185 research outputs found
Two essays in computational optimization: computing the clar number in fullerene graphs and distributing the errors in iterative interior point methods
Fullerene are cage-like hollow carbon molecules graph of pseudospherical sym-
metry consisting of only pentagons and hexagons faces. It has been the object
of interest for chemists and mathematicians due to its widespread application
in various fields, namely including electronic and optic engineering, medical sci-
ence and biotechnology. A Fullerene molecular, Γ n of n atoms has a multiplicity
of isomers which increases as N iso ∼ O(n 9 ). For instance, Γ 180 has 79,538,751
isomers. The Fries and Clar numbers are stability predictors of a Fullerene
molecule. These number can be computed by solving a (possibly N P -hard)
combinatorial optimization problem. We propose several ILP formulation of
such a problem each yielding a solution algorithm that provides the exact value
of the Fries and Clar numbers. We compare the performances of the algorithm
derived from the proposed ILP formulations. One of this algorithm is used to
find the Clar isomers, i.e., those for which the Clar number is maximum among
all isomers having a given size. We repeated this computational experiment for
all sizes up to 204 atoms. In the course of the study a total of 2 649 413 774
isomers were analyzed.The second essay concerns developing an iterative primal dual infeasible path
following (PDIPF) interior point (IP) algorithm for separable convex quadratic
minimum cost flow network problem. In each iteration of PDIPF algorithm, the
main computational effort is solving the underlying Newton search direction
system. We concentrated on finding the solution of the corresponding linear
system iteratively and inexactly. We assumed that all the involved inequalities
can be solved inexactly and to this purpose, we focused on different approaches
for distributing the error generated by iterative linear solvers such that the
convergences of the PDIPF algorithm are guaranteed. As a result, we achieved
theoretical bases that open the path to further interesting practical investiga-
tion
The topology of fullerenes
Fullerenes are carbon molecules that form polyhedral cages. Their bond structures are exactly the planar cubic graphs that have only pentagon and hexagon faces. Strikingly, a number of chemical properties of a fullerene can be derived from its graph structure. A rich mathematics of cubic planar graphs and fullerene graphs has grown since they were studied by Goldberg, Coxeter, and others in the early 20th century, and many mathematical properties of fullerenes have found simple and beautiful solutions. Yet many interesting chemical and mathematical problems in the field remain open. In this paper, we present a general overview of recent topological and graph theoretical developments in fullerene research over the past two decades, describing both solved and open problems. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2015, 5:96–145. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1207 Conflict of interest: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website
Electronic States of Graphene Grain Boundaries
We introduce a model for amorphous grain boundaries in graphene, and find
that stable structures can exist along the boundary that are responsible for
local density of states enhancements both at zero and finite (~0.5 eV)
energies. Such zero energy peaks in particular were identified in STS
measurements [J. \v{C}ervenka, M. I. Katsnelson, and C. F. J. Flipse, Nature
Physics 5, 840 (2009)], but are not present in the simplest pentagon-heptagon
dislocation array model [O. V. Yazyev and S. G. Louie, Physical Review B 81,
195420 (2010)]. We consider the low energy continuum theory of arrays of
dislocations in graphene and show that it predicts localized zero energy
states. Since the continuum theory is based on an idealized lattice scale
physics it is a priori not literally applicable. However, we identify stable
dislocation cores, different from the pentagon-heptagon pairs, that do carry
zero energy states. These might be responsible for the enhanced magnetism seen
experimentally at graphite grain boundaries.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review
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Enumerating molecules.
This report is a comprehensive review of the field of molecular enumeration from early isomer counting theories to evolutionary algorithms that design molecules in silico. The core of the review is a detail account on how molecules are counted, enumerated, and sampled. The practical applications of molecular enumeration are also reviewed for chemical information, structure elucidation, molecular design, and combinatorial library design purposes. This review is to appear as a chapter in Reviews in Computational Chemistry volume 21 edited by Kenny B. Lipkowitz
Critical assessment of the evidence for striped nanoparticles
There is now a significant body of literature which reports that stripes form in the ligand shell of suitably functionalised Au nanoparticles. This stripe morphology has been proposed to strongly affect the physicochemical and biochemical properties of the particles. We critique the published evidence for striped nanoparticles in detail, with a particular focus on the interpretation of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) data (as this is the only technique which ostensibly provides direct evidence for the presence of stripes). Through a combination of an exhaustive re-analysis of the original data, in addition to new experimental measurements of a simple control sample comprising entirely unfunctionalised particles, we show that all of the STM evidence for striped nanoparticles published to date can instead be explained by a combination of well-known instrumental artefacts, or by issues with data acquisition/analysis protocols. We also critically re-examine the evidence for the presence of ligand stripes which has been claimed to have been found from transmission electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, small angle neutron scattering experiments, and computer simulations. Although these data can indeed be interpreted in terms of stripe formation, we show that the reported results can alternatively be explained as arising from a combination of instrumental artefacts and inadequate data analysis techniques
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