Regularization of reaction progress variable for application to flamelet-based combustion models

Many combustion models that are based on the flamelet paradigm employ a reaction progress variable. While such a progress variable is well defined for one-step reaction kinetics, this is typically not the case for complex chemical mechanisms. Consequently, several expressions for a progress variable have been utilized. In this paper a formal method for the generation of a reaction progress variable is proposed that is optimal with respect to a set of constraints. The potential of the method is demonstrated in applications to partially premixed and diffusion flames, and the extension to premixed combustion is discussed. It is shown that the proposed method can lead to significant improvements in the definition of an optimal progress variable over conventional formulations, essentially eliminating the expert knowledge previously required in identifying such quantities.     

Monstrous Branes

 We study D-branes in the bosonic closed string theory whose automorphism group is the Bimonster group (the wreath product of the Monster simple group with ℤ₂). We give a complete classification of D-branes preserving the chiral subalgebra of Monster invariants and show that they transform in a representation of the Bimonster. Our results apply more generally to self-dual conformal field theories which admit the action of a compact Lie group on both the left- and right-moving sectors. Received: 20 February 2002 / Accepted: 17 August 2002 Published online: 19 December 2002 Communicated by R.H. Dijkgraaf     

Preserving the half-metallicity at the Heusler alloy Co2MnSi(001) surface: a density functional theory study

We have studied the stability, the electronic, and the magnetic properties of Co2MnSi(001) thin films for 15 different terminations using density functional theory calculations. The phase diagram obtained by ab initio atomistic thermodynamics shows that in practice the MnSi, pure Mn, or pure Si terminated surfaces can be stabilized under suitable conditions. Analyzing the surface band structure, we find that the pure Mn termination, due to its strong surface-subsurface coupling, preserves the half-metallicity of the system, while surface states appear for the other terminations.     

Highly stretched single polymers: atomic-force-microscope experiments versus ab-initio theory

Experimental single-molecule stretching curves for three backbone architectures (single-stranded DNA, various types of peptides, polyvinylamine) are quantitatively compared with corresponding quantum-chemical (zero-temperature) ab-initio calculations in the high-force range of up to two nanonewtons. For high forces, quantitative agreement is obtained with the contour length of the polymers as the only fitting parameter. For smaller forces, the effects of chain fluctuations are accounted for by using recent theoretical results for the stretching response of a freely-rotating-chain model.     

Converged properties of clean metal surfaces by all-electron first-principles calculations

All-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave calculations of the surface energy, work function, and interlayer spacings of close-packed metal surfaces are presented, in particular, for the free-electron-like metal surfaces, Mg(0 0 0 1) and Al(1 1 1), and for the transition metal surfaces, Ti(0 0 0 1), Cu(1 1 1), Pd(1 1 1), and Pt(1 1 1). We investigate the convergence of the surface energy as a function of the number of layers in the slab, using the Cu(1 1 1) surface as an example. The results show that the surface energy, as obtained using total energies of the slab and bulk from separate calculations, converges well with respect to the number of layers in the slab. Obviously, it is necessary that bulk and surface calculations are performed with the same high accuracy. Furthermore, we discuss the performance of the local-density and generalized gradient approximations for the exchange-correlation functional in describing the various surface properties.     

State tomography of capacitively shunted phase qubits with high fidelity

We introduce a new design concept for superconducting phase quantum bits (qubits) in which we explicitly separate the capacitive element from the Josephson tunnel junction for improved qubit performance. The number of two-level systems that couple to the qubit is thereby reduced by an order of magnitude and the measurement fidelity improves to 90%. This improved design enables the first demonstration of quantum state tomography with superconducting qubits using single-shot measurements.     

Accurate measurement of one-bond H-X heteronuclear dipolar couplings in MAS solid-state NMR

The accurate experimental determination of dipolar-coupling constants for one-bond heteronuclear dipolar couplings in solids is a key for the quantification of the amplitudes of motional processes. Averaging of the dipolar coupling reports on motions on time scales up to the inverse of the coupling constant, in our case tens of microseconds. Combining dipolar-coupling derived order parameters that characterize the amplitudes of the motion with relaxation data leads to a more precise characterization of the dynamical parameters and helps to disentangle the amplitudes and the time scales of the motional processes, which impact relaxation rates in a highly correlated way. Here. we describe and characterize an improved experimental protocol--based on REDOR--to measure these couplings in perdeuterated proteins with a reduced sensitivity to experimental missettings. Because such effects are presently the dominant source of systematic errors in experimental dipolar-coupling measurements, these compensated experiments should help to significantly improve the precision of such data. A detailed comparison with other commonly used pulse sequences (T-MREV, phase-inverted CP, R18(2)(5), and R18(1)(7)) is provided.     

Characterization of an actively linearized ultrabroadband chirped laser with a fiber-laser optical frequency comb

The optical frequency sweep of an actively linearized, ultrabroadband, chirped laser source is characterized through optical heterodyne detection against a fiber-laser frequency comb. Frequency sweeps were measured over approximately 5 THz bandwidths from 1530 nm to 1570 nm. The dominant deviation from linearity resulted from the nonzero dispersion of the fiber delay used as a reference for the sweep linearization. Removing the low-order dispersion effects, the residual sweep nonlinearity was less than 60 kHz rms, corresponding to a constant chirp with less than 15 ppb deviation across the 5 THz sweep.     

Charge-density-wave phase of 1T-TiSe2: the influence of conduction band population

The charge-density-wave phase of TiSe(2) was studied by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and resistivity measurements investigating the influence of the band gap size and of a varying population of the conduction band. A gradual suppression of the charge-density-wave-induced electronic superstructure is observed for a variation of the band gap in the ternary compounds TiC(x)Se(2-x) with C=(S,Te) as well as for an occupation of only the conduction band by H(2)O adsorption-induced band bending. These observations point to an optimum band gap and support an excitonic driving force for the charge-density wave.     

Test by NMR of the phase coherence of electromagnetically induced transparency

Electromagnetically induced transparency is an effect observed in atomic systems, originating from quantum interference, in which electromagnetic transitions to and from a certain quantum state become suppressed. This dark state is also characterized by a quantum phase, relative to other states, which theoretically should stop evolving, but remain phase coherent, during transparency. We test this theoretical prediction using techniques developed for liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computation, applied to a spin-7/2 nuclear spin system. A sequence of quantum operations is applied to create the dark state, and during transparency its phase evolution is measured relative to a reference state using Ramsey interferometry. Experimental measurements of the fringe visibility are in excellent agreement with theoretical expectations, taking into account measured decoherence rates.