@phdthesis{Kopf2008, author = {Kopf, Markus}, title = {Zeeman-Doppler Imaging of active late-type stars}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-37387}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2008}, abstract = {Stellare Magnetfelder spielen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Entstehung und Entwicklung von Sternen. Leider entziehen sie sich aber, aufgrund ihrer großen Entfernung zur Erde, einer direkten Beobachtung. Dies gilt zumindest f{\"u}r derzeitige und in naher Zukunft zur Verf{\"u}gung stehende Instrumente. Um aber beispielsweise zu verstehen, ob Magnetfelder durch einen Dynamoprozess generiert werden oder {\"U}berbleibsel der Sternentstehung sind, ist es zwingend erforderlich, die Oberfl{\"a}chenstruktur und die zeitliche Entwicklung von stellaren Feldern zu untersuchen. Gl{\"u}cklicherweise haben wir mit der Dopplerverschiebung sowie der Polarisation von Licht Mittel zur Verf{\"u}gung, um indirekt die Magnetfeldtopologie entfernter Sternen zu rekonstruieren, wenn auch nur die schnell rotierender. Die auf den beiden genannten Effekten basierende Rekonstruktionsmethode ist unter dem Namen Zeeman-Doppler Imaging (ZDI) bekannt. Sie stellt eine leistungsf{\"a}hige Methode dar, um aus rotationsverbreiterten Stokes Profilen schnell rotierender Sterne Oberfl{\"a}chenkartierungen der Temperatur und Magnetfeldverteilung zu erstellen. Durch das ZDI konnten in den vergangenen Jahren die Magnetfeldverteilungen zahlreicher Sterne rekonstruiert werden. Diese Methode stellt allerdings sehr hohe Anforderungen sowohl an die Instrumentierung als auch an die Rechenleistung und ist deshalb h{\"a}ufig mit zahlreichen Annahmen und N{\"a}herungen verbunden. Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, Methoden f{\"u}r ein ZDI zu entwickeln, das darauf ausgelegt ist, zeitaufgel{\"o}ste spektropolarimetrische Daten von aktiven sp{\"a}ten Sternen zu invertieren. Es sollte also insbesondere den komplexen und lokalen Magnetfeldstrukturen dieser Sterne Rechnung getragen werden. Um die Orientierung und St{\"a}rke solcher Felder zuverl{\"a}ssig rekonstruieren zu k{\"o}nnen, sollte die Inversion im Stande sein, alle vier Stokes-Komponenten einzubeziehen. Ferner war vorgesehen auf vollst{\"a}ndigen polarisierten Strahlungstransportmodellierungen aufzubauen. Dies erm{\"o}glicht eine simultane und selbstkonsistente Temperatur- und Magnetfeld-Inversion, die damit dem komplexen Zusammenspiel zwischen Temperatur und Magnetfeld gerecht wird. Schließlich sollte die Anwendung eines neu zu entwickelnden ZDI Programms auf Stokes I und V Beobachtungen von II Pegasi (kurz: II Peg) erste Magnefeldkarten dieses sehr aktiven Sterns liefern. Um den hohen Rechenaufwand, der mit der Inversionsmethode einhergeht, besser bew{\"a}ltigen zu k{\"o}nnen, wurde zun{\"a}chst eine schnelle Approximationsmethode f{\"u}r den polarisierten Strahlungstransport entwickelt. Sie basiert auf einer Hauptkomponentenanalyse (PCA) sowie auf k{\"u}nstlichen Neuronalen Netzen. Letztere approximieren den funktionalen Zusammenhang zwischen atmosph{\"a}rischen Parametern und den zugeh{\"o}rigen lokalen Stokes Profilen. Inverse Probleme sind potentiell schlecht gestellt und erfordern in der Regel eine Regularisierung. Der entwickelte Ansatz verwendet eine lokale Entropie, die auf die Besonderheiten bei der Rekonstruktion lokalisierter Magnetfeder eingeht. Ein weiterer neuartiger Ansatz befasst sich mit der Rauschreduktion polarimetrischer Beobachtungsdaten. Er macht sich die Hauptkomponentenanalyse zu Nutze, um mit Hilfe einer Vielzahl beobachteter Spektrallinien, einzelne Linien mit drastisch vergr{\"o}ßertem Signal-zu-Rausch-Verh{\"a}ltnis wieder zu geben. Diese Methode hat gegen{\"u}ber anderen Multi-Spektrallinien-Verfahren den Vorteil, nach wie vor eine Inversion auf der Basis einzelner Spektrallinien durchf{\"u}hren zu k{\"o}nnen. Schließlich wurde das Inversionsprogramm iMap entwickelt, das die zuvor genannten Methoden implementiert. Detaillierte Testrechnungen demonstrieren die Funktionsf{\"a}higkeit und Genauigkeit der schnellen Synthese-Methode und weisen einen Zeitgewinn von nahezu drei Gr{\"o}ßenordnungen gegen{\"u}ber der konventionellen Strahlungstransportberechnung auf. Desweiteren untersuchen wir den Einfluss der verschiedenen Stokes Komponenten (IV bzw. IVQU) auf die Zuverl{\"a}ssigkeit, ein bekanntes Magnetfeld zu rekonstruieren. Damit belegen wir die Zuverl{\"a}ssigkeit unseres Inversionsprogrammes und zeigen dar{\"u}ber hinaus auch Einschr{\"a}nkungen von Magnetfeldinversionen im allgemeinen auf. Eine erste Inversion von Stokes I und V Profilen von II Peg liefert zum ersten Mal f{\"u}r diesen Stern simultan Temperatur- und Magnetfeldverteilungen.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Foster2022, author = {Foster, Mary Grace}, title = {X-Ray studies of exoplanet systems}, publisher = {xiii, 92}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-56215}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-562152}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {108}, year = {2022}, abstract = {X-rays are integral to furthering our knowledge of exoplanetary systems. In this work we discuss the use of X-ray observations to understand star-planet interac- tions, mass-loss rates of an exoplanet's atmosphere and the study of an exoplanet's atmospheric components using future X-ray spectroscopy. The low-mass star GJ 1151 was reported to display variable low-frequency radio emission, which is an indication of coronal star-planet interactions with an unseen exoplanet. In chapter 5 we report the first X-ray detection of GJ 1151's corona based on XMM-Newton data. Averaged over the observation, we detect the star with a low coronal temperature of 1.6 MK and an X-ray luminosity of LX = 5.5 × 1026 erg/s. This is compatible with the coronal assumptions for a sub-Alfv{\´e}nic star- planet interaction origin of the observed radio signals from this star. In chapter 6, we aim to characterise the high-energy environment of known ex- oplanets and estimate their mass-loss rates. This work is based on the soft X-ray instrument on board the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) mission, eROSITA, along with archival data from ROSAT, XMM-Newton, and Chandra. We use these four X-ray source catalogues to derive X-ray luminosities of exoplanet host stars in the 0.2-2 keV energy band. A catalogue of the mass-loss rates of 287 exoplan- ets is presented, with 96 of these planets characterised for the first time using new eROSITA detections. Of these first time detections, 14 are of transiting exoplanets that undergo irradiation from their host stars that is of a level known to cause ob- servable evaporation signals in other systems, making them suitable for follow-up observations. In the next generation of space observatories, X-ray transmission spectroscopy of an exoplanet's atmosphere will be possible, allowing for a detailed look into the atmospheric composition of these planets. In chapter 7, we model sample spectra using a toy model of an exoplanetary atmosphere to predict what exoplanet transit observations with future X-ray missions such as Athena will look like. We then estimate the observable X-ray transmission spectrum for a typical Hot Jupiter-type exoplanet, giving us insights into the advances in X-ray observations of exoplanets in the decades to come.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Stoemmer1998, author = {St{\"o}mmer, Ralph}, title = {X-ray scattering from silicon surfaces and thin oxides on silicon substrates}, pages = {108 S. : graph. Darst.}, year = {1998}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Baumbach2000, author = {Baumbach, Tilo}, title = {X-Ray scattering by periodic nanostructures}, pages = {182 S.}, year = {2000}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Krumpe2007, author = {Krumpe, Mirko}, title = {X-ray and optical properties of X-ray luminous active galactic nuclei}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-16993}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2007}, abstract = {Giacconi et al. (1962) discovered a diffuse cosmic X-ray background with rocket experiments when they searched for lunar X-ray emission. Later satellite missions found a spectral peak in the cosmic X-ray background at ~30 keV. Imaging X-ray satellites such as ROSAT (1990-1999) were able to resolve up to 80\% of the background below 2 keV into single point sources, mainly active galaxies. The cosmic X-ray background is the integration of all accreting super-massive (several million solar masses) black holes in the centre of active galaxies over cosmic time. Synthesis models need further populations of X-ray absorbed active galaxy nuclei (AGN) in order to explain the cosmic X-ray background peak at ~30 keV. Current X-ray missions such as XMM-Newton and Chandra offer the possibility of studying these additional populations. This Ph.D. thesis studies the populations that dominate the X-ray sky. For this purpose the 120 ksec XMM-Newton Marano field survey, named for an earlier optical quasar survey in the southern hemisphere, is analysed. Based on the optical follow-up observations the X-ray sources are spectroscopically classified. Optical and X-ray properties of the different X-ray source populations are studied and differences are derived. The amount of absorption in the X-ray spectra of type II AGN, which are considered as a main contributor to the X-ray background at ~30 keV, is determined. In order to extend the sample size of the rare type II AGN, this study also includes objects from another survey, the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Medium Sample. In addition, the dependence of the absorption in type II AGN with redshift and X-ray luminosity is analysed. We detected 328 X-ray sources in the Marano field. 140 sources were spectroscopically classified. We found 89 type I AGN, 36 type II AGN, 6 galaxies, and 9 stars. AGN, galaxies, and stars are clearly distinguishable by their optical and X-ray properties. Type I and II AGN do not separate clearly. They have a significant overlap in all studied properties. In a few cases the X-ray properties are in contradiction to the observed optical properties for type I and type II AGN. For example we find type II AGN that show evidence for optical absorption but are not absorbed in X-rays. Based on the additional use of near infra-red imaging (K-band), we were able to identify several of the rare type II AGN. The X-ray spectra of type II AGN from the XMM-Newton Marano field survey and the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Medium Sample were analysed. Since most of the sources have only ~40 X-ray counts in the XMM-Newton PN-detector, I carefully studied the fit results of simulated X-ray spectra as a function of fit statistic and binning method. The objects revealed only moderate absorption. In particular, I do not find any Compton-thick sources (absorbed by column densities of NH > 1.5 x 10^24 cm^-2). This gives evidence that type II AGN are not the main contributor of the X-ray background around 30 keV. Although bias effects may occur, type II AGN show no noticeable trend of the amount of absorption with redshift or X-ray luminosity.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Loll1997, author = {Loll, Renate}, title = {Wilson loop and discrete lattice methods in quantum gauge and gravitational theories}, pages = {getr. Z{\"a}hl.}, year = {1997}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Maraun2006, author = {Maraun, Douglas}, title = {What can we learn from climate data? : Methods for fluctuation, time/scale and phase analysis}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-9047}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2006}, abstract = {Since Galileo Galilei invented the first thermometer, researchers have tried to understand the complex dynamics of ocean and atmosphere by means of scientific methods. They observe nature and formulate theories about the climate system. Since some decades powerful computers are capable to simulate the past and future evolution of climate. Time series analysis tries to link the observed data to the computer models: Using statistical methods, one estimates characteristic properties of the underlying climatological processes that in turn can enter the models. The quality of an estimation is evaluated by means of error bars and significance testing. On the one hand, such a test should be capable to detect interesting features, i.e. be sensitive. On the other hand, it should be robust and sort out false positive results, i.e. be specific. This thesis mainly aims to contribute to methodological questions of time series analysis with a focus on sensitivity and specificity and to apply the investigated methods to recent climatological problems. First, the inference of long-range correlations by means of Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) is studied. It is argued that power-law scaling of the fluctuation function and thus long-memory may not be assumed a priori but have to be established. This requires to investigate the local slopes of the fluctuation function. The variability characteristic for stochastic processes is accounted for by calculating empirical confidence regions. The comparison of a long-memory with a short-memory model shows that the inference of long-range correlations from a finite amount of data by means of DFA is not specific. When aiming to infer short memory by means of DFA, a local slope larger than \$\alpha=0.5\$ for large scales does not necessarily imply long-memory. Also, a finite scaling of the autocorrelation function is shifted to larger scales in the fluctuation function. It turns out that long-range correlations cannot be concluded unambiguously from the DFA results for the Prague temperature data set. In the second part of the thesis, an equivalence class of nonstationary Gaussian stochastic processes is defined in the wavelet domain. These processes are characterized by means of wavelet multipliers and exhibit well defined time dependent spectral properties; they allow one to generate realizations of any nonstationary Gaussian process. The dependency of the realizations on the wavelets used for the generation is studied, bias and variance of the wavelet sample spectrum are calculated. To overcome the difficulties of multiple testing, an areawise significance test is developed and compared to the conventional pointwise test in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Applications to Climatological and Hydrological questions are presented. The thesis at hand mainly aims to contribute to methodological questions of time series analysis and to apply the investigated methods to recent climatological problems. In the last part, the coupling between El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Monsoon on inter-annual time scales is studied by means of Hilbert transformation and a curvature defined phase. This method allows one to investigate the relation of two oscillating systems with respect to their phases, independently of their amplitudes. The performance of the technique is evaluated using a toy model. From the data, distinct epochs are identified, especially two intervals of phase coherence, 1886-1908 and 1964-1980, confirming earlier findings from a new point of view. A significance test of high specificity corroborates these results. Also so far unknown periods of coupling invisible to linear methods are detected. These findings suggest that the decreasing correlation during the last decades might be partly inherent to the ENSO/Monsoon system. Finally, a possible interpretation of how volcanic radiative forcing could cause the coupling is outlined.