Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Germanium nanocrystals embedded in high-k dielectric matrices are of main interest for infrared sensing application, as a role model for Ge-based nano-electronics passivation or for nonvolatile memory devices. The capability of the size control of those nanocrystals via rapid thermal processing of superlattice structures is shown for the [Ge–TaZrOx/TaZrOx]n, [Ge–TaZrOx/SiO2/TaZrOx]6, and [TaZrOx/Ge–SiO2]n superlattice systems. All superlattices were deposited by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging confirms the formation of spherically shaped nanocrystals. Raman scattering proved the crystallization of Ge above 700°C. The TaZrOx crystallizes above 770°C, associated with a phase separation of Ta2O5 and ZrO2 as confirmed by x-ray diffraction. For the composite layers having 3 nm and 6 nm thickness, the size of the Ge nanocrystals correlates
with the deposited layer thickness. Thicker composite layers (above 9 nm) form two fractions of nanocrystals with different sizes. An additional SiO2
layer in the [Ge–TaZrOx/SiO2/TaZrOx]6 superlattice stacks facilitates the formation of larger and better separated Ge nanocrystals. The deposition of Ge-SiO2 composite layers separated by pure TaZrOx illustrates the barrier effect of TaZrOx against Ge diffusion. All three material systems allow the controlled formation of Ge nanocrystals in amorphous matrices at temperatures above 700 and below 770°C.

Im Institut für Radiopharmazeutische Krebsforschung des Helmholtz-Zentrums Dresden-Rossendorf e. V. wird zukünftig verstärkt mit kurzlebigen Alphaemittern umgegangen. dabei handelt es sich vor allem um die Radionuklide Ra-224, Ac-225 und Th-227. Die Überwachung der Mitarbeiter beim Umgang mit diesen Radionukliden bringt Herausforderungen im Hinblick auf die Inkorporationsüberwachung mit sich. Ein Inkorporationsnachweis kann bei den genannten Radionukliden nur mittels kostenintensiver und aufwendiger Ausscheidungsanalyse erfolgen. Um den Mitarbeitern diese routinemäßige Maßnahme zu ersparen, wird auf die Aerosolmessung in der Raumluft gesetzt. Die Aerosolüberwachung wird parallel durch Aerosolmonitoring und Aerosolsammlung umgesetzt und liefert ein Ergebnis, welches zur weiteren Anweisung von Maßnahmen führen kann. Bedingt durch die räumlichen Anforderungen, die Anforderungen an den Arbeitsschutz hinsichtlich der Geräuschemission und die Herausforderung natürlicher Radionuklide in der Luft mussten spezielle Verfahrensweisen umgesetzt werden.

In this article, a new version of the Real-time Image Stream Algorithms (RISA) data processing suite is introduced. It now features
online detector data acquisition, high-throughput data dumping and enhanced real-time data processing capabilities. The achieved
low-latency real-time data processing extends the application of ultrafast electron beam X-ray computed tomography (UFXCT)
scanners to real-time scanner control and process control. We implemented high performance data packet reception based on data
plane development kit (DPDK) and high-throughput data storing using both hierarchical data format version 5 (HDF5) as well
as the adaptable input/output system version 2 (ADIOS2). Furthermore, we extended RISA’s underlying pipelining framework to
support the fork-join paradigm. This allows for more complex workflows as it is necessary, e.g. for online data processing. Also,
the pipeline configuration is moved from compile-time to runtime, i.e. processing stages and their interconnections can now be
configured using a configuration file. In several benchmarks, RISA is profiled regarding data acquisition performance, data storage
throughput and overall processing latency. We found that using direct IO mode significantly improves data writing performance
on the local data storage. We could further prove that RISA is now capable of processing data from up to 768 detector channels
(3072MB/s) at 8000 fps on a single-GPU computer in real-time.

The Euler-Euler model is widely used in bubbly flow simulations up to industrial dimensions. The standard Euler-Euler model is based on the phase-averaging method. After averaging, the bubble forces in the field equations are functions of the local gas volume fraction. In simulations, when the bubble diameter is larger than the computational cell spacing, the forces can transport the gas belonging to the same bubble in different directions. By contrast, a closure model for the bubble force is typically developed based on the assumption that the force is a resultant force that acts on the bubble's center-of-mass. This inconsistency can lead to a nonphysical gas concentration in the center of a channel or near the channel wall if the bubble diameter is larger than the cell spacing.

The purpose of the present contribution is to developed an Euler-Euler model where the bubble force consistency is recovered for two-phase flow simulations where the diameter of the disperse phase can be larger than the cell spacing. Such an Euler-Euler model is developed by combining an existing particle-center-averaged Euler-Euler framework with a Gaussian convolution method. To validate this Euler-Euler approach, a comparison is made with experimental data for the bubbly flows in two different vertical pipes. The results show that the proposed Euler-Euler model recovers the bubble force consistency and alleviates the over-prediction of the gas volume fraction peak near the wall, while its simulation results in the axial gas and liquid velocity and the liquid turbulence kinetic energy are similar to the results of the standard Euler-Euler model.

