Amar C. Vutha, “A Search for the Electric Dipole Moment of The

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Amar C. Vutha, “A Search for the Electric Dipole Moment of The Abstract A search for the electric dipole moment of the electron using thorium monoxide Amar Chandra Vutha 2011 This thesis is concerned with the conception, design and construction of an exper­ iment to search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron (de) with improved sensitivity. This dipole moment, de, is a hypothesized quantity whose de­ tection, or (in the absence of detection) an improved constraint on its size, would shed some light on the part played by discrete symmetries of space-time in the evo­ lution of our universe. A non-zero de is evidence of parity and time-reversal violation in fundamental physical processes, and provides an experimental test of many pro­ posed extensions to the Standard Model of particle physics. The experiment takes advantage of the enhanced sensitivity of the H state in the thorium monoxide (ThO) molecule to de. The precession of the spins of the valence electrons in the internal electric field of the molecule is measured using a molecular beam apparatus. This ex­ 30 periment has the potential to improve the experimental limit on de to ~ 10~ e cm, an improvement by a factor of 103 over the current experimental limit. I will describe the analysis that led to the identification of ThO as a favorable system for such an experiment, details of the design and construction of the experimental apparatus, and measurements of various properties of ThO which guide estimates of the sta­ tistical sensitivity and the size of potential systematic errors in the experiment. A method of analysis of geometric phase effects in terms of off-resonant energy level shifts, which was developed in order to understand potential systematic errors in this experiment, is also described. A search for the electric dipole moment of the electron using thorium monoxide A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale University in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Amar Chandra Vutha Dissertation Director: David DeMille December 2011 UMI Number: 3496993 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT UMI 3496993 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright © 2011 by Amar Chandra Vutha All rights reserved. Contents 1 Introduction T-violation, electric dipole moments and ThO 1 1.1 eEDM experiments with atoms and molecules 3 1.1.1 Measuring the eEDM-induced energy shift in a molecule ... 8 1.1.2 The choice of ThO for an eEDM experiment 9 2 Overview of the experiment 18 2.1 Overview of the apparatus 18 2.2 Measurement scheme 23 2.2.1 Effect of £ and B fields on the molecule 23 2.2.2 State preparation and detection 27 2.3 Phase noise 36 2.3.1 Projection noise 36 2.3.2 Effect of finite detection efficiency 37 2.3.3 Magnetic noise 39 2.4 eEDM sensitivity of the experiment 41 3 Potential systematics 45 3.1 Harmless components 46 3.1.1 Electric quadrupole shifts 46 iii 3.1.2 Leakage currents 51 3.1.3 Stress-induced birefringence 52 3.1.4 g-factor difference between fi-doublets 53 3.1.5 Motional fields 53 3.2 Dangerous combinations 54 3.2.1 Polarization rotations and light shifts 54 3.2.2 Non-reversing £-fields & g-factor difference 58 4 Measurements 62 4.1 Production of ThO beams 62 4.2 Lifetime of the H state 67 4.3 Magnetic and electric dipole moments of the H state 69 4.3.1 Magnetic dipole moment 71 4.3.2 Molecule-fixed electric dipole moment 79 5 Apparatus 83 5.1 Mini-beam sources 83 5.2 Electric field plate assembly 86 5.3 Vacuum system 92 5.4 Magnetic shielding 95 5.5 Dead ends, and other lessons 101 6 Summary 106 A Miscellany 110 A.l P, T-violation and EDMs 110 A.2 State mixing in an electric field 113 A.3 Matrix elements between molecular states 114 A.4 Simple picture of fi-doublets 116 iv A.5 Magnetic Johnson noise 120 A.6 Cross-polarization in Gaussian beams 122 B Geometric phases from energy shifts 128 B.l Spin-1/2 system in a magnetic field 132 B.2 Spin-1/2 system with multiple evolution frequencies 136 B.3 Hyperfine states of hydrogen 140 B.4 An anisotropic system 142 B.5 Spin-1 system in an electric field 143 B.6 Combined effect of electric and magnetic fields 147 B.7 Energy shifts in the non-perturbative regime 