Theoretical foundations for multiple rendezvous of glowworm-inspired mobile agents with variable local-decision domains

We present the theoretical foundations for the multiple rendezvous problem involving design of local control strategies that enable groups of visibility-limited mobile agents to split into subgroups, exhibit simultaneous taxis behavior towards, and eventually rendezvous at, multiple unknown locations of interest. The theoretical results are proved under certain restricted set of assumptions. The algorithm used to solve the above problem is based on a glowworm swarm optimization (GSO) technique, developed earlier, that finds multiple optima of multimodal objective functions. The significant difference between our work and most earlier approaches to agreement problems is the use of a virtual local-decision domain by the agents in order to compute their movements. The range of the virtual domain is adaptive in nature and is bounded above by the maximum sensor/visibility range of the agent. We introduce a new decision domain update rule that enhances the rate of convergence by a factor of approximately two. We use some illustrative simulations to support the algorithmic correctness and theoretical findings of the paper.

Spin populations in one-dimensional alternant spin systems: A theoretical approach

Spin-density maps, deduced from polarized neutron diffraction experiments, for both the pair and chain compounds of the system Mn2+Cu2+ have been reported recently. These results have motivated us to investigate theoretically the spin populations in such alternant mixed-spin systems. In this paper, we report our studies on the one-dimensional ferrimagnetic systems (S-A,S-B)(N) where hi is the number of AB pairs. We have considered all cases in which the spin Sri takes on allowed values in the range I to 7/2 while the spin S-B is held fixed at 1/2. The theoretical studies have been carried out on the isotropic Heisenberg model, using the density matrix renormalization group method. The effect of the magnitude of the larger spin SA On the quantum fluctuations in both A and B sublattices has been studied as a function of the system size N. We have investigated systems with both periodic and open boundary conditions, the latter with a view to understanding end-of-chain effects. The spin populations have been followed as a function of temperature as well as an applied magnetic field. High-magnetic fields are found to lead to interesting re-entrant behavior. The ratio of spin populations P-A-P-B is not sensitive to temperature at low temperatures.

Nonlinear Enzyme Kinetics Can Lead to High Metabolic Flux Control Coefficients: Implications for the Evolution of Dominance

In a classic study, Kacser & Burns (1981, Genetics 97, 639-666) demonstrated that given certain plausible assumptions, the flux in a metabolic pathway was more or less indifferent to the activity of any of the enzymes in the pathway taken singly. It was inferred from this that the observed dominance of most wild-type alleles with respect to loss-of-function mutations did not require an adaptive, meaning selectionist, explanation. Cornish-Bowden (1987, J. theor. Biol. 125, 333-338) showed that the Kacser-Burns inference was not valid when substrate concentrations were large relative to the relevant Michaelis constants. We find that in a randomly constructed functional pathway, even when substrate levels are small, one can expect high values of control coefficients for metabolic flux in the presence of significant nonlinearities as exemplified by enzymes with Hill coefficients ranging from two to six, or by the existence of oscillatory loops. Under these conditions the flux can be quite sensitive to changes in enzyme activity as might be caused by inactivating one of the two alleles in a diploid. Therefore, the phenomenon of dominance cannot be a trivial ''default'' consequence of physiology but must be intimately linked to the manner in which metabolic networks have been moulded by natural selection.

A combined experimental and theoretical study of the charge-transfer compound between C60Br8 and tetrathiafulvalene

C60Br8, unlike C60Br6 and C60Cl6, forms a solid charge-transfer compound with tetrathiafulvalene (TTF), the composition being C60Br8(TTF)(8). The unique complex-forming property of C60Br8 can be understood on the basis of the electronic structures of the halogenated derivatives of C-60. Molecular orbital calculations show that the low LUMO energy of C60Br8 compared with the other halogen derivatives renders the formation of the complex with TTF favourable, the four virtual LUMOs being able to accept 8 electrons. The Raman spectrum of C60Br8(TTF)(8) shows a marked softening of the bands (-46 cm(-1) on average) with respect to C60Br8 suggesting that indeed 8 electrons are transferred per C60Br8 molecule, one from each TTF molecule. The complex is weakly paramagnetic and shows a magnetic transition around 80 K.

Theoretical Description of Time-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy: Application to Pump-Probe Experiments

The theory for time-resolved, pump-probe, photoemission spectroscopy and other pump-probe experiments is developed. The formal development is completely general, incorporating all of the nonequilibrium effects of the pump pulse and the finite time width of the probe pulse, and including possibilities for taking into account band structure and matrix element effects, surface states, and the interaction of the photoexcited electrons with the system leading to corrections to the sudden approximation. We also illustrate the effects of windowing that arise from the finite width of the probe pulse in a simple model system by assuming the quasiequilibrium approximation.

