Point interactions for 3D sub-Laplacians

In this paper we show that, for a sub-Laplacian Δ on a 3-dimensional manifold M, no point interaction centered at a point $q_0\in M$ exists. When M is complete w.r.t. the associated sub-Riemannian structure, this means that Δ acting on $C_0^{\infty }(M?\{q_0\})$ is essentially self-adjoint in $L^2(M)$. A particular example is the standard sub-Laplacian on the Heisenberg group. This is in stark contrast with what happens in a Riemannian manifold N, whose associated Laplace-Beltrami operator acting on $C_0^{\infty }(N?\{q_0\})$ is never essentially self-adjoint in $L^2(N)$, if $\dim ?N\le 3$. We then apply this result to the Schrödinger evolution of a thin molecule, i.e., with a vanishing moment of inertia, rotating around its center of mass.     

Amorphous High-Entropy Hydroxides of Tunable Wide Solar Absorption for Solar Water Evaporation

The high-entropy materials have raised much attention in recent years due to their extraordinary performances in mechanical, catalysis, energy storage fields. Herein, a new type of high-entropy hydroxides (e.g., NiFeCoMnAl(OH)_x) that are amorphous and capable of broad solar absorption is reported. A facile one-pot co-precipitation method is employed to synthesize these amorphous high-entropy hydroxides (a-HEHOs) under ambient conditions. The a-HEHOs thus obtained display widely tunable bandgap (e.g., from 2.6 to 1.1 eV) due to their high-entropy and amorphous characteristics, enabling efficient light absorbance and photothermal conversion in the solar regime. Further solar water evaporation measurements show that the a-HEHOs delivered a considerable energy conversion efficiency of 55%, comparable to black titanium oxides that are synthesized using more complex and expensive methods.     

白云石制备似立方体状方解石型碳酸钙晶体及其机理研究

以轻烧白云石粉、氯化铵和二氧化碳为原料,在未使用晶型控制剂的情况下,通过蒸氨-沉钙过程制备出了似立方体状碳酸钙。研究了反应温度、溶液中钙离子浓度、通气速率、搅拌速度以及陈化时间对碳酸钙中方解石相含量以及晶体形貌的影响,并探索了沉钙反应的晶型控制机理。结果表明,在反应温度40 ℃、钙离子浓度0.05 mol/L、通碳速率100 mL/min、搅拌速度400 r/min和陈化时间2 h的条件下,制备出形貌规整、粒径分布均匀的似立方体状碳酸钙,平均粒径为5~10 μm。该研究为提升白云石的使用价值、生产高附加价值的碳酸钙产品,以及提高白云石资源的利用率提供理论基础。     

What is the optimal cutoff surface for ore bodies with more than one mineral?

In mine planning problems, cutoff grade optimization defines a threshold at every time period such that material above this value is processed, and the rest is considered waste. In orebodies with multiple minerals, which occur in practice, the natural extension is to consider a cutoff surface. We show that in two dimensions the optimal solution is a line, and in n dimensions it is a hyperplane.     

Analysis on First-stage Ignition of n-Heptane at Low Temperatures with a Lumped Skeletal Mechanism

Two-stage ignition exists in the low-temperature combustion process of n-heptane and the first-stage ignition also shows a negative temperature coefficient(NTC) phenomenon. To study key reactions and understand chemical principles affecting the first-stage ignition of n-heptane, a lumped skeletal mechanism with 62 species is obtained based on the detailed NUIGMech1.0 mechanism using the directed relation graph method assisted by sensitivity analysis and isomer lumping. The lumped mechanism shows good performance on ignition delay time under wide conditions. The study revealed that the temperature after the first-stage ignition is higher and a larger amount of fuel is consumed at lower initial temperatures. The temperature at the first-stage ignition is relatively insensitive to the initial temperature. Further sensitivity analysis and reaction path analysis carried out based on the lumped mechanism show that the decomposition of RO₂ to produce alkene and HO₂is the most important reaction to inhibit the first-stage ignitions. The chain branching explosion closely related to the first-stage ignition will be terminated when the rate constant for the RO₂ decomposition is larger than that of the isomerization of RO₂ to produce QOOH. The NTC behavior as well as other characteristics of the first-stage ignition can be rationalized from the competition between these two reactions.