Synthesis, thermal behavior, and aggregation in aqueous solution of poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)

Indexación: ScieloABSTRACT Amphiphilic block copolymers of poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA and poly(2-hidroxyethyl methacrylate) PHEMA were synthesized by a two-step atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Copolymers with various degrees of polymerization and different relative block sizes were obtained. The structure of the resulting polymers have been characterized and verified by FT-IR and 1H-NMR, molecular weight were determined by size exclusion chromatography analyses. The thermal properties of these polymers were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry DSC and thermogravimetric analysis TGA. The glass transition temperature of mono halogenated PMMA increases from 116 °C to 123 °C with increasing molecular weight, whereas the glass transition temperature of block copolymers depends slightly on polymer structure. The derivatives of TGA curves indicate that thermal degradation occurs in one stage. The self-assembly of PMMA-b-PHEMA in aqueous solution have been investigated by fluorescence probing methods. The critical micelle concentrations are in the range 10-6 - 10-7 M. The micropolarity sensed by pyrene is higher than in aggregates formed by block copolymers based on polystyrene. Keywords: Block copolymers, glass transition temperature, thermogravimetric analysis, critical micelle concentration, fluorescence probing methods

The Value of a College Education: Estimating the Effect of Teacher Preparation on Student Achievement

Federal legislation currently holds institutions of higher education accountable for the quality of teachers that they produce. However research has yet to demonstrate that teacher preparation programs (TPPs) have differential effects on the quality of teachers they produce in terms of student achievement. This study uses data from a sample of 2,582 5th grade math students in an urban school district in Kentucky and a school fixed effects design to explore the variation in average TPP effects. The authors find that TPPs are differentially effective in training teachers, which in turn impacts student performance on 5th grade math scores. There is also some indication that these differential effects converge around teachers’ fifth year of teaching.Student achievement; teacher preparation, teacher effects

Robust quantum correlations in out-of-equilibrium matter-light systems

High precision macroscopic quantum control in interacting light-matter systems remains a significant goal toward novel information processing and ultra-precise metrology. We show that the out-of-equilibrium behavior of a paradigmatic light-matter system (Dicke model) reveals two successive stages of enhanced quantum correlations beyond the traditional schemes of near-adiabatic and sudden quenches. The first stage features magnification of matter-only and light-only entanglement and squeezing due to effective non-linear self-interactions. The second stage results from a highly entangled light-matter state, with enhanced superradiance and signatures of chaotic and highly quantum states. We show that these new effects scale up consistently with matter system size, and are reliable even in dissipative environments.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

New dynamical scaling universality for quantum networks across adiabatic quantum phase transitions

We reveal universal dynamical scaling behavior across adiabatic quantum phase transitions (QPTs) in networks ranging from traditional spatial systems (Ising model) to fully connected ones (Dicke and Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick models). Our findings, which lie beyond traditional critical exponent analysis and adiabatic perturbation approximations, are applicable even where excitations have not yet stabilized and hence provide a time-resolved understanding of QPTs encompassing a wide range of adiabatic regimes. We show explicitly that even though two systems may traditionally belong to the same universality class, they can have very different adiabatic evolutions. This implies more stringent conditions need to be imposed than at present, both for quantum simulations where one system is used to simulate the other, and for adiabatic quantum computing schemes.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, plus supplementary material (6 pages, 1 figure

Large dynamic light-matter entanglement from driving neither too fast nor too slow

A significant problem facing next-generation quantum technologies is how to generate and manipulate macroscopic entanglement in light and matter systems. Here we report a new regime of dynamical light-matter behavior in which a giant, system-wide entanglement is generated by varying the light-matter coupling at \emph{intermediate} velocities. This enhancement is far larger and broader-ranged than that occurring near the quantum phase transition of the same model under adiabatic conditions. By appropriate choices of the coupling within this intermediate regime, the enhanced entanglement can be made to spread system-wide or to reside in each subsystem separately.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

SOLUBILIZATION OF P-ALKYLPHENOLS IN PLURONICS F-68 AND F-127 MICELLES: PARTITION COEFFICIENTS AND EFFECT OF SOLUTE ON THE AGGREGATE STRUCTURE

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.The partition of a series of substituted phenols between water and polymer micelles formed by Pluronic F-68 and F-127 has been studied. The formation of micelles by these block copolymers has been evidenced by steady-state fluorescence and dynamic light scattering. The data show that micelles and larger aggregates are formed above the critical micelle concentration. In presence of p-alkylphenols a micelle rearrangement occurs that leads to the formation of just one and large aggregate. This effect depends both on polymer and phenols structures. The partition coefficients and the standard free energies of transfer from the aqueous to the micellar phases were determined. The incremental free energy for a methylene group are 2.88 kJ mol-1 and 1.65 kJ mol-1 for F-127 and F-68, respectively. This difference is explained in terms of the core sizes that are determined by the length of the PPO block.http://ref.scielo.org/xfqmx

Quantum Hysteresis in Coupled Light-Matter Systems

We investigate the non-equilibrium quantum dynamics of a canonical light-matter system, namely the Dicke model, when the light-matter interaction is ramped up and down through a cycle across the quantum phase transition. Our calculations reveal a rich set of dynamical behaviors determined by the cycle times, ranging from the slow, near adiabatic regime through to the fast, sudden quench regime. As the cycle time decreases, we uncover a crossover from an oscillatory exchange of quantum information between light and matter that approaches a reversible adiabatic process, to a dispersive regime that generates large values of light-matter entanglement. The phenomena uncovered in this work have implications in quantum control, quantum interferometry, as well as in quantum information theory.Comment: 9 pages and 4 figure

Pulsed Generation of Quantum Coherences and Non-classicality in Light-Matter Systems

We show that a pulsed stimulus can be used to generate many-body quantum coherences in light-matter systems of general size. Specifically, we calculate the exact real-time evolution of a driven, generic out-of-equilibrium system comprising an arbitrary number N qubits coupled to a global boson field. A novel form of dynamically-driven quantum coherence emerges for general N and without having to access the empirically challenging strong-coupling regime. Its properties depend on the speed of the changes in the stimulus. Non-classicalities arise within each subsystem that have eluded previous analyses. Our findings show robustness to losses and noise, and have potential functional implications at the systems level for a variety of nanosystems, including collections of N atoms, molecules, spins, or superconducting qubits in cavities -- and possibly even vibration-enhanced light harvesting processes in macromolecules.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Functional advantages offered by many-body coherences in biochemical systems

Quantum coherence phenomena driven by electronic-vibrational (vibronic) interactions, are being reported in many pulse (e.g. laser) driven chemical and biophysical systems. But what systems-level advantage(s) do such many-body coherences offer to future technologies? We address this question for pulsed systems of general size N, akin to the LHCII aggregates found in green plants. We show that external pulses generate vibronic states containing particular multipartite entanglements, and that such collective vibronic states increase the excitonic transfer efficiency. The strength of these many-body coherences and their robustness to decoherence, increase with aggregate size N and do not require strong electronic-vibrational coupling. The implications for energy and information transport are discussed.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1706.0776