}, subject = {Spektralanalyse }, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Solopow2019, author = {Solopow, Sergej}, title = {Wavelength dependent demagnetization dynamics in Co2MnGa Heusler-alloy}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42786}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-427860}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {91}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In dieser Arbeit haben wir ultraschnelle Entmagnetisierung an einer Heusler-Legierung untersucht. Es handelt sich um ein Halbmetall, das sich in einer ferromagnetischen Phase befindet. Die Besonderheit dieses Materials besteht im Aufbau einer Bandstruktur. Diese bildet Zustandsdichten, in der die Majorit{\"a}tselektronen eine metallische B{\"a}nderbildung aufweisen und die Minorit{\"a}tselektronen eine Bandl{\"u}cke in der N{\"a}he des Fermi-Niveaus aufweisen, das dem Aufbau eines Halbleiters entspricht. Mit Hilfe der Pump-Probe-Experimente haben wir zeitaufgel{\"o}ste Messungen durchgef{\"u}hrt. F{\"u}r das Pumpen wurden ultrakurze Laserpulse mit einer Pulsdauer von 100 fs benutzt. Wir haben dabei zwei verschiedene Wellenl{\"a}ngen mit 400 nm und 1240 nm benutzt, um den Effekt der Prim{\"a}ranregung und der Bandl{\"u}cke in den Minorit{\"a}tszust{\"a}nden zu untersuchen. Dabei wurde zum ersten Mal OPA (Optical Parametrical Amplifier) f{\"u}r die Erzeugung der langwelligen Pulse an der FEMTOSPEX-Beamline getestet und erfolgreich bei den Experimenten verwendet. Wir haben Wellenl{\"a}ngen bedingte Unterschiede in der Entmagnetisierungszeit gemessen. Mit der Erh{\"o}hung der Photonenenergie ist der Prozess der Entmagnetisierung deutlich schneller als bei einer niedrigeren Photonenenergie. Wir verkn{\"u}pften diese Ergebnisse mit der Existenz der Energiel{\"u}cke f{\"u}r Minorit{\"a}tselektronen. Mit Hilfe lokaler Elliot-Yafet-Streuprozesse k{\"o}nnen die beobachteten Zeiten gut erkl{\"a}rt werden. Wir haben in dieser Arbeit auch eine neue Probe-Methode f{\"u}r die Magnetisierung angewandt und somit experimentell deren Effektivit{\"a}t, n{\"a}mlich XMCD in Refletiongeometry, best{\"a}tigen k{\"o}nnen. Statische Experimente liefern somit deutliche Indizien daf{\"u}r, dass eine magnetische von einer rein elektronischen Antwort des Systems getrennt werden kann. Unter der Voraussetzung, dass die Photonenenergie der R{\"o}ntgenstrahlung auf die L3 Kante des entsprechenden Elements eingestellt, ein geeigneter Einfallswinkel gew{\"a}hlt und die zirkulare Polarisation fixiert wird, ist es m{\"o}glich, diese Methode zur Analyse magnetischer und elektronischer Respons anzuwenden.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{ArbabiBidgoli2003, author = {Arbabi-Bidgoli, Sepehr}, title = {Voids in the Large Scale Structure of the Universe}, pages = {108 S.}, year = {2003}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hoffmann2013, author = {Hoffmann, Holger}, title = {Vertical structures induced by embedded propeller moonlets in Saturn's rings}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {99 S.}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Kanehira2023, author = {Kanehira, Yuya}, title = {Versatile DNA origami based SERS substrates for spectroscopic applications}, pages = {115}, year = {2023}, 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{Schleussner2013, author = {Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich}, title = {Variability and trend of the North Atlantic ocean circulation in past and future climate}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {127 S.}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{SvirejevaHopkins2004, author = {Svirejeva-Hopkins, Anastasia}, title = {Urbanised territories as a specific component of the global carbon cycle}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-0001512}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2004}, abstract = {Wir betrachten folgende Teile: die zus{\"a}tzlichen Kohlenstoff(C)-emissionen, welche aus der Umwandlung von nat{\"u}rlichem Umland durch Stadtwachstum resultieren, und die {\"A}nderung des C-Flusses durch 'urbanisierte' {\"O}kosysteme, soweit atmosph{\"a}risches C durch diese in umliegende nat{\"u}rliche {\"O}kosysteme entlang der Kette \“Atmosph{\"a}re -> Vegetation -> abgestorbene organische Substanzen\” gepumpt wird: d.h. C-Export; f{\"u}r den Zeitraum von 1980 bis 2050. Als Szenario nutzen wir Prognosen der regionalen Stadtbev{\"o}lkerung, welche durch ein 'Hybridmodell' generiert werden f{\"u}r acht Regionen. Alle Sch{\"a}tzungen der C-Fl{\"u}sse basieren auf zwei Modellen: das Regression Modell und das sogenannte G-Modell. Die Siedlungsfl{\"a}che, welche mit dem Wachstum der Stadtbev{\"o}lkerung zunimmt, wird in 'Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen' (Parks, usw.), Geb{\"a}udefl{\"a}chen und informell st{\"a}dtisch genutzte Fl{\"a}chen (Slums, illegale Lagerpl{\"a}tze, usw.) unterteilt. Es werden j{\"a}hrlich die regionale und globale Dynamik der C-Emissionen und des C-Exports sowie die C-Gesamtbilanz berechnet. Dabei liefern beide Modelle qualitativ {\"a}hnliche Ergebnisse, jedoch gibt es einige quantitative Unterschiede. Im ersten Modell erreicht die globale Jahresemission f{\"u}r die Dekade 2020-2030 resultierend aus der Landnutzungs{\"a}nderung ein Maximum von 205 Mt/a. Die maximalen Beitr{\"a}ge zur globalen Emission werden durch China, die asiatische und die pazifische Region erbracht. Im zweiten Modell erh{\"o}ht sich die j{\"a}hrliche globale Emission von 1.12 GtC/a f{\"u}r 1980 auf 1.25 GtC/a f{\"u}r 2005 (1Gt = 109 t). Danach beginnt eine Reduzierung. Vergleichen wir das Emissionmaximum mit der Emission durch Abholzung im Jahre 1980 (1.36 GtC/a), k{\"o}nnen wir konstatieren, daß die Urbanisierung damit in vergleichbarer Gr{\"o}sse zur Emission beitr{\"a}gt. Bezogen auf die globale Dynamik des j{\"a}hrlichen C-Exports durch Urbanisierung beobachten wir ein monotones Wachstum bis zum nahezu dreifachen Wert von 24 MtC/a f{\"u}r 1980 auf 66 MtC/a f{\"u}r 2050 im ersten Modell, bzw. im zweiten Modell von 249 MtC/a f{\"u}r 1980 auf 505 MtC/a f{\"u}r 2050. Damit ist im zweiten Fall die Transportleistung der Siedlungsgebiete mit dem C-Transport durch Fl{\"u}sse in die Ozeane (196 .. 537 MtC/a) vergleichbar. Bei der Absch{\"a}tzung der Gesamtbilanz finden wir, daß die Urbanisierung die Bilanz in Richtung zu einer 'Senke' verschiebt. Entsprechend dem zweiten Modell beginnt sich die C-Gesamtbilanz (nach ann{\"a}hernder Konstanz) ab dem Jahre 2000 mit einer fast konstanten Rate zu verringern. Wenn das Maximum im Jahre 2000 bei 905MtC/a liegt, f{\"a}llt dieser Wert anschliessend bis zum Jahre 2050 auf 118 MtC/a. Bei Extrapolation dieser Dynamik in die Zukunft k{\"o}nnen wir annehmen, daß am Ende des 21. Jahrhunderts die \“urbane\” C-Gesamtbilanz Null bzw. negative Werte erreicht.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Valade2023, author = {Valade, Aurelien Niels Valentin}, title = {Unveiling the Local Universe}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {X, 102}, year = {2023}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hutter2014, author = {Hutter, Anne}, title = {Unveiling the epoch of reionization by simulations and high-redshift galaxies}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-76998}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {vi, 155}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The Epoch of Reionization marks after recombination the second major change in the ionization state of the universe, going from a neutral to an ionized state. It starts with the appearance of the first stars and galaxies; a fraction of high-energy photons emitted from galaxies permeate into the intergalactic medium (IGM) and gradually ionize the hydrogen, until the IGM is completely ionized at z~6 (Fan et al., 2006). While the progress of reionization is driven by galaxy evolution, it changes the ionization and thermal state of the IGM substantially and affects subsequent structure and galaxy formation by various feedback mechanisms. Understanding this interaction between reionization and galaxy formation is further impeded by a lack of understanding of the high-redshift galactic properties such as the dust distribution and the escape fraction of ionizing photons. Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) represent a sample of high-redshift galaxies that are sensitive to all these galactic properties and the effects of reionization. In this thesis we aim to understand the progress of reionization by performing cosmological simulations, which allows us to investigate the limits of constraining reionization by high-redshift galaxies as LAEs, and examine how galactic properties and the ionization state of the IGM affect the visibility and observed quantities of LAEs and Lyman Break galaxies (LBGs). In the first part of this thesis we focus on performing radiative transfer calculations to simulate reionization. We have developed a mapping-sphere-scheme, which, starting from spherically averaged temperature and density fields, uses our 1D radiative transfer code and computes the effect of each source on the IGM temperature and ionization (HII, HeII, HeIII) profiles, which are subsequently mapped onto a grid. Furthermore we have updated the 3D Monte-Carlo radiative transfer pCRASH, enabling detailed reionization simulations which take individual source characteristics into account. In the second part of this thesis we perform a reionization simulation by post-processing a smoothed-particle hydrodynamical (SPH) simulation (GADGET-2) with 3D radiative transfer (pCRASH), where the ionizing sources are modelled according to the characteristics of the stellar populations in the hydrodynamical simulation. Following the ionization fractions of hydrogen (HI) and helium (HeII, HeIII), and temperature in our simulation, we find that reionization starts at z~11 and ends at z~6, and high density regions near sources are ionized earlier than low density regions far from sources. In the third part of this thesis we couple the cosmological SPH simulation and the radiative transfer simulations with a physically motivated, self-consistent model for LAEs, in order to understand the importance of the ionization state of the IGM, the escape fraction of ionizing photons from galaxies and dust in the interstellar medium (ISM) on the visibility of LAEs. Comparison of our models results with the LAE Lyman Alpha (Lya) and UV luminosity functions at z~6.6 reveals a three-dimensional degeneracy between the ionization state of the IGM, the ionizing photons escape fraction and the ISM dust distribution, which implies that LAEs act not only as tracers of reionization but also of the ionizing photon escape fraction and of the ISM dust distribution. This degeneracy does not even break down when we compare simulated with observed clustering of LAEs at z~6.6. However, our results show that reionization has the largest impact on the amplitude of the LAE angular correlation functions, and its imprints are clearly distinguishable from those of properties on galactic scales. These results show that reionization cannot be constrained tightly by exclusively using LAE observations. Further observational constraints, e.g. tomographies of the redshifted hydrogen 21cm line, are required. In addition we also use our LAE model to probe the question when a galaxy is visible as a LAE or a LBG. Within our model galaxies above a critical stellar mass can produce enough luminosity to be visible as a LBG and/or a LAE. By finding an increasing duty cycle of LBGs with Lya emission as the UV magnitude or stellar mass of the galaxy rises, our model reveals that the brightest (and most massive) LBGs most often show Lya emission. Predicting the Lya equivalent width (Lya EW) distribution and the fraction of LBGs showing Lya emission at z~6.6, we reproduce the observational trend of the Lya EWs with UV magnitude. However, the Lya EWs of the UV brightest LBGs exceed observations and can only be reconciled by accounting for an increased Lya attenuation of massive galaxies, which implies that the observed Lya brightest LAEs do not necessarily coincide with the UV brightest galaxies. We have analysed the dependencies of LAE observables on the properties of the galactic and intergalactic medium and the LAE-LBG connection, and this enhances our understanding of the nature of LAEs.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Smirnov2023, author = {Smirnov, Artem}, title = {Understanding the dynamics of the near-earth space environment utilizing long-term satellite observations}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-61371}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-613711}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xxxvi, 286}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The near-Earth space environment is a highly complex system comprised of several regions and particle populations hazardous to satellite operations. The trapped particles in the radiation belts and ring current can cause significant damage to satellites during space weather events, due to deep dielectric and surface charging. Closer to Earth is another important region, the ionosphere, which delays the propagation of radio signals and can adversely affect navigation and positioning. In response to fluctuations in solar and geomagnetic activity, both the inner-magnetospheric and ionospheric populations can undergo drastic and sudden changes within minutes to hours, which creates a challenge for predicting their behavior. Given the increasing reliance of our society on satellite technology, improving our understanding and modeling of these populations is a matter of paramount importance. In recent years, numerous spacecraft have been launched to study the dynamics of particle populations in the near-Earth space, transforming it into a data-rich environment. To extract valuable insights from the abundance of available observations, it is crucial to employ advanced modeling techniques, and machine learning methods are among the most powerful approaches available. This dissertation employs long-term satellite observations to analyze the processes that drive particle dynamics, and builds interdisciplinary links between space physics and machine learning by developing new state-of-the-art models of the inner-magnetospheric and ionospheric particle dynamics. The first aim of this thesis is to investigate the behavior of electrons in Earth's radiation belts and ring current. Using ~18 years of electron flux observations from the Global Positioning System (GPS), we developed the first machine learning model of hundreds-of-keV electron flux at Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) that is driven solely by solar wind and geomagnetic indices and does not require auxiliary flux measurements as inputs. We then proceeded to analyze the directional distributions of electrons, and for the first time, used Fourier sine series to fit electron pitch angle distributions (PADs) in Earth's inner magnetosphere. We performed a superposed epoch analysis of 129 geomagnetic storms during the Van Allen Probes era and demonstrated that electron PADs have a strong energy-dependent response to geomagnetic activity. Additionally, we showed that the solar wind dynamic pressure could be used as a good predictor of the PAD dynamics. Using the observed dependencies, we created the first PAD model with a continuous dependence on L, magnetic local time (MLT) and activity, and developed two techniques to reconstruct near-equatorial electron flux observations from low-PA data using this model. The second objective of this thesis is to develop a novel model of the topside ionosphere. To achieve this goal, we collected observations from five of the most widely used ionospheric missions and intercalibrated these data sets. This allowed us to use these data jointly for model development, validation, and comparison with other existing empirical models. We demonstrated, for the first time, that ion density observations by Swarm Langmuir Probes exhibit overestimation (up to ~40-50\%) at low and mid-latitudes on the night side, and suggested that the influence of light ions could be a potential cause of this overestimation. To develop the topside model, we used 19 years of radio occultation (RO) electron density profiles, which were fitted with a Chapman function with a linear dependence of scale height on altitude. This approximation yields 4 parameters, namely the peak density and height of the F2-layer and the slope and intercept of the linear scale height trend, which were modeled using feedforward neural networks (NNs). The model was extensively validated against both RO and in-situ observations and was found to outperform the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model by up to an order of magnitude. Our analysis showed that the most substantial deviations of the IRI model from the data occur at altitudes of 100-200 km above the F2-layer peak. The developed NN-based ionospheric model reproduces the effects of various physical mechanisms observed in the topside ionosphere and provides highly accurate electron density predictions. This dissertation provides an extensive study of geospace dynamics, and the main results of this work contribute to the improvement of models of plasma populations in the near-Earth space environment.