We report technological developments at DRACO-PW to monitor and improve laser-plasma conditions resulting in a stable particle-source >60MeV, which in combination with our transport-beamline and high-quality dosimetry enabled first dose-controlled “in-vivo” studies with laser-driven protons.

Electronic properties of layered van der Waals crystals can be effectively tuned by means of external and configurational factors. It allows for the investigation of the fundamental material properties that are valuable for technological applications. Here we show, how Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations allow to interpret the experimental results on quantitative level.
We present experimental and DFT studies of the electronic band structure of MoTe2 at high hydrostatic pressures. Modulated photoreflectance measurements allowed determination of the pressure coefficients of six direct transitions, with positive and negative values, which can be attributed to a strong splitting of the conduction bands with increasing pressure and the presence of hidden spin-polarized electronic states. These results prove that the spin-valley locking effect takes place in centrosymmetric transition metal dichalcogenides [1].
We also report experimental and theoretical study of the electronic band structure of orthorhombic GeS crystals under hydrostatic pressure. Polarization-resolved photoreflectance measurements allowed to extract the energies, optical dichroic ratios, and pressure coefficients of the direct optical transitions. These findings are discussed in view of DFT calculations, which predict that nondegenerate states in different valleys can be individually selected through linearly polarized light. Based on this, an assignation of the direct optical transitions to the electronic band structure is provided. These results provide evidence that GeS is a strong candidate for valleytronic applications in nondegenerate systems [2, 3].
Finally, we combined calculations within DFT and the effective Bethe-Salpeter equation, with high-pressure optical measurements in order to thoroughly describe the effect of strain and dielectric environment onto the electronic band structure and optical properties of a few-layered WS2. Our results show that WS2 remains fully adhered to the substrate at least up to a 0.6% in-plane compressive strain for a wide range of substrate materials. We provide a useful model to describe effect of strain on the optical properties on general strain conditions. Within this model, exceptionally large compressive uniaxial and biaxial in-plane gauge factors were obtained, which confirm transition metal dichalcogenides as very promising candidates for flexible functionalities [4].

[1] R. Oliva, T. Woźniak, F. Dybała, J. Kopaczek, P. Scharoch, R. Kudrawiec, Mater. Res. Lett. 8, 75 (2020).
[2] A. Tołłoczko, R. Oliva, T. Woźniak, J. Kopaczek, P. Scharoch, R. Kudrawiec, Mater. Advances 6, 1886 (2020).
[3] R. Oliva, T. Woźniak, F. Dybała, A. Tołłoczko, J. Kopaczek, P. Scharoch, R. Kudrawiec, Phys. Rev. B 101, 235205 (2020).
[4] R. Oliva, T. Woźniak, P. E. Faria Junior, F. Dybała, J. Kopaczek, J. Fabian, P. Scharoch, R. Kudrawiec, arXiv:2202.08551 (2022).

ASL-MRI is reported as an option to assess potentially heterogeneous physiological processes important for tumour treatment. Therefore, we explored the heterogeneity in normalised CBF as an imaging biomarker for assessment of treatment effect in pLGG. There is a noticeable effect of chemotherapy observed as a change in texture of healthy appearing brain tissue. A high difference in texture between treated and non-treated patients for non-enhancing tumour part is observed, suggesting that texture, based on co-occurrence matrices, is suitable as an imaging biomarker for assessment of treatment effect in pLGG.

Image-derived phenotypes (IDPs) from multimodal MRI sequences constitute an important resource that allows the characterization of brain alterations in the early stages of Alzheimer diseases and other neurodegenerative conditions. Here, we showed the computation of multimodal IDPs from the European Prevention of Alzheimer Dementia (EPAD) cohort and assessed their relationship with non-imaging markers of neurodegeneration. We demonstrated the clinical relevance of IDPs to uncover early brain alteration in AD by showing expected association with non-imaging data.

3D PCASL scans were acquired for seventeen aging, retired professional football players with a history of head traumas. Left, right and bilateral CBF and ASL spatial coefficient of variation (sCoV) values were examined for twelve concussion-related ROIs. A Z-scoring approach was applied, with outliers defined as mild, moderate, or severe injury burden (IB). An IB symmetry index was also calculated. Outliers were detected in all 12 ROIs, and the anterior parahippocampal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis had the highest CBF and ASL sCoV IB, respectively. IB was not biased towards the left or right hemisphere.

The OSIPI ASL MRI Challenge is an initiative of the ASL community aiming to characterize the variability of CBF quantification arising from different pipelines. The goal of this challenge is to establish best practice in ASL data processing, understand the sources of variability, make ASL analysis more reproducible, and enable fair comparison between studies. Here, we analyzed 3 submitted entries from 7 teams registered in the challenge. The preliminary results showed pipelines based in different programming languages and analysis tools, leading to important variability in the quantitative CBF maps compared to the ground-truth.

