Piles de mesure àélectrolyte solide utilisant une ou deux électrodes ponctuelles en régime transitoire: I. Application à la mesure des enthalpies libres standards d'oxydation des métaux purs

The point electrode is a metal point touching a solid electrolyte (calcia stabilized zirconia), in an atmosphere with a controlled oxygen partial pressure. The system is equipped with an oxygen pump mounted before the cell, which is electronically controlled and attains 10^?20 atm O₂. The potential-time curves of the depolarisation of the point electrode permits a dynamic study of the oxidation of the metal, or of the reduction of its oxide. The point electrode has a very small inertia; the steps on the potential-time curves, even when strongly inclined, can be used to determine the standard free enthalpies of oxidation of pure metals. The measuring cell can be equipped, either with one point electrode associated with a reference electrode at a stable potential, or with two point electrodes placed side by side without any separation. The results obtained for the systems $\text{Cu}\text{Cu}{}_2\text{O}$ and $\text{Co}\text{CoO}$ serve as applications.     

Study of silica-supported heteropoly acids by microcalorimetry

Silica-supported heteropoly acids have been studied by microcalorimetry. The results are greatly dependent on both the activation temperature and the heteropoly acid, in agreement with the n-hexane cracking experiments. It is shown that very strong acid sites are formed on H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀/SiO₂ activated at 623 K and on H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/SiO₂ activated at 423 K.     

Yrast levels of 220Ra populated in the 208Pb(14C, 2n) reaction

Yrast states in the nucleus ²²⁰Ra were studied by means of the ²⁰⁸Pb(¹⁴C, 2n) reaction at 61 and 64 MeV. A staggering sequence of levels of positive and negative parity has been observed up to spin and parity I^π = 16⁺ (18 ⁺) and from I^π = 5^? to I^π = 17^?, respectively. These states are connected by strong E1 transitions competing with the stretched E2 transitions, the $\text{B(}\text{E}\text{1)}\text{B(}\text{E}\text{2)}$ ratio being ~ 10 ^?6 fm^?2. The ratio of the excitation energy of the 4⁺ state to that of the 2⁺ state is close to the vibrational limit. The moment of inertia associated with the negative-parity yrast states is slightly increasing with the rotational frequency ω. It is considerably higher than that of the positive-parity states at lower spins, the difference decreasing monotonically with increasing ω. The data are discussed with reference to the octupole vibrational picture as well as to the results of recent models predicting reflection-asymmetric shapes in the Ra-Th region.     

Almost simple groups of Suzuki type acting on polytopes

Let , with an odd power of two. For each almost simple group such that , we prove that is not a C-group and therefore is not the automorphism group of an abstract regular polytope. For , we show that there is always at least one abstract regular polytope such that . Moreover, if is an abstract regular polytope such that , then is a polyhedron.

     

Early out-of-equilibrium beam-plasma evolution

We solve analytically the out-of-equilibrium initial stage that follows the injection of a radially finite electron beam into a plasma at rest and test it against particle-in-cell simulations. For initial large beam edge gradients and not too large beam radius, compared to the electron skin depth, the electron beam is shown to evolve into a ring structure. For low enough transverse temperatures, the filamentation instability eventually proceeds and saturates when transverse isotropy is reached. The analysis accounts for the variety of very recent experimental beam transverse observations.     

High-throughput screening and optimization of photoembossed relief structures

A methodology for the rapid design, screening, and optimization of coating systems with surface relief structures, using a combination of statistical experimental design, high-throughput experimentation, data mining, and graphical and mathematical optimization routines was developed. The methodology was applied to photopolymers used in photoembossing applications. A library of 72 films was prepared by dispensing a given amount of sample onto a chemically patterned substrate consisting of hydrophilic areas separated by fluorinated hydrophobic barriers. Film composition and film processing conditions were determined using statistical experimental design. The surface topology of the films was characterized by automated AFM. Subsequently, models explaining the dependence of surface topologies on sample composition and processing parameters were developed and used for screening a virtual 4000-membered in silico library of photopolymer lacquers. Simple graphical optimization or Pareto algorithms were subsequently used to find an ensemble of formulations, which were optimal with respect to a predefined set of properties, such as aspect ratio and shape of the relief structures.     

