaxies from ROSAT High Resolution Imager Observations I. Data Analysis

X-ray observations have revealed in other galaxies a class of extranuclear X-ray point sources with X-ray luminosities of 1039-1041 ergs s-1, exceeding the Eddington luminosity for stellar mass X-ray binaries. These ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) may be powered by intermediate-mass black holes of a few thousand M☉ or stellar mass black holes with special radiation processes. In this paper, we present a survey of ULXs in 313 nearby galaxies with D25 > 1′ within 40 Mpc with 467 ROSAT High Resolution Imager (HRI) archival observations. The HRI observations are reduced with uniform procedures, refined by simulations that help define the point source detection algorithm employed in this survey. A sample of 562 extragalactic X-ray point sources with LX = 1038-1043 ergs s-1 is extracted from 173 survey galaxies, including 106 ULX candidates within the D25 isophotes of 63 galaxies and 110 ULX candidates between 1D25 and 2D25 of 64 galaxies, from which a clean sample of 109 ULXs is constructed to minimize the contamination from foreground or background objects. The strong connection between ULXs and star formation is confirmed based on the striking preference of ULXs to occur in late-type galaxies, especially in star-forming regions such as spiral arms. ULXs are variable on timescales over days to years and exhibit a variety of long term variability patterns. The identifications of ULXs in the clean sample show some ULXs identified as supernovae (remnants), H II regions/nebulae, or young massive stars in star-forming regions, and a few other ULXs identified as old globular clusters. In a subsequent paper, the statistic properties of the survey will be studied to calculate the occurrence frequencies and luminosity functions for ULXs in different types of galaxies to shed light on the nature of these enigmatic sources.
Ultra-High Precision, Ultra-Wide-Field Optical Photometry

The low scintillation noise and the long continuous darkness are among the unique properties of the Dome-C site on the east Antarctic plateau. Ultra-high precision optical photometry is therefore among the techniques best suited for this particular site. We propose a telescope (ICE-T) optimized for ultra-high and ultra wide field photometry for Dome C. It consists of two 60 cm optical ultra-wide-field Wynne-Schmidt telescopes and one 18 cm narrow-field Maksutov spectrophotometric telescope on a single mount. ICE-T is currently a team effort of the German Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar Research, the Italian Universities of Padova and Perugia, the INAF Observatory Catania, and the Catalonian IEEC in Barcelona, Spain, and the AIP, with collaboration from the University of New South Wales, Australia and the University of St. Andrews, UK. In this paper, I discuss some of the many problems associated with sub-milli-mag photometry.
On the Relationship between Entropy and Information

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between entropy and information in the context of the mixing process of two identical ideal gases. We will argue that entropy has a special information-based feature that is enfolded in the statistical entropy, but the second law does not include it directly. Therefore, in some given processes in thermodynamics where there is no matter and energy interaction between the system and environment, the state of the system may go towards a situation of lower probability to increase observer's information in environment. This is a kind of an information-based interaction in which the total entropy is not constrained by the second law.
A decades-long fast-rise-exponential-decay flare in low-luminosity AGN NGC 7213

We analysed the four-decades-long X-ray light curve of the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) NGC 7213 and discovered a fast-rise-exponential-decay (FRED) pattern, i.e. the X-ray luminosity increased by a factor of $\approx 4$ within 200d, and then decreased exponentially with an $e$-folding time $\approx 8116$d ($\approx 22.2$ yr). For the theoretical understanding of the observations, we examined three variability models proposed in the literature: the thermal-viscous disc instability model, the radiation pressure instability model, and the tidal disruption event (TDE) model. We find that a delayed tidal disruption of a main-sequence star is most favourable; either the thermal-viscous disk instability model or radiation pressure instability model fails to explain some key properties observed, thus we argue them unlikely.
Domination by product measures

We consider families of(0,1)-valued random variables indexed by the vertices of countable graphs with bounded degree. First we show that if these random variables satisfy the property that conditioned on what happens outside of the neighborhood of each given site, the probability of seeing a 1 at this site is at least a value p which is large enough, then this random field dominates a product measure with positive density. Moreover the density of this dominated product measure can be made arbitrarily close to 1, provided that p is close enough to 1. Next we address the issue of obtaining the critical value of p, defined as the threshold above which the domination by positive-density product measures is assured. For the graphs which have as vertices the integers and edges connecting vertices which are separated by no more than k units, this critical value is shown to be 1 - k k /(k + 1) k+1 , and a discontinuous transition is shown to occur. Similar critical values of p are found for other classes of probability measures on {0, 1} Z . For the class of k-dependent measures the critical value is again 1 - k k /(k + 1) k+1 , with a discontinuous transition. For the class of two-block factors the critical value is shown to be 1/2 and a continuous transition is shown to take place in this case. Thus both the critical value and the nature of the transition are different in the two-block factor and 1-dependent cases.
Large amplitude change in spot-induced rotational modulation of the Kepler Ap star KIC 2569073

