@phdthesis{Alexoudi2023,
  author    = {Alexoudi, Xanthippi},
  title     = {Clarifying the discrepant results in the characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-60565},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-605659},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xvi, 125},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Planets outside our solar system, so-called "exoplanets", can be detected with different methods, and currently more than 5000 exoplanets have been confirmed, according to NASA Exoplanet Archive. One major highlight of the studies on exoplanets in the past twenty years is the characterization of their atmospheres usingtransmission spectroscopy as the exoplanet transits. However, this characterization is a challenging process and sometimes there are reported discrepancies in the literature regarding the atmosphere of the same exoplanet. One potential reason for the observed atmospheric inconsistencies is called impact parameter degeneracy, and it is highly driven by the limb darkening effect of the host star. A brief introductionto those topics in presented in chapter 1, while the motivation and objectives of thiswork are described in chapter 2.The first goal is to clarify the origin of the transmission spectrum, which is anindicator of an exoplanet's atmosphere; whether it is real or influenced by the impactparameter degeneracy. A second goal is to determine whether photometry from space using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), could improve on the major parameters, which are responsible for the aforementioned degeneracy, of known exoplanetary systems. Three individual projects were conducted in order toaddress those goals. The three manuscripts are presented, in short, in the manuscriptoverview in chapter 3.More specifically, in chapter 4, the first manuscript is presented, which is an ex-tended investigation on the impact parameter degeneracy and its application onsynthetic transmission spectra. Evidently, the limb darkening of the host star isan important driver for this effect. It keeps the degeneracy persisting through different groups of exoplanets, based on the uncertainty of their impact parameter and on the type of their host star. The second goal, was addressed in the second and third manuscripts (chapter 5 and chapter 6 respectively). Using observationsfrom the TESS mission, two samples of exoplanets were studied; 10 transiting inflated hot-Jupiters and 43 transiting grazing systems. Potentially, the refinement or confirmation of their major system parameters' measurements can assist in solving current or future discrepancies regarding their atmospheric characterization.In chapter 7 the conclusions of this work are discussed, while in chapter 8 itis proposed how TESS's measurements can be able to discern between erroneousinterpretations of transmission spectra, especially on systems where the impact parameter degeneracy is likely not applicable.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Bastian2023,
  author    = {Bastian, Martin},
  title     = {An emergent machine learning approach for seasonal cyclone activity forecasts},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {135},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Seasonal forecasts are of great interest in many areas. Knowing the amount of precipitation for the upcoming season in regions of water scarcity would facilitate a better water management. If farmers knew the weather conditions of the upcoming summer at sowing time, they could select those cereal species that are best adapted to these conditions. This would allow farmers to improve the harvest and potentially even reduce the amount of pesticides used. However, the undoubted advantages of seasonal forecasts are often opposed by their high degree of uncertainty. The great challenge of generating seasonal forecasts with lead times of several months mainly originates from the chaotic nature of the earth system. In a chaotic system, even tiny differences in the initial conditions can lead to strong deviations in the system's state in the long run. In this dissertation we propose an emergent machine learning approach for seasonal forecasting, called the AnlgModel. The AnlgModel combines the analogue method with myopic feature selection and bootstrapping. To benchmark the abilities of the AnlgModel we apply it to seasonal cyclone activity forecasts in the North Atlantic and Northwest Pacific. The AnlgModel demonstrates competitive hindcast skills with two operational forecasts and even outperforms these for long lead times. In the second chapter we comprehend the forecasting strategy of the Anlg-Model. We thereby analyse the analogue selection process for the 2017 North Atlantic and the 2018 Northwest Pacific seasonal cyclone activity. The analysis shows that those climate indices which are known to influence the seasonal cyclone activity, such as the Ni{\~n}o 3.4 SST, are correctly represented among the selected analogues. Furthermore the selected analogues reflect large-scale climate patterns that were identified by expert reports as being determinative for these particular seasons. In the third chapter we analyse the features that are used by the AnlgModel for its predictions. We therefore inspect the feature relevance (FR). The FR patterns learned by the AnlgModel show a high congruence with the predictor regions used by the operational forecasts. However, the AnlgModel also discovered new features, such as the SST anomaly in the Gulf of Guinea during November. This SST pattern exhibits a remarkably high predictive potential for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane activity. In the final chapter we investigate potential mechanisms, that link two of these regions with high feature relevance to the Atlantic hurricane activity. We mainly focus on ocean surface transport. The ocean surface flow paths are calculated using Lagrangian particle analysis. We demonstrate that the FR patterns in the region of the Canary islands do not correspond with ocean surface transport. It is instead likely that these FR patterns fingerprint a wind transport of latent heat. The second region to be studied is situated in the Gulf of Guinea. Our analysis shows that the FR patterns seen there do fingerprint ocean surface transport. However, our simulations also show that at least one other mechanism is involved in linking the Gulf of Guinea SST anomaly in November to the hurricane activity of the upcoming season. In this work the AnlgModel does not only demonstrate its outstanding forecast skills but also shows its capabilities as research tool for detecting oceanic and atmospheric mechanisms.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Braun2023,
  author    = {Braun, Tobias},
