A DFT investigation into the structure and energetics for nonadiabatic proton transfer in the benzophenone/N,N‐dimethylaniline contact radical ion pair

For the past 60 years, the standard model for the interpretation of the mechanism for proton transfer has been based upon transition‐state theory, which posits that the transition state is found in the proton transfer coordinate involving the breaking and making of bonds. However, the observed dynamics of proton transfer within the triplet contact radical ion pair, derived from a variety of substituted benzophenones complexed with N,N‐dimethylaniline, cannot be accounted for within the standard model for proton transfer. Instead, the kinetic behavior is in accord with nonadiabatic proton transfer theory that has the transition state in the solvent coordinate. Evidence for the importance of the solvent coordinate comes from the existence of an inverted region; as the driving force for reaction increases, the rate of proton transfer decreases. This kinetic behavior is not found in the standard model. The present paper employs density function theory to examine the question as to whether the inverted region can be attributed to the transition state being in the solvent coordinate or whether the inverted region is an artifact produced by changes in the structure of the triplet contact radical ion pair with the placement of substituents upon the p,p′ positions of benzophenone. It is concluded that the inverted region is not an artifact of substituent effects upon structure. These results support the conclusion that the transition state for proton transfer resides in the solvent coordinate and challenges the validity of the standard model for interpreting the mechanism of proton transfer. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relativistic mean-field study on proton skins and proton halos in exotic nuclei

We investigate the ground state properties of proton-rich nuclei in the framework of the relativistic mean-field model. Calculations show that the experimental proton halo in the nuclei ^26,27,28P can be reproduced by the model. The proton halos can appear in proton-rich nuclei because the total nuclear potential is attractive up to the radial distance r ≈ 5.5 fm. But the size of proton halos is finite due to the limitation of the Coulomb potential barrier. The mean-square radius of a halo proton is not very sensitive to the separation energy of the last proton in some very proton-rich nuclei due to the effect of the Coulomb barrier. This behavior is different from the case of a neutron halo where the mean-square radius of a halo neutron is inversely proportional to the separation energy of the last halo neutron. We have also analysed the differences of the relativistic mean-field potentials of ²⁵Al and ²⁶P and found that the isovector potential from the p meson has an important effect on the differences.     

Strangeness production on the nucleon and on nuclei

The coupled-channel Giessen Model is used to investigate meson production on the nucleon simultaneously in reactions with hadrons and the photon. The essential aspects of the model are discussed. Results for strangeness producing KΛ reactions on the proton and eta photoproduction on the proton and the neutron, respectively, are presented. A resonance model is used to explore the production of hypernuclei in proton and photon induced reactions.     

Proton decay,annihilation or fusion?

The proton decay candidatep→μ⁺η of Kamioka NDE in Japan, if seriously taken, probably means that fusion is the only mechanism of proton decay. A model based on the work of Pati-Salam-Sarkar is discussed in detail.     

The proton channel in muon capture by 32S

A possibility for proton emission after muon capture by ³²S is discussed in the resonance mechanism approach. The branching ratios and neutron spectrum are calculated. It is shown that the proton emission can be reasonably described in terms of the model used.     

Diquark scattering model for hadron multiplicities in μp interactions

Multiplicities of hadrons produced in μp scattering are analyzed with a diquark scattering model. it is assumed that a proton is composed of a quark and a scaler diquark and that both the quark and the diquark act as partons. A reasonable agreement between the experimental data and the predictions of the model is obtained. In particular, the observed large ratio of the proton to the overall positive hadron yield forx>0.2 is successfully reproduced.     

Exclusive photoproduction of \Phi on proton in the quark–diquark model

We present predictions for exclusive photoproduction of a meson on proton at large transfer, where we use a quark–diquark structure model for the proton. Extrapolation from our results to lower transfers is comparable in magnitude with available data in that range. This may support the diquark model in its ability to provide, for that process, an appropriate link between diffractive physics at low transfer and the standard semiperturbative approach of hard exclusive processes at very large transfer, in which the proton recovers its three-quark structure. Received: 5 November 1998 / Revised version: 13 July 1999 / Published online: 3 November 1999     

Proton radioactivity: The case for <Superscript>53m</Superscript>Co proton-emitter isomer

The partial proton emission half-life for ^53mCo unstable isomer is re-examined in the framework of a semiempirical model based on tunneling through a Coulomb-plus-centrifugal-plus-overlapping potential barrier within the spherical nucleus approximation. It is shown that the known measured half-life value of 17s is compatible with a large prolate shape for ^53mCo proton emitter and a high angular momentum ℓ = 11 assigned to the proton transition to the ground state of ⁵²Fe .     