An investigation of the 200 × 200 pixel 'superstamp' images of the centres of the open clusters NGC 6791 and NGC 6819 allows for the identification and study of many variable stars that were not included in the Kepler target list. KIC 2569073 (V=14.22), is a particularly interesting variable Ap star that we discovered in the NGC 6791 superstamp. With a rotational period of 14.67 days and 0.034-mag variability, it has one of the largest peak-to-peak variations of any known Ap star. Colour photometry reveals an anti-phase correlation between the B band, and the V, R and I bands. This Ap star is a rotational variable, also known as an α2 CVn, star, and is one of only a handful of Ap stars observed by Kepler. While no change in spot period or amplitude is observed within the 4-year Kepler timeseries, the amplitude shows a large increase compared to ground-based photometry obtained two decades ago.
Novel Diagnostics for Dust in Space, Laboratory and Fusion Plasmas

In situ diagnostics for mobile dust, based on dust impact ionization phenomena, as well as silica aerogel dust collectors are discussed for applications to space and fusion plasmas. The feasibility of an electro‐optical probe to detect hypervelocity (>1 km/s) dust particles in tokamaks is evaluated. For quiescent plasmas, a diagnostic of submicron dust based on measurements of plasma fluctuation spectra can be used (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
An Accurate Globally Conservative Subdomain Discontinuous Least-Squares Scheme for Solving Neutron Transport Problems

Abstract In this work, we present a subdomain discontinuous least-squares (SDLS) scheme for neutronics problems. Least-squares (LS) methods are known to be inaccurate for problems with sharp total cross-section interfaces. In addition, the LS scheme is known not to be globally conservative in heterogeneous problems. In problems where global conservation is important, e.g., k-eigenvalue problems, a conservative treatment must be applied. In this study, we propose an SDLS method that retains global conservation and, as a result, gives high accuracy on eigenvalue problems. Such a method resembles the LS formulation in each subdomain without a material interface and differs from LS in that an additional LS interface term appears for each interface. The scalar flux is continuous in each subdomain with the continuous finite element method while discontinuous on interfaces for every pair of contiguous subdomains. The SDLS numerical results are compared with those obtained from other numerical methods with test problems having material interfaces. High accuracy of scalar flux in fixed-source problems and in eigenvalue problems is demonstrated.
Factors Associated with Multi-Drug-Resistant Non-Typhoidal Salmonella in the Invasive Disease, Thailand

Purpose Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella disease, iNTS is a major global health concern, especially multi-drug resistant non-typhoidal Salmonella, MDR-NTS. Information about risk factors of MDR-NTS in the invasive disease patient group was limited. This study aimed to identify those risk factors. Methods This retrospective study examined data from patients who had non-typhoidal Salmonella, NTS infection, from 10 hospitals between June 2011 and June 2020. The multivariate regression analysis included demographic data, clinical data, culture reports, and antimicrobial susceptibility. Results A total of 166 patients were invasive salmonellosis. where the median age was 8.3 years (IQR 1.8–79). 52% were the under-15-years-old group. Most of the patient data, 64.5% (107/166), was from a tertiary hospital. The majority of cases were bacteremia 95.7% (159/166). Serogroup C was the most common serogroup (39%). MDR-NTS was present in 68.8% (95% CI 7.17–11.06) of patients. Univariate analysis showed that onset of illness >3 days PTA (p=0.11), age over 60 years old (0.014), diabetic (p=0.002), or serogroup C infection (p=0.43) were significant factors for MDR-NTS infection. Multivariate analysis showed that the onset of symptoms more than 3 days before admission (p=0.001), and age over 60 years were significant factors. The patient who had white blood cells >15,000 cells/uL (p<0.001), a peak of fever ≥39 C° (p=001), and illness for more than 3 days before admission (p=0.035) were significantly related to invasive infection by multivariate analyses. Conclusion The iNTS patients who were over 60 years old or had onset of illness more than 3 days before admission were associated with MDR-NTS infection. Therefore, the choice of antimicrobials selected must be appropriate for the local prevalence and epidemiology of MDR-NTS including clinical correlation.
Generating charge from diffeomorphisms

We unravel some subtleties involving the definition of sphere angular momentum charges in AdSq × Sp spacetimes, or equivalently, R-symmetry charges in the dual boundary CFT. In the AdS3 context, it is known that charges can be generated by coordinate transformations, even though the underlying theory is diffeomorphism invariant. This is the bulk version of spectral flow in the boundary CFT. We trace this behavior back to special properties of the p-form field strength supporting the solution, and derive the explicit formulas for angular momentum charges. This analysis also reveals the higher dimensional origin of three dimensional Chern-Simons terms and of chiral anomalies in the boundary theory.
NLO QCD Corrections to Off-shell $t\,\bar{t}$ and $t\,\bar{t}\,H$ at the ILC

We discuss top-quark physics at the ILC with a focus on the full off-shell processes for $t\bar{t}$ and $t\bar{t}H$ production, including top-quark decays and also leptonic $W$ decays. A special focus is on the matching of the resummed vNRQCD threshold calculation and the fixed-order NLO QCD continuum calculation, where we present an update on the validation of the matching. All of the calculations have been performed in the \wz event generator framework.
Optimally Mapping Large-scale Structures with Luminous Sources