  title     = {Recurrences in past climates},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-58690},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-586900},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xxviii, 251},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Our ability to predict the state of a system relies on its tendency to recur to states it has visited before. Recurrence also pervades common intuitions about the systems we are most familiar with: daily routines, social rituals and the return of the seasons are just a few relatable examples. To this end, recurrence plots (RP) provide a systematic framework to quantify the recurrence of states. Despite their conceptual simplicity, they are a versatile tool in the study of observational data. The global climate is a complex system for which an understanding based on observational data is not only of academical relevance, but vital for the predurance of human societies within the planetary boundaries. Contextualizing current global climate change, however, requires observational data far beyond the instrumental period. The palaeoclimate record offers a valuable archive of proxy data but demands methodological approaches that adequately address its complexities. In this regard, the following dissertation aims at devising novel and further developing existing methods in the framework of recurrence analysis (RA). The proposed research questions focus on using RA to capture scale-dependent properties in nonlinear time series and tailoring recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to characterize seasonal variability in palaeoclimate records ('Palaeoseasonality'). In the first part of this thesis, we focus on the methodological development of novel approaches in RA. The predictability of nonlinear (palaeo)climate time series is limited by abrupt transitions between regimes that exhibit entirely different dynamical complexity (e.g. crossing of 'tipping points'). These possibly depend on characteristic time scales. RPs are well-established for detecting transitions and capture scale-dependencies, yet few approaches have combined both aspects. We apply existing concepts from the study of self-similar textures to RPs to detect abrupt transitions, considering the most relevant time scales. This combination of methods further results in the definition of a novel recurrence based nonlinear dependence measure. Quantifying lagged interactions between multiple variables is a common problem, especially in the characterization of high-dimensional complex systems. The proposed 'recurrence flow' measure of nonlinear dependence offers an elegant way to characterize such couplings. For spatially extended complex systems, the coupled dynamics of local variables result in the emergence of spatial patterns. These patterns tend to recur in time. Based on this observation, we propose a novel method that entails dynamically distinct regimes of atmospheric circulation based on their recurrent spatial patterns. Bridging the two parts of this dissertation, we next turn to methodological advances of RA for the study of Palaeoseasonality. Observational series of palaeoclimate 'proxy' records involve inherent limitations, such as irregular temporal sampling. We reveal biases in the RQA of time series with a non-stationary sampling rate and propose a correction scheme. In the second part of this thesis, we proceed with applications in Palaeoseasonality. A review of common and promising time series analysis methods shows that numerous valuable tools exist, but their sound application requires adaptions to archive-specific limitations and consolidating transdisciplinary knowledge. Next, we study stalagmite proxy records from the Central Pacific as sensitive recorders of mid-Holocene El Ni{\~n}o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dynamics. The records' remarkably high temporal resolution allows to draw links between ENSO and seasonal dynamics, quantified by RA. The final study presented here examines how seasonal predictability could play a role for the stability of agricultural societies. The Classic Maya underwent a period of sociopolitical disintegration that has been linked to drought events. Based on seasonally resolved stable isotope records from Yok Balum cave in Belize, we propose a measure of seasonal predictability. It unveils the potential role declining seasonal predictability could have played in destabilizing agricultural and sociopolitical systems of Classic Maya populations. The methodological approaches and applications presented in this work reveal multiple exciting future research avenues, both for RA and the study of Palaeoseasonality.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Damle2023,
  author    = {Damle, Mitali},
  title     = {Gas distribution around galaxies in cosmological simulations},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-59054},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-590543},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {ii, xii, 146},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {The evolution of a galaxy is pivotally governed by its pattern of star formation over a given period of time. The star formation rate at any given time is strongly dependent on the amount of cold gas available in the galaxy. Accretion of pristine gas from the Intergalactic medium (IGM) is thought to be one of the primary sources for star-forming gas. This gas first passes through the virial regions of the galaxy before reaching the Interstellar medium (ISM), the hub of star formation. On the other hand, owing to the evolutionary course of young and massive stars, energetic winds are ejected from the ISM to the virial regions of the galaxy. A bunch of interlinked, complex astrophysical processes, arising from the concurrent presence of both infalling as well as outbound gas, play out over a range of timescales in the halo region or the Circumgalactic medium (CGM) of a galaxy. It would not be incorrect to say that the CGM has a stronghold over the gas reserves of a galaxy and thus, plays a backhand, yet, rather pivotal role in shaping many galactic properties, some of which are also readily observable. Observing the multi-phase CGM (via spectral-line ion measurements), however, remains a non-trivial effort even today. Low particle densities as well as the CGM's vast spatial extent, coupled with likely deviations from a spherical distribution, marr the possibility of obtaining complete, unbiased, high-quality spectral information tracing the full extent of the gaseous halo. This often incomplete information leads to multiple inferences about the CGM properties that give rise to multiple contradicting models. In this regard, computer simulations offer a neat solution towards testing and, subsequently, falsifying many of these existing CGM models. Thanks to their controlled environments, simulations are able to not only effortlessly transcend several orders of magnitude in time and space, but also get around many of the observational limitations and provide some unique views on many CGM properties. In this thesis, I focus on effectively using different computer simulations to understand the role of CGM in various astrophysical contexts, namely, the effect of Local Group (LG) environment, major merger events and satellite galaxies. In Chapter 2, I discuss the approach used for modeling various phases of the simulated z = 0 LG CGM in Hestia constrained simulations. Each of the three realizations contain a Milky Way (MW)-Andromeda (M31) galaxy pair, along with their corresponding sets of satellite galaxies, all embedded within the larger cosmological context. For characterizing the different temperature-density phases within the CGM, I model five tracer ions with cloudy ionization modeling. The cold and cool-ionized CGM (H i and Si iii respectively) in Hestia is very clumpy and distributed close to the galactic centers, while the warm-hot and hot CGM (O vi, O vii and O viii) is tenuous and volume-filling. On comparing the H i and Si iii column densities for the simulated M31 with observational measurements from Project AMIGA survey and other low-z galaxies, I found that Hestia galaxies produced less gas in the outer CGM, unlike observations. My carefully designed observational bias model subsequently revealed the possibility that some MW gas clouds might be incorrectly associated