Based on the first-principles calculations, we investigate the magnetic and electronic properties of α-graphyne nanoribbons (NRs). We show that all the armchair α-graphyne NRs are nonmagnetic semiconductors with band gaps as a function of ribbon widths. The zigzag α-graphyne NRs are found to have magnetic semiconducting ground state with ferromagnetic ordering at each edge and opposite spin orientation between the two edges. Under the application of transverse electric field, we further predict the existence of half-metallicity in the zigzag NRs which strongly depends on the width of the ribbon.

First-principles calculations are performed to investigate the transport properties of zigzag α-graphyne nanoribbons (ZαGNRs). It is found that asymmetric ZαGNRs behave as conductors with linear current-voltage relationship, whereas symmetric ZαGNRs have very small currents under finite bias voltages, similar to those of zigzag graphene nanoribbons. The symmetry-dependent transport properties arise from different coupling rules between the π and π * subbands around the Fermi level, which are dependent on the wavefunction symmetry of the two subbands. Based on the coupling rules, we further demonstrate the bipolar spin-filtering effect in the symmetric ZαGNRs. It is shown that nearly 100% spin-polarized current can be produced and modulated by the direction of bias voltage and/or magnetization configuration of the electrodes. Moreover, the magnetoresistance effect with the order larger than 500,000% is also predicted. Our calculations suggest ZαGNRs as one of promising candidate materials for novel spintronics.

In most spacecraft, there is a need to know the craft's angular rate. Approaches with least squares and an adaptive Kalman filter are proposed for estimating the angular rate directly from the star tracker measurements. In these approaches, only knowledge of the vector measurements and sampling interval is required. The designed adaptive Kalman filter can filter out noise without information of the dynamic model and inertia dyadic. To verify the proposed estimation approaches, simulations based on the orbit data of the challenging minisatellite payload (CHAMP) satellite and experimental tests with night-sky observation are performed. Both the simulations and experimental testing results have demonstrated that the proposed approach performs well in terms of accuracy, robustness, and performance.

An analytical model of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) single-scatter propagation is presented that has no integral form and is intended for performance analysis and system design of NLOS UV communication. Based on isotropic scattering and a continuous wave transmitter, the analytical model is verified by the current NLOS single-scatter propagation model, with consistent results. Several rules concerning NLOS UV communication are put forward on the basis of this analytical model, which are shown as follows: on condition that the minimum single-scatter optical depth is less than 0.1, the path loss factor should be 1; to maintain the NLOS UV communication link, the transmitter needs to radiate neither a continuous wave nor a huge pulse but a low-power wave whose duration is approximately the duration of impulse response; the "best" extinction coefficient is approximately the inverse ratio of the efficient single-scatter range; on condition that the radiation intensity of the transmitter is fixed, the half field of views (FOVs) are positive factors, while the elevation angles are negative factors; on condition that the power of the transmitter is fixed, the conclusions mentioned above remain valid with the exception that the half FOV of the transmitter is a negative factor. These rules also apply to anisotropic scattering.

Star pattern recognition and attitude determination accuracy is highly dependent on star spot location accuracy for the star tracker. A star spot location estimation approach with the Kalman filter for a star tracker has been proposed, which consists of three steps. In the proposed approach, the approximate locations of the star spots in successive frames are predicted first; then the measurement star spot locations are achieved by defining a series of small windows around each predictive star spot location. Finally, the star spot locations are updated by the designed Kalman filter. To confirm the proposed star spot location estimation approach, the simulations based on the orbit data of the CHAMP satellite and the real guide star catalog are performed. The simulation results indicate that the proposed approach can filter out noises from the measurements remarkably if the sampling frequency is sufficient.

No abstract

No abstract

Shrines (or altars) are constructed in China for worshiping ancestors, Bodhisattva, and God of Wealth. In this work, pigments from the shrine of Kaiping Diaolou tower were analyzed by micro-Raman spectroscopy, in conjunction with other analytical methods including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Paintings of the shrine were composed of 2-3 pigment layers and the total thickness was determined as about 200-300 µm by optical microscopy and SEM, indicating the fine painting skills applied in the construction of the shrine. The green pigments on the surface layer of the green fragment were identified as a mixture of lead phthalocyanine (PbPc) and cornwallite (Cu 5 (AsO 4 ) 2 (OH) 4 ) by XRF and micro-Raman spectroscopy with two different excitation wavelengths (488 and 785 nm). Underneath the green layer, red and yellow ochre were found. The pigments on the surface layer of red and blue fragments were identified as hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ) and lazurite or synthetic ultramarine [(Na 8 (Al 6 Si 6 O 24 )S 3 )], respectively. Finally, the pigments under the two surface layers were identified by EDX and micro-Raman spectroscopy as chromium oxide (Cr 2 O 3 ), gypsum (CaSO 4 ·2H 2 O) and calcite (CaCO 3 ).