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At least 1,009 records · Page 56

Ten questions concerning occupant-centric control and operations

Occupant-Centric Control and Operation (OCC) represents a transformative approach to building management, integrating sensing of indoor environmental quality, occupant presence, and occupant-building interactions. These data are then utilized to optimize both operational efficiency and occupant comfort. This paper summarizes the findings from the IEA-EBC Annex 79 research program's subtask on real world implementations of OCC during the past 5 years. First, in Q1 and Q2, we provide a definition and categorization of OCC. Q3 addresses the role of building operators for OCC, while Q4 describes the implications for designers. Then, Q5 and Q6 discuss the role and possibilities of OCC for load flexibility, and for pandemic induced paradigm shifts in the built environment, respectively. In Q7, we provide a taxonomy and selection process of OCC, while Q8 details real world implementation case studies. Finally, Q9 explains the limits of OCC, and Q10 provides a vision for future research opportunities. Furthermore, our findings offer valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, contributing to the ongoing discourse on the future of building operations management.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Synthesis and electrochemical characterization of Ti{sub x}Ta{sub y}Al{sub z}N{sub 1-δ}O{sub γ} for fuel cell catalyst supports

Quinary Ti{sub x}Ta{sub y}Al{sub z}N{sub 1-δ}O{sub γ} of various compositions have been prepared by a co-precipitation method followed by ammonolysis. The nitride samples were examined as potential catalyst supports in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. The nitride products crystallized in the rock salt (NaCl) structure over a wide range of compositions. The addition of Ta and Al was highly beneficial towards improving the chemical and electrochemical stability of TiN, without a significant loss of electrical conductivity. Platinum particles were successfully deposited on the (oxy)nitride samples, and the composite samples at some compositions were found to be comparable to Pt/carbon in their stability and catalytic activity even without optimizing the Pt deposition and dispersion processes. - Graphical abstract: The effect of additions of Ta and Al into TiN structure. Shifts the lattice constant, and increases its chemical stability in acidic environment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Structural, negative thermal expansion and photocatalytic properties of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7}: a comparative study between fibers and powders

Novel ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} microfibers with diameters about 1–3 μm were synthesized using a sol–gel technique. For comparison, ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} powders were prepared by the same method. The resultant structures were studied by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that both the pure ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} microfibers and powders could be synthesized by the sol–gel technique. The thermal expansion property of the as-prepared ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} microfibers and powders was characterized by a thermal mechanical analyzer, both the fibers with cylindrical morphology and irregular powders with average size between 100 and 200 nm showed negative thermal expansion between 150 °C and 600 °C. The photocatalytic activity of the microfibers was compared to that of powders under UV radiations. The band gap of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} microfibers decreased and its absorption edge exhibited red shift. The microfibers also had a higher surface area compared with the powders, resulting in considerably higher photocatalytic characteristics. The large surface area and the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} microfibers also offer potential applications in sensors and inorganic ion exchangers. - Graphical abstract: (a and c) SEM photos of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} powders and fibers. (b and d) TEM images of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} powders and fibers. (e) Thermal expansion curves of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} powders and fibers. (f) Degradation curves of ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} powders and ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} fibers. - Highlights: • Novel ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} fibers could be synthesized using sol–gel technique. • ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} powders with irregular shape are also prepared for comparison. • Both ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} microfibers and powders exhibit negative thermal expansion property. • ZrV{sub 2}O{sub 7} microfibers show outstanding photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation. • This synthesis technique can be easily extended to many other functional fibers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Karhunen–Loève treatment to remove noise and facilitate data analysis in sensing, spectroscopy and other applications

Resolving weak spectral variations in the dynamic response of materials that are either dominated or excited by stochastic processes remains a challenge. Responses that are thermal in origin are particularly relevant examples due to the delocalized nature of heat. Despite its inherent properties in dealing with stochastic processes, the Karhunen–Loève expansion has not been fully exploited in measurement of systems that are driven solely by random forces or can exhibit large thermally driven random fluctuations. Here in this paper, we present experimental results and analysis of the archetypes (a) the resonant excitation and transient response of an atomic force microscope probe by the ambient random fluctuations and nanoscale photothermal sample response, and (b) the photothermally scattered photons in pump–probe spectroscopy. In each case, the dynamic process is represented as an infinite series with random coefficients to obtain pertinent frequency shifts and spectral peaks and demonstrate spectral enhancement for a set of compounds including the spectrally complex biomass. The considered cases find important applications in nanoscale material characterization, biosensing, and spectral identification of biological and chemical agents.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

