@article{OskinovaNazeTodtetal.2014, author = {Oskinova, Lidia M. and Naze, Yael and Todt, Helge Tobias and Huenemoerder, David P. and Ignace, Richard and Hubrig, Swetlana and Hamann, Wolf-Rainer}, title = {Discovery of X-ray pulsations from a massive star}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {5}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms5024}, pages = {9}, year = {2014}, abstract = {X-ray emission from stars much more massive than the Sun was discovered only 35 years ago. Such stars drive fast stellar winds where shocks can develop, and it is commonly assumed that the X-rays emerge from the shock-heated plasma. Many massive stars additionally pulsate. However, hitherto it was neither theoretically predicted nor observed that these pulsations would affect their X-ray emission. All X-ray pulsars known so far are associated with degenerate objects, either neutron stars or white dwarfs. Here we report the discovery of pulsating X-rays from a non-degenerate object, the massive B-type star xi(1) CMa. This star is a variable of beta Cep-type and has a strong magnetic field. Our observations with the X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM-Newton) telescope reveal X-ray pulsations with the same period as the fundamental stellar oscillations. This discovery challenges our understanding of stellar winds from massive stars, their X-ray emission and their magnetism.}, language = {en} } @article{ToeroekLeakeTitovetal.2014, author = {Toeroek, T. and Leake, J. E. and Titov, Viacheslav S. and Archontis, V. and Mikic, Z. and Linton, M. G. and Dalmasse, K. and Aulanier, Guillaume and Kliem, Bernhard}, title = {Distribution of electric currents in solar active regions}, series = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters}, volume = {782}, journal = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters}, number = {1}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {2041-8205}, doi = {10.1088/2041-8205/782/1/L10}, pages = {6}, year = {2014}, language = {en} } @article{HaakhHenkelSpagnoloetal.2014, author = {Haakh, Harald R. and Henkel, Carsten and Spagnolo, Salvatore and Rizzuto, Lucia and Passante, Roberto}, title = {Dynamical Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and surface plasmons}, series = {Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics}, volume = {89}, journal = {Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, issn = {1050-2947}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevA.89.022509}, pages = {11}, year = {2014}, abstract = {We investigate the time-dependent Casimir-Polder potential of a polarizable two-level atom placed near a surface of arbitrary material, after a sudden change in the parameters of the system. Different initial conditions are taken into account. For an initially bare ground-state atom, the time-dependent Casimir-Polder energy reveals how the atom is "being dressed" by virtual, matter-assisted photons. We also study the transient behavior of the Casimir-Polder interaction between the atom and the surface starting from a partially dressed state, after an externally induced change in the atomic level structure or transition dipoles. The Heisenberg equations are solved through an iterative technique for both atomic and field operators in the medium-assisted electromagnetic field quantization scheme. We analyze, in particular, how the time evolution of the interaction energy depends on the optical properties of the surface, in particular on the dispersion relation of surface plasmon polaritons. The physical significance and the limits of validity of the obtained results are discussed in detail.}, language = {en} } @article{SchreckPietzschKunnusetal.2014, author = {Schreck, Simon and Pietzsch, Annette and Kunnus, Kristjan and Kennedy, Brian and Quevedo, Wilson and Miedema, Piter S. and Wernet, Philippe and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Dynamics of the OH group and the electronic structure of liquid alcohols}, series = {Structural dynamics}, volume = {1}, journal = {Structural dynamics}, number = {5}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {2329-7778}, doi = {10.1063/1.4897981}, pages = {14}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering (RIXS) from molecular and liquid systems, the interplay of ground state structural and core-excited state dynamical contributions leads to complex spectral shapes that partially allow for ambiguous interpretations. In this work, we dissect these contributions in oxygen K-edge RIXS from liquid alcohols. We use the scattering into the electronic ground state as an accurate measure of nuclear dynamics in the intermediate core-excited state of the RIXS process. We determine the characteristic time in the core-excited state until nuclear dynamics give a measurable contribution to the RIXS spectral profiles to tau(dyn) = 1.2 +/- 0.8 fs. By detuning the excitation energy below the absorption resonance we reduce the effective scattering time below sdyn, and hence suppress these dynamical contributions to a minimum. From the corresponding RIXS spectra of liquid methanol, we retrieve the "dynamic-free" density of states and find that it is described solely by the electronic states of the free methanol molecule. From this and from the comparison of normal and deuterated methanol, we conclude that the split peak structure found in the lone-pair emission region at non-resonant excitation originates from dynamics in the O-H bond in the core-excited state. We find no evidence that this split peak feature is a signature of distinct ground state structural complexes in liquid methanol. However, we demonstrate how changes in the hydrogen bond coordination within the series of linear alcohols from methanol to hexanol affect the split peak structure in the liquid alcohols. (C) 2014 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.