On the hydrogen etching mechanism in plasma nitriding of metals

Iron alloys and aluminum were nitrogen implanted in a controlled oxygen atmosphere and the role of hydrogen on the surface etching mechanisms studied. The surface composition was analyzed by in situ photoemission electron spectroscopy (XPS). In iron alloys, hydrogen strongly etches oxygen, improving nitrogen retention on the surface. On the other hand, hydrogen removes nitrogen from aluminum surfaces, with a deleterious effect on the nitriding effectiveness. The oxygen removal in iron alloys is associated with the catalytic effect of electrons in d-orbitals and the nitrogen removal in aluminum is associated with a steric effect.     

Representation of Cubic Lattices by Symmetric Implication Algebras

In this paper a cubic lattice L(S) is endowed with a symmetric implication structure and it is proved that L(S) \ {0} is a power of the three-element simple symmetric implication algebra. The Metropolis–Rota’s symmetries are obtained as partial terms in the language of symmetric implication algebras.     

Dynamics of kinks in biological membranes

kinks created in a biological membrane by the interaction with a movable bead. We arrive at the evolution equations for both the bead and the membrane, whence we conclude that the force exerted on the bead by a fixed membrane points in the direction along which the curvature of the membrane is more concentrated. This is the first step towards understanding the basic mechanism behind the dynamics of protein aggregation which takes place on biological membranes. Received November 6, 2001 / Published online February 4, 2002     

Pullback attractors for non-autonomous 2D-Navier–Stokes equations in some unbounded domains

In this Note we first introduce the concept of pullback asymptotic compactness. Next, we establish a result ensuring the existence of a pullback attractor for a non-autonomous dynamical system under the general assumptions of pullback asymptotic compactness and the existence of a pullback absorbing family of sets. Finally, we prove the existence of a pullback attractor for a non-autonomous 2D Navier–Stokes model in an unbounded domain, a case in which the theory of uniform attractors does not work since the non-autonomous term is quite general. To cite this article: T. Caraballo et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 342 (2006).     

Europium-151 Mössbauer spectroscopic and XANES investigation of europium-exchanged Y-zeolite

Eu³⁺ in ca. 10 wt% europium-exchanged Y-zeolite is partially reduced by treatment in hydrogen at 600°C to Eu²⁺. The reduction of Eu³⁺ is more readily achieved in Y-zeolite than in europium(III) oxide. The discrepancy in the extent of reduction as revealed by¹⁵¹Eu Mössbauer spectroscopy and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XANES) is associated with any difference in the recoil free fractions of Eu²⁺ and Eu³⁺ which may exist at 298 K and the enhanced sensitivity of the XANES to changes in the europium oxidation state.     

The semiclassical limit of a quantum Fermi accelerator

A classical Fermi accelerator model (FAM) is known to show chaotic behavior. The FAM is defined by a free particle bouncing elastically from two rigid walls, one fixed and the other oscillating periodically in time. The central aim of this paper is to connect the quantum and the classical solutions to the FAM in the semiclassical limit. This goal is accomplished using a finite inverted parametric oscillator (FIPO), confined to a box withfixed walls, as an alternative representation of the FAM. In the FIPO representation, an explicit correspondence between classical and quantum limits is accomplished using a Husimi representation of the quasienergy eigenfunctions.     

One‐step synthesis of aminopyrimidines from 5‐Oxo‐4H‐benzopyrans

Novel 4‐amino‐6‐aryl‐2‐phenylpyrimidine‐5‐carbonitriles have been prepared in one step procedure from the readily available 4‐aryl‐2‐amino‐3‐cyano‐5,6,7,8‐tetrahydro‐7,7‐dimethyl‐5‐oxo‐4H‐benzopyrans. The mass spectroscopy study under EI conditions shows molecular peaks with high intensity corresponding to the loss of benzonitrile from the C2 position of the pyrimidine ring. Semiempirical (AMI and PM3) and ab initio HF/6–31G* calculations reveal a favored distorted geometry where the three rings are not in the same plane.     

Monte Carlo Simulation of Electron Transport and X-Ray Generation. II. Radiative Processes and Examples in Electron Probe Microanalysis

Theoretical models for Monte Carlo simulation of radiative processes, i.e. bremsstrahlung and characteristic x-ray emission, are presented. Possible strategies for simulating electron transport are briefly described. For mechanisms involving energy loss and angular deflections, difficulties for strict implementation of accurate numerical differential cross sections still remain due to the strong correlations between these variables. Practical solutions for the case of inelastic collisions and bremsstrahlung emission are described. Comparisons of simulation results with experimental data for several problems of interest in electron probe microanalysis are presented.     

Demonstration of the stability or instability of multibreathers at low coupling

Whereas there exists a mathematical proof for one-site breathers stability, and an unpublished one for two-site breathers, the methods for determining the stability properties of multibreathers rely on numerical computation of the Floquet multipliers or on the weak nonlinearity approximation leading to discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equations. Here we present a set of multibreather stability theorems (MST) that provides a simple method to determine multibreathers stability in Klein–Gordon systems. These theorems are based in the application of degenerate perturbation theory to Aubry’s band theory. We illustrate them with several examples.