with the M31 CGM in observations, and hence, may be partly responsible for giving rise to the detected mismatch between simulated data and observations. In Chapter 3, I present results from four zoom-in, major merger, gas-rich simulations and the subsequent role of the gas, originally situated in the CGM, in influencing some of the galactic observables. The progenitor parameters are selected such that the post-merger remnants are MW-mass galaxies. We generally see a very clear gas bridge joining the merging galaxies in case of multiple passage mergers while such a bridge is mostly absent when a direct collision occurs. On the basis of particle-to-galaxy distance computations and tracer particle analysis, I found that about 33-48 percent of the cold gas contributing to the merger-induced star formation in the bridge originated from the CGM regions. In Chapter 4, I used a sample of 234 MW-mass, L* galaxies from the TNG50 cosmological simulations, with an aim of characterizing the impact of their global satellite populations on the extended cold CGM properties of their host L* halos. On the basis of halo mass and number of satellite galaxies (N_sats ), I categorized the sample into low and high mass bins, and subsequently into bottom, inter and top quartiles respectively. After confirming that satellites indeed influence the extended cold halo gas density profiles of the host galaxies, I investigated the effects of different satellite population parameters on the host halo cold CGMs. My analysis showed that there is hardly any cold gas associated with the satellite population of the lowest mass halos. The stellar mass of the most massive satellite (M_*mms ) impacted the cold gas in low mass bin halos the most, while N_sats (followed by M_*mms ) was the most influential factor for the high mass halos. In any case, how easily cold gas was stripped off the most massive satellite did not play much role. The number of massive (Stellar mass, M* > 10^8 M_solar) satellites as well as the M_*mms associated with a galaxy are two of the most crucial parameters determining how much cold gas ultimately finds its way from the satellites to the host halo. Low mass galaxies are found rather lacking on both these fronts unlike their high mass counterparts. This work highlights some aspects of the complex gas physics that constitute the basic essence of a low-z CGM. My analysis proved the importance of a cosmological environment, local surroundings and merger history in defining some key observable properties of a galactic CGM. Furthermore, I found that different satellite properties were responsible for affecting the cold-dense CGM of the low and high-mass parent galaxies. Finally, the LG emerged as an exciting prospect for testing and pinning down several intricate details about the CGM.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Das2023,
  author    = {Das, Samata},
  title     = {Modelling particle acceleration in core-collapse supernova remnants inside circumstellar wind-blown bubbles},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-61414},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-614140},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {142},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Supernova remnants are considered to be the primary sources of galactic cosmic rays. These cosmic rays are assumed to be accelerated by the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism, specifically at shocks in the remnants. Particularly in the core-collapse scenario, these supernova remnant shocks expand inside the wind-blown bubbles structured by massive progenitors during their lifetime. Therefore, the complex environment of wind bubbles can influence the particle acceleration and radiation from the remnants. Further, the evolution of massive stars depends on their Zero Age Main Sequence mass, rotation, and metallicity. Consequently, the structures of the wind bubbles generated during the lifetime of massive stars should be considerably different. Hence, the particle acceleration in the core-collapse supernova remnants should vary, not only from the remnants evolving in the uniform environment but also from one another, depending on their progenitor stars. A core-collapse supernova remnant with a very massive 60 𝑀 ⊙ progenitor star has been considered to study the particle acceleration at the shock considering Bohm-like diffusion. This dissertation demonstrates the modification in particle acceleration and radiation while the remnant propagates through different regions of the wind bubble by impacts from the profiles of gas density, the temperature of the bubble and the magnetic field structure. Subsequently, in this thesis, I discuss the impacts of the non-identical ambient environment of core-collapse supernova remnants on particle spectra and the non-thermal emissions, considering 20 𝑀 ⊙ and 60 𝑀⊙ massive progenitors having different evolutionary tracks. Additionally, I also analyse the effect of cosmic ray streaming instabilities on particle spectra. To model the particle acceleration in the remnants, I have performed simulations in one-dimensional spherical symmetry using RATPaC code. The transport equation for cosmic rays and magnetic turbulence in test-particle approximation, along with the induction equation for the evolution of the large-scale magnetic field, have been solved simultaneously with the hydrodynamic equations for the expansion of remnants inside the pre-supernova circumstellar medium. The results from simulations describe that the spectra of accelerated particles in supernova remnants are regulated by density fluctuations, temperature variations, the large-scale magnetic field configuration and scattering turbulence. Although the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism at supernova remnant shock predicts the spectral index of 2 for the accelerated non-thermal particles, I have obtained the particle spectra that deviate from this prediction, in the core-collapse scenario. I have found that the particle spectral index reaches 2.5 for the supernova remnant with 60 𝑀 ⊙ progenitor when the remnant resides inside the shocked wind region of the wind bubble, and this softness persists at later evolutionary stages even with Bohm-like diffusion for accelerated particles. However, the supernova remnant with 20 𝑀 ⊙ progenitor does not demonstrate persistent softness in particle spectra from the influence of the hydrodynamics of the corresponding wind bubble. At later stages of evolution, the particle spectra illustrate softness at higher energies for both remnants as the consequence of the escape of high-energy particles from the remnants while considering the cosmic ray streaming instabilities. Finally, I have probed the emission morphology of remnants that varies depending on the progenitors, particularly in earlier evolutionary stages. This dissertation provides insight into different core-collapse remnants expanding inside wind bubbles, for instance, the calculated gamma-ray spectral index from the supernova remnant with 60 𝑀 ⊙ progenitor at later evolutionary stages is consistent with that of the observed supernova remnants expanding in dense molecular clouds.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{DeAndradeQueiroz2023,
  author    = {De Andrade Queiroz, Anna Barbara},
  title     = {The Milky Way disks, bulge, and bar sub-populations},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-59061},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-590615},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xii, 187},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {In recent decades, astronomy has seen a boom in large-scale stellar surveys of the Galaxy. The detailed information obtained about millions of individual stars in the Milky Way is bringing us a step closer to answering one of the most outstanding questions in astrophysics: how do galaxies form and evolve? The Milky Way is the only galaxy where we can dissect many stars into their high-dimensional chemical composition and complete phase space, which analogously as fossil records can unveil the past history of the genesis of the Galaxy. The processes that lead to large structure formation, such as the Milky Way, are critical for constraining cosmological models; we call this line of study Galactic archaeology or near-field cosmology. At the core of this work, we present a collection of efforts to chemically and dynamically characterise the disks and bulge of our Galaxy. The results we present in this thesis have only been possible thanks to the advent of the Gaia astrometric satellite, which has revolutionised the field of Galactic archaeology by precisely measuring the positions, parallax distances and motions of more than a billion stars. Another, though not less important, breakthrough is the APOGEE survey, which has observed spectra in the near-infrared peering into the dusty regions of the Galaxy, allowing us to determine detailed chemical abundance patterns in hundreds of thousands of stars. To accurately depict the Milky Way structure, we use and develop the Bayesian isochrone fitting tool/code called StarHorse; this software can predict stellar distances, extinctions and ages by combining astrometry, photometry and spectroscopy based on stellar evolutionary models. The StarHorse code is pivotal to calculating distances where Gaia parallaxes alone cannot allow accurate estimates. We show that by combining Gaia, APOGEE, photometric surveys and using StarHorse, we can produce a chemical cartography of the Milky way disks from their outermost to innermost parts. Such a map is unprecedented in the inner Galaxy. It reveals a continuity of the bimodal chemical pattern previously detected in the solar neighbourhood, indicating two populations with distinct formation histories. Furthermore, the data reveals a chemical gradient within the thin disk where the content of 𝛼-process elements and metals is higher towards the centre. Focusing on a sample in the inner MW we confirm the extension of the chemical duality to the innermost regions of the Galaxy. We find stars with bar shape orbits to show both high- and low-𝛼 abundances, suggesting the bar formed by secular evolution trapping stars that already existed. By analysing the chemical orbital space of the inner Galactic regions, we disentangle the multiple populations that inhabit this complex region. We reveal the presence of the thin disk, thick disk, bar, and a counter-rotating population, which resembles the outcome of a perturbed proto-Galactic disk. Our study also finds that the inner Galaxy holds a high quantity of super metal-rich stars up to three times solar suggesting it is a possible repository of old super-metal-rich stars found in the solar neighbourhood. We also enter into the complicated task of deriving individual stellar ages. With StarHorse, we calculate the ages of main-sequence turn-off and sub-giant stars for several public spectroscopic surveys. We validate our results by investigating linear relations between chemical abundances and time since the 𝛼 and neutron capture elements are sensitive to age as a reflection of the different enrichment timescales of these elements. For further study of the disks in the solar neighbourhood, we use an unsupervised machine learning algorithm to delineate a multidimensional separation of chrono-chemical stellar groups revealing the chemical thick disk, the thin disk, and young 𝛼-rich stars. The thick disk is shown to have a small age dispersion indicating its fast formation contrary to the thin disk that spans a wide range of ages. With groundbreaking data, this thesis encloses a detailed chemo-dynamical view of the disk and bulge of our Galaxy. Our findings on the Milky Way can be linked to the evolution of high redshift disk galaxies, helping to solve the conundrum of galaxy formation.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Dixit2023,
  author    = {Dixit, Sneha},
  title     = {Tension-induced conformational changes of the Piezo protein-membrane nano-dome},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {94},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Mechanosensation is a fundamental biological process that provides the basis for sensing touch and pain as well as for hearing and proprioception. A special class of ion-channel proteins known as mechanosensitive proteins convert the mechanical stimuli into electrochemical signals to mediate this process. Mechanosensitive proteins undergo conformational changes in response to mechanical force, which eventually leads to the opening of the proteins' ion channel. Mammalian mechanosensitive proteins remained a long sought-after mystery until 2010 when a family of two proteins - Piezo1 and Piezo2 - was identifed as mechanosensors [1]. The cryo-EM structures of Piezo1 and Piezo2 protein were resolved in the last years and reveal a propeller-shaped homotrimer with 114 transmembrane helices [2, 3, 4, 5]. The protein structures are curved and have been suggested to deform the surrounding membrane into a nano-dome, which mechanically responds to membrane tension resulting from external forces [2]. In this thesis, the conformations of membrane-embedded Piezo1 and Piezo2 proteins and their tension-induced conformational changes are investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. Our coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations show that the Piezo proteins induce curvature in the surrounding membrane and form a stable protein-membrane nano-dome in the tensionless membrane. These membrane-embedded Piezo proteins, however, adopt substantially less curved conformations in our simulations compared to the cryo-EM structures solved in detergent micelles, which agrees with recent experimental investigations of the overall Piezo nano-dome shape in membrane vesicles [6, 7, 8]. At high membrane tension, the Piezo proteins attain nearly planar conformations in our simulations. Our systematic investigation of Piezo proteins under different membrane tensions indicates a half-maximal conformational response at membrane tension values rather close to the experimentally suggested values of Piezo activation [9, 10]. In addition, our simulations indicate a widening of the Piezo1 ion channel at high membrane tension, which agrees with the channel widening observed in recent nearly flattened cryo-EM structures of Piezo1 in small membrane vesicles [11]. In contrast, the Piezo2 ion channel does not respond to membrane tension in our simulations. These different responses of the Piezo1 and Piezo2 ion channels in our simulations are in line with patch-clamp experiments, in which Piezo1, but not Piezo2, was shown to be activated by membrane tension alone [12].},
  language  = {en}
}
@masterthesis{Eggers2023,
  type      = {Bachelor Thesis},
  author    = {Eggers, Nele},
