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At least 1,225 records · Page 68

Simulating three-dimensional nonthermal high-energy photon emission in colliding-wind binaries

Massive stars in binary systems have long been regarded as potential sources of high-energy γ rays. The emission is principally thought to arise in the region where the stellar winds collide and accelerate relativistic particles which subsequently emit γ rays. On the basis of a three-dimensional distribution function of high-energy particles in the wind collision region—as obtained by a numerical hydrodynamics and particle transport model—we present the computation of the three-dimensional nonthermal photon emission for a given line of sight. Anisotropic inverse Compton emission is modeled using the target radiation field of both stars. Photons from relativistic bremsstrahlung and neutral pion decay are computed on the basis of local wind plasma densities. We also consider photon-photon opacity effects due to the dense radiation fields of the stars. Results are shown for different stellar separations of a given binary system comprising of a B star and a Wolf-Rayet star. The influence of orbital orientation with respect to the line of sight is also studied by using different orbital viewing angles. For the chosen electron-proton injection ratio of 10{sup –2}, we present the ensuing photon emission in terms of two-dimensional projections maps, spectral energy distributions, and integrated photon flux values in various energy bands. Here, we find a transition from hadron-dominated to lepton-dominated high-energy emission with increasing stellar separations. In addition, we confirm findings from previous analytic modeling that the spectral energy distribution varies significantly with orbital orientation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Effects of anisotropy and disorder on the superconducting properties of niobium

We report results for the superconducting transition temperature and anisotropic energy gap for pure niobium based on Eliashberg’s equations and electron and phonon band structures computed from density functional theory. The electronic band structure is used to construct the Fermi surface and calculate the Fermi velocity at each point on the Fermi surface. The phonon bands are in excellent agreement with inelastic neutron scattering data. The corresponding phonon density of states and electron–phonon coupling define the electron–phonon spectral function, α 2 F(p, p'; ω), and the corresponding electron–phonon pairing interaction, which is the basis for computing the superconducting properties. The electron–phonon spectral function is in good agreement with existing tunneling spectroscopy data except for the spectral weight of the longitudinal phonon peak at ℏω LO = 23 meV. We obtain an electron–phonon coupling constant of λ = 1.057, renormalized Coulomb interaction μ* = 0.218, and transition temperature T c = 9.33 K. The corresponding strong-coupling gap at T = 0 is modestly enhanced, Δ 0 = 1.55 meV, compared to the weak-coupling BCS value $Δ^{\text {wc}}_{0}$ = 1.78 k B T c = 1.43 meV. The superconducting gap function exhibits substantial anisotropy on the Fermi surface. We analyze the distribution of gap anisotropy and compute the suppression of the superconducting transition temperature using a self-consistent T-matrix theory for quasiparticle-impurity scattering to describe niobium doped with non-magnetic impurities. We compare these results with experimental results on niobium SRF cavities doped with nitrogen impurities.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Scattering in multilayered structures: Diffraction from a nanohole

The spectral expansion of the Green's tensor for a planar multilayered structure allows us to semianalytically obtain the angular spectrum representation of the field scattered by an arbitrary dielectric perturbation present in the structure. In this paper we present a method to find the expansion coefficients of the scattered field, given that the electric field inside the perturbation is available. The method uses a complete set of orthogonal vector wave functions to solve the structure's vector wave equation. In the two semi-infinite bottom and top media, those vector wave functions coincide with the plane-wave basis vectors, including both propagating and evanescent components. The technique is used to obtain the complete angular spectrum of the field scattered by a nanohole in a metallic film under Gaussian illumination. We also show how the obtained formalism can easily be extended to spherically and cylindrically multilayered media. In those cases, the expansion coefficients would multiply the spherical and cylindrical vector wave functions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Structural and Biochemical Characterization of the Human Cyclophilin Family of Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerases

Peptidyl-prolyl isomerases catalyze the conversion between cis and trans isomers of proline. The cyclophilin family of peptidyl-prolyl isomerases is well known for being the target of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin, used to combat organ transplant rejection. There is great interest in both the substrate specificity of these enzymes and the design of isoform-selective ligands for them. However, the dearth of available data for individual family members inhibits attempts to design drug specificity; additionally, in order to define physiological functions for the cyclophilins, definitive isoform characterization is required. In the current study, enzymatic activity was assayed for 15 of the 17 human cyclophilin isomerase domains, and binding to the cyclosporin scaffold was tested. In order to rationalize the observed isoform diversity, the high-resolution crystallographic structures of seven cyclophilin domains were determined. These models, combined with seven previously solved cyclophilin isoforms, provide the basis for a family-wide structure:function analysis. Detailed structural analysis of the human cyclophilin isomerase explains why cyclophilin activity against short peptides is correlated with an ability to ligate cyclosporin and why certain isoforms are not competent for either activity. In addition, we find that regions of the isomerase domain outside the proline-binding surface impart isoform specificity for both in vivo substrates and drug design. We hypothesize that there is a well-defined molecular surface corresponding to the substrate-binding S2 position that is a site of diversity in the cyclophilin family. Computational simulations of substrate binding in this region support our observations. Our data indicate that unique isoform determinants exist that may be exploited for development of selective ligands and suggest that the currently available small-molecule and peptide-based ligands for this class of enzyme are insufficient for isoform specificity.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

On the truncation of the number of excited states in density functional theory sum-over-states calculations of indirect spin spin coupling constants

It is investigated, whether the number of excited (pseudo)states can be truncated in the sum-over-states expression for indirect spin-spin coupling constants (SSCCs), which is used in the Contributions from Localized Orbitals within the Polarization Propagator Approach and Inner Projections of the Polarization Propagator (IPPP-CLOPPA) approach to analyzing SSCCs in terms of localized orbitals. As a test set we have studied the nine simple compounds, CH{sub 4}, NH{sub 3}, H{sub 2}O, SiH{sub 4}, PH{sub 3}, SH{sub 2}, C{sub 2}H{sub 2}, C{sub 2}H{sub 4}, and C{sub 2}H{sub 6}. The excited (pseudo)states were obtained from time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations with the B3LYP exchange-correlation functional and the specialized core-property basis set, aug-cc-pVTZ-J. We investigated both how the calculated coupling constants depend on the number of (pseudo)states included in the summation and whether the summation can be truncated in a systematic way at a smaller number of states and extrapolated to the total number of (pseudo)states for the given one-electron basis set. We find that this is possible and that for some of the couplings it is sufficient to include only about 30% of the excited (pseudo)states.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Importance of imposing gauge invariance in time-dependent density functional theory calculations with meta-generalized gradient approximations

It has been known for more than a decade that the gauge variance of the kinetic energy density τ leads to additional terms in the magnetic orbital rotation Hessian used in linear-response time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), affecting excitation energies obtained with τ-dependent exchange–correlation functionals. While previous investigations found that a correction scheme based on the paramagnetic current density has a small effect on benchmark results, we report more pronounced effects here, in particular, for the popular M06-2X functional and for some other meta-generalized gradient approximations (mGGAs). In the first part of this communication, this is shown by a reassessment of a set of five Ni(II) complexes for which a previous benchmark study that did not impose gauge invariance has found surprisingly large errors for excitation energies obtained with M06-2X. These errors are more than halved by restoring gauge invariance. The variable importance of imposing gauge invariance for different mGGA-based functionals can be rationalized by the derivative of the mGGA exchange energy integrand with respect to τ. In the second part, a large set of valence excitations in small main-group molecules is analyzed. For M06-2X, several selected n → π* and π→π$^{*}_{⊥}$ excitations are heavily gauge-dependent with average changes of –0.17 and –0.28 eV, respectively, while π→π$^{*}_{∥}$ excitations are marginally affected (–0.04 eV). Similar patterns, but of the opposite signs, are found for SCAN0. Here, the results suggest that reevaluation of previous gauge variant TDDFT results based on M06-2X and other mGGA functionals is warranted.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Molecular NMR shieldings, J -couplings, and magnetizabilities from numeric atom-centered orbital based density-functional calculations

