The vibrational progressions of the N-->V electronic transition of ethylene: a test case for the computation of Franck-Condon factors of highly flexible photoexcited molecules

The vibrational progressions of the N-->V electronic transition of ethylene--a test case for the computation of Franck-Condon factors between electronic states exhibiting very different equilibrium geometries--have been calculated by using both the Cartesian and the curvilinear internal coordinate representations of the normal modes of vibration. The comparison of the theoretical spectra with the experimental one shows that the Cartesian representation yields vibrational progressions which are not observed in the experimental spectrum, whereas the curvilinear one gives a very satisfying agreement, even in harmonic approximation.     

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulation of the structure and proton transport dynamics of methanol-water solutions

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are employed to study the structural and proton transport properties of methanol-water mixtures. Structural characteristics analyzed at two different methanol mole fractions (X(M) = 0.25 and X(M) = 0.5) reveal enhanced structuring of water as the methanol mole fraction increases in agreement with recent neutron diffraction experiments. The simulations reveal the existence of separate hydrogen-bonded water and methanol networks, also in agreement with the neutron diffraction data. The addition of a single proton to the X(M) = 0.5 mixture leads to an anomalous structural or Grotthuss-type diffusion mechanism of the charge defect in which water-to-water, methanol-to-water, and water-to-methanol proton transfer reactions play the dominant role with methanol-to-methanol transfers being much less significant. Unlike in bulk water, where coordination number fluctuations drive the proton transport process, suppression of the coordination number of waters in the first solvation shell of the defect diminish the importance of coordination number fluctuations as a driving force in the structural diffusion process. The charge defect is found to reside preferentially at the interface between water and methanol networks. The length of the ab initio molecular dynamics run (approximately 120 ps), allowed the diffusion constant of the charge defect to be computed, yielding a value of D = 4.2 x 10(-5) cm2/s when deuterium masses are assigned to all protons in the system. The relation of this value to excess proton diffusion in bulk water is discussed. Finally, a kinetic theory is introduced to identify the relevant time scales in the proton transfer/transport process.     

An Algebraic Approach to Physical Scales

This paper is aimed at introducing an algebraic model for physical scales and units of measurement. This goal is achieved by means of the concept of “positive space” and its rational powers. Positive spaces are “semi-vector spaces” on which the group of positive real numbers acts freely and transitively through the scalar multiplication. Their tensor multiplication with vector spaces yields “scaled spaces” that are suitable to describe spaces with physical dimensions mathematically. We also deal with scales regarded as fields over a given background (e.g., spacetime).     

Shear stresses in elastic beams: an intrinsic approach

The theory of non-uniform flexure and torsion of Saint-Venant's beam with arbitrary multiply connected cross section is revisited in a coordinate-free form to provide a computationally convenient context. Numerical implementations, by Matlab, are performed to evaluate the maximum elastic shear stresses in beams with rectangular cross sections for different Poisson's ratios. The deviations between the maximum and mean stresses are then diagrammed to adjust the results provided by Jourawski's method.     

Singularity Curves of a Parallel Pointing System

This paper studies a parallel pointing system used in aerospace applications for orientating parabolic antennas. In the literature [6, 7], the position analysis of this device has been already solved in closed form, whereas simple and efficient tools to address singularities distribution are still lacking. In this paper, its velocity analysis is addressed, and a singularity locus analytic expression, containing the manipulator geometric parameters and the end-effector orientation parameters, is derived. Moreover, it is shown that the determined singularity locus can be represented by curves (singularity curves) on a Cartesian plane having the generalized coordinates of the mechanism on the coordinate axes. Finally, an example showing the use of the proposed relationships is given and discussed.     

Finite-Order Formulation of Vinogradov's C-Spectral Sequence

The C-spectral sequence was introduced by A. M. Vinogradov in the late Seventies as a fundamental tool for the study of the algebro-geometric properties of jet spaces and differential equations. A spectral sequence arises from the contact filtration of the modules of forms on jet spaces of a fibring (or on a differential equation). In order to avoid serious technical difficulties, the order of the jet space is not fixed, i.e., computations are performed on spaces containing forms on jet spaces of any order. In this paper we show that there exists a formulation of Vinogradov's C-spectral sequence in the case of finite-order jet spaces of a fibred manifold. We compute all cohomology groups of the finite-order C-spectral sequence. We obtain a finite-order variational sequence which is shown to be naturally isomorphic with Krupka's finite-order variational sequence.     

