Nucleation of a sodium droplet on C60

We investigate theoretically the progressive coating of C60 by several sodium atoms. Density functional calculations using a nonlocal functional are performed for NaC60 and Na2C60 in various configurations. These data are used to construct an empirical atomistic model in order to treat larger sizes in a statistical and dynamical context. Fluctuating charges are incorporated to account for charge transfer between sodium and carbon atoms. By performing systematic global optimization in the size range 1<=n<=30, we find that Na_nC60 is homogeneously coated at small sizes, and that a growing droplet is formed above n=>8. The separate effects of single ionization and thermalization are also considered, as well as the changes due to a strong external electric field. The present results are discussed in the light of various experimental data.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure

Cyclic voles and shrews and non-cyclic mice in a marginal grassland within European temperate forest

Cyclic population dynamics of small mammals are not restricted to the boreal and arctic zones of Eurasia and North America, but long-term data series from lower latitudes are still less common. We demonstrated here the presence of periodic oscillations in small mammal populations in eastern Poland using 22-year (1986–2007) trapping data from marginal meadow and river valley grasslands located in the extensive temperate woodland of Białowieża Primeval Forest. The two most common species inhabiting meadows and river valleys, root vole Microtus oeconomus and common shrew Sorex araneus, exhibited synchronous periodic changes, characterised by a 3-year time lag as indicated by an autocorrelation function. Moreover, the cycles of these two species were synchronous within both habitats. Population dynamics of the striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius was not cyclic. However, this species regularly reached maximum density 1 year before the synchronized peak of root voles and common shrews, which may suggest the existence of interspecific competition. Dynamics of all three species was dominated by direct density-dependent process, whereas delayed density dependent feedback was significant only in the root vole and common shrew. Climatic factors acting in winter and spring (affecting mainly survival and initial reproduction rates) were more important than those acting in summer and autumn and affected significantly only the common shrew. High temperatures in winter and spring had positive effects on autumn-to-autumn changes in abundance of this species, whereas deep snow in combination with high rainfall in spring negatively affected population increase rates in common shrew