Existence and Stability of Time Periodic Solution to the Compressible Navier–Stokes–Korteweg System on $${\mathbb{R}^3}$$

The compressible Navier–Stokes–Korteweg system is considered on \({\mathbb{R}^3}\) when the external force is periodic in the time variable. The existence of a time periodic solution is proved for a sufficiently small external force by using the time-T-map related to the linearized problem around the motionless state with constant density and absolute temperature. The spectral properties of the time-T-map is investigated by a potential theoretic method and an energy method in some weighted spaces. The stability of the time periodic solution is proved for sufficiently small initial perturbations. It is also shown that the \({L^\infty}\) norm of the perturbation decays as time goes to infinity.     

Energy band and electron-vibration coupling in organic thin films: photoelectron spectroscopy as a powerful tool for studying the charge transport

This article describes the origins of the width of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) state observed in the ultraviolet photoemission spectra (UPS) of thin organic semiconductor films. Although much research has been performed on the electrical properties of organic devices, a lot of crucial problems still remain. Among these problems, the charge mobility in organic semiconductor systems is one the most important subjects to be elucidated. In order to discuss the mobility, it is essential to understand both the intermolecular interaction and the electron-molecular vibration coupling. Experimental measurements of the energy band dispersion give information about the intermolecular interaction, and experimental detection of the HOMO hole-vibration coupling is indispensable to comprehend impacts of the electron-vibration coupling on the hole transport. Since most of the information is hidden behind the finite bandwidth of the HOMO, only careful UPS measurements can provide information on these important phenomena related to charge carrier dynamics. In this article, we summarize our recent challenges on UPS measurements of organic thin films, which give the band dispersion of the HOMO and the HOMO hole-vibration coupling, and discuss the origins of the UPS bandwidth that relates to the charge carrier dynamics.     

Cross patterning on MgO based on dislocations using femtosecond laser irradiation

We show a unique technique to form dense dislocations locally inside a MgO single crystal with a rock-salt type structure using femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation. Cross-shaped patterns of micrometer size, originating from densely introduced dislocations, are formed spontaneously around the focal point. We controlled the three-dimensional propagation of the dislocations by adjusting the pulse energy of the fs laser and NA of objective lens. The technique may open up a new field of dislocation technology for optical applications.     

Sheet-beam geometry for in vivo fluorescent x-ray computed tomography: proof-of-concept experiment in molecular imaging

We propose a fluorescent x-ray computed tomography method using an array of detectors with an incident sheet beam, aimed at providing molecular imaging with high sensitivity and good spatial resolution. In this study, we prove the feasibility of this concept and investigate its imaging properties, including spatial and contrast resolutions and quantitativeness, by imaging an acrylic phantom and a normal mouse brain using a preliminary imaging system with monochromatic synchrotron x rays.     

Emergent organization of oscillator clusters in coupled self-regulatory chaotic maps

Here we introduce a model of parametrically coupled chaotic maps on a one-dimensional lattice. In this model, each element has its internal self-regulatory dynamics, whereby at fixed intervals of time the nonlinearity parameter at each site is adjusted by feedback from its past evolution. Additionally, the maps are coupled sequentially and unidirectionally, to their nearest neighbor, through the difference of their parametric variations. Interestingly we find that this model asymptotically yields clusters of superstable oscillators with different periods. We observe that the sizes of these oscillator clusters have a power-law distribution. Moreover, we find that the transient dynamics gives rise to a 1/f power spectrum. All these characteristics indicate self-organization and emergent scaling behavior in this system. We also interpret the power-law characteristics of the proposed system from an ecological point of view.      

OPENCORE NMR: open-source core modules for implementing an integrated FPGA-based NMR spectrometer

A tool kit for implementing an integrated FPGA-based NMR spectrometer [K. Takeda, A highly integrated FPGA-based nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 78 (2007) 033103], referred to as the OPENCORE NMR spectrometer, is open to public. The system is composed of an FPGA chip and several peripheral boards for USB communication, direct-digital synthesis (DDS), RF transmission, signal acquisition, etc. Inside the FPGA chip have been implemented a number of digital modules including three pulse programmers, the digital part of DDS, a digital quadrature demodulator, dual digital low-pass filters, and a PC interface. These FPGA core modules are written in VHDL, and their source codes are available on our website. This work aims at providing sufficient information with which one can, given some facility in circuit board manufacturing, reproduce the OPENCORE NMR spectrometer presented here. Also, the users are encouraged to modify the design of spectrometer according to their own specific needs. A home-built NMR spectrometer can serve complementary roles to a sophisticated commercial spectrometer, should one comes across such new ideas that require heavy modification to hardware inside the spectrometer. This work can lower the barrier of building a handmade NMR spectrometer in the laboratory, and promote novel and exciting NMR experiments.     

The simple and selective synthesis of 3-amino-2,2-difluorocarboxylic esters and difluoro-β-lactams using ethyl bromodifluoroacetate in the presence of rhodium catalyst

Treatment of imines (5) with ethyl bromodifluoroacetate (1) and Et₂Zn in the presence of RhCl(PPh₃)₃ in anhydrous medium gave difluoro-β-lactams (7) in good to excellent yields, while 3-amino-2,2-difluorocarboxylic esters (6) were obtained in good yields by adding MgSO₄·7H₂O to the reaction medium.     

Bridging rate coding and temporal spike coding by effect of noise

It is controversial whether temporal spike coding or rate coding is dominant in the information processing of the brain. We show by a two-layered neural network model with noise that, when noise is small, cortical neurons fire synchronously and intervals of synchronous firing robustly encode the signal information, but that the neurons desynchronize with moderately strong noise to encode waveforms of the signal more accurately. Further increase of noise just deteriorates the encoding. A positive role of noise in the brain is suggested in a meaning different from stochastic resonance, coherence resonance, and deterministic chaos.     

Unusually long-lived light-induced metastable state in a thermochromic copper(II) complex

We report the first observation of a color change from red to purple for a thermochromic complex, [Cu(dieten)2](BF4)2 (dieten = N,N-diethylethylenediamine), which is induced by illuminating with UV light.     

Two-dimensional hydrogen behaviors on solid surfaces studied by hydrogen microscope

Recently, much work has been done to study hydrogen behavior on solid surfaces for applications in fuel cells, semiconductor devices, and diamond-like carbon films. We have developed a hydrogen microscope making use of electron stimulated desorption (ESD) spectroscopy. A thermal-field emission type electron gun set to a low-energy range (<1 keV) is used to obtain a beam size less than 100 nm in diameter. A pulsed beam has been used to measure the time-of-flight (TOF) to detect desorbed ions from specimen surfaces. Scanning the pulsed beams across solid surfaces, a two-dimensional distribution image of hydrogen atoms can be obtained. This paper reviews some capabilities of the hydrogen microscope and a chemical state analysis for H and O adsorbed by different elements on a surface.