Imaging feature-based clustering of financial time series.

Timeseries representation underpin our ability to understand and predict the change of natural system. Series are often predicated on our choice of highly redundant factors, and in fact, the system is driven by a much smaller set of latent intrinsic keys. It means that a better representation of data makes points in phase space clearly for researchers. Specially, a 2D structure of timeseries could combine the trend and correlation characters of different periods in timeseries together, which provides more clear information for top tasks. In this work, the effectiveness of 2D structure of timeseries is investigated in clustering tasks. There are 4 kinds of methods that the Recurrent Plot (RP), the Gramian Angular Summation Field (GASF), the Gramian Angular Differential Field (GADF) and the Markov Transition Field (MTF) have been adopted in the analysis. By classifying the CSI300 and S&P500 indexes, we found that the RP imaging series are valid in recognizing abnormal fluctuations of financial timeseries, as the silhouette values of clusters are over 0.6 to 1. Compared with segment methods, the 2D models have the lowest instability value of 0. It verifies that the SIFT features of RP images take advantage of the volatility of financial series for clustering tasks.

Ethanol-Quenching Introduced Oxygen Vacancies in Strontium Titanate Surface and the Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity.

Modification of the surface properties of SrTiO3 crystals by regulating the reaction environment in order to improve the photocatalytic activity has been widely studied. However, the development of a facile, effective, and universal method to improve the photocatalytic activity of these crystals remains an enormous challenge. We have developed a simple method to modify the surface environment of SrTiO3 by ethanol quenching, which results in enhanced UV, visible and infrared light absorption and photocatalytic performance. The SrTiO3 nanocrystals were preheated to 800 °C and immediately quenched by submersion in ethanol. X-ray diffraction patterns, electron paramagnetic resonance spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectra indicated that upon rapid ethanol quenching, the interaction between hot SrTiO3 and ethanol led to the introduction of a high concentration of oxygen vacancies on the surface of the SrTiO3 lattice. Consequently, to maintain the regional charge balance of SrTiO3, Sr2+ could be substituted for Ti4+. Moreover, oxygen vacancies induced localized states into the band gap of the modified SrTiO3 and acted as photoinduced charge traps, thus promoting the photocatalytic activity. The improved photocatalytic performance of the modified SrTiO3 was demonstrated by using it for the decomposition of rhodamine B and production of H2 from water under visible or solar light.

Facile Strategy for Synthesizing Non-Stoichiometric Monoclinic Structured Tungsten Trioxide (WO3-x) with Plasma Resonance Absorption and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity.

Oxygen vacancy defects play an important role in improving the light-capturing and photocatalytic activity of tungsten trioxide (WO3). However, the hydrogen treatment method that is commonly used to introduce oxygen vacancies is expensive and dangerous. Therefore, the introduction and control of oxygen vacancy defects in WO3 remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrated that oxygen vacancies could be successfully introduced into WO3-x while using a facile method through low temperature annealing in alcohol. The obtained WO3-x samples with optimal oxygen vacancies showed strong absorption of light, extending from the ultraviolet to the visible and near-infrared regions, and exhibits strong plasmon resonance from 400⁻1200 nm peaking at approximately 800 nm. When compared to pristine WO3, the photocatalytic activity of WO3-x was greatly improved in the ultraviolet and visible regions. This study provides a simple and efficient method to generate oxygen vacancies in WO3 for photocatalysis, which may be applied in the photoelectrochemical, electrochromic, and photochromic fields. Because oxygen vacancy is a common characteristic of metal oxides, the findings that are presented herein may be extended to other metal oxides.

A Facile Approach to Prepare Black TiO2 with Oxygen Vacancy for Enhancing Photocatalytic Activity.

Black TiO2 has triggered worldwide research interest due to its excellent photocatalytic properties. However, the understanding of its structure–property relationships and a more effective, facile and versatile method to produce it remain great challenges. We have developed a facile approach to synthesize black TiO2 nanoparticles with significantly improved light absorption in the visible and infrared regions. The experimental results show that oxygen vacancies are the major factors responsible for black coloration. More importantly, our black TiO2 nanoparticles have no Ti3+ ions. These oxygen vacancies could introduce localized states in the bandgap and act as trap centers, significantly decreasing the electron–hole recombination. The photocatalytic decomposition of both rhodamine B and methylene blue demonstrated that, under ultraviolet light irradiation, better photocatalytic performance is achieved with our black TiO2 nanoparticles than with commercial TiO2 nanoparticles.