}, language = {en} } @article{RichterZakrevskyyEiseleetal.2014, author = {Richter, Marcel and Zakrevskyy, Yuriy and Eisele, Michael and Lomadze, Nino and Santer, Svetlana and von Klitzing, Regine}, title = {Effect of pH, co-monomer content, and surfactant structure on the swelling behavior of microgel-azobenzene-containing surfactant complex}, series = {Polymer : the international journal for the science and technology of polymers}, volume = {55}, journal = {Polymer : the international journal for the science and technology of polymers}, number = {25}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0032-3861}, doi = {10.1016/j.polymer.2014.10.027}, pages = {6513 -- 6518}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The contraction/swelling transition of anionic PNIPAM-co-AAA particles can be manipulated by light using interactions with cationic azobenzene-containing surfactant. In this study the influence of pH-buffers and their concentrations, the charge density (AAA content) in microgel particles as well as the spacer length of the surfactant on the complex formation between the microgel and surfactant is investigated. It is shown that the presence of pH buffer can lead to complete blocking of the interactions in such complexes and the resulting microgel contraction/swelling response. There is a clear competition between the buffer ions and the surfactant molecules interacting with microgel particles. When working in pure water solutions with fixed concentration (charge density) of microgel, the contraction/swelling of the particles is controlled only by relative concentration (charge ratio) of the surfactant and AAA groups of the microgel. Furthermore, the particle contraction is more efficient for shorter spacer length of the surfactant. The onset point of the contraction process is not affected by the surfactant hydrophobicity. This work provides new insight into the interaction between microgel particles and photo-sensitive surfactants, which offers high potential in new sensor systems. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{GehrigRolandHowardetal.2014, author = {Gehrig, Dominik W. and Roland, Steffen and Howard, Ian A. and Kamm, Valentin and Mangold, Hannah and Neher, Dieter and Laquai, Frederic}, title = {Efficiency-limiting processes in low-bandgap polymer:Perylene diimide photovoltaic blends}, series = {The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces}, volume = {118}, journal = {The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces}, number = {35}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {1932-7447}, doi = {10.1021/jp503366m}, pages = {20077 -- 20085}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The charge generation and recombination processes following photo-excitation of a low-bandgap polymer:perylene diimide photovoltaic blend are investigated by transient absorption pump-probe spectroscopy covering a dynamic range from femto-to microseconds to get insight into the efficiency-limiting photophysical processes. The several tens of picoseconds, and its efficiency is only half of that in a polymer:fullerene photoinduced electron transfer from the polymer to the perylene acceptor takes up to blend. This reduces the short-circuit current. Time-delayed collection field experiments reveal that the subsequent charge separation is strongly field-dependent, limiting the fill factor and lowering the short-circuit current in polymer:PDI devices. Upon excitation of the acceptor in the low-bandgap polymer blend, the PDI exciton undergoes charge transfer on a time scale of several tens of picoseconds. However, a significant fraction of the charges generated at the interface are quickly lost because of fast geminate recombination. This reduces the short-circuit current even further, leading to a scenario in which only around 2596 of the initial photoexcitations generate free charges that can potentially contribute to the photocurrent. In summary, the key photophysical limitations of perylene diimide as an acceptor in low-bandgap polymer blends appear at the interface between the materials, with the kinetics of both charge generation and separation inhibited as compared to that of fullerenes.}, language = {en} } @article{VandewalAlbrechtHokeetal.2014, author = {Vandewal, Koen and Albrecht, Steve and Hoke, Eric T. and Graham, Kenneth R. and Widmer, Johannes and Douglas, Jessica D. and Schubert, Marcel and Mateker, William R. and Bloking, Jason T. and Burkhard, George F. and Sellinger, Alan and Frechet, Jean M. J. and Amassian, Aram and Riede, Moritz K. and McGehee, Michael D. and Neher, Dieter and Salleo, Alberto}, title = {Efficient charge generation by relaxed charge-transfer states at organic interfaces}, series = {Nature materials}, volume = {13}, journal = {Nature materials}, number = {1}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {1476-1122}, doi = {10.1038/NMAT3807}, pages = {63 -- 68}, year = {2014}, abstract = {carriers on illumination. Efficient organic solar cells require a high yield for this process, combined with a minimum of energy losses. Here, we investigate the role of the lowest energy emissive interfacial charge-transfer state (CT1) in the charge generation process. We measure the quantum yield and the electric field dependence of charge generation on excitation of the charge-transfer (CT) state manifold viaweakly allowed, low-energy optical transitions. For a wide range of photovoltaic devices based on polymer: fullerene, small-molecule:C-60 and polymer: polymer blends, our study reveals that the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is essentially independent of whether or not D, A or CT states with an energy higher than that of CT1 are excited. The best materials systems show an IQE higher than 90\% without the need for excess electronic or vibrational energy.