Graphene wormholes: A condensed matter illustration of Dirac fermions in curved space

We study the properties of graphene wormholes in which a short nanotube acts as a bridge between two graphene sheets, where the honeycomb carbon lattice is curved from the presence of 12 heptagonal defects. By taking the nanotube bridge with very small length compared to the radius, we develop an effective theory of Dirac fermions to account for the low-energy electronic properties of the wormholes in the continuum limit, where the frustration induced by the heptagonal defects is mimicked by a line of fictitious gauge flux attached to each of them. We find in particular that, when the effective gauge flux from the topological defects becomes maximal, the zero-energy modes of the Dirac equation can be arranged into two triplets, that can be thought as the counterpart of the two triplets of zero modes that arise in the dual instance of the continuum limit of large spherical fullerenes. We further investigate the graphene wormhole spectra by performing a numerical diagonalization of tight-binding Hamiltonians for very large lattices realizing the wormhole geometry. The correspondence between the number of localized electronic states observed in the numerical approach and the effective gauge flux predicted in the continuum limit shows that graphene wormholes can be consistently described by an effective theory of two Dirac fermion fields in the curved geometry of the wormhole, opening the possibility of using real samples of the carbon material as a playground to experiment with the interaction between the background curvature and the Dirac fields.     

Transparent conductive ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer electrodes deposited by sputtering at room temperature

ITO/Ag/ITO multilayers have been prepared onto conventional soda lime glass substrates by sputtering at room temperature. The optical and electrical characteristics of single layer and multilayer structures have been investigated as a function of the Ag and ITO film thicknesses. Transmittance and sheet resistance values are found mainly dependent on the Ag film thickness; whereas the wavelength range at which the maximum transmittance is achieved can be changed by adjusting the ITO films thickness. ITO/Ag/ITO electrodes with sheet resistance below 6 Ω/sq have been obtained for Ag film thickness above 10 nm and ITO layers thickness in the 30-50 nm range. These multilayers also show high transmittance in the visible spectral region, above 90% by discounting the glass substrate, with a maximum that is located at higher wavelengths for thicker ITO.     

Diffraction management and sub-diffractive solitons in periodically driven Bose-Einstein condensates

We theoretically investigate the diffraction management in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in one- (1D), two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) geometries. The management technique is based on the superposition of harmonic lattices’ potentials moving at a common speed but in different directions, leading to a harmonic spatio-temporal modulation of the potential. In this way a reduction in, and eventually the disappearance of usual diffraction and emergence of fourth-order diffraction are achieved. We show sub-diffractive solitons in such a diffraction managed system and demonstrate their stability in 1D, 2D and 3D. In 2D and 3D cases we investigate diffraction management by lattices of different symmetry, and study their influence on the isotropy of solitons.     

Solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry determination of monoterpenes in honey

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) using a 100 microm poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) fiber, followed by gas chromatography (GC-MS) determination, has been applied to the analysis of some monoterpenoids in honey. The extraction was performed by direct immersion of the fiber using a sampling period of 15 min with constant magnetic stirring (1100 rpm) and an extraction temperature of 20 degrees C. A 7 mL sample volume of an aqueous solution of honey with 25% of NaCl was placed in 15 mL glass vial fitted with screw cap and PTFE/silicone septum. Desorption was performed directly in the gas chromatograph injector port during 5 min at 250 degrees C using the splitless mode. The method is sensitive with detection limits between 11 and 25 microg L(-1), precise with coefficients of variation in the range 1.28 and 3.71%, and linear over more than one order of magnitude. The related conditions were used for honey sample analyses with recoveries between 71.8 and 90.9%. SPME remains an attractive alternative technique due to its rapidity and because it is a solvent free extraction method.     

Approaching a vertex in a shrinking domain under a nonlinear flow

We consider here the homogeneous Dirichlet problem for the equation , in a noncylindrical domain in space-time given by . By means of matched asymptotic expansion techniques we describe the asymptotics of the maximal solution approaching the vertex x=0, t=T, in the three different cases p>1/2, p=1/2(vertex regular), p<1/2 (vertex irregular).     

Enhancing stereochemical diversity by means of microwave irradiation in the absence of solvent: Synthesis of highly substituted nitroproline esters via 1,3-dipolar reactions

Microwave irradiation induces the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of imines derived from alpha-aminoesters with beta-nitrostyrenes in the absence of solvent within 10-15 min. The reaction proceeds to give yields in the range 81-86% and three isomeric pyrrolidines are obtained in the cycloaddition. Consequently, the use of three imines and two beta-nitrostyrenes gives rise to a library of 18 nitroproline esters. The use of classical heating with longer reaction times (24 h) gives lower yields of products (below 50%) and only two stereoisomers can be detected in each reaction.     

Acid-base equilibria of phthalic acid in saline media: ion association from Pitzer equations

The protonation constants of 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid (phthalic acid) at 25 °C in NaCl and CaCl₂ (ionic strengths ranging from 0.1 to 2 mol kg⁻¹) were determined potentiometrically, and the results were analyzed by means of Pitzer equations. The values of the logarithm of the first and second dissociation constants ranged from 2.730 and 4.948 (in 0.101 mol kg⁻¹ NaCl) to 2.449 and 3.984 (in 0.624 mol kg⁻¹ CaCl₂), respectively. Tabulated interaction parameters for the inorganic species involved along with salting coefficients estimated from literature allowed the calculation of new interaction parameters for the phthalate-Na⁺/Ca²⁺ systems. The specific ion interaction model considered seems to account for the influence of the formation of weak complexes of phthalate with calcium ions on the equilibrium constants.     

On closures of similarity orbits of essentially nilpotent operators of order two

Several results are obtained on the structure of the closure of the similarity orbit of a compact perturbation of the ampliation of a nilpotent Jordan cell, including a complete answer for the case of an algebraic essentially nilpotent operator of order two.The research of both authors was partially supported by Grants of the National Science Foundation.     

Modelling the matrix interference of iron in the multivariate determination of copper by stripping voltammetry Instrument standardization

Two different standardization procedures have been applied in order to minimize the experimental effort necessary to determine copper in presence of iron by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The significant matrix interference caused by iron in the voltammetric determination of copper has been successfully solved by using partial least squares (PLS) regression. The use of this multivariate regression implies a large number of training set samples, so a standardization method was required. In fact, the standardization methods used have reduced the calibration samples needed in future determinations by up to 75%. Moreover, PLS regression allowed both metals to be determined simultaneously by using an adequate experimental design, without any limitation to their respective concentrations and without the need to know the level of interference.