Plasma-armature railgun launcher simulations

The authors review three popular loss models currently used at CEM-UT (Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin) in modeling EM (electromagnetic) launchers: friction, ablation, and armature drag. In experiments at currents below 500 kA using existing railgun design, the friction model alone was acceptable in predicting performance. In an experiment incorporating a railgun structure modified for higher stiffness and a measured peak railgun current of 700 kA, the effects of each of the loss models were compared to the measured results, and the greatest success at predicting the final projectile velocity and exit time occurred using the velocity-dependent friction model. It is believed that reducing frictional losses and plasma leakage will be instrumental in achieving velocities greater than 6 km/s     

Absolute proton stability in unified models of strong,weak and electromagnetic interactions

We show that the proton can be made absolutely stable, without introducing superheavy bosons, by imposing a global U(1) color symmetry on the Higgs couplings of the theory. Vector-like SU(5) and SU(6) models are discussed in detail.     

The electronic states of carbon monofluoride: Rydberg states

Hartree-Fock and multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock calculations are reported on some low-lying Rydberg states of CF and the ground state of CF⁺. For the CF⁺ ground state, ¹Σ⁺, the calculations give a bond length of 1.55 Å, a fundamental frequency of 1821 cm^?1, and a dissociation energy of 6.9 eV. Many interactions between the valence and Rydberg state manifolds are revealed. Also a strong mixing of the 3dσ and 4sσ components due to an accidental degeneracy is described.     

Energy transfer pathways in dinuclear heteroleptic polypyridyl complexes: through-space vs through-bond interaction mechanisms

A series of homo- and heteronuclear ruthenium and osmium polypyridyl complexes with the bridging ligands 1,3-bis(5-(2-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)benzene (H(2)mL) and 1,4-bis(5-(2-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)benzene (H(2)pL) are reported. The photophysical properties of these compounds are investigated, and particular attention is paid to the heteronuclear (RuOs) compounds, which exhibit dual emission. This is in contrast to phenyl-bridged polypyridine Ru-Os complexes with a similar metal-metal distance, in which the Ru emission is strongly quenched because the nature of the bridging ligand allows for an efficient through-bond coupling. The results obtained for the compounds reported here suggest that energy transfer is predominantly taking place via a dipole-dipole, F?rster type, mechanism, that may dominate when through-bond coupling is weak. This is in stark contrast to ground state interaction, which is found to be critically dependent on the nature of the bridging unit employed.