A search for sub-GeV dark matter production mediated by a new vector boson A′, called a dark photon, is performed by the NA64 experiment in missing energy events from 100 GeV electron interactions in ...an active beam dump at the CERN SPS. From the analysis of the data collected in the years 2016, 2017, and 2018 with 2.84×1011 electrons on target no evidence of such a process has been found. The most stringent constraints on the A′ mixing strength with photons and the parameter space for the scalar and fermionic dark matter in the mass range ≲0.2 GeV are derived, thus demonstrating the power of the active beam dump approach for the dark matter search.
We carried out a model-independent search for light scalar (s) and pseudoscalar axionlike (a) particles that couple to two photons by using the high-energy CERN SPS H4 electron beam. The new ...particles, if they exist, could be produced through the Primakoff effect in interactions of hard bremsstrahlung photons generated by 100 GeV electrons in the NA64 active dump with virtual photons provided by the nuclei of the dump. The a (s) would penetrate the downstream HCAL module, serving as a shield, and would be observed either through their a (s) → γγ decay in the rest of the HCAL detector, or as events with a large missing energy if the a (s) decays downstream of the HCAL. This method allows for the probing of the a (s) parameter space, including those from generic axion models, inaccessible to previous experiments. No evidence of such processes has been found from the analysis of the data corresponding to 2.84 × 10 11 electrons on target, allowing us to set new limits on the a(s)γγ -coupling strength for a (s) masses below 55 MeV.
Understanding the Capacitance of PEDOT:PSS Volkov, Anton V.; Wijeratne, Kosala; Mitraka, Evangelia ...
Advanced functional materials,
July 26, 2017, Letnik:
27, Številka:
28
Journal Article
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Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is the most studied and explored mixed ion‐electron conducting polymer system. PEDOT:PSS is commonly included as an electroactive ...conductor in various organic devices, e.g., supercapacitors, displays, transistors, and energy‐converters. In spite of its long‐term use as a material for storage and transport of charges, the fundamentals of its bulk capacitance remain poorly understood. Generally, charge storage in supercapacitors is due to formation of electrical double layers or redox reactions, and it is widely accepted that PEDOT:PSS belongs to the latter category. Herein, experimental evidence and theoretical modeling results are reported that significantly depart from this commonly accepted picture. By applying a two‐phase, 2D modeling approach it is demonstrated that the major contribution to the capacitance of the two‐phase PEDOT:PSS originates from electrical double layers formed along the interfaces between nanoscaled PEDOT‐rich and PSS‐rich interconnected grains that comprises two phases of the bulk of PEDOT:PSS. This new insight paves a way for designing materials and devices, based on mixed ion‐electron conductors, with improved performance.
By performing 2D Nernst–Planck–Poisson modeling of experimental cyclic voltammograms it is shown that (poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) capacitance originates from charging of double layers formed on boundaries between the two phases consisting of PEDOT‐rich and PSS‐rich grains.
The improved results on a direct search for a new X ( 16.7 MeV ) boson that could explain the anomalous excess of e+e− pairs observed in the decays of the excited 8Be ∗ nuclei ("Berillium or X17 ...anomaly") are reported. Interestingly, new recent results in the nuclear transitions of another nucleus, 4 He , seems to support this anomaly spurring the need for an independent measurement. If the X boson exists, it could be produced in the bremsstrahlung reaction e − Z → e − Z X by a high energy beam of electrons incident on the active target in the NA64 experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron and observed through its subsequent decay into e+e− pairs. No evidence for such decays was found from the combined analysis of the data samples with total statistics corresponding to 8.4 × 1010 electrons on target collected in 2017 and 2018. This allows one to set new limits on the X−e− coupling in the range 1.2 × 10−4 ≲ ε e ≲ 6.8 × 10−4 , excluding part of the parameter space favored by the X17 anomaly, and setting new bounds on the mixing strength of photons with dark photons ( A ′ ) with a mass ≲ 24 MeV . For the 2018 run, the setup was optimized to probe the region of parameter space characterized by a large coupling ε . This allowed a significant improvement in sensitivity despite a relatively modest increase in statistics.
