Working group report: Neutrino and astroparticle physics

This is the report of neutrino and astroparticle physics working group at WHEPP-7. Discussions and work on CP violation in long baseline neutrino experiments, ultra high energy neutrinos, supernova neutrinos and water Cerenkov detectors are discussed.     

Mössbauer study on thermal decomposition of ammonium tris (malonato) ferrate (III) tetrahydrate

Thermal decomposition of ammonium tris (malonato) ferrate (III) tetrahydrate, i. e. (NH₄)₃[Fe(CH₂C₂O₄)₃]·4H₂O has been studied up to 973 K in static air atmosphere employing Mössbauer and infrared spectroscopies, and non-isothermal techniques (TG, DTG, DTA). The anhydrous complex decomposes into an iron (II) intermediate at 453 K. The iron (II) species on further heating is reoxidized to -Fe₂O₃ as the final thermolysis product. An increase in particle size of -Fe₂O₃ with increasing decomposition temperature has been observed. The results are compared with the analogous oxalate complex.     

Mössbauer study on thermal decomposition of some hydroxy iron(III) carboxylates

Thermal decomposition of some hydroxy iron(III) carboxylates, i.e., iron(III) lactate, Fe(CH₃CHOHCOO)₃, iron(III) tartrate, Fe₂(C₄H₄O₆)₃ and iron(III) citrate, Fe(C₆H₅O₇) · 5H₂O has been studied in static air atmosphere in the temperature range 298–773 K employing Mössbauer, infrared spectroscopies and themogravimetric methods. The compounds directly decompose to -Fe₂O₃ without undergoing reduction to iron(II) intermediates. An increase in particle size of -Fe₂O₃ has been observed with increasing decomposition temperature. The thermal stability follows the sequence: iron(III) tartrate > iron(III)citrate > iron(III)lactate.     

Physico-chemical studies on thermal analyses of sodium hexa/carboxylato/ferrates/III/

The thermolysis of sodium hexa/benzoato/ferrate/III/, i. e. Na₃[Fe/C₆H₅COO/₆].4.5H₂O has been investigated at different temperatures in air using Mössbauer, infrared spectroscopic and derivatographic techniques /DTG, DTA, TG/. The thermal decomposition proceeds without the reduction of iron/III/. An increase in particle size of -Fe₂O₃ formed during thermolysis has been observed with increasing temperature. The end product, -NaFeO₂ is formed as a result of the solid state reaction between -Fe₂O₃ and sodium carbonate.     

Comparative study of solid state reactivity between ferrous oxalate dihydrate and unsubstituted/substituted aniline hydrochlorides

The solid state reactions between ferrous oxalate dihydrate i.e. FeC₂O₄.2H₂O and unsubstituted/ substituted aniline hydrochlorides have been studied. The products [FeCl/oxH/. AN-Cl] have been characterized by elemental analysis, infrared and Mössbauer spectroscopic techniques. The kinetic studies for the reactions have been performed at various temperatures for fixed particle sizes at constant compaction. The following order of reactivity has been observed: unsubstituted > p-substituted > m-substituted o-substituted.     

A comparative study on the thermal decomposition of some transition metal carboxylates

Thermal decomposition of transition metal malonates, MCH₂C₂O₄?xH₂O and transition metal succinates, M(CH₂)₂C₂O₄?xH₂O (M=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) has been studied employing TG, DTG, DTA, XRD, SEM, IR and Mössbauer spectroscopic techniques. After dehydration, the anhydrous metal malonates and succinates decompose directly to their respective metal oxides in the temperature ranges 310–400 and 400–525°C, respectively. The oxides obtained have been found to be nanosized. The thermal stability of succinates have been found to be higher than that of the respective malonates.     

Synthesis of ferrites: Thermal analysis of some transition metal tris(maleato)ferrates(III)

Thermal analysis of some transition metal ferrimaleate precursors, M₃[Fe(mal)₃]₂·xH₂O (M=Mn, Co, Ni, Cu) has been studied in static air atmosphere from ambient to 600°C. Various physico-chemical techniques, i.e. TG, DTG, DTA, XRD, IR, Mössbauer spectrometry, have been employed to characterize both the intermediates and final products. After dehydration the anhydrous precursors undergo decomposition to yield an iron(II) intermediate, M[Fe^II(mal)₂] (M=Mn, Co, Ni, Cu) in the temperature range 160-275°C. A subsequent oxidative decomposition of iron(II) species leads to the formation of -Fe₂O₃ and MO in the successive stages. Finally a solid-state reaction occurs between the oxides above 400°C resulting in the formation of transition metal ferrites, MFe₂O₄. The ferrites have been obtained at much lower temperature and in less time than in the conventional ceramic method.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mössbauer study on thermal decomposition of cesium tris(oxalato) ferrate(III) dihydrate

The thermal decomposition of cesium tris(oxalato) ferrate(III) dihydrate, Cs₃ Fe(ox)₃ 2H₂O has been studied at various temperatures in air, employing Mössbauer and infrared spectroscopies, and thermogravimetric methods. The complex undergoes reduction to an iron(II) intermediate at 473 K. The particle size of -Fe₂O₃ formed during thermolysis increases with increasing decomposition temperature. Finally, a solid state reaction between -Fe₂O₃ and cesium carbonate/oxide occurs, leading to the formation of fine particles of cesium ferrite (CsFeO₂).     

Combined Path and Maximum Empty Static Routing Algorithms with Wavelength Assignment for Future Transport Networks

Abstract

In this article, two static routing algorithms have been proposed and compared to some of the existing algorithms on the basis of blocking probability. The two proposed static routing and wavelength assignment algorithms reduce the blocking probability to maximize the utilization of the network. All of these algorithms are analyzed and compared with four wavelength assignment schemes, which are first-fit, random, most used, and least used. It is shown that our proposed static algorithms give the best performance for first-fit wavelength assignment and most used wavelength assignment strategies with reduced complexity. For least used wavelength assignment and random wavelength assignment, 1 fixed and 2 alternate routing algorithm gives the lowest blocking probability.     

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Cu-doped ZnO nanorods

Cu-doped ZnO nanorods with different Cu concentrations were synthesized through the vapor transport method. The synthesized nanorods were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and UV–vis spectroscopy. The XRD results revealed that Cu was successfully doped into ZnO lattice. The FE-SEM images showed that the undoped ZnO has needle like morphology whereas Cu-doped ZnO samples have rod like morphology with an average diameter and length of 60–90 nm and 1.5–3 μm respectively. The red shift in band edge absorption peak in UV-vis absorbance spectrum with increasing Cu content also confirm the doping of Cu in ZnO nanorods. The photocatalytic activity of pure and Cu-doped ZnO samples was studied by the photodegradation of resazurin (Rz) dye. Both pure ZnO and the Cu-doped ZnO nanorods effectively removed the Rz in a short time. This photodegradation of Rz followed the pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. ZnO nanorods with increasing Cu doping exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity. The pseudo-first-order reaction rate constant for 15 % Cu-doped ZnO is equal to 10.17×10^?2min^?1 about double of that with pure ZnO. The increased photocatalytic activity of Cu-doped ZnO is attributed to intrinsic oxygen vacancies due to high surface to volume ratio in nanorods and extrinsic defect due to Cu doping.