Electron impact,electron capture negative ionization and positive chemical ionization mass spectra of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers

Phosphate esters are important commercial products that have been used both as flame retardants and as plasticizers. To analyze these compounds by gas chromatographic mass spectrometry, it is important to understand the mass spectra of these compounds using various ionization modes. This paper is a systematic overview of the electron impact (EI), electron capture negative ionization (ECNI) and positive chemical ionization (PCI) mass spectra of 13 organophosphate esters. These data are useful for developing and optimizing analytical measurements. The EI spectra of these 13 compounds are dominated by ions such as H₄PO₄⁺, (M ? Cl)⁺, (M ? CH₂Cl)⁺ or (M)⁺ depending on specific chemical structures. The ECNI spectra are generally dominated by (M ? R)^?. The PCI spectra are mainly dominated by the protonated molecular ion (M + H)⁺. The branching of the alkyl substituents, the halogenation of the substituents and, for aromatic phosphate esters, ortho alkylation of the ring are all significant factors controlling the details of the fragmentation processes. EI provides the best sensitivity for the quantitative measurement of these compounds, but PCI and ECNI both have considerable qualitative selectivity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A note on statistical solutions of the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations: The stationary case

Stationary statistical solutions of the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible fluids are considered. They are a mathematical formalization of the notion of ensemble average for turbulent flows in statistical equilibrium in time. They are also a generalization of the notion of invariant measure to the case of the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations, for which a global uniqueness result is not known to exist and a semigroup may not be well-defined in the classical sense. The two classical definitions of stationary statistical solutions are considered and compared, one of them being a particular case of the other and possessing a number of useful properties. Furthermore, the so-called time-average stationary statistical solutions, obtained as generalized limits of time averages of weak solutions as the averaging time goes to infinity are shown to belong to this more restrictive class. A recurrent type result is also obtained for statistical solutions satisfying an accretion condition. Finally, the weak global attractor of the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations is considered, and in particular it is shown that there exists a topologically large subset of the weak global attractor which is of full measure with respect to that particular class of stationary statistical solutions and which has a certain regularity property.     

Hausdorff means and moment sequences

We prove Schur’s theorem on the complete symmetric functions by using Hausdorff means. This approach leads to a more general result and to some new properties of moment sequences.     

Read and write processes, and head technology for perpendicular recording

In this paper, we present a review of the write and read processes in perpendicular magnetic recording. We also discuss their impact, based on recording physics aspects, on design considerations for writers and readers. For the write process, we discuss fundamental write-ability limitations as well as possible paths to ultra-high areal density perpendicular recording. The impacts of different medium designs, geometrical scaling, and the breakdown of scaling, both in terms of write-ability and transition curvature, are shown based on different modeling techniques, including analytical formulas, finite element modeling (FEM), and micromagnetic simulations. Basic design rules as well as alternative designs that enable high areal density are briefly explained. For the read-back process, the relation between reader signal to noise ratio (SNR) and resistance, as well as reader resistance shunt and spacing loss, are discussed. Finally, we use a simple example to illustrate, both from a write as well as a read-back perspective, the complicated nature of perpendicular recording systems, and how different medium designs impact recording head technology for ultra high density perpendicular recording.     

Full fitting analysis of the relative intermediate form factor measured by neutron spin echo

This paper describes the dynamics of a water-in-oil microemulsion from the dilute to the dense droplet region. Using the relative intermediate form factor method for neutron spin echo data analyses [M. Nagao, H. Seto, Phys. Rev. E 78 (2008) 011507], the shape and structure fluctuations of a droplet microemulsion are successfully decoupled. In the previous paper, we used the first cumulant analysis of the shape fluctuation model, while the full fitting form of the same model is applied in this paper. The final results of the fittings using the first cumulant approximation and the full form of the model are almost identical, and therefore, the validity of the method is strengthened. The estimated bending modulus of the surfactant membrane, κ, is basically the same, within the experimental errors, in the previous and present results. The κ is not affected much by an increase of the droplet concentration. A clear dynamic slowing down of the water droplets is highlighted at the length scale corresponding to the inter-droplet distance from the structure fluctuation analysis.     

Effect of material selection and background impurity on interface property and resulted CIP-GMR performance

In this paper, we investigated the effect of background base pressure, wafer-transferring time between process modules, and stack layer material selection on the current-in-plane giant magneto-resistive (CIP-GMR) interface properties and the resulted CIP-GMR performance. Experimental results showed that seed layer/AFM interface, AFM/pinned layer (PL) interface, pinned layer/Ru interface, and reference layer (RL)/Cu spacer interface are among the most critical ones for a CIP-GMR device. By reducing the background impurity level (water moisture and oxygen), optimizing the wafer process flow sequence, and careful stack-layer material selection, such critical interfaces in a CIP-GMR device can be preserved. Consequently, a much robust GMR performance control can be achieved.     

Phase transitions for Belousov–Zhabotinsky reactions

The main objective of this article is to study the dynamic phase transitions associated with the spatial–temporal oscillations of the BZ reactions, given by Field, Körös and Noyes, also referred as the Oregonator. Two criteria are derived to determine (1) the existence of either multiple equilibria or spatiotemporal oscillations and (2) the types of transitions. These criteria gives a complete characterization of the dynamic transitions of the BZ systems from the homogeneous states. The analysis is carried out using a dynamic transition theory developed recently by the authors, which has been successfully applied to a number of problems in science. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Interaction of a Gap with a Free Boundary in a Two Dimensional Dimer System

Let ℓ be a fixed vertical lattice line of the unit triangular lattice in the plane, and let H{\mathcal{H}} be the half plane to the left of ℓ. We consider lozenge tilings of H{\mathcal{H}} that have a triangular gap of side-length two and in which ℓ is a free boundary — i.e., tiles are allowed to protrude out half-way across ℓ. We prove that the correlation function of this gap near the free boundary has asymptotics \frac14pr{\frac{1}{4\pi r}}, r → ∞, where r is the distance from the gap to the free boundary. This parallels the electrostatic phenomenon by which the field of an electric charge near a conductor can be obtained by the method of images.     

Cosmological constant from quarks and torsion

We present a simple and natural way to derive the observed small, positive cosmological constant from the gravitational interaction of condensing fermions. In the Riemann‐Cartan spacetime, torsion gives rise to the axial–axial vector four‐fermion interaction term in the Dirac Lagrangian for spinor fields. We show that this nonlinear term acts like a cosmological constant if these fields have a nonzero vacuum expectation value. For quark fields in QCD, such a torsion‐induced cosmological constant is positive and its energy scale is only about 8 times larger than the observed value. Adding leptons to this picture could lower this scale to the observed value.     

Provably stable and time‐accurate extensions of Runge–Kutta schemes for CFD computations on moving grids

Extending fixed‐grid time integration schemes for unsteady CFD applications to moving grids, while formally preserving their numerical stability and time accuracy properties, is a nontrivial task. A general computational framework for constructing stability‐preserving ALE extensions of Eulerian multistep time integration schemes can be found in the literature. A complementary framework for designing accuracy‐preserving ALE extensions of such schemes is also available. However, the application of neither of these two computational frameworks to a multistage method such as a Runge–Kutta (RK) scheme is straightforward. Yet, the RK methods are an important family of explicit and implicit schemes for the approximation of solutions of ordinary differential equations in general and a popular one in CFD applications. This paper presents a methodology for filling this gap. It also applies it to the design of ALE extensions of fixed‐grid explicit and implicit second‐order time‐accurate RK (RK2) methods. To this end, it presents the discrete geometric conservation law associated with ALE RK2 schemes and a method for enforcing it. It also proves, in the context of the nonlinear scalar conservation law, that satisfying this discrete geometric conservation law is a necessary and sufficient condition for a proposed ALE extension of an RK2 scheme to preserve on moving grids the nonlinear stability properties of its fixed‐grid counterpart. All theoretical findings reported in this paper are illustrated with the ALE solution of inviscid and viscous unsteady, nonlinear flow problems associated with vibrations of the AGARD Wing 445.6. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.