152 B.8 H state fi-doublets 156 v List of Figures 1.1 Level structure of ThO 15 2.1 Overview of the experiment 19 2.2 ^-doublet in £,B fields 28 2.3 Projective measurement by laser-induced fluorescence 31 2.4 Preparing the state and detecting its precession 32 4.1 Production of ThO molecules in a buffer gas cell 65 4.2 Lifetime of the H state in a buffer gas cell 68 4.3 H state electric & magnetic moments: transitions 71 4.4 Permanent magnet assembly and S-field profiles 72 4.5 ,8-field profiles, zoomed 73 4.6 Permanent magnet assembly for [iu measurement, photo 73 4.7 Zeeman splitting of the H,J=l state in B = 1.9 kG 75 4.8 Stark shift of the H,J = 1 state 80 5.1 Mini-beam apparatus 85 5.2 Electric field plate assembly 90 5.3 Kinematic linkage diagram 91 5.4 Vacuum chamber 94 5.5 Magnetic circuit model of nested shields 98 vi 5.6 Magnetic shields 99 A.l Simple picture of ^-doublets 118 B.l B-field tracing out a loop 131 B.2 S = 1/2 system in a B-field 134 B.3 £-field geometric phase 145 B.4 Geometric phase from combined £- & £>-fields 149 B.5 Breakdown of geometric approximation at high perturbation frequencies 154 B.6 Energy shift and geometric approaches in the non-perturbative regime 155 B.7 eEDM shifts compared to off-resonant energy shifts 158 vn List of Tables 2.1 Estimated eEDM sensitivity 44 B.l Geometric phase: static #-field + rotating £-field 150 B.2 Geometric phase: static 5-field + rotating £>-field 152 vm Acknowledgments I have been fortunate to work with, and learn from, many colleagues and collabo­ rators over the years. I thank them for all the good times. In the end, physics is a human endeavor, whatever it is. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the people who made it fun: Dave DeMille, mentor, friend and more, who opened my eyes to a world full of wonders. Jessie Petricka, David Glenn and Paul Hamilton, who tolerated my bumbling startup transients, endured many stupid questions and shared their wisdom freely. Atomz & Edmz. You all made it interesting. Jan Ragusa and Daphne Klemme, for making the transitions between New Haven and Cambridge easy. Dave Johnson, Stan Cotreau, Steve Sansone and Jim MacArthur, who taught me much and built many things to drive the rods that turned the knobs that worked the thingummyb obs. The Goons and other goons, for all the occasions of insanity that stopped me from going mad. Various Kanpuriyas, ADN, DH and CS, freonds who made the journey meaningful. "For the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend, and he is a fortunate voyager who finds many." This is for you. ix Abstract A search for the electric dipole moment of the electron using thorium monoxide Amar Chandra Vutha 2011 This thesis is concerned with the conception, design and construction of an exper­ iment to search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron (de) with improved sensitivity. This dipole moment, de, is a hypothesized quantity whose de­ tection, or (in the absence of detection) an improved constraint on its size, would shed some light on the part played by discrete symmetries of space-time in the evo­ lution of our universe. A non-zero de is evidence of parity and time-reversal violation in fundamental physical processes, and provides an experimental test of many pro­ posed extensions to the Standard Model of particle physics. The experiment takes advantage of the enhanced sensitivity of the H state in the thorium monoxide (ThO) molecule to de. The precession of the spins of the valence electrons in the internal electric field of the molecule is measured using a molecular beam apparatus. This ex­ 30 periment has the potential to improve the experimental limit on de to ~ 10~" e cm, an improvement by a factor of 103 over the current experimental limit. I will describe the analysis that led to the identification of ThO as a favorable system for such an experiment, details of the design and construction of the experimental apparatus, and measurements of various properties of ThO which guide estimates of the sta­ tistical sensitivity and the size of potential systematic errors in the experiment. A method of analysis of geometric phase effects in terms of off-resonant energy level shifts, which was developed in order to understand potential systematic errors in this experiment, is also described.
