An improved evaluation of the neutron background in the PandaX-Ⅱ experiment

In dark matter direct detection experiments,neutron is a serious source of background,which can mimic the dark matter-nucleus scattering signals.In this paper,we present an improved evaluation of the neutron background in the PandaX-II dark matter experiment by a novel approach.Instead of fully relying on the Monte Carlo simulation,the overall neutron background is determined from the neutron-induced high energy signals in the data.In addition,the probability of producing a dark-matter-like background per neutron is evaluated with a complete Monte Carlo generator,where the correlated emission of neutron(s)andγ(s)in the(α,n)reactions and spontaneous fissions is taken into consideration.With this method,the neutron backgrounds in the Run 9(26-ton-day)and Run 10(28-ton-day)data sets of PandaX-II are estimated to be(0.66±0.24)and(0.47±0.25)events,respectively.     

High sensitivity conductivity-temperature-depth sensing based on an optical microfiber coupler combined fiber loop

In order to meet the practical needs of all-fiber conductivity-temperature-depth sensors with high sensitivity,compact structure,and easy packaging,this Letter uses a microfiber coupler combined with fiber loop(MCFL)reflective photonic device to conduct salinity,temperature,and deep sensing experiments.These MCFLs’dynamic range and resolution of salinity,temperature,and depth can meet the requirements of actual marine environment monitoring.This structure opens up a new design idea for the practical research of microfiber coupler-based marine environmental parameter sensors.     

Global optical model potential describing 12C-nucleus elastic scattering

We construct a new global optical model potential to describe the elastic scattering of ¹²C. The experimental data of elastic-scattering angular distributions and total reaction cross sections for targets from ²⁴Mg to ²⁰⁹Bi are considered below 200 MeV within the framework of the optical model. The results calculated using the derived global optical potential are then compared with the existing experimental data. The reliability of the global optical potential is further tested by predicting the elastic scattering data out of the mass and energy ranges, within which the global potential parameters are determined, and reasonable results are also obtained.     

Multicaloric and coupled-caloric effects

The multicaloric effect refers to the thermal response of a solid material driven by simultaneous or sequential application of more than one type of external field.For practical applications,the multicaloric effect is a potentially interesting strategy to improve the efficiency of refrigeration devices.Here,the state of the art in multi-field driven multicaloric effect is reviewed.The phenomenology and fundamental thermodynamics of the multicaloric effect are well established.A number of theoretical and experimental research approaches are covered.At present,the theoretical understanding of the multicaloric effect is thorough.However,due to the limitation of the current experimental technology,the experimental approach is still in progress.All these researches indicated that the thermal response and effective reversibility of multiferroic materials can be improved through multicaloric cycles to overcome the inherent limitations of the physical mechanisms behind single-field-induced caloric effects.Finally,the viewpoint of further developments is presented.     

Tuning the electronic properties of hydrogen passivated C3N nanoribbons through van der Waals stacking

The two-dimensional (2D) C₃N has emerged as a material with promising applications in high performance device owing to its intrinsic bandgap and tunable electronic properties. Although there are several reports about the bandgap tuning of C₃N via stacking or forming nanoribbon, bandgap modulation of bilayer C₃N nanoribbons (C₃NNRs) with various edge structures is still far from well understood. Here, based on extensive first-principles calculations, we demonstrated the effective bandgap engineering of C₃N by cutting it into hydrogen passivated C₃NNRs and stacking them into bilayer heterostructures. It was found that armchair (AC) C₃NNRs with three types of edge structures are all semiconductors, while only zigzag (ZZ) C₃NNRs with edges composed of both C and N atoms (ZZCN/ CN) are semiconductors. The bandgaps of all semiconducting C₃NNRs are larger than that of C₃N nanosheet. More interestingly, AC-C₃NNRs with CN/CN edges (AC-CN/CN) possess direct bandgap while ZZ-CN/CN have indirect bandgap. Compared with the monolayer C₃NNR, the bandgaps of bilayer C₃NNRs can be greatly modulated via different stacking orders and edge structures, varying from 0.43 eV for ZZ-CN/CN with AB′-stacking to 0.04 eV for AC-CN/CN with AA-stacking. Particularly, transition from direct to indirect bandgap was observed in the bilayer AC-CN/CN heterostructure with AA′-stacking, and the indirect-to-direct transition was found in the bilayer ZZ-CN/CN with ABstacking. This work provides insights into the effective bandgap engineering of C₃N and offers a new opportunity for its applications in nano-electronics and optoelectronic devices.     

Ground state cooling of magnomechanical resonator in PT-symmetric cavity magnomechanical system at room temperature

We propose to realize the ground state cooling of magnomechanical resonator in a parity–time (PT)-symmetric cavity magnomechanical system composed of a loss ferromagnetic sphere and a gain microwave cavity. In the scheme, the magnomechanical resonator can be cooled close to its ground state via the magnomechanical interaction, and it is found that the cooling effect in PT-symmetric system is much higher than that in non-PT-symmetric system. Resorting to the magnetic force noise spectrum, we investigate the final mean phonon number with experimentally feasible parameters and find surprisingly that the ground state cooling of magnomechanical resonator can be directly achieved at room temperature. Furthermore, we also illustrate that the ground state cooling can be flexibly controlled via the external magnetic field.     

Multi-variable special polynomials using an operator ordering method

Using an operator ordering method for some commutative superposition operators, we introduce two new multi-variable special polynomials and their generating functions, and present some new operator identities and integral formulas involving the two special polynomials. Instead of calculating complicated partial differential, we use the special polynomials and their generating functions to concisely address the normalization, photocount distributions and Wigner distributions of several quantum states that can be realized physically, the results of which provide real convenience for further investigating the properties and applications of these states.     

4.8 nm Concave {M_(72)}(M=Co,Ni,Fe) metal-organic polyhedra capped by 18 calixarenes

Three 4.8 nm isostructural{M₇₂}(M=Co^Ⅱ for CIAC-128,Ni^Ⅱ for CIAC-129,Fe^Ⅱ for CIAC-130) metal-organic polyhedra(MOPs) are constructed by eighteen M₄-p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene (M₄-TC4A) units bridged via sixteen four-connected 5,5′-(1H-1,2,4-triazole-3,5-diyl) diisophthalic acid (H₄TADIPA) linkers.These MOPs are featured with a rarely reported concave coordination cage,which can be simplified as a squeezed double-decker hexagonal prism pressed from the top and bottom hexagonal faces.Furthermore,CIAC-128,CIAC-129 and CIAC-130 are the highest nuclearity discrete clusters of Co,Ni and Fe reported so far.CIAC-128 has higher separation selectivity of C₃H₈ than CH₄ under ambient conditions,and also exhibits separation selectivity for C₂H₆/CH₄,C₂H₂/CH₄,and C₂H₄/CH₄.In addition,CIAC-128 can provide the cavity for the confined synthesis of noble metal nanoclusters such as Pd nanoclusters and the resulting Pd@CIAC-128 hybrids show higher electrocatalytic activity than commercial Pt/C towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).     

Numerical analysis of the wrinkling behavior of thin membranes

Archive of Applied Mechanics - Membranes are widely applied in the large-span buildings and spatial deployable structures. They are prone to wrinkle under compression due to their small bending...