Sapana Sharma

Bio: Sapana Sharma is an academic researcher from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Thin film & Dosimeter. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 51 publications receiving 661 citations. Previous affiliations of Sapana Sharma include Brookhaven National Laboratory & KIIT University.

QCD equation of state to O (μB6) from lattice QCD

Abstract: We calculated the QCD equation of state using Taylor expansions that include contributions from up to sixth order in the baryon strangeness and electric charge chemical potentials. Calculations have been performed with the Highly Improved Staggered Quark action in the temperature range T epsilon [135 MeV 330 MeV] using up to four different sets of lattice cutoffs corresponding to lattices of size N sigma 3x N tau with aspect ratio N sigma/N tau = 4 and N tau=6-16. The strange quark mass is tuned to its physical value and we use two strange to light quark mass ratios ms/ml = 20 and 27 which in the continuum limit correspond to a pion mass of about 160 and 140 MeV respectively. Sixth order results for Taylor expansion coefficients are used to estimate truncation errors of the fourth order expansion. We show that truncation errors are small for baryon chemical potentials less then twice the temperature (mu(B) 0.9.

Effect of gamma radiation on optical and electrical properties of tellurium dioxide thin films

Abstract: Gamma radiation induced changes in the optical and electrical properties of tellurium dioxide (TeO2) thin films, prepared by thermal evaporation, have been studied in detail. The optical characterization of the as-deposited thin films and that of the thin films exposed to various levels of gamma radiation dose clearly show that the optical bandgap decreases with increase in the gamma radiation dose up to a certain dose. At gamma radiation doses above this value, however, the optical bandgap has been found to increase. On the other hand, the current vs voltage plots for the as-deposited thin films and those for the thin films exposed to various levels of gamma radiation dose show that the current increases with the gamma radiation dose up to a certain dose and that the value of this particular dose depends upon the thickness of the film. The current has, however, been found to decrease with further increase in gamma radiation dose. The observed changes in both the optical and electrical properties indicate that TeO2 thin films can be used as the real time gamma radiation dosimeter up to a certain dose, a quantity that depends upon the thickness of the film.

Effects of annealing temperature on structural and electrical properties of indium oxide thin films prepared by thermal evaporation

Abstract: The effects of annealing temperature on the structural and electrical properties of indium oxide thin films of thickness 600 nm, prepared on glass substrate by thermal evaporation in vacuum, were investigated. The deposited films were annealed at 350 °C, 450 °C and 550 °C for 1 h. The structural and morphological properties of the films were investigated at different annealing temperatures by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The XRD patterns indicated amorphous structure of as-deposited films and annealed films had a preferred orientation along (222) plane and the crystallinity along with the grain size were augmented with annealing temperature. The SEM investigation showed that the grain size increased with annealing temperature. The behavior of electrical conductivity of the as-deposited and annealed films were determined by I − V measurement. The results exhibit the linear dependency with annealing temperature.

Effect of gamma irradiation on bulk etch rate of CR-39

Abstract: The molarity and temperature dependences of the bulk etch rate of CR-39 have been restudied with NaOH etchant over the molarity range 0–10 M and temperature range 40–75°C. The exponential law fits the molarity dependence better than the power law. The linear relationship between the bulk etch rate of CR-39 and the gamma dose over the dose range 0–10 5 Gy obtained from a 60 Co gamma-ray source suggests the use of CR-39 as a simple gamma dosimeter.

Effects of gamma irradiations on structural and electrical properties of indium oxide thin films prepared by thermal evaporation

Abstract: Effects of gamma irradiations on structural and electrical properties of the post-annealed indium oxide thin films of thickness 750 nm, prepared by thermal evaporation in vacuum, were studied. The thin films, exposed to various levels of the gamma radiation dose, were characterized by XRD, SEM and I – V measurements. Results show that the average grain size and the degree of crystallinity increase with the gamma radiation dose up to a certain dose and decrease thereafter. Results also show that the conductivity increases with the gamma radiation dose up to the same value of the dose and decreases thereafter. The dislocation density, however, shows the opposite trend of the dose dependence.