Recommended publications
  • Inelastic Collisions of Atomic Thorium and Molecular Thorium Monoxide with Cold Helium-3
    Inelastic collisions of atomic thorium and molecular thorium monoxide with cold helium-3 The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Au, Yat Shan. 2014. Inelastic collisions of atomic thorium and molecular thorium monoxide with cold helium-3. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12274226 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Inelastic Collisions of Atomic Thorium and Molecular Thorium Monoxide with Cold Helium-3 A dissertation presented by Yat Shan Au to The Department of Physics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Physics Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts November 2013 c 2013 - Yat Shan Au All rights reserved. Dissertation advisor Author Professor John Morrissey Doyle Yat Shan Au Inelastic Collisions of Atomic Thorium and Molecular Thorium Monoxide with Cold Helium-3 Abstract We measure inelastic cross sections for atomic thorium (Th) and molecular thorium monoxide (ThO) in collisions with 3He at temperatures near 1 K. We determine the 3 −17 −2 Zeeman relaxation cross section for Th ( F2) to be ∼ 2 × 10 cm at 800 mK. 3 We study electronic inelastic processes in Th ( P0) and find no quenching even after 106 collisions at 800 mK. We measure the vibrational quenching cross section for ThO (X, ν = 1) to be (7:9 ± 2:7) × 10−19 cm−2 at 800 mK.
    [Show full text]
  • Extraction of Thorium Oxide from Monazite Ore
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Supervised Undergraduate Student Research Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects and Creative Work 5-2019 Extraction of Thorium Oxide from Monazite Ore Makalee Ruch University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected] Chloe Frame University of Tennessee, Knoxville Molly Landon University of Tennessee, Knoxville Ralph Laurel University of Tennessee, Knoxville Annabelle Large University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj Part of the Environmental Chemistry Commons, Geological Engineering Commons, and the Other Chemical Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Ruch, Makalee; Frame, Chloe; Landon, Molly; Laurel, Ralph; and Large, Annabelle, "Extraction of Thorium Oxide from Monazite Ore" (2019). Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/2294 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Supervised Undergraduate Student Research and Creative Work at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Extraction of Thorium Oxide from Monazite Ore Dr. Robert Counce Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Tennessee Chloe Frame Molly Landon Annabel Large Ralph Laurel Makalee Ruch CBE 488: Honors
    [Show full text]
  • Actinide Arene-Metalates: Ion Pairing Effects on the Electronic Structure of Unsupported Uranium- Arene Sandwich Complexes
    Actinide Arene-Metalates: Ion Pairing Effects on the Electronic Structure of Unsupported Uranium- Arene Sandwich Complexes Jesse Murillo,† Rina Bhowmick,‡ Katie L. M. Harriman,ǁ Alejandra Gomez-Torres,† Joshua Wright,¥ Robert W. Meulenberg,± Pere Miró,‡ Alejandro Metta-Magaña,† Muralee Murugesu,ǁ Bess Vlaisavljevich,*,‡ and Skye Fortier*,† †Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968, United States ‡Department of Chemistry, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069, United States ǁDepartment of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada ¥ Department of Physics, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, 60616, United States ± Department of Physics and Astronomy and Frontier Institute for Research in Sensor Technologies, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, United States ABSTRACT: Chatt reaction methods were employed to synthesize the first well characterized actinide-arene sand- wich complexes. Namely, addition of [UI2(THF)3(μ-OMe)]2⸱THF (2⸱THF) to THF solutions containing 6 equiv. 6 4 of K[C14H10] generates the dimeric complexes [K(18-crown-6)(THF)2]2[U(η -C14H10)(η -C14H10)(μ-OMe)]2⸱4THF 18C6 6 4 THF (1 ⸱4THF) and {[K(THF)3][U(η -C14H10)(η -C14H10)(μ-OMe)]}2 (1 ) upon crystallization of the products in THF in the presence or absence of 18-crown-6, respectively. Both 118C6⸱4THF and 1THF are thermally stable in the solid-state at room temperature; however, after crystallization, they become insoluble in THF or DME solutions and instead gradually decompose upon standing. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals 118C6⸱4THF and 1THF to be structurally similar, possessing uranium centers sandwiched between anthracene ligands of mixed tetrahapto and hexahapto ligation modes.