Recent findings suggest additive effects of cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease (AD) on cognitive decline. MR imaging of cerebral blood flow holds great promise as an early dementia biomarker. Supply and demand of blood flow in the brain can be affected by, respectively, the loss of vascular health and the decrease of neuronal activity, as a consequence of AD. This study investigates to what extent vascular and AD components affect CBF and how they interact with each other.

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is an important physiological parameter for assessing cerebrovascular health and blood flow demand both in healthy and diseased conditions [refs]. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion MRI provides a non-contrast acquisition method for quantification of regional CBF. Its non-invasive nature and ability to quantify absolute CBF make it ideal in research and clinical settings requiring repeated acquisitions. ASL-MRI has been extensively validated with other methods that use exogenous contrast agents, such as 15O-H2O-PET and dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI (DSC) (1–6), and has already shown extensive impact on the neurological, neuropsychological, and neuropsychiatric research fields [refs].

ASL involves i) magnetic labeling of the arterial blood water while it flows through internal carotid and vertebral arteries that supply blood to the brain, ii) acquiring a “labeled” brain image after waiting for a brief period to allow the blood to reach the capillaries, and iii) computing a perfusion-weighted image by subtracting the labeled image from a “control” image obtained without labeling. Depending on the methods of spin labeling and image acquisition, ASL can vary significantly and has undergone significant improvement since its inception (7). For example, the labeling can be performed at the neck using pseudo-continuous ASL (PCASL) (8) or pulsed ASL (PASL) (9) or close to the site of imaging using velocity selective imaging (10). Image readout can be performed using 2D echo-planar imaging (EPI) (11), 3D gradient and spin-echo (GRASE) (12), or 3D spiral imaging (13). Each type of image acquisition can be associated with background suppression of static tissue to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (14). Additionally, the post-labeling delay (PLD) can be fixed or variable (single-PLD or multi-PLD) or obtained using a time-encoding technique (15).

These differences lead to greater heterogeneity of data types in ASL MRI than typically seen in other MRI modalities and a consensus recommendation on acquisition has been formed (16) to facilitate its use in different settings. Nonetheless, different flavors of ASL are still in use based on the availability of specific protocols or scanners, and the expertise of the clinicians and investigators at the clinical or research sites. Most scanners, however, output only the raw ASL data, and the end-users need to derive the quantitative CBF maps from that. Therefore, many potential users such as radiologists and neuroscientists, who may not have the technical expertise, have to struggle their way through implementing these processing steps and finding a suitable software. And a recent European survey noted that technical difficulty and lack of tools are indeed one of the main hurdles to the more widespread use of ASL and quantitative MRI in general (17).

While more than twenty ASL toolboxes have been released (18–30), there is even a higher variety of different ASL sequences, data formats (31), and processing methods (19). As there is no standard defined for ASL image processing, it can be a daunting process to identify a pipeline that is suitable and optimal for users’ needs. Both new and experienced ASL users looking for different functionalities, and the ASL research field in general, may benefit from a comprehensive and detailed list of ASL image processing software to guide this search.

The Open Science Initiative for Perfusion Imaging (OSIPI) is an initiative of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) perfusion study group. Established in May 2020, its mission is to create open access resources for perfusion imaging research to improve the reproducibility of perfusion imaging research, speed up the translation into tools for discovery science, drug development, and clinical practice, and eliminate the practice of duplicate development [ref]. The activities of OSIPI were divided among task forces; Task Force 1.1 (TF1.1) aims to create an inventory of the available ASL pipelines, summarizing their features and requirements, thus making the pipelines more accessible to ASL users. This study provides a comprehensive list of pipelines available, listing their features. Additionally, it delivers an independent assessment of the user-friendliness of the pipelines and the technical level needed for operating the pipeline.

The 2015 consensus statement1 published by the ISMRM Perfusion Study Group and the EU COST Action ‘ASL in Dementia’ aimed to encourage the
implementation of robust Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) perfusion MRI for clinical applications and promote consistency across scanner types, sites, and studies.
Subsequently, the recommended 3D pseudo-continuous ASL (PCASL) sequence has been implemented by most major MRI manufacturers. However, ASL remains a
rapidly and widely developing field, both in terms of improving the accuracy of cerebral blood flow (CBF) quantification and providing other output derivatives in
addition to CBF. These advances have greatly expanded the scope of ASL, but also bring further divergence of the technique, particularly in the terminology used,
which can lead to confusion and hamper research reproducibility. As part of the Open Science Initiative for Perfusion Imaging (OSIPI), the ASL Lexicon Task Force
has been working on the development of an ‘ASL Perfusion Imaging and Analysis Lexicon and Reporting Recommendations’, aiming: 1) to develop standardized
nomenclature and terminology for the broad range of ASL imaging techniques and parameters, as well as the physiological constants required for quantitative
analysis, and 2) to provide a community-endorsed recommendation on a minimal list of parameters that should be reported in publications.

Brain-age estimates the biological brain age from structural MRI images based on changes in brain-tissue integrity and irreversible
structural changes [1]. The brain-age offset to the chronological age — the age gap — is associated with cognitive pathology [2]. Adding
vascular or functional MRI biomarkers may add sensitivity to physiological and metabolic changes, complementing and improving structural
brain-age, and possibly improving its sensitivity to earlier disease changes. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI is a potential early biomarker of
cerebrovascular health and correlates with the initial stages of cognitive pathology [3]. Here, we propose the ‘Cerebrovascular Brain-age’ as a
combination of T1w, FLAIR, and ASL image features composed of the spatial Coefficient of Variation (CoV) and vascular-territory derived
(VT) cerebral blood flow (CBF).

Consumer goods often consist of multi-material structures whose connections be-tween different materials fulfil important functions for production and use. In recycling, these structures must be disconnected in order to achieve high recycling rates for the individual materials. In this context, the BMBF project Circular by Design uses refrigerators/freezers to investigate which parameters can already be influenced during the design stage in order to optimise liberation during recycling without impairing the function and durability of the object in the use phase.

The spectrum-averaged cross-sections of nat Gd(gamma,xn)159,153 Gd reactions induced by the bremsstrahlung end-point energies of 12, 14, 16. 60, 65, and 70 MeV were measured by activation and off-line gamma-ray spectrometric technique using the 20 MeV electron linac (ELBE) at HZDR, Dresden, Germany, and 100 MeV electron linac at Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Korea. The TALYS 1.9 code was also used to calculate the theoretical nat Gd(gamma, xn)159,153 Gd reaction cross-sections as a function of photon energy. The spectrum-averaged values at various end-point energies were calculated from the literature data as well as theoretical values based on the TALYS 1.9 code, which is for mono-energetic photons. They were found to be in good agreement with
the flux-weighted values of the current experimental data. It was also observed that the experimental and theoretical cross-sections increase from the threshold values to a certain energy, at which point another reaction channel opens, indicating the role of excitation energy. Individual reaction cross-
sections decrease after a certain value as bremsstrahlung energy increases due to the opening of other reactions, indicating energy shearing among the different reaction channels.

This paper demonstrates particle tracking velocimetry performed for a model system wherein particle-laden liquid metal flow around a cylindrical
obstacle was studied. We present the image processing methodology developed for particle detection in images with disparate and often low
signal- and contrast-to-noise ratios, and the application of our MHT-X tracing algorithm for particle trajectory reconstruction for the wake
flow around the obstacle. Preliminary results indicate that the utilized methods enable consistent particle detection and recovery of long, representative
particle trajectories with high confidence. However, we also underline the necessity of implementing a more advanced particle position
extrapolation approach for increased tracking accuracy. Satisfactory tracking accuracy can be inferred from the fact that the fluctuations
in the measured particle velocity are dominated by frequencies that agree sufficiently well with the expected frequencies of the cylinder wake.

Schaum und dessen Strömungsverhalten sind von zentraler Bedeutung bei der Schaumflotation zur Mineralaufbereitung. Die zu gewinnenden Mineralpartikel lagern sich an aufsteigenden Gasblasen an und werden mit dem Schaum aus der Flotationszelle heraustransportiert. In industriellen Flotationsanlagen wird die Rückgewinnung von Feststoff- und Flüssigphase aus der überlaufenden Schaumströmung mittels optischer Messtechnik überwacht und ist daher auf die freie Oberfläche des partikelbeladenen Schaums beschränkt. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht das Strömungsverhalten eines wässrigen Schaums an einem Überlauf vergleichend mittels optischer und Röntgen-Messungen. Der Schaum wurde kontinuierlich erzeugt, strömte in vertikaler Richtung durch einen Kanal mit quadratischem Querschnitt und floss durch einen einseitigen horizontalen Überlauf in die freie Umgebung. Die bildgebenden Strömungsmessungen fokussierten sich auf den Schaum im Bereich des Überlaufs. Gleichzeitig wurde hier der Flüssigkeitsanteil des Schaums mittels Messung der elektrischen Leitfähigkeit zwischen jeweils zwei Elektroden bestimmt. Die optischen Messungen erfolgten einerseits durch die transparente Kanalwand und andererseits an der freien Oberfläche des überlaufenden Schaums. Die dortigen Strömungsgeschwindigkeiten wurden mittels angepasster PIV-Algorithmen ausgewertet, welche Lichtreflexionen auf den Schaumblasen als Messinformation nutzten. Aufgrund der Undurchsichtigkeit des Schaums erfassen diese optischen Messungen nur die oberflächennahen Schaumblasen. Unsere Variante der Röntgen-Radiographie mit maßgeschneiderten Tracer-Partikeln (X-PTV) gibt Aufschluss über die drei-dimensionale Schaumströmung. Die in dieser Arbeit verwendeten Tracer bestanden aus einer 3D-gedruckten polymeren Trägerstruktur in Form eines Tetraeders mit insgesamt vier kleinen Metallkügelchen an dessen Ecken. Dank der Tetraeder-Form und des geringen Gewichts des Materialverbunds hafteten die Tracer in der Schaumstruktur und wurden in der Strömung mitgetragen. Die Röntgenbildsequenzen zeigen die Bewegungsbahnen der zu jedem Tracer gehörenden Metallkügelchen und bilden lokal die Stromlinien der Schaumströmung ab. Weiterhin visualisieren die Röntgenbilder des Schaums dessen Flüssigkeitsanteil im gesamten Bildfeld. Sie bestätigen und erweitern die lokalen Messungen des Flüssigkeitsanteils mittels der Elektrodenpaare, sind aber mit einer höheren Messunsicherheit behaftet. Die tracer-basierten Röntgenmessungen belegen die vergleichsweise hohen Strömungsgeschwindigkeiten im Inneren des Kanals und unmittelbar am Überlauf, während die optischen Strömungsmessungen Wand- bzw. Oberflächeneffekten unterliegen, welche in tendenziell geringeren Geschwindigkeiten resultieren. Allerdings zeigen die Messergebnisse auch die Grenzen der Röntgenmessungen mit den Schaum-Tracern auf: ihr Folgevermögen ist in instabilem Schaum mit hohem Flüssigkeitsanteil und bei hoher Strömungsgeschwindigkeit stark vermindert.

