Line Narrowing of a Tunable High Pressure CO2 Laser by Means of an Improved Non-Littrow Cavity

A model is reported to foresee ,for different mirror choices, the spectral properties of a high pressure, frequency tunable, CO₂ laser, operating with a non-Littrow grating mounting. The calculations show a larger frequency selectivity for not collimated plane cavities. The model is experimentally verified in a suitable high pressure laser. In particular narrowed linewidths less than 300MHz ( FWHM) are obtained.     

Quantum field theories of vortices and anyons

We develop the quantization of topological solitons (vortices) in three-dimensional quantum field theory, in terms of the Euclidean region functional integral. We analyze in some detail the vortices of the abelian Higgs model. If a Chern-Simons term is added to the action, the vortices turn out to be anyons, i.e. particles with arbitrary real spin and intermediate () statistics. Localization properties of the interpolating field, scattering theory and spin-statistics connection of anyons are discussed. Such analysis might be relevant in connection with the fractional quantum Hall effect and two-dimensional models of HighT _csuperconductors.     

Small random perturbations of finite- and infinite-dimensional dynamical systems: Unpredictability of exit times

We apply previous results on the pathwise exponential loss of memory of the initial condition for stochastic differential equations with small diffusion to the problem of the asymptotic distribution of the first exit times from an attracted domain. We show under general hypotheses that the suitably rescaled exit time converges in the zero-noise limit to an exponential random variable. Then we extend the results to an infinite-dimensional case obtained by adding a small random perturbation to a nonlinear heat equation.     

Characterisation of different clones of Picea abies (L.) Karst using head-space sampling of cortical tissues combined with enantioselective capillary gas chromatography for the separation of chiral and non-chiral monoterpenes

Head-space sampling (HS) has been combined with enantioselective gas chromatography (GC) for the analysis of chiral and non-chiral monoterpenes present in the cortical tissues of five different Norway spruce clones. (1S)-(-)-alpha-Pinene, (1S,5S)-(-)sabinene, (1S)-(-)-beta-pinene, and (4S)-(-)limonene dominated over (1R)-(+)-alpha-pinene, (1R,5R)-(+)-sabinene, (1R)-(+)-beta-pinene, and (4R)-(+)-limonene. Results showed a large variation in the enantiomeric composition of cortical tissues between different clones. The development of HS-GC greatly increased the speed of precise analyses of chiral monoterpenes in small samples and therefore offer excellent opportunities in studies on the ecophysiological and chemotaxomic roles of these chiral components.     

Homolytic substitutions in indolinone nitroxide radicals—I: Reaction with aroyloxyl radicals

Indolinone nitroxides undergo a homolytic substitution with aroyl oxyl radicals, leading to two isomers, 7-aroyloxy- and 5-aroyloxy-derivative, respectively, whose structures were assigned on the basis of the ESR hfccs and of the ¹H NMR spectra of the corresponding amines. The presence of aroyl oxyl radicals in the reaction medium was demonstrated by thermal decomposition of benzoyl peroxide in the presence of aromatic acids.     

Chemical waves and pattern formation in the 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/water lamellar system

The present work deals with the spatially extended oscillatory Belousov Zhabotinsky reaction-diffusion system carried out in an anisotropic environment of phosphatidylcholines/water binary system, which presents layered aqueous domains separated by lipid bilayers. We report the occurrence of stable Turing patterns, spiral waves, and other exotic structures in phospholipids bilayers that are generally used as a models for cell plasma membranes.     

Thermal stability and bond dissociation energy of fluorinated polymers: A critical evaluation

Intrinsic bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of selected fluorinated polymers are critically evaluated. Two distinctive approaches were followed. In the first one, according to Wu and Rodgers [E.-C. Wu, A.S. Rodgers, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 98 (1976) 6112-6115], starting from the gas-phase enthalpy of polymerization we obtained the polymer backbone BDE through appropriate thermodynamic cycles. Revised experimental results indicate that the CC BDEs of all the polymers taken into account fall within a limited energy interval, comparable to the average experimental uncertainty. Central to the second methodology adopted, is a model compound approach. Thanks to the large number of reliable thermodynamic data available in the scientific literature and to simple end-capping rules, C₂ molecules were chosen as suitable models for infinite linear polymers and alternating copolymers between ethylene and fluorinated olefins. For partially fluorinated polymers, like polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), alternating ethylene-tertrafluoroethylene (ETFE) and alternating ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), the weight loss due to HF and HCl evolution during heating experiments was successfully related to the threshold energy E_o(HX) for 1,2-elimination from chemically activated hydrofluoro and hydrofluorochlorocarbons according to the modified Rice-Rampsberger-Kassel (RRKM) unimolecular theory.     

Synthesis of (s)-2-(2-methylbutyl)thiophene

Optically active (S)-2-(2-methylbutyl)thiophene was obtained by different procedures. Among them, the cross-coupling reaction between 2-methylbutylmagnesium chloride and 2-chlorothio-phene proved to be the most efficient one. Compound 1 was thus obtained in satisfactory yield and rather high optical purity (82%).     

Polyetylene Glycols as host solvents: applications to organic synthesis

Polyethylene glycols (PEG) are fair solvents for inorganic salts and organic substrates; their use in some organic reactions is described.     

On the existence of thermodynamics for the random energy model

Derrida's random energy model is considered. Almost sure andL ^P convergence of the free energy at any inverse temperature are proven. Rigorous upper and lower bounds to the finite size corrections to the free energy are given.