Recombination Spectra Research Articles

2D/2D Heterojunctions of Layered TiO2 and (NH4)2V3O8 for Sunlight-Driven Methylene Blue Degradation

Photocatalysis based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) has become a promising method to remediate industrial and municipal effluents in an environmentally friendly manner. However, the efficiency of TiO2 is hampered by problems such as rapid electron–hole recombination and limited solar spectrum absorption. Furthermore, the sensitization of TiO2 through heterojunctions with other materials has gained attention. Vanadium, specifically in the form of ammonium vanadate ((NH4)2V3O8), has shown promise as a photocatalyst due to its ability to effectively absorb visible light. However, its use in photocatalysis remains limited. Herein, we present a novel synthesis method to produce lamellar (NH4)2V3O8 as a sensitizer in a supramolecular hybrid photocatalyst of TiO2–stearic acid (SA), contributing to a deeper understanding of its structural and magnetic characteristics, expanding the range of visible light absorption, and improving the efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole separation. Materials, such as TiO2–SA and (NH4)2V3O8, were synthesized and characterized. EPR studies of (NH4)2V3O8 demonstrated their orientation-dependent magnetic properties and, from measurements of the angular variation of g-values, suggest that the VO2+ complexes are in axially distorted octahedral sites. The photocatalytic results indicate that the 2D/2D heterojunction layered TiO2/vanadate at a ratio (1:0.050) removed 100% of the methylene blue, used as a model contaminant in this study. The study of the degradation mechanism of methylene blue emphasizes the role of reactive species such as hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and superoxide ions (O2•−). These species are crucial for breaking down contaminant molecules, leading to their degradation. The band alignment between ammonium vanadate ((NH4)2V3O8) and TiO2–SA, shows effective separation and charge transfer processes at their interface. Furthermore, the study confirms the chemical stability and recyclability of the TiO2–SA/(NH4)2V3O8 photocatalyst, demonstrated that it could be used for multiple photocatalytic cycles without a significant loss of activity. This stability, combined with its ability to degrade organic pollutants under solar irradiation, means that the TiO2–SA/(NH4)2V3O8 photocatalyst is a promising candidate for practical environmental remediation applications.

Hydrogen recombination continua in stellar flares

ABSTRACT An increasing interest in stellar flares stimulated various modelling approaches in order to analyse the observed flare fluxes. A particular interest was focused on photometric data obtained from Kepler and TESS satellites which detected thousands of flares on cool dwarf stars, including extremely energetic superflares. Radiation-hydrodynamical simulations, together with a rather rare broad-band spectroscopy, indicate much larger densities in the superflare chromospheres as compared to solar flares. Formation of hydrogen recombination continua under such different densities ranging from 1013 to 1015 cm−3 or more is governed by physics of optically thin to largely thick plasmas, the continuum optical thickness being within the range of four orders of magnitude. Various authors presented simple approximate methods to analyse the photometric data from Kepler or TESS under such diverse regimes of physical conditions. In this letter, we summarize the general physical approach and compute the hydrogen recombination spectra under the above range of electron densities. We show the theoretical contrast with respect to quiet-star continuum for two characteristic stars of G and dMe type. Based on that we distinguish three regimes of the continuum formation and discuss the applicability of various simple approaches.

Hydrogen recombination continuum as the radiative model for stellar optical flares

ABSTRACT The study of stellar flares has increased with new observations from CoRoT, Kepler, and TESS satellites, revealing the broad-band visible emission from these events. Typically, stellar flares have been modelled as 104 K blackbody plasma to obtain estimates of their total energy. In the Sun, white-light flares (WLFs) are much fainter than their stellar counterparts, and normally can only be detected via spatially resolved observations. Identifying the radiation mechanism for the formation of the visible spectrum from solar and stellar flares is crucial to understand the energy transfer processes during these events, but spectral data for WLFs are relatively rare, and insufficient to remove the ambiguity of their origin: photospheric blackbody radiation and/or Paschen continuum from hydrogen recombination in the chromosphere. We employed an analytical solution for the recombination continuum of hydrogen instead of the typically assumed 104 K blackbody spectrum to study the energy of stellar flares and infer their fractional area coverage. We investigated 37 events from Kepler-411 and five events from Kepler-396, using both radiation mechanisms. We find that estimates for the total flare energy from the H recombination spectrum are about an order of magnitude lower than the values obtained from the blackbody radiation. Given the known energy transfer processes in flares, we argue that the former is a physically more plausible model than the latter to explain the origin of the broad-band optical emission from flares.