  title     = {Properties of Arctic aerosol in the transition between Arctic haze to summer season derived by lidar},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-61943},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-619438},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {x, 63},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {During the Arctic haze period, the Arctic troposphere consists of larger, yet fewer, aerosol particles than during the summer (Tunved et al., 2013; Quinn et al., 2007). Interannual variability (Graßl and Ritter, 2019; Rinke et al., 2004), as well as unknown origins (Stock et al., 2014) and properties of aerosol complicate modeling these annual aerosol cycles. This thesis investigates the modification of the microphysical properties of Arctic aerosols in the transition from Arctic haze to the summer season. Therefore, lidar measurements of Ny-{\AA}lesund from April 2021 to the end of July 2021 are evaluated based on the aerosols' optical properties. An overview of those properties will be provided. Furthermore, parallel radiosonde data is considered for indication of hygroscopic growth. The annual aerosol cycle in 2021 differs from expectations based on previous studies from Tunved et al. (2013) and Quinn et al. (2007). Developments of backscatter, extinction, aerosol depolarisation, lidar ratio and color ratio show a return of the Arctic haze in May. The haze had already reduced in April, but regrew afterwards. The average Arctic aerosol displays hygroscopic behaviour, meaning growth due to water uptake. To determine such a behaviour is generally laborious because various meteorological circumstances need to be considered. Two case studies provide further information on these possible events. In particular, a day with a rare ice cloud and with highly variable water cloud layers is observed.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Ehlert2023,
  author    = {Ehlert, Kristian},
  title     = {Simulations of active galactic nuclei feedback with cosmic rays and magnetic fields},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-57816},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-578168},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {155},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {The central gas in half of all galaxy clusters shows short cooling times. Assuming unimpeded cooling, this should lead to high star formation and mass cooling rates, which are not observed. Instead, it is believed that condensing gas is accreted by the central black hole that powers an active galactic nuclei jet, which heats the cluster. The detailed heating mechanism remains uncertain. A promising mechanism invokes cosmic ray protons that scatter on self-generated magnetic fluctuations, i.e. Alfv{\´e}n waves. Continuous damping of Alfv{\´e}n waves provides heat to the intracluster medium. Previous work has found steady state solutions for a large sample of clusters where cooling is balanced by Alfv{\´e}nic wave heating. To verify modeling assumptions, we set out to study cosmic ray injection in three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of jet feedback in an idealized cluster with the moving-mesh code arepo. We analyze the interaction of jet-inflated bubbles with the turbulent magnetized intracluster medium. Furthermore, jet dynamics and heating are closely linked to the largely unconstrained jet composition. Interactions of electrons with photons of the cosmic microwave background result in observational signatures that depend on the bubble content. Those recent observations provided evidence for underdense bubbles with a relativistic filling while adopting simplifying modeling assumptions for the bubbles. By reproducing the observations with our simulations, we confirm the validity of their modeling assumptions and as such, confirm the important finding of low-(momentum) density jets. In addition, the velocity and magnetic field structure of the intracluster medium have profound consequences for bubble evolution and heating processes. As velocity and magnetic fields are physically coupled, we demonstrate that numerical simulations can help link and thereby constrain their respective observables. Finally, we implement the currently preferred accretion model, cold accretion, into the moving-mesh code arepo and study feedback by light jets in a radiatively cooling magnetized cluster. While self-regulation is attained independently of accretion model, jet density and feedback efficiencies, we find that in order to reproduce observed cold gas morphology light jets are preferred.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Giuri2023,
  author    = {Giuri, Chiara},
  title     = {VERITAS Dark Matter search in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: an extended analysis},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-57586},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-575869},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xxiv, 227},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {In the last century, several astronomical measurements have supported that a significant percentage (about 22\%) of the total mass of the Universe, on galactic and extragalactic scales, is composed of a mysterious "dark" matter (DM). DM does not interact with the electromagnetic force; in other words it does not reflect, absorb or emit light. It is possible that DM particles are weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) that can annihilate (or decay) into Standard Model (SM) particles, and modern very- high-energy (VHE; > 100 GeV) instruments such as imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) can play an important role in constraining the main properties of such DM particles, by detecting these products. One of the most privileged targets where to look for DM signal are dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs), as they are expected to be high DM-dominated objects with a clean, gas-free environment. Some dSphs could be considered as extended sources, considering the angular resolution of IACTs; their angu- lar resolution is adequate to detect extended emission from dSphs. For this reason, we performed an extended-source analysis, by taking into account in the unbinned maximum likelihood estimation both the energy and the angular extension dependency of observed events. The goal was to set more constrained upper limits on the velocity-averaged cross-section annihilation of WIMPs with VERITAS data. VERITAS is an array of four IACTs, able to detect γ-ray photons ranging between 100 GeV and 30 TeV. The results of this extended analysis were compared against the traditional spectral analysis. We found that a 2D analysis may lead to more constrained results, depending on the DM mass, channel, and source. Moreover, in this thesis, the results of a multi-instrument project are presented too. Its goal was to combine already published 20 dSphs data from five different experiments, such as Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, H.E.S.S., VERITAS and HAWC, in order to set upper limits on the WIMP annihilation cross-section in the widest mass range ever reported.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Gruner2023,
  author    = {Gruner, David},
