Application of N,N‐bis(diphenylphosphino)aniline palladium(II) complexes as pre‐catalysts in Heck coupling reactions

Palladium(II) complexes with N,N‐bis(diphenylphosphino)aniline ligands catalyse the Heck reaction between styrene and aryl bromides, affording stilbenes in good yield. The structures of two of the complexes used as pre‐catalysts have been determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure of norbornene-fused 3,1-oxazine double cycloadducts

Pentacyclic isoxazolines were obtained by the cycloaddition of benzonitrile oxide to norbornene-azetidinone-fused 3,1-oxazines. The constitutions of two of the isomers obtained, and the configurations and conformations of all products, were determined by means of ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and DNOE experiments.     

Discontinuous travelling wave solutions for certain hyperbolic systems

In an earlier paper on a malignant cell invasion model (Marchantet al., SIAM J. Appl. Math, 60, 2000) we introduced a novelform of discontinuous travelling wave solution. These solutionscould be studied easily by combining behaviour within a phaseplane with the Rankine–Hugoniot shock conditions, whichdescribe properties (such as the ratio of the jump discontinuitiesto the speed of propagation) that solutions may possess. Theseresults were new for several reasons. The shock conditions relateto hyperbolic equations (which the model is) but were appliedin a travelling wave ordinary differential equation phase planeusing techniques that usually apply to parabolic reaction–diffusionsystems. In addition the solutions possess singular behaviournear several points in the phase plane but in spite of thisthere exists a robust and stable family of physically interestingsolutions. In this paper we discuss two previously studied models, oneof detonation theory and one of angiogenesis. We show that eachof these models also possesses a family of discontinuous travellingwave solutions which was not previously discovered. Of particularinterest is the solution which has a blunt interface at thefront of the invading profile. In all three models it is thissolution that is seen to stably evolve from physically relevantinitial data, and for physically relevant parameter values. This work confirms the robustness of these novel travellingwave solutions and their applicability to a wider range of mathematicalmodelling situations.     

A critical review of the chemical kinetics of SF4, SF5, and S2F10 in the gas phase

The gas phase chemical kinetics of SF₄, SF₅, and S₂F₁₀ are reviewed with particular emphasis on relevance to the general problem of the dielectric breakdown of SF₆. Specific reaction systems treated are SF₄ + F₂, SF₅ + SF₅, and the pyrolysis of S₂F₁₀. Computer modeling calculations were carried out to arrive at the best estimates of rate parameters. Based on the results of these calculations, sets of recommended rate parameters are provided. The major discrepancies and problems in establishing the kinetic data base are described. Thermochemical consequences of different model calculations are given.     

Phasing of three vircators simulated in terms of coupled van der Pol oscillators

Phase synchronization in a system of three virtual-cathode microwave oscillators (vircators) simulated by coupled van der Pol oscillators is studied. The phasing dynamics of the vircators is visualized with the phase portraits of the system in the triangular coordinates. Different phasing conditions are found.     

Fundamental aspects of initiated oxidation of tridecane and polyethylene in solutions

Specific features of the initiated oxidation of polyethylene and its low-molecular-weight analogue tridecane, associated with the occurrence of the process in the short-chain mode, were studied.     

Cosmic γ-ray bursts: Observations and modeling

It is now commonly accepted that cosmic γ-ray bursts (GRBs) are of cosmological origin. This conclusion is based on the statistical analysis of GRBs and the measurements of line redshifts in GRB optical afterglows, i.e., in the so-called long GRBs. In this review, the models of radiation and models of GRB sources are considered. In most of these models, if not in all of them, the isotropic radiation cannot provide the energy release necessary for the appearance of a cosmological GRB. No correlation is noted between the redshift, the GRB-spectrum shape, and the total detected energy. The comparison between data obtained in the Soviet experiment KONUS and the American experiment BATSE shows that they substantially differ in statistical properties and the detection of hard x-ray lines. The investigation of hard gamma (0.1–10 GeV) afterglows, the measurement of prompt optical spectra during the GRB detection, and the further investigation of hard x-ray lines is of obvious importance for gaining insight into the GRB origin. Observations of two bright optical GRB afterglows point to the fact that an initially bright optical flare is directly related to the GRB itself, and the subsequent weak and much more continuous optical radiation is of a different nature. The results of observations of optical GRB afterglows are discussed. They point to the fact that the GRBs originate in distant galaxies with a high matter density, where intense star formation takes place. The interaction of the cosmological GRB radiation with a dense surrounding molecular cloud results in the appearance of long-duration (up to 10 years) weak optical afterglows associated with the heating and reradiation of gas. Results of 2D numerical simulation of the heating and reradiation of gas in various variants of the relative disposition of GRB and molecular clouds are presented. In conclusion, the possible relation between the so-called short GRBs and recurrent sources of soft γ rays in our Galaxy, the so-called “soft gamma repeaters,” is discussed.