Divergent SARS-CoV-2 variant emerges in white-tailed deer with deer-to-human transmission

Wildlife reservoirs of broad-host-range viruses have the potential to enable evolution of viral variants that can emerge to infect humans. In North America, there is phylogenomic evidence of continual transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from humans to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) through unknown means, but no evidence of transmission from deer to humans. We carried out an observational surveillance study in Ontario, Canada during November and December 2021 (n = 300 deer) and identified a highly divergent lineage of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer (B.1.641). This lineage is one of the most divergent SARS-CoV-2 lineages identified so far, with 76 mutations (including 37 previously associated with non-human mammalian hosts). From a set of five complete and two partial deer-derived viral genomes we applied phylogenomic, recombination, selection and mutation spectrum analyses, which provided evidence for evolution and transmission in deer and a shared ancestry with mink-derived virus. Our analysis also revealed an epidemiologically linked human infection. Taken together, our findings provide evidence for sustained evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer and of deer-to-human transmission.

Experimental dielectronic recombination rate coefficients for lithium-like 40Ca17+

The rate coefficients for dielectronic recombination (DR) of lithium-like 40Ca17+ ions with ∆n = 0 core excitations are derived from electron–ion recombination spectra measured with merged-beams method at the heavy-ion storage ring CSRm. The experimental DR spectrum, in the electron–ion collision energy range of 0 to 42 eV in the center-of-mass frame, comprises of all DR resonance peaks belong to the 2s 2 S 1/2 → 2p 2 P 1/2, 3/2 core excitations. The resonant energies and strengths for the resolved resonances in 2pjnl series are determined by fitting of the measured DR peaks. The further interpretation of the measured DR rate coefficients has been performed by calculating the DR rate coefficients with relativistic configuration-interaction method implemented in flexible atomic code (FAC) and compared with the experimental results. The experimental results and FAC calculations are found to be in a good agreement within the experimental uncertainties. Moreover, temperature dependent plasma rate coefficients were constructed from 4 × 103 to 1 × 107 K energy region by convoluting experimental and theoretical DR rate coefficients with the Maxwellian energy distribution function and then compared with previously available data. The plasma DR rate coefficient is found to be significantly underestimated by the early theoretical data calculated by Jacobs et al, and Mazotta et al in the low temperature. In contrast, a very good agreement has been found between the theoretical DR data of Gu and Colgan et al and the presently measured results at the low temperature region. Therefore, the results in this work composed of a bench-mark data set for plasma modeling at the photoionized temperature range. We have also provided a fit to our measured and theoretical plasma rate coefficients for low temperature plasma modeling.

In‐Situ Generated CsPbBr3 Nanocrystals on O‐Defective WO3 for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Metal halide perovskite (MHP) nanocrystals (NCs) have shown promising application in photocatalytic CO2 reduction, but their activities are still largely restrained by severe charge recombination and narrow solar spectrum response. Assembly of heterojunctions can be beneficial to the charge separation in MHPs while the assembly process usually brings native interfacial defects, impeding efficient charge separation between two materials. Herein, an in-situ generation strategy was developed to prepare CsPbBr3 /WO3 heterojunction, using WO3 nanosheets (NSs) as growing substrate for the growth of CsPbBr3 NCs. The developed CsPbBr3 /WO3 heterojunction exhibited a high-quality interface, greatly facilitating charge transfer between two semiconductors. The hybrid photocatalyst displayed an excellent activity toward CO2 reduction, which was about 7-fold higher than pristine CsPbBr3 NCs and 3.5-fold higher than their assembled counterparts. The experimental results and theoretical simulations revealed that a Z-scheme mechanism with a favorable internal electric field was responsible for the good performance of CsPbBr3 /WO3 heterojunction. By using O-defective WO3 NSs as a near-infrared (NIR) light absorber, the CsPbBr3 /WO3 heterojunction could harvest NIR light and showed an impressive activity toward CO2 reduction. This work demonstrates a new strategy to design MHP-based heterojunctions by synergistically considering the interface quality, charge transfer mode, interfacial electric field, and light response range between two semiconductors.

Asymmetric Lineshapes of Efimov Resonances in Mass-Imbalanced Ultracold Gases

The resonant profile of the rate coefficient for three-body recombination into a shallow dimer is investigated for mass-imbalanced systems. In the low-energy limit, three atoms collide with zero-range interactions, in a regime where the scattering lengths of the heavy–heavy and the heavy–light subsystems are positive and negative, respectively. For this physical system, the adiabatic hyperspherical representation is combined with a fully semi-classical method and we show that the shallow dimer recombination spectra display an asymmetric lineshape that originates from the coexistence of Efimov resonances with Stückelberg interference minima. These asymmetric lineshapes are quantified utilizing the Fano profile formula. In particular, a closed-form expression is derived that describes the width of the corresponding Efimov resonances and the Fano lineshape asymmetry parameter q. The profile of Efimov resonances exhibits a q-reversal effect as the inter- and intra-species scattering lengths vary. In the case of a diverging asymmetry parameter, i.e., |q|→∞, we show that the Efimov resonances possess zero width and are fully decoupled from the three-body and atom–dimer continua, and the corresponding Efimov metastable states behave as bound levels.

H, He-like recombination spectra – IV. Clarification and refinement of methodology for l-changing collisions

ABSTRACT Precise spectral diagnostic modelling of H i and He ii recombination spectra can constrain theoretical models that describe many astrophysical environments. Simple analytic expressions are of interest for collisional l-changing rate coefficients that are used by large-scale population modelling codes. We review, clarify, and improve upon the modified Pengelly & Seaton formulae of Guzmán et al. We show that the recent poor results for it shown by Vrinceanu et al. are due to their misinterpretation of its usage. We also detail efficient numerical algorithms which should enable the full quantum mechanical expression for such rate coefficients to be used much more routinely by modelling codes. We illustrate with some collisional-radiative population modelling for hydrogen.

Seeking celestial positronium with an OH-suppressed diffraction-limited spectrograph.

Celestially, positronium (Ps) has been observed only through gamma-ray emission produced by its annihilation. However, in its triplet state, a Ps atom has a mean lifetime long enough for electronic transitions to occur between quantum states. This produces a recombination spectrum observable in principle at near IR wavelengths, where angular resolution greatly exceeding that of the gamma-ray observations is possible. However, the background in the near IR is dominated by extremely bright atmospheric hydroxyl (OH) emission lines. In this paper, we present the design of a diffraction-limited spectroscopic system using novel photonic components-a photonic lantern, OH fiber Bragg grating filters, and a photonic TIGER 2D pseudo-slit-to observe the Ps Balmer alpha line at 1.3122 µm for the first time, to our knowledge.

Hyrec-2: A highly accurate sub-millisecond recombination code

We present the new recombination code hyrec-2, which achieves the same accuracy as the state-of-the-art codes hyrec and cosmorec and, at the same time, surpasses the computational speed of the code recfast commonly used for cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy data analyses. hyrec-2 is based on an effective four-level atom model, accounting exactly for the nonequilibrium of highly excited states of hydrogen, and very accurately for radiative transfer effects with a correction to the Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ escape rate. The latter is computed with the original hyrec and tabulated as a function of temperature, along with its derivatives with respect to the relevant cosmological parameters. This enables the code to keep the same accuracy as the original hyrec over the full 99.7% confidence region of cosmological parameters currently allowed by Planck, while running in under one millisecond on a standard laptop. Our code leads to no noticeable bias in any cosmological parameters even in the case of an ideal cosmic-variance-limited experiment up to $\ensuremath{\ell}=5000$. Beyond CMB anisotropy calculations, hyrec-2 will be a useful tool to compute various observables that depend on the recombination and thermal history, such as the recombination spectrum or the 21-cm signal.

Can the Kappa-distributed Electron Energies Account for the Intensity Ratios of O ii Lines in Photoionized Gaseous Nebulae?

Abstract A vexing puzzle in the study of planetary nebulae and H ii regions is that the plasma diagnostic results based on collisionally excited lines systematically differ from those based on recombination lines. A fairly speculative interpretation is the presence of nonthermal electrons with the so-called κ energy distributions, yet there is little observational evidence to verify or disprove this hypothesis. In this paper, we examine the influence of κ-distributed electrons on the emissivities of O ii recombination lines using an approximate method, where the rate coefficients for a κ distribution are computed by summing Maxwellian–Boltzmann rate coefficients with appropriate weights. The results show that if invoking κ-distributed electrons, the temperatures derived from the [O iii] (λ4959 + λ5007)/λ4363 ratios could coincide with those estimated from the O ii λ4649/λ4089 ratios. However, the estimated temperatures and κ values are not in agreement with those obtained through comparing the [O iii] (λ4959 + λ5007)/λ4363 ratios and the hydrogen recombination spectra, suggesting that the electron energy is unlikely to follow the κ-distributions over a global scale of the nebular regions. Nevertheless, based on this observation alone, we cannot definitely rule out the presence of κ-distributed electrons in some microstructures within nebulae.