Effect of Gallium and Indium Co-Substituting on Upconversion Properties of Er/Yb:Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Powders Prepared by the Co-Precipitation Method.

Gallium and Indium co-substituted Yb, Er:YAG was fabricated through the chemical co-precipitation method. The formation process and structure of the Ga3+ and In3+ substituted phosphor powders were characterized by the X-ray diffraction, thermo-gravimetry analyzer, infrared spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the effects of Ga3+ and In3+ concentration on the luminescence properties were investigated by spectrum. The results showed that the blue shift occurred after the substitution of Ga3+ and In3+ for Al3+ in matrix, and the intensity of emission spectrum was affected by the concentration of Ga3+ and In3+.

[Structure and luminescence properties of Ga2O3 : Cr3+ by Al doping].

The Al doping gallate phosphor (Ga(1-x)Al(x))2O3 : Cr3+ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) was synthesized by a high temperature solid-state reaction method. The X-ray diffractions show that the phase of the phosphors remains to be Ga2 O3 structure with increase in the contents of Al3+ ion. Beside, the fact that the X-ray diffraction peak shifts towards big angles with increasing Al3+ ions content shows that Al3+ ions entered the Ga2 O3 lattice. The peaks of the excitation spectra located at 258, 300, 410 and 550 nm are attributed to the band to band transition of the matrix, charge transfer band transition, and 4A2 --> 4T1 and 4A2 --> 4T2 transition of Cr3+ ions, respectively. Those excitation spectrum peak positions show different degrees of blue shift with the increase in the Al3+ ions content. The blue shift of the first two peaks are due to the band gap energy of substrate and the electronegativity between Cr3+ ions and ligands increasing, respectively. The blue shift of the energy level transition of Cr3+ ion is attributed to crystal field strength increasing. The Cr3+ ion luminescence changes from a broadband emission to a narrow-band emission with Al3+ doping, because the emission of Cr3+ ion changed from 4 T2 --> 4A2 to 2E --> 4A2 transition with the crystal field change after Al3+ ions doping. The Al3+ ions doping improved the long afterglow luminescence properties of samples, and the sample showed a longer visible near infrared when Al3+ ions content reaches 0.5. The thermoluminescence curve shows the sample with suitable trap energy level, and this is also the cause of the long afterglow luminescence materials.

[Luminescence properties of Eu, Dy doped BaAl12 O19 long afterglow phosphors].

Long afterglow phosphors BaAl12 O19:Eu2+/Eu3+, Dy3+ were synthesized by high temperature solid state method under different atmosphere. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) shows that pure BaAl12 O19 phase structure was obtained and the do ping ions Eu2+/Eu3+, Dy3+ didn't change the phase structure. By comparison, the authors found that the doping ions Eu2+/ Eu3+, Dy3+ caused the XRD diffraction peaks moving to the high angle slightly which displayed that the inter-planar spacing was changed via Eu and Dy replacing Ba lattice in BaAl12 O19. Emission spectra show that all the samples prepared under different conditions exhibit the 4f6 5d1 --> 4J7 broadband transition which is the features emission of Eu2+ and the existence of the features emission of Eu2+ in the sample synthesized in air indicates that Eu3+ ions can be reduced to divalent state in air. The doping ions Dy3+ can not only enhance the luminous intensity of samples but also make the samples to obtain long afterglow characteristics. The afterglow decay and thermoluminescence studies of the Eu, Dy co-doped sample synthesized under reducing atmosphere reveal that the sample has good long afterglow properties at room temperature and high temperature.

(1+1) Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization and photodissociation study of CS2 via the 1B2 state.