Synthesis and Liquid-Crystalline Properties of Diazabutadiene Complexes of Rhenium(I)

New N,N '-bis(4-((4-alkoxybenzoyl)oxy)phenyl)-1,4-diaza-1,3-butadiene (L) ligands, obtained by condensation of 4-((alkoxybenzoyl)oxy)anilines and glyoxal, were complexed to different [ReX(CO)(3)] fragments to give the complexes [ReX(L)(CO)(3)] (X = Cl, Br, I) and [Re(CF(3)SO(3))(L)(CO)(3)].THF. The chloro and bromo complexes were obtained by direct reaction of the ligands with [ReX(CO)(5)] (X = Cl, Br), while the iodo and triflato derivatives were obtained via metathesis of the chloro or bromo precursors with potassium iodide or silver triflate respectively. The liquid-crystalline behavior of the ligands and the related rhenium complexes has been studied by means of optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and small angle X-ray diffraction. Nematic and smectic C phases were observed when the coordinated counteranions were Cl, Br, and I, respectively; the triflato derivatives were not mesomorphic.     

Shear rheology of lyotropic liquid crystals: a case study

We have investigated the rheological properties of lyotropic liquid crystals (LCs) formed by self-assembled neutral lipids and water, their relationship with the topology of the structure, and their dependence on temperature and water content. The phase diagram of a representative monoglyceride-water system, determined by combining cross-polarized optical microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), included four structures: lamellar, hexagonal, gyroid bicontinuous cubic (Ia3d), and double diamond bicontinuous cubic (Pn3m), as well as several regions of two-phase coexistence of some of the above structures. Rheology in the linear viscoelastic regime revealed a specific signature that was characteristic of the topology of each structure considered. The order-order transitions lamellar-to-cubic and cubic-to-hexagonal, as well as the order-disorder transitions from each LC to an isotropic fluid, were easily identified by following the development of the storage and loss moduli, G' and G', respectively. The viscoelastic properties of both bicontinuous cubic phases were shown to be strongly frequency-dependent, following a pseudo-Maxwell behavior, with multiple relaxation times. Cubic-to-cubic transitions were nicely captured by scaling the longest relaxation time, tau, with either temperature or water volume fraction. Therefore, the set of the three main parameters used to establish the rheological behavior of the structure, that is, G', G', and relaxation time, tau, constitutes a consistent ensemble to identify the structures of the liquid crystal. Finally, relaxation spectra, extracted for all liquid crystalline phases, allowed an additional possible identification criterion of the various structures considered.     

Determination of the relative stereochemistry of flexible organic compounds by Ab initio methods: conformational analysis and Boltzmann-averaged GIAO 13C NMR chemical shifts

Ab initio calculations at the Hartree-Fock level with full-geometry optimization using the 6-31G(d) basis set, and GIAO (gauge including atomic orbitals) (13)C NMR chemical shifts, are presented here as a support in the study of the stereochemistry of low-polar organic compounds having an open-chain structure. Four linear stereoisomers, fragments of a natural product previously characterized by experimental (13)C NMR spectra, which possesses three stereogenic centers, 11 carbon atoms, and 38 atoms in total, were considered. Conformational searches, by empirical force-field molecular dynamics, pointed out the existence of 8-13 relevant conformers per stereoisomer. Thermochemical calculations at the ab initio level in the harmonic approximation of the vibrational modes, allowed the evaluation, at 298.15 K, of the standard Gibbs free energy of the conformers. The (13)C NMR chemical shift of a given carbon atom in each stereoisomer was considered as the average chemical shift value of the same atom in the different conformers. The averages were obtained by the Boltzmann distribution, using the relative standard free energies as weighting factors. Computed parameters related to linear correlation plots of experimental (13)C chemical shifts versus the corresponding computed average data allowed us to distinguish among the four stereoisomers.