Theoretical Optimization of Metal Para-Normal Silicon Schottky-Barrier Solar-Cell

The theoretical optimization of the design parametersN A ,N D andW P has been done for efficient operation of Au-p-n Si solar cell including thermionic field emission, dependence of lifetime and mobility on impurity concentrations, dependence of absorption coefficient on wavelength, variation of barrier height and hence the optimum thickness ofp region with illumination. The optimized design parametersN D =5×1020 m−3,N A =3×1024 m−3 andW P =11.8 nm yield efficiencyη=17.1% (AM0) andη=19.6% (AM1). These are reduced to 14.9% and 17.1% respectively if the metal layer series resistance and transmittance with ZnS antireflection coating are included. A practical value ofW P =97.0 nm gives an efficiency of 12.2% (AM1).

Theoretical-Studies on the Modes of Binding of Some of the Beta-Glycosidically Linked Glucobioses to Concanavalin-A

The probable modes of binding for methyl-α-d-sophoroside, methyl-β-d-sophoroside, laminariboise and cellobiose to concanavalin A have been determined using theoretical methods. Methyl-d-sophorosides can bind to concanavalin A in two modes, i.e. by placing their reducing as well as non-reducing sugar units in the carbohydrate specific binding site, whereas laminaribiose and cellobiose can reach the binding site only with their non-reducing glucose units. However, the probability for methyl-α-d-sophoroside to bind to concanavalin A with its reducing sugar residue as the occupant of the binding site is much higher than it is with its non-reducing sugar residue as the occupant of the sugar binding site. A few of the probable conformers of methyl-β-d-sophoroside can bind to concanavalin A with either the reducing or non-reducing glucose unit. Higher energy conformers of cellobiose or laminaribiose can reach the binding site with their non-reducing residues alone. The relative differences in the binding affinities of these disaccharides are mainly due to the differences in the availability of proper conformers which can reach the binding site and to non-covalent interactions between the sugar and the protein. This study also suggests that though the sugar binding site of concanavalin A accommodates a single sugar residue, the residue outwards from the binding site also interacts with concanavalin A, indicating the existence of extended concanavalin A carbohydrate interactions.

Conformational analysis of small disulfide loops. Spectroscopic and theoretical studies on a synthetic cyclic tetrapeptide containing cystine

The conformational analysis of the synthetic peptide Boc-Cys-Pro-Val-Cys-NHMe has been carried out, as a model for small disulfide loops, in biologically active polypeptides. 'H NMR studies (270 MHz) establish that the Val(3) and Cys(4) NH groups are solvent shielded, while 13C studies establish an all-trans peptide backbone. Circular dichroism and Raman spectroscopy provide evidence for a right-handed twist of the disulfide bond. Analysis of the vicinal (JaB)c oupling constants for the two Cys residues establishes that XI - *60° for Cys(4), while some flexibility is suggested at Cys( 1). Conformational energy calculations, imposing intramolecular hydrogen bonding constraints, favor a P-turn (type I) structure with Pro(2)-Va1(3) as the corner residues. Theoretical and spectroscopic results are consistent with the presence of a transannular 4 - 1 hydrogen bond between Cys( 1) CO and Cys(4) NH groups, with the Val NH being sterically shielded from the solvent environment.

Theoretical evidence and chemical origin of the magnetism-dependent electrostructural coupling in La2NiMnO6

Using first-principles density-functional calculations, we determine and analyze the Born effective charges Z(*) that describe the coupling between electric field and atomic displacements for ferromagnetic double-perovskite compound, La2NiMnO6. We find that th Born effective charge matrix of Ni in La2NiMnO6, has an anomalously large antisymmetric component, whose magnitude reduces substantially upon change in the magnetic ordering between Ni and Mn, showing it to be a magnetism-dependent electrostructural coupling. We use a local picture of the electronic structure obtained with Wannier functions, along with its band-by-band decomposition to determine its electronic origin.

Theoretical description of time-resolved pump/probe photoemission in TaS2: a single-band DFT+DMFT(NRG) study within the quasiequilibrium approximation

In this work, we theoretically examine recent pump/probe photoemission experiments on the strongly correlated charge-density-wave insulator TaS2.We describe the general nonequilibrium many-body formulation of time-resolved photoemission in the sudden approximation, and then solve the problem using dynamical mean-field theory with the numerical renormalization group and a bare density of states calculated from density functional theory including the charge-density-wave distortion of the ion cores and spin-orbit coupling. We find a number of interesting results: (i) the bare band structure actually has more dispersion in the perpendicular direction than in the two-dimensional planes; (ii) the DMFT approach can produce upper and lower Hubbard bands that resemble those in the experiment, but the upper bands will overlap in energy with other higher energy bands; (iii) the effect of the finite width of the probe pulse is minimal on the shape of the photoemission spectra; and (iv) the quasiequilibrium approximation does not fully describe the behavior in this system.

