A point source analytical model of inverse pulsed laser deposition

A simple analytical model for inverse pulsed laser deposition is proposed. In the model the motion of the evaporated material is assumed to emerge as from a point source located above the surface of evaporation at some distance. The obtained thickness profiles of inverse deposited films agree well with those calculated by the test particle Monte Carlo method. The proposed approach has been applied for analysis of experimental data on inverse pulsed laser deposition of graphite in nitrogen atmosphere with nanosecond pulses of laser fluences between 1 and 7 J/cm². The model describes well the thickness profiles and pressure dependence of film growth rate for inverse deposition.     

Theoretical study of the <Superscript>1,3</Superscript>Σ<Superscript>+</Superscript> states of the NaH molecule in the adiabatic and diabatic representations

Adiabatic and diabatic study for all the states dissociating below the ionic limit [i.e., Na (3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, and 4f) + H (1s)] in ¹Σ⁺ and ³Σ⁺ symmetries are presented. Adiabatic results are also reported for ^1,3Π and ^1,3Δ symmetries. Pseudo-potential, operatorial core-valence correlation, and full valence CI approaches combined with an efficient diabatization procedure are used in these ab initio calculations. Our vibrational-level spacings and spectroscopic constants are in good agreement with the available experimental data for the low-lying states. Diabatic potentials and dipole moments are analyzed, revealing the strong imprint of the ionic state in the ¹Σ⁺ adiabatic states. The hydrogen electron affinity correction was taken into account by the use of the efficient diabatization method. This leads to a better agreement with the available experimental data. Experimental suggestions are also given for the higher excited states based on their unusual behavior.     

On a Recent Proposal of Faster than Light Quantum Communication

In a recent paper, A.Y. Shiekh has discussed an experimental set-up which, in his opinion, should make possible faster-than-light communication using the collapse of the quantum wave function. Contrary to the many proposals which have been presented in the past, he does not resort to an entangled state of two systems but he works with a single particle in a superposition of two states—corresponding to its propagation in opposite directions—one of which goes through an appropriate interferometer. The possibility for an observer near the interferometer to introduce or not, at his free will, a phase shifter along one of the paths should allow to change instantaneously the probability of finding the particle in the far-away region corresponding to the other state of the superposition and, correspondingly, to change the intensity of a beam of particles reaching a distant observer. In this paper we show a flaw in the argument: once more, as it has been proved in full generality a long time ago, the process of wave packet reduction cannot be used for superluminal communication.     

Inflow conditions for spatial direct numerical simulation of turbulent boundary layers

The inflow conditions for spatial direct numerical simulation (SDNS) of turbulent boundary layers should reflect the characteristics of upstream turbulence, which is a puzzle. In this paper a new method is suggested, in which the flow field obtained by using temporal direct numerical simulation (TDNS) for fully developed turbulent flow (only flow field for a single moment is sufficient) can be used as the inflow of SDNS with a proper transformation. The calculation results confirm that this method is feasible and effective. It is also found that, under a proper time-space transformation, all statistics of the fully developed turbulence obtained by both temporal mode and spatial mode DNS are in excellent agreement with each other, not only qualitatively, but also quantitatively. The normal-wise distributions of mean flow profile, turbulent Mach number and the root mean square (RMS) of the fluctuations of various variables, as well as the Reynolds stresses of the fully developed turbulence obtained by using SDNS, bear similarity in nature. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 90205021), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 20060400707), and the Foundation for the Author of National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of China (Grant No. 200328), and partially supported by Liu-Hui Center of Applied Mathematics, Nankai University and Tianjin University     

Left inferior frontal gyrus is critical for response inhibition

Background  

Lesion studies in human and non-human primates have linked several different regions of prefrontal cortex (PFC) with the ability to inhibit inappropriate motor responses. However, recent functional neuroimaging studies have specifically implicated right inferior PFC in response inhibition. Right frontal dominance for inhibitory motor control has become a commonly accepted view, although support for this position has not been consistent. Particularly conspicuous is the lack of data on the importance of the homologous region in the left hemisphere. To investigate whether the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is critical for response inhibition, we used neuropsychological methodology with carefully characterized brain lesions in neurological patients.     

Structural and electronic effects in metallocene catalysts studied by x‐ray techniques

A series of metallocenes, namely, [Cp₂ZrCl₂], [(MeCp)₂ZrCl₂], [(nBuCp)₂ZrCl₂], [(iBuCp)₂ZrCl₂], [(tBuCp)₂ZrCl₂], [Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂], [Et(IndH₄)₂ZrCl₂], and [MeSi₂(Ind)₂ZrCl₂)] were analyzed by extended x‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Complementary techniques, UV–vis spectroscopy and cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry, were employed to characterize the organometallic complexes. The catalysts were evaluated in ethylene polymerization, having methylaluminoxane (MAO) as the cocatalyst, and the resulting polymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography. The structural and electronic effects caused by the coordination sphere around the metal center and their effects on the catalytic activity and polymer characteristics are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tip-induced reduction of the resonant tunneling current on semiconductor surfaces

We report scanning tunneling microscope measurements showing a substantial decrease of the current, almost to zero, on the Si(111)-(7x7) reconstruction in the near-to-contact region under low bias conditions. First principles simulations for the tip-sample interaction and transport calculations show that this effect is driven by the substantial local modification of the atomic and electronic structure of the surface. The chemical reactivity of the adatom dangling bond states that dominate the electronic density of states close to the Fermi level and their spatial localization result in a strong modification of the electronic current.     

Vacancy-assisted diffusion of alkoxy species on rutile TiO2(110)

Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory simulations, we have studied the diffusion of alkoxy species formed by the dissociation of alcohols on bridge-bonded oxygen (BBO) vacancies (BBO(V)'s) on TiO2(110). At elevated temperatures (>or=400 K) the sequential isothermal STM images show that mobile BBO(V)'s mediate the diffusion of alkoxy species by providing space for alkyl-group-bearing BBO atom to diffuse into. The experimental findings are further supported by simulations that find that BBO(V) diffusion is the rate limiting step in the overall diffusion mechanism.     

Proposed experiment for testing quantum contextuality with neutrons

We show that an experimental demonstration of quantum contextuality using 2 degrees of freedom of single neutrons based on a violation of an inequality derived from the Peres-Mermin proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem would be more conclusive than those obtained from previous experiments involving pairs of ions [M. A. Rowe, Nature (London) 409, 791 (2001)10.1038/35057215] and single neutrons [Y. Hasegawa, Nature (London) 425, 45 (2003)10.1038/nature01881] based on violations of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt-like inequalities.