Elastic electron-proton scattering between 0.05 and 0.30 (GeV/c)2

Elastic electron proton scattering has been used to check the validity of the dipole fit of the proton form factors at momentum transfer between 0.05 and 0.30 (GeV/c)². The general behaviour of the cross sections is in agreement with previous measurements and is close to the dipole predictions but there is the suggestion of some small amplitude deviations. It is speculated that these deviations may be related to similar effects in the proton formfactor derived from the ISR pp elastic scattering data via a Chou-Yang model.     

Supersymmetric model with an extra U(1) gauge symmetry forbidding proton decay

In the standard model the proton is protected from decay naturally by gauge symmetries, whereas in the ordinary minimal supersymmetric standard model an ad hoc discrete symmetry is imposed for the proton stability. We present a new supersymmetric model in which the proton decay is forbidden by an extra U(1) gauge symmetry. Particle contents are necessarily increased to be free from anomalies, incorporating right-handed neutrinos. Both Dirac and Majorana masses are generated for neutrinos, yielding nonvanishing but small masses. The superpotential consists only of trilinear couplings and the mass parameter &mgr; of the minimal model is induced by spontaneous breaking of the U(1) symmetry.     

Proton radioactivity within the generalized liquid drop model with various versions of proximity potentials

In the present work, we systematically investigate the proton radioactivity half-lives of spherical proton emitters adopting a generalized liquid drop model(GLDM) with 16 different proximity potentials, of which the proximity potential Prox.77-13 gives the closest results to the experimental data. Combined with the previous conclusion that the GLDM with proximity potential Prox.77-13 can also best describe α decay half-lives, which makes the model more uniform and consistent.Further, we use the proximity potential Prox.77-13 in GLDM to predict the proton radioactivity half-lives of 14 spherical proton emitters that are allowed energetically but not yet observed experimentally or specifically quantified. Finally, we research the Geiger-Nuttall law for proton radioactivity. The results reveal that the Geiger-Nuttall law can also be well used to study the proton radioactivity half-lives of isotopes with the same orbital angular momentum l.     

PROTON DECAY RATE AND THE PROTON WAVEFUNCTION

The pionic two body decay process of the proton is discussed in the SU(5) grand unification theory by using the field-current relation of the composite particle and the soft pion approximations. We connect the proton decay process with the J/ψ→pp decay amplitude and determine the wavefunction at the origin from the experimental value of the decay rate J/ψ→pp, hence we can obtain the value of the proton decay lifetime. In order to estimate the uncertainty of the proton decay lifetime due to the proton wavefunction at the origin, the lower bound of it is analysed by using an interesting model. If taking Λ_MS=200 MeV, it will be a serious test for the minimal SU(5) grand unified gauge theory. It should be noted that this method which connect the proton decay process with other relavant processes will be very useful to determine the proton decay lifetime.     

Backward particle production in neutrino neon interactions

Backward proton and pion production is studied in ν and \(\bar v\) charged current interactions in neon. The results are compared with other experiments and theory. The complete backward proton data is compatible with protons produced by reinteractions in the nucleus. However in events with only one proton, muon variables appear correlated to those for the backward proton, as expected by the two-nucleon correlation model.     

Proton transport through aqueous Nafion membrane

We introduce a new model for proton transport through a single proton-conducting channel of an aqueous Nafion membrane based on a mechanism in which protons move under electrostatic effect provided by the sulfonate ( SO₃ ^-groups of the Nafion side chains, the spin effect of active components, the hydrogen bonding effect with water molecules, and the screening effect of water media. This model can describe the proton transport within various levels of humidification ranging from the low humidity to the high humidity as a function of operating temperature. At low humidity, this model approaches to the so-called surface mechanism, while at high humidity, it approaches the well-known Grotthuss one. Proton motion is considered as the transfer from cluster to cluster under a potential energy. A proton-proton interaction is comprised in the calculation. Using Green function method, we obtained the proton current as a function of the Nafion membrane temperature. We found that the lower the temperature, the higher the proton current transfer through the Nafion membrane in low temperatures compared to the critical point 10K, which separates magnetic regime from non-magnetic regime. The increasing of proton current at very low temperatures is attributed to the spin effect. As the membrane temperature is higher than 40 ^° C , the decreasing of proton current is attributed to the loss of water uptake and the polymer contraction. The results of this study are qualitatively in good agreement with experiments. The expression for the critical temperature is also presented as a function of structural and tunable parameters, and interpreted by experimental data.     

Effect of the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential on the transverse and elliptic flows

In the framework of the isospin-dependent Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck transport model, the effect of the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential on nuclear transverse and elliptic flows in the neutron-rich reaction ¹³²Sn+¹²⁴Sn at a beam energy of 400MeV/nucleon is studied. We find that the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential affects the rapidity distribution of the free neutron to proton ratio, the neutron and the proton transverse flows as a function of rapidity. The momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential affects the neutron-proton differential transverse flow more evidently than the difference of neutron and proton transverse flows as well as the difference of proton and neutron elliptic flows. It is thus better to probe the symmetry energy by using the difference of neutron and proton flows since the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential is still an open question. And it is better to probe the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential by using the neutron-proton differential transverse flow the rapidity distribution of the free neutron to proton ratio.     

Lattice-assisted proton hopping in oxides at low temperatures

Stimulated diffusion of protons in oxides such as ABO₃ crystals and rutile TiO₂ is discussed in the context of quantum Brownian motion. A self-consistent lattice-assisted proton hopping (LAPH) model is developed by going from white noise (characteristic of the standard stochastic theory of superionic conduction) to colored noise in the Markovian limit. This model differs from the commonly used ion jump models in that the hydrogen diffusion rate prefactor is identified as a quantity proportional to the frequency of phonon assistance. Application of the quantum fluctuation–dissipation theorem suggests that the dynamic activation energy for diffusion is a function of a bath-mode frequency. The LAPH model can predict enhanced rates of barrier jumping at room temperature compared to thermally activated proton diffusion. This indicates that low-temperature solid oxide devices are potential candidates for use in hydrogen energy research. The LAPH model offers a valid explanation for the mechanism of high protonic mobility recently observed for TiO₂ in a picosecond transient pump-probe experiment. This unexpected dominant lattice relaxation channel must be considered as a new classical-like (but low-temperature) proton transfer mechanism. For vibration-assisted protonic jumps to occur at low temperature, the phonon assistance must be classified as a low-frequency vibration specific to each lattice.     

Proton capture by 176Yb in the giant dipole resonance region

The proton capture cross section for the reaction ¹⁷⁶Yb(p, γ)¹⁷⁷Lu has been measured for incident proton energies between 6 and 24 MeV. The excitation function for this deformed nucleus agrees remarkably well with the results of previous studies on spherical nuclei, e.g. ¹⁴²Ce(p, γ)¹⁴³Pr. The results indicate that the giant dipole resonance (GDR) is strongly excited as predicted by the direct-semidirect (DSD) model. It is found that the model describes reasonably well the excitation function. In the low-energy proton range, where the excitation function increases rapidly with proton energy, the observed cross section is significantly higher than the DSD predictions. The difference can only partly be explained by compound nucleus contributions. In the high-energy end, the predicted cross section tends to be too high primarily due to an increasing contribution of direct capture to orbitals with large angular momenta.     

Neutron–proton elliptic flow difference as a probe for the high density dependence of the symmetry energy

We employ an isospin dependent version of the QMD transport model to study the influence of the isospin dependent part of the nuclear matter equation of state and in-medium nucleon–nucleon cross-sections on the dynamics of heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies. We find that the extraction of useful information on the isospin-dependent part of the equation of state of nuclear matter from proton or neutron elliptic flows is obstructed by their sensitivity to model parameters and in-medium values of nucleon–nucleon cross-sections. Opposite to that, neutron–proton elliptic flow difference shows little dependence on those variables while its dependence on the isospin asymmetric EoS is enhanced, making it more suitable for a model independent constraining of the high-density behaviour of asy-EoS. Comparison with existing experimental FOPI-LAND neutron–hydrogen data can be used to set an upper limit to the softness of asy-EoS. Successful constraining of the asy-EoS via neutron–proton elliptic flow difference will require experimental data of higher accuracy than presently available.