Refine
Has Fulltext
- yes (20) (remove)
Year of publication
- 2014 (20) (remove)
Document Type
- Doctoral Thesis (20) (remove)
Keywords
- Datenanalyse (3)
- Gammastrahlungsastronomie (3)
- data analysis (3)
- gamma-ray astronomy (3)
- Crab Nebula (2)
- Krebsnebel (2)
- Ladungstransport (2)
- Rekonstruktionsmethoden (2)
- Simulationen (2)
- Synchronisation (2)
- charge transport (2)
- reconstruction methods (2)
- simulation (2)
- synchronization (2)
- AMALi (1)
- Alternative Akzeptorpolymere (1)
- Antiferromagnetisch (1)
- Atmosphäre (1)
- Atmosphärenmodellierung (1)
- Azobenzolhaltige Polymerfilme (1)
- Barokline Instabilität (1)
- Bayesian estimation (1)
- Bayessche Schätzer (1)
- Beobachtungen (1)
- Bugwellenschocks (1)
- Charakterisierung Planetenatmosphären (1)
- Donator-Akzeptor-Copolymere (1)
- Donor-acceptor copolymers (1)
- Eisrinne (1)
- Entfernungen (1)
- Experiment (1)
- Fermi (1)
- Fermi-LAT (1)
- Galaxien (1)
- GammaLib/ctools (1)
- H.E.S.S (1)
- H.E.S.S. (1)
- Halo (1)
- Hochgeschwindigkeitswolken (1)
- In-situ Rasterkraftmikroskopie (1)
- Kosmologie (1)
- Metall/Graphen/Polymer Grenzfläch (1)
- Modell (1)
- Multiskale (1)
- Oberflächengitter (1)
- Opto-mechanische Spannungen (1)
- Organische Solarzellen (1)
- Orgelpfeifen (1)
- Pekuliargeschwindigkeiten (1)
- Phasen Oszillatoren (1)
- Phasenübergänge (1)
- Phonon-Polariton (1)
- Photophysik (1)
- Polar 5 (1)
- Polymer-Kristalle (1)
- Polymere (1)
- Quantengravitation (1)
- Regge Kalkül (1)
- Reionisation (1)
- Renormierung (1)
- Schnellläufersterne (1)
- Simulation (1)
- Solarzellen (1)
- Spektroskopie (1)
- Spin-Schaum-Modelle (1)
- Sternaktivität (1)
- Sternpopulationen (1)
- Strahlungstransport (1)
- Supernovaüberrest (1)
- Synchronisationsanalyse (1)
- Ultrafast (1)
- Ultraschnell (1)
- Unstetiges Galerkin-Verfahren (1)
- Verfeinerungslimes (1)
- Weichröntgenbeugung (1)
- Zeitwahrnehmung (1)
- alternative electron acceptors (1)
- antiferromagnetic (1)
- atmosphere (1)
- atmospheric characterization (1)
- atmospheric modelling (1)
- azobenzene polymer films (1)
- baroclinic instability (1)
- bow shocks (1)
- chimera Zustände (1)
- chimera state (1)
- cosmic-rays (1)
- cosmology (1)
- discontinuous Galerkin method (1)
- distances (1)
- experiment (1)
- extrasolar planets (1)
- extrasolare Planeten (1)
- galactic centre (1)
- galaktisches Zentrum (1)
- galaxies (1)
- gamma-ray (1)
- gammalib/ctools (1)
- halo (1)
- high-redshift galaxies (1)
- high-velocity-clouds (1)
- hoch rotverschobene Galaxien (1)
- impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (1)
- impulsive stimulierte Raman Streuung (1)
- in-situ atomic force microscopy (1)
- lead (1)
- metal/polymer interfaces (1)
- model (1)
- multi-scale (1)
- nichtgleichgewichts Dynamik (1)
- nichtlineare Optik (1)
- non-linear optics (1)
- observations (1)
- offene Sternhaufen und stellare Assoziationen (1)
- open clusters and stellar associations (1)
- opto-mechanical stresses (1)
- organ pipes (1)
- organic semiconductor (1)
- organic solar cells (1)
- organische Halbleiter (1)
- peculiar velocities (1)
- phase oscillators (1)
- phase transitions (1)
- phonon polariton (1)
- photo physics (1)
- photoinduced dynamics (1)
- polar (1)
- polymer crystal orientation (1)
- polymers (1)
- quantum gravity (1)
- radiative transfer (1)
- regge calculus (1)
- reionization (1)
- renormalization and refinement limit (1)
- runaway stars (1)
- simulations (1)
- soft x-ray diffraction (1)
- solar cells (1)
- spectroscopy (1)
- spin foams (1)
- stellar activity (1)
- stellar populations (1)
- stellar variability (1)
- supernova remnants (1)
