A combined theoretical and experimental study of the reaction products of laser-ablated thorium atoms with CO: first identification of the CThO, CThO(-), OthCCO, OTh(eta(3)-CCO), and Th(CO)(n) (n = 1-6) molecules

Laser-ablated thorium atoms have been reacted with CO molecules during condensation in excess neon. Absorptions at 617.7 and 812.2 cm(-1) are assigned to Th-C and Th-O stretching vibrations of the CThO molecule. Absorptions at 2048.6, 1353.6, and 822.5 cm(-1) are assigned to the OThCCO molecule, which is formed by CO addition to CThO and photochemical rearrangement of Th(CO)(2). The OThCCO molecule undergoes further photoinduced rearrangement to OTh(eta(3)-CCO), which is characterized by C-C, C-O, and Th-O stretching vibrations at 1810.8, 1139.2, and 831.6 cm(-1). The Th(CO)(n) (n = 1-6) complexes are formed on deposition or on annealing. Evidence is also presented for the CThO(-) and Th(CO)(2)(-) anions, which are formed by electron capture of neutral molecules. Relativistic density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the geometry structures, vibrational frequencies, and infrared intensities strongly support the experimental assignments. It is found that CThO is an unprecedented actinide-containing carbene molecule with a triplet ground state and an unusual bent structure ( angleCThO = 109 degrees ). The OThCCO molecule has a bent structure while its rearranged product OTh(eta(3)-CCO) is found to have a unique exocyclic structure with side-bonded CCO group. We also find that both Th(CO)(2) and Th(CO)(2)(-) are, surprisingly, highly bent, with the angleC-Th-C bond angle being close to 50 degrees; the unusual geometries are the result of extremely strong Th-to-CO back-bonding, which causes significant three-centered bonding among the Th atom and the two C atoms.     

Conformational landscapes of bimesogenic compounds and their implications for the formation of modulated nematic phases

ABSTRACT

The twist-bend phase (N_TB) is most commonly observed in materials with a gross-bent shape: dimers; bent-cores; bent-oligomers. We had suggested previously that the bend-angle of such systems effectively dictates the relative thermal stability of the N_TB phase. However, our earlier paper relied on the use of a single energy-minimum conformer and so failed to capture any information about flexibility and conformational distribution. In the present work, we revisit our hypothesis and examine a second set of dimers with varying linking groups and spacer composition. We have improved on our earlier work by studying the conformational landscape of each material, allowing average bend-angles to be determined as well as the conformer distribution. We observe that the stability of the N_TB phase exhibits a strong dependence not only on the Boltzmann-weighted average bend-angle (rather than just a static conformer), but also on the distribution of conformers. To a lesser extent, the flexibility of the spacer appears important. Ultimately, this work satisfies both theoretical treatments and our initial experimental study and demonstrates the importance of molecular bend to the N_TB phase.     

The absorption spectra of the phenoxyl radical in solid argon

Vacuum ultraviolet photolysis of phenol, phenol-d₆ and anisole during condensation with excess argon at 20 K has produced and trapped the phenoxyl radical as evidenced by structured absorptions at 397.2 and 628.1 nm. A broad photosensitive 416 ± 2 nm band is tentatively assigned to the phenol cation.     

Amalgamation of partitions from multiple segmentation bases: A comparison of non-model-based and model-based methods

The segmentation of customers on multiple bases is a pervasive problem in marketing research. For example, segmentation service providers partition customers using a variety of demographic and psychographic characteristics, as well as an array of consumption attributes such as brand loyalty, switching behavior, and product/service satisfaction. Unfortunately, the partitions obtained from multiple bases are often not in good agreement with one another, making effective segmentation a difficult managerial task. Therefore, the construction of segments using multiple independent bases often results in a need to establish a partition that represents an amalgamation or consensus of the individual partitions. In this paper, we compare three methods for finding a consensus partition. The first two methods are deterministic, do not use a statistical model in the development of the consensus partition, and are representative of methods used in commercial settings, whereas the third method is based on finite mixture modeling. In a large-scale simulation experiment the finite mixture model yielded better average recovery of holdout (validation) partitions than its non-model-based competitors. This result calls for important changes in the current practice of segmentation service providers that group customers for a variety of managerial goals related to the design and marketing of products and services.     

Parity in partition identities

This paper considers a variety of parity questions connected with classical partition identities of Euler, Rogers, Ramanujan and Gordon. We begin by restricting the partitions in the Rogers-Ramanujan-Gordon identities to those wherein even parts appear an even number of times. We then take up questions involving sequences of alternating parity in the parts of partitions. This latter study leads to: (1) a bi-basic q-binomial theorem and q-binomial series, (2) a new interpretation of the Rogers-Ramanujan identities, and (3) a new natural interpretation of the fifth-order mock theta functions f ₀(q) along with a new proof of the Hecke-type series representation.     

A New Partition Identity Coming from Complex Dynamics

We present a new identity involving compositions (i.e., ordered partitions of natural numbers). The formula has its origin in complex dynamical systems and appears when counting, in the polynomial family periodic critical orbits with equivalent itineraries. We give two different proofs of the identity; one following the original approach in dynamics and another with purely combinatorial methods. Received October 1, 2004     

A combined analytical singularity subtraction method and compact implicit differencing scheme for aerodynamic mixing

In spite of the rapid advances in both scalar and parallel computational tools, the large number and breadth of variables involved in both design and inverse problems make the use of sophisticated fluid flow models impractical. With this restriction, it may be concluded that an important family of methods for mathematical/computational development are reduced or approximate models. In this study, a combined perturbation/numerical modeling methodology is developed. The numerical portion of the model uses a compact finite difference scheme, while analytical solutions are used to resolve singular behavior that is inherent to this flow. Solutions are presented to illustrate the efficiency of this methodology.