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At least 325 records · Page 18

Calculus structure on the Lie conformal algebra complex and the variational complex

We construct a calculus structure on the Lie conformal algebra cochain complex. By restricting to degree one chains, we recover the structure of a g-complex introduced in [A. De Sole and V. G. Kac, Commun. Math. Phys. 292, 667 (2009)]. A special case of this construction is the variational calculus, for which we provide explicit formulas.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Efficient estimators for likelihood ratio sensitivity indices of complex stochastic dynamics

We demonstrate that centered likelihood ratio estimators for the sensitivity indices of complex stochastic dynamics are highly efficient with low, constant in time variance and consequently they are suitable for sensitivity analysis in long-time and steady-state regimes. These estimators rely on a new covariance formulation of the likelihood ratio that includes as a submatrix a Fisher information matrix for stochastic dynamics and can also be used for fast screening of insensitive parameters and parameter combinations. The proposed methods are applicable to broad classes of stochastic dynamics such as chemical reaction networks, Langevin-type equations and stochastic models in finance, including systems with a high dimensional parameter space and/or disparate decorrelation times between different observables. Furthermore, they are simple to implement as a standard observable in any existing simulation algorithm without additional modifications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Molecular-level origin of the carboxylate head group response to divalent metal ion complexation at the air-water interface

We exploit gas-phase cluster ion techniques to provide insight into the local interactions underlying divalent metal ion-driven changes in the spectra of carboxylic acids at the air-water interface. This information is used to clarify the experimental findings of surface sensitive spectroscopies that the CO stretching bands of long chain acids appear at very similar energies when the head group is deprotonated by high sub-phase pH or is exposed to relatively high concentrations of Ca2+ divalent metal ions (e.g., Ca2+ and Mg2+). To this end, we report the evolution of the vibrational spectra of size-selected [Ca2+·RCO2¯]+·(H2O)n=0-14 and RCO2¯·(H2O)n=0-14 cluster ions obtained using infrared photofragmentation mass spectrometry toward the features observed at the air-water interface. The carboxylate with R = -CD2CD3 was chosen in order to capture the longer chain behavior and to suppress band congestion that complicates the spectra of the light isotopologue. Surprisingly, not only does stepwise hydration of the RCO2¯ anion and the [Ca2+·RCO2¯]+ contact ion pair yield solvatochromic responses in opposite directions, but in both cases the responses of the two CO bands (?_s^COO and ?_as^COO) to hydration are opposite to each other! The result is that the two CO bands evolve toward their interfacial and bulk asymptotes from opposite directions. Theoretical simulations of the [Ca2+·RCO2¯]+·(H2O)n clusters indicate that the metal ion remains directly bound to the head group in a contact ion pair motif as the asymmetric CO stretch converges at the bulk value by n = 12, establishing that direct metal complexation can account for the interfacial and bulk behavior. We discuss these effects in the context of a qualitative model that invokes the water network-dependent local electric field along the C-C bond connecting the head group to the tail as the key parameter driving the observed trends. M.A.J. and H.C.A. thank the National Science Foundation through the NSF Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment (NSF-CAICE), CHE-1305427 for supporting this work. M.A.J. thanks the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for the cryogenic spectrometer used in the gas phase experiments. K.D.J. thanks the Department of Energy under grant no. DE-FG02-00ER15066. C.J. Mundy and S.M. Kathmann are supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences. M.D. Baer was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Biomolecular Materials Program at PNNL. PNNL is operated by Battelle Memorial Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05- 76RL01830. Computing resources for the calculation of harmonic spectra were allocated by PNNL’s Institutional Computing program.

Denton, Joanna↗

The Impacts of Cation Stoichiometry and Substrate Surface Quality on Nucleation, Structure, Defect Formation, and Intermixing in Complex Oxide Heteroepitaxy–LaCrO3 on SrTiO3(001)

Our ability to design and fabricate electronic devices with reproducible properties using complex oxides is critically dependent on our ability to controllably synthesize these materials in thin-film form. Structure-property relationships are intimately tied to film and interface composition. Here we report on the effects of cation stoichiometry in LaCrO3 heteroepitaxial films prepared using molecular beam epitaxy. We show that LaCrO3 films grow pseudomorphically on SrTiO3(001) over an wide range of La-to-Cr atom ratios. However, the growth mode and structural quality are sensitive to the La-to-Cr ratio, with La-rich films being of considerably lower structural quality than Cr-rich films. Cation mixing occurs at the interface for all La-to-Cr ratios investigated, and is not quenched by deposition at ambient temperature. Indiffused La atoms occupy Sr sites in the substrate. The presence of defects in the SrTiO3 substrate is implicated in promoting La indiffusion by comparing the properties of LaCrO3/SrTiO3 with those of LaCrO3/Si, both prepared at ambient temperature. Additionally, pulsed laser deposition is shown to result in more extensive interfacial mixing than molecular beam epitaxy for deposition at ambient temperature on Si.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Oxidation of Naphthalene with a Manganese(IV) Bis(hydroxo) Complex in the Presence of Acid [Naphthalene Oxidation of Manganese(IV)-Bis(Hydroxo) Complex in the Presence of Acid]

Naphthalene oxidation with metal–oxygen intermediates is a difficult reaction in environmental and biological chemistry. Herein, we report that a Mn IV bis(hydroxo) complex, which was fully characterized by various physicochemical methods, such as ESI–MS, UV/Vis, and EPR analysis, X–ray diffraction, and XAS, can be employed for the oxidation of naphthalene in the presence of acid to afford 1,4–naphthoquinone. Redox titration of the Mn IV bis(hydroxo) complex gave a one–electron reduction potential of 1.09 V, which is the most positive potential for all reported nonheme Mn IV bis(hydroxo) species as well as Mn IV oxo analogues. Here, kinetic studies, including kinetic isotope effect analysis, suggest that the naphthalene oxidation occurs through a rate–determining electron transfer process.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Modeling Magneto‐Photoabsorption Using Time‐Dependent Complex Generalized Hartree‐Fock

Abstract Magneto‐optical spectroscopy provides a glimpse into the hidden electronic structure of molecules and materials that normally cannot be resolved with regular optical absorption spectroscopy. The magneto‐optical signal is difficult to simulate computationally due to the necessity of modeling perturbations from both uniform magnetic and oscillating electric fields. In this work, we introduce a time‐dependent complex generalized Hartree‐Fock framework for calculating electronic magneto‐optical spectra of atomic and molecular systems. Complex‐valued gauge including atomic orbitals are used in a non‐perturbative treatment of the uniform magnetic field. The magneto‐photoabsorption spectra of atomic alkalis and aromatic systems are investigated with a focus on understanding how spectroscopic signals change in the presence of a uniform magnetic field.

Stetina, Torin F.↗

Titanium Imido Complexes by Displacement of –SiMe 3 and C–H Bond Activation in a Ti III Amido Complex, Promoted by a Cyclic (Alkyl)(Amino) Carbene (cAAC)

A strong σ‐donating cyclic (alkyl)(amino) carbene (cAAC) triggers rearrangement of the silyl(aryl) amido ligand –N(SiMe 3 )Dipp (Dipp = 2,6‐diisopropylphenyl) in the coordination sphere of titanium(III) to afford a novel zwitterionic titanium imido complex with a TiCH 2 SiMe 2 [cAAC] linkage. Reduction of this species produces a new DippN=Ti imido complex containing a cAAC‐centered radical species, characterized by single‐crystal diffraction analysis and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Ye, Qing↗

Grain-Size Based Additivity Models for Scaling Multi-rate Uranyl Surface Complexation in Subsurface Sediments

This study statistically analyzed a grain-size based additivity model that has been proposed to scale reaction rates and parameters from laboratory to field. The additivity model assumed that reaction properties in a sediment including surface area, reactive site concentration, reaction rate, and extent can be predicted from field-scale grain size distribution by linearly adding reaction properties for individual grain size fractions. This study focused on the statistical analysis of the additivity model with respect to reaction rate constants using multi-rate uranyl (U(VI)) surface complexation reactions in a contaminated sediment as an example. Experimental data of rate-limited U(VI) desorption in a stirred flow-cell reactor were used to estimate the statistical properties of multi-rate parameters for individual grain size fractions. The statistical properties of the rate constants for the individual grain size fractions were then used to analyze the statistical properties of the additivity model to predict rate-limited U(VI) desorption in the composite sediment, and to evaluate the relative importance of individual grain size fractions to the overall U(VI) desorption. The result indicated that the additivity model provided a good prediction of the U(VI) desorption in the composite sediment. However, the rate constants were not directly scalable using the additivity model, and U(VI) desorption in individual grain size fractions have to be simulated in order to apply the additivity model. An approximate additivity model for directly scaling rate constants was subsequently proposed and evaluated. The result found that the approximate model provided a good prediction of the experimental results within statistical uncertainty. This study also found that a gravel size fraction (2-8mm), which is often ignored in modeling U(VI) sorption and desorption, is statistically significant to the U(VI) desorption in the sediment.

Zhang, Xiaoying↗

Assessment of a tomography-informed polyhedral discrete element modelling approach for complex-shaped granular woody biomass in stress consolidation

The design of handling equipment for granular biomass primarily requires experiments. Discrete element models (DEM) can provide designers with detailed insight into the behaviour of granular materials. However, granular biomass comprising complex-shaped particles is difficult to model with DEM. A tomography-informed DEM approach and an exhaustive assessment of the ability of the approach to predict the bulk behaviour of milled pines using experimental data is presented. Nano-CT scan was conducted to obtain 3D particle surface geometries as the basis for particle shape approximation by a polyhedral model and a sphero-polyhedral model. These models were applied in the simulation of a compressibility test. Our parametric study showed that particle Young's modulus and restitution coefficient are the two main properties influencing the simulated bulk behaviour of the DEM particles and that the level of approximating DEM particle shape for real particles is critical for accurately replicating the bulk behaviour of milled pines. The polyhedral model demonstrated better suitability than its sphero-polyhedral counterpart for modelling pine particles. The polyhedral model calibrated in a compressibility test was then applied in the simulations of a friction test without additional parameter tuning. Interlocking was dominant in the shear of bulk pine particles. Remarkably, the polyhedral model predicted the frictional behaviour of the pine particles when compared to the experimental results. The limitations of the model, as well as possible ways for enhancement, are discussed. This work provided novel insights into the suitability of complex-shaped DEM models for granular woody biomass.

Biomass flow↗

Role of Microbial Exopolymeric Substances (EPS) on Chromium Sorption and Transport in Heterogeneous Subsurface Soils: I. Cr(III) Complexation with EPS in Aqueous Solution

Chromium (III) binding by exopolymeric substances (EPS) isolated from Pseudomonas putida P18, Pseudomonas aeruginosa P16 and Pseudomonas stutzeri P40 strains were investigated by the determination of conditional stability constants and the concentration of functional groups using the ion-exchange experiments and potentiometric titrations. Spectroscopic (EXAFS) analysis was also used to obtain information on the nature of Cr(III) binding with EPS functional groups. The data from ion-exchange experiments and potentiometric titrations were evaluated using a non-electrostatic discrete ligand approach. The modeling results show that the acid/base properties of EPSs can be best characterized by invoking four different types of acid functional groups with arbitrarily assigned pK{sub a} values of 4, 6, 8 and 10. The analysis of ion-exchange data using the discrete ligand approach suggests that while the Cr binding by EPS from P. aeruginosa can be successfully described based on a reaction stoichiometry of 1:2 between Cr(III) and HL{sub 2} monoprotic ligands, the accurate description of Cr binding by EPSs extracted from P. putida and P. stutzeri requires postulation of 1:1 Cr(III)-ligand complexes with HL{sub 2} and HL{sub 3} monoprotic ligands, respectively. These results indicate that the carboxyl and/or phosphoric acid sites contribute to Cr(III) binding by microbial EPS, as also confirmed by EXAFS analysis performed in the current study. Overall, this study highlights the need for incorporation of Cr-EPS interactions into transport and speciation models to more accurately assess microbial Cr(VI) reduction and chromium transport in subsurface systems, including microbial reactive treatment barriers.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