This paper reports and benchmarks a new implementation of nuclear magnetic resonance shieldings, magnetizabilities, and J-couplings for molecules within semilocal density functional theory, based on numeric atom-centered orbital (NAO) basis sets. NAO basis sets are attractive for the calculation of these nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters because NAOs provide accurate atomic orbital representations especially near the nucleus, enabling high-quality results at modest computational cost. Moreover, NAOs are readily adaptable for linear scaling methods, enabling efficient calculations of large systems. Here, the paper has five main parts: (1) It reviews the formalism of density functional calculations of NMR parameters in one comprehensive text to make the mathematical background available in a self-contained way. (2) The paper quantifies the attainable precision of NAO basis sets for shieldings in comparison to specialized Gaussian basis sets, showing similar performance for similar basis set size. (3) The paper quantifies the precision of calculated magnetizabilities, where the NAO basis sets appear to outperform several established Gaussian basis sets of similar size. (4) The paper quantifies the precision of computed J-couplings, for which a group of customized NAO basis sets achieves precision of ~Hz for smaller basis set sizes than some established Gaussian basis sets. (5) The paper demonstrates that the implementation is applicable to systems beyond 1000 atoms in size.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Do Practical Standard Coupled Cluster Calculations Agree Better than Kohn–Sham Calculations with Currently Available Functionals When Compared to the Best Available Experimental Data for Dissociation Energies of Bonds to 3d Transition Metals?

Coupled-cluster (CC) methods have been extensively used as the high-level approach in quantum electronic structure theory to predict various properties of molecules when experimental results are unavailable. It is often assumed that CC methods, if they include at least up to connected-triple-excitation quasiperturbative corrections to a full treatment of single and double excitations (in particular, CCSD(T)), and a very large basis set, are more accurate than Kohn–Sham (KS) density functional theory (DFT). In the present work, we tested and compared the performance of standard CC and KS methods on bond energy calculations of 20 3d transition metal-containing diatomic molecules against the most reliable experimental data available, as collected in a database called 3dMLBE20. It is found that, although the CCSD(T) and higher levels CC methods have mean unsigned deviations from experiment that are smaller than most exchange-correlation functionals for metal–ligand bond energies of transition metals, the improvement is less than one standard deviation of the mean unsigned deviation. Furthermore, on average, almost half of the 42 exchange-correlation functionals that we tested are closer to experiment than CCSD(T) with the same extended basis set for the same molecule. The results show that, when both relativistic and core–valence correlation effects are considered, even the very high-level (expensive) CC method with single, double, triple, and perturbative quadruple cluster operators, namely, CCSDT(2)Q, averaged over 20 bond energies, gives a mean unsigned deviation (MUD(20) = 4.7 kcal/mol when one correlates only valence, 3p, and 3s electrons of transition metals and only valence electrons of ligands, or 4.6 kcal/mol when one correlates all core electrons except for 1s shells of transition metals, S, and Cl); and that is similar to some good xc functionals (e.g., B97-1 (MUD(20) = 4.5 kcal/mol) and PW6B95 (MUD(20) = 4.9 kcal/mol)) when the same basis set is used. We found that, for both coupled cluster calculations and KS calculations, the T1 diagnostics correlate the errors better than either the M diagnostics or the B1 DFT-based diagnostics. The potential use of practical standard CC methods as a benchmark theory is further confounded by the finding that CC and DFT methods usually have different signs of the error. We conclude that the available experimental data do not provide a justification for using conventional single-reference CC theory calculations to validate or test xc functionals for systems involving 3d transition metals.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Density functional theory based simulations of silicon nanowire field effect transistors

First-principles density functional theory (DFT) based, atomistic, self-consistent device simulations are performed for realistically sized Si nanowire field effect transistors (NW FETs) having tens of thousands of atoms. Through mode space transformation, DFT Hamiltonian and overlap matrices are reduced in size from a few thousands to around one hundred. Ultra-efficient quantum-mechanical transport calculations in the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism in a non-orthogonal basis are therefore made possible. The n-type and p-type Si NW FETs are simulated and found to exhibit similar device performance in the nanoscale regime.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Structural basis for regulation of human calcium-sensing receptor by magnesium ions and an unexpected tryptophan derivative co-agonist

Ca 2+ -sensing receptors (CaSRs) modulate calcium and magnesium homeostasis and many (patho)physiological processes by responding to extracellular stimuli, including divalent cations and amino acids. We report the first crystal structure of the extracellular domain (ECD) of human CaSR bound with Mg 2+ and a tryptophan derivative ligand at 2.1 Å. The structure reveals key determinants for cooperative activation by metal ions and aromatic amino acids. The unexpected tryptophan derivative was bound in the hinge region between two globular ECD subdomains, and represents a novel high-affinity co-agonist of CaSR. The dissection of structure-function relations by mutagenesis, biochemical, and functional studies provides insights into the molecular basis of human diseases arising from CaSR mutations. The data also provide a novel paradigm for understanding the mechanism of CaSR-mediated signaling that is likely shared by the other family C GPCR [G protein (heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide–binding protein)–coupled receptor] members and can facilitate the development of novel CaSR-based therapeutics.

