Search results for "quantum theory"
showing 10 items of 234 documents
Nonadiabatic transitions between lambda-doubling states in the capture of a diatomic molecule by an ion
2008
The low-energy capture of a dipolar diatomic molecule in an adiabatically isolated electronic state with a good quantum number Hund’s coupling case a by an ion occurs adiabatically with respect to rotational transitions of the diatom. However, the capture dynamics may be nonadiabatic with respect to transitions between the pair of the -doubling states belonging to the same value of the intrinsic angular momentum j. In this work, nonadiabatic transition probabilities are calculated which define the -doubling j-specific capture rate coefficients. It is shown that the transition from linear to quadratic Stark effect in the ion-dipole interaction, which damps the T �1/2 divergence of the captur…
Gas-phase ion chemistry of protonated melatonin
2009
The gas-phase ion chemistry of protonated melatonin has been investigated by mass spectrometric (MS) techniques involving chemical ionisation, fast atom bombardment and electrospray ionisation. Either naturally-occurring or collision-induced decomposition experiments have been carried out using side chain tetra-deuterium-labelled derivatives, as well as the corresponding N–D derivatives obtained by exchange with D2O. The analysis of experimental results allows definite pathways for the formation of the ion at m/z 174 to be assigned and sheds some more light on the overall fragmentation pathways. Experiments on labelled derivatives evidenced H–D scrambling processes during fragmentation.
Self-consistent continuum solvation (SCCS): the case of charged systems.
2013
The recently developed self-consistent continuum solvation model (SCCS) [O. Andreussi, I. Dabo, and N. Marzari, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 064102 (2012)] is applied here to charged species in aqueous solutions. Describing ions in solution represents a great challenge because of the large electrostatic interactions between the solute and the solvent. The SCCS model is tested over 106 monocharged species, both cations and anions, and we demonstrate its flexibility, notwithstanding its much reduced set of parameters, to describe charged species in solution. Remarkably low mean absolute errors are obtained with values of 2.27 and 5.54 kcal/mol for cations and anions, respectively. These results are co…
Do zwitterionic species exist in the non-enzymatic peptide bond formation?
2012
The use of proper computational methods and models has allowed answering the controversial question of whether zwitterionic species exist in the mechanism of peptide bond synthesis in aqueous solution. In fact, the different conformations of zwitterionic species open the door to different mechanistic paths.
A fundamental catalytic difference between zinc and manganese dependent enzymes revealed in a bacterial isatin hydrolase
2018
Scientific reports 8(1), 13104 (2018). doi:10.1038/s41598-018-31259-y
Regio- and Stereoselective Synthesis of Spiropyrrolizidines and Piperazines through Azomethine Ylide Cycloaddition Reaction.
2015
A series of original spiropyrrolizidine derivatives has been prepared by a one-pot three-component [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of (E)-3-arylidene-1-phenyl-pyrrolidine-2,5-diones, l-proline, and the cyclic ketones 1H-indole-2,3-dione (isatin), indenoquinoxaline-11-one and acenaphthenequinone. We disclose an unprecedented isomerization of some spiroadducts leading to a new family of spirooxindolepyrrolizidines. Furthermore, these cycloadducts underwent retro-1,3-dipolar cycloaddition yielding unexpected regioisomers. Upon treatment of the dipolarophiles with in situ generated azomethine ylides from l-proline or acenaphthenequinone, formation of spiroadducts and unusual polycyclic fused pip…
Cavity-aided quantum parameter estimation in a bosonic double-well Josephson junction
2014
We describe an apparatus designed to make non-demolition measurements on a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in a double-well optical cavity. This apparatus contains, as well as the bosonic gas and the trap, an optical cavity. We show how the interaction between the light and the atoms, under appropriate conditions, can allow for a weakly disturbing yet highly precise measurement of the population imbalance between the two wells and its variance. We show that the setting is well suited for the implementation of quantum-limited estimation strategies for the inference of the key parameters defining the evolution of the atomic system and based on measurements performed on the cavity field…
Computing kinetic isotope effects for chorismate mutase with high accuracy. A new DFT/MM strategy.
2006
A novel procedure has been applied to compute experimentally unobserved intrinsic kinetic isotope effects upon the rearrangement of chorismate to prephenate catalyzed by B. subtilis chorismate mutase. In this modified QM/MM approach, the "low-level" QM description of the quantum region is corrected during the optimization procedure by means of a "high-level" calculation in vacuo, keeping the QM-MM interaction contribution at a quantum "low-level". This allows computation of energies, gradients, and Hessians including the polarization of the QM subsystem and its interaction with the MM environment, both terms calculated using the low-level method at a reasonable computational cost. New infor…
The Ultimate Fate of Supercooled Liquids
2010
In recent years it has become widely accepted that a dynamical length scale {\xi}_{\alpha} plays an important role in supercooled liquids near the glass transition. We examine the implications of the interplay between the growing {\xi}_{\alpha} and the size of the crystal nucleus, {\xi}_M, which shrinks on cooling. We argue that at low temperatures where {\xi}_{\alpha} > {\xi}_M a new crystallization mechanism emerges enabling rapid development of a large scale web of sparsely connected crystallinity. Though we predict this web percolates the system at too low a temperature to be easily seen in the laboratory, there are noticeable residual effects near the glass transition that can account …
Is the Rigidity of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Receptor-Binding Motif the Hallmark for Its Enhanced Infectivity? Insights from All-Atom Simulations
2020
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is setting the global health crisis of our time, causing a devastating societal and economic burden. An idiosyncratic trait of coronaviruses is the presence of spike glycoproteins on the viral envelope, which mediate the virus binding to specific host receptor, enabling its entry into the human cells. In spite of the high sequence identity of SARS-CoV-2 with its closely related SARS-CoV emerged in 2002, the atomic-level determinants underlining the molecular recognition of SARS-CoV-2 to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and, thus, the rapid virus spread into human body, remain unresolved. Here, multi-m…