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Abstract Energy geostructures (EGs) represent an innovative technology in the sustainable energy agenda and are useful for satisfying the energy needs of the built environment. They are usually involving geostructures such as piles, walls, tunnels, shafts, and sewers. The application of such technology to infrastructure projects may have considerable thermal potential because of the large surfaces that can be thermally activated. This study focuses on thermo-active walls (energy walls, EWs), which are retaining structures used to sustain the sides of excavations. Key features related to their thermal design are examined, and a design methodology is proposed. The heat-exchange modes involving EWs and the surrounding materials (concrete, soil, air) are investigated via extensive three-dimensional hydrothermal finite-element simulations involving the non-isothermal flow in the heat exchangers (HEs), as well as all other heat-exchange modes. The results are first presented as charts related to the thermal behavior of the HEs under different hydrothermal environments. Finally, a methodology for early-stage thermal performance design is proposed, and a corresponding flowchart is presented. This study may be helpful for incorporating EGs into the engineering design.

Ni/CeO2 catalysts are very active and selective for total hydrogenation of CO2 to methane, but the nature of the active sites is still unclear. The surface of a Ni/CeO2 catalyst has been monitored under CO2 methanation conditions by Near Ambient Pressure-XPS (NAP-XPS) using synchrotron radiation, and has been concluded that the species involved in the redox processes taking place during the CO2 methanation mechanism are the Ni2+-CeO2/Ni0 and Ce4+/Ce3+ pairs. In addition, a small fraction of nickel is present on the catalyst surface forming NiO and Ni2+-carbonates/hydroxyls (around 20% of the total surface nickel), but these species do not participate in the redox processes of the methanation mechanism. Under CO2 methanation conditions the H2 reduction rate of the Ni2+-CeO2/Ni0 and Ce4+/Ce3+ couples is much faster than their CO2 reoxidation rate (2 times faster, at least, at 300ºC), but a certain proportion of nickel always remains oxidized under reaction conditions. The high activity of Ni/CeO2 catalysts for CO2 methanation is tentatively attributed to the simultaneous presence of Ni2+-CeO2 and Ni0 active sites where CO2 and H2 are expected to be efficiently dissociated, respectively. Generalitat Valenciana, Spain (PROMETEO/2018/0765) Ministry for Science and Innovation MICINN, Spain (Projects PID2019-105960RB-C21 and PID2019-105960RB-C22) Junta de Andalucía, Spain (Project P18-RTJ-2974); European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 713567) Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre, Ireland (award 12/RC/2278_P2) ALBA synchrotron, Spain (Proposal number: ID 2020094556).

Integrated photonics will play a key role in quantum systems as they grow from few-qubit prototypes to tens of thousands of qubits. The underlying optical quantum technologies can only be realized through the integration of these components onto quantum photonic integrated circuits (QPICs) with accompanying electronics. In the last decade, remarkable advances in quantum photonic integration have enabled table-top experiments to be scaled down to prototype chips with improvements in efficiency, robustness, and key performance metrics. These advances have enabled integrated quantum photonic technologies combining up to 650 optical and electrical components onto a single chip that are capable of programmable quantum information processing, chip-to-chip networking, hybrid quantum system integration, and high-speed communications. In this roadmap article, we highlight the status, current and future challenges, and emerging technologies in several key research areas in integrated quantum photonics, including photonic platforms, quantum and classical light sources, quantum frequency conversion, integrated detectors, and applications in computing, communications, and sensing. With advances in materials, photonic design architectures, fabrication and integration processes, packaging, and testing and benchmarking, in the next decade we can expect a transition from single- and few-function prototypes to large-scale integration of multi-functional and reconfigurable devices that will have a transformative impact on quantum information science and engineering. JPhys Photonics, 4 (1) ISSN:2515-7647

International audience; Throughout history, cast iron is unique amongst metallic materials. No other metal can boast such a long history, together with such a wide diversity of variants, properties and applications. Arguably, no other material can claim to have such complexity. While the cast iron foundry routinely churns out myriad components, through weekends and on night shifts, a supporting cast of researchers and engineers have humbly ensured a choreography of carbon atoms that could make the busiest beehive look lethargic. We control the carbon atoms not with furnaces and wirefeeders, but with knowledge. This knowledge enables a material with a unique combination of design flexibility, mechanical properties, wear resistance, recyclability, low life cycle energy consumption, and low cost. And it will be with the continued pursuit of understanding and knowledge that tomorrow's researchers and engineers will ensure the continued growth of new material variants, with improved material properties and new applications that make the world a better place. Cast iron: thousands of years of development and progress behind us; thousands of fascinating mysteries and opportunities ahead of us.

Ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) have infrared luminosities L $_{IR}$ ��� 10$^{12}$ L $_{���}$, making them the most luminous objects in the infrared sky. These dusty objects are generally powered by starbursts with star formation rates that exceed 100 M $_{���}$ yr$^{���1}$, possibly combined with a contribution from an active galactic nucleus. Such environments make ULIRGs plausible sources of astrophysical high-energy neutrinos, which can be observed by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. We present a stacking search for high-energy neutrinos from a representative sample of 75 ULIRGs with redshift z ��� 0.13 using 7.5 yr of IceCube data. The results are consistent with a background-only observation, yielding upper limits on the neutrino flux from these 75 ULIRGs. For an unbroken E $^{���2.5}$ power-law spectrum, we report an upper limit on the stacked flux at 90% confidence level. In addition, we constrain the contribution of the ULIRG source population to the observed diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux as well as model predictions. The astrophysical journal 926(1), 59 (2022). doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac3cb6 Published by Univ., Chicago, Ill. [u.a.]