Binding Affinity↗

Theoretical predictions of properties and volatility of chlorides and oxychlorides of group-4 elements. II. Adsorption of tetrachlorides and oxydichlorides of Zr, Hf, and Rf on neutral and modified surfaces

With the aim to interpret results of gas-phase chromatography experiments on volatility of group-4 tetrachlorides and oxychlorides including those of Rf, adsorption enthalpies of these species on neutral, and modified quartz surfaces were estimated on the basis of relativistic, two-component Density Functional Theory calculations of MCl{sub 4}, MOCl{sub 2}, MCl{sub 6}{sup −}, and MOCl{sub 4}{sup 2} with the use of adsorption models. Several mechanisms of adsorption were considered. In the case of physisorption of MCl{sub 4}, the trend in the adsorption energy in the group should be Zr > Hf > Rf, so that the volatility should change in the opposite direction. The latter trend complies with the one in the sublimation enthalpies, ΔH{sub sub}, of the Zr and Hf tetrachlorides, i.e., Zr < Hf. On the basis of a correlation between these quantities, ΔH{sub sub}(RfCl{sub 4}) was predicted as 104.2 kJ/mol. The energy of physisorption of MOCl{sub 2} on quartz should increase in the group, Zr < Hf < Rf, as defined by increasing dipole moments of these molecules along the series. In the case of adsorption of MCl{sub 4} on quartz by chemical forces, formation of the MOCl{sub 2} or MOCl{sub 4}{sup 2−} complexes on the surface can take place, so that the sequence in the adsorption energy should be Zr > Hf > Rf, as defined by the complex formation energies. In the case of adsorption of MCl{sub 4} on a chlorinated quartz surface, formation of the MCl{sub 6}{sup 2−} surface complexes can occur, so that the trend in the adsorption strength should be Zr ≤ Hf < Rf. All the predicted sequences, showing a smooth change of the adsorption energy in the group, are in disagreement with the reversed trend Zr ≈ Rf < Hf, observed in the “one-atom-at-a-time” gas-phase chromatography experiments. Thus, currently no theoretical explanation can be found for the experimental observations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Intrinsic Resolution of Molecular Electronic Wave Functions and Energies in Terms of Quasi-atoms and Their Interactions

A general intrinsic energy resolution has been formulated for strongly correlated wave functions in the full molecular valence space and its subspaces. The information regarding the quasi-atomic organization of the molecular electronic structure is extracted from the molecular wave function without introducing any additional postulated model state wave functions. To this end, the molecular wave function is expressed in terms of quasi-atomic molecular orbitals, which maximize the overlap between subspaces of the molecular orbital space and the free-atom orbital spaces. As a result, the molecular wave function becomes the superposition of a wave function representing the non-bonded juxtaposed quasi-atoms and a wave function describing the interatomic electron migrations that create bonds through electron sharing. The juxtaposed nonbonded quasi-atoms are shown to consist of entangled quasi-atomic states from different atoms. The binding energy is resolved as a sum of contributions that are due to quasi-atom formation, quasiclassical electrostatic interactions and interatomic interferences caused by electron sharing. The contributions are further resolved according to orbital interactions. The various transformations that generate the analysis are determined by criteria that are independent of the working orbital basis used for calculating the molecular wave function. Lastly, the theoretical formulation of the resolution is quantitatively validated by an application to the C 2 molecule.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Higher-order SPOP assembly reveals a basis for cancer mutant dysregulation

