Thesis (M.Tech.: Chemistry)-Dept. of Chemistry, Durban Institute of Technology, 2003 ix, 70 leaves + 1 computer laser optical disc / The purpose of this study is to utilize computational techniques in the determination of the mechanistic pathways for the one-pot conversion of a pentacyclo-undecane (PCU) dione 1.1 to a pentacyclo-undecane cage lactam 1.2.

The two-dimensional electronic systems (2DESs) have kept surprising physicists for the last few decades. Examples include the integer and fractional quantum Hall effects, cuprate superconductivity, and graphene. This thesis is intended to develop suitable theoretical tools which can be generalized to study new types of 2DESs with strong correlation feature. The first part of this thesis describes the investigation of heterostructures made by Mott insulators. This work is mostly motivated by the significant improvement of techniques for layer-by-layer growth of transition metal oxides in the last few years. We construct a toy model based on generalized Hubbard model complemented with long-ranged Coulomb interaction, and we study it by Hartree-Fock theory, dynamical mean-field theory, and Thomas-Fermi theory. We argue that interesting 2D strongly correlated electronic systems can be created in such heterostructures under several conditions. Since these 2D systems are formed entirely due to the gap generated by electron-electron interaction, they are not addiabatically connected to a noninteracting electron states. This feature makes these 2D systems distinguish from the ones created in semiconductor heterostructures, and they may be potential systems having non-Fermi liquid behaviors. The second part of this thesis is devoted to the study of collective excitations in high-temperature superconductors. One important achievement in this work is to develop a time-dependent mean-field theory for t-U-J-V model, an effective low energy model for cuprates. The time-dependent mean-field theory is proven to be identical to the generalized random-phase approximation (GRPA) which includes both the bubble and ladder diagrams. We propose that the famous 41 meV magnetic resonance mode observed in the inelastic neutron scattering measurements is a collective mode arising from a conjugation relation, which has been overlooked in previous work, between the antiferromagnetic fluctuation and the phase fluctuation of the d-wave superconducting order parameter near momentum ([pi, pi]). Furthermore, we find that this collective mode signals the strength of the antiferromagnetic fluctuations which are responsible for the suppression of the superfluid density in the underdoped cuprates even at zero temperature. Finally, we perform a complete analysis on an effective model with parameters fitted by experimental data of Bi2212 within the GRPA scheme and conclude that the short-range antiferromagnetic interactions which are a remnant of the parent Mott-insulator are more likely the pairing mechanism of the High-T[subscript c] cuprates. / text

Thesis (M.Tech.: Chemistry)-Dept. of Chemistry, Durban Institute of Technology, 2003 ix, 70 leaves + 1 computer laser optical disc / The purpose of this study is to utilize computational techniques in the determination of the mechanistic pathways for the one-pot conversion of a pentacyclo-undecane (PCU) dione 1.1 to a pentacyclo-undecane cage lactam 1.2.

<p>We consider a system of few electrons trapped in a two-dimensional circularquantum dot with harmonic confinement and in the presence of ahomogeneous magnetic field, with focus on the role of e-e interaction. Byperforming the exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian in second quantization,the low-lying energy levels for spin polarized system are obtained. The singlet-triplet oscillation in the ground state of the two-electron system showing up inthe result is explained due to the role of Coulomb interaction. The splitting ofthe lowest Landau level is another effect of the e-e interaction, which is alsoobserved in the results.</p>

We consider a system of few electrons trapped in a two-dimensional circularquantum dot with harmonic confinement and in the presence of ahomogeneous magnetic field, with focus on the role of e-e interaction. Byperforming the exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian in second quantization,the low-lying energy levels for spin polarized system are obtained. The singlet-triplet oscillation in the ground state of the two-electron system showing up inthe result is explained due to the role of Coulomb interaction. The splitting ofthe lowest Landau level is another effect of the e-e interaction, which is alsoobserved in the results.