  title     = {New frontiers in gyrochronology},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-61526},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-615268},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {x, 131},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Late-type stars are by far the most frequent stars in the universe and of fundamental interest to various fields of astronomy - most notably to Galactic archaeology and exoplanet research. However, such stars barely change during their main sequence lifetime; their temperature, luminosity, or chemical composition evolve only very slowly over the course of billions of years. As such, it is difficult to obtain the age of such a star, especially when it is isolated and no other indications (like cluster association) can be used. Gyrochronology offers a way to overcome this problem. Stars, just like all other objects in the universe, rotate and the rate at which stars rotate impacts many aspects of their appearance and evolution. Gyrochronology leverages the observed rotation rate of a late-type main sequence star and its systematic evolution to estimate their ages. Unlike the above-mentioned parameters, the rotation rate of a main sequence star changes drastically throughout its main sequence lifetime; stars spin down. The youngest stars rotate every few hours, whereas much older stars rotate only about once a month, or - in the case of some late M-stars - once in a hundred days. Given that this spindown is systematic (with an additional mass dependence), it gave rise to the idea of using the observed rotation rate of a star (and its mass or a suitable proxy thereof) to estimate a star's age. This has been explored widely in young stellar open clusters but remains essentially unconstrained for stars older than the sun, and K and M stars older than 1 Gyr. This thesis focuses on the continued exploration of the spindown behavior to assess, whether gyrochronology remains applicable for stars of old ages, whether it is universal for late-type main sequence stars (including field stars), and to provide calibration mileposts for spindown models. To accomplish this, I have analyzed data from Kepler space telescope for the open clusters Ruprecht 147 (2.7 Gyr old) and M 67 (4 Gyr). Time series photometry data (light curves) were obtained for both clusters during Kepler's K2 mission. However, due to technical limitations and telescope malfunctions, extracting usable data from the K2 mission to identify (especially long) rotation periods requires extensive data preparation. For Ruprecht 147, I have compiled a list of about 300 cluster members from the literature and adopted preprocessed light curves from the Kepler archive where available. They have been cleaned of the gravest of data artifacts but still contained systematics. After correcting them for said artifacts, I was able to identify rotation periods in 31 of them. For M 67 more effort was taken. My work on Ruprecht 147 has shown the limitations imposed by the preselection of Kepler targets. Therefore, I adopted the time series full frame image directly and performed photometry on a much higher spatial resolution to be able to obtain data for as many stars as possible. This also means that I had to deal with the ubiquitous artifacts in Kepler data. For that, I devised a method that correlates the artificial flux variations with the ongoing drift of the telescope pointing in order to remove it. This process was a large success and I was able to create light curves whose quality match and even exceede those that were created by the Kepler mission - all while operating on higher spatial resolution and processing fainter stars. Ultimately, I was able to identify signs of periodic variability in the (created) light curves for 31 and 47 stars in Ruprecht 147 and M 67, respectively. My data connect well to bluer stars of cluster of the same age and extend for the first time to stars redder than early-K and older than 1 Gyr. The cluster data show a clear flattening in the distribution of Ruprecht 147 and even a downturn for M 67, resulting in a somewhat sinusoidal shape. With that, I have shown that the systematic spindown of stars continues at least until 4 Gyr and stars continue to live on a single surface in age-rotation periods-mass space which allows gyrochronology to be used at least up to that age. However, the shape of the spindown - as exemplified by the newly discovered sinusoidal shape of the cluster sequence - deviates strongly from the expectations. I then compiled an extensive sample of rotation data in open clusters - very much including my own work - and used the resulting cluster skeleton (with each cluster forming a rip in color-rotation period-mass space) to investigate if field stars follow the same spindown as cluster stars. For the field stars, I used wide binaries, which - with their shared origin and coevality - are in a sense the smallest possible open clusters. I devised an empirical method to evaluate the consistency between the rotation rates of the wide binary components and found that the vast majority of them are in fact consistent with what is observed in open clusters. This leads me to conclude that gyrochronology - calibrated on open clusters - can be applied to determine the ages of field stars.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Hantschmann2023,
  author    = {Hantschmann, Markus},
  title     = {Stimulated resonant inelastic X-ray scattering in transition metal systems},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-58476},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-584761},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xv, 160},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {With the implementation of intense, short pulsed light sources throughout the last years, the powerful technique of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) became feasible for a wide range of experiments within femtosecond dynamics in correlated materials and molecules. In this thesis I investigate the potential to bring RIXS into the fluence regime of nonlinear X-ray-matter interactions, especially focusing on the impact of stimulated scattering on RIXS in transition metal systems in a transmission spectroscopy geometry around transition metal L-edges. After presenting the RIXS toolbox and the capabilities of free electron laser light sources for ultrafast intense X-ray experiments, the thesis explores an experiment designed to understand the impact of stimulated scattering on diffraction and direct beam transmission spectroscopy on a CoPd multilayer system. The experiments require short X-ray pulses that can only be generated at free electron lasers (FEL). Here the pulses are not only short, but also very intense, which opens the door to nonlinear X-ray-matter interactions. In the second part of this thesis, we investigate observations in the nonlinear interaction regime, look at potential difficulties for classic spectroscopy and investigate possibilities to enhance the RIXS through stimulated scattering. Here, a study on stimulated RIXS is presented, where we investigate the light field intensity dependent CoPd demagnetization in transmission as well as scattering geometry. Thereby we show the first direct observation of stimulated RIXS as well as light field induced nonlinear effects, namely the breakdown of scattering intensity and the increase in sample transmittance. The topic is of ongoing interest and will just increase in relevance as more free electron lasers are planned and the number of experiments at such light sources will continue to increase in the near future. Finally we present a discussion on the accessibility of small DOS shifts in the absorption-band of transition metal complexes through stimulated resonant X-ray scattering. As these shifts occur for example in surface states this finding could expand the experimental selectivity of NEXAFS and RIXS to the detectability of surface states. We show how stimulation can indeed enhance the visibility of DOS shifts through the detection of stimulated spectral shifts and enhancements in this theoretical study. We also forecast the observation of stimulated enhancements in resonant excitation experiments at FEL sources in systems with a high density of states just below the Fermi edge and in systems with an occupied to unoccupied DOS ratio in the valence band above 1.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Haseeb2023,