In this work, we study ultra-low energy implantation into MoS₂ monolayers to evaluate the potential of the technique in two-dimensional materials technology. We use 80 Se⁺ ions at the energy of 20 eV and with fluences up to 5.0 · 10¹⁴ cm⁻².
Raman spectra of the implanted films show that the implanted ions are predominantly incorporated at the sulfur sites and MoS₂₋₂ₓ Se₂ₓ alloys are formed, indicating high ion retention rates, in agreement with the predictions of molecular dynamics simulations of Se ion irradiation on MoS₂ monolayers. We found that the ion retention rate is improved when implantation is performed at an elevated temperature of the target monolayers. Photoluminescence spectra reveal the presence of defects, which are mostly removed by post-implantation annealing at 200 ˚C, suggesting that, in addition to the Se atoms in the substitutional positions, weakly bound Se adatoms are the most common defects introduced by implantation at this ion energy.

Froth flow is of central importance for mineral processing by froth flotation. In flotation plants, the recovery of solid mineral particles and liquid from the overflowing froth is monitored by optical observation and, therefore, limited to the froth’s free surface. The laboratory-scale experiment in this work investigates the flow behaviour of an aqueous foam at a horizontal overflow (Fig. 1) in combined optical and X-ray radiographic measurements. Simultaneously, the foam’s liquid fraction was determined by measuring the electrical conductivity between electrode pairs. The optical measurements, performed both through a transparent wall and at the free surface of the overflowing foam, captured light reflexions on the foam bubbles, which were analysed by adapting particle image velocimetry algorithms. While the opacity of the foam limits optical measurements to the surface-near bubbles, our approach of X-ray particle tracking velocimetry (X-PTV) sheds light on the three-dimensional foam flow. The customised tracer particles used in this work consisted of a 3D-printed tetrahedral polymer structure with a total of four small metal beads at its corners (Fig. 1). Owing to their shape and the light-weight material composite, the tracers adhered to the bubble-scale foam structure and were carried by the foam. X-ray radiography visualises the motion paths of each tracer’s metal beads, representing the local streamlines of the foam flow. Further, the X-ray radiographs map the foam’s liquid fraction distribution, thus extending the local measurement of the liquid fraction by means of the electrode pairs. X-PTV reveals comparatively high flow velocities of the three-dimensional foam flow, in particular near the overflow, whereas the optical measurements are sub-jected to wall or surface effects, yielding lower flow velocities. However, X-PTV with customised foam flow tracers comes to its limit in unstable foams at high liquid fraction and high flow velocity.

Multiphase flows of dispersed gas bubbles and solid particles in liquid metals are hardly to investigate in situ in industrial-scale metallurgical reactors. Laboratory-scale model experiments with low-melting metal alloys have proven very beneficial for radiographic flow investigations. To extend previous experimental studies that were focussed on either bubble or particle flows in liquid gallium and its alloys, we used neutron radiography for visualising liq-uid-liquid two-phase flows of silicone oil drops in the eutectic gallium-tin alloy. We determined the average size of the ascending drops, measured the velocity of each drop along its motion path, and estimated dimensionless numbers to compare drop and bubble characteristics. Here, we exemplarily present the results for drops of 4 mm in diameter, which may serve as a valuable basis for future experiments and simulations with drops and particles in the liquid metal.