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{CervantesVilla2021, author = {Cervantes Villa, Juan Sebastian}, title = {Understanding the dynamics of radiation belt electrons by means of data assimilation}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-51982}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-519827}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xxv, 116}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The Earth's electron radiation belts exhibit a two-zone structure, with the outer belt being highly dynamic due to the constant competition between a number of physical processes, including acceleration, loss, and transport. The flux of electrons in the outer belt can vary over several orders of magnitude, reaching levels that may disrupt satellite operations. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that drive these variations is of high interest to the scientific community. In particular, the important role played by loss mechanisms in controlling relativistic electron dynamics has become increasingly clear in recent years. It is now widely accepted that radiation belt electrons can be lost either by precipitation into the atmosphere or by transport across the magnetopause, called magnetopause shadowing. Precipitation of electrons occurs due to pitch-angle scattering by resonant interaction with various types of waves, including whistler mode chorus, plasmaspheric hiss, and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. In addition, the compression of the magnetopause due to increases in solar wind dynamic pressure can substantially deplete electrons at high L shells where they find themselves in open drift paths, whereas electrons at low L shells can be lost through outward radial diffusion. Nevertheless, the role played by each physical process during electron flux dropouts still remains a fundamental puzzle. Differentiation between these processes and quantification of their relative contributions to the evolution of radiation belt electrons requires high-resolution profiles of phase space density (PSD). However, such profiles of PSD are difficult to obtain due to restrictions of spacecraft observations to a single measurement in space and time, which is also compounded by the inaccuracy of instruments. Data assimilation techniques aim to blend incomplete and inaccurate spaceborne data with physics-based models in an optimal way. In the Earth's radiation belts, it is used to reconstruct the entire radial profile of electron PSD, and it has become an increasingly important tool in validating our current understanding of radiation belt dynamics, identifying new physical processes, and predicting the near-Earth hazardous radiation environment. In this study, sparse measurements from Van Allen Probes A and B and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) 13 and 15 are assimilated into the three-dimensional Versatile Electron Radiation Belt (VERB-3D) diffusion model, by means of a split-operator Kalman filter over a four-year period from 01 October 2012 to 01 October 2016. In comparison to previous works, the 3D model accounts for more physical processes, namely mixed pitch angle-energy diffusion, scattering by EMIC waves, and magnetopause shadowing. It is shown how data assimilation, by means of the innovation vector (the residual between observations and model forecast), can be used to account for missing physics in the model. This method is used to identify the radial distances from the Earth and the geomagnetic conditions where the model is inconsistent with the measured PSD for different values of the adiabatic invariants mu and K. As a result, the Kalman filter adjusts the predictions in order to match the observations, and this is interpreted as evidence of where and when additional source or loss processes are active. Furthermore, two distinct loss mechanisms responsible for the rapid dropouts of radiation belt electrons are investigated: EMIC wave-induced scattering and magnetopause shadowing. The innovation vector is inspected for values of the invariant mu ranging from 300 to 3000 MeV/G, and a statistical analysis is performed to quantitatively assess the effect of both processes as a function of various geomagnetic indices, solar wind parameters, and radial distance from the Earth. The results of this work are in agreement with previous studies that demonstrated the energy dependence of these two mechanisms. EMIC wave scattering dominates loss at lower L shells and it may amount to between 10\%/hr to 30\%/hr of the maximum value of PSD over all L shells for fixed first and second adiabatic invariants. On the other hand, magnetopause shadowing is found to deplete electrons across all energies, mostly at higher L shells, resulting in loss from 50\%/hr to 70\%/hr of the maximum PSD. Nevertheless, during times of enhanced geomagnetic activity, both processes can operate beyond such location and encompass the entire outer radiation belt. The results of this study are two-fold. Firstly, it demonstrates that the 3D data assimilative code provides a comprehensive picture of the radiation belts and is an important step toward performing reanalysis using observations from current and future missions. Secondly, it achieves a better understanding and provides critical clues of the dominant loss mechanisms responsible for the rapid dropouts of electrons at different locations over the outer radiation belt.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Streich2015, author = {Streich, David}, title = {Understanding massive disk galaxy formation through resolved stellar populations}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81027}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {ix, 140}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In this thesis we utilize resolved stellar populations to improve our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. In the first part we improve a method for metallicity determination of faint old stellar systems, in the second and third part we analyze the individual history of six nearby disk galaxies outside the Local Group. A New Calibration of the Color Metallicity Relation of Red Giants for HST data: It is well known, that the color distribution of stars on the the Red Giant Branch (RGB) can be used to determine metallicities of old stellar populations that have only shallow photometry. Based on the largest sample of globular clusters ever used for such studies, we quantify the relation between metallicity and color in the widely used HST ACS filters F606W and F814W. We use a sample of globular clusters from the ACS Globular Cluster Survey and measure their RGB color at given absolute magnitudes to derive the color-metallicity relation. We find a clear relation between metallicity and RGB color; we investigate the scatter and the uncertainties in this relation and show its limitations. A comparison with isochrones shows reasonably good agreement with BaSTI models, a small offset to Dartmouth models, and a larger offset to Padua models. Even for the best globular cluster data available, the metallicity of a simple stellar population can be determined from the RGB alone only with an accuracy of 0.3 dex for [M/H]<-1, and 0.15 dex for [M/H]>-1. For mixed populations, as they are observed in external galaxies, the uncertainties will be even larger due to uncertainties in extinction, age, etc. Therefore caution is necessary when interpreting photometric metallicities. The Structural History of Nearby Low Mass Disk Galaxies: We study the individual evolution histories of three nearby, low-mass, edge-on galaxies (IC5052, NGC4244, NGC5023). Using the color magnitude diagrams of resolved stellar populations, we construct star count density maps for populations of different ages and analyze the change of structural parameters with stellar age within each galaxy. The three galaxies show low vertical heating rates, which are much lower than the heating rate of the Milky Way. This indicates that heating agents, as giant molecular clouds and spiral structure are weak in low mass galaxies. We do not detect a separate thick disk in any of the three galaxies, even though our observations cover a larger range in equivalent surface brightness than any integrated light study. While scaleheights increase with age, each population can be well described by a single disk. Only two of the galaxies contain a very weak additional component, which we identify as the faint halo. The mass of these faint halos is less than 1\% of the mass of the disk. All populations in the three galaxies exhibit no or only little flaring. While this finding is consistent with previous integrated light studies, it poses strong constraints on galaxy formation models, because most theoretical simulations often find strong flaring due to interactions or radial migration. Furthermore, we find breaks in the radial profiles of all three galaxies. The radii of these breaks are independent of age, and the break strength is decreasing with age in two of the galaxies (NGC4244 and NGC5023). This is consistent with break formation models, that combine a star formation cutoff with radial migration. The differing behavior of IC5052 can be explained by a recent interaction or minor merger. The Structural History of Massive Disk Galaxies: We extend the structural analysis of stellar populations with distinct ages to three massive galaxies, NGC891, NGC4565 and NGC7814. While confusion effects due to the high stellar number densities in their central region, and the prominent dust lanes inhibit an detailed analysis of the radial profiles, we can study their vertical structure. These massive galaxies also have a slower heating than the Milky Way, comparable to the low mass galaxies. This can be traced back to their already thick young populations and thick layers of their interstellar medium. We do not find a clear separate thick disk in any of these three galaxies; all populations can be described by a single disk plus a S\'ersic bulge/halo component. In contrast to the low mass galaxies, we cannot rule out the presence of thick disks in the massive galaxies, because of the strong influence of the halo, that might hide the possible contribution of the thick disk to the vertical star count profiles. However, the faintness of the possible thick disks still points to problems in the earlier ubiquitous findings of thick disks in external galaxies.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Buechner2022, author = {B{\"u}chner, Robby}, title = {Understanding local electronic structure variations in bio-inspired aromatic molecules}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-55319}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-553192}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {viii, 111}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In this thesis, the dependencies of charge localization and itinerance in two classes of aromatic molecules are accessed: pyridones and porphyrins. The focus lies on the effects of isomerism, complexation, solvation, and optical excitation, which are concomitant with different crucial biological applications of specific members of these groups of compounds. Several porphyrins play key roles in the metabolism of plants and animals. The nucleobases, which store the genetic information in the DNA and RNA are pyridone derivatives. Additionally, a number of vitamins are based on these two groups of substances. This thesis aims to answer the question of how the electronic structure of these classes of molecules is modified, enabling the versatile natural functionality. The resulting insights into the effect of constitutional and external factors are expected to facilitate the design of new processes for medicine, light-harvesting, catalysis, and environmental remediation. The common denominator of pyridones and porphyrins is their aromatic character. As aromaticity was an early-on topic in chemical physics, the overview of relevant theoretical models in this work also mirrors the development of this scientific field in the 20th century. The spectroscopic investigation of these compounds has long been centered on their global, optical transition between frontier orbitals. The utilization and advancement of X-ray spectroscopic methods characterizing the local electronic structure of molecular samples form the core of this thesis. The element selectivity of the near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) is employed to probe the unoccupied density of states at the nitrogen site, which is key for the chemical reactivity of pyridones and porphyrins. The results contribute to the growing database of NEXAFS features and their interpretation, e.g., by advancing the debate on the porphyrin N K-edge through systematic experimental and theoretical arguments. Further, a state-of-the-art laser pump - NEXAFS probe scheme is used to characterize the relaxation pathway of a photoexcited porphyrin on the atomic level. Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) provides complementary results by accessing the highest occupied valence levels including symmetry information. It is shown that RIXS is an effective experimental tool to gain detailed information on charge densities of individual species in tautomeric mixtures. Additionally, the hRIXS and METRIXS high-resolution RIXS spectrometers, which have been in part commissioned in the course of this thesis, will gain access to the ultra-fast and thermal chemistry of pyridones, porphyrins, and many other compounds. With respect to both classes of bio-inspired aromatic molecules, this thesis establishes that even though pyridones and porphyrins differ largely by their optical absorption bands and hydrogen bonding abilities, they all share a global stabilization of local constitutional changes and relevant external perturbation. It is because of this wide-ranging response that pyridones and porphyrins can be applied in a manifold of biological and technical processes.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Goswami2014, author = {Goswami, Bedartha}, title = {Uncertainties in climate data analysis}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78312}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Scientific inquiry requires that we formulate not only what we know, but also what we do not know and by how much. In climate data analysis, this involves an accurate specification of measured quantities and a consequent analysis that consciously propagates the measurement errors at each step. The dissertation presents a thorough analytical method to quantify errors of measurement inherent in paleoclimate data. An additional focus are the uncertainties in assessing the coupling between different factors that influence the global mean temperature (GMT). Paleoclimate studies critically rely on `proxy variables' that record climatic signals in natural archives. However, such proxy records inherently involve uncertainties in determining the age of the signal. We present a generic Bayesian approach to analytically determine the proxy record along with its associated uncertainty, resulting in a time-ordered sequence of correlated probability distributions rather than a precise time series. We further develop a recurrence based method to detect dynamical events from the proxy probability distributions. The methods are validated with synthetic examples and demonstrated with real-world proxy records. The proxy estimation step reveals the interrelations between proxy variability and uncertainty. The recurrence analysis of the East Asian Summer Monsoon during the last 9000 years confirms the well-known `dry' events at 8200 and 4400 BP, plus an additional significantly dry event at 6900 BP. We also analyze the network of dependencies surrounding GMT. We find an intricate, directed network with multiple links between the different factors at multiple time delays. We further uncover a significant feedback from the GMT to the El Ni{\~n}o Southern Oscillation at quasi-biennial timescales. The analysis highlights the need of a more nuanced formulation of influences between different climatic factors, as well as the limitations in trying to estimate such dependencies.