Activation energies and structural changes in carbon nanotubes during different acid treatments

In this work, we studied the effect of acid type in the final properties of CNTs as the resistance to air oxidation; for this, different techniques of characterization were used such as Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and chemical analysis by ICP-AES. Through Raman spectroscopy, it is possible to monitor the structural changes induced by acids and this is reflected in changing of the activation energies for the different processes determined by thermogravimetric analysis; also by ICP-AES analysis, it was shown that the inorganic material was eliminated efficiently with the acid treatments used in this study.     

CO Oxidation Catalytic Effects of Intrinsic Surface Defects in Rhombohedral LaMnO3

There is an ongoing effort to replace rare and expensive noble-element catalysts with more abundant and less expensive transition metal oxides. With this goal in mind, the intrinsic defects of a rhombohedral perovskite-like structure of LaMnO₃ and their implications on CO catalytic properties were studied. Surface thermodynamic stability as a function of pressure (P) and temperature (T) were calculated to find the most stable surface under reaction conditions (P=0.2 atm, T=323 K to 673 K). Crystallographic planes (100), (111), (110), and (211) were evaluated and it was found that (110) with MnO₂ termination was the most stable under reaction conditions. Adsorption energies of O₂ and CO on (110) as well as the effect of intrinsic defects such as Mn and O vacancies were also calculated. It was found that O vacancies favor the interaction of CO on the surface, whereas Mn vacancies can favor the formation of carbonate species.     

Magnetic anisotropies of late transition metal atomic clusters

We analyze the impact of the magnetic anisotropy on the geometric structure and magnetic ordering of small atomic clusters of palladium, iridium, platinum, and gold. We have employed a noncollinear implementation of density functional theory where the spin-orbit interaction has been included self-consistently. The size of the clusters ranges from two to five, six, or seven atoms, depending on the element. Our results highlight the relevance of the spin-orbit interaction in the magnetic properties of small atomic clusters made of fourth- and fifth-row elements.     

Engineered pixels using active plasmonic holograms with liquid crystals

Digital holography requires arrays of small reconfigurable elements to achieve complex reconstruction of the hologram with common systems based on pixels utilizing liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) technology. The backplane of a typical pixel element is potentially underutilized and thus relatively large physical areas exist in which information can be stored and exploited to give additional functionality to pixel elements. Polarisation and wavelength dependent optical properties can be achieved in small areas using the plasmonic effects of optical antennae. The integration of LCs with optical antennae‐based plasmonic holograms allows active modulation of the far field pattern. The work here demonstrates the concept that conventional LCoS pixel elements can be greatly enhanced with the integration of plasmonic holograms, composed of optical antennae patterned on the surface, giving rise to new levels of modulation capability for holographic pixel elements. Using LCs, polarisation dependent effects in plasmonic holograms can be switched. ‘Engineered pixels', with sub‐wavelength multiplexing over both polarisation and wavelength, can increase the channel capacity of a typical LC display device. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Nonlocal magnetic field-tuned quantum criticality in cubic CeIn(3-x)Sn(x) (x = 0.25)

We show that antiferromagnetism in lightly (approximately 8%) Sn-doped CeIn3 terminates at a critical field mu0H(c) = 42 +/- 2 T. Electrical transport and thermodynamic measurements reveal the effective mass m* not to diverge, suggesting that cubic CeIn3 is representative of a critical spin-density wave (SDW) scenario, unlike the local quantum critical points reported in anisotropic systems such as CeCu(6-x)Au(x) and YbRh2Si(2-x)Ge(x). The existence of a maximum in m* at a lower field mu0H(x) = 30 +/- 1 T may be interpreted as a field-induced crossover from local moment to SDW behavior as the Néel temperature falls below the Fermi temperature.     

Independence of Yang-Mills Equations with Respect to the Invariant Pairing in the Lie Algebra

It is proved that the Euler–Lagrange equations of a Yang-Mills type Lagragian is independent with respect to the chosen pairing in the Lie algebra. Moreover, the Hamilton-Cartan equations of these Lagrangians are obtained and proved to be also independent with respect to the pairing. PACS Numbers 2003: 02.20.Qs, 02.20.Sv, 02.20.Tw, 02.40.Ma, 02.40.Vh, 11.10.Ef, 11.15.Kc Mathematics Subject Classification 2000: Primary 70S15, Secondary 58A20, 58E15, 58E30, 70S05, 70S10, 81T13     

Invariant Measures and Lower Ricci Curvature Bounds

Potential Analysis - Given a metric measure space $(X,d,mathfrak {m})$ that satisfies the Riemannian Curvature Dimension condition, RCD?(K,N), and a compact subgroup of isometries G ≤...     

Multiple stability and uniqueness of the limit cycle in a Gause-type predator–prey model considering the Allee effect on prey

In this work, a bidimensional differential equation system obtained by modifying the well-known predator–prey Rosenzweig–MacArthur model is analyzed by considering prey growth influenced by the Allee effect.One of the main consequences of this modification is a separatrix curve that appears in the phase plane, dividing the behavior of the trajectories. The results show that the equilibrium in the origin is an attractor for any set of parameters. The unique positive equilibrium, when it exists, can be either an attractor or a repeller surrounded by a limit cycle, whose uniqueness is established by calculating the Lyapunov quantities. Therefore, both populations could either reach deterministic extinction or long-term deterministic coexistence.The existence of a heteroclinic curve is also proved. When this curve is broken by changing parameter values, then the origin turns out to be an attractor for all orbits in the phase plane. This implies that there are plausible conditions where both populations can go to extinction. We conclude that strong and weak Allee effects on prey population exert similar influences on the predator–prey model, thereby increasing the risk of ecological extinction.