Solid-state NMR as an analytical tool: quantitative aspects

Analytical methods based on solid-state NMR are becoming increasingly popular. However, these flourishing activities bring up the issue of how accurately NMR can assess an analyte proportion in a solid sample. The use of a chemical intensity reference for this purpose is a natural but often unsuitable choice, due to sample stability or preciousness. We propose here a protocol to perform quantitative measurements in solid-state NMR, by calibration of the circuit response through a low-power pulse injected during the acquisition (the so-called ERETIC method). Although this method has been in use for some time in liquid-phase and in vivo NMR, we point out here some peculiarities and useful applications typical of solids. Namely, the temperature dependence of the signal intensity imposes care in the application to MAS experiments.     

Multiband diffraction and refraction control in binary arrays of periodically curved waveguides

The possibility of controlling discrete diffraction and refraction in a multiband waveguide array by periodic waveguide bending is theoretically demonstrated. Resonance effects, leading to the enhancement or inhibition of discrete diffraction, are found and related to the quantum analog of field-induced n-photon resonances in semiconductor superlattices. A very distinct behavior for light refraction is found for odd or even resonances. In particular, for even resonances, the two-band behavior of the straight binary array is quenched, resulting in the inhibition of double refraction.     

Hyperboloid,instanton, oscillator

We suggest the exactly solvable model of the oscillator on a four-dimensional hyperboloid which interacts with a SU(2)$\mathit{SU}(2)$ instanton. We calculate its wavefunctions and spectrum.     

DRIFTS study of surface reactivity to NO2 by zinc nanoparticle aggregates and zinc hollow nanofibers

Zinc nanostructures synthesized with different morphologies from the same evaporation/condensation technique are studied with concern to surface reactivity to NO₂ by Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transformed Spectroscopy (DRIFTS). Synthesis of nanopowders is obtained, according to previous work, by gas flow thermal evaporation at 540 °C of bulk Zn grains. Two types of Zn powders are obtained and studied in experiments. The first one is collected on the cold walls of the reactor as a deposit produced by thermophoretic effect. It is constituted by grains (∼10 μm) originated by the stratification of smaller aggregates (∼200 nm) and isolated primary particles (∼50 nm) born in the gas flow. The second type of powder is grown from the condensation of Zn chemical vapors within the expansion orifice of the quartz reactor after relatively long time (∼1 h) deposition process. It is constituted mainly by hollow Zn nanofibers with external and internal diameter about 100 and 60 nm. Preliminary characterization of the two types of powders is made by SEM, TEM, XRD. Thereafter, the two types of samples are studied by DRIFTS at variable temperature (VT). Comparison is made between the home-synthesized nanopowders with respect to commercial Zn standard dust. The Zn hollow nanofibers when exposed to NO₂ are found to exhibit dramatic reactivity, which is not observed at all either in the case of clustered aggregate zinc or of commercial Zn dust powders. Results indicate that, at increasing temperature from RT to 300 °C, the hollow nanofibers surface reacts distinctively with adsorbant gas NO₂, with contemporary formation of a progressively growing narrow absorption band at 2500 cm⁻¹ and contemporary depression of a doublet (∼1600-1628 cm⁻¹) band. In order to justify this striking spectral feature, we propose the occurring of a possible polymerization process at nanofibers surface where most probably as a consequence of pre-treatment and exposure to gas NO₂ a very thin film of ZnO is formed. The possible role of huge specific surface of hollow nanofibers as inferred by preliminary SEM, TEM, XRD studies is discussed.     

Finite element modeling of a microparticle manipulator

The contactless movement of microparticles and cells to known locations within a fluid volume is of interest in the fields of microtechnology and life sciences. A device which can position such inhomogeneities suspended in a fluid at multiple locations is described and modeled. The device consists of a thin fluid layer contained in a channel etched into a silicon wafer. Waves are excited by a macro-piezoelectric plate with electrodes on the top and bottom surfaces and, as a result, waves propagate into the adjacent fluid. The result is a pressure field throughout the fluidic volume. When an inhomogeneity in a fluid is exposed to an ultrasonic field the acoustic radiation force results; this is found by integrating the pressure over the surface of the particle, retaining second order terms, and taking the time average. Thus, due to the presence of a pressure field in the fluid in which the particles are suspended, a force field is created. The particles are then collected at the locations of the force potential minima. In the device described here, the force field is used to position particles into lines. The locations of the particles are predicted by using a finite element model of the system. The experimental and modeling results, presented here, are in good agreement.     

Quaternions for GUTs

We derive an appropriate definition of transpose for quaternionic matrices and give a new panoramic review of the quaternionic groups. We aim to analyze possible quaternionic groups for GUTs.     

Comment on quarks and gluons at small x and the SDIS factorization scheme

I present some comments on the partonic interpretation of the HERA data on the proton structure function. The effects of the resummation of the leading and next-to-leading ln x-contributions are discussed. A new factorization scheme, in which these resummation effects are absorbed into a steep redefinition of the gluon density, is introduced and its (possible) interpretation and phenomenological relevance are suggested.     

Randomness versus nonlocality and entanglement

The outcomes obtained in Bell tests involving two-outcome measurements on two subsystems can, in principle, generate up to 2?bits of randomness. However, the maximal violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality guarantees the generation of only 1.23?bits of randomness. We prove here that quantum correlations with arbitrarily little nonlocality and states with arbitrarily little entanglement can be used to certify that close to the maximum of 2?bits of randomness are produced. Our results show that nonlocality, entanglement, and randomness are inequivalent quantities. They also imply that device-independent quantum key distribution with an optimal key generation rate is possible by using almost-local correlations and that device-independent randomness generation with an optimal rate is possible with almost-local correlations and with almost-unentangled states.