We performed a search for a new generic X boson, which could be a scalar (S), pseudoscalar (P), vector (V), or an axial vector (A) particle produced in the 100 GeV electron scattering off nuclei, e− ...Z → e− ZX, followed by its invisible decay in the NA64 experiment at CERN. No evidence for such a process was found in the full NA64 dataset of 2.84 × 1011 electrons on target. We place new bounds on the S, P, V, A coupling strengths to electrons, and set constraints on their contributions to the electron anomalous magnetic moment ae,|ΔaX|≲ 10−15 –10−13 for the X mass region 1 MeV ≲ mX ≲ 1 GeV. These results are an order of magnitude more sensitive compared to the current accuracy on a e from the electron g − 2 experiments and recent high-precision determination of the fine structure constant.
In this work, we studied aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA), which are widely used to remove CO
from flue and oil gases. This study combined experimental and theoretical methods of ...vibrational spectroscopy, using high-temperature infrared spectroscopy, quantum-chemical calculations of theoretical vibrational spectra, and structural electronic and energy characteristics of model structures. MEA has a propensity to form associations between various compositions and structures with water molecules, as well as those composed solely of water molecules. The structural and energy characteristics of such associates were analyzed in terms of their ability to interact and retain carbon dioxide. The influence of elevated temperatures and concentration of aqueous MEA solution on change in the structure of associates has also been investigated. An analysis of theoretical and experimental vibrational spectra allowed us to examine the IR spectra of MEA solutions, and identify the bands responsible for the formation of associates that would sorb CO
well, but would delay its desorption from the solution.
We report the first results on a direct search for a new 16.7 MeV boson (X) which could explain the anomalous excess of e^{+}e^{-} pairs observed in the excited ^{8}Be^{*} nucleus decays. Because of ...its coupling to electrons, the X could be produced in the bremsstrahlung reaction e^{-}Z→e^{-}ZX by a 100 GeV e^{-} beam incident on an active target in the NA64 experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron and observed through the subsequent decay into a e^{+}e^{-} pair. With 5.4×10^{10} electrons on target, no evidence for such decays was found, allowing us to set first limits on the X-e^{-} coupling in the range 1.3×10^{-4}≲ε_{e}≲4.2×10^{-4} excluding part of the allowed parameter space. We also set new bounds on the mixing strength of photons with dark photons (A^{'}) from nonobservation of the decay A^{'}→e^{+}e^{-} of the bremsstrahlung A^{'} with a mass ≲23 MeV.
Polymeric coatings and membranes with extended stability toward a wide range of organic solvents are practical for application in harsh environments; on the other hand, such stability makes their ...processing quite difficult. In this work, we propose a novel method for the fabrication of films based on non-soluble polymers. The film is made from the solution of block copolymer containing both soluble and insoluble blocks followed by selective decomposition of soluble blocks. To prove this concept, we synthesized copolymer (imide)n-(polyurethane)m, in which the imide blocks were combined with polyurethane blocks based on polycaprolactone. By selective hydrolysis of urethane blocks in the presence of acid, it was possible to obtain the insoluble polyimide film for the first time. It was shown that the combination of thermal and acid treatment allowed almost complete removal of urethane blocks from the initial copolymer chains. IR spectroscopy, TGA, DSC and DMA methods were used to study the evaluation of the structure and properties of polymeric material as a result of thermal oxidation and hydrolysis by acid. It was shown that the polymeric films obtained by controlled decomposition were not soluble in aprotic solvent, such as dimethylformamide, n-methylpyrrolidone and dimethyl sulfoxide, and showed very close similarity to the homopolymer consisting of the same imide monomer, poly-(4,4′oxydiphenylene)pyromellitimide, confirming the feasibility of the proposed concept and its perspectives for fabrication of organic solvent-resistant membranes.
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