High-speed modulator with interleaved junctions in zero-change CMOS photonics

A microring depletion modulator is demonstrated with T-shaped lateral p-n junctions used to realize efficient modulation while maximizing the RC limited bandwidth. The device having a 3 dB bandwidth of 13 GHz has been fabricated in a standard 45 nm microelectronics CMOS process. The cavity has a linewidth of 17 GHz and an average wavelength-shift of 9 pm/V in reverse-bias conditions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Oxygen vacancy defect engineering using atomic layer deposited HfAlO{sub x} in multi-layered gate stack

This work evaluates the defects in high quality atomic layer deposited (ALD) HfAlO{sub x} with extremely low Al (<3% Al/(Al + Hf)) incorporation in the Hf based high-k dielectrics. The defect activation energy estimated by the high temperature current voltage measurement shows that the charged oxygen vacancies, V{sup +}/V{sup 2+}, are the primary source of defects in these dielectrics. When Al is added in HfO{sub 2}, the V{sup +} type defects with a defect activation energy of E{sub a} ∼ 0.2 eV modify to V{sup 2+} type to E{sub a} ∼ 0.1 eV with reference to the Si conduction band. When devices were stressed in the gate injection mode for 1000 s, more V{sup +} type defects are generated and E{sub a} reverts back to ∼0.2 eV. Since Al has a less number of valence electrons than do Hf, the change in the co-ordination number due to Al incorporation seems to contribute to the defect level modifications. Additionally, the stress induced leakage current behavior observed at 20 °C and at 125 °C demonstrates that the addition of Al in HfO{sub 2} contributed to suppressed trap generation process. This further supports the defect engineering model as reduced flat-band voltage shifts were observed at 20 °C and at 125 °C.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Late-stage galaxy mergers in cosmos to z ∼ 1

The role of major mergers in galaxy and black hole formation is not well-constrained. To help address this, we develop an automated method to identify late-stage galaxy mergers before coalescence of the galactic cores. The resulting sample of mergers is distinct from those obtained using pair-finding and morphological indicators. Our method relies on median-filtering of high-resolution images to distinguish two concentrated galaxy nuclei at small separations. This method does not rely on low surface brightness features to identify mergers, and is therefore reliable to high redshift. Using mock images, we derive statistical contamination and incompleteness corrections for the fraction of late-stage mergers. The mock images show that our method returns an uncontaminated (<10%) sample of mergers with projected separations between 2.2 and 8 kpc out to z∼1. We apply our new method to a magnitude-limited (m{sub FW} {sub 814}<23) sample of 44,164 galaxies from the COSMOS HST/ACS catalog. Using a mass-complete sample with logM{sub ∗}/M{sub ⊙}>10.6 and 0.25<z⩽1.00, we find ∼5% of systems are late-stage mergers. Correcting for incompleteness and contamination, the fractional merger rate increases strongly with redshift as r{sub merge}∝(1+z){sup 3.8±0.9}, in agreement both with earlier studies and with dark matter halo merger rates. Separating the sample into star-forming and quiescent galaxies shows that the merger rate for star-forming galaxies increases strongly with redshift, (1+z){sup 4.5±1.3}, while the merger rate for quiescent galaxies is consistent with no evolution, (1+z){sup 1.1±1.2}. The merger rate also becomes steeper with decreasing stellar mass. Limiting our sample to galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts from zCOSMOS, we find that the star formation rates and X-ray selected active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in likely late-stage mergers are higher by factors of ∼2 relative to those of a control sample. Combining our sample with more widely separated pairs, we find that 8±5% of star formation and 20±8% of AGN activity are triggered by close encounters (<143 kpc) or mergers, providing additional evidence that major mergers are not the only channels for star formation and black hole growth.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURE OF A RELIC STAR CLUSTER IN THE SEXTANS DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXY-IMPLICATIONS FOR NEAR-FIELD COSMOLOGY