Large carrier mobilities in octathio[8]circulene crystals: a theoretical study

The electron and hole mobilities of octathio[8]circulene (sulflower) crystal have been calculated using quantum chemical methods, with accurate determination of reorganization energies and the rate of charge transfer, the key parameters controlling the charge carriers conductance. We find this molecular crystal to be an excellent conductor with large mobilities for both the charge carriers. Moreover, the hole mobility is found to be slightly larger than the electron mobility. Such an ambipolar organic crystal with substantial carrier mobilities shows possibilities of sophisticated device fabrication in advanced electronics.

Theoretical studies on magnetic superconductors

The discovery of magnetic superconductors has posed the problem of the coexistence of two kinds of orders (magnetic and superconducting) in some temperature intervals in these systems. New microscopic mechanisms developed by us to explain the coexistence and reentrant behaviour are reported. The mechanism for antiferromagnetic superconductors which shows enhancement of superconductivity below the magnetic transition is found relevant for rare-earth systems having less than half-filled f-atomic shells. The theory will be compared with the experimental results of SmRh4B4 system. A phenomenological treatment based on a generalized Ginzburg-Landau approach will also be presented to explain the anomalous behaviour of the second critical field in some antiferromagnetic superconductors. These magnetic superconductors provide two kinds of Bose fields, namely, phonons and magnons which interact with each other and also with the conduction electrons. Theoretical studies of the effects of the excitations of these modes on superconducting pairing and magnetic ordering in these systems will be discussed.

A Theoretical Investigation of the Ni(II)-Catalyzed Hydrovinylation of Styrene

We report a detailed and full computational investigation on the hydrovinylation reaction of styrene with the Ni(II)-phospholane catalytic system, which was originally presumed to proceed through a cationic mechanism involving a nickel hydride intermediate. The following general features emerge from this study on a specific catalyst complex that was found to give quantitative yield and moderate selectivity: (a) the activation barrier for the initiation (18.8 kcal/mol) is higher than that for the reaction due to a low-lying square-planar pentenyl chelate intermediate originating from a Ni(II)-allyl catalyst precursor. Consequently there is an induction period for the catalysis; (b) the exit of product from the catalyst is via a β-H-transfer step instead of the usual β-H elimination pathway, which has a very high activation energy due to a trans effect of the phospholane ligand; (c) the turnover-limiting and enantio- determining transition state is also the β-H-transfer; (d) because of the absence of a hydride intermediate, the unwanted isomerization of the product is prevented; (e) since the enantio-discrimination is decided at the H-transfer stage itself, the configuration of the product in a catalytic cycle influences the enantioselectivity in the subsequent cycle; (f) the trans effect of the sole strong ligand in the d8 square-planar Ni(II), the stability of the η3-benzyl intermediate, and the availability of three coordination sites enable regioselective hydrovinylation over the possible oligomerization/polymerization of the olefin substrates and linear hydrovinylation. This work has also confirmed the previously recognized role of the hemilabile group at various stages in the mechanism.

Type II beta-turn conformation of pivaloyl-L-prolyl-alpha-aminoisobutyryl-N-methylamide: Theoretical, spectroscopic, and X-ray studies

Pivaloyl-L-Pro-Aib-N-methylamide has been shown to possess one intramolecular hydrogen bond in (CD3)2SO solution, by 1H-nmr methods, suggesting the existence of beta -turns, with Pro-Aib as the corner residues. Theoretical conformational analysis suggests that Type II beta-turn conformations are about 2 kcal mol-1 more stable than Type III structures. A crystallographic study has established the Type II beta-turn in the solid state. The molecule crystallizes in the space group P21 with a = 5.865 Å, b = 11.421 Å, c = 12.966 Å, beta = 97.55°, and Z = 2. The structure has been refined to a final R value of 0.061. The Type II -turn conformation is stabilized by an intramolecular 4 1 hydrogen bond between the methylamide NH and the pivaloyl CO group. The conformational angles are Pro = -57.8°, Pro = 139.3°, Aib = 61.4°, and Aib = 25.1°. The Type II beta-turn conformation for Pro-Aib in this peptide is compared with the Type III structures observed for the same segment in larger peptides.

Theoretical study of the optimum performance of a two-phase flow CO2 gasdynamic laser

Theoretical optimization studies of the performance of a combustion driven premixed two-phase flow gasdynamic laser are presented. The steady inviscid nonreacting quasi-one-dimensional two-phase flow model including appropriate finite rate vibrational kinetic rates has been used in the analysis. The analysis shows that the effect of the particles on the optimum performance of the two-phase laser is very small. The results are presented in graphical form. Applied Physics Letters is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics.