First stability eigenvalue characterization of Clifford hypersurfaces

The stability operator of a compact oriented minimal hypersurface is given by , where is the norm of the second fundamental form. Let be the first eigenvalue of and define . In 1968 Simons proved that for any non-equatorial minimal hypersurface . In this paper we will show that only for Clifford hypersurfaces. For minimal surfaces in , let denote the area of and let denote the genus of . We will prove that . Moreover, if is embedded, then we will prove that . If in addition to the embeddeness condition we have that , then we will prove that .

     

Molecular structure of trans-[Co(NH3)4(NH2CH3)Cl](ClO4)2

The title compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma, with a = 7.9209(5), b = 9.818(1), c = 16.867(2) Å, and Z = 4. The structure was solved employing 1864 independent x-ray reflections with I>2(I) by Patterson and difference Fourier techniques and refined by full-matrix least-squares to R = 0.036. The trans-[CO(NH₃)₄(NH₂CH₃)Cl](ClO₄)₂ molecule is on a crystallographic mirror plane. The cobalt ion is in an elongated octahedral coordination with four equatorial ammonia ligands [average Co–N distance equal to 1.966(2) Å], an axial methylamine [Co–N=1.965(3)Å], and an axial chlorine ion [Co–Cl=2.2771(9)Å]. Kinetic steric effects of the complex are interpreted in terms of structural results.     

Asymptotics of the Farey Fraction Spin Chain Free Energy at the Critical Point

We consider the Farey fraction spin chain in an external field h. Using ideas from dynamical systems and functional analysis, we show that the free energy f in the vicinity of the second-order phase transition is given, exactly, by $$f\sim\frac{t}{\log t}-\frac{1}{2}\frac{h^2}{t}\quad\mbox{for }h^2\ll t\ll1.$$ Here $t=\lambda_{G}\log(2)(1-\frac{\beta}{\beta_{c}})$ is a reduced temperature, so that the deviation from the critical point is scaled by the Lyapunov exponent of the Gauss map, λ _G . It follows that λ _G determines the amplitude of both the specific heat and susceptibility singularities. To our knowledge, there is only one other microscopically defined interacting model for which the free energy near a phase transition is known as a function of two variables. Our results confirm what was found previously with a cluster approximation, and show that a clustering mechanism is in fact responsible for the transition. However, the results disagree in part with a renormalisation group treatment.     

Two negative minima of the first normal stress difference in a cellulose‐based cholesteric liquid crystal: Helix uncoiling

The shear rate dependence of material functions such as shear viscosity (η) and the first normal stress difference (N₁) were given and interpreted earlier by Kiss and Porter. Their widely accepted work revealed the possibility of having a negative minimum of N₁ for polymeric liquid crystals. In this work, we disclose for the first time the evidence of two negative N₁ minima on a sheared cellulosic lyotropic system. The lower shear rate minimum is ascribed to the uncoiling of the cholesteric helix, as theoretically predicted earlier. Our findings contribute also to the understanding of the other minimum already reported in the literature and attributed to the nematic director tumbling mode. Moreover, the elastic change that the LC‐HPC sample undergoes during the helix unwinding of the cholesteric structure is also by means of oscillatory measurements. This study is a contribution for the understanding of the structure‐properties relationship linked with the complex rheological behavior of chiral nematic cellulose‐based systems and may help to improve their further processing. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 821–830     

On the stiffness of materials containing a disordered array of microscopic holes or hard inclusions

We study the macroscopic mechanical behavior of materials with microscopic holes or hard inclusions. Specifically, we deal with the effective elastic moduli of composites whose microgeometry consists of either soft or hard isolated inclusions surrounded by an elastic matrix. We approach this problem by taking the stiffness of the inclusion phase to be a complex variable, which we eventually evaluate at the soft or hard limits. Our main result states that there is a certain class of non-physical, negative-definite values of the elastic moduli of the inclusion phase for which the effective tensor does not have infinities or become otherwise singular.We present applications of this result to the estimation of effective moduli and to homogenization theorems. The first application involves using complexanalytic methods to obtain rigorous and accurate bounds on the effective moduli of the high-contrast composites under consideration. We also discuss the variational estimates of Rubenfeld & Keller, which yield a complementary set of bounds on these moduli. The best bounds are given by a combination of the analytical and variational results. As a second application, we show that certain known theorems of homogenization for materials with holes are simple consequences of our main result, and in this connection we establish corresponding new theorems for materials with hard inclusions. While our rederivation of the homogenization theorems for materials with holes can be closely related to other known constructions, it appears that certain elements provided by our main result are essential in the proof of homogenization for the hard-inclusion case.