Gibbs random fields invariant under infinite-particle Hamiltonian dinamics

The Liouville operator for an infinite-particle Hamiltonian dynamics corresponding to interaction potentialU is used to introduce the concept of a locally weakly invariant measure on the phase space and to show that if a Gibbs measure with potential of general form is locally weakly invariant then its Hamiltonian is asymptotically an additive integral of the motion of the particles with the interactionU.Moscow State University. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 90, No. 3, pp. 424–459, March, 1992.     

Solar probe: a rendezvous with the Sun

Summary A study has been promoted by NASA to evaluate the scientific return and the technological problems of a close-to-the-Sun mission (Solar Probe). It has come out that using current technology it is possible to deliver at 4 solar radii from the Sun's centre a scientific payload with such performances to allow a great improvement of our understanding of the coronal phenomena. The mission concept currently under study uses planetary encounters to reach the required orbit. The final orbit period is 2.5 years, the estimated mission duration about 9 years. The orbit inclination is such as to give the maximum coverage in terms of heliographic latitude. During the perihelion phases a conical structure shields the spacecraft from the intense solar radiation. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.     

The star chromatic number of a graph

We study a generalization of the notion of the chromatic number of a graph in which the colors assigned to adjacent vertices are required to be, in a certain sense, far apart. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Aqueous solution and solid state interactions of lanthanide ions with a methacrylic ester polymer bearing pendant 15‐crown‐5 moieties

The interaction between trivalent lanthanide ions and poly(1,4,7,10,13‐pentaoxacyclopentadecan‐2‐yl‐methyl methacrylate), PCR5, in aqueous solution and in the solid state have been studied. In aqueous solution, evidence of a weak interaction between the lanthanides and PCR5 comes from the small red shift of the Ce(III) emission spectra and the slight broadening of the Gd(III) EPR spectra. From the Tb(III) lifetimes in the presence of H₂O and D₂O the loss of one or two water coordinated molecules is confirmed when Tb(III) is bound to PCR5. An association constant of the order of 200 M^?1 was obtained for a 1:1 (lanthanide:15‐crown‐5) complex from the shift of the polymer NMR signals induced by Tb(III). A similar association constant is obtained from the differences of the molar conductivity of Ce(III) solution at various concentrations in presence and absence of PCR5. When Tb(III) is adsorbed on PCR5 membranes, lifetime experiments in H₂O and D₂O confirm the loss of 5 or 6 water coordinated molecules indicating that in solid state the lanthanide(III)‐PCR5 interaction is stronger than in solution. The adsorption of Ce(III) in PCR5 membranes shows a Langmuir type isotherm, from which an equilibrium constant of 39 M^?1 has been calculated. SEM shows that the membrane morphology is not much affected by lanthanide adsorption. Support for lanthanide ion–crown interactions comes from ab initio calculations on 15‐crown‐5/La(III) complex. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1788–1799, 2007     

Estimate of the concentration function for a class of additive functions

We show how methods for estimating the concentration function of the sum of independent random variables can be used to obtain estimates of the concentration function for the values of additive functions under suitable conditions. Previously obtained estimates of the concentration function are consequences of the estimate obtained in the present paper for functions from of the class under consideration.     

Microstructural evolution of decagonal quasicrystal in the undercooled Al72Ni12Co16 alloy melts

The microstructure evolution of decagonal quasicrystals in Al₇₂Ni₁₂Co₁₆ alloy was investigated by the electromagnetic melting and cyclic superheating method. Single-phase decagonal quasicrystals have been obtained when the undercoolings were larger than 60 K. The decagonal quasicrystals formed at various undercoolings show different microstructural morphologies. Furthermore, grain refinement was found near the undercooling of 120 K. Based on current thermodynamic and dendrite growth theories, a dimensionless superheating parameter was adopted to explain the effect of processing conditions on the microstructure of Al₇₂Ni₁₂Co₁₆ alloy. The result indicate that the fine equiaxied microstructure of decagonal quasicrystal (D-phase) formed near on undercooling of 120 K originates from the break-up of dendrites.     

Pressure effects in a plastic columnar discotic triphenylene

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the structure of a plastic columnar discotic triphenylene has been investigated. The goal was to determine whether pressure can be used to modify electronic properties via changes in structural properties of columnar discotics to any significant extent. The findings are that (i) the intra- and inter-columnar distances are reduced in a nearly isotropic fashion, (ii) that the crystal sizes are reduced and (iii) that a transition takes place from a more highly ordered plastic columnar to a less ordered hexagonal columnar state with increasing pressure. The induced decrease of the molecular distances, amounting to 6% for pressures up to 17 kbar, are clearly too small to induce an appreciable modification of the electronic structure and thus opto-electronic properties.     

Diblock copolymers based on allyl methacrylate: Synthesis,characterization, and chemical modification

Different diblock copolymers constituted by one segment of a monomer supporting a reactive functional group, like allyl methacrylate (AMA), were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Bromo‐terminated polymers, like polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) were employed as macroinitiators to form the other blocks. Copolymerizations were carried out using copper chloride with N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as the catalyst system in benzonitrile solution at 70 °C. At the early stage, the ATRP copolymerizations yielded well‐defined linear block copolymers. However, with the polymerization progress a change in the macromolecular architecture takes place due to the secondary reactions caused by the allylic groups, passing to a branched and/or star‐shaped structure until finally yielding gel at monomer conversion around 40% or higher. The block copolymers were characterized by means of size exclusion chromatography (SEC), ¹H NMR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In addition, one of these copolymers, specifically P(BA‐b‐AMA), was satisfactorily modified through osmylation reaction to obtain the subsequent amphiphilic diblock copolymer of P(BA‐b‐DHPMA), where DHPMA is 2,3‐dihydroxypropyl methacrylate; demonstrating the feasibility of side‐chain modification of the functional obtained copolymers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3538–3549, 2007     

Quantification of trace elements in human serum fractions by liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

On‐line coupling of LC and ICP‐MS has been used for fractionation and detection of species of Cu, Fe, I, Se and Zn in human serum. It has been shown that anion exchange chromatography provided better separation capability (both intra‐ and inter‐element) than size‐exclusion chromatography. The mobile phases for ion exchange chromatography consisted of Tris–HNO₃ buffer and ammonium salt (nitrate, acetate or formate). Formate was found to be the best mobile phase counter ion, enabling good chromatographic separation, and is acceptable for mass spectrometry too. The quantitative evaluation of element concentrations adhering to individual fractions was performed by the peak area normalization method. The repeatability of results ranged from 3 to 15% (depending on the element concentration level) and represented the main part of the result uncertainty. The accuracy of Cu and Zn fraction determinations was confirmed by comparison with the isotope dilution technique. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.