Global existence and time decay of the non-cutoff Boltzmann equation with hard potential

This paper is concerned with the Cauchy problem on the Boltzmann equation without angular cutoff assumption for hard potential in the whole space. When the initial data is a small perturbation of a global Maxwellian, the global existence of solution to this problem is proved in unweighted Sobolev spaces $H^N\left({\mathbb{R}}_{x,v}^6\right)$ with $N\ge 2$. But if we want to obtain the optimal temporal decay estimates, we need to add the velocity weight function, in this case the global existence and the optimal temporal decay estimate of the Boltzmann equation are all established. Meanwhile, we further gain a more accurate energy estimate, which can guarantee the validity of the assumption in Chen et al. (0000).     

Regularity of optimal sets for some functional involving eigenvalues of an operator in divergence form

In this paper we consider minimizers of the functional$\min \{{\lambda }_1(\mathrm{\Omega })+\cdots +{\lambda }_k(\mathrm{\Omega })+\mathrm{\Lambda }|\mathrm{\Omega }|,:\mathrm{\Omega }\subset D\text{ open}\}$ where $D\subset {\mathbb{R}}^d$ is a bounded open set and where $0<{\lambda }_1(\mathrm{\Omega })\le \cdots \le {\lambda }_k(\mathrm{\Omega })$ are the first k eigenvalues on Ω of an operator in divergence form with Dirichlet boundary condition and with Hölder continuous coefficients. We prove that the optimal sets ${\mathrm{\Omega }}^{⁎}$ have finite perimeter and that their free boundary $\partial {\mathrm{\Omega }}^{⁎}\cap D$ is composed of a regular part, which is locally the graph of a $C^{1,\alpha }$-regular function, and a singular part, which is empty if $d<d^{⁎}$, discrete if $d=d^{⁎}$ and of Hausdorff dimension at most $d-d^{⁎}$ if $d>d^{⁎}$, for some $d^{⁎}\in \{5,6,7\}$.     

Formal proofs of operator identities by a single formal computation

A formal computation proving a new operator identity from known ones is, in principle, restricted by domains and codomains of linear operators involved, since not any two operators can be added or composed. Algebraically, identities can be modelled by noncommutative polynomials and such a formal computation proves that the polynomial corresponding to the new identity lies in the ideal generated by the polynomials corresponding to the known identities. In order to prove an operator identity, however, just proving membership of the polynomial in the ideal is not enough, since the ring of noncommutative polynomials ignores domains and codomains. We show that it suffices to additionally verify compatibility of this polynomial and of the generators of the ideal with the labelled quiver that encodes which polynomials can be realized as linear operators. Then, for every consistent representation of such a quiver in a linear category, there exists a computation in the category that proves the corresponding instance of the identity. Moreover, by assigning the same label to several edges of the quiver, the algebraic framework developed allows to model different versions of an operator by the same indeterminate in the noncommutative polynomials.     

Dark Energy with Phantom Crossing and the H0 Tension

We investigate the possibility of phantom crossing in the dark energy sector and the solution for the Hubble tension between early and late universe observations. We use robust combinations of different cosmological observations, namely the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), local measurement of Hubble constant (H0), Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) and SnIa for this purpose. For a combination of CMB+BAO data that is related to early universe physics, phantom crossing in the dark energy sector was confirmed at a 95% confidence level and we obtained the constraint H0=71.0−3.8+2.9 km/s/Mpc at a 68% confidence level, which is in perfect agreement with the local measurement by Riess et al. We show that constraints from different combinations of data are consistent with each other and all of them are consistent with phantom crossing in the dark energy sector. For the combination of all data considered, we obtained the constraint H0=70.25±0.78 km/s/Mpc at a 68% confidence level and the phantom crossing happening at the scale factor am=0.851−0.031+0.048 at a 68% confidence level.     

Portable single-sided NMR measurements at variable temperatures: Implementation of a thermo-controlled device and application to the heating of bread dough

A temperature control unit was implemented to vary the temperature of samples studied on a commercial Mobile Universal Surface Explorer nuclear magnetic resonance (MOUSE-NMR) apparatus. The device was miniaturized to fit the maximum MOUSE sampling depth (25 mm). It was constituted by a sample holder sandwiched between two heat exchangers placed below and above the sample. Air was chosen as the fluid to control the temperature at the bottom of the sample, at the interface between the NMR probe and the sample holder, in order to gain space. The upper surface of the sample was regulated by the circulation of water inside a second heat exchanger placed above the sample holder. The feasibility of using such a device was demonstrated first on pure water and then on several samples of bread dough with different water contents. For this, T1 relaxation times were measured at various temperatures and depths and were then compared with those acquired with a conventional compact closed-magnet spectrometer. Discussion of results was based on biochemical transformations in bread dough (starch gelatinization and gluten heat denaturation). It was demonstrated that, within a certain water level range, and because of the low magnetic field strength of the MOUSE, a linear relationship could be established between T1 relaxation times and the local temperature in the dough sample.     

Influence of Polarity and Activation Energy in Microwave–Assisted Organic Synthesis (MAOS)

The aim of this work was to determine the parameters that have decisive roles in microwave-assisted reactions and to develop a model, using computational chemistry, to predict a priori the type of reactions that can be improved under microwaves. For this purpose, a computational study was carried out on a variety of reactions, which have been reported to be improved under microwave irradiation. This comprises six types of reactions. The outcomes obtained in this study indicate that the most influential parameters are activation energy, enthalpy, and the polarity of all the species that participate. In addition to this, in most cases, slower reacting systems observe a much greater improvement under microwave irradiation. Furthermore, for these reactions, the presence of a polar component in the reaction (solvent, reagent, susceptor, etc.) is necessary for strong coupling with the electromagnetic radiation. We also quantified that an activation energy of 20–30 kcal mol⁻¹ and a polarity (μ) between 7–20 D of the species involved in the process is required to obtain significant improvements under microwave irradiation.     

Plasmon Coupling-Induced Hot Electrons for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

We present the fabrication of core-shell-satellite Au@SiO₂-Pt nanostructures and demonstrate that LSPR excitation of the core Au nanoparticle can induce plasmon coupling effect to initiate photocatalytic hydrogen generation from decomposition of formic acid. Further studies suggest that the plasmon coupling effect induces a strong local electric field between the Au core and Pt nanoparticles on the SiO₂ shell, which enables creation of hot electrons on the non-plasmonic-active Pt nanoparticles to participate hydrogen evolution reaction on the Pt surface. In addition, small SiO₂ shell thickness is required in order to obtain a strong plamon coupling effect and achieve efficient photocatalytic activities for hydrogen generation.     

Recent Advances of Freestanding Cathodes for Li-S Batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) with high energy density and low cost have been recognized as one of the most promising next-generation energy storage systems. Although it has taken decades of development, the practical application of LSBs has been hindered by several inherent obstacles, particularly the severe shuttle effect and sluggish reaction kinetics in the sulfur cathode. Various strategies have been proposed to address these problems via rational design of electrode materials and configurations. Freestanding sulfur cathode could be a promising strategy to improve the sulfur mass loading at the cathode level and energy density of LSBs. This minireview will briefly summary the recent advances in freestanding cathodes for LSBs. The advantages and disadvantages of various freestanding cathodes are discussed and the prospects for the development of flexible cathodes are envisioned.