- surface relief grating (1)
- thermal wind equation (1)
- thermische Windgleichung (1)
- time perception (1)
- time resolved spectroskopy (1)
- transient grating (1)
- transientes Gitter (1)
- transmission spectroscopy (1)
- zeitaufgelöste Spektroskopie (1)
- zeitverzögerte Selbstkopplung (1)
Institute
- Institut für Physik und Astronomie (20) (remove)
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 Niño 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.
It is generally agreed upon that stars typically form in open clusters and stellar associations, but little is known about the structure of the open cluster system. Do open clusters and stellar associations form isolated or do they prefer to form in groups and complexes? Open cluster groups and complexes could verify star forming regions to be larger than expected, which would explain the chemical homogeneity over large areas in the Galactic disk. They would also define an additional level in the hierarchy of star formation and could be used as tracers for the scales of fragmentation in giant molecular clouds? Furthermore, open cluster groups and complexes could affect Galactic dynamics and should be considered in investigations and simulations on the dynamical processes, such as radial migration, disc heating, differential rotation, kinematic resonances, and spiral structure.
In the past decade there were a few studies on open cluster pairs (de La Fuente Marcos & de La Fuente Marcos 2009a,b,c) and on open cluster groups and complexes (Piskunov et al. 2006). The former only considered spatial proximity for the identification of the pairs, while the latter also required tangential velocities to be similar for the members. In this work I used the full set of 6D phase-space information to draw a more detailed picture on these structures. For this purpose I utilised the most homogeneous cluster catalogue available, namely the Catalogue of Open Cluster Data (COCD; Kharchenko et al. 2005a,b), which contains parameters for 650 open clusters and compact associations, as well as for their uniformly selected members. Additional radial velocity (RV) and metallicity ([M/H]) information on the members were obtained from the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE; Steinmetz et al. 2006; Kordopatis et al. 2013) for 110 and 81 clusters, respectively. The RAVE sample was cleaned considering quality parameters and flags provided by RAVE (Matijevič et al. 2012; Kordopatis et al. 2013). To ensure that only real members were included for the mean values, also the cluster membership, as provided by Kharchenko et al. (2005a,b), was considered for the stars cross-matched in RAVE.
6D phase-space information could be derived for 432 out of the 650 COCD objects and I used an adaption of the Friends-of-Friends algorithm, as used in cosmology, to identify potential groupings. The vast majority of the 19 identified groupings were pairs, but I also found four groups of 4-5 members and one complex with 15 members. For the verification of the identified structures, I compared the results to a randomly selected subsample of the catalogue for the Milky Way global survey of Star Clusters (MWSC; Kharchenko et al. 2013), which became available recently, and was used as reference sample. Furthermore, I implemented Monte-Carlo simulations with randomised samples created from two distinguished input distributions for the spatial and velocity parameters. On the one hand, assuming a uniform distribution in the Galactic disc and, on the other hand, assuming the COCD data distributions to be representative for the whole open cluster population.
