The mechanism for negative photochromism of spiropyran in silica

The mechanism for negative photochromism of spiropyran in silica was investigated. Prior to our study, the chemical origin of the high thermal stability of the photomerocyanine form (PMC‐form) dispersed in perhydropolysilazane (PHPS), which is converted to silica at ambient temperature, had been investigated. The high thermal stability of the PMC‐form is attributed to the protonated PMC‐form (H???PMC‐form), which is produced by intermolecular hydrogen bonding between oxide anions generated by the cleavage of the C ? O bonds and the partially uncondensed Si ? OH and O ? H bonds of silica. Furthermore, the H???PMC‐form could be thermally isomerized from the SP‐form without UV light irradiation. This specific phenomenon is caused by the so‐called negative photochromism. In this study, we proposed a mechanism for negative photochromism according to the relationship of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). The relationship between the HOMOs was determined using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). On the other hand, the relationship between the LUMOs was determined from the respective optical bandgap. As a result, the HOMO level of H???PMC‐form was ?6.1 eV and that of SP‐form was ?5.3 eV. Accordingly, the thermodynamic stabilization of H???PMC‐form was attributed to the thermal isomerization through negative photochromism from the SP‐form. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photoabsorption spectra of CF3I and thermally dissociated CF3I near the C 1s, I 3d and F 1s ionisation thresholds

We report soft X-ray total ion yield and angular-resolved ion yield spectra of CF₃I in the C 1s, I 3d and F 1s ionisation regions, and tentatively assign the observed electronic states. Anisotropy in ion yield is observed only for the C transition, indicating that the dipole moment for this transition is parallel to the C_3v. The effusive source of CF₃I is heated to 800 K to produce a mixture of CF₃ and I, and the resulting spectra are compared to those recorded at room temperature.     

Theoretical study of NMR relaxation due to rattling phonons

We calculate the NMR relaxation rate due to quadrupolar coupling of the nucleus to a local, strongly anharmonic phonon mode. As a model potential for a “rattling” motion we consider a square-well potential. We calculate the free phonon Green's function analytically and derive the low and high temperature limits of the NMR relaxation rate. It is shown that the temperature dependence of the NMR relaxation rate possesses a peak in contrast to harmonic phonons but in qualitative agreement with a recent NMR study on KOs₂O₆. We discuss the influence of phonon renormalization due to electron-phonon interaction.     

Quasi-Nambu-Goldstone modes in Bose-Einstein condensates

We show that quasi-Nambu-Goldstone (NG) modes, which play prominent roles in high energy physics but have been elusive experimentally, can be realized with atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. The quasi-NG modes emerge when the symmetry of a ground state is larger than that of the Hamiltonian. When they appear, the conventional vacuum manifold should be enlarged. Consequently, topological defects that are stable within the conventional vacuum manifold become unstable and decay by emitting the quasi-NG modes. Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, we show that the topological defects are stabilized by quantum fluctuations that make the quasi-NG modes massive, thereby suppressing their emission.     

Annihilation and creation of rotating waves by a local light pulse in a protoplasmic droplet of the Physarum plasmodium

Pattern dynamics plays a fundamental role in biological functions from cell to organ in living systems, and the appearance of rotating waves can lead to pathological situations. Basic dynamics of rotating waves of contraction-relaxation activity under local perturbation is studied in a newly developed protoplasmic droplet of the Physarum plasmodium. A light pulse is applied by irradiating circularly a quarter of the droplet showing a single rotating wave. The oscillation pattern changes abruptly only when the irradiation is applied at a part of the droplet near the maximal contraction. The abrupt changes are as follows: the rotating wave disappears or is displaced when the irradiation area is very close to the center of the rotating wave, while new rotating waves are created when the irradiation area is far from the center of the rotating wave. These results support the hypothesis that the phase response curve has a discontinuous change (type 0 resetting) from delay to advance around the maximal contraction. The significance of the results is discussed in relation to “vulnerability” in excitable media and biological systems in general.     

Bouncing behaviors of suspension liquid drops on a superhydrophobic surface

Abstract  

This paper reveals three patterns of bouncing behaviors of suspension drops containing calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) powder on a superhydrophobic surface with the aid of a high-speed camera. In transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation, the particles of CaCO₃ are shaped like sticks whose equivalent diameters are about 700 nm. Unlike a pure water drop, dense suspension drops cannot be pinched off at the bounce on the superhydrophobic surface due to a high effective viscosity, whereas the equilibrium contact angle appears to be almost identical in all kinds of droplets.     

Validity of retinal oxygen saturation analysis: Hyperspectral imaging in visible wavelength with fundus camera and liquid crystal wavelength tunable filter

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the feasibility of a newly developed hyperspectral fundus imaging camera with a liquid crystal tunable filter. The intensities of different wavelengths of light transmitted through an artery, vein, and the area surrounding these vessels and reflected out were measured, and the differential spectral absorptions were analyzed. Measurements were made from 16 normal eyes and from two artificial capillaries. The ratios of absorption (ROA) of arteries to veins from 500 to 580 nm (range 1) and from 600 to 720 nm (range 2) were calculated. For all eyes, the ROA_range1 was larger than ROA_range2. The ROA obtained from the artificial capillary filled with blood saturated with oxygen or nitrogen was similar to that of simulated data of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin extinction rate. Most ROAs of human eyes were lower than those of the simulated data and the artificial capillaries. Oxygen saturation analysis by hyperspectral fundus imaging of retinal vessels were qualitatively in agreement with thein vitro analysis or simulated values. However, further improvements are necessary to evaluate the oxygen saturation quantitatively in the retinal blood vessels.     

Zirconia-based planar NO2 sensor using ultrathin NiO or laminated NiO–Au sensing electrode

The nanostructured thin NiO films with the thicknesses of 30–180 nm were examined as a sensing electrode (SE) for the planar mixed-potential-type yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-based NO₂ sensor. The sensing characteristics were examined in the temperature range of 600–800 °C under the wet condition (5 vol.% water vapor). Among the NiO-SEs tested, the 60 nm-thick NiO-SE sintered at 1,000 °C was found to give the highest NO₂ sensitivity in the NO₂ concentration range of 50–400 ppm accompanying with fast response/recovery at the operating temperatures of 600–700 °C. The high NO₂ sensitivity was attributed to the high catalytic activity for both electrochemical reactions of O₂ and NO₂ at the interface of NiO-SE/YSZ. The ultrathin gold layer with the thickness of about 60 nm was additionally formed on the 60 nm-thick NiO-SE to fabricate the laminated-type (60 nm NiO/60 nm Au)-SE. It was demonstrated that the use of this laminated (NiO–Au)-SE improved both the sensitivity and the selectivity to NO₂.     

Staggered polarization of vertex models withU_q (\widehat{sl(}n))-Symmetry

In this paper we give an explicit formula for level 1 vertex operators related to as operators on the Fock spaces. We derive also their commutation relations. As an application we calculate with the vector representation of , thereby extending the recent work on the staggered polarization of the XXZ-model.