Electron-impact recombination and excitation rates for charge-state-selected highly charged Si ions

Charge-state selective recombination rate coefficients were measured by time of flight (TOF) analyzed highly charged Si ions extracted from an electron-beam ion trap. Additionally, the combination of simultaneous TOF and x-ray measurements and a separation of the dielectronic recombination contribution in the x-ray spectra is used for extracting electron-impact excitation rate coefficients for several overlaying charge states. Experimentally derived dielectronic recombination spectra for XIII and XIV Si are compared and found in excellent agreement with the results of relativistic many-body perturbation theory calculations.

Electron-ion recombination rate coefficients of carbon-like Ar12+

Electron-ion recombination of carbon-like Ar12+ forming Ar11+ has been investigated for the first time by using the cooler storage ring CSRm at the Institute of Modern Physics in Lanzhou, China. The absolute recombination rate coefficients are derived from the measurement in the electron-ion collision energy range of 0–50 eV, covering dielectronic recombination (DR) resonances associated with 2s22p2 and 2s2p3 (Δn = 0) core excitations. Theoretical results are obtained by employing FAC code and compared with the experimental recombination spectrum. An overall agreement is found in resonance energy positions between merged-beam and calculated spectra. Temperature dependent rate coefficients are derived from the measured DR spectrum by convoluting it with a Maxwell–Boltzmann energy distribution and compared with the calculations from the literature. In the presented temperature range 103–107 K, the experimentally derived rate coefficients agree with the theoretical results of Gu (2003 Astrophys. J. 590 1131) within the experimental uncertainties. The calculation by Zatsarinny et al (2004 Astron. Astrophys. 417 1173) underestimates the rate coefficients in the temperature range 103–5 × 104 K. The combination of the experimental results and theoretical calculation provides a benckmark for Ar12+ recombination data used in astrophysical modeling.

Relativistic eigenchannelR-matrix studies of the strong intrashell electron correlations in highly chargedAr13+ions

Highly charged ion systems play an important role in simulation and diagnostics of astrophysical and fusion plasmas. Due to dominant strong Coulomb interactions from the nuclear charge, electron correlations are generally thought to be less prominent than relativistic effects and other effects in HCIs. In this paper, we demonstrate the importance of strong intrashell electron correlations from the quasidegeneracy of $2s, 2p$ orbitals in highly charged B-like ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{13+}$ ions. Such strong intrashell electron interactions manifest as an atomic system with many channel interactions, which will ultimately form a much more complex atomic spectrum than the neutral B atom in the isoelectronic sequence. As a typical example, the relativistic eigenchannel $R$-matrix method (R-R-eigen code) was successfully applied to investigate the complex spectrum of ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{13+}$ ions with ${J}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}=1.{5}^{+}$ symmetry in discrete and autoionization regions. Calculated results obviously show interesting behaviors of strong intrashell electron correlations in HCIs. Additionally, it is also beneficial to understand discrepancies in the low-energy electron-ion recombination spectra of Be-like ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{14+}$ ions between experimental observations at the main cooler-storage ring of the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou and distorted wave calculation.

Laser-Plasma Spectroscopy of Hydroxyl with Applications.

This article discusses laser-induced laboratory-air plasma measurements and analysis of hydroxyl (OH) ultraviolet spectra. The computations of the OH spectra utilize line strength data that were developed previously and that are now communicated for the first time. The line strengths have been utilized extensively in interpretation of recorded molecular emission spectra and have been well-tested in laser-induced fluorescence applications for the purpose of temperature inferences from recorded data. Moreover, new experiments with Q-switched laser pulses illustrate occurrence of molecular recombination spectra for time delays of the order of several dozen of microseconds after plasma initiation. The OH signals occur due to the natural humidity in laboratory air. Centrifugal stretching of the Franck-Condon factors and r-centroids are included in the process of determining the line strengths that are communicated as a Supplementary File. Laser spectroscopy applications of detailed OH computations include laser-induced plasma and combustion analyses, to name but two applications. This work also includes literature references that address various diagnosis applications.

