The Role of Radical Bridges in Polynuclear Single-Molecule Magnets

Employing radical bridges between anisotropic metal ions has been a viable route to achieve high-performance single-molecule magnets (SMMs). While the bridges have been mainly considered for their ability to promote exchange interactions, the crystal-field effect arising from them has not been taken into account explicitly. This lack of consideration may distort the understanding and limit the development of the entire family. To shed light on this aspect, herein we report a theoretical investigation of a series of N -radical-bridged diterbium complexes. It is found that while promoting strong exchange coupling between the terbium ions, the N -radical induces a crystal field that interferes destructively with that of the outer ligands, and thus reduces the overall SMM behavior. Based on the theoretical results, we conclude that the SMM behavior in this series could be further maximized if the crystal field of the outer ligands is designed to be collinear with that of the radical bridge. This conclusion can be generalized to all exchange-coupled SMMs.     

Phase transition in the one-dimensional pair-hopping model with unusual one-electron hopping

By modifying the conventional one-electron hopping behavior, we study effects of an occupation-dependent hopping on the ground state of the half-filled one-dimensional pair-hopping model. At weak coupling, the use of bosonization and renormalization-group analysis techniques helps to derive the phase diagram. Such unusual hopping is shown to drive a spin-gap transition and to introduce a new region where the triplet superconducting instability dominates for positively small pair-hopping interaction.     

The coupled-cluster formalism – a mathematical perspective

ABSTRACT

The Coupled-Cluster (CC) theory is one of the most successful high precision methods used to solve the stationary Schrödinger equation. In this article, we address the mathematical foundation of this theory with focus on the advances made in the past decade. Rather than solely relying on spectral gap assumptions (non-degeneracy of the ground state), we highlight the importance of coercivity assumptions – Gårding type inequalities – for the local uniqueness of the CC solution. Based on local strong monotonicity, different sufficient conditions for a local unique solution are suggested. One of the criteria assumes the relative smallness of the total cluster amplitudes (after possibly removing the single amplitudes) compared to the Gårding constants. In the extended CC theory the Lagrange multipliers are wave function parameters and, by means of the bivariational principle, we here derive a connection between the exact cluster amplitudes and the Lagrange multipliers. This relation might prove useful when determining the quality of a CC solution. Furthermore, the use of an Aubin–Nitsche duality type method in different CC approaches is discussed and contrasted with the bivariational principle.     

A unified theory for brittle and ductile shear mode fracture

A unified theory captures both brittle and ductile fracture. The fracture toughness is proportional to the applied stress squared and the length of the crack. For purely brittle solids, this criterion is equivalent to Griffith's theory. In other cases, it provides a theoretical basis for the Irwin-Orowan formula. For purely ductile solids, the theory makes direct contact with the Bilby-Cottrell-Swinden model. The toughness is highest in ductile materials because the shielding dislocations in the plastic zone provide additional resistance to crack growth. This resistance is the force opposing dislocation motion, and the Peach-Koehler force overcomes it. A dislocation-free zone separates the plastic zone from and the tip of the crack. The dislocation-free zone is finite because molecular forces responsible for the cohesion of the surfaces near the crack tip are not negligible. At the point of crack growth, the length of the dislocation-free zone is constant and the shielding dislocations advance in concert. As in Griffith's theory, the crack is in unstable equilibrium. The theory shows that a dimensionless variable controls the elastoplastic behaviour. A relationship for the size of the dislocation-free zone is derived in terms of the macroscopic and microscopic parameters that govern the fracture.     

TDPAC and first-principles study of electronic and structural properties of a Pd-vacancy complex in undoped germanium

Pd is one of the metals suitable for inducing low-temperature crystallization in Ge. However, it is not clear how residual Pd atoms are integrated into the Ge lattice. Therefore, time-differential γ–γ perturbed angular correlations (TDPAC) technique using the ¹⁰⁰Pd(→¹⁰⁰Rh) nuclear probe produced by recoil implantation has been applied to study the hyperfine interactions of this probe in single-crystalline undoped Ge. A Pd-vacancy complex aligned along the <111> crystallographic direction with a unique interaction frequency of 8.4(5) Mrad/s has been identified. This complex was measured to have a maximum relative fraction of about 76(4)% following annealing at 350 ^°C. Further annealing at higher temperatures reduced this fraction, possibly via dissociation of the complex. Calculations suggest dissociation energy of 1.94(5) eV for the complex. DFT calculations performed in this work are in reasonable good agreement with the experimental values for the electric-field gradient of the defect complex in Ge and Si for comparison. The calculations predict a split-vacancy configuration with the Pd on a bond-centred interstitial site having a nearest-neighbour semi-vacancy on both sides (V-Pd_BI-V) in Ge and Si.     

Gauge natural formulation of conformal gravity

We consider conformal gravity as a gauge natural theory. We study its conservation laws and superpotentials. We also consider the Mannheim and Kazanas spherically symmetric vacuum solution and discuss conserved quantities associated to conformal and diffeomorphism symmetries.