Koichi Miyamoto

Bronsted Site Population on External and on Internal Surface of Shape-Selective Catalysts

An IR spectroscopic method was first proposed for determining Bronsted site populations on the external surface and on the internal surface of microporous catalysts. The method consisted of dual adsorption of pyridine and trialkylamines. Its application to shape-selective catalysts revealed that Bronsted sites of HZSM-5, montmorillonite cross-linked with zirconium oxide, and montmorillonite cross-linked with aluminum oxide are present on the external surface in populations of 5, 30, and 30 %, respectively.

Forecast constraints on cosmic string parameters from gravitational wave direct detection experiments

Gravitational waves (GWs) are one of the key signatures of cosmic strings. If GWs from cosmic strings are detected in future experiments, not only their existence can be confirmed but also their properties might be probed. In this paper, we study the determination of cosmic string parameters through direct detection of GW signatures in future ground-based GW experiments. We consider two types of GWs, bursts and the stochastic GW background, which provide us with different information about cosmic string properties. Performing the Fisher matrix calculation on the cosmic string parameters, such as parameters governing the string tension Gµ and initial ˜

Selective Oxidation of n-Butane To Maleic Anhydride Over Well-Characterized Vanadium-Phosphorus Mixed Oxides

Catalytic oxidations of n-butane, n-butene, and butadiene as well as isotopic experiments using O-18 were carried out over three well-characterized crystalline V-P oxides (P/V=l). Conclusions are as follows. (1) The critical step in the selective oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride is the first step, that is, the dehydrogenation of butane to butene. (2) Reduction-oxidation only near the surface is involved in the catalysis. (3) The morphology of (VO) 2 P 2 O 7 has phenomenologically a great influence on the catalytic performance at high conversion levels; thick platelet crystals gave better performance than crystals having rose-like shape.

Gravitational waves from kinks on infinite cosmic strings

Gravitational waves emitted by kinks on infinite strings are investigated using detailed estimations of the kink distribution on infinite strings. We find that gravitational waves from kinks can be detected by future pulsar timing experiments such as SKA for an appropriate value of the string tension, if the typical size of string loops is much smaller than the horizon at their formation. Moreover, the gravitational wave spectrum depends on the thermal history of the Universe and hence it can be used as a probe into the early evolution of the Universe.

Forecast constraints on cosmic strings from future CMB, pulsar timing, and gravitational wave direct detection experiments

We study future observational constraints on cosmic string parameters from various types of next-generation experiments: direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs), pulsar timing array, and the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We consider both GW burst and stochastic GW background searches by ground- and space-based interferometers as well as GW background detection in pulsar timing experiments. We also consider cosmic string contributions to the CMB temperature and polarization anisotropies. These different types of observations offer independent probes of cosmic strings and may enable us to investigate cosmic string properties if the signature is detected. In this paper, we evaluate the power of future experiments to constrain cosmic string parameters, such as the string tension Gmu, the initial loop size alpha, and the reconnection probability p, by performing Fisher information matrix calculations. We find that combining the information from the different types of observations breaks parameter degeneracies and provides more stringent constraints on the parameters. We also find future space-borne interferometers independently provide a highly precise determination of the parameters.

Isocurvature perturbations in extra radiation

Recent cosmological observations, including measurements of the CMB anisotropy and the primordial helium abundance, indicate the existence of an extra radiation component in the Universe beyond the standard three neutrino species. In this paper we explore the possibility that the extra radiation has isocurvatrue fluctuations. A general formalism to evaluate isocurvature perturbations in the extra radiation is provided in the mixed inflaton-curvaton system, where the extra radiation is produced by the decay of both scalar fields. We also derive constraints on the abundance of the extra radiation and the amount of its isocurvature perturbation. Current observational data favors the existence of an extra radiation component, but does not indicate its having isocurvature perturbation. These constraints are applied to some particle physics motivated models. If future observations detect isocurvature perturbations in the extra radiation, it will give us a hint to the origin of the extra radiation.

Non-Gaussian isocurvature perturbations in dark radiation

We study non-Gaussian properties of the isocurvature perturbations in the dark radiation, which consists of the active neutrinos and extra light species, if exist. We first derive expressions for the bispectra of primordial perturbations which are mixtures of curvature and dark radiation isocurvature perturbations. We also discuss CMB bispectra produced in our model and forecast CMB constraints on the non-linearity parameters based on the Fisher matrix analysis. Some concrete particle physics motivated models are presented in which large isocurvature perturbations in extra light species and/or the neutrino density isocurvature perturbations as well as their non-Gaussianities may be generated. Thus detections of non-Gaussianity in the dark radiation isocurvature perturbation will give us an opportunity to identify the origin of extra light species and lepton asymmetry.

Cosmological and astrophysical constraints on superconducting cosmic strings

We investigate the cosmological and astrophysical constraints on superconducting cosmic strings (SCSs). SCS loops emit strong bursts of electromagnetic waves, which might affect various cosmological and astrophysical observations. We take into account the effect on the CMB anisotropy, CMB blackbody spectrum, BBN, observational implications on radio wave burst and X-ray or γ-ray events, and stochastic gravitational wave background measured by pulsar timing experiments. We then derive constraints on the parameters of SCS from current observations and estimate prospects for detecting SCS signatures in on-going observations. As a result, we find that these constraints exclude broad parameter regions, and also that on-going radio wave observations can probe large parameter space.

CMB distortion anisotropies due to the decay of primordial magnetic fields

We investigate the power spectrum of the distortion of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) due to the decay of the primordial magnetic fields. It is known that there are two-types of the CMB distortions, so-called µ- and y-types and we find that the signal of the y-type distortion becomes larger than that of the µ-type one. We also discuss cross power spectra between the CMB distortions and the CMB temperature anisotropy, which are naturally generated due to the existence of the primordial magnetic fields. We find that such cross power spectra have small amplitudes compared with the auto-power spectra of the CMB distortions because of the Silk damping effect of the temperature anisotropy. We also investigate the possibility of detecting such signal in the future CMB experiments, including not only absolutely calibrated experiments such as PIXIE but also relatively calibrated experiments such as LiteBIRD and CMBpol.

Kähler moduli double inflation

We show that double inflation is naturally realized in Kahler moduli inflation, which is caused by moduli associated with string compactification. We find that there is a small coupling between the two inflatons which leads to amplification of perturbations through parametric resonance in the intermediate stage of double inflation. This results in the appearance of a peak in the power spectrum of the primordial curvature perturbation. We numerically calculate the power spectrum and show that the power spectrum can have a peak on observationally interesing scales. We also compute the TT-spectrum of CMB based on the power spectrum with a peak and see that it better fits WMAP 7-years data.