603 research outputs found
The strength of nuclear shell effects at N=126 in the r-process region
We have investigated nuclear shell effects across the magic number N=126 in
the region of the r-process path. Microscopic calculations have been performed
using the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov approach within the framework of the
RMF theory for isotopic chains of rare-earth nuclei in the r-process region.
The Lagrangian model NL-SV1 with the inclusion of the vector self-coupling of
omega meson has been employed. The RMF results show that the shell effects at
N=126 remain strong and exhibit only a slight reduction in the strength in
going from the r-process path to the neutron drip line. This is in striking
contrast to a systematic weakening of the shell effects at N=82 in the
r-process region predicted earlier in the similar approach. In comparison the
shell effects with microscopic-macroscopic mass formulae show a near constancy
of shell gaps leading to strong shell effects in the region of r-process path
to the drip line. A recent analysis of solar-system r-process abundances in a
prompt supernova explosion model using various mass formulae including the
recently introduced mass tables based upon HFB approach shows that whilst mass
formulae with weak shell effects at N=126 give rise to a spread and an
overproduction of nuclides near the third abundance peak at A~190, mass tables
with droplet models showing stronger shell effects are able to reproduce the
abundance features near the third peak appropriately. In comparison, several
analyses of the second r-process peak at A~130 have required weakened shell
effects at N=82. Our predictions in the RMF theory with NL-SV1, which exhibit
weaker shell effects at N=82 and stronger one at N=126 in the r-process region,
support the conjecture that a different nature of the shell effects at the
magic numbers may be at play in r-process nucleosynthesis of heavy nuclei.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures; submitted to Physical Review C. Part of this
work was presented at Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics II, 20th International
Nuclear Physics Divisional Conference of the European Physical Society, at
Debrecen, Hungary, May 16-20, 200
End Capping Ring-Opening Olefin Metathesis Polymerization Polymers with Vinyl Lactones
The selective placement of a functional group at the chain end of a ring-opening metathesis polymer using ruthenium carbene initiators has been a significant limitation. Here we demonstrate a highly effective and facile end-capping technique for ROMP with living ruthenium carbene chain ends using single-turnover olefin metathesis substrates. Vinylene carbonate and 3H-furanone are introduced as functionalization and termination agents for the ruthenium-initiated ring-opening metathesis polymerization. This leads directly to the formation of functional polymer end groups without further chemical transformation steps. Aldehyde and carboxylic acid end groups can be introduced by this new method which involves the decomposition of acyl carbenes to ruthenium carbides. The high degrees of chain-end functionality obtained are supported by ^1H NMR spectroscopy, MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry, and end-group derivatization
Neutrino-induced fission of neutron-rich nuclei
We calculate neutrino-induced fission cross sections for selected nuclei with
Z=84-92. We show that these reactions populate the daughter nucleus at
excitation energies where shell effects are significantly washed out,
effectively reducing the fission barrier. If the r-process occurs in the
presence of a strong neutrino fluence, and electron neutrino average energies
are sufficiently high, perhaps as a result of matter-enhanced neutrino flavor
transformation, then neutrino-induced fission could lead to significant
alteration in the r-process flow in slow outflow scenarios.Comment: 4 pages, three figure
Molecular Characterization of \u3ci\u3eCitrus tatter leaf virus\u3c/i\u3e Historically Associated with Meyer Lemon Trees: Complete Genome Sequence and Development of Biologically Active In Vitro Transcripts
Citrus tatter leaf virus isolated from Meyer lemon trees (CTLV-ML) from California and Florida induces bud union incompatibility of citrus trees grafted on the widely used trifoliate and trifoliate hybrid rootstocks. The complete genome sequence of CTLV-ML was determined to be 6,495 nucleotides (nts), with two overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) and a poly (A) tail at the 3′ end. The genome organization is similar to other capilloviruses, with ORF1 (nts 37 to 6,354) encoding a putative 242-kDa polyprotein which contains replication-associated domains plus a coat protein (CP), and ORF2 (nts 4,788 to 5,750), which is located within ORF1 in a different reading frame and encodes a putative movement protein. Although the proteins encoded by CTLV-ML possesses 84 to 96% amino acid sequence identity with strains of Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), we observed two strikingly different regions in ORF1: variable region I (amino acids 532 to 570) and variable region II (amino acids 1,583 to 1,868), with only 15 to 18 and 56 to 62% identities, respectively, with the corresponding regions of ASGV strains. Conditions for a herbaceous systemic assay host were optimized in which the wildtype virus induced systemic infection in Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Light Red Kidney (LRK) bean plants at 19 or 22°C but not at higher temperatures. In vitro transcripts generated from full-length cDNA clones induced systemic symptoms on LRK bean plants similar to that of the wild-type virus. Replication of the recombinant virus was confirmed by hybridization of a 5′ positive-stranded RNA-specific probe to a genome-sized RNA and by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction
Phase shift experiments identifying Kramers doublets in a chaotic superconducting microwave billiard of threefold symmetry
The spectral properties of a two-dimensional microwave billiard showing
threefold symmetry have been studied with a new experimental technique. This
method is based on the behavior of the eigenmodes under variation of a phase
shift between two input channels, which strongly depends on the symmetries of
the eigenfunctions. Thereby a complete set of 108 Kramers doublets has been
identified by a simple and purely experimental method. This set clearly shows
Gaussian unitary ensemble statistics, although the system is time-reversal
invariant.Comment: RevTex 4, 5 figure
Loop B is a major structural component of the 5-HT3 receptor
The 5-HT3 receptor belongs to a family of therapeutically important neurotransmitter-gated receptors whose ligand binding sites are formed by the convergence of six peptide loops (A-F). Here we have mutated 15 amino acid residues in and around loop B of the 5-HT3 receptor (Ser-177 to Asn-191) to Ala or a residue with similar chemical properties. Changes in [3H]granisetron binding affinity (Kd) and 5-HT EC50 were determined using receptors expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Substitutions at all but one residue (Thr-181) altered or eliminated binding for one or both mutants. Receptors were nonfunctional or EC50 values were altered for all but two mutants (S182T, I190L). Homology modeling indicates that loop B contributes two residues to a hydrophobic core that faces into the β-sandwich of the subunit, and the experimental data indicate that they are important for both the structure and the function of the receptor. The models also show that close to the apex of the loop (Ser-182 to Ile-190), loop B residues form an extensive network of hydrogen bonds, both with other loop B residues and with adjacent regions of the protein. Overall, the data suggest that loop B has a major role in maintaining the structure of the region by a series of noncovalent interactions that are easily disrupted by amino acid substitutions
Solution of the Complex Action Problem in the Potts Model for Dense QCD
Monte Carlo simulations of lattice QCD at non-zero baryon chemical potential
suffer from the notorious complex action problem. We consider QCD with
static quarks coupled to a large chemical potential. This leaves us with an
SU(3) Yang-Mills theory with a complex action containing the Polyakov loop.
Close to the deconfinement phase transition the qualitative features of this
theory, in particular its Z(3) symmetry properties, are captured by the 3-d
3-state Potts model. We solve the complex action problem in the Potts model by
using a cluster algorithm. The improved estimator for the -dependent part
of the Boltzmann factor is real and positive and is used for importance
sampling. We localize the critical endpoint of the first order deconfinement
phase transition line and find consistency with universal 3-d Ising behavior.
We also calculate the static quark-quark, quark-anti-quark, and
anti-quark-anti-quark potentials which show screening as expected for a system
with non-zero baryon density.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure
Sacrificial Synthesis of Hydroxy-Functionalized ROMP Polymers: An Efficiency Study
We present here a ^1H NMR spectroscopy study of the kinetics of the ROMP macroinitiation of poly(exo-N-phenyl-2,3-norbornene dicarboximide) with various dioxepine derivatives and Grubbs first generation ruthenium initiators. We have recently demonstrated that this so-called “sacrificial block copolymer” approach yields hydroxy-functionalized ROMP polymers with high end-group functionality. This study shows that the substituents on the dioxepine are important for functionalization efficiency, in the order phenyl > isopropyl > methyl. Addition of triphenylphosphine to the ruthenium carbene initiator resulted in lower k_i/k_p (rate of initiation/rate of propagation) values for the macroinitiation than in the absence of triphenylphosphine. We demonstrate that the value of k_i/k_p for macroinitiations can be estimated for new sacrificial monomers by analyzing one or two functionalization reactions. This provides an easy tool for the rapid screening and evaluation of new sacrificial monomers
Sacrificial Synthesis of Hydroxy-Functionalized ROMP Polymers: An Efficiency Study
We present here a ^1H NMR spectroscopy study of the kinetics of the ROMP macroinitiation of poly(exo-N-phenyl-2,3-norbornene dicarboximide) with various dioxepine derivatives and Grubbs first generation ruthenium initiators. We have recently demonstrated that this so-called “sacrificial block copolymer” approach yields hydroxy-functionalized ROMP polymers with high end-group functionality. This study shows that the substituents on the dioxepine are important for functionalization efficiency, in the order phenyl > isopropyl > methyl. Addition of triphenylphosphine to the ruthenium carbene initiator resulted in lower k_i/k_p (rate of initiation/rate of propagation) values for the macroinitiation than in the absence of triphenylphosphine. We demonstrate that the value of k_i/k_p for macroinitiations can be estimated for new sacrificial monomers by analyzing one or two functionalization reactions. This provides an easy tool for the rapid screening and evaluation of new sacrificial monomers
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