Photon channelling in foams

Experiments by Gittings, Bandyopadhyay and Durian (Europhys. Lett. 65, 414 (2004)) demonstrate that light possesses a higher probability to propagate in the liquid phase of a foam due to total reflection. The authors term this observation photon channelling which we investigate in this article theoretically. We first derive a central relation in the work of Gitting et al. without any free parameters. It links the photon's path-length fraction f in the liquid phase to the liquid fraction ɛ. We then construct two-dimensional Voronoi foams, replace the cell edges by channels to represent the liquid films and simulate photon paths according to the laws of ray optics using transmission and reflection coefficients from Fresnel's formulas. In an exact honeycomb foam, the photons show superdiffusive behavior. It becomes diffusive as soon as disorder is introduced into the foams. The dependence of the diffusion constant on channel width and refractive index is explained by a one-dimensional random-walk model. It contains a photon channelling state that is crucial for the understanding of the numerical results. At the end, we shortly comment on the observation that photon channelling only occurs in a finite range of ɛ.     

Measurement and DFT calculation of Fe(cp)(2) redox potential in molecular monolayers covalently bound to H-Si(100)

The electron transfer to self-assembled molecular monolayers carrying a ferrocene (Fc) center, grafted on a flat Si(100) surface, is a recent subject of experimental investigation. We report here the density functional theory (DFT) ab initio calculation of Fc-silicon hybrid redox potentials. The systems were modeled with a slab of H-terminated Si(100) 1 x 1 and 2 x 1 surfaces: geometries were optimized using the ONIOM method, and solute-solvent interactions were included through the polarizable continuum model (PCM) method. Two new routes for Si functionalization with ethyl- (EtFC) and ethynyl-Fc (EFC) differing only in the unsaturation degree of the anchoring arm have been successfully explored, and the redox potential of the resulting hybrids has been measured by cyclic voltammetry: 0.675 and 0.851 V versus NHE for the EtFC and EFC derivatives, respectively. These values, along with the previously measured potential (0.700 V) for the mono-unsaturated derivative, vinyl-Fc, allow the relation between the unsaturation degree and the adduct redox potential to be studied. The comparison among the measured and computed potentials allows one to discriminate between different adduct isomers for the saturated species and more importantly provides strong indications that the carbon-carbon unsaturation initially present in the molecular arm used for anchoring to the surface is preserved upon addition, in contrast with the commonly accepted reaction mechanism.     

Bounded differential forms,generalized Milnor–Wood inequality and an application to deformation rigidity

We establish sufficient conditions for a cohomology class of a discrete subgroup Γ of a connected semisimple Lie group with finite center to be representable by a bounded differential form on the quotient by Γ of the associated symmetric space; furthermore if \(\rho : \Gamma\to\mathrm{PU}(1,q)\) is any representation of any discrete subgroup Γ of SU (1, p), we give an explicit closed bounded differential form on the quotient by Γ of complex hyperbolic space which is a representative for the pullback via ρ of the Kähler class of PU(1,q). If G,G′ are Lie groups of Hermitian type, we generalize to representations \(\rho : \Gamma\to G'\) of lattices Γ < G the invariant defined in [Burger, M., Iozzi, A.: Bounded cohomology and representation variates in PU (1,n). Preprint announcement, April 2000] for which we establish a Milnor–Wood type inequality. As an application we study maximal representations into PU(1, q) of lattices in SU(1,1).     

High precision delta(17)O isotope measurements of oxygen from silicates and other oxides: method and applications

The use of infrared laser-assisted fluorination to release oxygen from milligram quantities of silicates or other oxide mineral grains is a well-established technique. However, relatively few studies have reported the optimisation of this procedure for oxygen-17 isotope measurements. We describe here details of an analytical system using infrared (10 μm) laser-assisted fluorination, in conjunction with a dual inlet mass spectrometer of high resolving power ( approximately 250) to provide (17)O and (18)O oxygen isotope measurements from 0.5-2 mg of silicates or other oxide mineral grains. Respective precisions (1) of typically 0.08 and 0.04 per thousand are obtained for the complete analytical procedure. Departures from the mass-dependent oxygen isotope fractionation line are quantified by Delta(17)O; our precision (1) of such measurements on individual samples is shown to be +/-0.024 per thousand. In turn, this permits the offset between parallel, mass-dependent fractionation lines to be characterised to substantially greater precision than has been possible hitherto. Application of this system to investigate the (17)O versus (18)O relationship for numerous terrestrial whole-rock and mineral samples, of diverse geological origins and age, indicates that the complete data set may be described by a single, mass-dependent fractionation line of slope 0.5244+/- 0.00038 (standard error). Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Copper and iron interactions with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. A study by fast-atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry

Fast atom bombardment, combined with high-energy collision-induced tandem mass spectrometry, has been used to investigate gas-phase metal-ion interactions with captopril, enalaprilat and lisinopril, all angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.Suggestions for the location of metal-binding sites are presented. For captopril, metal binding occurs most likely at both the sulphur and the nitrogen atom. For enalaprilat and lisinopril, binding preferably occurs at the amine nitrogen. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical modeling of the benzoic acid adsorption on the GaAs (001)-β2(2 × 4) oxidized surface

We describe a computational model of benzoic acid adsorbed on the most abundant and technologically important GaAs surface. The performances of many electronic devices based on organic layers deposited on semiconductor surfaces, critically depend on the quality of the layer, and thus on the features of the organic/inorganic bonds. Since very few is known about the atomic structure of such interfaces, theoretical modeling plays a central role in understanding these systems at the microscopic scale. We have optimized the structures of several clusters mimicking the unoxidized and oxidized GaAs (001) surface, using them to study the preferred arrangements of adsorbed benzoic acid molecules. The largest clusters were also used to investigate the cooperative effects between two adsorbed molecules, obtaining the most likely structure for a perfectly packed layer. Finally, we show the correlation of a microscopic observable, namely the energy of the lowest lying empty orbital concentrated on the organic moiety, with the electron affinity measured for para-substituted benzoic acids adsorbed on GaAs.     

A new family of representations of virtually free groups

We construct a new family of irreducible unitary representations of a finitely generated virtually free group Λ. We prove furthermore a general result concerning representations of Gromov hyperbolic groups that are weakly contained in the regular representation, thus implying that all the representations in this family can be realized on the boundary of Λ. As a corollary, we obtain an analogue of Herz majorization principle.     

Tight Homomorphisms and Hermitian Symmetric Spaces

We introduce the notion of tight homomorphism into a locally compact group with nonvanishing bounded cohomology and study these homomorphisms in detail when the target is a Lie group of Hermitian type. Tight homomorphisms between Lie groups of Hermitian type give rise to tight totally geodesic maps of Hermitian symmetric spaces. We show that tight maps behave in a functorial way with respect to the Shilov boundary and use this to prove a general structure theorem for tight homomorphisms. Furthermore, we classify all tight embeddings of the Poincaré disk.     

Algebraic hulls and the følner property

A. I. was partially supported by NSF grants DMS 9001959, DMS 9100383 and DMS 8505550. A. N. was partially supported by the Israel National Academy of Science and Humanities — Wolfson grant.     

A study of some parameters relevant to the response of harwell PMMA dosimeters to gamma and electron irradiation

The effects on the radiation response of Harwell polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) dosimeters of dose-rate, radiation type, temperature during irradiation and post-irradiation storage, and post-irradiation stability, are of importance to the operators of commercial irradiation facilities.

This paper describes recent studies of the effects of some of these parameters on the radiation response of Harwell Red 4034, Amber 3042, and Gammachrome YR Perspex dosimeters, and provides data on batch to batch variation and shelf-life.