Pump−probe experiments at the TEMPO beamline using the low‐α operation mode of Synchrotron SOLEIL

The SOLEIL synchrotron radiation source is regularly operated in special filling modes dedicated to pump–probe experiments. Among others, the low‐α mode operation is characterized by shorter pulse duration and represents the natural bridge between 50 ps synchrotron pulses and femtosecond experiments. Here, the capabilities in low‐α mode of the experimental set‐ups developed at the TEMPO beamline to perform pump–probe experiments with soft X‐rays based on photoelectron or photon detection are presented. A 282 kHz repetition‐rate femtosecond laser is synchronized with the synchrotron radiation time structure to induce fast electronic and/or magnetic excitations. Detection is performed using a two‐dimensional space resolution plus time resolution detector based on microchannel plates equipped with a delay line. Results of time‐resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, circular dichroism and magnetic scattering experiments are reported, and their respective advantages and limitations in the framework of high‐time‐resolution pump–probe experiments compared and discussed.     

Electron microscopy characterization of nanostructured carbon obtained from chlorination of metallocenes and metal carbides

In this work we report some new well-defined carbon nanostructures produced by direct chlorination of metallocenes (ferrocene and cobaltocene) and NbC, at temperatures from 100 to 900 degrees C. Thus, amorphous carbon nanotubes with variable dimensions depending on reaction temperature were produced from ferrocene. When cobaltocene is the carbon precursor the main product are solid amorphous nanospheres. The high refractory metal carbide NbC as carbon source favours the growth of nanospherical cabbage-like particles with a higher degree of graphene sheets order. Besides, NbC crystallites encapsulated in an amorphous carbon shell were also found at lower temperatures (T< or =700 degrees C).     

Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy: A Powerful Technique to Directly Study Small Gas Molecules Adsorbed in Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown great potential in gas separation and storage, and the design of MOFs for these purposes is an on-going field of research. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) spectroscopy is a valuable technique for characterizing these functional materials. It can provide a wide range of structural and motional insights that are complementary to and/or difficult to access with alternative methods. In this Concept article, the recent advances made in SSNMR investigations of small gas molecules (i.e., carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen gas and light hydrocarbons) adsorbed in MOFs are discussed. These studies demonstrate the breadth of information that can be obtained by SSNMR spectroscopy, such as the number and location of guest adsorption sites, host–guest binding strengths and guest mobility. The knowledge acquired from these experiments yields a powerful tool for progress in MOF development.     

On Electrostatics,Covalency, and Chemical Dashes: Physical Interactions versus Chemical Bonds

The increasing availability of real-space interaction energies between quantum atoms or fragments that provide a chemically intuitive decomposition of intrinsic bond energies into electrostatic and covalent terms [see, for instance, Chem. Eur. J. 2018 , 24, 9101] provides evidence for differences between the physicist's concept of interaction and the chemist's concept of a bond. Herein, it is argued that, for the former, all types of interactions are treated equally, whereas, for the latter, only the covalent short-range interactions have actually been used to build intuition about chemical graphs and chemical bonds. This has led to the bonding role of long-range Coulombic terms in molecular chemistry being overlooked. Simultaneously, blind consideration of electrostatic terms in chemical bonding parlance may lead to confusion. The relationship between these concepts is examined herein, and some notes of caution on how to merge them are proposed.     

A numerical approach on hybrid nanofluid behavior in laminar duct flow with various cross sections

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this paper, a three-dimensional analysis is used to study the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in ducts with various cross-sectional...     

Factorization and reflexivity on Fock spaces

The framework of the paper is that of the full Fock space and the Banach algebraF which can be viewed as non-commutative analogues of the Hardy spacesH ² andH respectively.An inner-outer factorization for any element in as well as characterization of invertible elements inF are obtained. We also give a complete characterization of invariant subspaces for the left creation operatorsS ₁ ,..., S _n of . This enables us to show that every weakly (strongly) closed unital subalgebra of {(S ₁ ,..., S _n ) F } is reflexive, extending in this way the classical result of Sarason [S]. Some properties of inner and outer functions and many examples are also considered.The first author was supported in part by NSF DMS 93-21369 1991Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 47D25, Secondary 32A35, 47A67.     

Algorithm for the Semigroup of a Space Curve Singularity

The semigroup of values of irreducible space curve singularities is the set of intersection multiplicities among hypersurfaces and the given curve. It is an invariant of the singularity, and for plane curves it characterizes the equisingularity type considered by Zariski. For space curve singularities the semigroup of values is a numerical semigroup and it can not be computed by means of the exponents of any Puiseux parametrization, as in the plane case. We obtain an algorithm for calculating the semigroup of values of a space curve singularity, which determines the generators of the semigroup and the valuation ideals associated with the semigroup. We give a Maple version of the algorithm.     

Separating the solution sets of analytical and polynomial systems

A linear inequality system with infinitely many constraints is polynomial (analytical) if its index set is a compact interval of the real line and all its coefficients are polynomial (analytical, respectively) functions of the index on this interval. This paper provides an example of analytical system whose solution set cannot be the solution set of any polynomial system. Research supported by DGES of Spain and FEDER of UE, Grant BFM2002-04114-C02-01. Research supported by CONACyT of Mexico, Grant 130036. Research partially supported by CONACyT of Mexico, Grant 44003.     

Determination of strain and stress distribution on shearwalls by using the speckle photography technique

Speckle photography (SP) is a powerful tool that is adequate to determine small displacements in micrometer range. This information shows other characteristics of structure deformation under loads and can be determined as stress and strain distribution. In this paper we present the results of the application of the SP technique used to study the behaviour of discontinuities in a shearwall model. These structural elements are very important to the stability of buildings. The displacement whole field around the discontinuities and loading points was determined using the pointwise method. This allows us to determine stress distribution at the point of interest by means of the suitable equations. We also present the stress distribution obtained through the finite element method in order to compare the results obtained by means of these two techniques. Good correspondence was found between the displacements determined by both techniques (r=0.982) and also between the stress values we obtained.     

Noncommutative Jordan C*-algebras

We introduce noncommutative JB*-algebras which generalize both B*-algebras and JB*-algebras and set up the bases for a representation theory of noncommutative JB*-algebras. To this end we define noncommutative JB*-factors and study the factor representations of a noncommutative JB*-algebra. The particular case of alternative B*-factors is discussed in detail and a Gelfand-Naimark theorem for alternative B*-algebras is given.