Solutions of second-order and fourth-order ODEs on the half-line

We start by studying the existence of positive solutions for the differential equation u '' = a(x)u - g(u), with u ''(0) = u(+infinity) = 0, where a is a positive function, and g is a power or a bounded function. In other words, we are concerned with even positive homoclinics of the differential equation. The main motivation is to check that some well-known results concerning the existence of homoclinics for the autonomous case (where a is constant) are also true for the non-autonomous equation. This also motivates us to study the analogous fourth-order boundary value problem {u((4)) - cu '' + a(x)u = vertical bar u vertical bar(p-1)u u'(0) = u'''(0) = 0, u(+infinity) = u'(+infinity) = 0 for which we also find nontrivial (and, in some instances, positive) solutions.

Synthesis of new Fe(II) and Ru(II) eta(5)-monocyclopentadienyl compounds showing significant second order NLO properties

A series of new ruthenium(II) complexes of the general formula [Ru(eta(5)-C5H5)(PP)(L)][PF6] (PP = DPPE or 2PPh(3), L = 4-butoxybenzonitrile or N-(3-cyanophenyl)formamide) and the binuclear iron(II) complex [Fe(eta(5)-C5H5)(PP)(mu-L)(PP)(eta(5)-C5H5)Fe][PF6](2) (L = (E)-2-(3-(4-nitrophenyl)allylidene)malononitrile, that has been also newly synthesized) have been prepared and studied to evaluate their potential in the second harmonic generation property. All the new compounds were fully characterized by NMR, IR and UV-Vis spectroscopies and their electrochemistry behaviour was studied by cyclic voltammetry. Quadratic hyperpolarizabilities (beta) of three of the complexes have been determined by hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) measurements at fundamental wavelength of 1500 nm and the calculated static beta(0) values are found to fall in the range 65-212 x 10(-30) esu. Compound presenting beta(0) = 212 x 10(-30) esu has revealed to be 1.2 times more efficient than urea standard in the second harmonic generation (SHG) property, measured in the solid state by Kurtz powder technique, using a Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm). (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rheo-NMR study of water-based cellulose liquid crystal system at high shear rates

Since long ago cellulosic lyotropic liquid crystals were thought as potential materials to produce fibers competitive with spidersilk or Kevlar, yet the processing of high modulus materials from cellulose-based precursors was hampered by their complex rheological behavior. In this work, by using the Rheo-NMR technique, which combines deuterium NMR with rheology, we investigate the high shear rate regimes that may be of interest to the industrial processing of these materials. Whereas the low shear rate regimes were already investigated by this technique in different works [1-4], the high shear rates range is still lacking a detailed study. This work focuses on the orientational order in the system both under shear and subsequent relaxation process arising after shear cessation through the analysis of deuterium spectra from the deuterated solvent water. At the analyzed shear rates the cholesteric order is suppressed and a flow-aligned nematic is observed which for the higher shear rates develops after certain time periodic perturbations that transiently annihilate the order in the system. During relaxation the flow aligned nematic starts losing order due to the onset of the cholesteric helices leading to a period of very low order where cholesteric helices with different orientations are forming from the aligned nematic, followed in the final stage by an increase in order at long relaxation times corresponding to the development of aligned cholesteric domains. This study sheds light on the complex rheological behavior of chiral nematic cellulose-based systems and opens ways to improve its processing. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transient analysis of variable-speed wind turbines at wind speed disturbances and a pitch control malfunction

As wind power generation undergoes rapid growth, new technical challenges emerge: dynamic stability and power quality. The influence of wind speed disturbances and a pitch control malfunction on the quality of the energy injected into the electric grid is studied for variable-speed wind turbines with different power-electronic converter topologies. Additionally, a new control strategy is proposed for the variable-speed operation of wind turbines with permanent magnet synchronous generators. The performance of disturbance attenuation and system robustness is ascertained. Simulation results are presented and conclusions are duly drawn. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seismic imaging of the western Iberian crust using ambient noise: Boundaries and internal structure of the Iberian Massif

We present new Rayleigh-wave dispersion maps of the western Iberian Peninsula for periods between 8 and 30 s, obtained from correlations of seismic ambient noise, following the recent increase in seismic broadband network density in Portugal and Spain. Group velocities have been computed for each station pair using the empirical Green's functions generated by cross-correlating one-day-length seismic ambient-noise records. The resulting high-path density allows us to obtain lateral variations of the group velocities as a function of period in cells of 0.5 degrees x 0.5 degrees with an unprecedented resolution. As a result we were able to address some of the unknowns regarding the lithospheric structure beneath SW Iberia. The dispersion maps allow the imaging of the major structural units, namely the Iberian Massif, and the Lusitanian and Algarve Meso-Cenozoic basins. The Cadiz Gulf/Gibraltar Strait area corresponds to a strong low-velocity anomaly, which can be followed to the largest period inverted, although slightly shifted to the east at longer periods. Within the Iberian Massif, second-order perturbations in the group velocities are consistent with the transitions between tectonic units composing the massif. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nonlinear mixture model for hyperspectral unmixing

Proceedings of International Conference - SPIE 7477, Image and Signal Processing for Remote Sensing XV - 28 September 2009

Demixing instability in coil-rod blends undergoing polycondensation reactions

The authors extend their earlier work on the stability of a reacting binary polymer blend with respect to demixing [D. J. Read, Macromolecules 31, 899 (1998); P. I. C. Teixeira , Macromolecules 33, 387 (2000)] to the case where one of the polymers is rod-like and may order nematically. As before, the authors combine the random phase approximation for the free energy with a Markov chain model for the chemistry to obtain the spinodal as a function of the relevant degrees of reaction. These are then calculated by assuming a simple second-order chemical kinetics. Results are presented, for linear systems, which illustrate the effects of varying the proportion of coils and rods, their relative sizes, and the strength of the nematic interaction between the rods. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Benzo[c]thiophene chromophores linked to cationic Fe and Ru derivatives for NLO materials: synthesis characterization and quadratic hyperpolarizabilities

5-Monocyclopentadienyliron(II)/ruthenium(II) complexes of the general formula [M(5-C5H5)(PP)(L1)][PF6] {M = Fe, PP = dppe; M = Ru, PP = dppe or 2PPh3; L1 = 5-[3-(thiophen-2-yl)benzo[c]thiophenyl]thiophene-2-carbonitrile} have been synthesized and studied to evaluate their molecular quadratic hyperpolarizabilities. The compounds were fully characterized by NMR, FTIR and UV/Vis spectroscopy and their electrochemical behaviour studied by cyclic voltammetry. Quadratic hyperpolarizabilities () were determined by hyper-Rayleigh scattering measurements at a fundamental wavelength of 1500 nm. Density functional theory calculations were employed to rationalize the second-order non-linear optical properties of these complexes.

Mono(Eta(5)-cyclopentadienyl)metal(II) complexes with thienyl acetylide chromophores: synthesis, electrochemical studies, and first hyperpolarizabilities

A series of mono(eta(5)-cyclopentadienyl)metal-(II) complexes with nitro-substituted thienyl acetylide ligands of general formula [M(eta(5)-C5H5)(L)(C C{C4H2S}(n)NO2)] (M = Fe, L = kappa(2)-DPPE, n = 1,2; M = Ru, L = kappa(2)-DPPE, 2 PPh3, n = 1, 2; M = Ni, L = PPh3, n = 1, 2) has been synthesized and fully characterized by NMR, FT-IR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The electrochemical behavior of the complexes was explored by cyclic voltammetry. Quadratic hyperpolarizabilities (beta) of the complexes have been determined by hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) measurements at 1500 nm. The effect of donor abilities of different organometallic fragments on the quadratic hyperpolarizabilities was studied and correlated with spectroscopic and electrochemical data. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations were employed to get a better understanding of the second-order nonlinear optical properties in these complexes. In this series, the complexity of the push pull systems is revealed; even so, several trends in the second-order hyperpolarizability can still be recognized. In particular, the overall data seem to indicate that the existence of other electronic transitions in addition to the main MLCT clearly controls the effectiveness of the organometallic donor ability on the second-order NLO properties of these push pull systems.