First-principles calculations of the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of transition-metal glasses

Ab-initio calculations of the atomic structure, the electronic density of states, the photoemission spectrum, and the magnetic properties of transition-metal glasses are presented. This approach is based on a tight-binding-bond approach to the interatomic forces, molecular dynamics simulations of the atomic structure and self-consistent spin-polarized linear-muffin-tin-orbital supercell calculations for the electronic and magnetic properties.     

Synthesis and Properties of TRANSDIP,a Rigid Chelator Built upon a Cyclodextrin Cavity: Is TRANSDIP an Authentic trans‐Spanning Ligand?

The C2-symmetrical diphosphane TRANSDIP was obtained in high yield by treating 6A,6B,6D,6E-tetramesylated, permethylated alpha-cyclodextrin with PPhLi2 in excess. The double cascade cyclisation thus produced is regioselective as phosphinidene capping involves only adjacent glucose units. It is also stereospecific, as both lone pairs on the phosphorus atoms are orientated towards the cyclodextrin axis. The restricted flexibility of the phosphorus atoms, which are part of nine-membered heterocyclic rings, is responsible for JP,C spin-spin couplings with the eight-bond distant CH2OMe carbon atoms of glucose units C and F. The treatment of TRANSDIP with Group 10 metal dihalides quantitatively gave square-planar chelate complexes, in which a M--X bond points towards the centre of the cavitand. The favourable P...P separation and the directional control of the lone pairs on the phosphorus atoms rule out the possibility of forming binuclear complexes or higher oligomers. Further, in all the complexes, the phosphorus atoms are in a trans arrangement. TRANSDIP may therefore be regarded as an authentic trans-spanning diphosphane. In the complex [NiBr2TRANSDIP], the cavity provides effective protection of the encapsulated M--X bond towards nucleophilic attack by MeLi. The same complex, upon activation with methylaluminoxane, efficiently dimerises ethene and propene.     

New spin-transition-like copper(II)-nitroxide species

Novel copper(II)-nitroxide complexes exhibiting a spin-transition-like behavior have been prepared and characterized. They include meso, chiral, and racemic 2-(3-pyridyl)-nitronyl nitroxides differently substituted in positions 4 and/or 5 by ethyl groups and pyrimidyl nitroxides. Depending on the stoichiometry of the reaction, tetranuclear and binuclear complexes were obtained whose structures are cyclic. The tetranuclear species, which include two intracyclic and two exocyclic metal sites, are similar to the previously reported complex of the tetramethylated analogue, while the binuclear complexes involve only endocyclic metal ions and have uncoordinated N-oxyl groups. The tetranuclear complexes exist as two isomers depending on the temperature of crystallization: at room temperature, N-oxyl ligand coordination is axial-axial, while it is axial-equatorial at low temperature. Unexpectedly, this isomerism concerns N-oxyl bonding to the exocyclic metal centers for the derivatives of 4,5-diethyl-substituted ligands while it involves the endocyclic metal site in the complex of the monoethylated ligand, which converts reversibly from a high-spin state to a low-spin state, as observed for the complex of the tetramethylated ligand. Binuclear complexes are diamagnetic at room temperature but convert to a paramagnetic state on warming (90-110 degrees C); the transition is irreversible and sharp.     

Driven dynamics and rotary echo of a qubit tunably coupled to a harmonic oscillator

We have investigated the driven dynamics of a superconducting flux qubit that is tunably coupled to a microwave resonator. We find that the qubit experiences an oscillating field mediated by off-resonant driving of the resonator, leading to strong modifications of the qubit Rabi frequency. This opens an additional noise channel, and we find that low-frequency noise in the coupling parameter causes a reduction of the coherence time during driven evolution. The noise can be mitigated with the rotary-echo pulse sequence, which, for driven systems, is analogous to the Hahn-echo sequence.     

Ab initio Calculations of Curie Temperatures in GdM Compounds

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.     

Multiple ionization of argon in coincidence with projectile ions in 60–120 MeV Si q+-Ar collisions

A projectile ion-recoil ion coincidence technique has been employed to study the multiple ionization and the charge transfer processes in collisions of 60–120 MeV Si ^q+ (q = 4−14) ions with neutral argon atoms. The relative contribution of different ionization channels, namely; direct ionization, electron capture and electron loss leading to the production of slow moving multiply charged argon recoil ions have been investigated. The data reported on the present collision system result from a direct measurement in the considered impact energy for the first time. The total ionization cross-sections for the recoil ions are shown to scale as q ^1.7/E _p ^0.5 , where E _p is the energy in MeV of the projectile and q its charge state. The recoil fractions for the cases of total- and direct ionizations are found to decrease with increasing recoil charge state j. The total ionization fractions of the recoils are seen to depend on q and to show the presence of a ‘shell-effect’ of the target. Further, the fractions are found to vary as 1/j ² upto j = 8+. The average recoil charge state 〈j〉 increases slowly with q and with the number of lost or captured electrons from or into the projectile respectively. The projectile charge changing cross-sections σ _qq′ are found to decrease with increasing q for loss ionization and to increase with q for direct-and capture ionization processes respectively. The physics behind various scaling rules that are found to follow our data for different ionization processes is reviewed and discussed.     

Transfer measurements for the Ti+Ni systems at near barrier energies

Large enhancements have been observed in the sub-barrier fusion cross sections for Ti+Ni systems in our previous studies. Coupled channel calculations incorporating couplings to 2⁺ and 3⁻ states failed to explain these enhancements completely. A possibilty of transfer channels contributing to the residual enhancements had been suggested. In order to investigate the role of relevant transfer channels, measurements of one- and two-nucleon transfer were carried out for ^46,48Ti+⁶¹Ni systems. The present paper gives the results of these studies.