    [Show full text]
  • Compounds † † ‡ § † Caleb J
    Article Cite This: Organometallics 2019, 38, 1031−1040 pubs.acs.org/Organometallics Investigation of the Electronic Structure of Aryl-Bridged Dinuclear U(III) and U(IV) Compounds † † ‡ § † Caleb J. Tatebe, John J. Kiernicki, Robert F. Higgins, Robert J. Ward, Sean N. Natoli, † † † † ‡ James C. Langford, Christopher L. Clark, Matthias Zeller, Paul Wenthold, Matthew P. Shores, § † Justin R. Walensky, and Suzanne C. Bart*, † H. C. Brown Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States ‡ Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States § Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States *S Supporting Information ABSTRACT: A family of dinuclear bis(Tp*) (Tp* = hydrotris(3,5- dimethylpyrazolyl)borate) uranium compounds with conjugated organic linkers was synthesized to explore possible electronic communication between uranium ions. Trivalent diuranium phenyl alkynyl compounds, * * meta * Tp 2UCC(1,3-C6H4)CCUTp 2 (2- )orTp2UCC(1,4-C6H4)- * para CCUTp 2 (2- ), and tetravalent diuranium phenylimido compounds, * − * meta * − Tp 2U(N-1,3-C6H4 N)UTp 2 (3- )andTp2U(N-1,4-C6H4 * para * N)UTp 2 (3- ), were generated from trivalent Tp 2UCH2Ph. All compounds were fully characterized both spectroscopically and structurally. The electronic structures of all derivatives were interrogated using magnetic measurements, electrochemistry, and were the subject of computational analyses. All of these data combined established
    [Show full text]
  • Suppression of the Optical Crosstalk in a Multi-Channel Silicon Photomultiplier Array
    Suppression of the optical crosstalk in a multi-channel silicon photomultiplier array Takahiko Masuda1, Daniel G. Ang2, Nicholas R. Hutzler3, Cole Meisenhelder2, Noboru Sasao1, Satoshi Uetake1, Xing Wu2,4, David DeMille4, Gerald Gabrielse5, John M. Doyle1,2, and Koji Yoshimura1 1Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan 2Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA 3Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA 4James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA 5Center for Fundamental Physics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA May 5, 2021 Abstract We propose and study a method of optical crosstalk suppression for silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) using optical filters. We demonstrate that attaching absorptive visible bandpass filters to the SiPM can substantially reduce the optical crosstalk. Measurements suggest that the absorption of near infrared light is important to achieve this suppression. The proposed technique can be easily applied to suppress the optical crosstalk in SiPMs in cases where filtering near infrared light is compatible with the application. 1 Introduction A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) consists of an array of small avalanche photodiode pixels that are built on a silicon substrate. These pixels are operated in Geiger Mode and are sensitive to arXiv:2105.01519v1 [physics.ins-det] 4 May 2021 single photon injection, where a single photon stimulates an avalanche process in a single pixel that discharges the pixel completely. All pixels are electrically connected in parallel, so the output signal is an analog pulse whose charge is proportional to the total number of fired pixels.
    [Show full text]
  • Search for the Electric Dipole Moment of the Electron with Thorium Monoxide
    IOP PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF PHYSICS B: ATOMIC, MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL PHYSICS J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 43 (2010) 074007 (9pp) doi:10.1088/0953-4075/43/7/074007 Search for the electric dipole moment of the electron with thorium monoxide A C Vutha1,WCCampbell2,YVGurevich3,NRHutzler3, M Parsons3, D Patterson3, E Petrik3, B Spaun3, J M Doyle3, G Gabrielse3 and D DeMille1 1 Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA 2 Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland and National Institute of Standards and Technology, College Park, MD 20742, USA 3 Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA E-mail: [email protected] Received 17 August 2009, in final form 24 September 2009 Published 19 March 2010 Online at stacks.iop.org/JPhysB/43/074007 Abstract The electric dipole moment of the electron (eEDM) is a signature of CP-violating physics beyond the standard model. We describe an ongoing experiment to measure or set improved limits to the eEDM, using a cold beam of thorium monoxide (ThO) molecules. The metastable 3 H 1 state in ThO has important advantages for such an experiment. We argue that the statistical uncertainty of an eEDM measurement could be improved by as much as three orders of magnitude compared to the current experimental limit, in a first-generation apparatus using a cold ThO beam. We describe our measurements of the H state lifetime and the production of ThO molecules in a beam, which provide crucial data for the eEDM sensitivity estimate. ThO also has ideal properties for the rejection of a number of known systematic errors; these properties and their implications are described.
    [Show full text]
  • Principles of Chemical Recognition and Transport in Extractive
    2011 Separations and Heavy Element Chemistry Research Meeting Hyatt Regency, Baltimore, MD April 26 - 29, 2011 Office of Basic Energy Sciences Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division Program and Abstracts for the 2011 Separations and Heavy Element Chemistry Research Meeting Hyatt Regency Baltimore, MD April 26–29, 2011 Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division Office of Basic Energy Sciences Office of Science U.S. Department of Energy i Cover Graphics: The cover artwork is used by permission from the authors and journals for the associated covers. These covers are related to recently published papers by PIs speaking in this meeting’s program. From left to right and top to bottom they are: Christopher Cahill on p. 19 of this book. Also see C. E. Rowland and C. L. Cahill (2010) "Capturing Hydrolysis Products in the Solid State: Effects of pH on Uranyl Squarates under Ambient Conditions." Inorganic Chemistry, 49(19), 8668–8673. Wibe A. de Jong on p. 77 of this book. Also see V.A. Glezakou and W.A. de Jong, "Cluster-models for Uranyl(VI) adsorption on α-alumina." J. Phys. Chem. A 2011, 115, 1257 (2011). Jaqueline Kiplinger on p. 9 of this book. Also see Thomson, R. K.; Graves, C. R.; Scott, B. L.; Kiplinger, J. L. “Noble Reactions for the Actinides: Safe Gold-Based Access to Organouranium and Azide Complexes,” Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2009, 1451–1455. Jaqueline Kiplinger on p. 9 of this book. Also see Cantat, T.; Graves, C. R.; Scott, B. L.; Kiplinger, J. L. “Challenging the Metallocene Dominance in Actinide Chemistry with a Soft PNP Pincer Ligand: New Uranium Structures and Reactivity Patterns,” Angew.