  author    = {Haseeb, Haider},
  title     = {Charge and heat transport across interfaces in nanostructured porous silicon},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-61122},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-611224},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {84},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {This thesis discusses heat and charge transport phenomena in single-crystalline Silicon penetrated by nanometer-sized pores, known as mesoporous Silicon (pSi). Despite the extensive attention given to it as a thermoelectric material of interest, studies on microscopic thermal and electronic transport beyond its macroscopic characterizations are rarely reported. In contrast, this work reports the interplay of both. PSi samples synthesized by electrochemical anodization display a temperature dependence of specific heat 𝐶𝑝 that deviates from the characteristic 𝑇^3 behaviour (at 𝑇<50𝐾). A thorough analysis reveals that both 3D and 2D Einstein and Debye modes contribute to this specific heat. Additional 2D Einstein modes (~3 𝑚𝑒𝑉) agree reasonably well with the boson peak of SiO2 in pSi pore walls. 2D Debye modes are proposed to account for surface acoustic modes causing a significant deviation from the well-known 𝑇^3 dependence of 𝐶𝑝 at 𝑇<50𝐾. A novel theoretical model gives insights into the thermal conductivity of pSi in terms of porosity and phonon scattering on the nanoscale. The thermal conductivity analysis utilizes the peculiarities of the pSi phonon dispersion probed by the inelastic neutron scattering experiments. A phonon mean-free path of around 10 𝑛𝑚 extracted from the presented model is proposed to cause the reduced thermal conductivity of pSi by two orders of magnitude compared to p-doped bulk Silicon. Detailed analysis indicates that compound averaging may cause a further 10-50\% reduction. The percolation threshold of 65\% for thermal conductivity of pSi samples is subsequently determined by employing theoretical effective medium models. Temperature-dependent electrical conductivity measurements reveal a thermally activated transport process. A detailed analysis of the activation energy 𝐸𝐴𝜎 in the thermally activated transport exhibits a Meyer Neldel compensation rule between different samples that originates in multi-phonon absorption upon carrier transport. Activation energies 𝐸𝐴𝑆 obtained from temperature-dependent thermopower measurements provide further evidence for multi-phonon assisted hopping between localized states as a dominant charge transport mechanism in pSi, as they systematically differ from the determined 𝐸𝐴𝜎 values.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{HerreroAlonso2023,
  author    = {Herrero Alonso, Yohana},
  title     = {Properties of high-redshift galaxies in different environments},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-61328},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-613288},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xiii, 114},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {The Lyman-𝛼 (Ly𝛼) line commonly assists in the detection of high-redshift galaxies, the so-called Lyman-alpha emitters (LAEs). LAEs are useful tools to study the baryonic matter distribution of the high-redshift universe. Exploring their spatial distribution not only reveals the large-scale structure of the universe at early epochs, but it also provides an insight into the early formation and evolution of the galaxies we observe today. Because dark matter halos (DMHs) serve as sites of galaxy formation, the LAE distribution also traces that of the underlying dark matter. However, the details of this relation and their co-evolution over time remain unclear. Moreover, theoretical studies predict that the spatial distribution of LAEs also impacts their own circumgalactic medium (CGM) by influencing their extended Ly𝛼 gaseous halos (LAHs), whose origin is still under investigation. In this thesis, I make several contributions to improve the knowledge on these fields using samples of LAEs observed with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) at redshifts of 3 < 𝑧 < 6.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{HovhannisyanNematiHenkeletal.2023,
  author    = {Hovhannisyan, Karen V. and Nemati, Somayyeh and Henkel, Carsten and Anders, Janet},
  title     = {Long-time equilibration can determine transient thermality},
  series = {PRX Quantum},
  volume    = {4},
  journal   = {PRX Quantum},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {American Physical Society},
  address   = {College Park},
  issn      = {2691-3399},
  doi       = {10.1103/PRXQuantum.4.030321},
  pages     = {23},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {When two initially thermal many-body systems start to interact strongly, their transient states quickly become non-Gibbsian, even if the systems eventually equilibrate. To see beyond this apparent lack of structure during the transient regime, we use a refined notion of thermality, which we call g-local. A system is g-locally thermal if the states of all its small subsystems are marginals of global thermal states. We numerically demonstrate for two harmonic lattices that whenever the total system equilibrates in the long run, each lattice remains g-locally thermal at all times, including the transient regime. This is true even when the lattices have long-range interactions within them. In all cases, we find that the equilibrium is described by the generalized Gibbs ensemble, with three-dimensional lattices requiring special treatment due to their extended set of conserved charges. We compare our findings with the well-known two-temperature model. While its standard form is not valid beyond weak coupling, we show that at strong coupling it can be partially salvaged by adopting the concept of a g-local temperature.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{IlićPetković2023,
  author    = {Ilić Petković, Nikoleta},
  title     = {Stars under influence: evidence of tidal interactions between stars and substellar companions},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-61597},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-615972},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xi, 137},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Tidal interactions occur between gravitationally bound astrophysical bodies. If their spatial separation is sufficiently small, the bodies can induce tides on each other, leading to angular momentum transfer and altering of evolutionary path the bodies would have followed if they were single objects. The tidal processes are well established in the Solar planet-moon systems and close stellar binary systems. However, how do stars behave if they are orbited by a substellar companion (e.g. a planet or a brown dwarf) on a tight orbit? Typically, a substellar companion inside the corotation radius of a star will migrate toward the star as it loses orbital angular momentum. On the other hand, the star will gain angular momentum which has the potential to increase its rotation rate. The effect should be more pronounced if the substellar companion is more massive. As the stellar rotation rate and the magnetic activity level are coupled, the star should appear more magnetically active under the tidal influence of the orbiting substellar companion. However, the difficulty in proving that a star has a higher magnetic activity level due to tidal interactions lies in the fact that (I) substellar companions around active stars are easier to detect if they are more massive, leading to a bias toward massive companions around active stars and mimicking the tidal interaction effect, and that (II) the age of a main-sequence star cannot be easily determined, leaving the possibility that a star is more active due to its young age. In our work, we overcome these issues by employing wide stellar binary systems where one star hosts a substellar companion, and where the other star provides the magnetic activity baseline for the host star, assuming they have coevolved, and thereby provides the host's activity level if tidal interactions have no effect on it. Firstly, we find that extrasolar planets can noticeably increase the host star's X-ray luminosity and that the effect is more pronounced if the exoplanet is at least Jupiter-like in mass and close to the star. Further, we find that a brown dwarf will have an even stronger effect, as expected, and that the X-ray surface flux difference between the host star and the wide stellar companion is a significant outlier when compared to a large sample of similar wide binary systems without any known substellar companions. This result proves that substellar hosting wide binary systems can be good tools to reveal the tidal effect on host stars, and also show that the typical stellar age indicators as activity or rotation cannot be used for these stars. Finally, knowing that the activity difference is a good tracer of the substellar companion's tidal impact, we develop an analytical method to calculate the modified tidal quality factor Q' of individual host stars, which defines the tidal dissipation efficiency in the convective envelope of a given main-sequence star.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kairaliyeva2023,
  author    = {Kairaliyeva, Talmira},
  title     = {Surfactant adorption at liquid interfaces measured by drop and bubble experiments},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {VII, 117},
  year      = {2023},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kanehira2023,
  author    = {Kanehira, Yuya},
  title     = {Versatile DNA origami based SERS substrates for spectroscopic applications},
  pages     = {115},
  year      = {2023},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kruse2023,
  author    = {Kruse, Marlen},
  title     = {Characterization of biomolecules and their interactions using electrically controllable DNA nanolevers},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-57738},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-577384},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {100, xxii},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {In this work, binding interactions between biomolecules were analyzed by a technique that is based on electrically controllable DNA nanolevers. The technique was applied to virus-receptor interactions for the first time. As receptors, primarily peptides on DNA nanostructures and antibodies were utilized. The DNA nanostructures were integrated into the measurement technique and enabled the presentation of the peptides in a controllable geometrical order. The number of peptides could be varied to be compatible to the binding sites of the viral surface proteins. Influenza A virus served as a model system, on which the general measurability was demonstrated. Variations of the receptor peptide, the surface ligand density, the measurement temperature and the virus subtypes showed the sensitivity and applicability of the technology. Additionally, the immobilization of virus particles enabled the measurement of differences in oligovalent binding of DNA-peptide nanostructures to the viral proteins in their native environment. When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in 2020, work on binding interactions of a peptide from the hACE2 receptor and the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus revealed that oligovalent binding can be quantified in the switchSENSE technology. It could also be shown that small changes in the amino acid sequence of the spike protein resulted in complete loss of binding. Interactions of the peptide and inactivated virus material as well as pseudo virus particles could be measured. Additionally, the switchSENSE technology was utilized to rank six antibodies for their binding affinity towards the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 for the development of a rapid antigen test device. The technique was furthermore employed to show binding of a non-enveloped virus (adenovirus) and a virus-like particle (norovirus-like particle) to antibodies. Apart from binding interactions, the use of DNA origami levers with a length of around 50 nm enabled the switching of virus material. This proved that the technology is also able to size objects with a hydrodynamic diameter larger than 14 nm. A theoretical work on diffusion and reaction-limited binding interactions revealed that the technique and the chosen parameters enable the determination of binding rate constants in the reaction-limited regime. Overall, the applicability of the switchSENSE technique to virus-receptor binding interactions could be demonstrated on multiple examples. While there are challenges that remain, the setup enables the determination of affinities between viruses and receptors in their native environment. Especially the possibilities regarding the quantification of oligo- and multivalent binding interactions could be presented.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Magkos2023,
  author    = {Magkos, Sotirios},
  title     = {Iterative reconstruction from under-sampled Computed Tomography data},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-57278},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-572789},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xxii, 74},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {In X-ray computed tomography (XCT), an X-ray beam of intensity I0 is transmitted through an object and its attenuated intensity I is measured when it exits the object. The attenuation of the beam depends on the attenuation coefficients along its path. The attenuation coefficients provide information about the structure and composition of the object and can be determined through mathematical operations that are referred to as reconstruction. The standard reconstruction algorithms are based on the filtered backprojection (FBP) of the measured data. While these algorithms are fast and relatively simple, they do not always succeed in computing a precise reconstruction, especially from under-sampled data. Alternatively, an image or volume can be reconstructed by solving a system of linear equations. Typically, the system of equations is too large to be solved but its solution can be approximated by iterative methods, such as the Simultaneous Iterative Reconstruction Technique (SIRT) and the Conjugate Gradient Least Squares (CGLS). This dissertation focuses on the development of a novel iterative algorithm, the Direct Iterative Reconstruction of Computed Tomography Trajectories (DIRECTT). After its reconstruction principle is explained, its performance is assessed for real parallel- and cone-beam CT (including under-sampled) data and compared to that of other established algorithms. Finally, it is demonstrated how the shape of the measured object can be modelled into DIRECTT to achieve even better reconstruction results.},
  language  = {en}
}