Local Minimizers of the Ginzburg-Landau Energy with Magnetic Field in Three Dimensions

We establish the existence of locally minimizing vortex solutions to the full Ginzburg-Landau energy in three dimensional simply-connected domains with or without the presence of an applied magnetic field. The approach is based upon the theory of weak Jacobians and applies to nonconvex sample geometries for which there exists a configuration of locally shortest line segments with endpoints on the boundary.Research partially supported by NSERC grant number 261955     

Kinetics of polarization reversal in irradiated thin PZT films

The effect of irradiation with electrons and neutrons and of exposure to synchrotron radiation on cyclic switching of polarization in thin films of lead zirconate titanate Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT) was studied. It is shown that variations in the shape of switching currents are due to the generation of a spatially nonuniform bound internal field with account for an increase in the rate of bulk screening caused by irradiation. A correlation between structural variations and the evolution of the switching current measured during and after irradiation is established.     

On the local structure of doubly laced crystals

Let g be a Lie algebra all of whose regular subalgebras of rank 2 are type A₁×A₁, A₂, or C₂, and let B be a crystal graph corresponding to a representation of g. We explicitly describe the local structure of B, confirming a conjecture of Stembridge.     

Homogeneity and Canonical Connections of Isoparametric Manifolds

On every isoparametric submanifold M a connection with parallel second fundamental form is constructed geometrically such that M is an orbit of an s-representation if and only if the connection is a canonical one. If the rank of M is greater than one this connection is in case of homogeneity the canonical connection of the reductive decomposition given by the orbit of s-representation. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Gas chromatography for in situ analysis of a cometary nucleus. II. Analysis of permanent gases and light hydrocarbons with a carbon molecular sieve porous layer open tubular column

Considering the severe constraints of space instrumentation, a great improvement for the in situ gas chromatographic (GC) determination of permanent and noble gases in a cometary nucleus is the use of a new carbon molecular sieve porous layer open tubular (PLOT) column called Carbobond. No exhaustive data dealing with this column being available, studies were carried out to entirely characterize its analytical performances, especially when used under the operating conditions of the cometary sampling and composition (COSAC) experiment of the European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta space mission to be launched in 2003 for a rendezvous with comet 46 P/Wirtanen in 2011. The high efficiency and speed of analysis of this column at both atmospheric and vacuum outlet column pressure is demonstrated, and the kinetic mass transfer contribution of this carbon molecular sieve adsorbent is calculated. Besides, differential adsorption enthalpies of several gases and light hydrocarbons were determined from the variation of retention volume with temperature. The data indicate close adsorption behaviors on the Carbobond porous layer adsorbent and on the carbon molecular sieve Carboxen support used to prepare the packed columns. Moreover, taking into account the in situ operating conditions of the experiment, a study of two columns with different porous layer thicknesses allowed one to optimize the separation of the target components and to select the column parameters compatible with the instrument constraints. Comparison with columns of similar selectivity shows that these capillary columns are the first ones able to perform the same work as the packed and micro-packed columns dedicated to the separation of this range of compounds in GC space exploration.     

MgF(3)(-) as a transition state analog of phosphoryl transfer

The formation of complexes between small G proteins and certain of their effectors can be facilitated by aluminum fluorides. Solution studies suggest that magnesium may be able to replace aluminum in such complexes. We have determined the crystal structure of RhoA.GDP bound to RhoGAP in the presence of Mg(2+) and F(-) but without Al(3+). The metallofluoride adopts a trigonal planar arrangement instead of the square planar structure of AlF(4)(-). We have confirmed that these crystals contain magnesium and not aluminum by proton-induced X-ray emission spectroscopy. The structure adopted by GDP.MgF(-) possesses the stereochemistry and approximate charge expected for the transition state. We suggest that MgF3(-) may be the reagent of choice for studying phosphoryl transfer reactions.     

Laccase-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond formation: oxidative dimerization of salicylic esters by air in aqueous solution

The laccase catalyzed oxidative dimerization of salicylic esters, a rare example of a laccase-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond formation, was studied. This reaction allows the use of air as stoichiometric oxidant and proceeds in aqueous solution. The preparative scope and the mechanism of the method, which provides a new and convenient access to functionalized biaryls under mild conditions, were investigated.     

Definitive Proof for the Operation of Isotopically Sensitive Branching (‘Metabolic Switching’) in FeI-Mediated C?H Bond Activation in the Gas Phase Short Communication

Rigorous regio- and stereospecific labeling experiments are performed to demonstrate the operation of the previously suggested operation of ‘isotopically sensitive branching’ in Fe^I-mediated C? H bond activation. For the hexane-1,6-diol/Fe⁺-complex, it is shown that dehydrogenation involves specifically the central C(3)/C(4) position, and the study of the stereospecifically labeled D ,L - and meso-[3,4-D₂]-isotompomers 1e and 1f demonstrates that dehydrogenation proceedes via two competing pathways (i.e. ‘anti’- vs. ‘syn’-route). The contribution of these routes to the product formation is – due to a kinetic isotope effect – controlled by the relative configuration at the labeled positions C(3)/C(4). For the D ,L -form 1e , we estimate a ratio of 49:1 in favor of the ‘anti’-route; due to an isotope effect, this ratio drops to 4.3:1 for the meso-form 1f .