Formation of hexacoordinate complexes of PhCCSiF3 with 2,2'-bipyridine and with 1,10-phenanthroline through intermolecular silicon...nitrogen interactions

Bidentate intermolecular Si...N interactions were utilized to form new hypervalent complexes of trifluoro-phenylethynyl-silane with 2,2'-bipyridine and with 1,10-phenanthroline. X-ray structures obtained for these complexes display a somewhat distorted octahedral geometry about the silicon atom. Binding constants ranging from 170 to 1600 M(-1) at 25 degrees C in CDCl3 were measured for the formation of these complexes, suggesting that such hypervalent complexes of silicon could be used as new motifs in supramolecular chemistry.     

Neutrino oscillations as a probe of dark energy

We consider a class of theories in which neutrino masses depend significantly on environment, as a result of interactions with the dark sector. Such theories of mass varying neutrinos were recently introduced to explain the origin of the cosmological dark energy density and why its magnitude is apparently coincidental with that of neutrino mass splittings. In this Letter we argue that in such theories neutrinos can exhibit different masses in matter and in vacuum, dramatically affecting neutrino oscillations. As an example of modifications to the standard picture, we consider simple models that may simultaneously account for the LSND anomaly, KamLAND, K2K, and studies of solar and atmospheric neutrinos, while providing motivation to continue to search for neutrino oscillations in short baseline experiments such as BooNE.     

400-photon-per-pulse ultrashort pulse autocorrelation measurement with aperiodically poled lithium niobate waveguides at 1.55 microm

We demonstrate ultrasensitive intensity autocorrelation measurements of subpicosecond optical pulses in the telecommunication band by using aperiodically poled lithium niobate (A-PPLN) waveguides. The tightly confined optical beam in the waveguides and the chirped poling period facilitate simultaneous high second-harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency and broad phase-matching (PM) bandwidth. The resulting measurement sensitivity is 3.2 x 10(-7) mW2, approximately 500 times better than the previous record for intensity autocorrelations. We also show that chirped A-PPLN waveguides retain nearly the same SHG efficiency as the unchirped guide as long as the PM bandwidth is not significantly broader than the input spectrum.     

On 1-Blocking Sets in PG(n,q), n ≥ 3

In this article we study minimal1-blocking sets in finite projective spaces _PG(n,q),n 3. We prove that in PG(n,q ²),q = p ^h , p prime, p > 3,h 1, the second smallest minimal 1-blockingsets are the second smallest minimal blocking sets, w.r.t.lines, in a plane of PG(n,q ²). We also study minimal1-blocking sets in PG(n,q ³), n 3, q = p ^h, p prime, p > 3,q 5, and prove that the minimal 1-blockingsets of cardinality at most q 3 + q ² + q + ¹ are eithera minimal blocking set in a plane or a subgeometry PG(3,q).     

Design of Stacked Self-Healing Rings Using a Genetic Algorithm

Ring structures in telecommunications are taking on increasing importance because of their self-healing properties. We consider a ring design problem in which several stacked self-healing rings (SHRs) follow the same route, and, thus, pass through the same set of nodes. Traffic can be exchanged among these stacked rings at a designated hub node. Each non-hub node may be connected to multiple rings. It is necessary to determine to which rings each node should be connected, and how traffic should be routed on the rings. The objective is to optimize the tradeoff between the costs for connecting nodes to rings and the costs for routing demand on multiple rings. We describe a genetic algorithm that finds heuristic solutions for this problem. The initial generation of solutions includes randomly-generated solutions, complemented by seed solutions obtained by applying a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) to two related problems. Subsequent generations are created by recombining pairs of parent solutions. Computational experiments compare the genetic algorithm with a commercial integer programming package.     

Cosmological Relativity: A New Theory ofCosmology1

A new general-relativistic theory of cosmology, the dynamical variables of whichare those of Hubble's, namely distances and redshifts, is presented. The theorydescribes the universe as having a three-phase evolution with a deceleratingexpansion followed by a constant and an accelerating expansion, and it predictsthat the universe is now in the latter phase. The theory is actually a generalizationof Hubble's law taking gravity into account by means of Einstein's theory ofgeneral relativity. The equations obtained for the universe expansion are elegantand very simple. It is shown, assuming ₀ = 0.24, that the time at which theuniverse goes over from a decelerating to an accelerating expansion, i.e., theconstant expansion phase, occurs at 0.03 from the big bang, where is theHubble time in vacuum. Also, at that time the cosmic radiation temperature was11 K. Recent observations of distant supernovae imply, in defiance of expectations,that the universe's growth is accelerating, contrary to what has always beenassumed, that the expansion is slowing down due to gravity. Our theory confirmsthese recent experimental results by showing that the universe now is definitelyin a stage of accelerating expansion.     

Derivation of the Tully—Fisher Law: Doubts About the Necessity and Existence of Halo Dark Matter

For disk galaxies the fourth power of the circular velocity ⁴ _c of stars around thecore of the galaxy is proportional to the luminosity L, ⁴ _c L (Tully—Fisher law).Since L is proportional to the mass M of the galaxy, it follows that ⁴ _c M.Newtonian mechanics, however, yields ² _c = GM/r for a circular motion. In orderto rectify this big difference, astronomers assume the existence of dark matter.We derive the equation of motion of a star moving in the central field of a galaxyand show that, for a circular motion, it yields a term of the form ⁴ _c GMc/,where G is Newton's gravitational constant, c is the speed of light, and is theHubble time. This puts in doubt the existence of halo dark matter for galaxies.     

Comment on "Time reversal of ultrafast waveforms by wave mixing of spectrally decomposed waves"

In a recent Letter [Opt. Lett. 25, 132 (2000)] the properties of two different techniques for time reversal of ultrafast optical waveforms were compared. Although both techniques, spectral phase conjugation and spectral inversion, perform the same function for real pulses, for pulses with complex envelope functions it was asserted that only spectral inversion gives true time reversal. I argue here for a different interpretation.     

Short TE in vivo (1)H MR spectroscopic imaging at 1.5 T: acquisition and automated spectral analysis

Spectral analysis of short TE in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) data are complicated by the presence of spectral overlap, low signal to noise and uncharacterized signal contributions. In this study, it is shown that an automated data analysis method can be used to generate metabolite images from MRSI data obtained from human brain at TE = 25 ms and 1.5 T when optimized pulse sequences and a priori metabolite knowledge are used. The analysis approach made use of computer simulation methods to obtain a priori spectral information of the metabolites of interest and utilized a combination of parametric spectral modeling and non-parametric signal characterization for baseline fitting. This approach was applied to data from optimized PRESS-SI and multi-slice spin-echo SI acquisitions, for which sample spectra and metabolite images are shown.