(1+1) Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectra of CS(2) and molecular dissociation dynamics are investigated using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer equipped with velocity imaging detection. The REMPI spectra via a linear-bent 1Sigma(g)+-->(1)B(2)(1Sigma(u)+) transition are acquired in the wavelength range of 208-217 nm. Each ro-vibrational band profile of the (1)B(2)(1Sigma(u)+) state is deconvoluted to yield the corresponding predissociative lifetime from 0.3 to 3 ps. Upon excitation at 210.25 and 212.54 nm, the resulting images of S(+) and CS(+) fragments are analyzed to give individual translational energy distributions, which are resolved into two components corresponding to the CS+S((3)P) and CS+S((1)D) channels. The product branching ratios of S((3)P)/S((1)D) are evaluated to be 5.7+/-1.0 and 9.6+/-2.5 at 210.25 and 212.54 nm, respectively. Despite the difficulty avoiding the effect of multiphoton absorption, the molecular dissociation channel is verified to prevail over the dissociative ionization channel of CS(2). The anisotropy parameters for the triplet and singlet channels are determined to be approximately 0.8 and 1.1-1.3, respectively, suggesting that the predissociative state should have a bent configuration with a short lifetime.

Productions of I, I*, and C2H5 in the A-band photodissociation of ethyl iodide in the wavelength range from 245 to 283 nm by using ion-imaging detection.

Photodissociation dynamics of ethyl iodide in the A band has been investigated at several wavelengths between 245 and 283 nm using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization technique combined with velocity map ion-imaging detection. The ion images of I, I(*), and C(2)H(5) fragments are analyzed to yield corresponding speed and angular distributions. Two photodissociation channels are found: I(5p (2)P(3/2))+C(2)H(5) (hotter internal states) and I(*)(5p (2)P(1/2))+C(2)H(5) (colder). In addition, a competitive ionization dissociation channel, C(2)H(5)I(+)+h nu-->C(2)H(5)+I(+), appears at the wavelengths <266 nm. The I/I(*) branching of the dissociation channels may be obtained directly from the C(2)H(5) (+) images, yielding the quantum yield of I(*) about 0.63-0.76, comparable to the case of CH(3)I. Anisotropy parameters (beta) determined for the I(*) channel remain at 1.9+/-0.1 over the wavelength range studied, indicating that the I(*) production should originate from the (3)Q(0) state. In contrast, the beta(I) values become smaller above 266 nm, comprising two components, direct excitation of (3)Q(1) and nonadiabatic transition between the (3)Q(0) and (1)Q(1) states. The curve crossing probabilities are determined to be 0.24-0.36, increasing with the wavelength. A heavier branched ethyl group does not significantly enhance the I(5p (2)P(3/2)) production from the nonadiabatic contribution, as compared to the case of CH(3)I.

248 nm photolysis of CH2Br2 by using cavity ring-down absorption spectroscopy: Br2 molecular elimination at room temperature.

Following photodissociation of CH2Br2 at 248 nm, Br2 molecular elimination is detected by using a tunable laser beam, as crossed perpendicular to the photolyzing laser beam in a ring-down cell, probing the Br2 fragment in the B 3Piou+ -X 1Sigmag+ transition. The nascent vibrational population is obtained, yielding a population ratio of Br2(v = 1)Br2(v = 0) to be 0.7 +/- 0.2. The quantum yield for the Br2 elimination reaction is determined to be 0.2 +/- 0.1. Nevertheless, when CH2Br2 is prepared in a supersonic molecular beam under cold temperature, photofragmentation gives no Br2 detectable in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. With the aid of ab initio potential energy calculations, a plausible pathway is proposed. Upon excitation to the 1B1 or 3B1 state, C-Br bond elongation may change the molecular symmetry of Cs and enhance the resultant 1 1,3A'-X 1A' (or 1 1,3B1-X 1A1 as C2v is used) coupling to facilitate the process of internal conversion, followed by asynchronous concerted photodissociation. Temperature dependence measurements lend support to the proposed pathway.

Normal Auger spectra of Br in alkali bromide molecules.

Molecular Auger electron spectra following the bromine 3d ionization in gas-phase alkali bromides and in HBr were studied both experimentally and theoretically. The AES for HBr and CsBr were measured using photoexcitation, and for LiBr, NaBr, and KBr by using electron impact. These results are compared with the theoretical spectra from nonrelativistic ab initio calculations and one-center approximation and with the spectra of Br(-), computed with the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock method.