Cosmology with recombination spectrum

Precision measurement of the cosmological recombination spectrum can provide an entire new window to look at the early universe. We aim to quantify the information hidden in the cosmological recombination spectrum and for this purpose we have developed a new code following the algorithm proposed in [1,2]. Our code is closely based on the COSMOSPEC [3] code. We find, using Fisher information matrix and assuming that the foregrounds can be subtracted by using higher or lower frequency channels and spatial information, that going beyond the detection will need an experiment with sensitivity 25× better compared to the proposed experiment PIXIE. Such an experiment will be able to measure the cosmological parameters with a precision that is competitive with the CMB anisotropy experiments. The best constrainted parameter is baryon energy density, Ωb, which can be nailed down with incredible precision in principle. We also show that the shape of the hydrogen lines is connected to the speed of the hydrogen recombination, with the peaks of the recombination lines coinciding with the peak of the recombination rate. In general, the shape of the lines encodes information about the rate of recombination as a function of redshift.

Charge exchange recombination spectra for 100 keV/u and 500 keV/u atomic hydrogen beam colliding with W64+

We present synthetic spectra for light emission following charge exchange (CX) recombination for Ne-like W64+ ions colliding with neutral atomic hydrogen at 100 and 500 keV/u, which is of relevance to the plasma diagnostics of the international experimental fusion device ITER now under construction. The spectra are calculated using a detailed collisional-radiative model for the W63+ ion that includes more than 6000 singly- and doubly-excited states and accounts for major physical processes in hot fusion plasmas. The CX cross sections into excited states are computed using the classical trajectory Monte Carlo method. A comprehensive analysis of the modifications to the spectra due to CX is presented.

Laser-Plasma and Self-Absorption Measurements with Applications to Analysis of Atomic and Molecular Stellar Astrophysics Spectra

This work discusses laboratory measurements of atomic and diatomic molecular species in laser-plasma generated in gases. Noticeable self-absorption of the Balmer series hydrogen alpha line occurs for electron densities of the order of one tenth of standard ambient temperature and pressure density. Emission spectra of selected diatomic molecules in air or specific gaseous mixtures at or near atmospheric pressure reveal minimal plasma re-absorption. Abel inversion of the plasma in selected gases and gas mixtures confirm expansion dynamics that unravel regions of atomic and molecular species of different electron temperature and density. Time resolved spectroscopy diagnoses self-absorption of hydrogen alpha and hydrogen beta lines in ultra-high pure hydrogen gas. Radiation from a Nd:YAG laser device induces micro-plasma for pulse widths in the range of 6–14 ns, energies in the range of 100–800 mJ, and peak irradiances of the order 1–10 TW/cm 2 . Atomic line profiles yield electron density and temperature from fitting of line profiles to wavelength and sensitivity corrected spectral radiance data. Analysis of measured diatomic emission data yields excitation temperature of primarily molecular recombination spectra. Applications of the laboratory experiments extend to investigations of stellar astrophysics white dwarf spectra.

Dielectronic recombination at low energy range with Boron‐like Ar13+at the CSRm

In order to extend the dielectronic recombination (DR) experiments from the main cooler storage ring CSRm with intermediate charge state ions to the experimental cooler storage ring CSRe with highly charged ions and even radioactive ions, a test electron‐ion recombination experiment of B‐like Ar13+ ions was performed with a section of the new electron beam energy detuning system, which will be installed at the CSRe. We present the measured and also the calculated DR spectra for the ∆n = 0 resonances from 0 to 3 eV. The experimental results agree very well with the previous DR experimental data from CRYRING, and the energy resolution reached 30 meV full width at half maximum. This test experiment demonstrates that the reliability and stability of the newly developed electron beam energy detuning system are satisfactory for the upcoming DR experiments at the CSRe. However, we found large discrepancies between the experimental result and the calculation in both resonance positions and the intensities of the recombination spectrum below 0.7 eV, which indicate that precise calculation of the DR spectrum of multielectron ions is still a challenge.

H-, He-like recombination spectra – III. n-changing collisions in highly excited Rydberg states and their impact on the radio, IR, and optical recombination lines

ABSTRACT At intermediate to high densities, electron (de-)excitation collisions are the dominant process for populating or depopulating high Rydberg states. In particular, the accurate knowledge of the energy changing (n-changing) collisional rates is determinant for predicting the radio recombination spectra of gaseous nebula. The different data sets present in the literature come either from impact parameter calculations or semi-empirical fits and the rate coefficients agree within a factor of 2. We show in this paper that these uncertainties cause errors lower than 5 per cent in the emission of radio recombination lines of most ionized plasmas of typical nebulae. However, in special circumstances where the transitions between Rydberg levels are amplified by maser effects, the errors can increase up to 20 per cent. We present simulations of the optical depth and Hnα line emission of active galactic nuclei broad-line regions and the Orion Nebula Blister to showcase our findings.