}, language = {en} } @article{AlbrechtGrootoonkNeubertetal.2014, author = {Albrecht, Steve and Grootoonk, Bjorn and Neubert, Sebastian and Roland, Steffen and Wordenweber, Jan and Meier, Matthias and Schlatmann, Rutger and Gordijn, Aad and Neher, Dieter}, title = {Efficient hybrid inorganic/organic tandem solar cells with tailored recombination contacts}, series = {Solar energy materials \& solar cells : an international journal devoted to photovoltaic, photothermal, and photochemical solar energy conversion}, volume = {127}, journal = {Solar energy materials \& solar cells : an international journal devoted to photovoltaic, photothermal, and photochemical solar energy conversion}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0927-0248}, doi = {10.1016/j.solmat.2014.04.020}, pages = {157 -- 162}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In this work, the authors present a 7.5\% efficient hybrid tandem solar cell with the bottom cell made of amorphous silicon and a Si-PCPDTBT:PC70BM bulk heterojunction top cell. Loss-free recombination contacts were realized by combing Al-doped ZnO with either the conducting polymer composite PEDOT:PSS or with a bilayer of ultrathin Al and MoO3. Optimization of these contacts results in tandem cells with high fill factors of 70\% and an open circuit voltage close to the sum of those of the sub-cells. This is the best efficiency reported for this type of hybrid tandem cell so far. Optical and electrical device modeling suggests that the efficiency can be increased to similar to 12\% on combining a donor polymer with suitable absorption onset with PCBM. We also describe proof-of-principle studies employing light trapping in hybrid tandem solar cells, suggesting that this device architecture has the potential to achieve efficiencies well above 12\%. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{BronnerUtechtHaaseetal.2014, author = {Bronner, Christopher and Utecht, Manuel Martin and Haase, Anton and Saalfrank, Peter and Klamroth, Tillmann and Tegeder, Petra}, title = {Electronic structure changes during the surface-assisted formation of a graphene nanoribbon}, series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, volume = {140}, journal = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0021-9606}, doi = {10.1063/1.4858855}, pages = {7}, year = {2014}, abstract = {High conductivity and a tunability of the band gap make quasi-one-dimensional graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) highly interesting materials for the use in field effect transistors. Especially bottom-up fabricated GNRs possess well-defined edges which is important for the electronic structure and accordingly the band gap. In this study we investigate the formation of a sub-nanometer wide armchair GNR generated on a Au(111) surface. The on-surface synthesis is thermally activated and involves an intermediate non-aromatic polymer in which the molecular precursor forms polyanthrylene chains. Employing angle-resolved two-photon photoemission in combination with density functional theory calculations we find that the polymer exhibits two dispersing states which we attribute to the valence and the conduction band, respectively. While the band gap of the non-aromatic polymer obtained in this way is relatively large, namely 5.25 +/- 0.06 eV, the gap of the corresponding aromatic GNR is strongly reduced which we attribute to the different degree of electron delocalization in the two systems.}, language = {en} } @article{CherstvyTeif2014, author = {Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Teif, Vladimir B.}, title = {Electrostatic effect of H1-histone protein binding on nucleosome repeat length}, series = {Physical biology : a journal for the fundamental understanding of biological systems}, volume = {11}, journal = {Physical biology : a journal for the fundamental understanding of biological systems}, number = {4}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1478-3967}, doi = {10.1088/1478-3975/11/4/044001}, pages = {6}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Within a simple biophysical model we describe the effect of electrostatic binding of H1 histone proteins on the nucleosome repeat length in chromatin. The length of wrapped DNA optimizes its binding energy to the histone core and the elastic energy penalty of DNA wrapping. The magnitude of the effect predicted from our model is in agreement with the systematic experimental data on the linear variation of nucleosome repeat lengths with H1/nucleosome ratio (Woodcock C L et al 2006 Chromos. Res. 14 17-25). We compare our model to the data for different cell types and organisms, with a widely varying ratio of bound H1 histones per nucleosome. We underline the importance of this non-specific histone-DNA charge-balance mechanism in regulating the positioning of nucleosomes and the degree of compaction of chromatin fibers in eukaryotic cells.}, language = {en} }