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Radziuk2009, author = {Radziuk, Darya V.}, title = {Ultrasonic activation of nanocatalysts and formation of binary nanoparticles}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {125 S. : Ill., graph. Darst.}, year = {2009}, language = {en} } @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{Trabant2014, author = {Trabant, Christoph}, title = {Ultrafast photoinduced phase transitions in complex materials probed by time-resolved resonant soft x-ray diffraction}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-71377}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In processing and data storage mainly ferromagnetic (FM) materials are being used. Approaching physical limits, new concepts have to be found for faster, smaller switches, for higher data densities and more energy efficiency. Some of the discussed new concepts involve the material classes of correlated oxides and materials with antiferromagnetic coupling. Their applicability depends critically on their switching behavior, i.e., how fast and how energy efficient material properties can be manipulated. This thesis presents investigations of ultrafast non-equilibrium phase transitions on such new materials. In transition metal oxides (TMOs) the coupling of different degrees of freedom and resulting low energy excitation spectrum often result in spectacular changes of macroscopic properties (colossal magneto resistance, superconductivity, metal-to-insulator transitions) often accompanied by nanoscale order of spins, charges, orbital occupation and by lattice distortions, which make these material attractive. Magnetite served as a prototype for functional TMOs showing a metal-to-insulator-transition (MIT) at T = 123 K. By probing the charge and orbital order as well as the structure after an optical excitation we found that the electronic order and the structural distortion, characteristics of the insulating phase in thermal equilibrium, are destroyed within the experimental resolution of 300 fs. The MIT itself occurs on a 1.5 ps timescale. It shows that MITs in functional materials are several thousand times faster than switching processes in semiconductors. Recently ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials have become interesting. It was shown in ferrimagnetic GdFeCo, that the transfer of angular momentum between two opposed FM subsystems with different time constants leads to a switching of the magnetization after laser pulse excitation. In addition it was theoretically predicted that demagnetization dynamics in AFM should occur faster than in FM materials as no net angular momentum has to be transferred out of the spin system. We investigated two different AFM materials in order to learn more about their ultrafast dynamics. In Ho, a metallic AFM below T ≈ 130 K, we found that the AFM Ho can not only be faster but also ten times more energy efficiently destroyed as order in FM comparable metals. In EuTe, an AFM semiconductor below T ≈ 10 K, we compared the loss of magnetization and laser-induced structural distortion in one and the same experiment. Our experiment shows that they are effectively disentangled. An exception is an ultrafast release of lattice dynamics, which we assign to the release of magnetostriction. The results presented here were obtained with time-resolved resonant soft x-ray diffraction at the Femtoslicing source of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and at the free-electron laser in Stanford (LCLS). In addition the development and setup of a new UHV-diffractometer for these experiments will be reported.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Willig2019, author = {Willig, Lisa}, title = {Ultrafast magneto-optical studies of remagnetisation dynamics in transition metals}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-44194}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-441942}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {XIV, 113, XVII}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Ultrafast magnetisation dynamics have been investigated intensely for two decades. The recovery process after demagnetisation, however, was rarely studied experimentally and discussed in detail. The focus of this work lies on the investigation of the magnetisation on long timescales after laser excitation. It combines two ultrafast time resolved methods to study the relaxation of the magnetic and lattice system after excitation with a high fluence ultrashort laser pulse. The magnetic system is investigated by time resolved measurements of the magneto-optical Kerr effect. The experimental setup has been implemented in the scope of this work. The lattice dynamics were obtained with ultrafast X-ray diffraction. The combination of both techniques leads to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in magnetisation recovery from a non-equilibrium condition. Three different groups of samples are investigated in this work: Thin Nickel layers capped with nonmagnetic materials, a continuous sample of the ordered L10 phase of Iron Platinum and a sample consisting of Iron Platinum nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix. The study of the remagnetisation reveals a general trend for all of the samples: The remagnetisation process can be described by two time dependences. A first exponential recovery that slows down with an increasing amount of energy absorbed in the system until an approximately linear time dependence is observed. This is followed by a second exponential recovery. In case of low fluence excitation, the first recovery is faster than the second. With increasing fluence the first recovery is slowed down and can be described as a linear function. If the pump-induced temperature increase in the sample is sufficiently high, a phase transition to a paramagnetic state is observed. In the remagnetisation process, the transition into the ferromagnetic state is characterised by a distinct transition between the linear and exponential recovery. From the combination of the transient lattice temperature Tp(t) obtained from ultrafast X-ray measurements and magnetisation M(t) gained from magneto-optical measurements we construct the transient magnetisation versus temperature relations M(Tp). If the lattice temperature remains below the Curie temperature the remagnetisation curve M(Tp) is linear and stays below the M(T) curve in equilibrium in the continuous transition metal layers. When the sample is heated above phase transition, the remagnetisation converges towards the static temperature dependence. For the granular Iron Platinum sample the M(Tp) curves for different fluences coincide, i.e. the remagnetisation follows a similar path irrespective of the initial laser-induced temperature jump.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Schick2013, author = {Schick, Daniel}, title = {Ultrafast lattice dynamics in photoexcited nanostructures : femtosecond X-ray diffraction with optimized evaluation schemes}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-68827}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Within the course of this thesis, I have investigated the complex interplay between electron and lattice dynamics in nanostructures of perovskite oxides. Femtosecond hard X-ray pulses were utilized to probe the evolution of atomic rearrangement directly, which is driven by ultrafast optical excitation of electrons. The physics of complex materials with a large number of degrees of freedom can be interpreted once the exact fingerprint of ultrafast lattice dynamics in time-resolved X-ray diffraction experiments for a simple model system is well known. The motion of atoms in a crystal can be probed directly and in real-time by femtosecond pulses of hard X-ray radiation in a pump-probe scheme. In order to provide such ultrashort X-ray pulses, I have built up a laser-driven plasma X-ray source. The setup was extended by a stable goniometer, a two-dimensional X-ray detector and a cryogen-free cryostat. The data acquisition routines of the diffractometer for these ultrafast X-ray diffraction experiments were further improved in terms of signal-to-noise ratio and angular resolution. The implementation of a high-speed reciprocal-space mapping technique allowed for a two-dimensional structural analysis with femtosecond temporal resolution. I have studied the ultrafast lattice dynamics, namely the excitation and propagation of coherent phonons, in photoexcited thin films and superlattice structures of the metallic perovskite SrRuO3. Due to the quasi-instantaneous coupling of the lattice to the optically excited electrons in this material a spatially and temporally well-defined thermal stress profile is generated in SrRuO3. This enables understanding the effect of the resulting coherent lattice dynamics in time-resolved X-ray diffraction data in great detail, e.g. the appearance of a transient Bragg peak splitting in both thin films and superlattice structures of SrRuO3. In addition, a comprehensive simulation toolbox to calculate the ultrafast lattice dynamics and the resulting X-ray diffraction response in photoexcited one-dimensional crystalline structures was developed in this thesis work. With the powerful experimental and theoretical framework at hand, I have studied the excitation and propagation of coherent phonons in more complex material systems. In particular, I have revealed strongly localized charge carriers after above-bandgap femtosecond photoexcitation of the prototypical multiferroic BiFeO3, which are the origin of a quasi-instantaneous and spatially inhomogeneous stress that drives coherent phonons in a thin film of the multiferroic. In a structurally imperfect thin film of the ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3, the ultrafast reciprocal-space mapping technique was applied to follow a purely strain-induced change of mosaicity on a picosecond time scale. These results point to a strong coupling of in- and out-of-plane atomic motion exclusively mediated by structural defects.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Schroeder2016, author = {Schr{\"o}der, Henning}, title = {Ultrafast electron dynamics in Fe(CO)5 and Cr(CO)6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-94589}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {v, 87}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In this thesis, the two prototype catalysts Fe(CO)₅ and Cr(CO)₆ are investigated with time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy at a high harmonic setup. In both of these metal carbonyls, a UV photon can induce the dissociation of one or more ligands of the complex. The mechanism of the dissociation has been debated over the last decades. The electronic dynamics of the first dissociation occur on the femtosecond timescale. For the experiment, an existing high harmonic setup was moved to a new location, was extended, and characterized. The modified setup can induce dynamics in gas phase samples with photon energies of 1.55eV, 3.10eV, and 4.65eV. The valence electronic structure of the samples can be probed with photon energies between 20eV and 40eV. The temporal resolution is 111fs to 262fs, depending on the combination of the two photon energies. The electronically excited intermediates of the two complexes, as well as of the reaction product Fe(CO)₄, could be observed with photoelectron spectroscopy in the gas phase for the first time. However, photoelectron spectroscopy gives access only to the final ionic states. Corresponding calculations to simulate these spectra are still in development. The peak energies and their evolution in time with respect to the initiation pump pulse have been determined, these peaks have been assigned based on literature data. The spectra of the two complexes show clear differences. The dynamics have been interpreted with the assumption that the motion of peaks in the spectra relates to the movement of the wave packet in the multidimensional energy landscape. The results largely confirm existing models for the reaction pathways. In both metal carbonyls, this pathway involves a direct excitation of the wave packet to a metal-to-ligand charge transfer state and the subsequent crossing to a dissociative ligand field state. The coupling of the electronic dynamics to the nuclear dynamics could explain the slower dissociation in Fe(CO)₅ as compared to Cr(CO)₆.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Abel2005, author = {Abel, Markus}, title = {Turbulent flows : transport, analysis and modeling}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {Getr. Z{\"a}hlung}, year = {2005}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Canil2021, author = {Canil, Laura}, title = {Tuning Interfacial Properties in Perovskite Solar Cells through Defined Molecular Assemblies}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-54633}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-546333}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {vii, 157}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In the frame of a world fighting a dramatic global warming caused by human-related activities, research towards the development of renewable energies plays a crucial role. Solar energy is one of the most important clean energy sources and its role in the satisfaction of the global energy demand is set to increase. In this context, a particular class of materials captured the attention of the scientific community for its attractive properties: halide perovskites. Devices with perovskite as light-absorber saw an impressive development within the last decade, reaching nowadays efficiencies comparable to mature photovoltaic technologies like silicon solar cells. Yet, there are still several roadblocks to overcome before a wide-spread commercialization of this kind of devices is enabled. One of the critical points lies at the interfaces: perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are made of several layers with different chemical and physical features. In order for the device to function properly, these properties have to be well-matched. This dissertation deals with some of the challenges related to interfaces in PSCs, with a focus on the interface between the perovskite material itself and the subsequent charge transport layer. In particular, molecular assemblies with specific properties are deposited on the perovskite surface to functionalize it. The functionalization results in energy level alignment adjustment, interfacial losses reduction, and stability improvement. First, a strategy to tune the perovskite's energy levels is introduced: self-assembled monolayers of dipolar molecules are used to functionalize the surface, obtaining simultaneously a shift in the vacuum level position and a saturation of the dangling bonds at the surface. A shift in the vacuum level corresponds to an equal change in work function, ionization energy, and electron affinity. The direction of the shift depends on the direction of the collective interfacial dipole. The magnitude of the shift can be tailored by controlling the deposition parameters, such as the concentration of the solution used for the deposition. The shift for different molecules is characterized by several non-invasive