    [Show full text]
  • Myersalexander.Pdf (3.037Mb)
    SYNTHESIS AND REACTIVITY OF LOW-VALENT URANIUM AND NEPTUNIUM COMPLEXES _______________________________________ A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy _____________________________________________________ By ALEXANDER J. MYERS Dr. Justin R. Walensky, Dissertation Supervisor DECEMBER 2019 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled SYNTHESIS AND REACTIVITY OF LOW-VALENT URANIUM AND NEPTUNIUM COMPLEXES presented by Alexander J. Myers, a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Chemistry, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Justin R. Walensky Professor Silvia S. Jurisson Professor Wesley H. Bernskoetter Professor Bret D. Ulery Acknowledgements I would like to thank my wife, Heather Saxon, who encouraged me to go to graduate school in the first place. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you. My advisor, Justin Walensky, for all of his help, advice and the opportunities he has given me. I don’t know how you put up with me all these years but I’m glad you did. Wayne Lukens for all of his help; teaching me about preparing and running my SQUID and EPR samples. Charles Barnes, Steven Kelley, and Wei Wycoff, for their help with X-ray Crystallography and NMR spectroscopy Everyone in the Walensky group: Andrew Behrle, Pokpong Rungthanaphatsophon, Michael Tarlton, Robert Ward, Sean Vilanova, Alexander Gremillion, Andrew Lane, Andrew Breshears, Kira Behm, Matthew Vollmer, Steven Renfroe, and Jonathan Fajen. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Quantum Chemistry Calculations of Energetic and Spectroscopic
    QUANTUM CHEMISTRY CALCULATIONS OF ENERGETIC AND SPECTROSCOPIC PROPERTIES OF p- AND f-BLOCK MOLECULES Christopher South, B.S. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2016 APPROVED: Angela K. Wilson, Major Professor Thomas R. Cundari, Committee Member Paul Marshall, Committee Member Simone Raugei, Committee Member Michael Richmond, Committee Member and Chair of the Department of Chemistry David Holdeman, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Victor Prybutok, Vice Provost of the Toulouse Graduate School South, Christopher. Quantum Chemistry Calculations of Energetic and Spectroscopic Properties of p- and f-Block Molecules. Doctor of Philosophy (Physical Chemistry), August 2016, 19 tables, 19 figures, 390 numbered references. Quantum chemical methods have been used to model a variety of p- and f-block chemical species to gain insight about their energetic and spectroscopic properties. As well, the studies have provided understanding about the utility of the quantum mechanical approaches employed for the third-row and lanthanide species. The multireference ab initio correlation consistent Composite Approach (MR-ccCA) was utilized to predict dissociation energies for main group third-row molecular species, achieving energies within 1 kcal mol-1 on average from those of experiment and providing the first demonstration of the utility of MR-ccCA for third-row species. Multireference perturbation theory was utilized to calculate the electronic states and 2+ dissociation energies of NdF , providing a good model of the Nd-F bond in NdF3 from an electronic standpoint. In further work, the states and energies of NdF+ were determined using an equation of motion coupled cluster approach and the similarities for both NdF2+ and NdF were noted.
    [Show full text]
  • Ab Initio Study of Transition Metal Carbides and Actinide Compounds
    AB INITIO STUDY OF TRANSITION METAL CARBIDES AND ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS WEIWEI SUN Doctoral Thesis School of Industrial Engineering and Management, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KTH, Sweden, 2015 Materialvetenskap KTH SE-100 44 Stockholm ISBN 978-91-7595-390-8 Sweden Akademisk avhandling som med tillstand av Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan¨ framlagges¨ till offentlig granskning for¨ avlaggande¨ av doktorsexamen in materialvetenskap freda- gen den 23 januari 2015 kl 10:00 i Sal E2, Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan,¨ Lindstedtvagen¨ 3, Stockholm. c Weiwei Sun, 2015 Tryck: Universitetsservice US AB To my past years of being a student and my future student life and all my love to those who ever had, are holding, and will have i Abstract Two classes of materials are investigated using ab intio methods based on density func- tional theory. The structural properties, electronic structure and thermodynamic prop- erties of binary and ternary transition metal carbides are discussed in details. In ad- dition, two actinide compounds will be presented. A new actinide monoxide, ThO, is predicted to be stable under pressure, and the weakly correlated UN is investigated as regards to its magnetic properties and electronic structure. The atomic and electronic structures of various types of single defects in TiC such as vacancies, interstitial defects, and antisite defects are investigated systematically. Both the C-poor and C-rich off-stoichiometric Ti1 cCc composition (0.49 c 0.51) have − been studied. For the electronic structure, the difference of density of states (dDOS) is introduced to characterise the changes produced by the defects. Concerning the atomic structures, both interstitial defects and antisites are shown to induce the formation of C dumbbells or Ti dumbbells.
