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Degenerate minima in momentum space—valleys—provide an additional degree of freedom that can be used for information transport and storage. Notably, such minima naturally exist in the band structure of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). When these atomically thin crystals interact with intense laser light, the second harmonic generated (SHG) field inherits special characteristics that reflect not only the broken inversion symmetry in real space but also the valley anisotropy in reciprocal space. The latter is present whenever there exists a valley population imbalance (VPI) between the two valleys and affects the polarization state of the detected SHG. In this work, it is shown that the temperature-induced change of the SHG intensity dependence on the excitation field polarization is a fingerprint of VPI in TMDs. In particular, pixel-by-pixel VPI mapping based on polarization-resolved raster-scanning imaging microscopy was performed inside a cryostat to generate the SHG contrast in the presence of VPI from every point of a TMD flake. The generated contrast is marked by rotation of the SHG intensity polar diagrams at low temperatures and is attributed to the VPI-induced SHG.

Traditional ethnographic methods have long been employed to study craft practices, yet they often fall short of capturing the full depth of embodied knowledge, material interactions, and procedural workflows inherent in craftsmanship. This paper introduces a digitally enhanced ethnographic framework that integrates Motion Capture, 3D scanning, audiovisual documentation, and semantic knowledge representation to document both the tangible and dynamic aspects of craft processes. By distinguishing between endurant (tools, materials, objects) and perdurant (actions, events, transformations) entities, we propose a structured methodology for analyzing craft gestures, material behaviors, and production workflows. The study applies this proposed framework to eight European craft traditions—including glassblowing, tapestry weaving, woodcarving, porcelain pottery, marble carving, silversmithing, clay pottery, and textile weaving—demonstrating the adaptability of digital ethnographic tools across disciplines. Through a combination of multimodal data acquisition and expert-driven annotation, we present a comprehensive model for craft documentation that enhances the preservation, education, and analysis of artisanal knowledge. This research contributes to the ongoing evolution of ethnographic methods by bridging digital technology with Cultural Heritage studies, offering a robust framework for understanding the mechanics and meanings of craft practices.

The need for scalable, immersive training systems is universal and recently has been included in fields that rely on complex, hands-on processes, such as surgery operations, assembly operations, construction processes training, etc. This paper examines the potential to support immersive training via digital tool manipulation in the domain of traditional handicrafts. The proposed methodology employs Finite Element Method simulations to compute material transformations and apply them to interactive virtual environments. The challenge is to accurately simulate human–tool interactions, which are critical to the acquisition of manual skills. Using Simulia Abaqus (v.2023HF2), crafting simulations are authored, executed, and exported as animation sequences. These are further refined in Blender (v3.6) and integrated into Unity to create reusable training components called Action Animators. Two software applications—Craft Studio (v1.0) and Apprentice Studio (v1.0)—are designed and implemented to enable instructors to create training lessons and students to practice and get evaluated in virtual environments. The methodology has wide-ranging applications beyond crafts, offering a solution for immersive training in skill-based activities. The validation and evaluation of the proposed approach suggest that it can significantly improve training effectiveness, scalability, and accessibility across various industries.

Digital tools exhibit the potential to support the sustainability of traditional crafts through training and presentation applications. This work presents an integrated approach, combining state-of-the-art simulation and visualisation techniques to model mechanical actions characteristic of traditional crafts. This integration promotes a deeper understanding of the material behaviours and processes that are fundamental to traditional crafts, providing a valuable resource for researchers, educators, and conservators. Developed from an analysis of crafting activities regarding elementary actions, these tools support the safeguarding and education of craft techniques. The ability to realistically simulate and visualise crafting actions enhances applications in training and offers new avenues for the commercial presentation of craft products. The results demonstrate that this integrated approach yields detailed and realistic representations, providing a robust foundation for validating the traditional methods, comparing diverse techniques, and exploring innovative applications.

A roadmap is proposed that defines a systematic approach for craft preservation and its evaluation. The proposed roadmap aims to deepen craft understanding so that blueprints of appropriate tools that support craft documentation, education, and training can be designed while achieving preservation through the stimulation and diversification of practitioner income. In addition to this roadmap, an evaluation strategy is proposed to validate the efficacy of the developed results and provide a benchmark for the efficacy of craft preservation approaches. The proposed contribution aims at the catalyzation of craft education and training with digital aids, widening access and engagement to crafts, economizing learning, increasing exercisability, and relaxing remoteness constraints in craft learning.

Tailoring the photoluminescence (PL) properties in two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) crystals using external factors is critical for its use in valleytronic, nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications. Although significant effort has been devoted towards enhancing or manipulating the excitonic emission in MoS 2 monolayers, the excitonic emission in few-layers MoS 2 has been largely unexplored. Here, we put forward a novel nano-heterojunction system, prepared with a non-lithographic process, to enhance and control such emission. It is based on the incorporation of few-layers MoS 2 into a plasmonic silver metaphosphate glass (AgPO 3 ) matrix. It is shown that, apart from the enhancement of the emission of both A- and B-excitons, the B-excitonic emission dominates the PL intensity. In particular, we observe an almost six-fold enhancement of the B-exciton emission, compared to control MoS 2 samples. This enhanced PL at room temperature is attributed to an enhanced exciton–plasmon coupling and it is supported by ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy that reveals plasmon-enhanced electron transfer that takes place in Ag nanoparticles-MoS 2 nanoheterojunctions. Our results provide a great avenue to tailor the emission properties of few-layers MoS 2 , which could find application in emerging valleytronic devices working with B excitons.

Tailoring the photoluminescence (PL) properties in two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS ) crystals using external factors is critical for its use in valleytronic, nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications. Although significant effort has been devoted towards enhancing or manipulating the excitonic emission in MoS monolayers, the excitonic emission in few-layers MoS has been largely unexplored. Here, we put forward a novel nano-heterojunction system, prepared with a non-lithographic process, to enhance and control such emission. It is based on the incorporation of few-layers MoS into a plasmonic silver metaphosphate glass (AgPO ) matrix. It is shown that, apart from the enhancement of the emission of both A- and B-excitons, the B-excitonic emission dominates the PL intensity. In particular, we observe an almost six-fold enhancement of the B-exciton emission, compared to control MoS samples. This enhanced PL at room temperature is attributed to an enhanced exciton-plasmon coupling and it is supported by ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy that reveals plasmon-enhanced electron transfer that takes place in Ag nanoparticles-MoS nanoheterojunctions. Our results provide a great avenue to tailor the emission properties of few-layers MoS , which could find application in emerging valleytronic devices working with B excitons.

Tailoring the photoluminescence (PL) properties in two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) crystals using external factors is critical for its use in valleytronic, nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications. Although significant effort has been devoted towards enhancing or manipulating the excitonic emission in MoS2 monolayers, the excitonic emission in few-layers MoS2 has been largely unexplored. Here, we put forward a novel nano-heterojunction system, prepared with a non-lithographic process, to enhance and control such emission. It is based on the incorporation of few-layers MoS2 into a plasmonic silver metaphosphate glass (AgPO3) matrix. It is shown that, apart from the enhancement of the emission of both A and B excitons, the B-excitonic emission dominates the PL intensity. In particular, we observe an almost six-fold enhancement of the B exciton emission, compared to control MoS2 samples. This enhanced PL at room temperature is attributed to an enhanced exciton-plasmon coupling and it is supported by ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy that reveals plasmon-enhanced electron transfer that takes place in Ag nanoparticles-MoS2 nanoheterojunctions. Our results provide a great avenue to tailor the emission properties of few-layers MoS2, which could find application in emerging valleytronic devices working with B excitons.

Highly stable ozone and hydrogen sensing elements were fabricated based on well-crystalline rounded cube-shaped CsPbBr\\(_3\\) submicron crystals, synthesized by a facile solution process performed under ambient conditions. It is shown that such elements demonstrate enhanced room temperature gas sensing ability compared to the previously reported metal halide and oxide-based ones. Electrical measurements performed on these sensing components revealed high response to ultra-low ozone and hydrogen concentrations, namely 4 ppb and 5 ppm respectively, as well as an impressive repeatability of the sensing behavior even after a few months of storage in ambient conditions. Both ozone and hydrogen detecting sensors were self-powered, i.e. they do not require the use of UV or heating external stimuli, and exhibited fast detection and short restoration times. These attractive properties along with the simple synthesis conditions could provide an easy, efficient and low-cost potential technology for the realization of future gas sensing devices.

A comparative experimental and theoretical investigation is presented that centres on the effects of structuring black silicon surfaces with linearly, circularly and azimuthally polarized laser pulses under SF6 ambient atmosphere. It is shown that the asymmetric elliptical micro-cone formations induced by linearly polarized beams result in variable light absorption due to their spatial asymmetry. By contrast, the use of azimuthally polarized beams leads to an omni-directionality of the elliptical cone orientation which is dependent on the local electric field during laser scanning. The locally variant electric field state that is azimuthally polarized leads to a selective conical orientation for the induced structures. The omni-directional conical distribution induced by azimuthal polarization produces similar, angle-independent absorption in the visible spectrum with the symmetrical conical structures that could only be realized with circularly polarized beams.