techniques, including in particular Kelvin probe. Overall, it is shown that it is possible to shift the perovskite energy levels in both directions by several hundreds of meV. Moreover, interesting insights on the molecules deposition dynamics are revealed. Secondly, the application of this strategy in perovskite solar cells is explored. Devices with different perovskite compositions ("triple cation perovskite" and MAPbBr3) are prepared. The two resulting model systems present different energetic offsets at the perovskite/hole-transport layer interface. Upon tailored perovskite surface functionalization, the devices show a stabilized open circuit voltage (Voc) enhancement of approximately 60 meV on average for devices with MAPbBr3, while the impact is limited on triple-cation solar cells. This suggests that the proposed energy level tuning method is valid, but its effectiveness depends on factors such as the significance of the energetic offset compared to the other losses in the devices. Finally, the above presented method is further developed by incorporating the ability to interact with the perovskite surface directly into a novel hole-transport material (HTM), named PFI. The HTM can anchor to the perovskite halide ions via halogen bonding (XB). Its behaviour is compared to that of another HTM (PF) with same chemical structure and properties, except for the ability of forming XB. The interaction of perovskite with PFI and PF is characterized through UV-Vis, atomic force microscopy and Kelvin probe measurements combined with simulations. Compared to PF, PFI exhibits enhanced resilience against solvent exposure and improved energy level alignment with the perovskite layer. As a consequence, devices comprising PFI show enhanced Voc and operational stability during maximum-power-point tracking, in addition to hysteresis reduction. XB promotes the formation of a high-quality interface by anchoring to the halide ions and forming a stable and ordered interfacial layer, showing to be a particularly interesting candidate for the development of tailored charge transport materials in PSCs. Overall, the results exposed in this dissertation introduce and discuss a versatile tool to functionalize the perovskite surface and tune its energy levels. The application of this method in devices is explored and insights on its challenges and advantages are given. Within this frame, the results shed light on XB as ideal interaction for enhancing stability and efficiency in perovskite-based devices.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Lazar2005, author = {Lazar, Paul}, title = {Transport mechanisms and wetting dynamics in molecularly thin films of long-chain alkanes at solid/vapour interface : relation to the solid-liquid phase transition}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-5275}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2005}, abstract = {Wetting and phase transitions play a very important role our daily life. Molecularly thin films of long-chain alkanes at solid/vapour interfaces (e.g. C30H62 on silicon wafers) are very good model systems for studying the relation between wetting behaviour and (bulk) phase transitions. Immediately above the bulk melting temperature the alkanes wet partially the surface (drops). In this temperature range the substrate surface is covered with a molecularly thin ordered, solid-like alkane film ("surface freezing"). Thus, the alkane melt wets its own solid only partially which is a quite rare phenomenon in nature. The thesis treats about how the alkane melt wets its own solid surface above and below the bulk melting temperature and about the corresponding melting and solidification processes. Liquid alkane drops can be undercooled to few degrees below the bulk melting temperature without immediate solidification. This undercooling behaviour is quite frequent and theoretical quite well understood. In some cases, slightly undercooled drops start to build two-dimensional solid terraces without bulk solidification. The terraces grow radially from the liquid drops on the substrate surface. They consist of few molecular layers with the thickness multiple of all-trans length of the molecule. By analyzing the terrace growth process one can find that, both below and above the melting point, the entire substrate surface is covered with a thin film of mobile alkane molecules. The presence of this film explains how the solid terrace growth is feeded: the alkane molecules flow through it from the undercooled drops to the periphery of the terrace. The study shows for the first time the coexistence of a molecularly thin film ("precursor") with partially wetting bulk phase. The formation and growth of the terraces is observed only in a small temperature interval in which the 2D nucleation of terraces is more likely than the bulk solidification. The nucleation mechanisms for 2D solidification are also analyzed in this work. More surprising is the terrace behaviour above bulk the melting temperature. The terraces can be slightly overheated before they melt. The melting does not occur all over the surface as a single event; instead small drops form at the terrace edge. Subsequently these drops move on the surface "eating" the solid terraces on their way. By this they grow in size leaving behind paths from were the material was collected. Both overheating and droplet movement can be explained by the fact that the alkane melt wets only partially its own solid. For the first time, these results explicitly confirm the supposed connection between the absence of overheating in solid and "surface melting": the solids usually start to melt without an energetic barrier from the surface at temperatures below the bulk melting point. Accordingly, the surface freezing of alkanes give rise of an energetic barrier which leads to overheating.}, subject = {Benetzung}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Peter2019, author = {Peter, Franziska}, title = {Transition to synchrony in finite Kuramoto ensembles}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42916}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-429168}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {vi, 93}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Synchronisation - die Ann{\"a}herung der Rhythmen gekoppelter selbst oszillierender Systeme - ist ein faszinierendes dynamisches Ph{\"a}nomen, das in vielen biologischen, sozialen und technischen Systemen auftritt. Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit Synchronisation in endlichen Ensembles schwach gekoppelter selbst-erhaltender Oszillatoren mit unterschiedlichen nat{\"u}rlichen Frequenzen. Das Standardmodell f{\"u}r dieses kollektive Ph{\"a}nomen ist das Kuramoto-Modell - unter anderem aufgrund seiner L{\"o}sbarkeit im thermodynamischen Limes unendlich vieler Oszillatoren. {\"A}hnlich einem thermodynamischen Phasen{\"u}bergang zeigt im Fall unendlich vieler Oszillatoren ein Ordnungsparameter den {\"U}bergang von Inkoh{\"a}renz zu einem partiell synchronen Zustand an, in dem ein Teil der Oszillatoren mit einer gemeinsamen Frequenz rotiert. Im endlichen Fall treten Fluktuationen auf. In dieser Arbeit betrachten wir den bisher wenig beachteten Fall von bis zu wenigen hundert Oszillatoren, unter denen vergleichbar starke Fluktuationen auftreten, bei denen aber ein Vergleich zu Frequenzverteilungen im unendlichen Fall m{\"o}glich ist. Zun{\"a}chst definieren wir einen alternativen Ordnungsparameter zur Feststellung einer kollektiven Mode im endlichen Kuramoto-Modell. Dann pr{\"u}fen wir die Abh{\"a}ngigkeit des Synchronisationsgrades und der mittleren Rotationsfrequenz der kollektiven Mode von Eigenschaften der nat{\"u}rlichen Frequenzverteilung f{\"u}r verschiedene Kopplungsst{\"a}rken. Wir stellen dabei zun{\"a}chst numerisch fest, dass der Synchronisationsgrad stark von der Form der Verteilung (gemessen durch die Kurtosis) und die Rotationsfrequenz der kollektiven Mode stark von der Asymmetrie der Verteilung (gemessen durch die Schiefe) der nat{\"u}rlichen Frequenzen abh{\"a}ngt. Beides k{\"o}nnen wir im thermodynamischen Limes analytisch verifizieren. Mit diesen Ergebnissen k{\"o}nnen wir Erkenntnisse anderer Autoren besser verstehen und verallgemeinern. Etwas abseits des roten Fadens dieser Arbeit finden wir außerdem einen analytischen Ausdruck f{\"u}r die Volumenkontraktion im Phasenraum. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit konzentriert sich auf den ordnenden Effekt von Fluktuationen, die durch die Endlichkeit des Systems zustande kommen. Im unendlichen Modell sind die Oszillatoren eindeutig in koh{\"a}rent und inkoh{\"a}rent und damit in geordnet und ungeordnet getrennt. Im endlichen Fall k{\"o}nnen die auftretenden Fluktuationen zus{\"a}tzliche Ordnung unter den asynchronen Oszillatoren erzeugen. Das grundlegende Prinzip, die rauschinduzierte Synchronisation, ist aus einer Reihe von Publikationen bekannt. Unter den gekoppelten Oszillatoren n{\"a}hern sich die Phasen aufgrund der Fluktuationen des Ordnungsparameters an, wie wir einerseits direkt numerisch zeigen und andererseits mit einem Synchronisationsmaß aus der gerichteten Statistik zwischen Paaren passiver Oszillatoren nachweisen. Wir bestimmen die Abh{\"a}ngigkeit dieses Synchronisationsmaßes vom Verh{\"a}ltnis von paarweiser nat{\"u}rlicher Frequenzdifferenz zur Varianz der Fluktuationen. Dabei finden wir eine gute {\"U}bereinstimmung mit einem einfachen analytischen Modell, in welchem wir die deterministischen Fluktuationen des Ordnungsparameters durch weißes Rauschen ersetzen.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Bange2009, author = {Bange, Sebastian}, title = {Transient optical and electrical effects in polymeric semiconductors}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-36314}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2009}, abstract = {Classical semiconductor physics has been continuously improving electronic components such as diodes, light-emitting diodes, solar cells and transistors based on highly purified inorganic crystals over the past decades. Organic semiconductors, notably polymeric, are a comparatively young field of research, the first light-emitting diode based on conjugated polymers having been demonstrated in 1990. Polymeric semiconductors are of tremendous interest for high-volume, low-cost manufacturing ("printed electronics"). Due to their rather simple device structure mostly comprising only one or two functional layers, polymeric diodes are much more difficult to optimize compared to small-molecular organic devices. Usually, functions such as charge injection and transport are handled by the same material which thus needs to be highly optimized. The present work contributes to expanding the knowledge on the physical mechanisms determining device performance by analyzing the role of charge injection and transport on device efficiency for blue and white-emitting devices, based on commercially relevant spiro-linked polyfluorene derivatives. It is shown that such polymers can act as very efficient electron conductors and that interface effects such as charge trapping play the key role in determining the overall device efficiency. This work contributes to the knowledge of how charges drift through the polymer layer to finally find neutral emissive trap states and thus allows a quantitative prediction of the emission color of multichromophoric systems, compatible with the observed color shifts upon driving voltage and temperature variation as well as with electrical conditioning effects. In a more methodically oriented part, it is demonstrated that the transient device emission observed upon terminating the driving voltage can be used to monitor the decay of geminately-bound species as well as to determine trapped charge densities. This enables direct comparisons with numerical simulations based on the known properties of charge injection, transport and recombination. The method of charge extraction under linear increasing voltages (CELIV) is investigated in some detail, correcting for errors in the published approach and highlighting the role of non-idealized conditions typically present in experiments. An improved method is suggested to determine the field dependence of charge mobility in a more accurate way. Finally, it is shown that the neglect of charge recombination has led to a misunderstanding of experimental results in terms of a time-dependent mobility relaxation.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Koehler2020, author = {K{\"o}hler, Raphael}, title = {Towards seasonal prediction: stratosphere-troposphere coupling in the atmospheric model ICON-NWP}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-48723}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-487231}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {viii, 119}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Stratospheric variability is one of the main potential sources for sub-seasonal to seasonal predictability in mid-latitudes in winter. Stratospheric pathways play an important role for long-range teleconnections between tropical phenomena, such as the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and El Ni{\~n}o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the mid-latitudes on the one hand, and linkages between Arctic climate change and the mid-latitudes on the other hand. In order to move forward in the field of extratropical seasonal predictions, it is essential that an atmospheric model is able to realistically simulate the stratospheric circulation and variability. The numerical weather prediction (NWP) configuration of the ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic atmosphere model ICON is currently being used by the German Meteorological Service for the regular weather forecast, and is intended to produce seasonal predictions in future. This thesis represents the first extensive evaluation of Northern Hemisphere stratospheric winter circulation in ICON-NWP by analysing a large set of seasonal ensemble experiments. An ICON control climatology simulated with a default setup is able to reproduce the basic behaviour of the stratospheric polar vortex. However, stratospheric westerlies are significantly too weak and major stratospheric warmings too frequent, especially in January. The weak stratospheric polar vortex in ICON is furthermore connected to a mean sea level pressure (MSLP) bias pattern resembling the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Since a good representation of the drag exerted by gravity waves is crucial for a realistic simulation of the stratosphere, three sensitivity experiments with reduced gravity wave drag are performed. Both a reduction of the non-orographic and orographic gravity wave drag respectively, lead to a strengthening of the stratospheric vortex and thus a bias reduction in winter, in particular in January. However, the effect of the non-orographic gravity wave drag on the stratosphere is stronger. A third experiment, combining a reduced orographic and non-orographic drag, exhibits the largest stratospheric bias reductions. The analysis of stratosphere-troposphere coupling based on an index of the Northern Annular Mode demonstrates that ICON realistically represents downward coupling. This coupling is intensified and more realistic in experiments with a reduced gravity wave drag, in particular with reduced non-orographic drag. Tropospheric circulation is also affected by the reduced gravity wave drag, especially in January, when the strongly improved stratospheric circulation reduces biases in the MSLP patterns. Moreover, a retuning of the subgrid-scale orography parameterisations leads to a significant error reduction in the MSLP in all months. In conclusion, the combination of these adjusted parameterisations is recommended as a current optimal setup for seasonal simulations with ICON. Additionally, this thesis discusses further possible influences on the stratospheric polar vortex, including the influence of tropical phenomena, such as QBO and ENSO, as well as the influence of a rapidly warming Arctic. ICON does not simulate the quasi-oscillatory behaviour of the QBO and favours weak easterlies in the tropical stratosphere. A comparison with a reanalysis composite of the easterly QBO phase reveals, that the shift towards the easterly QBO in ICON further weakens the stratospheric polar vortex. On the other hand, the stratospheric reaction to ENSO events in ICON is realistic. ICON and the reanalysis exhibit a weakened stratospheric vortex in warm ENSO years. Furthermore, in particular in winter, warm ENSO events favour the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation, whereas cold events favour the positive phase. The ICON simulations also suggest a significant effect of ENSO on the Atlantic-European sector in late winter. To investigate the influence of Arctic climate change on mid-latitude circulation changes, two differing approaches with transient and fixed sea ice conditions are chosen. Neither ICON approach exhibits the mid-latitude tropospheric negative Arctic Oscillation circulation response to amplified Arctic warming, as it is discussed on the basis of observational evidence. Nevertheless, adding a new model to the current and active discussion on Arctic-midlatitude linkages, further contributes to the understanding of divergent conclusions between model and observational studies.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Galeazzi2013, author = {Galeazzi, Filippo}, title = {Towards realistic modeling of relativistic stars}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {195 S.}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Kraemer2021, author = {Kr{\"a}mer, Kai Hauke}, title = {Towards a robust framework for recurrence analysis}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-53874}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-538743}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xlii, 217}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In our daily life, recurrence plays an important role on many spatial and temporal scales and in different contexts. It is the foundation of learning, be it in an evolutionary or in a neural context. It therefore seems natural that recurrence is also a fundamental concept in theoretical dynamical systems science. The way in which states of a system recur or develop in a similar way from similar initial states makes it possible to infer information about the underlying dynamics of the system. The mathematical space in which we define the state of a system (state space) is often high dimensional, especially in complex systems that can also exhibit chaotic dynamics. The recurrence plot (RP) enables us to visualize the recurrences of any high-dimensional systems in a two-dimensional, binary representation. Certain patterns in RPs can be related to physical properties of the underlying system, making the qualitative and quantitative analysis of RPs an integral part of nonlinear systems science. The presented work has a methodological focus and further develops recurrence analysis (RA) by addressing current research questions related to an increasing amount of available data and advances in machine learning techniques. By automatizing a central step in RA, namely the reconstruction of the state space from measured experimental time series, and by investigating the impact of important free parameters this thesis aims to make RA more accessible to researchers outside of physics. The first part of this dissertation is concerned with the reconstruction of the state space from time series. To this end, a novel idea is proposed which automates the reconstruction problem in the sense that there is no need to preprocesse the data or estimate parameters a priori. The key idea is that the goodness of a reconstruction can be evaluated by a suitable objective function and that this function is minimized in the embedding process. In addition, the new method can process multivariate time series input data. This is particularly important because multi-channel sensor-based observations are ubiquitous in many research areas and continue to increase. Building on this, the described minimization problem of the objective function is then processed using a machine learning approach. In the second part technical and methodological aspects of RA are discussed. First, we mathematically justify the idea of setting the most influential free parameter in RA, the recurrence threshold ε, in relation to the distribution of all pairwise distances in the data. This is especially important when comparing different RPs and their quantification statistics and is fundamental to any comparative study. Second, some aspects of recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) are examined. As correction schemes for biased RQA statistics, which are based on diagonal lines, we propose a simple method for dealing with border effects of an RP in RQA and a skeletonization algorithm for RPs. This results in less biased (diagonal line based) RQA statistics for flow-like data. Third, a novel type of RQA characteristic is developed, which can be viewed as a generalized non-linear powerspectrum of high dimensional systems. The spike powerspectrum transforms a spike-train like signal into its frequency domain. When transforming the diagonal line-dependent recurrence rate (τ-RR) of a RP in this way, characteristic periods, which can be seen in the state space representation of the system can be unraveled. This is not the case, when Fourier transforming τ-RR. Finally, RA and RQA are applied to climate science in the third part and neuroscience in the fourth part. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time RPs and RQA have been used to analyze lake sediment data in a paleoclimate context. Therefore, we first elaborate on the basic formalism and the interpretation of visually visible patterns in RPs in relation to the underlying proxy data. We show that these patterns can be used to classify certain types of variability and transitions in the Potassium record from six short (< 17m) sediment cores collected during the Chew Bahir Drilling Project. Building on this, the long core (∼ m composite) from the same site is analyzed and two types of variability and transitions are identified and compared with ODP Site  wetness index from the eastern Mediterranean. Type  variability likely reflects the influence of precessional forcing in the lower latitudes at times of maximum values of the long eccentricity cycle ( kyr) of the earth's orbit around the sun, with a tendency towards extreme events. Type  variability appears to be related to the minimum values of this cycle and corresponds to fairly rapid transitions between relatively dry and relatively wet conditions. In contrast, RQA has been applied in the neuroscientific context for almost two decades. In the final part, RQA statistics are used to quantify the complexity in a specific frequency band of multivariate EEG (electroencephalography) data. By analyzing experimental data, it can be shown that the complexity of the signal measured in this way across the sensorimotor cortex decreases as motor tasks are performed. The results are consistent with and comple- ment the well known concepts of motor-related brain processes. We assume that the thus discovered features of neuronal dynamics in the sensorimotor cortex together with the robust RQA methods for identifying and classifying these contribute to the non-invasive EEG-based development of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) for motor control and rehabilitation. The present work is an important step towards a robust analysis of complex systems based on recurrence.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Mayer2022, author = {Mayer, Dennis}, title = {Time-resolved x-ray spectroscopy of 2-thiouracil}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57163}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-571636}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xiv, 169}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In this thesis, I present my contributions to the field of ultrafast molecular spectroscopy. Using the molecule 2-thiouracil as an example, I use ultrashort x-ray pulses from free- electron lasers to study the relaxation dynamics of gas-phase molecular samples. Taking advantage of the x-ray typical element- and site-selectivity, I investigate the charge flow and geometrical changes in the excited states of 2-thiouracil. In order to understand the photoinduced dynamics of molecules, knowledge about the ground-state structure and the relaxation after photoexcitation is crucial. Therefore, a part of this thesis covers the electronic ground-state spectroscopy of mainly 2-thiouracil to provide the basis for the time-resolved experiments. Many of the previously published studies that focused on the gas-phase time-resolved dynamics of thionated uracils after UV excitation relied on information from solution phase spectroscopy to determine the excitation energies. This is not an optimal strategy as solvents alter the absorption spec- trum and, hence, there is no guarantee that liquid-phase spectra resemble the gas-phase spectra. Therefore, I measured the UV-absorption spectra of all three thionated uracils to provide a gas-phase reference and, in combination with calculations, we determined the excited states involved in the transitions. In contrast to the UV absorption, the literature on the x-ray spectroscopy of thionated uracil is sparse. Thus, we measured static photoelectron, Auger-Meitner and x-ray absorption spectra on the sulfur L edge before or parallel to the time-resolved experiments we performed at FLASH (DESY, Hamburg). In addition, (so far unpublished) measurements were performed at the synchrotron SOLEIL (France) which have been included in this thesis and show the spin-orbit splitting of the S 2p photoline and its satellite which was not observed at the free-electron laser. The relaxation of 2-thiouracil has been studied extensively in recent years with ultrafast visible and ultraviolet methods showing the ultrafast nature of the molecular process after photoexcitation. Ultrafast spectroscopy probing the core-level electrons provides a complementary approach to common optical ultrafast techniques. The method inherits its local sensitivity from the strongly localised core electrons. The core energies and core-valence transitions are strongly affected by local valence charge and geometry changes, and past studies have utilised this sensitivity to investigate the molecular process reflected by the ultrafast dynamics. We have built an apparatus that provides the requirements to perform time-resolved x-ray spectroscopy on molecules in the gas phase. With the apparatus, we performed UV-pump x-ray-probe electron spectroscopy on the S 2p edge of 2-thiouracil using the free-electron laser FLASH2. While the UV triggers the relaxation dynamics, the x-ray probes the single sulfur atom inside the molecule. I implemented photoline self-referencing for the photoelectron spectral analysis. This minimises the spectral jitter of the FEL, which is due to the underlying self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) process. With this approach, we were not only able to study dynamical changes in the binding energy of the electrons but also to detect an oscillatory behaviour in the shift of the observed photoline, which we associate with non-adiabatic dynamics involving several electronic states. Moreover, we were able to link the UV-induced shift in binding energy to the local charge flow at the sulfur which is directly connected to the electronic state. Furthermore, the analysis of the Auger-Meitner electrons shows that energy shifts observed at early stages of the photoinduced relaxation are related to the geometry change in the molecule. More specifically, the observed increase in kinetic energy of the Auger-Meitner electrons correlates with a previously predicted C=S bond stretch.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{FloresSuarez2011, author = {Flores Su{\´a}rez, Rosaura}, title = {Three-dimensional polarization probing in polymer ferroelectrics, polymer-dispersed liquid crystals, and polymer ferroelectrets}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-60173}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2011}, abstract = {A key non-destructive technique for analysis, optimization and developing of new functional materials such as sensors, transducers, electro-optical and memory devices is presented. The Thermal-Pulse Tomography (TPT) provides high-resolution three-dimensional images of electric field and polarization distribution in a material. This thermal technique use a pulsed heating by means of focused laser light which is absorbed by opaque electrodes. The diffusion of the heat causes changes in the sample geometry, generating a short-circuit current or change in surface potential, which contains information about the spatial distribution of electric dipoles or space charges. Afterwards, a reconstruction of the internal electric field and polarization distribution in the material is possible via Scale Transformation or Regularization methods. In this way, the TPT was used for the first time to image the inhomogeneous ferroelectric switching in polymer ferroelectric films (candidates to memory devices). The results shows the typical pinning of electric dipoles in the ferroelectric polymer under study and support the previous hypotheses of a ferroelectric reversal at a grain level via nucleation and growth. In order to obtain more information about the impact of the lateral and depth resolution of the thermal techniques, the TPT and its counterpart called Focused Laser Intensity Modulation Method (FLIMM) were implemented in ferroelectric films with grid-shaped electrodes. The results from both techniques, after the data analysis with different regularization and scale methods, are in total agreement. It was also revealed a possible overestimated lateral resolution of the FLIMM and highlights the TPT method as the most efficient and reliable thermal technique. After an improvement in the optics, the Thermal-Pulse Tomography method was implemented in polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) films, which are used in electro-optical applications. The results indicated a possible electrostatic interaction between the COH group in the liquid crystals and the fluorinate atoms of the used ferroelectric matrix. The geometrical parameters of the LC droplets were partially reproduced as they were compared with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. For further applications, it is suggested the use of a non-strong-ferroelectric polymer matrix. In an effort to develop new polymerferroelectrets and for optimizing their properties, new multilayer systems were inspected. The results of the TPT method showed the non-uniformity of the internal electric-field distribution in the shaped-macrodipoles and thus suggested the instability of the sample. Further investigation on multilayers ferroelectrets was suggested and the implementation of less conductive polymers layers too.