Brian Ferrari

Leiden University | LEI · Leiden Institute of Chemistry

Optimized geometries, vibrational frequencies, as well as infrared intensities and Raman activities were calculated for water (H 2 O) utilizing popular quantum mechanical approaches. Here, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed using the B3LYP (Becke, three-parameter, Lee-Yang-Parr) functional, as well as ab initio calculations...

The recent ROSETTA mission to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko detected surprisingly high levels of molecular oxygen (O2; hypervolatile species) in the coma. Current models predict that considerable levels of other hypervolatiles (such as molecular nitrogen, N2, methane, CH4, and Argon) should be found at similar levels, whereas they are more deplet...

In the interstellar medium, six molecules have been conclusively detected in the solid state in interstellar ices, and a few dozen have been hypothesized and modeled to be present in the solid state as well. The icy mantles covering micrometer-sized dust grains are, in fact, thought to be at the core of complex molecule formation as a consequence o...

Laboratory-based experimental astrochemistry regularly entails simulation of astrophysical environments whereby low-temperature condensed ices are exposed to radiation from ultraviolet (UV) photons or energetic charged particles. Here, excited atoms/radicals are generated that are not in thermal equilibrium with their surroundings (i.e., they are n...

Oligomers and co-oligomers of carbon oxides (CO & CO2) hold considerable potential as high energy density materials (HEDMs) and are of prospective interest to astrochemists. Here, we theoretically investigate the equilibrium geometries, vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities, Raman activities, and energetics of several C2O3 and C2O4 species....

We, the Society of Physics Students at UCF, implement a high linearity silicon-based position sensitive detector along with piezo-electric polymer vibration sensors in a recreation of the Cavendish experiment. Measuring the gravitational constant along various millimeter range separation distances we attempt to verifying the position-dependence ini...