Photoinduced proton-coupled electron transfers in biorelevant phenolic systems

Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions have received much attention over the past 10 years, from an experimental as well as from a theoretical point of view. At the heart of many chemical and biological processes, such reactions are of particular interest in energy conversion and enzymatic processes. Among the numerous examples of PCET reactions, photosynthesis and particularly reactions inside the Photosystem II (PSII) subunit, involving a global four electrons and four protons process to perform water oxidation and respiration, is the most emblematic one. This review focuses on the photochemical approaches of PCET reactions involving phenolic molecules. Indeed, a significant part of photochemical PCET studies were conducted on tyrosine or phenol relevant to PSII and charge transport in enzymes. The mechanisms of these reactions, sequential or concerted, with particular emphasis on the influence of pH, temperature, solvent nature and H-bonding pattern are presented based on photochemical techniques and related theoretical analysis.     

Mathematical analysis of a scalar multidimensional conservation law with discontinuous flux

We deal in this paper with a scalar conservation law, set in a bounded multidimensional domain, and such that the convective term is discontinuous with respect to the space variable. First, we introduce a weak entropy formulation for the homogeneous Dirichlet problem associated with the first-order reaction-convection equation that we consider. Then, we establish an existence and uniqueness property for the weak entropy solution. The method of doubling variables and a pointwise reasoning along the curve of discontinuity are used to state uniqueness. Finally, the vanishing viscosity method allows us to prove the existence result. Another method to obtain the existence of a solution, which relies on the regularization of the flux, is also detailled, at least for a particular case.     

Solving coloring, minimum clique cover and kernel problems on arc intersection graphs of directed paths on a tree

Let T = (V, A) be a directed tree. Given a collection P{\mathcal{P}} of dipaths on T, we can look at the arc-intersection graph I(P,T){I(\mathcal{P},T)} whose vertex set is P{\mathcal{P}} and where two vertices are connected by an edge if the corresponding dipaths share a common arc. Monma and Wei, who started their study in a seminal paper on intersection graphs of paths on a tree, called them DE graphs (for directed edge path graphs) and proved that they are perfect. DE graphs find one of their applications in the context of optical networks. For instance, assigning wavelengths to set of dipaths in a directed tree network consists in finding a proper coloring of the arc-intersection graph. In the present paper, we give

Linearly implicit methods for nonlinear PDEs with linear dispersion and dissipation

The linear stability of IMEX (IMplicit–EXplicit) methods and exponential integrators for stiff systems of ODEs arising in the discrete solution of PDEs is examined for nonlinear PDEs with both linear dispersion and dissipation, and a clear method of visualization of the linear stability regions is proposed. Predictions are made based on these visualizations and are supported by a series of experiments on five PDEs including quasigeostrophic equations and stratified Boussinesq equations. The experiments, involving 24 IMEX and exponential methods of third and fourth order, confirm the predictions of the linear stability analysis, that the methods are typically limited by small eigenvalues of the linear term and by eigenvalues on or near the imaginary axis rather than by large eigenvalues near the negative real axis. The experiments also demonstrate that IMEX methods achieve comparable stability to exponential methods, and that exponential methods are significantly more accurate only when the problem is nearly linear. Novel IMEX predictor–corrector methods are also derived.     

Shape transition in artificial tumors: from smooth buckles to singular creases

Using swelling hydrogels, we study the evolution of a thin circular artificial tumor whose growth is confined at the periphery. When the volume of the outer proliferative ring increases, the tumor loses its initial symmetry and bifurcates towards an oscillatory shape. Depending on the geometrical and elastic parameters, we observe either a smooth large-wavelength undulation of the swelling layer or the formation of sharp creases at the free boundary. Our experimental results as well as previous observations from other studies are in very good agreement with a nonlinear poroelastic model.     

Inhibition, enhancement, and control of spontaneous emission in photonic nanowires

We experimentally investigate the spontaneous emission (SE) rates of single InAs quantum dots embedded in GaAs photonic nanowires. For a diameter leading to the optimal confinement of the fundamental guided mode HE11, the coupling to HE11 dominates the SE process and an increase of the SE rate by a factor of 1.5 is achieved. When the diameter is decreased, the coupling to this mode vanishes rapidly, thus allowing the coupling to the other radiation modes to be probed. In these conditions, a SE inhibition factor of 16, equivalent to the one obtained in state-of-the-art photonic crystals, is measured. These results, which are supported by fully vectorial calculations, confirm the potential of photonic nanowires for a nearly perfect, broadband SE control.     

Building designed granular towers one drop at a time

A dense granular suspension dripping on an imbibing surface is observed to give rise to slender mechanically stable structures that we call granular towers. Successive drops of grain-liquid mixtures are shown to solidify rapidly upon contact with a liquid absorbing substrate. A balance of excess liquid flux and drainage rate is found to capture the typical growth and height of the towers. The tower width is captured by the Weber number, which gives the relative importance of inertia and capillary forces. Various symmetric, smooth, corrugated, zigzag, and chiral structures are observed by varying the impact velocity and the flux rate from droplet to jetting regime.     

Controlling the transmission of ultrahigh frequency bulk acoustic waves in silicon by 45° mirrors

In this paper, we present a feasible microsystem in which the direction of localized ultrahigh frequency (∼1 GHz) bulk acoustic wave can be controlled in a silicon wafer. Deep etching technology on the silicon wafer makes it possible to achieve high aspect ratio etching patterns which can be used to control bulk acoustic wave to transmit in the directions parallel to the surface of the silicon wafer. Passive 45° mirror planes obtained by wet chemical etching were employed to reflect the bulk acoustic wave. Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film transducers were deposited by radio frequency sputtering with a thickness of about 1 μm on the other side of the wafer, which act as emitter/receptor after aligned with the mirrors. Two opponent vertical mirrors were inserted between the 45° mirrors to guide the transmission of the acoustic waves. The propagation of the bulk acoustic wave was studied with simulations and the characterization of S₂₁ scattering parameters, indicating that the mirrors were efficient to guide bulk acoustic waves in the silicon wafer.     

Single resonance monolithic Fabry-Perot filters formed by volume Bragg gratings and multilayer dielectric mirrors

A new class of Fabry-Perot filters produced by a multilayer dielectric mirror deposited on top of a reflecting volume Bragg grating is described. The first fabricated prototype for the 852 nm region demonstrates a 30 pm bandwidth, 90+% transmission at resonance, and a good agreement with theoretical simulation.     

Fluoride glass Raman fiber laser at 2185 nm

We report on the first Raman laser based on a fluoride glass optical fiber. The Raman fiber laser was pumped by a 9.6?WTm3+:silica CW fiber laser operating at a wavelength of 1940?nm. A maximum output power of 580?mW was measured at 2185.1?nm, corresponding to a frequency shift of 579?cm(-1) (17.37?THz). We observed a threshold power of 3.8?W and a low power slope efficiency of 29% with respect to the launched pump power. Using those results and the known fiber parameters, we estimated a Raman gain peak value of 3.52*10(-14)?m/W, which is lower than the previously reported values.