    [Show full text]
  • Carbon-Sulfur Bond Strength in Methanesulfinate and Benzenesulfinate Ligands Directs Decomposition of Np(V) and Pu(V) Coordination Complexes
    Dalton Transactions Carbon-Sulfur Bond Strength in Methanesulfinate and Benzenesulfinate Ligands Directs Decomposition of Np(V) and Pu(V) Coordination Complexes Journal: Dalton Transactions Manuscript ID DT-ART-01-2020-000125.R1 Article Type: Paper Date Submitted by the 30-Jan-2020 Author: Complete List of Authors: Vallet, Valérie; Universite Lille 1, Laboratoire PhLAM Gong, Yu; Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Radiochemistry Saab, Mohammad; University of Lille Réal, Florent; University of Lille, ; Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, Gibson, John; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Chemical Sciences Division Page 1 of 25 Dalton Transactions Carbon-Sulfur Bond Strength in Methanesulfinate and Benzenesulfinate Ligands Directs Decomposition of Np(V) and Pu(V) Coordination Complexes Valérie Valleta,*, Yu Gongb, Mohamad Saaba, Florent Réala, John K. Gibsonb,* aUniv. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523 - PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, F-59000 Lille, France bChemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States *Corresponding authors: [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract + Gas-phase coordination complexes of actinyl(V) cations, AnO2 , provide a basis to assess fundamental aspects of actinide chemistry. Electrospray ionization of solutions containing an actinyl cation and - - V - sulfonate anion CH3SO2 or C6H5SO2 generated complexes [(An O2)(CH3SO2)2] or V - [(An O2)(C6H5SO2)2] where An = Np or Pu. Collision induced dissociation resulted in C-S bond cleavage V - for methanesulfinate to yield [(An O2)(CH3SO2)(SO2)] , whereas hydrolytic ligand elimination occurred V - for benzenesulfinate to yield [(An O2)(C6H5SO2)(OH)] . These different fragmentation pathways are - - attributed to a stronger C6H5-SO2 versus CH3-SO2 bond, which was confirmed for both the bare and coordinating sulfinate anions by energies computed using a relativistic multireference perturbative approach (XMS-CASPT2 with spin-orbit coupling).
    [Show full text]
  • United States Patent Patented Apr
    2,788,284 United States Patent Patented Apr. 9, 1957 1 2 The ingredients, each so ?nely divided as to pass a 2,788,284 3Q€>—mesh sieve, were thoroughly mixed together with REFRACTORIES AND MATERIAL FOR THE suf?cient water to render the mixture suf?ciently plastic MANUFACTURE THEREOF to enable it to be formed into the tubes, which were Raymond Frederick Hilton, Red Hill, and Edward Charles then kilned to a temperature of 1800" C. These tubes Martin, London, England, assignors to The Morgan had the following characteristics compared with similar Crucible Company Limited, London, England, a com tubes made entirely of thorium oxide ?red to the same pany of Great Britain temperature: No Drawing. Application November 27, 1950, Serial No. 197,824 10 Thorium oxide Thorium oxide, 2.5% Claims priority, application Great Britain zirconium oxide November 29, 1949 7 Claims. (Cl. 106-57) Shrinkage during tiring ______ __ 22% _________ ._ 334%. Porosity _____________________ _. 31% _________ ._ nil. Pressure required to force air 41bs./sq. in._.. No leak at maximum This invention relates to improved refractories and 15 through the tube. test pressure of 30 material for the manufacture thereof. lbs/sq. in. The object of the invention is to provide a refractory material of very high melting point which can be ?red Similar results are obtained if the zirconium oxide at ordinary practical high temperatures to produce refrac used in this example is replaced by the same amount of tories which are substantially non-porous and have high 20 titanium dioxide. resistance to basic substances and various molten metals.
    [Show full text]