The factorization approximation for the Master Equation

We examine the validity of the application of the Factorization Approximation to derive the Master Equation for a microscopic system coupled to a reservoir. We developed a formal perturbation expansion for the time evolution of the system reduced density matrix. We employed a diagrammatic schemes to produce each term of the perturbation series. The diagrams in the time domain provide a distinct criteria to distinguish the diagrams which survive the Factorization Approximation. The Feynmann-like diagrams in the energy domain, originated from the Resolvent method, are used for execution of diagram summations to estimate their overall contributions. We demonstrated that for a two level atomic system, interacting with a thermal reservoir, the summation over the diagrams which survived the Factorization Approximation, yields the proper time evolution of the system, in agreement with the solution of the Master Equation. The summation of the diagrams which are excluded by applying the Factorization Approximation are characterized by a dimensionless parameter: Γ/ω₀, where ω₀ is the frequency of the transition line, and Γ is the line width. The Factorization Approximation is thus rigorously justified when this expansion parameter is very small.     

A Scanning Electron Microscopy study of water in soil

Cold stage Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with a rapid cooling technique makes it possible to investigate the water phase within unsaturated porous media. It is thought that this technique preserves the main features of the micromorphology of the water menisci as it exists in the liquid phase in soils. Saddle-shaped elements, as well as pendular rings of water, were observed with concave and convex curvatures of the water-air interface. The hydraulic conductivity of an unsaturated soil may be inferred from SEM photographs. Observations of isolated water menisci indicate the existence of an immobile water domain. The surface geometry of the water menisci was analyzed quantitatively and surface tension and capillary pressure were determined.     

The entropies of renewal systems

Renewal systems are symbolic dynamical systems originally introduced by Adler. IfW is a finite set of words over a finite alphabetA, then the renewal system generated byW is the subshiftX _W ⊂A ^Z formed by bi-infinite concatenations of words fromW. Motivated by Adler’s question of whether every irreducible shift of finite type is conjugate to a renewal system, we prove that for every shift of finite type there is a renewal system having the same entropy. We also show that every shift of finite type can be approximated from above by renewal systems, and that by placing finite-type constraints on possible concatenations, we obtain all sofic systems. The authors were supported in part by NFS grants DMS-8706284, DMS-8814159 and DMS-8820716.     

On centroid branches of trees from certain families

We obtain various results involving the centroid branches of randomly chosen trees from simply generated families.     

Synthesis and characteristics of microspheres of polystyrene derivatives

Two sytrene derivatives formylstyrene and styrene sulfonylcholoride, were synthesized. Polymeric microspheres in diameters ranging from 0.1 to 2 μm were synthesized by polymerization of chlormoethylstyrene, formylstyrene, and styrene sulfonylcholoride in organic solvents, in the presence of appropriate surfactants. The kinetics of microsphere formation were studied. The molecular weight distribution of the products was determined by gel permeation chromatography. Conditions for binding various amino ligands to the microspheres were also established.     

Some asymptotic results useful in enumeration problems

Suppose one is given two related generating functionsa(x) = a _n x ⁿ andb(x) = b _n x ⁿ , often it is of interest to determine the limiting behaviour of the quantitiesa _n /b _n We survey some earlier results of this nature and give some new ones