The speckle-type POZ protein (SPOP) functions in the Cullin3-RING ubiquitin ligase (CRL3) as a receptor for the recognition of substrates involved in cell growth, survival, and signaling. SPOP mutations have been attributed to the development of many types of cancers, including prostate and endometrial cancers. Prostate cancer mutations localize in the substrate-binding site of the substrate recognition (MATH) domain and reduce or prevent binding. However, most endometrial cancer mutations are dispersed in seemingly inconspicuous solvent-exposed regions of SPOP, offering no clear basis for their cancer-causing and peculiar gain-of-function properties. Herein, we present the first structure of SPOP in its oligomeric form, uncovering several new interfaces important for SPOP self-assembly and normal function. Given that many previously unaccounted-for cancer mutations are localized in these newly identified interfaces, we uncover molecular mechanisms underlying dysregulation of SPOP function, with effects ranging from gross structural changes to enhanced self-association, and heightened stability and activity.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Identification of a functional nuclear localization signal within the human USP22 protein

Highlights: • USP22 was accumulated in nucleus. • We identified of a functional USP22 NLS. • The KRRK amino acid residues are indispensable in NLS. • The KRRK motif is conserved in USP22 homologues. - Abstract: Ubiquitin-specific processing enzyme 22 (USP22), a member of the deubiquitinase family, is over-expressed in most human cancers and has been implicated in tumorigenesis. Because it is an enzymatic subunit of the human SAGA transcriptional cofactor, USP22 deubiquitylates histone H2A and H2B in the nucleus, thus participating in gene regulation and cell-cycle progression. However, the mechanisms regulating its nuclear translocation have not yet been elucidated. It was here demonstrated that USP22 is imported into the nucleus through a mechanism mediated by nuclear localization signal (NLS). The bipartite NLS sequence KRELELLKHNPKRRKIT (aa152–168), was identified as the functional NLS for its nuclear localization. Furthermore, a short cluster of basic amino acid residues KRRK within this bipartite NLS plays the primary role in nuclear localization and is evolutionarily conserved in USP22 homologues. In the present study, a functional NLS and the minimal sequences required for the active targeting of USP22 to the nucleus were identified. These findings may provide a molecular basis for the mechanism underlying USP22 nuclear trafficking and function.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Wave-packet manipulation of He Rydberg states by a seeded free-electron laser

We report a two-dimensional pump-control-probe spectroscopic study of the dynamics of singly excited He Rydberg-state wave packets with a seeded extreme ultraviolet (XUV) free-electron laser (FEL) source. A pair of coherent XUV pulses, defined by their coarse time separation and relative phase, created and manipulated the wave packets. The He atoms were postionized by infrared (IR) pulses, and the ion yield was measured as a function of XUV phase and IR arrival time. We tagged and sorted the relative phase of the XUV pulse pair on a single-shot basis by fitting each FEL spectrum with a suitable function that accounts for nonidealities of the XUV pulse pairs, associated with the seeding process; more generally, the fit returns the time-dependent electric field of the FEL spectra. The experimental two-dimensional maps of ion yields, measured as a function of IR (probe) delay and of XUV (pump-control) phase, were compared with the solution of the first-order time-dependent Schrödinger equation for this field. Despite the fact that the experimental conditions imply strong excitation, beyond the approximations of first-order perturbation theory, the simulated map satisfactorily reproduces the experimental one for temporally well-separated pulses. We show that by selecting data at appropriate values of pump-control phase, we enhance or suppress the amplitude of chosen wave-packet components consisting of two or more Rydberg states. When the temporal overlap of the pulse pair cannot be neglected, the phase reconstruction is underdetermined, and we provide a simplified comparison between data and simulations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Dumergue, Mathieu (ORCID:0000000236984406)↗

Optical Absorption by Charge-Transfer Molecules

An analytical formalism is developed for the calculation of absorption of radiation by charge-transfer molecules with electronic density delocalized between the donor and acceptor parts. The theory consistently incorporates both the vibronic coupling to quantum intramolecular vibrations and electrostatic interactions with a classical polarizable medium. The formulation operates in terms of basis-invariant parameters and can be used for calculations based on both the localized diabatic states and delocalized adiabatic wave function produced by standard quantum-chemistry algorithms. The basis-invariant reorganization energy is particularly important, since it determines observable spectroscopic parameters, in contrast to the adiabatic reorganization energy based on the molecular charge distributions in the adiabatic vacuum states. Analytical formulas are derived for the charge-transfer absorption band and first two spectral moments connecting spectroscopy to properties of charge-transfer molecules. Electronic delocalization requires a new definition of the Huang–Rhys factor traditionally used to construct vibronic band shapes. Theory’s performance is illustrated by application to experimental data for self-exchange charge-transfer optical absorption and for metal-to-ligand emission transitions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