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Daschewski2016, author = {Daschewski, Maxim}, title = {Thermophony in real gases}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-98866}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {79}, year = {2016}, abstract = {A thermophone is an electrical device for sound generation. The advantages of thermophones over conventional sound transducers such as electromagnetic, electrostatic or piezoelectric transducers are their operational principle which does not require any moving parts, their resonance-free behavior, their simple construction and their low production costs. In this PhD thesis, a novel theoretical model of thermophonic sound generation in real gases has been developed. The model is experimentally validated in a frequency range from 2 kHz to 1 MHz by testing more then fifty thermophones of different materials, including Carbon nano-wires, Titanium, Indium-Tin-Oxide, different sizes and shapes for sound generation in gases such as air, argon, helium, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur hexafluoride. Unlike previous approaches, the presented model can be applied to different kinds of thermophones and various gases, taking into account the thermodynamic properties of thermophone materials and of adjacent gases, degrees of freedom and the volume occupied by the gas atoms and molecules, as well as sound attenuation effects, the shape and size of the thermophone surface and the reduction of the generated acoustic power due to photonic emission. As a result, the model features better prediction accuracy than the existing models by a factor up to 100. Moreover, the new model explains previous experimental findings on thermophones which can not be explained with the existing models. The acoustic properties of the thermophones have been tested in several gases using unique, highly precise experimental setups comprising a Laser-Doppler-Vibrometer combined with a thin polyethylene film which acts as a broadband and resonance-free sound-pressure detector. Several outstanding properties of the thermophones have been demonstrated for the first time, including the ability to generate arbitrarily shaped acoustic signals, a greater acoustic efficiency compared to conventional piezoelectric and electrostatic airborne ultrasound transducers, and applicability as powerful and tunable sound sources with a bandwidth up to the megahertz range and beyond. Additionally, new applications of thermophones such as the study of physical properties of gases, the thermo-acoustic gas spectroscopy, broad-band characterization of transfer functions of sound and ultrasound detection systems, and applications in non-destructive materials testing are discussed and experimentally demonstrated.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Deneke2012, author = {Deneke, Carlus}, title = {Theory of mRNA degradation}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-61998}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2012}, abstract = {One of the central themes of biology is to understand how individual cells achieve a high fidelity in gene expression. Each cell needs to ensure accurate protein levels for its proper functioning and its capability to proliferate. Therefore, complex regulatory mechanisms have evolved in order to render the expression of each gene dependent on the expression level of (all) other genes. Regulation can occur at different stages within the framework of the central dogma of molecular biology. One very effective and relatively direct mechanism concerns the regulation of the stability of mRNAs. All organisms have evolved diverse and powerful mechanisms to achieve this. In order to better comprehend the regulation in living cells, biochemists have studied specific degradation mechanisms in detail. In addition to that, modern high-throughput techniques allow to obtain quantitative data on a global scale by parallel analysis of the decay patterns of many different mRNAs from different genes. In previous studies, the interpretation of these mRNA decay experiments relied on a simple theoretical description based on an exponential decay. However, this does not account for the complexity of the responsible mechanisms and, as a consequence, the exponential decay is often not in agreement with the experimental decay patterns. We have developed an improved and more general theory of mRNA degradation which provides a general framework of mRNA expression and allows describing specific degradation mechanisms. We have made an attempt to provide detailed models for the regulation in different organisms. In the yeast S. cerevisiae, different degradation pathways are known to compete and furthermore most of them rely on the biochemical modification of mRNA molecules. In bacteria such as E. coli, degradation proceeds primarily endonucleolytically, i.e. it is governed by the initial cleavage within the coding region. In addition, it is often coupled to the level of maturity and the size of the polysome of an mRNA. Both for S. cerevisiae and E. coli, our descriptions lead to a considerable improvement of the interpretation of experimental data. The general outcome is that the degradation of mRNA must be described by an age-dependent degradation rate, which can be interpreted as a consequence of molecular aging of mRNAs. Within our theory, we find adequate ways to address this much debated topic from a theoretical perspective. The improvements of the understanding of mRNA degradation can be readily applied to further comprehend the mRNA expression under different internal or environmental conditions such as after the induction of transcription or stress application. Also, the role of mRNA decay can be assessed in the context of translation and protein synthesis. The ultimate goal in understanding gene regulation mediated by mRNA stability will be to identify the relevance and biological function of different mechanisms. Once more quantitative data will become available, our description allows to elaborate the role of each mechanism by devising a suitable model.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Takey2013, author = {Takey, Ali Said Ahmed}, title = {The XMM-Newton/SDSS galaxy cluster survey}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-71229}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Galaxy clusters are the largest known gravitationally bound objects, their study is important for both an intrinsic understanding of their systems and an investigation of the large scale structure of the universe. The multi- component nature of galaxy clusters offers multiple observable signals across the electromagnetic spectrum. At X-ray wavelengths, galaxy clusters are simply identified as X-ray luminous, spatially extended, and extragalactic sources. X-ray observations offer the most powerful technique for constructing cluster catalogues. The main advantages of the X-ray cluster surveys are their excellent purity and completeness and the X-ray observables are tightly correlated with mass, which is indeed the most fundamental parameter of clusters. In my thesis I have conducted the 2XMMi/SDSS galaxy cluster survey, which is a serendipitous search for galaxy clusters based on the X-ray extended sources in the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue (2XMMi-DR3). The main aims of the survey are to identify new X-ray galaxy clusters, investigate their X-ray scaling relations, identify distant cluster candidates, and study the correlation of the X-ray and optical properties. The survey is constrained to those extended sources that are in the footprint of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) in order to be able to identify the optical counterparts as well as to measure their redshifts that are mandatory to measure their physical properties. The overlap area be- tween the XMM-Newton fields and the SDSS-DR7 imaging, the latest SDSS data release at the starting of the survey, is 210 deg^2. The survey comprises 1180 X-ray cluster candidates with at least 80 background-subtracted photon counts, which passed the quality control process. To measure the optical redshifts of the X-ray cluster candidates, I used three procedures; (i) cross-matching these candidates with the recent and largest optically selected cluster catalogues in the literature, which yielded the photometric redshifts of about a quarter of the X-ray cluster candidates. (ii) I developed a finding algorithm to search for overdensities of galaxies at the positions of the X-ray cluster candidates in the photometric redshift space and to measure their redshifts from the SDSS-DR8 data, which provided the photometric redshifts of 530 groups/clusters. (iii) I developed an algorithm to identify the cluster candidates associated with spectroscopically targeted Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) in the SDSS-DR9 and to measure the cluster spectroscopic redshift, which provided 324 groups and clusters with spectroscopic confirmation based on spectroscopic redshift of at least one LRG. In total, the optically confirmed cluster sample comprises 574 groups and clusters with redshifts (0.03 ≤ z ≤ 0.77), which is the largest X-ray selected cluster catalogue to date based on observations from the current X-ray observatories (XMM-Newton, Chandra, Suzaku, and Swift/XRT). Among the cluster sample, about 75 percent are newly X-ray discovered groups/clusters and 40 percent are new systems to the literature. To determine the X-ray properties of the optically confirmed cluster sample, I reduced and analysed their X-ray data in an automated way following the standard pipelines of processing the XMM-Newton data. In this analysis, I extracted the cluster spectra from EPIC(PN, MOS1, MOS2) images within an optimal aperture chosen to maximise the signal-to-noise ratio. The spectral fitting procedure provided the X-ray temperatures kT (0.5 - 7.5 keV) for 345 systems that have good quality X-ray data. For all the optically confirmed cluster sample, I measured the physical properties L500 (0.5 x 10^42 - 1.2 x 10^45 erg s-1 ) and M500 (1.1 x 10^13 - 4.9 x 10^14 M⊙) from an iterative procedure using published scaling relations. The present X-ray detected groups and clusters are in the low and intermediate luminosity regimes apart from few luminous systems, thanks to the XMM-Newton sensitivity and the available XMM-Newton deep fields The optically confirmed cluster sample with measurements of redshift and X-ray properties can be used for various astrophysical applications. As a first application, I investigated the LX - T relation for the first time based on a large cluster sample of 345 systems with X-ray spectroscopic parameters drawn from a single survey. The current sample includes groups and clusters with wide ranges of redshifts, temperatures, and luminosities. The slope of the relation is consistent with the published ones of nearby clusters with higher temperatures and luminosities. The derived relation is still much steeper than that predicted by self-similar evolution. I also investigated the evolution of the slope and the scatter of the LX - T relation with the cluster redshift. After excluding the low luminosity groups, I found no significant changes of the slope and the intrinsic scatter of the relation with redshift when dividing the sample into three redshift bins. When including the low luminosity groups in the low redshift subsample, I found its LX - T relation becomes after than the relation of the intermediate and high redshift subsamples. As a second application of the optically confirmed cluster sample from our ongoing survey, I investigated the correlation between the cluster X-ray and the optical parameters that have been determined in a homogenous way. Firstly, I investigated the correlations between the BCG properties (absolute magnitude and optical luminosity) and the cluster global proper- ties (redshift and mass). Secondly, I computed the richness and the optical luminosity within R500 of a nearby subsample (z ≤ 0.42, with a complete membership detection from the SDSS data) with measured X-ray temperatures from our survey. The relation between the estimated optical luminosity and richness is also presented. Finally, the correlation between the cluster optical properties (richness and luminosity) and the cluster global properties (X-ray luminosity, temperature, mass) are investigated.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hainich2015, author = {Hainich, Rainer}, title = {The Wolf-Rayet stars of the nitrogen sequence in environments of different metallicities}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {161}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Worseck2007, author = {Worseck, G{\´a}bor}, title = {The transverse proximity effect in quasar spectra}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-18738}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The intergalactic medium is kept highly photoionised by the intergalactic UV background radiation field generated by the overall population of quasars and galaxies. In the vicinity of sources of UV photons, such as luminous high-redshift quasars, the UV radiation field is enhanced due to the local source contribution. The higher degree of ionisation is visible as a reduced line density or generally as a decreased level of absorption in the Lyman alpha forest of neutral hydrogen. This so-called proximity effect has been detected with high statistical significance towards luminous quasars. If quasars radiate rather isotropically, background quasar sightlines located near foreground quasars should show a region of decreased Lyman alpha absorption close to the foreground quasar. Despite considerable effort, such a transverse proximity effect has only been detected in a few cases. So far, studies of the transverse proximity effect were mostly limited by the small number of suitable projected pairs or groups of high-redshift quasars. With the aim to substantially increase the number of quasar groups in the vicinity of bright quasars we conduct a targeted survey for faint quasars around 18 well-studied quasars at employing slitless spectroscopy. Among the reduced and calibrated slitless spectra of 29000 objects on a total area of 4.39 square degrees we discover in total 169 previously unknown quasar candidates based on their prominent emission lines. 81 potential z>1.7 quasars are selected for confirmation by slit spectroscopy at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We are able to confirm 80 of these. 64 of the newly discovered quasars reside at z>1.7. The high success rate of the follow-up observations implies that the majority of the remaining candidates are quasars as well. In 16 of these groups we search for a transverse proximity effect as a systematic underdensity in the HI Lyman alpha absorption. We employ a novel technique to characterise the random absorption fluctuations in the forest in order to estimate the significance of the transverse proximity effect. Neither low-resolution spectra nor high-resolution spectra of background quasars of our groups present evidence for a transverse proximity effect. However, via Monte Carlo simulations the effect should be detectable only at the 1-2sigma level near three of the foreground quasars. Thus, we cannot distinguish between the presence or absence of a weak signature of the transverse proximity effect. The systematic effects of quasar variability, quasar anisotopy and intrinsic overdensities near quasars likely explain the apparent lack of the transverse proximity effect. Even in absence of the systematic effects, we show that a statistically significant detection of the transverse proximity effect requires at least 5 medium-resolution quasar spectra of background quasars near foreground quasars whose UV flux exceeds the UV background by a factor 3. Therefore, statistical studies of the transverse proximity effect require large numbers of suitable pairs. Two sightlines towards the central quasars of our survey fields show intergalactic HeII Lyman alpha absorption. A comparison of the HeII absorption to the corresponding HI absorption yields an estimate of the spectral shape of the intergalactic UV radiation field, typically parameterised by the HeII/HI column density ratio eta. We analyse the fluctuating UV spectral shape on both lines of sight and correlate it with seven foreground quasars. On the line of sight towards Q0302-003 we find a harder radiation field near 4 foreground quasars. In the direct vicinity of the quasars eta is consistent with values of 25-100, whereas at large distances from the quasars eta>200 is required. The second line of sight towards HE2347-4342 probes lower redshifts where eta is directly measurable in the resolved HeII forest. Again we find that the radiation field near the 3 foreground quasars is significantly harder than in general. While eta still shows large fluctuations near the quasars, probably due to radiative transfer, the radiation field is on average harder near the quasars than far away from them. We interpret these discoveries as the first detections of the transverse proximity effect as a local hardness fluctuation in the UV spectral shape. No significant HI proximity effect is predicted for the 7 foreground quasars. In fact, the HI absorption near the quasars is close to or slightly above the average, suggesting that the weak signature of the transverse proximity effect is masked by intrinsic overdensities. However, we show that the UV spectral shape traces the transverse proximity effect even in overdense regions or at large distances. Therefore, the spectral hardness is a sensitive physical measure of the transverse proximity effect that is able to break the density degeneracy affecting the traditional searches.}, 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{Dominis2006, author = {Dominis, Dijana}, title = {The role of binary stars in searches for extrasolar planets by microlensing and astrometry}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-10814}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2006}, abstract = {When Galactic microlensing events of stars are observed, one usually measures a symmetric light curve corresponding to a single lens, or an asymmetric light curve, often with caustic crossings, in the case of a binary lens system. In principle, the fraction of binary stars at a certain separation range can be estimated based on the number of measured microlensing events. However, a binary system may produce a light curve which can be fitted well as a single lens light curve, in particullary if the data sampling is poor and the errorbars are large. We investigate what fraction of microlensing events produced by binary stars for different separations may be well fitted by and hence misinterpreted as single lens events for various observational conditions. We find that this fraction strongly depends on the separation of the binary components, reaching its minimum at between 0.6 and 1.0 Einstein radius, where it is still of the order of 5\% The Einstein radius is corresponding to few A.U. for typical Galactic microlensing scenarios. The rate for misinterpretation is higher for short microlensing events lasting up to few months and events with smaller maximum amplification. For fixed separation it increases for binaries with more extreme mass ratios. Problem of degeneracy in photometric light curve solution between binary lens and binary source microlensing events was studied on simulated data, and data observed by the PLANET collaboration. The fitting code BISCO using the PIKAIA genetic algorithm optimizing routine was written for optimizing binary-source microlensing light curves observed at different sites, in I, R and V photometric bands. Tests on simulated microlensing light curves show that BISCO is successful in finding the solution to a binary-source event in a very wide parameter space. Flux ratio method is suggested in this work for breaking degeneracy between binary-lens and binary-source photometric light curves. Models show that only a few additional data points in photometric V band, together with a full light curve in I band, will enable breaking the degeneracy. Very good data quality and dense data sampling, combined with accurate binary lens and binary source modeling, yielded the discovery of the lowest-mass planet discovered outside of the Solar System so far, OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, having only 5.5 Earth masses. This was the first observed microlensing event in which the degeneracy between a planetary binary-lens and an extreme flux ratio binary-source model has been successfully broken. For events OGLE-2003-BLG-222 and OGLE-2004-BLG-347, the degeneracy was encountered despite of very dense data sampling. From light curve modeling and stellar evolution theory, there was a slight preference to explain OGLE-2003-BLG-222 as a binary source event, and OGLE-2004-BLG-347 as a binary lens event. However, without spectra, this degeneracy cannot be fully broken. No planet was found so far around a white dwarf, though it is believed that Jovian planets should survive the late stages of stellar evolution, and that white dwarfs will retain planetary systems in wide orbits. We want to perform high precision astrometric observations of nearby white dwarfs in wide binary systems with red dwarfs in order to find planets around white dwarfs. We selected a sample of observing targets (WD-RD binary systems, not published yet), which can possibly have planets around the WD component, and modeled synthetic astrometric orbits which can be observed for these targets using existing and future astrometric facilities. Modeling was performed for the astrometric accuracy of 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mas, separation between WD and planet of 3 and 5 A.U., binary system separation of 30 A.U., planet masses of 10 Earth masses, 1 and 10 Jupiter masses, WD mass of 0.5M and 1.0 Solar masses, and distances to the system of 10, 20 and 30 pc. It was found that the PRIMA facility at the VLTI will be able to detect planets around white dwarfs once it is operating, by measuring the astrometric wobble of the WD due to a planet companion, down to 1 Jupiter mass. We show for the simulated observations that it is possible to model the orbits and find the parameters describing the potential planetary systems.}, subject = {Mikrogravitationslinseneffekt}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{GerailiDaronkola2021, author = {Geraili Daronkola, Hosein}, title = {The role of acidic amino acids in the hydration and stabilization of halophilic proteins}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-51671}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-516713}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xx, 111}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Proteins of halophilic organisms that accumulate molar concentrations of KCl in their cytoplasm have much higher content in acidic amino acids than proteins of mesophilic organisms. It has been proposed that this excess is necessary to maintain proteins hydrated in an environment with low water activity: either via direct interactions between water and the carboxylate groups of acidic amino acids or via cooperative interactions between acidic amino acids and hydrated cations, which would stabilize the folded protein. In the course of this Ph.D. study, we investigated these possibilities using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and classical force fields. High quality parameters describing the interaction between K+ and carboxylate groups present in acidic amino acids are indispensable for this study. We first evaluated the quality of the default parameters for these ions within the widely used AMBER ff14SB force field for proteins and found that they perform poorly. We propose new parameters, which reproduce solution activity derivatives of potassium acetate solutions up to 2 mol/kg and the distances between potassium ions and carboxylate groups observed in x-ray structures of proteins. To understand the role of acidic amino acids in protein hydration, we investigated this aspect for 5 halophilic proteins in comparison with 5 mesophilic ones. Our results do not support the necessity of acidic amino acids to keep folded proteins hydrated. Proteins with a larger fraction of acidic amino acids indeed have higher hydration levels. However, the hydration level of each protein is identical at low (b_KCl = 0.15 mol/kg) and high (b_KCl = 2 mol/kg) KCl concentration. It has also been proposed that cooperative interactions between acidic amino acids with nearby hydrated cations stabilize the folded protein and slow down its solvation shell; according to this theory, the cations would be preferentially excluded from the unfolded structure. We investigate this possibility through extensive free energy calculation simulations. We find that cooperative interactions between neighboring acidic amino acids exist and are mediated by the ions in solution but are present in both folded and unfolded structures of halophilic proteins. The translational dynamics of the solvation shell is barely distinguishable between halophilic and mesophilic proteins; therefore, such a cooperative effect does not result in unusually slow solvent dynamics as has been suggested.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Sposini2020, author = {Sposini, Vittoria}, title = {The random diffusivity approach for diffusion in heterogeneous systems}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-48780}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-487808}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The two hallmark features of Brownian motion are the linear growth < x2(t)> = 2Ddt of the mean squared displacement (MSD) with diffusion coefficient D in d spatial dimensions, and the Gaussian distribution of displacements. With the increasing complexity of the studied systems deviations from these two central properties have been unveiled over the years. Recently, a large variety of systems have been reported in which the MSD exhibits the linear growth in time of Brownian (Fickian) transport, however, the distribution of displacements is pronouncedly non-Gaussian (Brownian yet non-Gaussian, BNG). A similar behaviour is also observed for viscoelastic-type motion where an anomalous trend of the MSD, i.e., ~ ta, is combined with a priori unexpected non-Gaussian distributions (anomalous yet non-Gaussian, ANG). This kind of behaviour observed in BNG and ANG diffusions has been related to the presence of heterogeneities in the systems and a common approach has been established to address it, that is, the random diffusivity approach. This dissertation explores extensively the field of random diffusivity models. Starting from a chronological description of all the main approaches used as an attempt of describing BNG and ANG diffusion, different mathematical methodologies are defined for the resolution and study of these models. The processes that are reported in this work can be classified in three subcategories, i) randomly-scaled Gaussian processes, ii) superstatistical models and iii) diffusing diffusivity models, all belonging to the more general class of random diffusivity models. Eventually, the study focuses more on BNG diffusion, which is by now well-established and relatively well-understood. Nevertheless, many examples are discussed for the description of ANG diffusion, in order to highlight the possible scenarios which are known so far for the study of this class of processes. The second part of the dissertation deals with the statistical analysis of random diffusivity processes. A general description based on the concept of moment-generating function is initially provided to obtain standard statistical properties of the models. Then, the discussion moves to the study of the power spectral analysis and the first passage statistics for some particular random diffusivity models. A comparison between the results coming from the random diffusivity approach and the ones for standard Brownian motion is discussed. In this way, a deeper physical understanding of the systems described by random diffusivity models is also outlined. To conclude, a discussion based on the possible origins of the heterogeneity is sketched, with the main goal of inferring which kind of systems can actually be described by the random diffusivity approach.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ong2007, author = {Ong, James Kwan Yau}, title = {The predictability problem}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-15025}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2007}, abstract = {Wir versuchen herauszufinden, ob das subjektive Maß der Cloze-Vorhersagbarkeit mit der Kombination objektiver Maße (semantische und n-gram-Maße) gesch{\"a}tzt werden kann, die auf den statistischen Eigenschaften von Textkorpora beruhen. Die semantischen Maße werden entweder durch Abfragen von Internet-Suchmaschinen oder durch die Anwendung der Latent Semantic Analysis gebildet, w{\"a}hrend die n-gram-Wortmaße allein auf den Ergebnissen von Internet-Suchmaschinen basieren. Weiterhin untersuchen wir die Rolle der Cloze-Vorhersagbarkeit in SWIFT, einem Modell der Blickkontrolle, und w{\"a}gen ab, ob andere Parameter den der Vorhersagbarkeit ersetzen k{\"o}nnen. Unsere Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass ein computationales Modell, welches Vorhersagbarkeitswerte berechnet, nicht nur Maße beachten muss, die die Relatiertheit eines Wortes zum Kontext darstellen; das Vorhandensein eines Maßes bez{\"u}glich der Nicht-Relatiertheit ist von ebenso großer Bedeutung. Obwohl hier jedoch nur Relatiertheits-Maße zur Verf{\"u}gung stehen, sollte SWIFT ebensogute Ergebnisse liefern, wenn wir Cloze-Vorhersagbarkeit mit unseren Maßen ersetzen.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Seiler2020, author = {Seiler, Michael}, title = {The Non-Keplerian Motion of Propeller Moons in the Saturnian Ring System}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {127}, year = {2020}, abstract = {One of the tremendous discoveries by the Cassini spacecraft has been the detection of propeller structures in Saturn's A ring. Although the generating moonlet is too small to be resolved by the cameras aboard Cassini, its produced density structure within the rings, caused by its gravity can be well observed. The largest observed propeller is called Bl{\´e}riot and has an azimuthal extent over several thousand kilometers. Thanks to its large size, Bl{\´e}riot could be identified in different images over a time span of over 10 years, allowing the reconstruction of its orbital evolution. It turns out that Bl{\´e}riot deviates considerably from its expected Keplerian orbit in azimuthal direction by several thousand kilometers. This excess motion can be well reconstructed by a superposition of three harmonics, and therefore resembles the typical fingerprint of a resonantly perturbed body. This PhD thesis is directed to the excess motion of Bl{\´e}riot. Resonant perturbations are a known for some of the outer satellites of Saturn. Thus, in the first part of this thesis, we seek for suiting resonance candidates nearby the propeller, which might explain the observed periods and amplitudes. In numeric simulations, we show that indeed resonances by Prometheus, Pandora and Mimas can explain the libration periods in good agreement, but not the amplitudes. The amplitude problem is solved by the introduction of a propeller-moonlet interaction model, where we assume a broken symmetry of the propeller by a small displacement of the moonlet. This results in a librating motion the moonlet around the propeller's symmetry center due to the non-vanishing accelerations. The retardation of the reaction of the propeller structure to the motion of the moonlet causes the propeller to become asymmetric. Hydrodynamic simulations to test our analytical model confirm our predictions. In the second part of this thesis, we consider a stochastic migration of the moonlet, which is an alternative hypothesis to explain the observed excess motion of Bl{\´e}riot. The mean-longitude is a time-integrated quantity and thus introduces a correlation between the independent kicks of a random walk, smoothing the noise and thus makes the residual look similar to the observed one for Bl{\´e}riot. We apply a diagonalization test to decorrelated the observed residuals for the propellers Bl{\´e}riot and Earhart and the ring-moon Daphnis. It turns out that the decorrelated distributions do not strictly follow the expected Gaussian distribution. The decorrelation method fails to distinguish a correlated random walk from a noisy libration and thus we provide an alternative study. Assuming the three-harmonic fit to be a valid representation of the excess motion for Bl{\´e}riot, independently from its origin, we test the likelihood that this excess motion can be created by a random walk. It turns out that a non-correlated and correlated random walk is unlikely to explain the observed excess motion.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Haase2019, author = {Haase, Nadin}, title = {The nascent peptide chain in the ribosomal exit tunnel}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {105}, year = {2019}, language = {en} }