Fusion mechanism in fullerene-fullerene collisions -- The deciding role of giant oblate-prolate motion

We provide answers to long-lasting questions in the puzzling behavior of fullerene-fullerene fusion: Why are the fusion barriers so exceptionally high and the fusion cross sections so extremely small? An ab initio nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics (NA-QMD) analysis of C$_{60}$+C$_{60}$ collisions reveals that the dominant excitation of an exceptionally "giant" oblate-prolate H$_g(1)$ mode plays the key role in answering both questions. From these microscopic calculations, a macroscopic collision model is derived, which reproduces the NA-QMD results. Moreover, it predicts analytically fusion barriers for different fullerene-fullerene combinations in excellent agreement with experiments

Ab-initio molecular dynamics studies of laser- and collision-induced processes in multielectron diatomics, organic molecules and fullerenes

This work presents applications of an ab-initio molecular dynamics method, the so-called nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics (NA-QMD), for various molecular systems with many electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom. Thereby, the nuclei will be treated classically and the electrons with time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) in basis expansion. Depending on the actual system and physical process, well suited basis sets for the Kohn-Sham orbitals has to be chosen. For the ionization process a novel absorber acting in the energy space as well as additional basis functions will be used depending on the laser frequency. In the first part of the applications, a large variety of different laser-induced molecular processes will be investigated. This concerns, the orientation dependence of the ionization of multielectronic diatomics (N2, O2), the isomerization of organic molecules (N2H2) and the giant excitation of the breathing mode in fullerenes (C60). In the second part, fullerene-fullerene collisions are investigated, for the first time in the whole range of relevant impact velocities concerning the vibrational and electronic energy transfer (\"stopping~power\"). For low energetic (adiabatic) collisions, it is surprisingly found, that a two-dimensional, phenomenological collision model can reproduce (even quantitatively) the basic features of fusion and scattering observed in the fully microscopic calculations as well as in the experiment. For high energetic (nonadiabatic) collisions, the electronic and vibrational excitation regimes are predicted, leading to multifragmentation up to complete atomization

Nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics with hopping. I. General formalism and case study

An extension of the nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics approach is presented to account for electron-nuclear correlations in the dynamics of atomic many-body systems. The method combines electron dynamics described within time-dependent density-functional or Hartree-Fock theory with trajectory-surface-hopping dynamics for the nuclei, allowing us to take into account explicitly a possible external laser field. As a case study, a model system of H++H collisions is considered where full quantum-mechanical calculations are available for comparison. For this benchmark system the extended surface-hopping scheme exactly reproduces the full quantum results. Future applications are briefly outlined

Nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics with hopping, II. Role of nuclear quantum effects in atomic collisions

An extension of the nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics approach is presented to account for electron-nuclear correlations in the dynamics of atomic many-body systems. The method combines electron dynamics described within time-dependent density-functional or Hartree-Fock theory with trajectory-surface-hopping dynamics for the nuclei, allowing us to take into account explicitly a possible external laser field. As a case study, a model system of H++H collisions is considered where full quantum-mechanical calculations are available for comparison. For this benchmark system the extended surface-hopping scheme exactly reproduces the full quantum results. Future applications are briefly outlined

Nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics with hopping. III. Photoinduced excitation and relaxation of organic molecules

Photoinduced excitation and relaxation of organic molecules (C2H4 and CH2NH+2) are investigated by means of nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics with hopping (NA-QMD-H), developed recently [Fischer, Handt, and Schmidt, paper I of this series, Phys. Rev. A 90, 012525 (2014)]. This method is first applied to molecules assumed to be initially ad hoc excited to an electronic surface. Special attention is drawn to elaborate the role of electron-nuclear correlations, i.e., of quantum effects in the nuclear dynamics. It is found that they are essential for a realistic description of the long-time behavior of the electronic relaxation process, but only of minor importance to portray the short-time scenario of the nuclear dynamics. Migration of a hydrogen atom, however, is identified as a quantum effect in the nuclear motion. Results obtained with explicit inclusion of an fs-laser field are presented as well. It is shown that the laser-induced excitation process generally leads to qualitatively different gross features of the relaxation dynamics, as compared to the field-free case. Nevertheless, the nuclear wave packet contains all subtleties of the cis-trans isomerization mechanism as observed without a laser field

Aus- und Weiterbildung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von e-Learning - Teil 2: Didaktisches Objektmodell - Modellierung und Beschreibung didaktischer Szenarien

Allert H, Brenstein E, Daun A, et al. Aus- und Weiterbildung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von e-Learning - Teil 2: Didaktisches Objektmodell - Modellierung und Beschreibung didaktischer Szenarien. Beuth-Verlag; 2004

PrimaTB STAT-PAK Assay, a Novel, Rapid Lateral-Flow Test for Tuberculosis in Nonhuman Primates▿

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most important zoonotic bacterial disease in nonhuman primates (NHP). The current diagnostic method, the intradermal palpebral tuberculin test, has serious shortcomings. We characterized antibody responses in NHP against Mycobacterium tuberculosis to identify immunodominant antigens and develop a rapid serodiagnostic test for TB. A total of 422 NHP were evaluated, including 243 rhesus (Macaca mulatta), 46 cynomolgus (Macaca fascicularis), and 133 African green (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) monkeys at five collaborative centers. Of those, 50 monkeys of the three species were experimentally inoculated with M. tuberculosis. Antibody responses were monitored every 2 to 4 weeks for up to 8 months postinfection by MultiAntigen Print ImmunoAssay with a panel of 12 recombinant antigens. All of the infected monkeys produced antibodies at various levels and with different antigen recognition patterns. ESAT-6 and MPB83 were the most frequently recognized proteins during infection. A combination of selected antigens which detected antibodies in all of the infected monkeys was designed to develop the PrimaTB STAT-PAK assay by lateral-flow technology. Serological evaluation demonstrated high diagnostic sensitivity (90%) and specificity (99%). The highest rate of TB detection was achieved when the skin test was combined with the PrimaTB STAT-PAK kit. This novel immunoassay provides a simple, rapid, and accurate test for TB in NHP