On complexity of subset interconnection designs

Given a setX and subsetsX ₁,...,X _m, we consider the problem of finding a graphG with vertex setX and the minimum number of edges such that fori=1,...,m, the subgraphG _i; induced byX _i is connected. Suppose that for any pointsx ₁,...,x X, there are at mostX _i 's containing the set {x₁,...,x }. In the paper, we show that the problem is polynomial-time solvable for ( 2, 2) and is NP-hard for (3,=1), (=l,6), and (2,3).Support in part by the NSF under grant CCR-9208913 and CCR-8920505.Part work was done while this author was visiting at DIMACS and on leave from Institute of Applied Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing.     

Electronic absorption and emission spectral data and fluorescence quantum yields of bridgedp-oligophenylenes,bi- to deciphenyls,and related furans and carbazoles

Absorption and fluorescence emission spectral data, as well as fluorescence quantum yields (_f), were determined for 41p-oligophenylene compounds containing 2–6, 8, and 10 benzene rings. Of 29 compounds containing carbon-bridged rings (fluorenes), 28 were dialkylated on each bridge for improved solubility and photostability. Absorption maxima for oligophenylenes were observed at wavelengths as long as 366 nm, emission maxima to 437 nm, and molar extinction coefficients () as large as 153,000 L/mol-cm; all three exceeded predicted maximum values for the corresponding unbridged oligophenylenes. The substitution of furan for benzene or carbazole for a fluorene (two examples each) bathochromically shifted absorption and emission maxima. Dialkylated carbon bridges bathochromically shifted absorption and emission maxima, and lowered _f in biphenyl and in one terphenyl analogue, but appeared to cause no diminution of _f in higher oligophenylenes. Bis(2-methoxyethyl) substitution on the bridges, incorporated to provide solubility in polar solvents, lowered _f in all examples. Tertiary alkyl substituents on terminal rings bathochromically shifted the absorption and emission maxima and generally increased _f. The loose bolt effect, which lowers _f in mononuclear substituted benzenes, may operate in 9,9-dialkylfluorenes, but not in 2,7-di-t-butylfluorene or in higher oligophenylenes. Cyclic ether and methoxy substituents as auxofluors on terminal rings generally bathochromically shifted absorption and emission maxima and increased and _f. Cyano substituents bathochromically shifted absorption and emission maxima, and increased , but lowered _f slightly.     

a-b plane anisotropy of single-domain crystals of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

The polarized reflectance of thea-b plane of single-domain Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ crystals is anisotropic above and belowT _c . The normal-state infrared conductivity is higher forEa whereas the high-frequency conductivity is higher alongb, particularly for transitions associated with the Bi–O layers. BelowT _c there is a definite anisotropy to the far-infrared absorption, with a finite absorption forEb down to 20 meV. This anisotropy of thea-b plane could be due either to anisotropy of the superconducting gap or to anisotropy of the midinfrared component to the conductivity.     

Automated parameter optimization in modeling absorption spectra and resonance Raman excitation profiles

An automated method is described for optimizing the molecular parameters in simultaneous modeling of optical absorption spectra and resonance Raman excitation profiles. The method utilizes a previously developed Fortran routine that calculates absorption spectra and Raman excitation profiles for polyatomic molecules in solution from a model for the potential energy surfaces and spectral broadening mechanisms. It is combined here with an optimization routine from the commercial MATLAB package that iteratively adjusts the parameters of the molecular model to minimize the least-squared error between calculated and experimental spectra. Optimizations that typically require days to weeks of human time when performed interactively can be accomplished automatically in less than an hour of computer time. The method can handle large molecules (we show results for as many as 23 Raman-active modes) and mixtures of spectral broadening mechanisms (lifetime, Brownian oscillator, and inhomogeneous), and is robust toward noise or missing data points.