@phdthesis{Koc2018,
  author    = {Ko{\c{c}}, Azize},
  title     = {Ultrafast x-ray studies on the non-equilibrium of the magnetic and phononic system in heavy rare-earths},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-42328},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-423282},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {ii, 117},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {In this dissertation the lattice and the magnetic recovery dynamics of the two heavy rare-earth metals Dy and Gd after femtosecond photoexcitation are described. For the investigations, thin films of Dy and Gd were measured at low temperatures in the antiferromagnetic phase of Dy and close to room temperature in the ferromagnetic phase of Gd. Two different optical pump-x-ray probe techniques were employed: Ultrafast x-ray diffraction with hard x-rays (UXRD) yields the structural response of heavy rare-earth metals and resonant soft (elastic) x-ray diffraction (RSXD), which allows measuring directly changes in the helical antiferromagnetic order of Dy. The combination of both techniques enables to study the complex interaction between the magnetic and the phononic subsystems.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Sander2018,
  author    = {Sander, Mathias},
  title     = {Ultrafast tailored strain fields in nanostructures},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-417863},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xvii, 119},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {This publication based thesis, which consists of seven published articles, summarizes my contributions to the research field of laser excited ultrafast structural dynamics. The coherent and incoherent lattice dynamics on microscopic length scales are detected by ultrashort optical and X-ray pulses. The understanding of the complex physical processes is essential for future improvements of technological applications. For this purpose, tabletop soruces and large scale facilities, e.g. synchrotrons, are employed to study structural dynamics of longitudinal acoustic strain waves and heat transport. The investigated effects cover timescales from hundreds of femtoseconds up to several microseconds. The main part of this thesis is dedicated to the investigation of tailored phonon wave packets propagating in perovskite nanostructures. Tailoring is achieved either by laser excitation of nanostructured bilayer samples or by a temporal series of laser pulses. Due to the propagation of longitudinal acoustic phonons, the out-of-plane lattice spacing of a thin film insulator-metal bilayer sample is modulated on an ultrafast timescale. This leads to an ultrafast modulation of the X-ray diffraction efficiency which is employed as a phonon Bragg switch to shorten hard X-ray pulses emitted from a 3rd generation synchrotron. In addition, we have observed nonlinear mixing of high amplitude phonon wave packets which originates from an anharmonic interatomic potential. A chirped optical pulse sequence excites a narrow band phonon wave packet with specific momentum and energy. The second harmonic generation of these phonon wave packets is followed by ultrafast X-ray diffraction. Phonon upconversion takes place because the high amplitude phonon wave packet modulates the acoustic properties of the crystal which leads to self steepening and to the successive generation of higher harmonics of the phonon wave packet. Furthermore, we have demonstrated ultrafast strain in direction parallel to the sample surface. Two consecutive so-called transient grating excitations displaced in space and time are used to coherently control thermal gradients and surface acoustic modes. The amplitude of the coherent and incoherent surface excursion is disentangled by time resolved X-ray reflectivity measurements. We calibrate the absolute amplitude of thermal and acoustic surface excursion with measurements of longitudinal phonon propagation. In addition, we develop a diffraction model which allows for measuring the surface excursion on an absolute length scale with sub-{\"A}angstr{\"o}m precision. Finally, I demonstrate full coherent control of an excited surface deformation by amplifying and suppressing thermal and coherent excitations at the surface of a laser-excited Yttrium-manganite sample.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Paganini2018,
  author    = {Paganini, Claudio Francesco},
  title     = {The role of trapping in black hole spacetimes},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-414686},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {v, 138},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {In the here presented work we discuss a series of results that are all in one way or another connected to the phenomenon of trapping in black hole spacetimes. First we present a comprehensive review of the Kerr-Newman-Taub-NUT-de-Sitter family of black hole spacetimes and their most important properties. From there we go into a detailed analysis of the bahaviour of null geodesics in the exterior region of a sub-extremal Kerr spacetime. We show that most well known fundamental properties of null geodesics can be represented in one plot. In particular, one can see immediately that the ergoregion and trapping are separated in phase space. We then consider the sets of future/past trapped null geodesics in the exterior region of a sub-extremal Kerr-Newman-Taub-NUT spacetime. We show that from the point of view of any timelike observer outside of such a black hole, trapping can be understood as two smooth sets of spacelike directions on the celestial sphere of the observer. Therefore the topological structure of the trapped set on the celestial sphere of any observer is identical to that in Schwarzschild. We discuss how this is relevant to the black hole stability problem. In a further development of these observations we introduce the notion of what it means for the shadow of two observers to be degenerate. We show that, away from the axis of symmetry, no continuous degeneration exists between the shadows of observers at any point in the exterior region of any Kerr-Newman black hole spacetime of unit mass. Therefore, except possibly for discrete changes, an observer can, by measuring the black holes shadow, determine the angular momentum and the charge of the black hole under observation, as well as the observer's radial position and angle of elevation above the equatorial plane. Furthermore, his/her relative velocity compared to a standard observer can also be measured. On the other hand, the black hole shadow does not allow for a full parameter resolution in the case of a Kerr-Newman-Taub-NUT black hole, as a continuous degeneration relating specific angular momentum, electric charge, NUT charge and elevation angle exists in this case. We then use the celestial sphere to show that trapping is a generic feature of any black hole spacetime. In the last chapter we then prove a generalization of the mode stability result of Whiting (1989) for the Teukolsky equation for the case of real frequencies. The main result of the last chapter states that a separated solution of the Teukolsky equation governing massless test fields on the Kerr spacetime, which is purely outgoing at infinity, and purely ingoing at the horizon, must vanish. This has the consequence, that for real frequencies, there are linearly independent fundamental solutions of the radial Teukolsky equation which are purely ingoing at the horizon, and purely outgoing at infinity, respectively. This fact yields a representation formula for solutions of the inhomogenous Teukolsky equation, and was recently used by Shlapentokh-Rothman (2015) for the scalar wave equation.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Reese2018,
  author    = {Reese, Ronja},
  title     = {The far reach of ice-shelf thinning in Antarctica},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {227},
  year      = {2018},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kuehn2018,
  author    = {K{\"u}hn, Danilo},
  title     = {Synchrotron-based angle-resolved time-of-flight electron spectroscopy for dynamics in dichalogenides},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {147},
  year      = {2018},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Quade2018,
  author    = {Quade, Markus},
  title     = {Symbolic regression for identification, prediction, and control of dynamical systems},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-419790},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xiii, 134},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {In the present work, we use symbolic regression for automated modeling of dynamical systems. Symbolic regression is a powerful and general method suitable for data-driven identification of mathematical expressions. In particular, the structure and parameters of those expressions are identified simultaneously. We consider two main variants of symbolic regression: sparse regression-based and genetic programming-based symbolic regression. Both are applied to identification, prediction and control of dynamical systems. We introduce a new methodology for the data-driven identification of nonlinear dynamics for systems undergoing abrupt changes. Building on a sparse regression algorithm derived earlier, the model after the change is defined as a minimum update with respect to a reference model of the system identified prior to the change. The technique is successfully exemplified on the chaotic Lorenz system and the van der Pol oscillator. Issues such as computational complexity, robustness against noise and requirements with respect to data volume are investigated. We show how symbolic regression can be used for time series prediction. Again, issues such as robustness against noise and convergence rate are investigated us- ing the harmonic oscillator as a toy problem. In combination with embedding, we demonstrate the prediction of a propagating front in coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators. Additionally, we show how we can enhance numerical weather predictions to commercially forecast power production of green energy power plants. We employ symbolic regression for synchronization control in coupled van der Pol oscillators. Different coupling topologies are investigated. We address issues such as plausibility and stability of the control laws found. The toolkit has been made open source and is used in turbulence control applications. Genetic programming based symbolic regression is very versatile and can be adapted to many optimization problems. The heuristic-based algorithm allows for cost efficient optimization of complex tasks. We emphasize the ability of symbolic regression to yield white-box models. In contrast to black-box models, such models are accessible and interpretable which allows the usage of established tool chains.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{RodriguezLoureiro2018,
  author    = {Rodriguez Loureiro, Ignacio},
  title     = {Structural characterization of single and interacting soft interfaces displaying brushes of synthetic or biomolecular polymers},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-42367},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-423675},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {132},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The interaction between surfaces displaying end-grafted hydrophilic polymer brushes plays important roles in biology and in many wet-technological applications. The outer surfaces of Gram-negative bacteria, for example, are composed of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) molecules exposing oligo- and polysaccharides to the aqueous environment. This unique, structurally complex biological interface is of great scientific interest as it mediates the interaction of bacteria with neighboring bacteria in colonies and biofilms. The interaction between polymer-decorated surfaces is generally coupled to the distance-dependent conformation of the polymer chains. Therefore, structural insight into the interacting surfaces is a prerequisite to understand the interaction characteristics as well as the underlying physical mechanisms. This problem has been addressed by theory, but accurate experimental data on polymer conformations under confinement are rare, because obtaining perturbation-free structural insight into buried soft interfaces is inherently difficult. In this thesis, lipid membrane surfaces decorated with hydrophilic polymers of technological and biological relevance are investigated under controlled interaction conditions, i.e., at defined surface separations. For this purpose, dedicated sample architectures and experimental tools are developed. Via ellipsometry and neutron reflectometry pressure-distance curves and distance-dependent polymer conformations in terms of brush compression and reciprocative interpenetration are determined. Additional element-specific structural insight into the end-point distribution of interacting brushes is obtained by standing-wave x-ray fluorescence (SWXF). The methodology is first established for poly[ethylene glycol] (PEG) brushes of defined length and grafting density. For this system, neutron reflectometry revealed pronounced brush interpenetration, which is not captured in common brush theories and therefore motivates rigorous simulation-based treatments. In the second step the same approach is applied to realistic mimics of the outer surfaces of Gram-negative bacteria: monolayers of wild type LPSs extracted from E. Coli O55:B5 displaying strain-specific O-side chains. The neutron reflectometry experiments yield unprecedented structural insight into bacterial interactions, which are of great relevance for the properties of biofilms.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Harutyunyan2018,
  author    = {Harutyunyan, Gohar},
  title     = {Spectroscopy at the limit},
  pages     = {X, 112},
  year      = {2018},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Valliappan2018,
  author    = {Valliappan, Senthamizh Pavai},
  title     = {Solar Activity Reconstruction from Historical Observations of Sunspots},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-413600},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {115},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The solar activity and its consequences affect space weather and Earth's climate. The solar activity exhibits a cyclic behaviour with a period of about 11 years. The solar cycle properties are governed by the dynamo taking place in the interior of the Sun, and they are distinctive. Extending the knowledge about solar cycle properties into the past is essential for understanding the solar dynamo and forecasting space weather. It can be acquired through the analysis of historical sunspot drawings. Sunspots are the dark areas, which are associated with strong magnetic fields, on the solar surface. Sunspots are the oldest and longest available observed features of solar activity. One of the longest available records of sunspot drawings is the collection by Samuel Heinrich Schwabe during 1825-1867. The sunspot sizes measured from digitized Schwabe drawings are not to scale and need to be converted into physical sunspot areas. We employed a statistical approach assuming that the area distribution of sunspots was the same in the 19th century as it was in the 20th century. Umbral areas for about 130 000 sunspots observed by Schwabe were obtained. The annually averaged sunspot areas correlate reasonably well with the sunspot number. Tilt angles and polarity separations of sunspot groups were calculated assuming them to be bipolar. There is, of course, no polarity information in the observations. We derived an average tilt angle by attempting to exclude unipolar groups with a minimum separation of the two surmised polarities and an outlier rejection method, which follows the evolution of each group and detects the moment, when it turns unipolar as it decays. As a result, the tilt angles, although displaying considerable natural scatter, are on average 5.85° ± 0.25°, with the leading polarity located closer to the equator, in good agreement with tilt angles obtained from 20th century data sets. Sources of uncertainties in the tilt angle determination are discussed and need to be addressed whenever different data sets are combined. Digital images of observations printed in the books Rosa Ursina and Prodromus pro sole mobili by Christoph Scheiner, as well as the drawings from Scheiner's letters to Marcus Welser, are analyzed to obtain information on the positions and sizes of sunspots that appeared before the Maunder minimum. In most cases, the given orientation of the ecliptic is used to set up the heliographic coordinate system for the drawings. Positions and sizes are measured manually displaying the drawings on a computer screen. Very early drawings have no indication of the solar orientation. A rotational matching using common spots of adjacent days is used in some cases, while in other cases, the assumption that images were aligned with a zenith-horizon coordinate system appeared to be the most likely. In total, 8167 sunspots were measured. A distribution of sunspot latitudes versus time (butterfly diagram) is obtained for Scheiner's observations. The observations of 1611 are very inaccurate, but the drawings of 1612 have at least an indication of the solar orientation, while the remaining part of the spot positions from 1618-1631 have good to very good accuracy. We also computed 697 tilt angles of apparent bipolar sunspot groups, which were observed in the period 1618-1631. We find that the average tilt angle of nearly 4° does not significantly differ from the 20th century values. The solar cycle properties seem to be related to the tilt angles of sunspot groups, and it is an important parameter in the surface flux transport models. The tilt angles of bipolar sunspot groups from various historical sets of solar drawings including from Schwabe and Scheiner are analyzed. Data by Scheiner, Hevelius, Staudacher, Zucconi, Schwabe, and Spörer deliver a series of average tilt angles spanning a period of 270 years, in addition to previously found values for 20th-century data obtained by other authors. We find that the average tilt angles before the Maunder minimum were not significantly different from modern values. However, the average tilt angles of a period 50 years after the Maunder minimum, namely for cycles 0 and 1, were much lower and near zero. The typical tilt angles before the Maunder minimum suggest that abnormally low tilt angles were not responsible for driving the solar cycle into a grand minimum. With the Schwabe (1826-1867) and Spörer (1866-1880) sunspot data, the butterfly diagram of sunspot groups extends back till 1826. A recently developed method, which separates the wings of the butterfly diagram based on the long gaps present in sunspot group occurrences at different latitudinal bands, is used to separate the wings of the butterfly diagram. The cycle-to-cycle variation in the start (F), end (L), and highest (H) latitudes of the wings with respect to the strength of the wings are analyzed. On the whole, the wings of the stronger cycles tend to start at higher latitudes and have a greater extent. The time spans of the wings and the time difference between the wings in the northern hemisphere display a quasi-periodicity of 5-6 cycles. The average wing overlap is zero in the southern hemisphere, whereas it is 2-3 months in the north. A marginally significant oscillation of about 10 solar cycles is found in the asymmetry of the L latitudes. This latest, extended database of butterfly wings provides new observational constraints, regarding the spatio-temporal distribution of sunspot occurrences over the solar cycle, to solar dynamo models.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Pohl2018,
  author    = {Pohl, Anna},
  title     = {Shaping via binding},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {119,XVIII},
  year      = {2018},
  language  = {de}
}