Nuclear Tracks in Solids (Principles and Applications)

Abstract: (1976). Nuclear Tracks in Solids (Principles and Applications) Nuclear Technology: Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 91-92.

Regulation of essential oil production in plants

Abstract: This review provides a summary of the physiological dynamics andregulation of essential oil production, from the literature and availableinformation on diverse volatile oil crops. Essential oil production is highlyintegrated with the physiology of the whole plant and so depends on themetabolic state and preset developmental differentiation programme of thesynthesising tissue. Essential oil productivity is ecophysiologically andenvironmentally friendly. These and other aspects of the modulation ofessentialoil production are presented, along with a brief outline of the current conceptof the relevant biosynthetic mechanisms.

Decoding the phase structure of QCD via particle production at high energy

Abstract: Recent studies based on lattice Monte Carlo simulations of quantum chromodynamics (QCD)—the theory of strong interactions—have demonstrated that at high temperature there is a phase change from confined hadronic matter to a deconfined quark–gluon plasma in which quarks and gluons can travel distances that greatly exceed the size of hadrons. Here we show that the phase structure of such strongly interacting matter can be decoded by analysing particle production in high-energy nuclear collisions within the framework of statistical hadronization, which accounts for the thermal distribution of particle species. Our results represent a phenomenological determination of the location of the phase boundary of strongly interacting matter, and imply quark–hadron duality at this boundary. By analysing particle production in high-energy nuclear collisions, the phase boundary of strongly interacting matter is located and the phase structure of quantum chromodynamics is elucidated, implying quark–hadron duality.

Chiral crossover in QCD at zero and non-zero chemical potentials

Abstract: We present results for pseudo-critical temperatures of QCD chiral crossovers at zero and non-zero values of baryon (B), strangeness (S), electric charge (Q), and isospin (I) chemical potentials μ X = B , Q , S , I . The results were obtained using lattice QCD calculations carried out with two degenerate up and down dynamical quarks and a dynamical strange quark, with quark masses corresponding to physical values of pion and kaon masses in the continuum limit. By parameterizing pseudo-critical temperatures as T c ( μ X ) = T c ( 0 ) [ 1 − κ 2 X ( μ X / T c ( 0 ) ) 2 − κ 4 X ( μ X / T c ( 0 ) ) 4 ] , we determined κ 2 X and κ 4 X from Taylor expansions of chiral observables in μ X . We obtained a precise result for T c ( 0 ) = ( 156.5 ± 1.5 ) MeV. For analogous thermal conditions at the chemical freeze-out of relativistic heavy-ion collisions, i.e., μ S ( T , μ B ) and μ Q ( T , μ B ) fixed from strangeness-neutrality and isospin-imbalance, we found κ 2 B = 0.012 ( 4 ) and κ 4 B = 0.000 ( 4 ) . For μ B ≲ 300 MeV, the chemical freeze-out takes place in the vicinity of the QCD phase boundary, which coincides with the lines of constant energy density of 0.42 ( 6 ) GeV/fm 3 and constant entropy density of 3.7 ( 5 ) fm − 3 .

Search for the QCD critical point with fluctuations of conserved quantities in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC: an overview

Abstract: Fluctuations of conserved quantities, such as baryon, electric charge, and strangeness number, are sensitive observables in relativistic heavy-ion collisions to probe the QCD phase transition and search for the QCD critical point. In this paper, we review the experimental measurements of the cumulants (up to fourth order) of event-by-event net-proton (proxy for net-baryon), net-charge and net-kaon (proxy for net-strangeness) multiplicity distributions in Au+Au collisions at $$\sqrt{{s}_{\text{NN}}}=7.7, 11.5, 14.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4, 200$$ GeV from the first phase of beam energy scan program at the relativistic heavy-ion collider (RHIC). We also summarize the data analysis methods of suppressing the volume fluctuations, auto-correlations, and the unified description of efficiency correction and error estimation. Based on theoretical and model calculations, we will discuss the characteristic signatures of critical point as well as backgrounds for the fluctuation observables in heavy-ion collisions. The physics implications and the future second phase of the beam energy scan (2019–2020) at RHIC will also be discussed.