Generalizing minimal supergravity

In Grand Unified Theories (GUTs), the Standard Model (SM) gauge couplings need not be unified at the GUT scale due to the high-dimensional operators. Considering gravity mediated supersymmetry breaking, we study for the first time the generic gauge coupling relations at the GUT scale, and the general gaugino mass relations which are valid from the GUT scale to the electroweak scale at one loop. We define the index k   for these relations, which can be calculated in GUTs and can be determined at the Large Hadron Collider and the future International Linear Collider. Thus, we give a concrete definition of the GUT scale in these theories, and suggest a new way to test general GUTs at future experiments. We also discuss five special scenarios with interesting possibilities. With our generic formulae, we present all the GUT-scale gauge coupling relations and all the gaugino mass relations in the SU(5)$\mathit{SU}(5)$ and SO(10)$\mathit{SO}(10)$ models, and calculate the corresponding indices k. Especially, the index k   is 5/3 in the traditional SU(5)$\mathit{SU}(5)$ and SO(10)$\mathit{SO}(10)$ models that have been studied extensively so far. Furthermore, we discuss the field theory realization of the U(1)$U(1)$ flux effects on the SM gauge kinetic functions in F-theory GUTs, and calculate their indices k as well.     

Comments on ultra-high-energy photons and D-foam models

We revisit the constraints that the non-observation of ultra-high-energy photons due to the GZK cutoff can impose on models of Lorentz violation in photon propagation, following recent work by Maccione, Liberati and Sigl (2010) [arXiv:1003.5468] that carries further an earlier analysis by the present authors [J. Ellis et al., Phys. Rev. D 63 (2001) 12402, hep-th/0012216]. We argue that the GZK cutoff constraint is naturally evaded in the D-brane model of space–time foam presented recently by the present authors [J. Ellis et al., Phys. Lett. B 665 (2008) 412, arXiv:0804.3566], in which Lorentz-violating effects on photon propagation are independent of possible effects during interactions. We also note a novel absorption mechanism that could provide a GZK-like cutoff for photons in low-scale string models.     

Highly efficient synthesis and solid-state characterization of 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(alkyl- and arylamino)benzenes and cyclization to their respective benzobis(imidazolium) salts

[reaction: see text] New synthetic methodology to a variety of 1,2,4,5-tetraaminobenzenes and their corresponding benzobis(imidazolium) salts has been accomplished. Palladium-catalyzed coupling of various 1,2,4,5-tetrabromo- or 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzenes with aryl- or tert-alkylamines afforded the respective tetrakis(N-substituted)aminobenzenes in excellent yields. This enabled comparative solid-state structural analyses of this elusive class of electron-rich arenes with their oxidized derivatives. The tetraamines were found to undergo formylative cyclization to the corresponding benzobis(imidazolium) salts in good to excellent yields.     

Non-sequential effects in the decay of resonant states

Fano and Prats' treatment of continuum-continuum interaction is used to study the time-dependent behaviour of a system initially in a discrete state coupled to a continuum which is itself coupled to another continuum. This level scheme represents a limiting case in a model which is currently used in the theory of molecular processes, the opposite limit being the sequential scheme which leads to chain-like rate equations. A very different behaviour is obtained in the two limits. In contrast with the results of the sequential model the continuum-continuum coupling produces a change (a decrease) in the decay rate of the discrete state. The two continua are populated in parallel. The calculations provide an explicit example of the influence of higher order terms on a rate constant, a problem which has received attention recently in relation to the evaluation of non-radiative transition rates using approximate molecular wave functions.