The results suggested that the majority of identified pairs are rather by chance alignments, but the groups and the complex seemed to be genuine. A comparison of my results to the pairs, groups and complexes proposed in the literature yielded a partial overlap, which was most likely because of selection effects and different parameters considered. This is another verification for the existence of such structures.
The characteristics of the found groupings favour that members of an open cluster grouping originate from a common giant molecular cloud and formed in a single, but possibly sequential, star formation event. Moreover, the fact that the young open cluster population showed smaller spatial separations between nearest neighbours than the old cluster population indicated that the lifetime of open cluster groupings is most likely comparable to that of the Galactic open cluster population itself. Still even among the old open clusters I could identify groupings, which suggested that the detected structure could be in some cases more long lived as one might think.
In this thesis I could only present a pilot study on structures in the Galactic open cluster population, since the data sample used was highly incomplete. For further investigations a far more complete sample would be required. One step in this direction would be to use data from large current surveys, like SDSS, RAVE, Gaia-ESO and VVV, as well as including results from studies on individual clusters. Later the sample can be completed by data from upcoming missions, like Gaia and 4MOST. Future studies using this more complete open cluster sample will reveal the effect of open cluster groupings on star formation theory and their significance for the kinematics, dynamics and evolution of the Milky Way, and thereby of spiral galaxies.
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.
The atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean is strongly influenced by the distribution of sea ice and open water. Leads in the sea ice produce strong convective fluxes of sensible and latent heat and release aerosol particles into the atmosphere. They increase the occurrence of clouds and modify the structure and characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and thereby influence the Arctic climate.
In the course of this study aircraft measurements were performed over the western Arctic Ocean as part of the campaign PAMARCMIP 2012 of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Backscatter from aerosols and clouds within the lower troposphere and the ABL were measured with the nadir pointing Airborne Mobile Aerosol Lidar (AMALi) and dropsondes were launched to obtain profiles of meteorological variables. Furthermore, in situ measurements of aerosol properties, meteorological variables and turbulence were part of the campaign. The measurements covered a broad range of atmospheric and sea ice conditions.
In this thesis, properties of the ABL over Arctic sea ice with a focus on the influence of open leads are studied based on the data from the PAMARCMIP campaign. The height of the ABL is determined by different methods that are applied to dropsonde and AMALi backscatter profiles. ABL heights are compared for different flights representing different conditions of the atmosphere and of sea ice and open water influence. The different criteria for ABL height that are applied show large variation in terms of agreement among each other, depending on the characteristics of the ABL and its history. It is shown that ABL height determination from lidar backscatter by methods commonly used under mid-latitude conditions is applicable to the Arctic ABL only under certain conditions. Aerosol or clouds within the ABL are needed as a tracer for ABL height detection from backscatter. Hence an aerosol source close to the surface is necessary, that is typically found under the present influence of open water and therefore convective conditions. However it is not always possible to distinguish residual layers from the actual ABL. Stable boundary layers are generally difficult to detect.
To illustrate the complexity of the Arctic ABL and processes therein, four case studies are analyzed each of which represents a snapshot of the interplay between atmosphere and underlying sea ice or water surface. Influences of leads and open water on the aerosol and clouds within the ABL are identified and discussed. Leads are observed to cause the formation of fog and cloud layers within the ABL by humidity emission. Furthermore they decrease the stability and increase the height of the ABL and consequently facilitate entrainment of air and aerosol layers from the free troposphere.
During this work I built a four wave mixing setup for the time-resolved femtosecond spectroscopy of Raman-active lattice modes. This setup enables to study the selective excitation of phonon polaritons. These quasi-particles arise from the coupling of electro-magnetic waves and transverse optical lattice modes, the so-called phonons. The phonon polaritons were investigated in the optically non-linear, ferroelectric crystals LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃.
