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ABSTRACT:The compound, (R)-[ 2 H 1 , 2 H 2 , 2 H 3 ]-neopentane, with its T d symmetric electron distribution, is the archetype of molecules that owe their chirality exclusively to an asymmetric distribution of the masses of their nuclei. It has nine rotamers, which fall into two classes, one where the interchange of hydrogen and deuterium nuclei leads to an identical rotamer, and one where it interconverts different rotamers. Ab initio computations show that individual rotamers have Raman optical activity (ROA) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) of the same size as ordinary chiral molecules. Dilution and cancelation for the experimentally accessible equilibrium mixture reduces ROA and VCD, but the simulation of spectra with realistic band shapes of the Voigt type shows that both remain measurable in the 700 -1,400-cm Ϫ1 range, where ROA and VCD have a close to mirror image appearance. In the CH-and CD-stretch region, in contrast, the sign pattern of ROA and VCD is identical. This curious behavior appears to be a consequence of the differing influence of inertial contributions in the two spectral regions. If summed over all vibrations, ROA and VCD cancel neatly, as one expects from the T d symmetric electron distribution.

Micro-fabricated (MEMS) alkali vapor cells are at the heart of the miniaturization of atomic devices such as atomic magnetometers, atomic gyroscopes and atomic clocks. Among the different techniques used to fill microfabricated alkali vapor cell, UV decomposition of rubidium azide (RbN₃) into metallic Rb and nitrogen in Al₂O₃ coated cells is a very promising approach for low-cost wafer-level fabrication. Here we present a detailed lifetime study of such cells. The rubidium consumption being the main identified cell failure mode, it is monitored with an novel image analysis technique and with high temperature long term aging tests.

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The VROA signatures of different helical conformers of heptasilane have been analyzed using an atomistic approach. Based on ab initio VROA quantities, the decomposition scheme and its representation under the form of group coupling matrices enable us to highlight the dominant role of the Si atoms for the modes studied. The sum of the contributions from H atoms, on the other hand, is generally negligible, often due to compensations, whereas the heteronuclear Si-H contributions can be important. The dominating VROA signatures are mostly associated with collective wagging, rocking, and twisting motions.