Intensity mapping has emerged as a promising tool to probe the three-dimensional structure of the universe. The traditional approach of galaxy redshift surveys is based on individual galaxy detection, typically performed by thresholding and digitizing large-scale intensity maps. By contrast, intensity mapping uses the integrated emission from all sources in a 3D pixel (or voxel) as an analog tracer of large-scale structure. In this work, we develop a formalism to quantify the performance of both approaches when measuring large-scale structures. We compute the Fisher information of an arbitrary observable, derive the optimal estimator, and study its performance as a function of source luminosity function, survey resolution, instrument sensitivity, and other survey parameters. We identify regimes where each approach is advantageous and discuss optimal strategies for different scenarios. To determine the best strategy for any given survey, we develop a metric that is easy to compute from the source luminosity function and the survey sensitivity, and we demonstrate the application with several planned intensity mapping surveys.
Exact solutions for ruin probability in the presence of an absorbing upper barrier

Abstract An explicit solution for the probability of ruin in the presence of an absorbing upper barrier was developed by Segerdahl (1970) for the particular case in which both the interoccurrence times between successive claims and the single claim amounts follow an exponential distribution with unit mean. In this paper we show that his method of solution may be extended to produce explicit solutions for two more general types of single claim amount distribution. These are the gamma distribution, denoted γ(a), where a is an integer, and the mixed exponential distribution. Comparisons are drawn between this approach when the upper barrier tends to infinity, and the classical solution for ruin probability in these particular cases given in Cramer (1955).
Enhancement of H2S sensing performance of rGO decorated CuO thin films: experimental and DFT studies

We demonstrate a highly selective and sensitive Cupric oxide (CuO) thin film-based low concentration Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) sensor. The sensitivity was improved around three times by decorating with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets. CuO thin films were deposited by Chemical Vapor Deposition followed by inter-digital electrode fabrication by a thermal evaporations system. The crystal structure of CuO was confirmed by x-ray diffraction. The sensing response of pristine CuO was found around 54% at 100 °C to 100 ppm of H2S. In contrast, the sensing response was enhanced to 167% by decorating with rGO of 1.5 mg ml−1 concentration solution. The sensing was improved due to the formation of heterojunctions between the rGO and CuO. The developed sensor was examined under various gas environments and found to be highly selective towards H2S gas. The improvement in sensing response has been attributed to increased hole concentration in CuO in the presence of rGO due to the Fermi level alignment and increased absorption of H2S molecules at the rGO/CuO heterojunction. Further, electronic structure calculations show the physisorption behavior of H2S molecules on the different adsorption sites. Detailed insight into the gas sensing mechanism is discussed based on experimental results and electronic structure calculations.
Shexiang Baoxin Pills Could Alleviate Isoproterenol-Induced Heart Failure Probably through its Inhibition of CaV1.2 Calcium Channel Currents

Heart failure (HF) affects millions of patients in the world. Shexiang Baoxin Pills (SXB) are extensively applied to treat coronary artery diseases and HF in Chinese hospitals. However, there are still no explanations for why SXB protects against HF. To assess the protective role, we created the HF model in rats by isoproterenol (ISO) subcutaneous injection, 85 milligrams per kilogram body weight for seven days. Four groups were implemented: CON (control), ISO (HF disease group), CAP (captopril, positive drug treatment), and SXB groups. Echocardiography was used to evaluate rats' HF in vivo. The human CaV1.2 (hCaV1.2) channel currents were detected in tsA-201 cells by patch clamp technique. Five different concentrations of SXB (5, 10, 30, 50, and 100 mg/L) were chosen in this study. The results showed that SXB increased cardiac systolic function and inhibited rats' cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis induced by ISO. Subsequently, it was found that SXB was inhibited by the peak amplitudes of hCaV1.2 channel current (P < 0.01). The SXB half inhibitory dosage was 9.09 mg/L. The steady-state activation curve was 22.8 mV depolarization shifted; while the inactivation curve and the recovery from inactivation were not affected significantly. In conclusion, these results indicated that SXB inhibited ISO-induced HF in rats and inhibited the hCaV1.2 channel current. The present study paved the way for SXB to protect itself from HF.
Dish Antenna Searches for WISPy Dark Matter: Directional Resolution Small Mass Limitations

Hidden photon and axion-like dark matter may be detected using spherical reflective surfaces such as dish antenna setups converting some of the dark matter particles into photons and concentrating them on a detector. These setups may be used to perform directional searches measuring the dark matter momentum distribution. We briefly review the photon distribution one expects to detect with such an antenna and directional resolution in ray approximation. Furthermore we consider the regime $m_{DM} \lesssim (R_{sp}\,v_{DM})^{-1}$ where this approximation does not hold anymore due to the photon wavelength exceeding the expected distribution widths. We discuss how this affects the expected distributions and experimental implications.