Time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy of proton transfer in the ground state of chloromalonaldehyde: Wave-packet dynamics on effective potential surfaces of reduced dimensionality

We report on a simple but widely useful method for obtaining time-independent potential surfaces of reduced dimensionality wherein the coupling between reaction and substrate modes is embedded by averaging over an ensemble of classical trajectories. While these classically averaged potentials with their reduced dimensionality should be useful whenever a separation between reaction and substrate modes is meaningful, their use brings about significant simplification in studies of time-resolved photoelectron spectra in polyatomic systems where full-dimensional studies of skeletal and photoelectron dynamics can be prohibitive. Here we report on the use of these effective potentials in the studies of dump-probe photoelectron spectra of intramolecular proton transfer in chloromalonaldehyde. In these applications the effective potentials should provide a more realistic description of proton-substrate couplings than the sudden or adiabatic approximations commonly employed in studies of proton transfer. The resulting time-dependent photoelectron signals, obtained here assuming a constant value of the photoelectron matrix element for ionization of the wave packet, are seen to track the proton transfer

Deconfinement transition in protoneutron stars: analysis within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model

We study the effect of color superconductivity and neutrino trapping on the deconfinement transition of hadronic matter into quark matter in a protoneutron star. To describe the strongly interacting matter a two-phase picture is adopted. For the hadronic phase we use different parameterizations of a non-linear Walecka model which includes the whole baryon octet. For the quark matter phase we use an $SU(3)_f$ Nambu-Jona-Lasinio effective model which includes color superconductivity. We impose color and flavor conservation during the transition in such a way that just deconfined quark matter is transitorily out of equilibrium with respect to weak interactions. We find that deconfinement is more difficult for small neutrino content and it is easier for lower temperatures although these effects are not too large. In addition they will tend to cancel each other as the protoneutron star cools and deleptonizes, resulting a transition density that is roughly constant along the evolution of the protoneutron star. According to these results the deconfinement transition is favored after substantial cooling and contraction of the protoneutron star

Review of Existing Energy Framework for Vietnam

Since introducing a market-orientation to the economy in 1986, Vietnam has made considerable socioeconomic progress. For example, over the period 1986-2007, the GDP of Vietnam has grown at approximately 7 per cent per year which is the highest growth rate in the ASEAN region. In this growth, the countryâs energy sector has played a vital role. This role is likely to deepen in the years to come as Vietnam strives to achieve ever higher economic progress. Such deepening in the role of energy, this paper argues, will heighten concerns about the security of energy supply, increased CO2 emissions and pollution and other social and political challenges. In order to address these challenges, Vietnam has over the last decade, initiated several energy policies underpinned by appropriate legislation â called, âinstitutional frameworkâ, in the context of this paper. A deeper review of this framework suggests that it is typified by a lack of cohesiveness of policy direction and purpose, fragmented institutional structures and responsibilities, and weak public constituency on environmental issues. The existing framework is therefore unlikely to be able to provide a satisfactory redress to the challenges noted above. This paper provides some suggestions to reduce the weaknesses of the existing framework. These include: articulating the significance of the link between energy, economy and environment; developing coherence in institutional purpose and design, and raising public awareness through better communication and education

KMOS view of the Galactic Centre - II. Metallicity distribution of late-type stars

Knowing the metallicity distribution of stars in the Galactic Centre has important implications for the formation history of the Milky Way nuclear star cluster. However, this distribution is not well known, and is currently based on a small sample of fewer than 100 stars. We obtained near-infrared K-band spectra of more than 700 late-type stars in the central 4 pc^2 of the Milky Way nuclear star cluster with the integral-field spectrograph KMOS (VLT). We analyse the medium-resolution spectra using a full-spectral fitting method employing the G\"ottingen Spectral library of synthetic PHOENIX spectra. The derived stellar metallicities range from metal-rich [M/H]>+0.3 dex to metal-poor [M/H]<-1.0 dex, with a fraction of 5.2(^{+6.0}+{-3.1}) per cent metal-poor ([M/H]<-0.5 dex) stars. The metal-poor stars are distributed over the entire observed field. The origin of metal-poor stars remains unclear. They could originate from infalling globular clusters. For the metal-rich stellar population ([M/H]>0 dex) a globular cluster origin can be ruled out. As there is only a very low fraction of metal-poor stars in the central 4 pc^2 of the Galactic Centre, we believe that our data can discard a scenario in which the Milky Way nuclear star cluster is purely formed from infalling globular clusters.Comment: 18 pages, 9 Figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Measuring Distance and Properties of the Milky Way's Central Supermassive Black Hole with Stellar Orbits

We report new precision measurements of the properties of our Galaxy's supermassive black hole. Based on astrometric (1995-2007) and radial velocity (2000-2007) measurements from the W. M. Keck 10-meter telescopes, a fully unconstrained Keplerian orbit for the short period star S0-2 provides values for Ro of 8.0+-0.6 kpc, M_bh of 4.1+-0.6x10^6 Mo, and the black hole's radial velocity, which is consistent with zero with 30 km/s uncertainty. If the black hole is assumed to be at rest with respect to the Galaxy, we can further constrain the fit and obtain Ro = 8.4+-0.4 kpc and M_bh = 4.5+-0.4x10^6 Mo. More complex models constrain the extended dark mass distribution to be less than 3-4x10^5 Mo within 0.01 pc, ~100x higher than predictions from stellar and stellar remnant models. For all models, we identify transient astrometric shifts from source confusion and the assumptions regarding the black hole's radial motion as previously unrecognized limitations on orbital accuracy and the usefulness of fainter stars. Future astrometric and RV observations will remedy these effects. Our estimates of Ro and the Galaxy's local rotation speed, which it is derived from combining Ro with the apparent proper motion of Sgr A*, (theta0 = 229+-18 km/s), are compatible with measurements made using other methods. The increased black hole mass found in this study, compared to that determined using projected mass estimators, implies a longer period for the innermost stable orbit, longer resonant relaxation timescales for stars in the vicinity of the black hole and a better agreement with the M_bh-sigma relation.Comment: ApJ, accepted (26 pages, 16 figures, 7 tables

Core-Level X-Ray Photoemission Satellites in Ruthenates: A New Mechanism Revealing the Mott Transition

Ru 3d core-level x-ray photoemission spectra of various ruthenates are examined. They show in general two-peak structures, which can be assigned as the screened and unscreened peaks. The screened peak is absent in a Mott insulator, but develops into a main peak in the metallic regime. This spectral behavior is well explained by the dynamical mean-field theory calculation for the single-band Hubbard model with on-site core-hole potential using the exact diagonalization method. The new mechanism of the core-level photoemission satellite can be utilized to reveal the Mott transition phenomenon in various strongly correlated electron systems, especially in nano-scale devices and phase-separated materials.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR