TY - JOUR A1 - Laquai, Frederic A1 - Andrienko, Denis A1 - Deibel, Carsten A1 - Neher, Dieter T1 - Charge carrier generation, recombination, and extraction in polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction organic solar cells JF - Elementary processes in organic photovoltaics N2 - In this chapter we review the basic principles of photocurrent generation in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells, discuss the loss channels limiting their efficiency, and present case studies of several polymer-fullerene blends. Using steady-state and transient, optical, and electrooptical techniques, we create a precise picture of the fundamental processes that ultimately govern solar cell efficiency. KW - Charge extraction KW - Charge generation KW - Charge recombination KW - Organic solar cells KW - PBT7 KW - PBTTT KW - PCPDTBT Y1 - 2026 SN - 978-3-319-28338-8 SN - 978-3-319-28336-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28338-8_11 SN - 0065-3195 VL - 272 SP - 267 EP - 291 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beta, Carsten A1 - Kruse, Karsten T1 - Intracellular oscillations and waves JF - Annual review of condensed matter physics N2 - Dynamic processes in living cells are highly organized in space and time. Unraveling the underlying molecular mechanisms of spatiotemporal pattern formation remains one of the outstanding challenges at the interface between physics and biology. A fundamental recurrent pattern found in many different cell types is that of self-sustained oscillations. They are involved in a wide range of cellular functions, including second messenger signaling, gene expression, and cytoskeletal dynamics. Here, we review recent developments in the field of cellular oscillations and focus on cases where concepts from physics have been instrumental for understanding the underlying mechanisms. We consider biochemical and genetic oscillators as well as oscillations that arise from chemo-mechanical coupling. Finally, we highlight recent studies of intracellular waves that have increasingly moved into the focus of this research field. KW - self-sustained oscillations KW - biochemical oscillators KW - genetic networks KW - chemomechanical coupling KW - actin waves Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-0-8243-5008-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-conmatphys-031016-025210 SN - 1947-5454 VL - 8 SP - 239 EP - 264 PB - Annual Reviews CY - Palo Alto ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Usanova, Maria E. A1 - Shprits, Yuri Y. T1 - Inner magnetosphere coupling BT - Recent advances JF - Journal of geophysical research : Space physics N2 - The dynamics of the inner magnetosphere is strongly governed by the interactions between different plasma populations that are coupled through large-scale electric and magnetic fields, currents, and wave-particle interactions. Inner magnetospheric plasma undergoes self-consistent interactions with global electric and magnetic fields. Waves excited in the inner magnetosphere from unstable particle distributions can provide energy exchange between different particle populations in the inner magnetosphere and affect the ring current and radiation belt dynamics. The ionosphere serves as an energy sink and feeds the magnetosphere back through the cold plasma outflow. The precipitating inner magnetospheric particles influence the ionosphere and upper atmospheric chemistry and affect climate. Satellite measurements and theoretical studies have advanced our understanding of the dynamics of various plasma populations in the inner magnetosphere. However, our knowledge of the coupling processes among the plasmasphere, ring current, radiation belts, global magnetic and electric fields, and plasma waves generated within these systems is still incomplete. This special issue incorporates extended papers presented at the Inner Magnetosphere Coupling III conference held 23–27 March 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA, and includes modeling and observational contributions addressing interactions within different plasma populations in the inner magnetosphere (plasmasphere, ring current, and radiation belts), coupling between fields and plasma populations, as well as effects of the inner magnetosphere on the ionosphere and atmosphere. KW - inner magnetosphere KW - ring current KW - radiation belts KW - magnetosphere KW - ionosphere interactions KW - plasmasphere KW - solar wind Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JA023614 SN - 2169-9380 SN - 2169-9402 VL - 122 IS - 1 SP - 102 EP - 104 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schubert, Marcel A1 - Frisch, Johannes A1 - Allard, Sybille A1 - Preis, Eduard A1 - Scherf, Ullrich A1 - Koch, Norbert A1 - Neher, Dieter T1 - Tuning side chain and main chain order in a prototypical donor-acceptor copolymer BT - implications for optical, electronic, and photovoltaic characteristics JF - Elementary Processes in Organic Photovoltaics N2 - The recent development of donor–acceptor copolymers has led to an enormous improvement in the performance of organic solar cells and organic field-effect transistors. Here we describe the synthesis, detailed