The direct observation of the frequency shift of the scattered narrow bandwidth probe pulses proofs the role of the Raman interaction during the probe and excitation process of phonon polaritons. I compare this experimental method with the measurement where ultra-short laser pulses are used. The frequency shift remains obscured by the relative broad bandwidth of these laser pulses. In an experiment with narrow bandwidth probe pulses, the Stokes and anti-Stokes intensities are spectrally separated. They are assigned to the corresponding counter-propagating wavepackets of phonon polaritons. Thus, the dynamics of these wavepackets was separately studied. Based on these findings, I develop the mathematical description of the so-called homodyne detection of light for the case of light scattering from counter propagating phonon polaritons.
Further, I modified the broad bandwidth of the ultra-short pump pulses using bandpass filters to generate two pump pulses with non-overlapping spectra. This enables the frequency-selective excitation of polariton modes in the sample, which allows me to observe even very weak polariton modes in LiNbO₃ or LiTaO₃ that belong to the higher branches of the dispersion relation of phonon polaritons. The experimentally determined dispersion relation of the phonon polaritons could therefore be extended and compared to theoretical models. In addition, I determined the frequency-dependent damping of phonon polaritons.
The characterization of exoplanets is a young and rapidly expanding field in astronomy.
It includes a method called transmission spectroscopy that searches for planetary spectral
fingerprints in the light received from the host star during the event of a transit. This
techniques allows for conclusions on the atmospheric composition at the terminator region,
the boundary between the day and night side of the planet. Observationally a big
challenge, first attempts in the community have been successful in the detection of several
absorption features in the optical wavelength range. These are for example a Rayleighscattering
slope and absorption by sodium and potassium. However, other objects show
a featureless spectrum indicative for a cloud or haze layer of condensates masking the
probable atmospheric layers.
In this work, we performed transmission spectroscopy by spectrophotometry of three
Hot Jupiter exoplanets. When we began the work on this thesis, optical transmission
spectra have been available for two exoplanets. Our main goal was to advance the current
sample of probed objects to learn by comparative exoplanetology whether certain
absorption features are common. We selected the targets HAT-P-12b, HAT-P-19b and
HAT-P-32b, for which the detection of atmospheric signatures is feasible with current
ground-based instrumentation. In addition, we monitored the host stars of all three objects
photometrically to correct for influences of stellar activity if necessary.
The obtained measurements of the three objects all favor featureless spectra. A variety
of atmospheric compositions can explain the lack of a wavelength dependent absorption.
But the broad trend of featureless spectra in planets of a wide range of temperatures,
found in this work and in similar studies recently published in the literature, favors an
explanation based on the presence of condensates even at very low concentrations in the
atmospheres of these close-in gas giants. This result points towards the general conclusion
that the capability of transmission spectroscopy to determine the atmospheric composition
is limited, at least for measurements at low spectral resolution.
In addition, we refined the transit parameters and ephemerides of HAT-P-12b and HATP-
19b. Our monitoring campaigns allowed for the detection of the stellar rotation period
of HAT-P-19 and a refined age estimate. For HAT-P-12 and HAT-P-32, we derived upper
limits on their potential variability. The calculated upper limits of systematic effects of
starspots on the derived transmission spectra were found to be negligible for all three
targets.
Finally, we discussed the observational challenges in the characterization of exoplanet
atmospheres, the importance of correlated noise in the measurements and formulated
suggestions on how to improve on the robustness of results in future work.
Synchronization is a fundamental phenomenon in nature. It can be considered as a general property of self-sustained oscillators to adjust their rhythm in the presence of an interaction.
In this work we investigate complex regimes of synchronization phenomena by means of theoretical analysis, numerical modeling, as well as practical analysis of experimental data.
As a subject of our investigation we consider chimera state, where due to spontaneous symmetry-breaking of an initially homogeneous oscillators lattice split the system into two parts with different dynamics. Chimera state as a new synchronization phenomenon was first found in non-locally coupled oscillators system, and has attracted a lot of attention in the last decade. However, the recent studies indicate that this state is also possible in globally coupled systems. In the first part of this work, we show under which conditions the chimera-like state appears in a system of globally coupled identical oscillators with intrinsic delayed feedback. The results of the research explain how initially monostable oscillators became effectivly bistable in the presence of the coupling and create a mean field that sustain the coexistence of synchronized and desynchronized states. Also we discuss other examples, where chimera-like state appears due to frequency dependence of the phase shift in the bistable system.
