Studies on Rare-Earth/Iron and Actinide/Iron Multilayers

Hyperfine Interactions - Multilayers of Ce/Fe and U/Fe were fabricated by sputtering and studied by X-ray diffraction and reflectivity, Mössbauer spectroscopy and polarised neutron...     

Application of time-variable feedback to the input amplifier of pulse magnetic resonance spectrometers: Experimental studies

Experimental research on the improvement of the sensitivity and time resolution of pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometers is discussed. It is shown that application of a time-variable feedback of a signal to the input of the receiver amplifier can decouple, the “fixed” relationship between the quality factorQ and the ringdown time of the resonance system. Experiments were performed with low-frequency, radio-frequency and microwave pulse-type magnetic resonance receivers. Modifications of an S/C-band electron spin echo modulation spectrometer carried out to check the “time-variable feedback” performance are described. It is demonstrated that the application of a time-variable feedback can significantly reduce the ringdown time and improve the recovery properties of the magnetic resonance receiver system. It is also demonstrated that the time-variable feedback can improve the overall receiver sensitivity due to the fact that the working bandwidth of the resonance system can be optimized separately for the transmitting and the receiving mode. Signal values could be increased at least three times and the signal-to-noise ratio about 1.5–2 times. The largest improvement is achieved with the initially overcoupled resonator. Experimental spectra of test samples for different settings of the time-variable feedback are shown.     

Molecular flow and wall collision age distributions

The use of storage cells has become a standard technique for internal gas targets in conjunction with high energy storage rings. In case of spin-polarized hydrogen and deuterium gas targets the interaction of the injected atoms with the walls of the storage cell can lead to depolarization and recombination. Thus the number of wall collisions of the atoms in the target gas is important for modeling the processes of spin relaxation and recombination. It is shown in this article that the diffusion process of rarefied gases in long tubes or storage cells can be described with the help of the one-dimensional diffusion equation. Mathematical methods are presented that allow one to calculate collision age distributions (CAD) and their moments analytically. These methods provide a better understanding of the different aspects of diffusion than Monte Carlo calculations. Additionally it is shown that measurements of the atomic density or polarization of a gas sample taken from the center of the tube allow one to determine the possible range of the corresponding density weighted average values along the tube. The calculations are applied to the storage cell geometry of the HERMES internal polarized hydrogen and deuterium gas target. Received 9 July 2001 and Received in final form 18 September 2001     

Electronic and geometric properties of alkali-C60 molecules

First-principle electronic structure calculations are carried out for M_xC ₆₀ ^q , where M = Li, Na, K and ( x , q ) = (1, 0),(1,±1),(2, 0),(3, - 1),(6, 0),(6, - 1),(12, 0) using the local density functional. The electric dipole moment for MC₆₀ agrees with the experimental results. The calculated Mulliken charge indicates that the bonding of the alkali atom with C₆₀ is mostly ionic except for lithium. The alkali atom prefers to make many bonds with the carbon atoms rather than a single bond with the neighbor carbon atom. The calculated adsorption energy suggest that the metal-metal bonding of sodiums and potassiums on C₆₀ arises for more than the six valence electrons in the alkali atoms. The lithium-lithium bond is, on the other hand, not appeared for x ? 12. The difference in the most stable geometry between lithiums and the other alkali atoms on C₆₀ comes from the covalent character of the lithium-carbon bond.     

An optimal design of collateralized mortgage obligation with PAC-companion structure using dynamic cash reserve

This paper presents a model for optimally designing a collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) with a planned amortization class (PAC)-companion structure using dynamic cash reserve. In this structure, the mortgage pool’s cash flow is allocated by rule to the two bond classes such that PAC bondholders receive substantial prepayment protection, that protection being provided by the companion bondholders. The structure we propose provides greater protection to the PAC bondholders than current structures during periods of rising interest rates when this class of bondholders faces greater extension risk. We do so by allowing a portion of the cash flow from the collateral to be reserved to meet the PAC’s scheduled cash flow in subsequent periods. The greater protection is provided by the companion bondholders exposure to interest loss. To tackle this problem, we transform the problem of designing the optimal PAC-companion structure into a standard stochastic linear programming problem which can be solved efficiently. Moreover, we present an extended model by considering the quality of the companion bond and by relaxing the PAC bondholder shortfall constraint. Based on numerical experiments through Monte Carlo simulation, we show the utility of the proposed model.     

A rapid and sensitive extractive spectrophotometric determination of copper(II) in pharmaceutical and environmental samples using benzildithiosemicarbazone.

Benzildithiosemicarbazone (BDTSC) is proposed as a sensitive and selective analytical reagent for the extractive spectrophotometric determination of copper(II). BDTSC reacts with copper(II) in the pH range 1.0-7.0 to form a yellowish complex. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range 0.5-0.4 microg cm(-3). The yellowish Cu(II)-BDTSC complex in chloroform shows a maximum absorbance at 380 nm, with molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity values of 1.63 x 10(4) dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.00389 microg cm(-2), respectively. A repetition of the method is checked by finding the relative standard deviation (RSD) (n = 10), which is 0.6%. The composition of the Cu(II)-BDTSC complex is established as 1:1 by slope analysis, molar ratio and Asmus' methods. An excellent linearity with a correlation coefficient value of 0.98 is obtained for the Cu(II)-BDTSC complex. The instability constant of the complex calculated from Edmond and Birnbaum's method is 7.70 x 10(-4) and that of Asmus' method is 7.66 x 10(-4), at room temperature. The method is successfully employed for the determination copper(II) in pharmaceutical and environmental samples. The reliability of the method is assured by analyzing the standard alloys (BCS 5g, 10g, 19e, 78, 32a, 207 and 179) and by inter-comparison of experimental values, using an atomic absorption spectrometer.     

Pt(IV)-catalyzed cyclization of arene-alkyne substrates via C-H bond functionalization

We herein report that PtCl₄ has proven to be a hydroarylation catalyst with an efficiency and substrate scope superior to previously known methods. This catalyst demonstrated consistent performance with arene-yne substrates of diverse structural features, including propargyl ethers, propargylamines, and alkynoate esters, providing good to excellent yields of the 6-endo products (chromenes, dihydroquinolines, and coumarins). In contrast, Pt(II), Pd(II), and Ga(III) salts were shown to be sensitive to the substitution on the alkyne moiety. PtCl₄ is compatible with both terminal and disubstituted alkynes, as well as with various functionalities on the arene ring, including methyl, methoxyl, hydroxyl, protected amine, and halide.