Adversarial attacks rely on the instability phenomenon appearing in general for all inverse problems, e.g., image classification and reconstruction, independently of the computational scheme or method used to solve the prob- lem. We mathematically prove and empirically show that machine learning denoisers (MLD) are not excluded. That is to prove the existence of adversarial attacks given by noise patterns making the MLD run into instability, i.e., the MLD increases the noise instead of decreasing it. We further demonstrate that adversarial retraining or classic filtering do not provide an exit strategy for this dilemma. Instead, we show that adversarial attacks can be inferred by polynomial regression. Removing the underlying inferred polynomial distribution from the total noise distribution delivers an efficient technique yielding robust MLDs that make consistent computer vision tasks such as image segmentation or classification more reliable.

Clay rock represents a suitable host rock for the long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste with bentonite as backfill material. In the event of a worst-case scenario, water can enter the repository. It is possible that naturally occurring microorganisms can interact with the radionuclides and thereby change the chemical speciation or induce redox reactions.
Among different sulfate-reducing bacteria, Desulfosporosinus species represent important members of the microbial communities in both clay rock and bentonite.[1,2] Desulfosporosinus hippei DSM 8344T is a close phylogenetic relative to an isolated bacterium from bentonite.[3] Therefore, this strain was selected to get a more profound insight into the uranium(VI) interactions with naturally occurring microorganisms from deep geological layers.
Time-dependent experiments in artificial Opalinus Clay pore water[4] (100 µM uranium(VI), pH 5,5) showed a high removal of uranium from the supernatants within a short time range. UV/Vis studies of the dissolved cell pellets provided clear proof of a partial reduction of uranium(VI) to uranium(IV) in the samples, although bands of uranium(VI) were still observable. These findings propose a combined association-reduction process as an explanation for the ongoing interaction mechanism.
Uranium aggregates formed on the cell surface were visible in TEM images. Furthermore, cells released membrane vesicles as a possible defense mechanism against cell encrustation.
In addition, HERFD-XANES measurements confirmed the reduction of uranium(VI). But with these measurements also the presence of uranium(V) in the cell pellets could be demonstrated. This provides first evidence of the involvement of uranium(V) in uranium(VI) reduction by sulfate-reducing microorganisms. With the help of EXAFS measurements, different cell-related uranium species were detected.
This study helps to better understand the complexity of redox processes in the environment and contribute to a safety concept for a nuclear repository in clay rock. Moreover, new insights into the uranium(VI) reduction mechanisms of sulfate-reducing bacteria were presented.

References:

[1] Bagnoud et al. (2016) Nat. Commun 7, 1–10.
[2] Matschiavelli et al. (2019) Environ. Sci. Technol. 53, 10514–10524.
[3] Vatsurina et al. (2008) Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 58, 1228–1232.
[4] Wersin et al. (2011) Appl. Geochemistry 26, 931–953.

Surface curvature of magnetic systems can lead to many static and dynamic effects which are not present in flat systems of the same material. These emergent magnetochiral effects can lead to frequency nonreciprocity of spin waves, which has been shown to be a bulk effect of dipolar origin and is related to a curvature-induced symmetry breaking in the magnetic volume charges. So far, such effects have been investigated theoretically mostly for thin shells, where the spatial profiles of the spin waves can be assumed to be homogeneous along the thickness. Here, using a finite-element dynamic-matrix approach, we investigate the transition of the spin-wave spectrum from thin to thick curvilinear shells, at the example of magnetic nanotubes in the vortex state. With increasing thickness, we observe the appearance of higher-order radial modes which are strongly hybridized and resemble the perpendicular-standing-waves (PSSWs) in flat films. Along with an increasing dispersion asymmetry, we uncover the curvature-induced non-reciprocity of the mode profiles. This is explained in a very simple picture general for thick curvilinear shells, considering the inhomogeneity of the emergent geometric volume charges along the thickness of the shell. Such curvature-induced mode-profile asymmetry also leads to non-reciprocal hybridization which can facilitate unidirectional spin-wave propagation. With that, we also show how curvature allows for nonlinear three-wave splitting of a higher-order radial mode into secondary modes which can also propagate unidirectionally. We believe that our study provides a significant contribution to the understanding of the spin-wave dynamics in curvilinear magnetic systems, but also advertises these for novel magnonic applications.

We investigate how geometry influences spin dynamics in polygonal magnetic nanotubes. We find that lowering the rotational symmetry of nanotubes, by decreasing the number of planar facets, splits an increasing number spin-wave modes, which are doubly degenerate in cylindrical tubes. This symmetry-governed splitting is distinct form the topological split recently observed in cylindrical nanotubes. Doublet modes, where the azimuthal period is half-integer or integer multiple of the number of facets, split to singlet pairs with lateral standing-wave profiles of opposing mirror-plane symmetries. Moreover, the polygonal geometry facilitates the hybridization of modes with different azimuthal periods but the same symmetry, manifested in avoided level crossings. These phenomena, unimaginable in cylindrical geometry, provide new tools to control spin dynamics on the nanoscale. Our concepts can be generalized to nano-objects of versatile geometries and order parameters, offering new routes to understand and engineer dynamic responses in mesoscale physics.