characterisation, and application of a series of structurally modified copolymers to investigate fundamental structure–property relationships in this class of conjugated polymers. The interplay between chemical structure and optoelectronic properties is investigated. These are further correlated to the charge transport and solar cell performance, which allows us to link their chemical structure to the observed physical properties. KW - Aggregate states KW - All-polymer heterojunctions KW - Alternating copolymers KW - Ambipolar charge transport KW - Ambipolar materials KW - Backbone modifications KW - Bilayer solar cells KW - Charge separation KW - Conformational disorder KW - Crystalline phases KW - Donor-acceptor copolymers KW - Electron traps KW - Energetic disorder KW - Energy-level alignment KW - Fermi-level alignment KW - Fermi-level pinning KW - Interface dipole KW - Interlayer KW - Intrachain order KW - Intragap states KW - Microscopic morphology KW - Mobility imbalance KW - Mobility relaxation KW - Monte Carlo simulation KW - Multiple trapping model KW - Nonradiative recombination KW - OFET KW - Open-circuit voltage KW - Optoelectronic properties KW - Partially alternating copolymers KW - Photo-CELIV KW - Photocurrent KW - Photovoltaic gap KW - Polymer intermixing KW - Recombination losses KW - Spectral diffusion KW - Statistical copolymers KW - Stille-type cross-coupling KW - Structure-property relationships KW - Time-dependent mobility KW - Time-of-flight (TOF) KW - Transient photocurrent KW - Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy KW - Vacuum-level alignment KW - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-3-319-28338-8 SN - 978-3-319-28336-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28338-8_10 SN - 0065-3195 VL - 272 SP - 243 EP - 265 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - GEN A1 - Parsons, R. D. A1 - Schüssler, F. A1 - Garrigoux, T. A1 - Balzer, A. A1 - Füssling, Matthias A1 - Hoischen, Clemens A1 - Holler, M. A1 - Mitchell, A. A1 - Pühlhofer, G. A1 - Rowell, G. A1 - Wagner, S. A1 - Bissaldi, E. A1 - Tam, P. H. T. T1 - The HESS II GRB Observation Scheme T2 - AIP conference proceedings / American Institute of Physics N2 - Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are some of the Universe’s most enigmatic and exotic events. However, at energies above 10 GeV their behaviour remains largely unknown. Although space based telescopes such as the Fermi-LAT have been able to detect GRBs in this energy range, their photon statistics are limited by the small detector size. Such limitations are not present in ground based gamma-ray telescopes such as the H.E.S.S. experiment, which has now entered its second phase with the addition of a large 600 m2 telescope to the centre of the array. Such a large telescope allows H.E.S.S. to access the sub 100-GeV energy range while still maintaining a large effective collection area, helping to potentially probe the short timescale emission of these events. We present a description of the H.E.S.S. GRB observation programme, summarising the performance of the rapid GRB repointing system and the conditions under which GRB observations are initiated. Additionally we will report on the GRB follow-ups made during the 2014-15 observation campaigns. Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-0-7354-1456-3 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4968980 SN - 0094-243X SN - 1551-7616 VL - 1792 IS - 1 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - GEN A1 - Angüner, Ekrem Oǧuzhan A1 - Aharonian, Felix A. A1 - Bordas, Pol A1 - Casanova, Sabrina A1 - Hoischen, Clemens A1 - Oya, I. A1 - Ziegler, A. T1 - HESS J1826-130 BT - a very hard gamma-Ray spectrum source in the Galactic Plane T2 - AIP conference proceedings / American Institute of Physics N2 - HESS J1826-130 is an unidentified hard spectrum source discovered by H.E.S.S. along the Galactic plane, the spectral index being Gamma = 1.6 with an exponential cut-off at about 12 TeV. While the source does not have a clear counterpart at longer wavelengths, the very hard spectrum emission at TeV energies implies that electrons or protons accelerated up to several hundreds of TeV are responsible for the emission. In the hadronic case, the VHE emission can be produced by runaway cosmic-rays colliding with the dense molecular clouds spatially coincident with the H.E.S.S. source. Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-0-7354-1456-3 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4968928 SN - 0094-243X SN - 1551-7616 VL - 1792 IS - 1 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kubatova, B. A1 - Kubát, Jiří A1 - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer A1 - Oskinova, Lida T1 - Clumping in Massive Star Winds and its Possible Connection to the B[e] Phenomenon T2 - The B(e) Phenomenon: Forty Years of Studies : proceedings of a conference held at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, 27 June-1 July 2016 N2 - It has been observationally established that winds of hot massive stars have highly variable characteristics. The variability evident in the winds is believed to be caused by structures on a broad range of spatial scales. Small-scale structures (clumping) in stellar winds of hot stars are possible consequence of an instability appearing in their radiation hydrodynamics. To understand how clumping may influence calculation of theoretical spectra, different clumping properties and their 3D nature have to be taken into account. Properties of clumping have been examined using our 3D radiative transfer calculations. Effects of clumping for the case of the B[e] phenomenon are discussed. Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-1-58381-900-5 SN - 978-1-58381-901-2 VL - 508 SP - 45 EP - 50 PB - Astronomical Soceity of the Pacific CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kurfürst, P. A1 - Feldmeier, Achim A1 - Krtička, Jiri T1 - Modeling sgB[e] Circumstellar Disks T2 - The B(e) Phenomenon: Forty Years of Studies : proceedings of a conference held at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, 27 June-1 July 2016 N2 - During their evolution, massive stars are characterized by a significant loss of mass either via spherically symmetric stellar winds or by aspherical mass-loss mechanisms, namely outflowing equatorial disks. However, the scenario that leads to the formation of a disk or rings of gas and dust around these objects is still under debate. Is it a viscous disk or an ouftlowing disk-forming wind or some other mechanism? It is also unclear how various physical mechanisms that act on the circumstellar environment of the stars affect its shape, density, kinematic, and thermal structure. We assume that the disk-forming mechanism is a viscous transport within an equatorial outflowing disk of a rapidly or even critically rotating star. We study the hydrodynamic and thermal structure of optically thick dense parts of outflowing circumstellar disks that may form around,e.g., Be stars, sgB[e] stars, or Pop m stars. We calculate self-consistent time dependent models of the inner dense region of the disk that is strongly affected either by irradiation from the central star and by contributions of viscous heating effects. We also simulate the dynamic effects of collision between expanding ejecta of supernovae and circumstellar disks that may be form in sgB[e] stars and, e.g., LBVs or Pop in stars. Y1 - 2017 UR - https://www.physics.muni.cz/~petrk/presentation.pdf SN - 978-1-58381-900-5 SN - 978-1-58381-901-2 VL - 508 SP - 17 EP - 22 PB - Astronomical Scoeity of the Pacific CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - GEN A1 - Thoelert, Steffen A1 - Hörmann, Ulrich A1 - Antreich, Felix A1 - Meurer, Michael T1 - Ionospheric effects on high gain antenna GNSS measurements BT - TEC estimation and correction T2 - Proceedings of the 30th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2017) N2 - The ionospheric delay of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) signals typically is compensated by adding a single correction value to the pseudorange measurement of a GNSS receiver. Yet, this neglects the dispersive nature of the ionosphere. In this context we analyze the ionospheric signal distortion beyond a constant delay. These effects become increasingly significant with the signal bandwidth and hence more important for new broadband navigation signals. Using measurements of the Galileo E5 signal, captured with a high gain antenna, we verify that the expected influence can indeed be observed and compensated. A new method to estimate the total electron content (TEC) from a single frequency high gain antenna measurement of a broadband GNSS signal is proposed and described in detail. The received signal is de facto unaffected by multi-path and interference because of the narrow aperture angle of the used antenna which should reduce the error source of the result in general. We would like to point out that such measurements are independent of code correlation, like in standard receiver applications. It is therefore also usable without knowledge of the signal coding. Results of the TEC estimation process are shown and discussed comparing to common TEC products like TEC maps and dual frequency receiver estimates. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.33012/2017.15343 SN - 2331-5911 SN - 2331-5954 SP - 3368 EP - 3374 PB - Instituite of Navigation CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dahlke, Sandro A1 - Maturilli, Marion T1 - Contribution of atmospheric advection to the amplified winter warming in the arctic north atlantic region JF - Advances in meteorology N2 - Arctic Amplification of climate warming is caused by various feedback processes in the atmosphere-ocean-ice system and yields the strongest temperature increase during winter in the Arctic North Atlantic region. In our study, we attempt to quantify the advective contribution to the observed atmospheric warming in the Svalbard area. Based on radiosonde measurements from Ny-Ålesund, a strong dependence of the tropospheric temperature on the synoptic flow direction is revealed. Using FLEXTRA backward trajectories, an increase of advection from the lower latitude Atlantic region towards Ny-Ålesund is found that is attributed to a change in atmospheric circulation patterns. We find that about one-quarter (0.45 K per decade) of the observed atmospheric winter near surface warming trend in the North Atlantic region of the Arctic (2 K per decade) is due to increased advection of warm and moist air from the lower latitude Atlantic region, affecting the entire troposphere. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/4928620 SN - 1687-9309 SN - 1687-9317 PB - Hindawi Publ. Corp. CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Loupos, Konstantinos A1 - Damigos, Yannis A1 - Amditis, Angelos A1 - Gerhard, Reimund A1 - Rychkov, Dmitry A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Schulze, Manuel A1 - Lenas, Sotiris-Angelos A1 - Chatziandreoglou, Christos A1 - Malliou, Christina A1 - Tsaoussidis, Vassilis A1 - Brady, Ken A1 - Frankenstein, Bernd T1 - Structural health monitoring system for bridges based on skin-like sensor T2 - IOP conference series : Materials science and engineering N2 - Structural health monitoring activities are of primal importance for managing transport infrastructure, however most SHM methodologies are based on point-based sensors that have limitations in terms of their spatial positioning requirements, cost of development and measurement range. This paper describes the progress on the SENSKIN EC project whose objective is to develop a dielectric-elastomer and micro-electronics-based sensor, formed from a large highly extensible capacitance sensing membrane supported by advanced microelectronic circuitry, for monitoring transport infrastructure bridges. Such a sensor could provide spatial measurements of strain in excess of 10%. The actual sensor along with the data acquisition module, the communication module and power electronics are all integrated into a compact unit, the SENSKIN device, which is energy-efficient, requires simple signal processing and it is easy to install over various surface types. In terms of communication, SENSKIN devices interact with each other to form the SENSKIN system; a fully distributed and autonomous wireless sensor network that is able to self-monitor. SENSKIN system utilizes Delay-/Disruption-Tolerant Networking technologies to ensure that the strain measurements will be received by the base station even under extreme conditions where normal communications are disrupted. This paper describes the architecture of the SENSKIN system and the development and testing of the first SENSKIN prototype sensor, the data acquisition system, and the communication system. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/236/1/012100 SN - 1757-8981 VL - 236 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Buschhüter, David A1 - Spoden, Christian A1 - Borowski, Andreas T1 - Physics knowledge of first semester physics students in Germany BT - a comparison of 1978 and 2013 cohorts JF - International journal of science education N2 - Over the last decades, the percentage of the age group choosing to pursue university studies has increased significantly across the world. At the same time, there are university teachers who believe that the standards have fallen. There is little research on whether students nowadays demonstrate knowledge or abilities similar to that of the preceding cohorts. However, in times of educational expansion, empirical evidence on student test performance is extremely helpful in evaluating how well educational systems cope with the increasing numbers of students. In this study, we compared a sample of 2322 physics freshmen from 2013 with another sample of 2718 physics freshmen from 1978 at universities in Germany with regard to their physics knowledge based on their results in the same entrance test. Previous results on mathematics knowledge and abilities in the same sample of students indicated that there was no severe decline in their average achievement. This paper compares the physics knowledge of the same two samples of students. Contrary to their mathematics results, their physics results showed a substantial decrease in physics knowledge as measured by the test. KW - University physics KW - entrance test KW - generational comparison Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1318457 SN - 0950-0693 SN - 1464-5289 VL - 39 IS - 9 SP - 1109 EP - 1132 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - GEN A1 - Waldrip, Steven H. A1 - Niven, Robert K. A1 - Abel, Markus A1 - Schlegel, Michael T1 - Consistent maximum entropy representations of pipe flow networks T2 - AIP conference proceedings N2 - The maximum entropy method is used to predict flows on water distribution networks. This analysis extends the water distribution network formulation of Waldrip et al. (2016) Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (ASCE), by the use of a continuous relative entropy defined on a reduced parameter set. This reduction in the parameters that the entropy is defined over ensures consistency between different representations of the same network. The performance of the proposed reduced parameter method is demonstrated with a one-loop network case study. Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-0-7354-1527-0 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4985365 SN - 0094-243X VL - 1853 IS - 1 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - GEN A1 - Waldrip, Steven H. A1 - Niven, Robert K. A1 - Abel, Markus A1 - Schlegel, Michael T1 - Maximum entropy analysis of transport networks T2 - AIP conference proceedings N2 - The maximum entropy method is used to derive an alternative gravity model for a transport network. The proposed method builds on previous methods which assign the discrete value of a maximum entropy distribution to equal the traffic flow rate. The proposed method however, uses a distribution to represent each flow rate. The proposed method is shown to be able to handle uncertainty in a more elegant way and give similar results to traditional methods. It is able to incorporate more of the observed data through the entropy function, prior distribution and integration limits potentially allowing better inferences to be made. Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-0-7354-1527-0 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4985364 SN - 0094-243X VL - 1853 IS - 1 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Richter, Philipp ED - Fox, Andrew J. ED - Davé, Romeel T1 - Gas accretion onto the Milky Way JF - Astrophysics and space science library N2 - The Milky Way is surrounded by large amounts of gaseous matter that are slowly being accreted over cosmic timescales to support star formation in the disk. The corresponding gas-accretion rate represents a key parameter for the past, present, and future evolution of the Milky Way. In this chapter, we discuss our current understanding of gas accretion processes in the Galaxy by reviewing past and recent observational and theoretical studies. The first part of this review deals with the spatial distribution of the different gas phases in the Milky Way halo, the origin of the gas, and its total mass. The second part discusses the gas dynamics and the physical processes that regulate the gas flow from the outer Galactic halo to the disk. From the most recent studies follows that the present-day gas accretion rate of the Milky Way is a few solar masses per year, which is sufficient to maintain the Galaxy’s star-formation rate at its current level. Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-3-319-52512-9 SN - 978-3-319-52511-2 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52512-9_2 SN - 0067-0057 VL - 430 SP - 15 EP - 47 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fraschetti, Federico A1 - Pohl, Martin T1 - Two-zone model for the broadband crab nebula spectrum BT - microscopic interpretation T2 - The European physical journal : Web of Conferences : proceedings N2 - We develop a simple two-zone interpretation of the broadband baseline Crab nebula spectrum between 10(-5) eV and similar to 100 TeV by using two distinct log-parabola energetic electrons distributions. We determine analytically the very-high energy photon spectrum as originated by inverse-Compton scattering of the far-infrared soft ambient photons within the nebula off a first population of electrons energized at the nebula termination shock. The broad and flat 200 GeV peak jointly observed by Fermi/LAT and MAGIC is naturally reproduced. The synchrotron radiation from a second energetic electron population explains the spectrum from the radio range up to similar to 10 keV. We infer from observations the energy dependence of the microscopic probability of remaining in proximity of the shock of the accelerating electrons. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201713602009 SN - 2100-014X VL - 136 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morgner, Frank A1 - Bennemann, Mark A1 - Cywiński, Piotr J. A1 - Kollosche, Matthias A1 - Górski, Krzysztof A1 - Pietraszkiewicz, Marek A1 - Geßner, André A1 - Löhmannsröben, Hans-Gerd T1 - Elastic FRET sensors for contactless pressure measurement JF - RSC Advances : an international journal to further the chemical sciences N2 - Contactless pressure monitoring based on Forster resonance energy transfer between donor/acceptor pairs immobilized within elastomers is demonstrated. The donor/acceptor energy transfer is employed by dispersing terbium(III) tris[(2-hydroxybenzoyl)-2-aminoethyl] amine complex (LLC, donor) and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QD655, acceptor) in styrene-ethylene/buthylene-styrene (SEBS) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). The continuous monitoring of QD luminescence showed a reversible intensity change as the pressure signal is alternated between two stable states indicating a pressure sensitivity of 6350 cps kPa(-1). Time-resolved measurements show the pressure impact on the FRET signal due to an increase of decay time (270 ms up to 420 ms) for the donor signal and parallel drop of decay time (170 mu s to 155 mu s) for the acceptor signal as the net pressure applied. The LLC/QD655 sensors enable a contactless readout as well as space resolved monitoring to enable miniaturization towards smaller integrated stretchable opto-electronics. Elastic FRET sensors can potentially lead to developing profitable analysis systems capable to outdo conventional wired electronic systems (inductive, capacitive, ultrasonic and photoelectric sensors) especially for point-of-care diagnostics, biological monitoring required for wearable electronics. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ra06379b SN - 2046-2069 VL - 7 SP - 50578 EP - 50583 PB - RSC Publishing CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rätzel, Dennis A1 - Wilkens, Martin A1 - Menzel, Ralf T1 - Effect of polarization entanglement in photon-photon scattering JF - Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics N2 - It is found that the differential cross section of photon-photon scattering is a function of the degree of polarization entanglement of the two-photon state. A reduced general expression for the differential cross section of photon-photon scattering is derived by applying simple symmetry arguments. An explicit expression is obtained for the example of photon-photon scattering due to virtual electron-positron pairs in quantum electrodynamics. It is shown how the effect in this explicit example can be explained as an effect of quantum interference and that it fits with the idea of distance-dependent forces. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.95.012101 SN - 2469-9926 SN - 2469-9934 VL - 95 IS - 1 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schimka, Selina A1 - Lomadze, Nino A1 - Rabe, Maren A1 - Kopyshev, Alexey A1 - Lehmann, Maren A1 - von Klitzing, Regine A1 - Rumyantsev, Artem M. A1 - Kramarenko, Elena Yu. A1 - Santer, Svetlana T1 - Photosensitive microgels containing azobenzene surfactants of different charges JF - Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies N2 - We report on light sensitive microgel particles that can change their volume reversibly in response to illumination with light of different wavelengths. To make the anionic microgels photosensitive we add surfactants with a positively charged polyamine head group and an azobenzene containing tail. Upon illumination, azobenzene undergoes a reversible photo-isomerization reaction from a trans- to a cis-state accompanied by a change in the hydrophobicity of the surfactant. Depending on the isomerization state, the surfactant molecules are either accommodated within the microgel (trans- state) resulting in its shrinkage or desorbed back into water (cis-isomer) letting the microgel swell. We have studied three surfactants differing in the number of amino groups, so that the number of charges of the surfactant head varies between 1 and 3. We have found experimentally and theoretically that the surfactant concentration needed for microgel compaction increases with decreasing number of charges of the head group. Utilization of polyamine azobenzene containing surfactants for the light triggered remote control of the microgel size opens up a possibility for applications of light responsive microgels as drug carriers in biology and medicine. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c6cp04555c SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 19 SP - 108 EP - 117 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Safdari, Hadiseh A1 - Cherstvy, Andrey G. A1 - Chechkin, Aleksei V. A1 - Bodrova, Anna A1 - Metzler, Ralf T1 - Aging underdamped scaled Brownian motion BT - Ensemble- and time-averaged particle displacements, nonergodicity, and the failure of the overdamping approximation JF - Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics N2 - We investigate both analytically and by computer simulations the ensemble- and time-averaged, nonergodic, and aging properties of massive particles diffusing in a medium with a time dependent diffusivity. We call this stochastic diffusion process the (aging) underdamped scaled Brownian motion (UDSBM). We demonstrate how the mean squared displacement (MSD) and the time-averaged MSD of UDSBM are affected by the inertial term in the Langevin equation, both at short, intermediate, and even long diffusion times. In particular, we quantify the ballistic regime for the MSD and the time-averaged MSD as well as the spread of individual time-averaged MSD trajectories. One of the main effects we observe is that, both for the MSD and the time-averaged MSD, for superdiffusive UDSBM the ballistic regime is much shorter than for ordinary Brownian motion. In contrast, for subdiffusive UDSBM, the ballistic region extends to much longer diffusion times. Therefore, particular care needs to be taken under what conditions the overdamped limit indeed provides a correct description, even in the long time limit. We also analyze to what extent ergodicity in the Boltzmann-Khinchin sense in this nonstationary system is broken, both for subdiffusive and superdiffusive UDSBM. Finally, the limiting case of ultraslow UDSBM is considered, with a mixed logarithmic and power-law dependence of the ensemble-and time-averaged MSDs of the particles. In the limit of strong aging, remarkably, the ordinary UDSBM and the ultraslow UDSBM behave similarly in the short time ballistic limit. The approaches developed here open ways for considering other stochastic processes under physically important conditions when a finite particle mass and aging in the system cannot be neglected. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.95.012120 SN - 2470-0045 SN - 2470-0053 VL - 95 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER -