Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

So far, a large number of advanced techniques have been developed to enhance and extract the spatially semantic information in hyperspectral image processing and analysis. However, locally semantic change, such as scene composition, relative position between objects, spectral variability caused by illumination, atmospheric effects, and material mixture, has been less frequently investigated in modeling spatial information. Consequently, identifying the same materials from spatially different scenes or positions can be difficult. In this article, we propose a solution to address this issue by locally extracting invariant features from hyperspectral imagery (HSI) in both spatial and frequency domains, using a method called invariant attribute profiles (IAPs). IAPs extract the spatial invariant features by exploiting isotropic filter banks or convolutional kernels on HSI and spatial aggregation techniques (e.g., superpixel segmentation) in the Cartesian coordinate system. Furthermore, they model invariant behaviors (e.g., shift, rotation) by the means of a continuous histogram of oriented gradients constructed in a Fourier polar coordinate. This yields a combinatorial representation of spatial-frequency invariant features with application to HSI classification. Extensive experiments conducted on three promising hyperspectral data sets (Houston2013 and Houston2018) to demonstrate the superiority and effectiveness of the proposed IAP method in comparison with several state-of-the-art profile-related techniques. The codes will be available from the website: https://sites.google.com/view/danfeng-hong/data-code.

Multi-sensor data on the same area provide complementary information, which is helpful for improving the discrimination capability of classifiers. In this work, a novel multilevel structure extraction method is proposed to fuse multi-sensor data. This method is comprised of three steps: First, multilevel structure extraction is constructed by cascading morphological profiles and structure features, and is utilized to extract spatial information from multiple original images. Then, a low-rank model is adopted to integrate the extracted spatial information. Finally, a spectral classifier is employed to calculate class probabilities, and a maximum posteriori estimation model is used to decide the final labels. Experiments tested on three datasets including rural and urban scenes validate that the proposed approach can produce promising performance with regard to both subjective and objective qualities.

Deep metric learning has recently received special attention in the field of remote sensing (RS) scene characterization, owing to its prominent capabilities for modeling distances among RS images based on their semantic information. Most of the existing deep metric learning methods exploit pairwise and triplet losses to learn the feature embeddings with the preservation of semantic-similarity, which requires the construction of image pairs and triplets based on the supervised information (e.g., class labels). However, generating such semantic annotations becomes a completely unaffordable task in large-scale RS archives, which may eventually constrain the availability of sufficient training data for this kind of models. To address this issue, we reformulate the deep metric learning scheme in a semi-supervised manner to effectively characterize RS scenes. Specifically, we aim at learning metric spaces by utilizing the supervised information from a small number of labeled RS images and exploring the potential decision boundaries for massive sets of unlabeled aerial scenes. In order to reach this goal, a joint loss function, composed of a normalized softmax loss with margin and a high-rankness regularization term, is proposed, as well as its corresponding optimization algorithm. The conducted experiments (including different state-of-the-art methods and two benchmark RS archives) validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for RS image classification, clustering and retrieval tasks. The codes of this paper are publicly available.

Multi-sensor remote sensing image classification has been considerably improved by deep learning feature extraction and classification networks. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-sensor fusion framework for the fusion of diverse remote sensing data sources. The novelty of this paper is grounded in three important design innovations: 1- a unique adaptation of the coupled residual networks to address multi-sensor data classification; 2- a smart auxiliary training via adjusting the loss function to address classifications with limited samples; and 3- a unique design of the residual blocks to reduce the computational complexity while preserving the discriminative characteristics of multi-sensor features. The proposed classification framework is evaluated using three different remote sensing datasets: the urban Houston university datasets (including Houston 2013 and the training portion of Houston 2018) and the rural Trento dataset. The proposed framework achieves high overall accuracies of 93.57%, 81.20%, and 98.81% on Houston 2013, the training portion of Houston 2018, and Trento datasets, respectively. Additionally, the experimental results demonstrate considerable improvements in classification accuracies compared with the existing state-of-the-art methods.

Three different crystallographic orientations of the wurtzite ZnO structure (labeled as c-plane, a-plane and m-plane) were implanted with Au + ions using various energies and fluences to form gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The ion implantation process was followed by annealing at 600°C in an oxygen atmosphere to decrease the number of unwanted defects and improve luminescence properties. With regard to our previous publications, the paper provides a summary of theoretical and experimental results, i.e., both DFT and FLUX simulations, as well as experimental results from TEM, HRTEM, RBS, RBS/C, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence. From the results, it follows that in the ZnO structure, implanted gold atoms are located in random interstitial positions—experimentally, the amount of interstitial gold atoms increased with increasing ion implantation fluence. During ion implantation and subsequent annealing, the metal clusters and nanoparticles with sizes from 2 to 20 nm were formed. The crystal structure of the resulting gold was not cubic (confirmed by diffraction patterns), but it had a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) arrangement. The ion implantation of gold leads to the creation of Zn and O interstitial defects and extended defects with distinct character in various crystallographic cuts of ZnO, where significant O-sublattice disordering occurred in m-plane ZnO.

This release adds a new field absorber for the Yee solver, convolutional perfectly matched layer (PML). Compared to the still supported exponential damping absorber, PML provides better absorption rate and much less spurious reflections.

We added new plugins for computing emittance and transition radiation, particle rendering with the ISAAC plugin, Python tools for reading and visualizing output of a few plugins.

The release also adds a few quality-of-life features, including a new memory calculator, better command-line experience with new options and bash-completion, improved error handling, cleanup of the example setups, and extensions to documentation.

Please refer to our ChangeLog for a full list of features, fixes and user interface changes before getting started.

Thanks to Igor Andriyash, Sergei Bastrakov, Xeinia Bastrakova, Andrei Berceanu, Finn-Ole Carstens, Alexander Debus, Jian Fuh Ong, Marco Garten, Axel Huebl, Sophie Rudat (Koßagk), Anton Lebedev, Felix Meyer, Pawel Ordyna, Richard Pausch, Franz Pöschel, Adam Simpson, Sebastian Starke, Klaus Steiniger, René Widera for contributions to this release!

Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) play a key role in the metabolism of major monoamine neurotransmitters. In particular, the upregulation of MAO-B in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer augmented the development of selective MAO-B inhibitors for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, such as the anti-parkinsonian MAO-B irreversible binder L-deprenyl (Selegiline®). Herein we report on the synthesis of novel fluorinated indanone derivatives for PET imaging of MAO-B in the brain. Out of our series, the derivatives 6, 8, 9 and 13 are amongst the most affine and selective ligands for MAO-B reported so far. For the derivative 6-((3-fluorobenzyl)oxy)-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-one (6) exhibiting an outstanding affinity (Ki MAO-B = 6 nM), an automated copper-mediated radiofluorination starting from the pinacol boronic ester 17 is described. An in vitro screening in different species revealed a MAO-B region-specific accumulation of [18F]6 in rats and piglets in comparison to L-[3H]deprenyl. The pre-clinical in vivo assessment of [18F]6 in mice demonstrated the potential of indanones to readily cross the blood-brain barrier. Nonetheless, parallel in vivo metabolism studies indicated the presence of blood-brain barrier metabolites, thus arguing for further structural modifications. With the matching analytical profiles of the radiometabolite analysis from the in vitro liver microsome studies and the in vivo evaluation, the structure’s elucidation of the blood-brain barrier penetrant radiometabolites is possible and will serve as basis for the development of new indanone derivatives suitable for the PET imaging of MAO-B.

Asymmetrically sandwiched thin magnetic layers with perpendicular anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is the prospective material science platform for spin-orbitronic technologies that rely on the motion of chiral magnetic textures, like skyrmions or chiral domain walls (DWs). The dynamic performance of a DW-based racetracks is defined by the strength of DMI and the DW damping. The determination of the latter parameter is typically done based on technically challenging DW motion experiments. Here, we propose a method to access both parameters, DMI constant and DW damping, yet in static experiments by monitoring the tilt of magnetic DWs in nanostripes. We experimentally demonstrate that in perpendicularly magnetized //CrO x /Co/Pt stacks, DWs can be trapped on edge roughness in a metastable tilted state as a result of the DW dynamics driven by external magnetic field. The measured tilt can be correlated to the DMI strength and DW damping in a self-consistent way in the frame of a theoretical formalism based on the collective coordinate approach.

The European Union classified tungsten as a Critical Raw Material already in 2011, due to its high economic importance and high supply risk. Tungsten occurs under two main mineral forms, scheelite (CaWO4) and wolframite ((Fe,Mn)WO4), with scheelite’s importance increasing as wolframite resources are progressively depleting. Interest in scheelite is growing fast, as publications show: 15 % of all publications on scheelite flotation since the 1950s were published in 2019. A polar salt type mineral, scheelite is semi-soluble and exhibits a negative charge, almost regardless of the flotation conditions. It is mostly hydrophilic but can easily be floated using chemical reagents, usually at a high pH of 9 to 10. Scheelite flotation has run into serious difficulties when it is associated to a carbonaceous gangue. Other calcium-bearing minerals, such as calcite (CaCO3), apatite (Ca-phosphate) and fluorite (CaF2) all exhibit similar flotation properties and are therefore classified as semi-soluble salt-type minerals. These minerals will tend to float better than scheelite under the same circumstances and not only increase reagent consumption but heavily contaminate the concentrate, making it harder and more expensive to process for the smelter. Several depressants can be used to remedy this problem, the most used one being sodium silicate. However, this reagent is imperfect and its effect can be improved by modifying it or by combining it with other depressants. As a consequence, the focus of this work is to understand the mechanism of two important depressants in scheelite flotation, sodium carbonate and acidified sodium silicate, and linking said mechanism to mineralogy. A third depressant, colloidal silica, is studied from a performance point of view.

Presentation at the "STRONG2020 Meeting on the Hadronic Cross Section database"

Write code once and perform well on many systems.

Antiferromagnets offer remarkable promise for future spintronics devices, where antiferromagnetic order is exploited to encode information. The control and understanding of antiferromagnetic domain walls (DWs) - the interfaces between domains with differing order parameter orientations - is a key ingredient for advancing such antiferromagnetic spintronics technologies. However, studies of the intrinsic mechanics of individual antiferromagnetic DWs remain elusive since they require sufficiently pure materials and suitable experimental approaches to address DWs on the nanoscale. Here we nucleate isolated, 180° DWs in a single-crystal of Cr2O3, a prototypical collinear magnetoelectric antiferromagnet, and study their interaction with topographic features fabricated on the sample. We demonstrate DW manipulation through the resulting, engineered energy landscape and show that the observed interaction is governed by the DW's elastic properties. Our results advance the understanding of DW mechanics in antiferromagnets and suggest a novel, topographically defined memory architecture based on antiferromagnetic DWs.

This protocol presents a detailed procedure for the operation of continuous, micron-sized cryogenic cylindrical and planar liquid jets. When operated as described here, the jet exhibits high laminarity and stability for centimeters. Successful operation of a cryogenic liquid jet in the Rayleigh regime requires a basic understanding of fluid dynamics and thermodynamics at cryogenic temperatures. Theoretical calculations and typical empirical values are provided as a guide to design a comparable system. This report identifies the importance of both cleanliness during cryogenic source assembly and stability of the cryogenic source temperature once liquefied. The system can be used for high repetition rate laser-driven proton acceleration, with an envisioned application in proton therapy. Other applications include laboratory astrophysics, materials science, and next-generation particle accelerators.

Variable-resolution fluctuation electron microscopy (VR-FEM) data from measurements on amorphous silicon and PdNiP have been obtained at varying experimental conditions. Measurements have been conducted at identical total electron dose and with an identical electron dose normalized to the respective probe size. STEM probes of different sizes have been created by variation of the semi-convergence angle or by defocus. The results show that defocus yields a reduced normalized variance compared to data from probes created by convergence angle variation. Moreover, the trend of the normalized variance upon probe size variation differs between the two methods. Beam coherence, which affects FEM data, has been analyzed theoretically using geometrical optics on a multi-lens setup and linked to the illumination conditions. Fits to several experimental beam profiles support our geometrical optics theory regarding probe coherence. The normalized variance can be further optimized if one determines the optimal exposure time for the nanobeam diffraction patterns.

Purpose: To investigate experimentally, if FLASH irradiation depletes oxygen within water for different radiation types such as photons, protons and carbon ions.
Methods: This study presents measurements of the oxygen consumption in sealed, 3D printed water phantoms during irradiation with X-rays, protons and carbon ions at varying dose rates up to 340Gy/s. The oxygen measurement was performed using an optical sensor allowing for non-invasive measurements.
Results: Oxygen consumption in water only depends on dose, dose-rate and linear energy transfer (LET) of the irradiation. The total amount of oxygen depleted per 10Gy was found to be 0.04 - 0.18% atm for 225 kV photons, 0.04 - 0.25% atm for 224 MeV protons and 0.09 - 0.17% atm for carbon ions. Consumption depends on dose-rate by an inverse power law and saturates for higher dose rates because of self-interactions of radicals. Higher dose rates yield lower oxygen consumption. No total depletion of oxygen was found for clinical doses.
Conclusions: FLASH irradiation does consume oxygen, but not enough to deplete all the oxygen present. For higher dose rates, less oxygen was consumed than at standard radiotherapy dose rates. No total depletion was found for any of the analyzed radiation types for 10Gy dose delivery using FLASH.

The use of standardized image processing pipelines is continuously increasing in radiological research with developments in computing power, image processing, and machine learning techniques. Early integration of academic processing methods into clinical research workflow would accelerate the translation of promising novel MRI techniques into the clinic. However, the integration of such tools is both resource and time consuming. While most of neurological imaging takes place in outpatient centers, resource and workflow limitations of such clinics do not allow for the application of advanced image analysis. Here, we present the integration the “ExploreASL” into the PACS-connected research platform IntelliSpace Discovery.

Hemodynamic MRI is highly promising to improve treatment decisions in asymptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis (ICAS). However, treatment efficacy evaluations require clinically applicable techniques, such as dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) and resting-state BOLD-based evaluations of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF). We present data from 16 asymptomatic ICAS patients before and after treatment and 17 age-matched healthy controls measuring cerebral blood volume (CBV) and capillary transit-time heterogeneity (CTH) by DSC and ALFF with additional cognitive testing. We hypothesized recovery of hemodynamic impairments after revascularization. Our results confirmed this hypothesis for all parameters. Interestingly, at the same time cognitive function remained impaired

Intra- and extra-neurite perfusion in gray and white matter were estimated by applying a spatial linear regression algorithm on ASL images using the micro-structural anatomical information derived from the NODDI analysis of the DWI data. Baseline ASL images were acquired with 4 post-labeling delay (PLD) values in order to test the hypothesis of redistribution of ASL signal across the micro-compartments with increasing PLD. Motor activation was used to investigate the sensitivity of the method for detecting changes in perfusion at the micro-structural level.

This pan-European online survey study revealed that clinically working Neuroradiologists appreciate the additional diagnostic accuracy rendered by quantitative MRI techniques. However, the clinical implementation of many techniques is hampered by a lack of knowledge on how to acquire, post-process and interpret results of multiple quantitative MRI techniques including ASL, CEST/APT, IVIM and others. With exception of DSC and DWI in tumor imaging and stroke, the number of indications is also still limited especially regarding head/neck Radiology and neurodegenerative diseases.

While agreement between ASL, DSC, and PET perfusion is well established in healthy volunteers, an analogous comparison in gliomas is still missing and more challenging. We compared ASL and DSC perfusion measurements with the gold-standard of 15 O-H 2 O-PET perfusion measurements in eight patients diagnosed with gliomas. We showed the importance of normalization to the contralateral hemisphere, and identified several examples of different regional perfusion as assessed with ASL and DSC and interpreted them using the PET reference.

Higher sagittal sinus signal is present in the ASL images of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). The purpose of this study was to assess if the signal in the sagittal sinus is correlated with clinical parameters and if this is affected by the vasoactive stimulus. The sagittal sinus signal was measured in patients with SCD and in healthy controls. Signal in sagittal sinus of the SCD patients were significantly correlated with clinical parameters including

We show nonlinear plasmonic response in GaAs/In0.2Ga0.8As nanowires using high field terahertz pulses. With increasing THz field, plasmon resonance is redshifted, and spectral weight decreases indicating an inhomogeneous intervalley electron scattering across the nanowire.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain is prone to artefacts that may worsen image quality and subsequent analyses. Despite the growing number of large-scale multi-institutional imaging studies, standardized approaches for defining inclusion and exclusion criteria on the basis of image data quality are still lacking and quality assessment is often based on visual inspection. We introduce ExploreQC, a MATLAB-based toolbox which implements a semi-automatic pipeline to assess QC metrics, select the most relevant parameters, and to derive informed inclusion thresholds.

ASL perfusion MRI in the follow-up of pediatric brain tumors

The occurrence of 10Be in natural archives is commonly used to date their formation and growth on time scales of million years. Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) can perform a direct measurement of the 10Be/9Be ratio. The carrier-free method, in which no 9Be carrier is added to the original sample, is especially suitable for 10Be/9Be ratio determination in the marine environment. By normalizing the 10Be content to 9Be, temporal variations of Be uptake processes into the archive are eliminated.

Here, we present a simple method for the chemical extraction of beryllium from ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts or nodules, the measurement procedure, and the first carrier-free 10Be/9Be measurements at the 3 MV AMS facility VERA. Several tests of chemical methods are discussed including different options to short-cut and accelerate the procedure for special cases. Results from FeMn crust 237KD from cruise VA13/2 in the Pacific ocean show the known 10Be/9Be distribution with depth that is commonly related to a changing growth rate of the archive. In this context we discuss the potential influence of diffusion and adsorption processes on the age models of FeMn crusts that are based on radioactive nuclides such as 10Be and 230Th. Including an open-system behavior for these isotopes in the description of their profiles allows interpreting the accumulation of crusts with a constant growth rate over millions of years and does not require the assumption of abrupt growth changes.

es hat kein Abstrakt vorgelegen

We report detailed magnetometry and high-frequency electron spin resonance (HF-ESR) measurements which allow detailed investigation on Li-Fe antisite disorder in single-crystalline LiFePO₄, i.e., exchange of Fe²⁺ and Li⁺ ions. The data imply that magnetic moments of Fe²⁺ ions at Li positions do not participate in long-range antiferromagnetic order in LiFePO₄ but form quasifree moments. Anisotropy axes of the magnetic moments at antisite defects are attached to the main crystallographic directions. The local character of these moments is confirmed by associated linear resonance branches detected by HF-ESR studies. Magnetic anisotropy shows up in significant zero-field splittings of Δ = 220(3) GHz, Δ` ∼ 50 GHz, and a highly anisotropic g factor, i.e., g_a = 1.4, g_b = 2.0, and g_c = 6.3. We demonstrate a general method to precisely determine Fe-antisite disorder in LiFePO₄ from magnetic studies which implies a density of paramagnetic Fe²⁺ ions at Li positions of 0.53%.

Es hat kein Abstrakt vorgelegen.

Biplots constructed from principal components of a compositional data set are an established means to explore its features. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is also used to transform a set of spatial variables into spatially decorrelated factors. However, because no spatial structures are accounted for in the transformation the application of PCA is limited. In geostatistics and blind source separation a variety of different matrix diagonalization methods have been developed with the aim to provide spatially or temporally decorrelated factors. Just as PCA, many of these transformations are linear and so lend themselves to the construction of biplots. In this contribution we consider such biplots for a number of methods (MAF, UWEDGE and RJD transformations) and discuss how and if they can contribute to our understanding of relationships between the components of regionalized compositions. A comparison of the biplots with the PCA biplot commonly used in compositional data analysis for the case of data from the Northern Irish geochemical survey shows that the biplots from MAF and UWEDGE are comparable as are those from PCA and RJD. The biplots emphasize different aspects of the regionalized composition: for MAF and UWEDGE the focus is the spatial continuity, while for PCA and RJD it is variance explained. The results indicate that PCA and MAF combined provide adequate and complementary means for exploratory statistical analysis.

CaTeNA – Climatic and Tectonic Natural Hazards in Central Asia – is an interdisciplinary, international project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research to study natural hazards in Central Asia. Central Asia is one of the most tectonically active regions of the world and is influenced by both the west wind zone and monsoon. CaTeNA is examining the two most serious natural hazards arising from these conditions: Earthquakes and mass movements. The project goal is to better understand the underlying processes and triggering factors and to better estimate the resulting risks. For this purpose, CaTeNA localises tectonic faults and determines deformation rates and their changes. Focus is put on two of the most active fault systems, the Main Pamir Thrust and the Darvaz Fault crossing Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. We try to estimate recurrence intervals of large earthquakes and to understand their relationship to mass movements using paleo-seismology, geomorphology and remote sensing. The current deformation field is characterised and quantified using the methods of space geodesy and seismology. The results will be incorporated into the openly accessible Central Asian Tectonic Database developed within the project, making it accessible to the public, stakeholders and decision-makers. They form the basis for a more accurate estimation of the risk for earthquakes and landslides. Another important project goal is the development and implementation of a dynamic risk assessment for landslides, including high-resolution, model-based precipitation and snowmelt maps. This allows for improved estimation of the effects of geological hazards on inhabited areas and traffic infrastructure. Direct and efficient risk communication is achieved through interactive visualisation based on a dynamic multilingual web GIS platform. This is an essential step on the path to an early-warning system that takes into account the most important triggering factors. This data repository provides pdf files and recorded videos of talks presented during the final online workshop of the project.

Identification of areas prone to landslides is essential to mitigate associated risks. This is usually achieved using landslide susceptibility models, which estimate landslide likelihood given local terrain conditions and the location of known past events. Detailed databases covering different conditioning factors are paramount to produce reliable susceptibility maps. However, thematic data from developing countries are scarce. As a result, susceptibility models often rely on morphometric parameters derived from widely-available digital elevation models. In most cases, simple parameters such as slope, aspect, and curvature, computed using a moving window of 3{$\times$}3 pixels, are used. Recently, the use of window-based morphometric indices as an additional input has increased. These rely on a user-defined observation window size. In this contribution, we examine the influence of observation window size when using window-based morphometric indices as core predictive variables for landslide susceptibility assessment. We computed a variety of models that include morphometric indices calculated with different window sizes, and compared the predictive capabilities and reliability of the resulting predictions. All models are based on the random forest algorithm. The results improved significantly when each window-based morphometric index was calculated with a different and meaningful observation window. The sensitivity analysis highlights both the highly-informative observation windows and the impact of their selection on the model performance. We also stress the importance of evaluating landslide susceptibility results using different adapted metrics for predictive performance and reliability.

Estimation of landslide susceptibility in mountainous areas is a prerequisite for risk assessment and contingency planning. The susceptibility to landslide is modelled based on thematic layers of information such as geomorphology, hydrology, or geology, where detailed characteristics of the area are depicted. The growing use of machine learning techniques to identify complex relationships among a high number of variables decreased the time required to distinguish areas prone to landslides and increased the reliability of the results. However, numerous countries lack detailed thematic databases to feed in the models. As a consequence, susceptibility assessment often relies heavily on geomorphic parameters derived from Digital Elevation Models. Simple parameters such as slope, aspect and curvature, calculated under a moving window of 3x3-pixels are mostly used. Furthermore, advanced morphometric indices such as topographic position index or surface roughness are increasingly used as additional input parameters. These indices are computed under a bigger window of observation usually defined by the researcher and the goal of the study. While these indices proved to be useful in capturing the overall morphology of an entire slope profile or regional processes, little is known on how the selection of the moving window size is relevant and affects the output landslide susceptibility model.

In order to address this question, we analysed how the predicting capabilities and reliability of landslide susceptibility models were impacted by the morphometric indices and their window of observation. For this purpose, we estimate the landslide susceptibility of an area located in Tajikistan (SW Tien Shan) using a Random Forest algorithm and different input datasets. Predicting factors include commonly used 3x3-pixel morphometrics, environmental, geological and climatic variables as well as advanced morphometric indices to be tested (surface roughness, local relief, topographic position index, elevation relief ratio and surface index). Two approaches were selected to address the moving window size. First, we chose a common window of observation for all the morphometric indices based on the study area valley’s characteristics. Second, we defined an optimal moving window(s) for each morphometric index based on the importance ranking of models that include moving windows from a range of 300 to 15000 m for each index. A total of 20 models were iteratively created, started by including all the moving windows from all the indices. Predicting capabilities were evaluated by the receiver operator curve (ROC) and Precision-Recall (PR). Additionally, a measure of reliability is proposed using the standard deviation of 50 iterations. The selection of different moving windows using the feature importance resulted in better predicting capabilities models than assigning an optimal for all. On the other hand, using a single different moving window per morphometric index (eg. most important ranked by random forest) decreases the evaluating metrics (a drop of PR from 0.88 to 0.85). Landslide susceptibility models can thus be improved by selecting a variety of meaningful (physically and methodological) windows of observation for each morphometric index. A 3x3-pixel moving window is not recommended because it is too small to capture the morphometric signature of landslides.

Non-linear Compton scattering of ultra-relativistic electrons traversing high-intensity laser pulses generates also hard photons. These photon high-energy tails are considered for parameters in reach at the forthcoming experiments LUXE and E-320. We consider the invariant differential cross sections dσ/du between the IR and UV regions and analyze the impact of the laser polarization and find q-deformed exponential shapes. (The variable u is the light-cone momentum-transfer from initial electron to final photon.) Optical laser pulses of various durations are compared with the monochromatic laser beam model which uncovers the laser intensity parameter in the range ξ=1⋯10. Some supplementary information is provided for the azimuthal final-electron/photon distributions and the photon energy-differential cross sections.

We show theoretically and experimentally that accurate transport measurements are possible even within the short time provided by pulsed magnetic fields. For this purpose, a new method has been devised, which removes the noise component of a specific frequency from the Signal by taking a linear combination of the results of numerical phase detection using multiple integer periods. We also established a method to unambiguously determine the phase rotation angle in AC transport measurements using a frequency range of tens of kilohertz. We revealed that the dominant noise in low-frequency transport measurements in pulsed magnetic fields is the electromagnetic induction caused by mechanical vibrations of wire loops in inhomogeneous magnetic fields. These results strongly suggest that accurate transport measurements in short-pulsed magnets are possible when mechanical vibrations are well suppressed.

The world’s growing hunger for artificial cold, on the one hand, and the ever more stringent climate targets, on the other, pose an enormous challenge to mankind. Novel, efficient, and environmentally friendly refrigeration technologies based on solid-state refrigerants can offer a way out of the problems arising from climate-damaging substances used in conventional vapor-compressors. Multicaloric materials stand out because of their large temperature changes, which can be induced by the application of different external stimuli such as a magnetic, electric, or a mechanical field. Despite the high potential for applications and the interesting physics of this group of materials, few studies focus on their investigation by direct methods. In this paper, we report on the advanced characterization of all relevant physical quantities that determine the multicaloric effect of a Ni-Mn-In Heusler compound. We have used a purpose-designed calorimeter to determine the isothermal entropy and adiabatic temperature changes resulting from the combined action of magnetic field and uniaxial stress on this metamagnetic shape-memory alloy. From these results, we can conclude that the multicaloric response of this alloy by appropriate changes of uniaxial stress and magnetic field largely outperforms the caloric response of the alloy when subjected to only a single stimulus. We anticipate that our findings can be applied to other multicaloric materials, thus inspiring the development of refrigeration devices based on the multicaloric effect

Time-reversal-symmetry-breaking Weyl semimetals (WSMs) have attracted great attention recently because of the interplay between intrinsic magnetism and topologically nontrivial electrons. Here, we present anomalous Hall and planar Hall effect studies on Co₃Sn₂S₂ nanoflakes, a magnetic WSM hosting stacked Kagome lattice. The reduced thickness modifies the magnetic properties of the nanoflake, resulting in a 15-time larger coercive field compared with the bulk, and correspondingly modifies the transport properties. A 22% enhancement of the intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC), as compared to bulk material, was observed. A magnetic field-modulated AHC, which may be related to the changing Weyl point separation with magnetic field, was also found. Furthermore, we showed that the PHE in a hard magnetic WSM is a complex interplay between ferromagnetism, orbital magnetoresistance, and chiral anomaly. Our findings pave the way for a further understanding of exotic transport features in the burgeoning field of magnetic topological phases.

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PCCs/PGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors arising from chromaffin tissue located in the adrenal or in ganglia of the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system. Treatment of non-resectable or metastatic PCCs/PGLs is still limited to palliative measures, including somatostatin type 2 receptor radionuclide therapy with [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE as one of the most effective approaches to date. Nevertheless, metabolic and molecular determinants of radiation response in PCCs/PGLs have not yet been characterized. This study investigates the effects of hypoxia-inducible factor 2 alpha (HIF2α) on the susceptibility of PCCs/PGLs to radiation treatments using spheroids grown from genetically engineered mouse pheochromocytoma (MPC) cells. Expression of Hif2α was associated with significantly increased resistance of MPC spheroids to external X-ray irradiation and exposure to beta particle-emitting [177Lu]LuCl3 compared to Hif2α-deficient controls. Exposure to [177Lu]LuCl3 provided increased long-term control of MPC spheroids compared to single-dose external X-ray irradiation. This study provides first experimental evidence that HIF2α-associated pseudohypoxia contributes to a radioresistant phenotype of PCCs/PGLs. Furthermore, external irradiation and [177Lu]LuCl3 exposure of MPC spheroids provide surrogate models for radiation treatments to further investigate metabolic and molecular determinants of radiation responses in PCCs/PGLs and to evaluate effects of neo-adjuvant, in particular, radiosensitizing treatments in combination with targeted radionuclide therapies.

The present article is concerned with investigations of the structural, surface morphological, and magnetotransport properties of DC magnetron-sputtered nanometer-thick Bi nanocrystal films on Si(111) substrates. Crystal structure and surface morphology were studied with X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. For the samples deposited at the melting point of Bi, 271 °C, equilibrium crystals formed and according to Wulff theorem acquire a specific shape determined by the surface tension. These crystals were investigated for different film thicknesses and deposition temperatures varying from 25 to 300 °C. Furthermore, magnetotransport characterization was carried out in steady and pulsed magnetic fields of up to 9 and 70 T, respectively. At low temperatures, clear weak antilocalization behavior is observed, attributed to 2D conduction channels. A nonlinear Hall resistance is also confirmed, ascribed to the coexistence of two types of carriers (p and n). This study contributes to the elucidation of the transport properties of the Bi thin films and opens new perspectives for their exploitation in modern applications such as sensorics.

Aufgrund des informationstechnologischen Fortschritts, der immer stärkeren, domänenübergreifenden Vernetzung in Wissenschaft und Forschung sowie der Notwendigkeit, gemeinsam Dienste und Ressourcen zu nutzen, werden von den Akteuren in Forschung und Wissenschaft zunehmend verteilte digitale Dienste verwendet. Der Fokus dieser Handreichung liegt auf den wissenschaftlichen Informationsdiensten, zu denen man u. a. Werkzeuge für kollaboratives Arbeiten, für die Aufbereitung und Analyse von Daten sowie Dienste zum wissenschaftlichen Publizieren, aber auch Dienste für die Entwicklung von Forschungssoftware zählen kann. Dabei zielen die Fragen nach der Art der geforderten bzw. wirklich verwendeten Diensten, der Vor- und Nachteile der gegenwärtigen Nutzung sowie der eigenverantwortlichen Bereitstellung dieser Dienste unter dem Aspekt der (finanziellen) Ressourcen-
Effizienz.

We present the first detailed thermal and velocity field characterization of convection in a rotating cylindrical tank of liquid gallium, which has thermophysical properties similar to those of planetary core fluids. Our laboratory experiments, and a closely associated direct numerical simulation, are all carried out in the regime prior to the onset of steady convective modes. This allows us to study the oscillatory convective modes, sidewall modes and broadband turbulent flow that develop in liquid metals before the advent of steady columnar modes. Our thermo-velocimetric measurements show that strongly inertial, thermal wind flows develop, with velocities reaching those of comparable non-rotating cases. Oscillatory bulk convection and wall modes coexist across a wide range of our experiments, along with strong zonal flows that peak in the Stewartson layer, but that extend deep into the fluid bulk in the higher supercriticality cases. The flows contain significant time-mean helicity that is anti-symmetric across the midplane, demonstrating that oscillatory liquid metal convection contains the kinematic components to sustain system-scale dynamo generation.

The flow structure in the mold of a continuous steel caster has a significant impact on the quality of the final product. Conventional sensors used in industry are limited to measuring single variables such as the mold level. These measurements give very indirect information about the flow structure. For this reason, designing control loops to optimize the flow is a huge challenge. A solution for this is to apply non-invasive sensors such as tomographic sensors that are able to visualize the flow structure in the opaque liquid metal and obtain information about the flow structure in the mold. In this paper, ultrasound Doppler velocimetry (UDV) is used to obtain key features of the flow. The preprocessing of the UDV data and feature extraction techniques are described in detail. The extracted flow features are used as the basis for real time feedback control. The model predictive control (MPC) technique is applied, and the results show that the controller is able to achieve optimum flow structures in the mold. The two main actuators that are used by the controller are the electromagnetic brake and the stopper rod. The experiments included in this study were obtained from a laboratory model of a continuous caster located at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf (HZDR).

This work is devoted to the development of a UV laser test facility for calibration of gaseous detectors. We applied multiple methods to achieve a micrometer scale accuracy for the laser test facility and provide dedicated investigations for laser ionization in the gaseous detector. With the well-controlled laser ionization and remote DAQ system, we can operate the calibration of gaseous detectors and precise measurement of gas parameters at the micrometer scale related to the detector’s field geometry.

Antiferromagnets are technologically promising materials for spintronic and spinorbirtonic devices [1]. An efficient manipulation of antiferromagnetic textures requires the presence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), which is present in crystals of special symmetry, and thus limits the number of available materials. In contrast to antiferromagnets, it is already established that in ferromagnetic thin films and nanowires chiral responses can be tailored relying on curvilinear geometries [2].

Here, we explore curvature effects in curvilinear antiferromagnets [3]. We demonstrate theoretically that intrinsically achiral curvilinear antiferromagnetic spin chains behave as a biaxial chiral helimagnet with a curvature-tunable anisotropy and DMI. In contrast to ferromagnetic spin chains, this system possesses the hard-axis anisotropy stemming from the dipolar interaction, which allows to observe the effects of geometry even in chains with small curvature and torsion. The geometry-driven easy axis anisotropy determines the homogeneous antiferromagnetic state at low curvatures and the gap for spin waves. The geometry-driven DMI determines the helimagnetic phase transition and leads to the appearance of the region with the negative group velocity at the dispersion curve.

[1] V. Baltz et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 90, 015005 (2018)
[2] R. Streubel et al., J. Phys. D.: Appl. Phys. 49, 363001 (2016)
[3] O. V. Pylypovskyi, D. Y. Kononenko et al., Nano Lett. 20, 8157 (2020)

Intensive research in the area of nanoscaled physics opens new possibilities for the construction and fabrication of nanoscale devices. A numerical experiment is a powerful tool to analyze complex systems and flexibly check analytical predictions in addition to experimental validation. Therefore usage of parallel
calculation is required to decrease the time of simulation.

Skyrmions represent a class of chiral magnetic textures with unique properties relevant for spintronic and spin-orbitronic applications [1]. Geometrical curvature can be used as an efficient mean to tailor chiral and anisotropic responses of thin ferromagnetic shells [2-4]. This was recently confirmed by quantifying the strength of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in curved nanostripes [5]. Furthermore, there are numerous predictions of the stabilization of curvature-driven of small-radius skyrmions in spherical shells [6] and an appearance of skyrmion lattices as the ground state in intrinsically chiral curvilinear thin films [7].

Here, we demonstrate a new pathway of stabilizing Neel skyrmion and skyrmionium states relying on the gradient of curvature using a magnetic thin film hosting a circular nanoindentation [8]. These skyrmion states can be formed in a material even without an intrinsic DMI. We propose a physical picture of this effect, which is related to the pinning of a chiral magnetic domain wall at the bend of a nanoindentation. Geometry of the film is described by two principal curvatures k1(r), describing film geometry in radial direction, and k2(r) inversely proportional to the distance from origin. In this respect, the spatial inhomogeneity of the curvature-induced DMI governing by k1(r) is responsible for the stabilization of the skyrmion state. The lateral dimensions of the stabilized chiral magnetic textures are varied in a broad range by engineering the size of the nanoindentation. We describe the stability condition of skyrmion states. Furthermore, on the fundamental side, we put forth a general analytical framework allowing us to map a complex problem of the description of a magnetic texture at a surface of revolution to a standard planar problem with modified constants of DMI and magnetic anisotropy. In this respect, our model predicts a new mechanism of pinning of magnetic domain walls in planar ferromagnetic films with intrinsic DMI on inhomogeneities of the DMI.

[1] A. Fert, N. Reyren, V. Cros, Nat. Rev. Mater., Vol. 2, 17031 (2017)
[2] R. Streubel, P. Fischer, F. Kronast et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. Vol. 49, 363001 (2016)
[3] O. Pylypovskyi, V. Kravchuk, D. Sheka et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. Vol. 114, 197204 (2015)
[4] Y. Gaididei, A. Goussev, V. Kravchuk et al., J. Phys. A: Mat. and Theor. Vol. 50, 385401 (2017)
[5] Volkov, Kakay, Kronast et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. Vol. 123, 077201 (2019)
[6] V. Kravchuk, U. K. Röβler, O. M. Volkov et al., Phys. Rev. B. 94, 144402 (2016)
[7] V. Kravchuk, D. Sheka, A. Kákay et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. Vol. 120, 067201 (2018)
[8] O. Pylypovskyi, D. Makarov, V. Kravchuk et al., Phys. Rev. Appl. Vol. 10, 064057 (2018)

Broken magnetic symmetry is a key aspect in condensed matter physics and in particular in magnetism. It results in the appearance of chiral effects, e.g. topological Hall effect [1] and non-collinear magnetic textures including chiral domain walls and skyrmions [2,3]. These chiral structures are in the heart of novel concepts for magnonics [4], antiferromagnetic spintronics [5], spin-orbitronics [6] and oxitronics [7]. The main origin of the chiral symmetry breaking and thus for the magnetochiral effects in magnetic materials is associated to an antisymmetric exchange interaction, the intrinsic Dzaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). At present, tailoring of DMI is done rather conventionally by optimizing materials, either doping a bulk single crystal or adjusting interface properties of thin films and multilayers. A viable alternative to the conventional material screening approach can be the exploration of the interplay between geometry and topology. This interplay is of fundamental interest throughout many disciplines in condensed matter physics, including thin layers of superconductors [8] and superfluids [9], nematic liquid crystals [10], cell membranes [11], semiconductors [12]. In the emergent field of curvilinear magnetism chiral effects are ssociated to the geometrically broken inversion symmetries [13]. Those appear in curvilinear architectures of even conventional materials. There are numerous exciting theoretical predictions of exchange and magnetostatically-driven curvature effects, which do not rely on any specific modification of the
intrinsic magnetic properties, but allow to create non-collinear magnetic textures in a controlled manner by tailoring local curvatures and shapes [14,15]. Until now the predicted chiral effects due to curvatures remained a neat theoretical abstraction. Here, we demonstrate the very first experimental confirmation of the existence of the curvature-induced chiral interaction with exchange origin in a conventional soft ferromagnetic material [16]. It is experimentally explored the theoretical predictions, that the magnetisation reversal of flat parabolic stripes shows a two step process. At the first switching event, a domain wall pinned by the curvature induced exchange-driven DMI is expelled leading to a magnetisation state homogeneous along the parabola’s long axis. Measuring the depinning field enables to quantify the effective exchange-driven DMI interaction constant. The magnitude of the effect can be tuned by the parabola’s curvature. It is found that the strength of the exchange-induced DMI interaction for the experimentally realised geometries is remarkably strong, namely ≈ 0.4 mJ/m 2 , compared the surface induced DMI. The presented study legitimates the predictive power of full-scale micromagnetic simulations to design the properties of ferromagnets through their geometry, thus stabilising chiral textures.

[1] N. Nagaosa, et al., Nature Nanotech. 8, 899 (2013)
[2] U. K. Rößler, et al., Nature 442, 797 (2006)
[3] A. Fert, et al., Nature Rev. Mat. 2, 17031 (2017)
[4] A. V. Chumak, et al., Nature Physics 11, 453 (2015)
[5] T. Jungwirth, et al., Nature Nanotech. 11, 231 (2016)
[6] I. M. Miron, et al., Nature 476, 189 (2011)
[7] V. Garcia, et al., Nature 460, 81 (2009)
[8] J. Tempere, et al., Phys. Rev. B 79, 134516 (2009)
[9] H. Kuratsuji, Phys. Rev. E 85, 031150 (2012)
[10] T. Lopez-Leon, et al., Nature Physics 7, 391 (2011)
[11] H. T. McMahon, et al., Nature 438, 590 (2005)
[12] C. Ortix, Phys. Rev. B 91, 245412 (2015)
[13] Y. Gaididei, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 257203 (2014)
[14] J. A. Otálora, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 227203 (2016)
[15] V. P. Kravchuk, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 067201 (2018)
[16] O. M. Volkov, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 077201 (2019)

The efficiency of manipulation of domain walls and skyrmions in ferromagnetic racetracks with perpendicular anisotropy determines perspectives of development of data storage and logic devices relying on spintronic and spin-orbitronic concepts [1, 2]. The domain wall dynamics is dependent on its orientation with respect to the racetrack axis. In-plane fields [3], edge roughness [4] and current [5] result in the domain wall tilt in samples, possessing Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). Here, we show theoretically, that the tilt can appear in equilibrium and describe the domain wall dynamics under the action of external field. We consider a thin biaxial stripe with DMI of interfacial type [6]. The main easy axis of anisotropy is perpendicular to the plane, and the direction of the second easy axis lies in the stripe plane under the angle α to the stripe axis. While the shape anisotropy results in α = 0, a general case α ≠ 0 can appear under the influence of other effects, e.g crystalline structure [7]. While the second easy axis defines the preferable in-plane magnetization within the domain wall, the DMI forces the domain wall being perpendicular to the magnetization gradient. The competition between these two energy contributions and the domain wall tension results in the unidirectional tilt of the whole domain wall. If the DMI is weak enough, there is an additional metastable domain wall state, tilted into the opposite direction. The symmetry break is observed not only for static magnetization texture, but also in the domain wall dynamics under the action of external magnetic field. The domain wall reveals fast and slow motion regimes for the opposite signs of A. The maximum of the Walker field and Walker velicities is determined by the angle A of the second easy axis anisotropy and does not coincide with a shape-induced anisotropy direction A=0. The domain wall possesses the switch of the magnetization direction inside the domain wall in the slow motion regime, which results in the faster motion.

[1] K.-S. Ryu, L. Thomas, S.-H. Yang et al., Nat. Nanotech., Vol. 8, 527 (2013)
[2] O. Pylypovskyi, D. Sheka, V. Kravchuk et al., Sci. Rep. Vol. 6, 23316 (2016)
[3] C. Muratov, V. Slastikov, A. Kolesnikov et al., Phys. Rev. B. Vol. 96, 134417 (2017)
[4] E. Martinez, S. Emori, N. Perez et al. J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 115, 213909 (2014)
[5] O. Boulle, S. Rohart, L. Buda-Prejbeanu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. Vol. 111, 217203 (2013)
[6] O. Pylypovskyi, V. Kravchuk, O. Volkov et al., J. Phys. D. (2020), DOI:10.1088/1361-6463/ab95bd
[7] M. Heide, G. Bihlmayer, S. Blügel, Pys. Rev. B, Vol. 78, p. 140403 (2008).

The structural inversion symmetry plays an important role in low-dimensional nanomagnets, due to its strong influence on magnetic and electrical properties. It can lead to the appearance of chiral effects, such as the topological Hall effect [1], or to the formation of chiral noncollinear magnetic textures, as skyrmions [2] and chiral domain walls (DWs) [3]. These chiral structures can be the key components for realizing novel concepts for magnonics [4], antiferromagnetic spintronics [5], spin-orbitronics [6], and oxitronics [7]. So far, the main chiral symmetry breaking effect considered as being the origin for the presence of chiral noncollinear magnetic textures is the intrinsic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) [8,9], which appears in certain magnetic crystals in which the unit cell lacks inversion symmetry, such as the gyrotropic magnetic crystals, or appear typically in ultrathin films or bilayers due to the inversion symmetry breaking on the film interface [3]. At present, tailoring of DMI is done by optimizing materials, either doping a bulk single crystal or adjusting interface properties of thin films and multilayers.

A viable alternative to the conventional material screening approach can be the exploration of the interplay between geometry and topology. This interplay is of fundamental interest throughout many disciplines in condensed matter physics, including thin layers of superconductors [10] and superfluids [11], nematic liquid crystals [12], cell membranes [13], semiconductors [14]. In the emergent field of curvilinear magnetism chiral effects are associated to the geometrically broken inversion symmetries [15]. Those appear in curvilinear architectures of even conventional materials. There are numerous exciting theoretical predictions of exchange- and magnetostatically-driven curvature effects, which do not rely on any specific modification of the intrinsic magnetic properties, but allow to create non-collinear magnetic textures in a controlled manner by tailoring local curvatures and shapes [16,17]. Until now the predicted chiral effects due to curvatures remained a neat theoretical abstraction.

Very recently, we provided the very first experimental confirmation of the existence of the curvature-induced chiral interaction with exchange origin in a conventional soft ferromagnetic material. It is experimentally explored the theoretical predictions, that the magnetisation reversal of flat parabolic stripes shows a two step process [18,19]. At the first switching event, a domain wall pinned by the curvature induced exchange-driven DMI is expelled leading to a magnetisation state homogeneous along the parabola's long axis. Measuring the depinning field enables to quantify the effective exchange-driven DMI interaction constant. The magnitude of the effect can be tuned by the parabola's curvature. It is found that the strength of the exchange-induced DMI interaction for the experimentally realised geometries is remarkably strong, namely ~0.4 mJ/m2, compared the surface induced DMI. The presented study legitimates the predictive power of full-scale micromagnetic simulations to design the properties of ferromagnets through their geometry, thus stabilising chiral textures. We explore these curvilinear magnetic thin films for the realization of novel artificial magnetoelectric materials based on curvilinear helimagnets embedded in piezoelectric matrix [20], to enable the geometrical tuning of the magnetochirality in curvilinear 1D architectures [21], tailoring of magnetic states in flat nanospirals [22] and as components of shapeable magnetoelectronics for interactive wearables [23].

[1] N. Nagaosa, et al., Nature Nanotech. 8, 899 (2013)
[2] U. K. Rößler, et al., Nature 442, 797 (2006)
[3] A. Fert, et al., Nature Rev. Mat. 2, 17031 (2017)
[4] A. V. Chumak, et al., Nature Physics 11, 453 (2015)
[5] T. Jungwirth, et al., Nature Nanotech. 11, 231 (2016)
[6] I. M. Miron, et al., Nature 476, 189 (2011)
[7] V. Garcia, et al., Nature 460, 81 (2009)
[8] I. Dzyaloshinsky, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 4, 241 (1958).
[9] T. Moriya, Phys. Rev. Lett. 4, 228 (1960).
[10] J. Tempere, et al., Phys. Rev. B 79, 134516 (2009)
[11] H. Kuratsuji, Phys. Rev. E 85, 031150 (2012)
[12] T. Lopez-Leon, et al., Nature Physics 7, 391 (2011)
[13] H. T. McMahon, et al., Nature 438, 590 (2005)
[14] C. Ortix, Phys. Rev. B 91, 245412 (2015)
[15] Y. Gaididei, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 257203 (2014)
[16] J. A. Otálora, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 227203 (2016)
[17] V. P. Kravchuk, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 067201 (2018)
[18] O. Volkov et al., PRL 123, 077201 (2019).
[19] O. Volkov et al., PSS-RRL 13, 1800309 (2019).
[20] O. Volkov et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 52, 345001 (2019).
[21] O. Volkov et al., Scientific Reports 8, 866 (2018).
[22] M. Nord, et al., Small 1904738 (2019).
[23] J. Ge, et al., Nature Comm. 10, 4405 (2019).

Curvilinear magnetism is of great fundamental and practical interest whose rapid development is inspired by novel experimental technologies and wide potential applications [1]. A general approach for description of curvilinear ferromagnets [2] has been recently developed and used for thin wires and shells uncovering magnetochiral effects in statics and dynamics [1,3]. Besides intensive research of ferromagnetic materials, their antiferromagnetically ordered (AFM) counterparts are promising candidates for spintronics applications by their low sensitivity to external fields and ultra high eigenfrequencies [4]. Here, we present a general approach for description of AFM textures in curvilinear spin chains [5]. We show that the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction in these systems can be reduced to a hard-axis anisotropy along the chain. Lagrangian of the curvilinear AFM spin chain in continuum limit corresponds to the biaxial chiral helimagnet. Helix geometry shows existence of two equilibrium magnetic states depending on values of curvature and torsion: (i) homogeneous state in the local reference frame, it is typical for helices with the curvature larger than torsion; and (ii) periodic state is quasi-homogeneous in the laboratory reference frame. For specific case of the AFM flat chain there is the only ground state, with the order parameter being oriented perpendicular to the chain plane. We show that in curvilinear system transverse and longitudinal magnon modes in the AFM helix and ring are coupled due to geometry-induced Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction.

[1] R. Streubel, J. Lee, D. Makarov et al, J. Phys. D, 49, 363001, (2016); A. Fernández-Pacheco et al, Nat. Comm., Vol. 8, p. 15756 (2017).
[2] Y. Gaididei, V. P. Kravchuk, D. D. Sheka, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 257203 (2014); D. D. Sheka, V. P. Kravchuk, Y. Gaididei, J. Phys. A, Vol. 48, p. 125202 (2015).
[3] O. V. Pylypovskyi, D. D. Sheka, V. P. Kravchuk et al, Sci. Rep. Vol. 6, p. 23316 (2016); O. V. Pylypovskyi, D. Makarov, V. P. Kravchuk et al, Phys. Rev. Applied, Vol. 10, p. 064057 (2018)
[4] V. Balz, A. Manchon, M. Tsoi et al, Rev. Mod. Phys., Vol. 90, p. 015005 (2018)
[5] D. Y. Kononenko, O. V. Pylypovskyi, K. V. Yershov et al., arXiv:2005.05835 (2020)

The behavior of any physical system is governed by the order parameter, determined by the geometry of the physical space of the object, namely their dimensionality and curvature. Usually, the effects of curvature are identified using local interactions only, e.g. local spin-orbit- or curvature-induced Rashba and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in condensed matter [1]. Lack of the framework, involving both, local and non-local interactions impedes the description of the essentially micromagnetic textures like magnetic domains, skyrmion-bubbles and vortices. Here, we present a micromagnetic theory of curvilinear ferromagnetic shells [2]. New chiral effects, originating from the magnetostatic interaction, can appear in such systems. They manifest themselves even in statics and are essentially nonlocal. This is in contrast to conventional Dzyaloshinskii--Moriya interaction (material intrinsic or curvature-induced, stemming from the exchange). The physical origin is in a non-zero mean curvature of a shell and non-equivalence between the top and bottom surfaces of the shell. To describe the new effects, we split a conventional volume magnetostatic charge into two terms: (i) magnetostatic charge, governed by the tangent to the sample’s surface, and (ii) geometrical charge, given by the normal component of magnetization and the mean curvature. We classify the interplay between the symmetry of the shell, its local curvature and magnetic textures and apply the proposed formalism to analyze magnetic textures in corrugated shells with perpendicular anisotropy.

[1] R. Streubel, J. Lee, D. Makarov et al, J. Phys. D, 49, 363001, (2016);
[2] O. V. Pylypovskyi, D. D. Sheka, V. P. Kravchuk et al, Sci. Rep. Vol. 6, p. 23316 (2016); O. M. Volkov, D. D. Sheka, Y. Gaididei et al, Sci. Rep. Vol. 8, p. 866 (2018).
[3] D. D. Sheka, O. V. Pylypovskyi, P. Landeros et al., Comm. Phys. 3, 128 (2019), DOI:10.1038/s42005-020-0387-2

The optical control of magnetism offers an attractive possibility to manipulate small magnetic domains for prospective memory devices on ultrashort time scales. Here, we report on the local deterministic transformation of the magnetic domain pattern from stripes to bubbles in out-of-plane magnetized Co/Pt multilayers controlled only by the helicity of ultrashort laser pulses. Relying on the experimentally determined average size of stripe domains and the magnetic layer thickness, we calculate the temperature and characteristic fields at which the stripe-bubble transformation occurs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in the narrow range of the laser power, the helicity induces a drag on domain walls.

Background: Tumor hypoxia measured by dedicated tracers like [18F]fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) is a well-established prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) treated with definitive chemoradiation (CRT). However, prevalence and characteristics of positron emission tomography (PET) measured hypoxia in patients with relapse after previous irradiation is missing. Here we report imaging findings of a prospective pilot study in HNSCC patients treated with re-irradiation.

Methods: In 8 patients with recurrent HNSCC, diagnosed at a median of 18 months after initial radiotherapy/CRT, [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT (n=8) and FMISO-PET/MRI (n=7) or FMISO-PET/CT (n=1) were performed. Static FMISO-PET was performed after 180 min. MRI sequences in PET/MRI included diffusion-weighted imaging with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and contrast enhanced T1w imaging (StarVIBE). Lesions (primary tumor recurrence, 4; cervical lymph node, 1; both, 3) were delineated on FDG-PET and FMISO-PET data using a background-adapted threshold-based method. SUVmax and SUVmean in FDG- and FMISO-PET were derived, as well as maximum tumor-to-muscle ratio (TMRmax) and hypoxic volume with 1.6-fold muscle SUVmean (HV1.6) in FMISO-PET. Intensity of lesional contrast enhancement was rated relative to contralateral normal tissue. Average ADC values were derived from a 2D region of interest in the tumor.

Results: In FMISO-PET, median TMRmax was 1.7 (range: 1.1-1.8). Median HV1.6 was 0.05 ml (range: 0-7.3 ml). Only in 2/8 patients, HV1.6 was ≥1.0 ml. In FDG-PET, median SUVmax was 9.3 (range: 5.0-20.1). On contrast enhanced imaging four lesions showed decreased and four lesions increased contrast enhancement compared to non-pathologic reference tissue. Median average ADC was 1,060 ×106 mm2/s (range: 840-1,400 ×106 mm2/s).

Conclusions: This pilot study implies that hypoxia detectable by FMISO-PET may not be as prevalent as expected among loco-regional recurrent HNSCC. ADC values were only mildly reduced, and contrast enhancement was variable. The results require confirmation in larger sample sizes.

It is generally accepted that the microstructure of ion-irradiated Fe-based alloys does not only depend on the local level of displacement damage and the initial microstructure. Other factors such as the vicinity of a surface and the injected ions also play a role and may give rise to peculiar depth dependencies of the irradiated microstructure. Some investigators reported a band-like appearance indicating depth ranges of relatively uniform microstructure clearly distinguished from other ranges. Clarification is important for at least two purposes: first, to identify a depth range suitable for gaining meaningful information about the behaviour of materials exposed to neutron irradiation and, second, to correctly interpret results obtained by methods, such as nanoindentation, that integrate over extended depth ranges. A variation of the ion energy is expected to gain additional insight. In this work, two samples of Fe-9%Cr were irradiated at 300 °C with Fe2+ ions, one sample using 1 MeV ions and another sample using 5 MeV ions. Calculations using the binary collision code SRIM indicate displacement damage peaks at depths of 0.3 and 1.3 µm for ion energies of 1 and 5 MeV, respectively. The depth distribution of irradiation-induced dislocation loops was studied by cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Loops visible in the STEM images were found to be arranged within two bands with the positions of these bands depending on the profiles of displacement damage and injected interstitials. The first and second band exhibit noticeably different number densities and mean sizes of the loops. For the 5 MeV irradiation, an extended range between the sample surface and the first band was observed, where decoration of pre¬existing line dislocations with loops is dominant. This microstructure resembles cases reported for neutron irradiation. For the 1 MeV irradiation, such a range does not exist. Estimates characterizing the loop size and number density in the distinct depth ranges are provided.

As background to the other chapters a short overview of each metals’ physical properties, production process, applications and recycling is given. One way of approaching the elements is through their place in the periodic table of elements, which can be used to predict physical and chemical properties and behavior. Each group in the periodic table corresponds to a section in this chapter. Still how the metals relate to each other for a particular property is not directly apparent from the periodic table. They can be ranked based on density or melting point or strength which are important for structural applications. But metals are not only used for that. Some are used because of their ability to form alloys and improve alloy properties, to catalyze reactions or to conduct electricity or heat. The application also determines the purity of the metal. Whereas for ferroalloys a purity above 90% suffices, semiconductors such as silicon or germanium require over 9N purity. Extensive refining is necessary to achieve such purity. Another way to group the metals is by the method or equipment to produce and refine them.
This chapter is also suitable for a systematic approach. The linkages and similarities between the different metals become apparent, providing valuable insights for primary production (mining), recycling, residue treatment, technology development, alloy and product design, substitution, etc.
The metal wheel (figure2) is a key tool for this. It visualizes the interconnectedness between metals, which is particularly relevant for metallurgists in the context of metal refining and the circular economy. It applies to metals from primary resources, production rejects and end-of-life products, and residues generated within (metal) production and recycling processes. The metal wheel summarizes this chapter, and is also a guidance when designing products and assessing recycling possibilities of metal-containing products.

Proceedings of the international symposium on nickel and cobalt organised by The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) and Metallurgy & Materials Society (MetSoc) of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)

Froth flotation is well-established and efficient in the selective separation of valuable particles from unwanted material with sizes ranging from 10 µm to 200 µm. However, when it comes to the separation of ultrafine particles (< 10 µm) there are still some challenges, or rather opportunities. This research is part of the German research foundation priority programme DFG-SPP 2045 “MehrDimPart” aiming at developing a method for the separation of ultrafine particles based on multiple particle properties. Amongst such properties are wettability, morphology (shape or roughness) and size with applications not only in mineral processing but in general chemical engineering.
In order to study the effect of particle morphology on ultrafine particle flotation, three differently shaped fractions are used for testing, e.g. spherical particles, elongated particles and irregularly shaped particle fragments. Said particles are analysed for their wettability, which is varied by esterification using alcohols with differing alkyl chain lengths, through contact angle measurements. The particle size and shape properties are assessed by a combination of scanning electron microscopy, laser diffraction and optical microscopy.
Flotation tests are carried out using a novel flotation device that was designed especially for the flotation of ultrafine particles, combining advantages from machine-type froth flotation and column flotation.
Besides introducing a new concept of ultrafine particle flotation and froth fractionation, the study is contributing to the common understanding of flotation and the impact of different complex particle properties.

Advances in nuclear medicine depend on chelating ligands that form highly stable and kinetically inert complexes with relevant radiometal ions for use in diagnosis or therapy. A new potentially decadentate ligand, H5decaox, was synthesised to incorporate two 8-hydroxyquinoline moieties on either end of a diethylene triamine backbone decorated with three carboxylic acids, one at each N atom of the backbone. Metal complexation was assessed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and high-resolution massspectrometry (HR-MS) with In3+, Zr4+ and La3+. Solution thermodynamic studies provided the stepwise protonation constants and metal formation constants, indicating a high affinity for both In3+ and Zr4+ (pIn = 32.3 and pZr = 34.7), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations provided insight to the coordination environments with either metal ion.Concentration dependent radiolabeling experiments with [111In]InCl3 and [89Zr]ZrCl4 showed promise as quantitative radiolabeling (>95%) occurred at micromolar concentrations, under mild, near-physiological conditions of pH 7 and room temperature for 30 minutes. Serum stability of both radiometal complexes was investigated and the
[111In]In(decaox) complex remained 91% intact after 24 hours while the [89Zr]Zr(decaox) complex was 86% intact over the same time, comparable to other chelating ligands previously assessed with the same methods. The high radiolabeling yields, limited serum protein transchelation and structural insight of [89Zr]Zr(decaox) complex suggests a promising fit between the oxinate-containing ligand and the Zr4+ ion, setting the stage for further investigations with a functionalised version of the chelator for its potential in PET imaging.

Background Metabolic activity alternates between high and low states during different stages of an organism's life cycle. During the transition from growth to quiescence, a major metabolic shift often occurs from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. We use the entry of Caenorhabditis elegans into the dauer larval stage, a developmentally arrested stage formed in response to harsh environmental conditions, as a model to study the global metabolic changes and underlying molecular mechanisms associated with growth to quiescence transition. Results Here, we show that the metabolic switch involves the concerted activity of several regulatory pathways. Whereas the steroid hormone receptor DAF-12 controls dauer morphogenesis, the insulin pathway maintains low energy expenditure through DAF-16/FoxO, which also requires AAK-2/AMPK alpha. DAF-12 and AAK-2 separately promote a shift in the molar ratios between competing enzymes at two key branch points within the central carbon metabolic pathway diverting carbon atoms from the TCA cycle and directing them to gluconeogenesis. When both AAK-2 and DAF-12 are suppressed, the TCA cycle is active and the developmental arrest is bypassed. Conclusions The metabolic status of each developmental stage is defined by stoichiometric ratios within the constellation of metabolic enzymes driving metabolic flux and controls the transition between growth and quiescence.

Laser-plasma proton acceleration was investigated in the target normal sheath acceleration regime with a target composed of a gas layer and a thin foil. The laser's shape, duration, energy and frequency are modified as it propagates in the gas, altering the laser-solid interaction leading to proton acceleration. The modified properties of the laser were assessed by both numerical simulations and by measurements. The 3D particle-in-cell simulations have shown that a nearly seven-fold increase in peak intensity at the foil plane is possible. In the experiment, maximum proton energies showed high dependence on the energy transmission of the laser through the gas and a lesser dependence on the size and shape of the pulse. At high gas densities, where high intensity was expected, laser energy depletion and pulse distortion suppressed proton energies. At low densities, with the laser focused far behind the foil, self-focusing was observed and the gas showed a positive effect on proton energies. The promising results of this first exploration motivate further study of the target.

Particle accelerators are always looking for new materials which can promise high quantum efficiency, a long lifetime and good vacuum stability, fast response time and low thermal emittance. Semiconductors such as GaN as novel materials for photocathodes are showing an enormous potential.
Activated with a thin alkali metal layer, like caesium (Cs), p-GaN has the ability to lower the surface work function to produce a negative electron affinity (NEA). Requirements on the instrumentation is to avoid any oxygen contamination before, during and after the activation with caesium, so the activation process takes place in a UHV chamber.
At the beginning of 2020 the first activation of GaN on sapphire substrate was successfully done and meanwhile more activations could be implemented. The activation process is influenced by many parameters like Cs-flux, heat-cleaning temperature, conductivity, anode material, vacuum and the substrate. All of these parameters have an influence on the photocathodes quality and its lifetime, which are studied and compared.

The SRF Gun has been running stabile using a magnesium cathode in the last year. Over 200 hours beam time have been provided in CW operation in 2019.
The magnesium bulk cathodes work routinely in ELBE and are polished and chemical cleaned before inserting them into the SRF Gun II, where they are again cleaned with an UV drive laser. Magnesium cathodes derives usually quantum effeciencies (QE) between 0.3 to 0.5% in SRF Gun II and offer a low risk of contaminations and an extreme long lifetime. The UV drive laser cleaning can be repeated several times to guarantee an high quality working cathode.
However, the particle accelerator community is always looking for new materials which can promise high quantum efficiency, a long lifetime and good vacuum stability, fast response time and low thermal emittance. Semiconductors such as GaN as novel materials for photocathodes are showing an enormous potential.
GaN is a semi-conductive material and well known for its high QE when illuminated with UV light. For the activation only caesium is required.
At the beginning of 2020 the first activation of GaN on sapphire substrate was successfully done. At first the GaN is heat treated at 610°C for 15 min and then activated with caesium to form a negative electron affinity surface. With 0.5 % quantum efficiency the first activation is all in all a successfully step for further promising GaN photocathodes.

All organisms encounter abiotic stress but only certain organisms are able to cope with extreme conditions and enter into cryptobiosis (hidden life). Previously, we have shown that C. elegans dauer larvae can survive severe desiccation (anhydrobiosis), a specific form of cryptobiosis. Entry into anhydrobiosis is preceded by activation of a set of biochemical pathways by exposure to mild desiccation. This process called preconditioning induces elevation of trehalose, intrinsically disordered proteins, polyamines and some other pathways that allow the preservation of cellular functionality in the absence of water. Here, we demonstrate that another stress factor, high osmolarity, activates similar biochemical pathways. The larvae that acquired resistance to high osmotic pressure can also withstand desiccation. In addition, high osmolarity significantly increases the biosynthesis of glycerol making larva tolerant to freezing. Thus, to survive abiotic stress, C. elegans activates a combination of genetic and biochemical pathways that serve as a general survival program.

A brief summary to drive a discussion regarding the Wu et al. paper and a possible reply to it.

The current filamentation instability is a key phenomenon underpinning various processes in astrophysics, laboratory laser-plasma, and beam-plasma experiments. Here we show that the ultrafast dynamics of this instability can be explored in the context of relativistic laser-solid interactions through deflectometry by low-emittance, highly relativistic electron bunches from a laser wakefield accelerator. We present experimental measurements of the femtosecond timescale generation of strong magnetic-field fluctuations, with a measured line-integrated B field of 2.70±0.39kTμm. Three-dimensional, fully relativistic particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate that such fluctuations originate from the current filamentation instability arising at submicron scales around the irradiated target surface, and that they grow to amplitudes strong enough to broaden the angular distribution of the probe electron bunch a few tens of femtoseconds after the laser pulse maximum. Our results open a branch of physics experiments investigating the femtosecond dynamics of laser-driven plasma instabilities by means of synchronized, wakefield-accelerated electron beams.

We review the compositional variation of eudialyte-group minerals (EGM) from the Ilímaussaq complex in South Greenland. Investigated samples cover all major rock units and associated pegmatites and aplites. The whole data set (>3000 analyses from>250 samples) exhibits variable XMn (0.1–0.5), REE (0.2–1.7 apfu), Nb (0.1–0.4), and Cl contents (0.4–1.6 apfu). Most EGM compositions are Na-rich (13–15 apfu), while deviations to Na-rich but also to Na-poor compositions occur because of a combination of primary features (peralkalinity, water activity) and secondary alteration. During magma evolution, REE contents in EGM cores generally increase and reach their highest contents in the most evolved rock units of the complex. This points to the moderate compatibility of REE in EGM and a bulk D (cEGM/cmelt) value of <1 during magma differentiation. Chlorine contents in EGM cores continuously decrease, and are lowest at the rims of individual crystals, suggesting a continuous decrease of Cl activity in the magmas by large-scale EGM and sodalite extraction during the orthomagmatic stage and water enrichment during the late-magmatic stage. The overall variations of XMn across stratigraphy are only minor and likely influenced bythe co-crystallization of sodic pyroxene and amphibole (c.f. aegirine, arfvedsonite) and local phaseproportions. Similarly, Nb and Ti contents are influenced by co-crystallizing aenigmatite, rinkite, and others. Their presence buffers Ti and Nb contents to rather constant and low values, while their absence may cause variable enrichment on a local scale. Very low Sr contents (<0.1 apfu) in magmatic EGM from Ilímaussaq are related to the basaltic nature of the parental magmas of the complex, as large-scale plagioclase fractionation occurred prior to the formation of the Ilímaussaq magmas, effectively removing Sr from the system. This is in line with very strong negative Eu anomalies in EGM from Ilímaussaq. Consistently, Sr contents in EGM from alkaline complexes, for which foiditic parental magmas are assumed, are much higher and, in such cases, negative Eu anomalies aregenerally absent.

This talk will introduce the basic concepts of how particle-in-cell codes model plasma dynamics and discuss their implementation in the open-source code PIConGPU, focusing on how parallelism can be exploited to enable efficient scaling on today's largest HPC systems. Furthermore, the problem of IO limitations with larger simulations is discussed and the plugin method for in-situ data analysis in PIConGPU is presented to overcome these limitations. Finally, an overview of different physics cases simulated with PIConGPU is presented, ranging from small-scale laser-plasma accelerators to plasma jets in astrophysics.

We determined the halogen (F, Cl, Br, and I) and sulfur (S) concentrations in Cl-rich rock-forming minerals from five peralkaline complexes. We investigated sodalite (N=42), eudialyte-group minerals (N=84), and tugtupite (N=8) from representative rock samples derived from Ilímaussaq (South Greenland), Norra Kärr (Sweden), Tamazeght (Morocco), Lovozero, and Khibina (Russian Federation). Taken together, sodalite and eudialyte-group minerals dominate the Cl and Br budget of the investigated rocks. For F, however, several other phases (e.g., amphibole, fluorite, villiaumite, and minerals of the rinkite group and the apatite supergroup) are additional sinks, and parts of the S may be scavenged in generally rare sulfides. The investigated minerals contain Cl at the wt.% level, F and S concentrations are in the hundreds to thousands of μg/g-range, Br is less common (0.2–200μg/g) and I is rare (mostly well below 1μg/g). Normalized to Cl, sodalite prefers Br relative to eudialyte-group minerals, while F is always enriched in the latter. Our data show that both F and S may represent important components in eudialyte-group minerals, sometimes at similar levels as Cl, which normally dominates. Sulfur reveals redox-dependent behavior: Under reduced crystallization conditions, S is more compatible in eudialyte-group minerals (EGM) than in sodalite, which flips to the opposite under water-rich and presumably more oxidized conditions. We investigate the applicability of F/Cl, Br/Cl, and S/Cl ratios in these minerals in peralkaline systems to better understand the interplay of magmatic differentiation, fluid loss and hydrothermal overprint. Similar to apatite in metaluminous systems, fractionation of sodalite, and eudialyte-group minerals in peralkaline magmas leads to decreasing Br/Cl ratios. The data presented in this study bear implications for the mineral chemistry and compositional variation of sodalite and especially EGM in general. Volatile components in EGM that are not normally considered, such as F and S, can reach concentrations of thousands of μg/g. Especially in the case of F, with its low atomic weight, the results obtained in this study indicate that it is very significant for formulae calculations, neutral charge-balance, and similar aspects at such concentration levels. This study demonstrates that halogen contents and ratios are sensitive monitors for a variety of processes in magmatic-hydrothermal systems, including magmatic fractionation, volatile loss, and fluid–rock interaction.

Thomson scattering sources with their hard x-ray pencil beams represent a promising candidate to drive high-resolution X-ray Fluorescence Imaging (XFI). As XFI is a scanning imaging modality, it specifically requires pencil-beam geometries along with a high beam mobility. In combination with laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA) such sources could provide the compactness needed for a future transition into clinical application. A sufficient flux within a small bandwidth could enable in-vivo high-sensitivity XFI for early cancer diagnostics and pharmacokinetic imaging. We thus report on a specific all-laser driven source design directed at increasing the photon number within the bandwidth and opening angle defined by XFI conditions. Typical parameters of driver lasers and electron bunches from LWFA are utilized and controlled within realistic parameter regions on the basis of appropriate beam optics. An active plasma lens is implemented for chromatic focal control of the bunch. Source performance limits are identified and compared to existing x-ray sources with regard to their potential to be implemented in future clinical XFI.

1 Introduction
Clay formations are potential host rocks for the long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste in a deep geological repository in Germany, besides salt and crystalline rock. A multi-barrier system is fa-vored, consisting of the technical (container with the waste), the geotechnical (sealing and backfilling material, e.g. bentonite) and the geological barrier (host rock) to isolate it from the biosphere.
Different studies showed that sulphate-reducing microorganisms, especially Desulfosporosinus species, occur in various clay formations, as well as in bentonite [1,2]. Desulfosporosinus hippei DSM 8344 is an anaerobic spore-forming microorganism isolated from permafrost soil [3] and a close phylogenetic relative of the Desulfosporosinus species detected in clay formations. Therefore, this strain was selected to study the reduc-tion of uranium(VI) to the less mobile uranium(IV).

2 Results
A time-dependent experiment in artificial Opalinus Clay pore water [4] (100 µM uranium(VI), pH 5.5) revealed a 95 % removal of uranium from the supernatant within 24 h. The corresponding microscopy of live/dead stained cells showed the formation of agglomerates and an increasing number of dead cells within the incubation time. The black colouring of the agglomerates already provided hints of the occur-ring reduction of uranium(VI).
Different aqueous species including uranyl(VI) lactate and uranyl(VI) carbonate complexes are present in the supernatant, as determined by time-resolved laser-induced luminescence spectroscopy. The assign-ment of the different species was possible by comparison with reference spectra. While the amount of the uranyl(VI) lactate complex decreased with the incubation time, the uranyl(VI) carbonate fraction re-mained almost constant. This leads to the assumption, that the cells reduce only the uranyl(VI) lactate complex. This conclusion can be supported by the fact that the reduction process did not take place in bicarbonate buffer, where the uranyl(VI) carbonate complexes are dominant, using the same microor-ganism.
The comparison of the UV/VIS band positions of the dissolved cell pellets with the spectra of pure uranium(IV) and uranyl(VI) samples provides clear evidence of the formed uranium(IV). Furthermore, bands of uranyl(VI) occur in the spectrum, as well. Therefore, a combination of a sorption and reduction processes is assumed. These findings offer new insights into the microbe-actinide interactions relevant to high-level radioactive waste disposal in clay rock.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (Grant 02NUK053E) and The Helmholtz Association (Grant SO-093).

References
[1] A. Bagnoud et al., “Reconstructing a hydrogen-driven microbial metabolic network in Opalinus Clay rock”, Nat. Commun. 7, 1–10 (2016)
[2] N. Matschiavelli et al., “The year-long development of microorganisms in uncompacted Bavarian bentonite slurries at 30 °C and 60 °C”, Environ. Sci. Technol. 53, 10514–10524 (2019).
[3] A. Vatsurina et al., “Desulfosporosinus hippei sp. nov., a mesophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from permafrost”, Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 58, 1228–1232 (2008).
[4] P. Wersin et al. “Biogeochemical processes in a clay formation in situ experiment: Part A - Overview, experimental design and water data of an experiment in the Opalinus Clay at the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory, Switzerland”, Appl. Geochemistry 26, 931–953 (2011).

Accurate thermodynamic simulations of correlated fermions using path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) methods are of paramount importance for many applications such as the description of ultracold atoms, electrons in quantum dots, and warm-dense matter. The main obstacle is the fermion sign problem (FSP), which leads to an exponential increase in computation time both with increasing the system-size and with decreasing temperature. Very recently, Hirshberg et al.[J. Chem. Phys. 152, 171102 (2020)] have proposed to alleviate the FSP based on the Bogoliubov inequality. In the present work, we extend this approach by adding a parameter that controls the perturbation, allowing for an extrapolation to the exact result. In this way, we can also use thermodynamic integration to obtain an improved estimate of the fermionic energy. As a test system, we choose electrons in 2D and 3D quantum dots and find in some cases a speed-up exceeding 10^ 6, as compared to standard PIMC, while retaining a relative accuracy of ~0.1%. Our approach is quite general and can readily be adapted to other simulation methods.

We systematically investigate finite-size effects in the dynamic structure factor S(q,ω) of the uniform electron gas obtained via the analytic continuation of ab initio path integral Monte Carlo data for the imaginary-time density–density correlation function F(q,τ). Using the recent scheme by Dornheim et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 255001 (2018)], we find that the reconstructed spectra are not afflicted with any finite-size effects for as few as N=14 electrons both at warm dense matter (WDM) conditions and at the margins of the strongly correlated electron liquid regime. Our results further corroborate the high quality of our current description of the dynamic density response of correlated electrons, which is of high importance for many applications in WDM theory and beyond.

We present an effective static approximation (ESA) to the local field correction (LFC) of the electron gas that enables highly accurate calculations of electronic properties like the dynamic structure factor S(q,ω), the static structure factor S(q), and the interaction energy v. The ESA combines the recent neural-net representation by T. Dornheim et al., [J. Chem. Phys. 151, 194104 (2019)] of the temperature-dependent LFC in the exact static limit with a consistent large wave-number limit obtained from quantum Monte Carlo data of the on-top pair distribution function g(0). It is suited for a straightforward integration into existing codes. We demonstrate the importance of the LFC for practical applications by reevaluating the results of the recent x-ray Thomson scattering experiment on aluminum by Sperling et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 115001 (2015)]. We find that an accurate incorporation of electronic correlations in terms of the ESA leads to a different prediction of the inelastic scattering spectrum than obtained from state-of-the-art models like the Mermin approach or linear-response time-dependent density functional theory. Furthermore, the ESA scheme is particularly relevant for the development of advanced exchange-correlation functionals in density functional theory.

