On the numerical evaluation of the distribution of aggregate claims and its stop-loss premiums

The paper develops a method for the numerical evaluation of the distribution of aggregate claims and its stop-loss premiums.     

Calculated correlations between material parameters and electro-optical performance of twisted nematic displays

Computer calculations of the optical transmission of TN-LCDs as a function of the applied voltage are presented. In particular, the wavelength and angular dependence of half transmission voltages and sharpness of transmission curves are examined. Furthermore the lowest relaxation rates of the linearized dynamical equations, neglecting backflow effects are calculated. The dielectrical anisotropy and the elastic parameters are varied systematically in the calculations over ranges that actually occur in nematics. Although the results are too complex to be condensed in simple general statements they are helpfull in designing optimal nematic mixtures for a given display application.     

Elektrochemische Bildung von Δ1,2-Norbornen

Electrochemical Formation of Δ^1,2-Norbornene The electrochemical reduction of 1,2-dihalogen norbornanes in tetrahydrofuran/furan leads to a mixture of two isomeric cycloadducts 6 and 7. The ratio of these adducts corresponds to those which have been found in reductive bisdehalogenation of 1 and 2 by butyllithium.     

Mediated coadsorption at the liquid-solid interface: Stabilization through hydrogen bonds

Stable adsorption of 1,3,5-tris(4-pyridyl)-2,4,6-triazine (TPT) molecules from the liquid phase was only observed in binary solutions, that is, in the presence of a second (adsorptive) species. The process of mediated coadsorption of a molecular species at the liquid-solid interface was accomplished through complexation of TPT with a second type of molecule acting as a "molecular glue" via hydrogen bonds. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was utilized to investigate the structure of the coadsorbed monolayers at the liquid-solid interface. Trimesic acid (TMA) and terephthalic acid (TPA)--both benzene rings with disposed carboxylic acid groups-were appropriate to precipitate the stable adsorption of TPT. According to the different symmetry and number of carboxylic acid groups, various networks were observed.     

Distributed delays stabilize ecological feedback systems

We consider the effect of distributed delays in predator-prey models and ecological food webs. Whereas the occurrence of delays in population dynamics is usually regarded a destabilizing factor leading to the extinction of species, we here demonstrate complementarily that delay distributions yield larger stability regimes than single delays. Food webs with distributed delays closely resemble nondelayed systems in terms of ecological stability measures. Thus, we state that dependence of dynamics on multiple instances in the past is an important, but so far underestimated, factor for stability in dynamical systems.     

Determination of the orbital moment and crystal-field splitting in LaTiO3

Utilizing a sum rule in a spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopic experiment with circularly polarized light, we show that the orbital moment in LaTiO3 is strongly reduced from its ionic value, both below and above the Ne el temperature. Using Ti L2,3 x-ray absorption spectroscopy as a local probe, we found that the crystal-field splitting in the t2g subshell is about 0.12-0.30 eV. This large splitting does not facilitate the formation of an orbital liquid.     

Electronic control of chiral quaternary center creation in the intramolecular asymmetric heck reaction

The Boehringer-Ingelheim phosphinoimidazoline (BIPI) ligands were applied to the formation of chiral quaternary centers in the asymmetric Heck reaction. Several different substrates were examined in detail, using more than 70 members of this new ligand class. Hammett relationships were determined through systematic variation of the ligand electronics. All substrates showed essentially the same Hammett behavior, where enantioselectivity increased as the ligands were made more electron-deficient. Ligand optimization has led to catalysts which give the highest enantioselectivities reported to date for these difficult systems.     

Retracting fronts induce spatiotemporal intermittency

The intermittent route to spatiotemporal complexity is analyzed in simple models which display a subcritical bifurcation without hysteresis. A new type of spatiotemporal complex behavior is found, induced by fronts which "clean" the perturbations around an unstable state. The mechanism which generates these "retracting fronts" through nonlinear dispersion is analyzed in the frame of the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. For sufficiently strong nonlinear dispersion the effects also occur for a supercritical bifurcation.     

Field-induced reentrant novel phase and a ferroelectric-magnetic order coupling in HoMnO3

A reentrant novel phase is observed in the hexagonal ferroelectric HoMnO3 in the presence of magnetic fields in the temperature range defined by a plateau of the dielectric constant anomaly. The plateau evolves with fields from a narrow dielectric peak at the Mn-spin rotation transition at 32.8 K in zero field. The anomaly appears both as a function of temperature and as a function of magnetic field without detectable hysteresis. This is attributed to the indirect coupling between the ferroelectric (FE) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) orders, arising from an FE-AFM domain wall effect.     

Characterization of rodlike aggregates generated from a cationic surfactant and a polymerizable counterion

The polymerization of elongated micellar structures offers a novel approach to the production of high-aspect-ratio, water-soluble amphiphilic nanorods. A cationic surfactant with a vinyl-containing counterion, cetyltrimethylammonium 4-vinylbenzoate, has been synthesized and polymerized to produce high-aspect-ratio nanoparticles which are insensitive to changes in solution conditions. Aggregates are polymerized over a range of initiator concentrations allowing for control of the product length. Small-angle neutron scattering and light scattering are used to characterize the dimensions of the polymerized aggregates, showing them to have a fixed radius of 2 nm and contour lengths varying from 96 to 340 nm. Proton NMR verifies the chemical structure and provides insight into the mobility of the aggregate components. Finally, gel permeation chromatography of the polymer extracted from the aggregates indicates that the polymerization reaction controls the aggregate dimensions.