Metal- and ligand-directed one-pot syntheses,crystal structures,and properties of novel oxo-centered tetra- and hexametallic clusters

Starting from closely related metal-ligand combinations, completely different oligomeric metal clusters are synthesized. Whereas, picoline-tetrazolylamide HL(1) (1) and zinc or nickel acetate afforded [2x2] grids [M(4)(L(1))(8)] (2), slightly different N-(2-methylthiazole-5-yl)-thiazole-2-carboxamide HL(2) (5 a) and nickel acetate yielded the monometallic complex [Ni(L(2))(2)(OH(2))(2)] (6). In contrast, reaction of 5 a with zinc acetate produced the tetrametallic zinc cluster [Zn(4)O(L(2))(4)(OAc)(2)] (7). Even more surprising, when 3-methyl-substituted HL(3) (5 b) instead of 2-methyl-substituted HL(2) (5 a) was allowed to react under identical conditions with zinc acetate, the cluster [Zn(4)O(L(3))(4)Cl(2)] (8) crystallized from dichloromethane. Clusters 7 and 8 are isostructural. As for 7, in 8 two of the edges of the tetrahedron of zinc ions are doubly bridged, two are singly bridged, and the other two are nonbridged. On the other hand, when iron(II) acetate under aerobic conditions was allowed to react with 5 a, the unprecedented complex [[Fe(3)O(L(2))(2)(OAc)(4)](2)O] (9) was isolated. Cluster 9 is composed of two trimetallic, triangular mu(3)-O(2-)-centered [Fe(3)O(L(2))(2)(OAc)(4)](+) modules, linked by an almost linear mu(2)-O(2-) bridge. The M?ssbauer spectrum together with cyclic voltammetric and square-wave voltammetric measurements of 9 are reported, and 6-9 were characterized unequivocally by single-crystal X-ray structure analyses.     

Evidence for a spin-aligned neutron-proton paired phase from the level structure of (92)Pd

Shell structure and magic numbers in atomic nuclei were generally explained by pioneering work that introduced a strong spin-orbit interaction to the nuclear shell model potential. However, knowledge of nuclear forces and the mechanisms governing the structure of nuclei, in particular far from stability, is still incomplete. In nuclei with equal neutron and proton numbers (N = Z), enhanced correlations arise between neutrons and protons (two distinct types of fermions) that occupy orbitals with the same quantum numbers. Such correlations have been predicted to favour an unusual type of nuclear superfluidity, termed isoscalar neutron-proton pairing, in addition to normal isovector pairing. Despite many experimental efforts, these predictions have not been confirmed. Here we report the experimental observation of excited states in the N = Z = 46 nucleus (92)Pd. Gamma rays emitted following the (58)Ni((36)Ar,2n)(92)Pd fusion-evaporation reaction were identified using a combination of state-of-the-art high-resolution γ-ray, charged-particle and neutron detector systems. Our results reveal evidence for a spin-aligned, isoscalar neutron-proton coupling scheme, different from the previous prediction. We suggest that this coupling scheme replaces normal superfluidity (characterized by seniority coupling) in the ground and low-lying excited states of the heaviest N = Z nuclei. Such strong, isoscalar neutron-proton correlations would have a considerable impact on the nuclear level structure and possibly influence the dynamics of rapid proton capture in stellar nucleosynthesis.     

Some global dynamical properties of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equations: Nonlinear stability and attractors

The Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equations model pattern formations on unstable flame fronts and thin hydrodynamic films. They are characterized by the coexistence of coherent spatial structures with temporal chaos. We investigate some global dynamical properties, including nonlinear stability. We demonstrate their low modal behavior, in terms of determining modes; and that the fractal dimension of all attractors is bounded by a universal constant times $\text{≈L}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>13</mtext><mtext>8</mtext>}}$, where ≈L is a dimensionless pattern cell size (in the one-dimensional case). Such equations are indeed a paradigm of low-dimensional behavior for infinite-dimensional systems.