Time-resolved optical spectroscopy is a very powerful tool for studying the photoinduced phase transitions and ultrafast dynamics in strongly correlated electronic systems. We reinforce this method by combining it with the high-pressure technique which allows to tune the strength of electronic correlations and Fermi surface nesting in a system. Several application examples for the investigation of the pressure-induced phenomena such as the metallization in VO2 and the suppression of the charge-density wave in CeTe3 and the spin-density wave in BaFe2As2 will be discussed.

Immobile Holliday junctions represent not only the most fundamental building block of structural DNA nanotechnology but are also of tremendous importance for the in vitro investigation of genetic recombination and epigenetics. Here, we present a detailed study on the room-temperature assembly of immobile Holliday junctions with the help of the single-strand annealing protein Red beta. Individual DNA single strands are initially coated with protein monomers and subsequently hybridized to form a rigid blunt-ended four-arm junction. We investigate the efficiency of this approach for different DNA/protein ratios, as well as for different DNA sequence lengths. Furthermore, we also evaluate the potential of Red beta to anneal sticky-end modified Holliday junctions into hierarchical assemblies. We demonstrate the Red beta-mediated annealing of Holliday junction dimers, multimers, and extended networks several microns in size. While these hybrid DNA-protein nanostructures may find applications in the crystallization of DNA-protein complexes, our work shows the great potential of Red beta to aid in the synthesis of functional DNA nanostructures under mild reaction conditions.

Due to environmental restriction laws in oil production and processing, there is a high demand for the oil industry to reduce the use of chemical demulsifiers and to employ safer, less toxic materials. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether Alginite, a naturally occurring and abundant oil-shale rock, can be utilised as an alternative, environmentally friendly and low-cost material to demulsify various water-in-crude oil emulsions (W/O). Three W/O emulsions were prepared using saline water with respectively light, medium and heavy crude oils. The properties of the crude oils were analysed and the effectiveness of Alginite to demulsify the corresponding W/O emulsions was investigated. The results confirm that naturally occuring Alginite exhibits exceptional water-removing capacity even from emulsions containing heavy crude oil, leaving only < 1.0 wt.-% water in the remaining demulsified oil, which satisfies the required specification for industrial applications. Alginite was shown to reduce viscosity and to deform the dispersed phase in W/O emulsions even in the absence of flow. The results of this work indicate that Alginite is of significant interest in petroleum research, in industrial oil processing as well as in environmental remediation.

The porosity and specific surface area of a small intact core of concrete (~ 0.2 g) was characterized non-destructively by micro-computed tomography (µ-CT), N₂/BET and destructively by Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP).

Die Anwendungen der Solventextraktion finden sich in der anorganischen, organischen und analytischen Chemie, in den pharmazeutischen und biochemischen Industrien sowie in der Abfallbehandlung und ist eine der groß angelegten industriellen Trennungs-verfahren. In der metallurgischen Aufbereitung von Rohstoffen ist die Solventextraktion durch die Interdisziplinarität von hydrometallurgischer Verfahrenstechnik und anorganisch-organischer Chemie geprägt. Bei der Extraktion anionischer Metallspezies aus wässriger Lösung finden unter anderem aliphatische Amine eine breite Anwendung. Die wirtschaftsstrategischen Refraktärmetalle Rhenium und Molybdän wurden in den 1980er Jahren hinsichtlich ihrer selektiven Trennung durch eine Kombination von sekundären Aminen (R2NH) als Extraktionsmittel und Phosphinoxid (R3PO) als Additiv beschrieben. Bisher wurden keine Untersuchungen des Extraktionssystems gegenüber Eisen (III), der Coextraktion vom Mo (VI) und Re (VII) aus stark verdünnten Lösungen und dem Vergleich zu anderen sekundären Aminen durchgeführt sowie den Einfluss des Lösungsmittels untersucht (vgl. KÄHLER und GOCK). Die Untersuchungen zum System Rhenium und Molybdän im Rahmen dieser experimentellen Studienarbeit haben gezeigt, dass das Additiv TOPO mit dem Extraktionsmittel DTDA die Extraktion von Rhenium verbessert. Das Extraktionsmittel DTDA führt aufgrund seiner langkettigen Alkylreste im Vergleich zu DOA zu größeren Extraktionsergebnissen. Mit dem Extraktionsmittel DOA treten vermehrt dritte Phasen bei der Extraktion auf. Das Extraktionssystem zeichnet sich durch eine Gesamtbeladungs-kapazität aus, wobei Sulfatspezies und auch Wasser coextrahiert werden können. Das Lösungsmittel Chloroform verschlechtert die Extraktion von Rhenium durch seine abschirmenden polaren Wechselwirkungen und der Konkurrenzsituation bei der Ausbildung von Wasserstoffbrückenbindungen. Molybdän scheint für die Extraktion keine signifikante Abhängigkeit vom Lösungsmittel (Kerosin, Toluol und Chloroform) zu zeigen. Molybdän und Rhenium lassen sich selektiv von Kupfer und Zink extrahieren, jedoch nicht von Eisen (III). Eisen kann mit Salzsäure zu über 60 % von der beladenen Organik unter Verlust von Molybdän gewaschen werden. Mittels Schwefelsäure kann Eisen vollständig von der Organik, aber mit noch höheren Molybdänüberführungen, gewaschen werden. Eine befriedigende Trennung ergibt sich nicht. Rhenium kann von Molybdän selektiv unter dem Einfluss von TOPO bereits bei geringen TOPO-Konzentrationen reextrahiert werden. Diese Selektivität zeigt sich deutlicher im Lösungsmittel Chloroform als im Lösungsmittel Kerosin.

The research of functional materials has attracted extensive attention in recent years, and its advancement nitrifies the developments of modern sciences and technologies like green sciences and energy, aerospace, medical and health, telecommunications, and information technology. The present book aims to summarize the research activities carried out in recent years devoting to the understanding of the physics and chemistry of how the defects play a role in the electrical, optical and magnetic properties and the applications of the different functional materials in the fields of magnetism, optoelectronic, and photovoltaic etc.

Quartz aggregate in concrete irradiated by Si-ions with a fluence of 5·10¹⁴ ions/cm² at 300 keV exhibited an out-of-plane expansion of ~ 80 nm.

First-principles calculations predicted electronic topological properties for 2D honeycomb–kagome polymers, which have been now confirmed experimentally thanks to improvements in on-surface synthesis.

Time-dependent density functional theory is thoroughly benchmarked for the predictive calculation of UV–vis spectra of porphyrin derivatives. With the aim to provide an approach that is computationally feasible for large-scale applications such as biological systems or molecular framework materials, albeit performing with high accuracy for the Q-bands, the results given by various computational protocols, including basis sets, density-functionals (including gradient corrected local functionals, hybrids, double hybrids and range-separated functionals), and various variants of time-dependent density functional theory, including the simplified Tamm–Dancoff approximation, are compared. An excellent choice for these calculations is the range-separated functional CAM-B3LYP in combination with the simplified Tamm–Dancoff approximation and a basis set of double-ζ quality def2-SVP (mean absolute error [MAE] of ≈0.05 eV). This is not surpassed by more expensive approaches, not even by double hybrid functionals, and solely systematic excitation energy scaling slightly improves the results (MAE ≈0.04 eV).

High-level first-principles computations predict blue phosphorene bilayer to be a two-dimensional metal. This structure has not been considered before and was identified by employing a block-diagram scheme that yields the complete set of five high-symmetry stacking configurations of buckled honeycomb layers, and allows their unambiguous classification. We show that all of these stacking configurations are stable or at least metastable both for blue phosphorene and gray arsenene bilayers. For blue phosphorene, the most stable stacking arrangement has not yet been reported, and surprisingly it is metallic, while the others are indirect band gap semiconductors. As it is impossible to interchange the stacking configurations by translations, all of them should be experimentally accessible via the transfer of monolayers. The metallic character of blue phosphorene bilayer is caused by its short interlayer distance of 3.01 Å and offers the exceptional possibility to design single elemental all-phosphorus transistors.

Strontium cobaltite (SrCoO2.5+δ, SCO) is a fascinating material because of its topotactic structural phase transition caused by a change in oxygen stoichiometry. In the brownmillerite phase (δ = 0) it is an insulating antiferromagnet whereas in the perovskite phase (δ = 0.5) it is a conducting ferromagnet. In contrast, the impact of the varying Co/Sr stoichiometry on the structure has not yet been studied in SCO thin films. Using molecular beam epitaxy we have fabricated SCO thin films of varying Co/Sr stoichiometry. Films with Co excess exhibit a brownmillerite crystal structure with CoO precipitates within the thin film and on the surface. Co deficient films are amorphous. Only for 1:1 stoichiometry a pure brownmillerite structure is present. We find a clear dependence of the Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED) pattern of these thin films on the stoichiometry. Interestingly, RHEED is very sensitive to a Co excess of less than 12% while x-ray diffraction fails to reveal that difference. Hence, using RHEED, the stoichiometry of SCO can be evaluated and tuned in-situ to a high degree of precision, which allows for a quick adjustment of the growth parameters during a sample series.

The stopping power and straggling of backscattered protons on nanometric Pt films were measured at low to medium energies (60–250 keV) by using the medium-energy ion scattering technique. The stopping power results are in good agreement with the most recent measurements by Primetzhofer Phys. Rev. B 86, 094102 (2012) and are well described by the free electron gas model at low projectile energies. Nevertheless, the straggling results are strongly underestimated by well-established formulas up to a factor of two. Alternatively, we propose a model for the energy-loss straggling that takes into account the inhomogeneous electron-gas response, based on the electron-loss function of the material, along with bunching effects. This approach yields remarkable agreement with the experimental data, indicating that the observed enhancement in energy-loss straggling is due to bunching effects in an inhomogeneous electron system. Nonlinear effects are of minor importance for the energy-loss straggling.

High energy efficiency of magnetic devices is crucial for applications such as data storage, computation, and actuation. Redox‐based (magneto‐ionic) voltage control of magnetism is a promising room‐temperature pathway to improve energy efficiency. However, for ferromagnetic metals, the magneto‐ionic effects studied so far require ultrathin films with tunable perpendicular magnetic anisotropy or nanoporous structures for appreciable effects. This paper reports a fully reversible, low voltage‐induced collapse of coercivity and remanence by redox reactions in iron oxide/iron films with uniaxial in‐plane anisotropy. In the initial iron oxide/iron films, Néel wall interactions stabilize a blocked state with high coercivity. During the voltage‐triggered reduction of the iron oxide layer, in situ Kerr microscopy reveals inverse changes of coercivity and anisotropy, and a coarsening of the magnetic microstructure. These results confirm a magneto‐ionic deblocking mechanism, which relies on changes of the Néel wall interactions, and of the microstructural domain‐wall‐pinning sites. With this approach, voltage‐controlled 180° magnetization switching with high energy‐efficiency is achieved. It opens up possibilities for developing magnetic devices programmable by ultralow power and for the reversible tuning of defect‐controlled materials in general.