The potential of biogeochemistry, i.e. plant ionome, for mineral exploration has been previously demonstrated in case studies in Fennoscandia, where soils are formed on glacially transported sediments. Because plant element uptake is controlled by a variety of processes, anomalies can be weak and not necessarily caused by the underlying bedrock geochemistry. The goals of this study were: 1) to understand the effect of selected environmental variables on plant ionome and 2) to propose a compositional data analysis approach for selecting the most effective element log-ratios, plant species and their tissue types, and elementsfor a routine exploration survey in an orientation survey set-up.

The test site is located on Au-Co prospects at Rajapalot, northern Finland, stretching over highly variable metasedimentary bedrock in an undisturbed boreal forest. Sampling microsites included well-drained soils and edges of the peatlands over a variety of overburden thicknesses, which resulted in a broad spectrum of rootzone conditions. Based on existing geophysical data sets (magnetic, resistivity), used as proxies for lithological contrast, and nature type mapping, we set up a stratified random sampling design (n=98) to collect a multi-species dataset of conifer tree species and common juniper.

The compositional data analysis results show that soil moisture had a weak effect on the plant ionome. However, element log-ratios involving the target element Co in common juniper and Norway spruce were highly affected by the root zone bulk electrical conductivity. These findings highlight the importance of including the soil conditions in the sampling design and using soil electrical conductivity and dielectric permittivity measurements in the data interpretation. The response of plant ionome to bedrock was compared to the geophysical data as a coarse proxy for lithological contrasts between geological domains and to drill core lithogeochemical data as evidence for mineralization. The highly variable bedrock complicated interpretation of results in terms of relating plant ionome to geological domains. However, when compared to bedrock resistivity data, which roughly delineates the mineralized prospects, the plant ionome allowed prediction of sites with high probability for the concealed mineralized bodies at depths of several tens of meters.

The talk will give some perspectives how to study the microbial diversity and activity and their connected influence on the corrosion of container materials used in the sorage of high-level radioactive waste

Liquid metal convection plays an important role in natural and technical processes. In experimental studies, an
instrumentation with a sub-millimeter spatial resolution is required in an opaque fluid to resolve the flow field near the
boundary layer. Using ultrasound methods, the trade-off between the frequency and imaging depth of typical laboratory
experiments limits the spatial resolution. Therefore, the method of ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM) was introduced
in liquid metal experiments for the first time in this study. To isolate the intrinsic scattering particles, an adaptive nonlinear
beamformer was applied. As a result, an average spatial resolution of 188 μm could be achieved, which corresponded to a
fraction of the ultrasound wavelength of 0.28. A convection experiment was measured using ULM. Due to the increased
spatial resolution, the high-velocity gradients and the recirculation areas of a liquid metal convection experiment could be
observed for the first time. The presented technique paves the way for in-depth flow studies of convective turbulent liquid
metal flows that are close to the boundary layer.

The ELBE center for high power radiation sources is operating an electron linear accelerator to generate various secondary radiation like neutrons, positrons, intense THz and IR pulses and Bremsstrahlung. Timing system, that is currently in operation, has been modified and extended in the last two decades to enable new experiments. At the moment parts of this timing system are using obsolete components which makes maintenance a very challenging endeavour. To make ELBE timing system again a more homogenous system, that will allow for easier adaption to new and more complex trigger patterns, an upgrade based on Micro Research Finland (MRF) hardware platform is currently in progress. This upgrade will enable parallel operation of two electron sources and subsequent kickers to serve multiple end stations at the same time. Selected hardware enables low jitter emission of timing patterns and a long-term delay compensation of the distribution network. We are currently in the final phase of development and with plans for commissioning to be completed in 2022.

Nanoindentation of ion-irradiated materials has attracted much interest as a tool envisaged to derive the dose dependence of bulk-equivalent hardness from small samples. A major challenge arises from the steep damage gradient in the thin ion-irradiated layer and its unavoidable interplay with the indentation size effect. The present study relies on a number of choices aimed at simplifying the interpretation of the results and strengthening the conclusions. The studied alloys are two ferritic Fe-9Cr model alloys differing in controlled amounts of Ni, Si and P known to enhance irradiation hardening. Both ion-irradiated (5 MeV Fe2+ ions) and neutron-irradiated samples along with the unirradiated references were investigated using Berkovich tips. According to the collaborative nature of the study, tests were conducted in two different laboratories using different equipment. A generalized Nix–Gao approach was applied to derive the bulk-equivalent hardness and characteristic length scale parameters for the homogeneous unirradiated and neutron-irradiated samples. Comparison with Vickers hardness indicates a 6% overestimation of the bulk-equivalent hardness as compared to the ideal correlation. For the case of ion irradiation, a first model assumes a homogeneous irradiated layer on a homogeneous substrate, while a second model explicitly takes into account the damage gradient. The first model was combined with both the original and the generalized Nix–Gao relation. We have found that the results revealed for Fe-9Cr versus Fe-9Cr-NiSiP are compatible with expectations based upon known irradiation-induced microstructures. The bulk-equivalent hardness derived for ion-irradiated samples reasonably agrees with the observation for neutron-irradiated samples.

