The Cyprus Institute

About: The Cyprus Institute is a other organization based out in Nicosia, Cyprus. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Aerosol & Environmental science. The organization has 418 authors who have published 1252 publications receiving 32586 citations.

Towards understanding the mechanisms of new particle formation in the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract: . To quantify the contribution of new particle formation (NPF) to ultrafine particle number and CCN budgets, one has to understand the mechanisms that govern NPF in different environments and its temporal extent. Here, we study NPF in Cyprus, an Eastern Mediterranean country located at the crossroads of three continents. We performed one-year continuous measurements of aerosol particles down to ~ 1 nm in diameter, for the first time in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) region. These measurements were complemented with trace gas data, meteorological variables and retroplume analysis. We show that NPF is a very frequent phenomenon at this site and has higher frequencies of occurrence during spring and autumn. NPF events were both of local and regional origin, and the local events occurred frequently during the month with the lowest NPF frequency. Some NPF events exhibited multiple onsets, while others exhibited particle apparent shrinkage in size. Additionally, NPF events were observed during the night-time and during episodes of high desert dust loadings. Particle formation rates and growth rates were comparable to those in urban environments, although our site is a rural one. Meteorological variables and trace gases played a role in explaining the intra-monthly variability of NPF events, but did not explain why summer month had the least NPF frequency. Similarly, pre-existing aerosol loading did not explain the observed seasonality. The month with the least NPF frequency were associated with higher H2SO4 concentrations but lower NOx concentration, which is an indicator of anthropogenic influence. Air masses arriving from the Middle East were not observed during these month, which could suggest that precursor vapors important for nucleation and growth are transported to our site from the Middle East. Further comprehensive measurements of precursor vapors are required to prove this hypothesis.

Investigation of light and heavy tetraquark candidates using lattice QCD

Abstract: We review the status of an ongoing long-term lattice investigation of the spectrum and structure of tetraquark candidates. We focus on the light scalar meson a0(980). First steps regarding the study of a possibly existing cc tetraquark are also outlined.

Assessing Visual Perception in Heritage Sites with Visual Acuity: Case study of the Cathedral of St. John the Theologian in Nicosia, Cyprus

Abstract: A challenging aspect of visibility studies is visual acuity, which concerns the clarity of vision within a given space in relation to variables such as spatial geometry, lighting conditions, the physical properties of the viewed object, or the familiarity of viewers with the target. Our research proposes a novel approach to visibility studies, based on visual acuity and its related pipeline, which integrates qualitative and quantitative aspects such as the cultural background of viewers, the illumination values of space, contrast, and size of objects of interest as well as their meaning and context. The proposed pipeline relies on 3D documentation of the investigated space, light measurements, research in optics, trigonometry calculations, and 3D GIS set against images and architectural space. The method's effectiveness is demonstrated in the study of the iconography of the Cathedral of St. John the Theologian in Nicosia, Cyprus, the work hypothesis being that the church's spatial organization, choice of scenes, and level of detail were carefully planned to establish visual narratives with strong political and religious connotations and to overall dictate the ways the building was accessed and experienced. The method can be broadly applied for visibility analyses in a variety of case-studies in closed spaces.