The O(N) vector model in the large-N limit revisited: multicritical points and double scaling limit

The multicritical points of the O(N)-invariant N vector model in the large-N limit are re-examined. Of particular interest are the subtleties involved in the stability of the phase structure at critical dimensions. In the limit N → ∞ while the coupling g → g_c in a correlated manner (the double scaling limit) a massless bound state O(N) singlet is formed and powers of 1/N are compensated by IR singularities. The persistence of the N → ∞ results beyond the leading order is then studied with particular interest in the possible existence of a phase with propagating small mass vector fields and a massless singlet bound state. We point out that under certain conditions the double scaled theory of the singlet field is non-interacting in critical dimensions.     

Silver ionic conductivity enhancement by network former mixed in oxide-based glasses

Glasses in the binary system xAg₂P₂O₆ − (1 − x)Ag₂Te₂O₅ have been prepared for 0 x 1. For each composition only one glass transition temperature is observed in the temperature range of 180–220 °C. All glasses appear homogeneous considering their optical and electrical properties. Nevertheless, in SEM observations, some glass compositions appear to be heterogeneous after decoration following short nitric acid etching. For each composition, conductivity data obtained in the temperature range of 25–200 °C using impedance techniques obey an Arrhenius relationship with a composition independent pre-exponential term. Variation of the conductivity activation energy with x induces correlative variations of isothermal conductivity curves leading to an increase of the ionic conductivity of about one order of magnitude compared with linearity at 25 °C. This behaviour is discussed with respect to the thermodynamic properties of the glassy solutions.     

Long-Time Bath Correlations in the Pollak–Grabert–Hänggi Theory

We analyze some cases for which the Pollak–Grabert–Hänggi theory on the activated rate processes for generalized Langevin dynamics exhibits unexplained disagreements with numerical results. First we analyze carefully the PGH theory and we show that a kind of Markovian hypothesis implicitly made in the reasoning is sometimes violated. Then we propose modifications of the original theory in order to take into account the possible effects caused by this violation, and we compare the corrected results with simulations.     

Estimates of the tail of the stationary density function of certain nonlinear autoregressive processes

We consider the Markov chainX _n+1=T(X _n )+ _n , where { _n ;n1} is a ^d -valued random sequence of independent identically distributed random variables, and the functionT: ^{d d} is measurable and satisfies a suitable growth condition. Under certain conditions involvingT and the probability distribution of _n , we show that this Markov chain is ergodic. Moreover, we obtain sharp upper bounds for the tail of the corresponding stationary probability density function. In our proofs, we make use of the Leray-Schauder fixed-point theorem.     

The CRT is the scaling limit of unordered binary trees

We prove that a uniform, rooted unordered binary tree (also known as rooted, binary Pólya tree) with n leaves has the Brownian continuum random tree as its scaling limit for the Gromov‐Hausdorff topology. The limit is thus, up to a constant factor, the same as that of uniform plane trees or labeled trees. Our analysis rests on a combinatorial and probabilistic study of appropriate trimming procedures of trees. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 38, 467–501, 2011     

Discovery of a herbicidal lead using polymer-bound activated esters in generating a combinatorial library of amides and esters

Summary A combinatorial library containing mixtures of amides and esters was prepared through solid-phase chemistry. The advantages of using solid-phase chemistry over solution-phase chemistry to prepare this library are discussed. The library was screened through a high-throughput whole organism herbicidal assay upon which a mixture containing amides was found to have herbicidal activity. Deconvolution of the mixture providedN-(3-benzoylphenyl)-3-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1-methyl)-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxamide as a herbicidal lead with broadleaf and narrowleaf pre-emergence herbicidal activity as low as 100 g/ha on some weed species. This study represents the first report of an agrochemical discovered using a combinatorial approach. Supplementary Material, comprising experimental procedures for the preparation of resin II and the reaction of II with nucleophiles, GC/MS and LC/MS data for the reaction ofII with morpholine, and a detailed experimental for the preparation of 2 with characterization data, is available upon request.     

The Millimeter-Wave Spectrum of 2,3-Dihydrofuran

The millimeter-wave spectrum of 2,3-dihydrofuran in the ground and five ring-puckering excited states has been measured in the frequency range 100–250 GHz. The ground and first ring-puckering excited states have been fitted to a two-state Hamiltonian including Coriolis coupling interaction. The determined energy difference of 18.684(7) cm⁻¹between these states and theaandbtype coupling parameters are consistent with the ring-puckering potential function and the previously observed dependence of the centrifugal distortion constants Δ_JK, Δ_K, and δ_K. A small ring-puckering dependence of the quartic centrifugal distortion constants Δ_Jand δ_Jhas been also observed. This dependence is well accounted for in terms of the ring-puckering potential function and the vibrational dependence of the rotational constants.     

Pierre Turq,an inspirational scientist in charge and at interfaces

Pierre Turq has made decisive contributions to the theory and to the multiscale simulation of charged systems, such as molten salts, electrolyte solutions and colloidal suspensions, in the bulk, at interfaces and under confinement. His research line focussed on dynamical properties and was characterised by constant efforts to connect his theoretical work to both experiments and practical applications. In this article, his colleagues and former students pay a tribute to his past and current research interests by illustrating some recent developments accomplished in his laboratory.     

On DRC‐covering of Kn by cycles

This paper considers the cycle covering of complete graphs motivated by the design of survivable WDM networks, where the requests are routed on INF‐networks which are protected independently from each other. The problem can be stated as follows: for a given graph G, find a cycle covering of the edge set of K_n, where V(K_n) = V(G), such that each cycle in the covering satisfies the disjoint routing constraint (DRC7rpar;, relatively to G, which can be stated as follows: to each edge of K_n we associate in G a path and all the paths associated to the edges of a cycle of the covering must be vertex disjoint. Here we consider the case where G = C_n, a ring of size n and we want to minimize the number of cycles in the covering. We give optimal solutions for the problem as well as for variations of the problem, namely, its directed version and the case when the cycle length is fixed to 4. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 11: 100–112, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/jcd.10040     

Goodness-Of-Fit Tests Based on Estimated Expectations of Probability Integral Transformed Order Statistics

New goodness-of-fit tests, based on bootstrap estimated expectations of probability integral transformed order statistics, are derived for the location-scale model. The resulting test statistics are location and scale invariant, and are sensitive to discrepancies at the tails of the hypothesized distribution. The limiting null distributions of the test statistics are derived in terms of functionals of a certain Gaussian process, and the tests are shown to be consistent against a broad family of alternatives. Critical points for all sample sizes are provided for tests of normality. A simulation study shows that the proposed tests are more powerful than established tests such as Shapiro-Wilk, Cramér-von Mises and Anderson-Darling, for a wide range of alternative distributions.