In the second part, we make further investigation of this topic by modeling influence of an external periodic force to an oscillator with intrinsic delayed feedback. We made stability analysis of the synchronized state and constructed Arnold tongues. The results explain formation of the chimera-like state and hysteric behavior of the synchronization area. Also, we consider two sets of parameters of the oscillator with symmetric and asymmetric Arnold tongues, that correspond to mono- and bi-stable regimes of the oscillator.
In the third part, we demonstrate the results of the work, which was done in collaboration with our colleagues from Psychology Department of University of Potsdam. The project aimed to study the effect of the cardiac rhythm on human perception of time using synchronization analysis. From our part, we made a statistical analysis of the data obtained from the conducted experiment on free time interval reproduction task. We examined how ones heartbeat influences the time perception and searched for possible phase synchronization between heartbeat cycles and time reproduction responses. The findings support the prediction that cardiac cycles can serve as input signals, and is used for reproduction of time intervals in the range of several seconds.
The mystery of the origin of cosmic rays has been tackled for more than hundred years and is still not solved. Cosmic rays are detected with energies spanning more than 10 orders of magnitude and reaching energies up to ~10²¹ eV, far higher than any man-made accelerator can reach. Different theories on the astrophysical objects and processes creating such highly energetic particles have been proposed.
A very prominent explanation for a process producing highly energetic particles is shock acceleration. The observation of high-energy gamma rays from supernova remnants, some of them revealing a shell like structure, is clear evidence that particles are accelerated to ultrarelativistic energies in the shocks of these objects. The environments of supernova remnants are complex and challenge detailed modelling of the processes leading to high-energy gamma-ray emission.
The study of shock acceleration at bow shocks, created by the supersonic movement of individual stars through the interstellar medium, offers a unique possibility to determine the physical properties of shocks in a less complex environment. The shocked medium is heated by the stellar and the shock excited radiation, leading to thermal infrared emission. 28 bow shocks have been discovered through their infrared emission. Nonthermal radiation in radio and X-ray wavelengths has been detected from two bow shocks, pointing to the existence of relativistic particles in these systems. Theoretical models of the emission processes predict high-energy and very high-energy emission at a flux level in reach of current instruments. This work presents the search for gamma-ray emission from bow shocks of runaway stars in the energy regime from 100MeV to ~100TeV.
The search is performed with the large area telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi satellite and the H.E.S.S. telescopes located in the Khomas Highland in Namibia. The Fermi-LAT was launched in 2008 and is continuously scanning the sky since then. It detects photons with energies from 20MeV to over 300 GeV and has an unprecedented sensitivity. The all-sky coverage allows us to study all 28 bow shocks of runaway stars listed in the E-BOSS catalogue of infrared bow shocks. No significant emission was detected from any of the objects, although predicted by several theoretical models describing the non-thermal emission of bow shocks of runaway stars.
The H.E.S.S. experiment is the most sensitive system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. It detects photons from several tens of GeV to ~100TeV. Seven of the bow shocks have been observed with H.E.S.S. and the data analysis is presented in this thesis. The analyses of the very-high energy data did not reveal significant emission from any of the sources either.
This work presents the first systematic search for gamma-ray emission from bow shocks of runaway stars. For the first time Fermi-LAT data was specifically analysed to reveal emission from bow shocks of runaway stars. In the TeV regime no searches for emission from theses objects have been published so far, the study presented here is the first in this energy regime. The level of the gamma-ray emission from bow shocks of runaway stars is constrained by the calculated upper limits over six orders in magnitude in energy.