We present tentative evidence for the existence of a dissolved star cluster at [Fe/H] = -2.7 in the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We use the technique of chemical tagging to identify stars that are highly clustered in a multi-dimensional chemical abundance space (C-space). In a sample of six stars, three, possibly four, stars are identified as potential cluster stars. The initial stellar mass of the parent cluster is estimated from two independent observations to be M{sub *,init}=1.9{sup +1.5}{sub -0.9}(1.6{sup +1.2}{sub -0.8}) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} M{sub sun}, assuming a Salpeter (Kroupa) initial mass function. If corroborated by follow-up spectroscopy, this star cluster is the most metal-poor system identified to date. Chemical signatures of remnant clusters in dwarf galaxies like Sextans provide us with a very powerful probe to the high-redshift universe. From available observational data, we argue that the average star cluster mass in the majority of the newly discovered ultra-faint dwarf galaxies was notably lower than it is in the Galaxy today and possibly lower than in the more luminous, classical dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Furthermore, the mean cumulative metallicity function of the dwarf spheroidals falls below that of the ultra-faints, which increases with increasing metallicity as predicted from our stochastic chemical evolution model. These two findings, together with a possible difference in the ([Mg/Fe]) ratio suggest that the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy population, or a significant fraction thereof, and the dwarf spheroidal population were formed in different environments and would thus be distinct in origin.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Radio–far-infrared correlation in “blue cloud” galaxies with 0 < z < 1.2

We study the radio–far-infrared (FIR) correlation in “blue cloud” galaxies chosen from the PRism MUltiobject Survey up to redshift (z) of 1.2 in the XMM-LSS field. We use rest-frame emission at 1.4 GHz in the radio and both monochromatic (at 70 μm) and bolometric (between 8 and 1000 μm) emission in the FIR. To probe the nature of the correlation up to z ∼1.2, where direct detection of blue star-forming galaxies is impossible with current technology, we employ the technique of image stacking at 0.325 and 1.4 GHz in the radio and in six infrared bands, 24, 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm. For comparison, we also study the correlation for more luminous galaxies that are directly detected. The stacking analysis allows us to probe the radio–FIR correlation for galaxies that are up to two orders of magnitude fainter than the ones detected directly. The k correction in the infrared wavebands is obtained by fitting the observed spectral energy distribution with a composite mid-IR power law and a single temperature graybody model. We find that the radio luminosity at 1.4 GHz (L{sub 1.4 GHz}) is strongly correlated with monochromatic FIR luminosity at 70 μm (L{sub 70 μm}) having slope 1.09 ± 0.05 and with bolometric luminosity (L{sub TIR}) having slope 1.11 ± 0.04. The quantity q{sub TIR}(=log{sub 10}[L{sub TIR}/(3.75×10{sup 12}L{sub 1.4 GHz})]) is observed to decrease with redshift as q{sub TIR}∝(1+z){sup −0.16±0.03} probably caused due to the nonlinear slope of the radio–FIR correlation. Within the uncertainties of our measurement and the limitations of our flux-limited and color-selected sample, we do not find any evolution of the radio–FIR correlation with redshift.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

MASS SUBSTRUCTURE IN ABELL 3128

We perform a detailed two-dimensional weak gravitational lensing analysis of the nearby (z = 0.058) galaxy cluster Abell 3128 using deep ugrz imaging from the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). We have designed a pipeline to remove instrumental artifacts from DECam images and stack multiple dithered observations without inducing a spurious ellipticity signal. We develop a new technique to characterize the spatial variation of the point-spread function that enables us to circularize the field to better than 0.5% and thereby extract the intrinsic galaxy ellipticities. By fitting photometric redshifts to sources in the observation, we are able to select a sample of background galaxies for weak-lensing analysis free from low-redshift contaminants. Photometric redshifts are also used to select a high-redshift galaxy subsample with which we successfully isolate the signal from an interloping z = 0.44 cluster. We estimate the total mass of Abell 3128 by fitting the tangential ellipticity of background galaxies with the weak-lensing shear profile of a Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) halo and also perform NFW fits to substructures detected in the 2D mass maps of the cluster. This study yields one of the highest resolution mass maps of a low-z cluster to date and is the first step in a larger effort to characterize the redshift evolution of mass substructures in clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The incidence of low-metallicity Lyman-limit systems at z ∼ 3.5: Implications for the cold-flow hypothesis of baryonic accretion

Cold accretion is a primary growth mechanism of simulated galaxies, yet observational evidence of “cold flows” at redshifts where they should be most efficient (z = 2–4) is scarce. In simulations, cold streams manifest as Lyman-limit absorption systems (LLSs) with low heavy-element abundances similar to those of the diffuse intergalactic medium (IGM). Here we report on an abundance survey of 17 H i-selected LLSs at z = 3.2–4.4 which exhibits no metal absorption in Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectra. Using medium-resolution spectra obtained at Magellan, we derive ionization-corrected metallicities (or limits) with a Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampling that accounts for the large uncertainty in N{sub H i} measurements typical of LLSs. The metal-poor LLS sample overlaps with the IGM in metallicity and can be described by a model where 71{sub −11}{sup +13}% are drawn from the IGM chemical abundance distribution. These represent roughly half of all LLSs at these redshifts, suggesting that 28%–40% of the general LLS population at z ∼ 3.7 could trace accreting gas. An ancillary sample of ten LLSs without any a priori metal-line selection is fit by a model having 48{sub −12}{sup +14}% of metallicities drawn from the IGM. We compare these results with regions of a moving-mesh simulation. The observed and simulated LLS metallicity distributions are in good agreement, after accounting for known uncertainties in both, with the fraction of simulated baryons in IGM-metallicity LLSs within a factor of two of the observed value. A statistically significant fraction of all LLSs have low metallicity and therefore represent candidates for accreting gas; large-volume simulations can establish what fraction of these candidates actually lie near galaxies and the observational prospects for detecting the presumed hosts in emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

CfAIR2: Near-infrared light curves of 94 TYPE Ia supernovae

CfAIR2 is a large, homogeneously reduced set of near-infrared (NIR) light curves (LCs) for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) obtained with the 1.3 m Peters Automated InfraRed Imaging TELescope. This data set includes 4637 measurements of 94 SNe Ia and 4 additional SNe Iax observed from 2005 to 2011 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. CfAIR2 includes JHK{sub s} photometric measurements for 88 normal and 6 spectroscopically peculiar SN Ia in the nearby universe, with a median redshift of z ∼ 0.021 for the normal SN Ia. CfAIR2 data span the range from −13 days to +127 days from B-band maximum. More than half of the LCs begin before the time of maximum, and the coverage typically contains ∼13–18 epochs of observation, depending on the filter. We present extensive tests that verify the fidelity of the CfAIR2 data pipeline, including comparison to the excellent data of the Carnegie Supernova Project. CfAIR2 contributes to a firm local anchor for SN cosmology studies in the NIR. Because SN Ia are more nearly standard candles in the NIR and are less vulnerable to the vexing problems of extinction by dust, CfAIR2 will help the SN cosmology community develop more precise and accurate extragalactic distance probes to improve our knowledge of cosmological parameters, including dark energy and its potential time variation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Measuring the cosmological bulk flow using the peculiar velocities of supernovae

We study large-scale coherent motion in our universe using the existing Type IA supernovae data. If the recently observed bulk flow is real, then some imprint must be left on supernovae motion. We perform a Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis in various redshift bins and find a sharp contrast between the z < 0.05 and z > 0.05 data. The z < 0.05 data are consistent with the bulk flow in the direction (l,b) = (290{sup +39}{sub −31}°,20{sup +32}{sub −32}°) with a magnitude of v{sub bulk} = 188{sup +119}{sub −103}km/s at 68% confidence. The significance of detection (compared to the null hypothesis) is 95%. In contrast, z > 0.05 data (which contains 425 of the 557 supernovae in the Union2 data set) show no evidence for the bulk flow. While the direction of the bulk flow agrees very well with previous studies, the magnitude is significantly smaller. For example, the Kashlinsky, et al.'s original bulk flow result of v{sub bulk} > 600km/s is inconsistent with our analysis at greater than 99.7% confidence level. Furthermore, our best-fit bulk flow velocity is consistent with the expectation for the ΛCDM model, which lies inside the 68% confidence limit.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Constraining the dynamical dark energy parameters: Planck-2013 vs WMAP9

We determine the best-fit values and confidence limits for dynamical dark energy parameters together with other cosmological parameters on the basis of different datasets which include WMAP9 or Planck-2013 results on CMB anisotropy, BAO distance ratios from recent galaxy surveys, magnitude-redshift relations for distant SNe Ia from SNLS3 and Union2.1 samples and the HST determination of the Hubble constant. We use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo routine to map out the likelihood in the multi-dimensional parameter space. We show that the most precise determination of cosmological parameters with the narrowest confidence limits is obtained for the Planck+HST+BAO+SNLS3 dataset. The best-fit values and 2σ confidence limits for cosmological parameters in this case are Ω{sub de} = 0.718±0.022, w{sub 0} = −1.15{sup +0.14}{sub −0.16}, c{sub a}{sup 2} = −1.15{sup +0.02}{sub −0.46}, Ω{sub b}h{sup 2} = 0.0220±0.0005, Ω{sub cdm}h{sup 2} = 0.121±0.004, h = 0.713±0.027, n{sub s} = 0.958{sup +0.014}{sub −0.010}, A{sub s} = (2.215{sup +0.093}{sub −0.101})⋅10{sup −9}, τ{sub rei} = 0.093{sup +0.022}{sub −0.028}. For this dataset, the ΛCDM model is just outside the 2σ confidence region, while for the dataset WMAP9+HST+BAO+SNLS3 the ΛCDM model is only 1σ away from the best fit. The tension in the determination of some cosmological parameters on the basis of two CMB datasets WMAP9 and Planck-2013 is highlighted.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Constraining the evolution of the CMB temperature with SZ measurements from Planck data

The CMB temperature-redshift relation, T{sub CMB}(z)=T{sub 0}(1+z), is a key prediction of the standard cosmology but is violated in many non-standard models. Constraining possible deviations from this law is an effective way to test the ΛCDM paradigm and to search for hints of new physics. We have determined T{sub CMB}(z), with a precision up to 3%, for a subsample (103 clusters) of the Planck SZ cluster catalog, at redshifts in the range 0.01–0.94, using measurements of the spectrum of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect obtained from Planck temperature maps at frequencies from 70 to 353 GHz. The method adopted to provide individual determinations of T{sub CMB}(z) at cluster redshift relies on the use of SZ intensity change, Δ I{sub SZ}(ν) at different frequencies and on a Monte Carlo Markov chain approach. By applying this method to the sample of 103 clusters, we limit possible deviations of the form T{sub CMB}(z)=T{sub 0}(1+z){sup 1−β} to be β= 0.012 ± 0.016, at 1σ uncertainty, consistent with the prediction of the standard model. Combining these measurements with previously published results, we get β=0.013±0.011.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Kubo-Anderson theory of polariton line shape

We apply the Kubo-Anderson stochastic theory of molecular spectral line shapes to the case of polaritons formed in the collective strong-coupling regime. We investigate both the fast and slow limits of the random frequency modulation of the emitter as well as the intermediate regime and show how the interplay between the characteristic timescales of the cavity and the molecular disorder is expressed in the observed polaritons line shapes. The analytical solution obtained for the slow limit is valid for any ratio between the inhomogeneous broadening of the molecules and the Rabi splitting, which is especially relevant for molecular polaritons where these two quantities can be of the same order of magnitude.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Large-scale velocities and primordial non-Gaussianity

We study the peculiar velocities of density peaks in the presence of primordial non-Gaussianity. Rare, high-density peaks in the initial density field can be identified with tracers such as galaxies and clusters in the evolved matter distribution. The distribution of relative velocities of peaks is derived in the large-scale limit using two different approaches based on a local biasing scheme. Both approaches agree, and show that halos still stream with the dark matter locally as well as statistically, i.e. they do not acquire a velocity bias. Nonetheless, even a moderate degree of (not necessarily local) non-Gaussianity induces a significant skewness ({approx}0.1-0.2) in the relative velocity distribution, making it a potentially interesting probe of non-Gaussianity on intermediate to large scales. We also study two-point correlations in redshift space. The well-known Kaiser formula is still a good approximation on large scales, if the Gaussian halo bias is replaced with its (scale-dependent) non-Gaussian generalization. However, there are additional terms not encompassed by this simple formula which become relevant on smaller scales (k > or approx. 0.01h/Mpc). Depending on the allowed level of non-Gaussianity, these could be of relevance for future large spectroscopic surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Gravitational radiation from a spinning compact object around a supermassive Kerr black hole in circular orbit

The gravitational waves and energy radiation from a spinning compact object with stellar mass in a circular orbit in the equatorial plane of a supermassive Kerr black hole are investigated in this paper. The effect of how the spin acts on energy and angular moment fluxes is discussed in detail. The calculation results indicate that the spin of a small body should be considered in waveform-template production for the upcoming gravitational wave detections. It is clear that when the direction of spin axes is the same as the orbitally angular momentum ('positive' spin), spin can decrease the energy fluxes which radiate to infinity. For antidirection spin ('negative'), the energy fluxes to infinity can be enlarged. And the relations between fluxes (both infinity and horizon) and spin look like quadratic functions. From frequency shift due to spin, we estimate the wave-phase accumulation during the inspiraling process of the particle. We find that the time of particle inspiral into the black hole is longer for positive spin and shorter for negative compared with the nonspinning particle. Especially, for extreme spin value, the energy radiation near the horizon of the extreme Kerr black hole is much more than that for the nonspinning one. And consequently, the maximum binging energy of the extreme spinning particle is much larger than that of the nonspinning particle.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