The upper limits calculated for the bow shocks of runaway stars in the course of this work, constrain several models. For the best candidate, ζ Ophiuchi, the upper limits in the Fermi-LAT energy range are lower than the predictions by a factor ~5. This challenges the assumptions made in this model and gives valuable input for further modelling approaches.
The analyses were performed with the software packages provided by the H.E.S.S. and Fermi collaborations. The development of a unified analysis framework for gamma-ray data, namely GammaLib/ctools, is rapidly progressing within the CTA consortium. Recent implementations and cross-checks with current software frameworks are presented in the Appendix.
Galaxies are observational probes to study the Large Scale Structure. Their gravitational motions are tracers of the total matter density and therefore of the Large Scale Structure. Besides, studies of structure formation and galaxy evolution rely on numerical cosmological simulations. Still, only one universe observable from a given position, in time and space, is available for comparisons with simulations. The related cosmic variance affects our ability to interpret the results. Simulations constrained by observational data are a perfect remedy to this problem. Achieving such simulations requires the projects Cosmic flows and CLUES. Cosmic flows builds catalogs of accurate distance measurements to map deviations from the expansion. These measures are mainly obtained with the galaxy luminosity-rotation rate correlation. We present the calibration of that relation in the mid-infrared with observational data from Spitzer Space Telescope. Resulting accurate distance estimates will be included in the third catalog of the project. In the meantime, two catalogs up to 30 and 150 Mpc/h have been released. We report improvements and applications of the CLUES' method on these two catalogs. The technique is based on the constrained realization algorithm. The cosmic displacement field is computed with the Zel'dovich approximation. This latter is then reversed to relocate reconstructed three-dimensional constraints to their precursors' positions in the initial field. The size of the second catalog (8000 galaxies within 150 Mpc/h) highlighted the importance of minimizing the observational biases. By carrying out tests on mock catalogs, built from cosmological simulations, a method to minimize observational bias can be derived. Finally, for the first time, cosmological simulations are constrained solely by peculiar velocities. The process is successful as resulting simulations resemble the Local Universe. The major attractors and voids are simulated at positions approaching observational positions by a few megaparsecs, thus reaching the limit imposed by the linear theory.
Despite remarkable progress made in the past century, which has revolutionized our understanding of the universe, there are numerous open questions left in theoretical physics. Particularly important is the fact that the theories describing the fundamental interactions of nature are incompatible. Einstein's theory of general relative describes gravity as a dynamical spacetime, which is curved by matter and whose curvature determines the motion of matter. On the other hand we have quantum field theory, in form of the standard model of particle physics, where particles interact via the remaining interactions - electromagnetic, weak and strong interaction - on a flat, static spacetime without gravity. A theory of quantum gravity is hoped to cure this incompatibility by heuristically replacing classical spacetime by quantum spacetime'. Several approaches exist attempting to define such a theory with differing underlying premises and ideas, where it is not clear which is to be preferred. Yet a minimal requirement is the compatibility with the classical theory, they attempt to generalize. Interestingly many of these models rely on discrete structures in their definition or postulate discreteness of spacetime to be fundamental. Besides the direct advantages discretisations provide, e.g. permitting numerical simulations, they come with serious caveats requiring thorough investigation: In general discretisations break fundamental diffeomorphism symmetry of gravity and are generically not unique. Both complicates establishing the connection to the classical continuum theory. The main focus of this thesis lies in the investigation of this relation for spin foam models. This is done on different levels of the discretisation / triangulation, ranging from few simplices up to the continuum limit. In the regime of very few simplices we confirm and deepen the connection of spin foam models to discrete gravity. Moreover, we discuss dynamical, e.g. diffeomorphism invariance in the discrete, to fix the ambiguities of the models. In order to satisfy these conditions, the discrete models have to be improved in a renormalisation procedure, which also allows us to study their continuum dynamics. Applied to simplified spin foam models, we uncover a rich, non--trivial fixed point structure, which we summarize in a phase diagram. Inspired by these methods, we propose a method to consistently construct the continuum theory, which comes with a unique vacuum state.