Mn5Ge3 is a ferromagnetic material with the high potential for spintronic applications. Usually, it is grown by conventional solid state reaction of manganese with germanium using molecular beam epitaxy. Here, we report the structural and magnetic properties of Mn5Ge3 layers grown on Ge substrates using ultrafast-solid phase epitaxy (SPE) method. We investigate the influence of the substrate orientation, Mn layer thickness and annealing parameters on the crystallographic orientation and magnetization of Mn5Ge3. It is shown that after millisecond range SPE, Mn5Ge3 films always have a preferred (100) orientation whether grown on Ge (001) or (111) substrates, which determines the orientation of the magnetization easy axis lying in the film plane along c axis independent of the layer thickness. The Curie temperature of Mn5Ge3 weakly depends on fabrication parameters.

Photoconductive antennas fabricated from III-V semiconductors exhibit a spectral gap around their Reststrahlen region. This can be avoided in nonpolar semiconductors such as Si and Ge, the latter with a relatively small bandgap and high carrier mobility. Using Ge we have demonstrated the generation of a gapless THz spectrum extending up to 13 THz, limited only by the duration of the 65 fs excitation laser pulses. A severe drawback, however, is the long recombination time in the microsecond range owed to the indirect nature of the band gap. Although not essential for broadband THz emission, shorter lifetimes are necessary to ensure complete carrier recombination between subsequent laser pulses and to make these emitters compatible with standard mode-locked laser systems operating at pulse repetition rates up to hundreds of MHz.

To overcome this restriction, we have introduced deep traps into Ge via gold ion implantation. This leads to a reduction of the carrier lifetime to sub-nanosecond values. We demonstrate a photoconductive THz antenna fabricated on this Au-implanted Ge material that can be excited with mode-locked fiber lasers operating at wavelengths of 1.1 and 1.55 um and with pulse repetition rates of tens of MHz. Using extremely short excitation pulses of 11 fs, we observe a THz emission spectrum reaching up to 70 THz bandwidth, which is almost one order of magnitude higher than that of existing state-of–the-art photoconductive THz emitters fabricated on GaAs or InGaAs. We also succeeded to excite the implanted Ge antenna with pulses centered at the telecom wavelength of 1550 nm. The corresponding spectrum turned out to be somewhat weaker and less broadband, which can be related to the fact that the long-wavelength part does not overlap with the direct absorption of Ge, i.e. it is too weakly absorbed through the indirect transition.

We have shown that the group-IV elemental semiconductor Ge can be used as a broadband THz emitter without spectral gap up to 13 THz. Using Au implanted Ge and short enough excitation laser pulses, the spectrum even extends up to 70 THz and excitation can be done with fiber lasers in the telecom range. This points towards the possibility of compact, high-bandwidth THz photonic devices compatible with Si CMOS technology.

Flow control of liquid metals based on the actual flow condition is important in many metallurgical applications. For instance, the liquid steel flow in the mould of a continuous caster strongly influences the product quality. The flow can be modified by an electromagnetic brake (EMBr). However, due to the lack of appropriate flow measurement techniques, the control of those
actuators is usually not based on the actual flow condition. This paper describes the recent developments of the Contactless Inductive Flow Tomography (CIFT) towards a real-time monitoring system, which can be used as an input to the control loop for an EMBr. CIFT relies on measuring the flow-induced perturbation of an applied magnetic field and the solution of an underlying linear inverse problem. In order to implement the CIFT reconstructions in combination with EMBr, two issues have to be solved: (i) compensation of the effects of the change in EMBr strength on the CIFT measurement system and (ii) real-time solution of the inverse problem. We present solutions of both problems for a model of a continuous caster with a ruler-type EMBr. The EMBr introduces offsets of the measured magnetic field that are several orders of magnitude larger than the very flow-induced perturbations. The offset stems from the ferromagnetic hysteresis exhibited by the ferrous parts of the EMBr in the proximity of the measurement coils. Compensation of the offset was successfully achieved by implementing a numerical model of hysteresis to predict the offset. Real-time reconstruction was achieved by precalculating the computationaly-heavy matrix inverses for a predefined set of regularization parameters and choosing the optimal every measurement frame. Finally, we show that this approach does not hinder the reconstruction quality.

The number of patients in intensive care units has increased over the past years. Critically
ill patients are treated with a real time support of the instruments that offer monitoring of relevant
blood parameters. These parameters include blood gases, lactate, and glucose, as well as pH and temperature.
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, continuous management of dynamic deteriorating
parameters in patients is more relevant than ever before. This narrative review aims to summarize the
currently available literature regarding real-time monitoring of blood parameters in intensive care.
Both, invasive and non-invasive methods are described in detail and discussed in terms of general
advantages and disadvantages particularly in context of their use in different medical fields but
especially in critical care. The objective is to explicate both, well-known and frequently used as well as
relatively unknown devices. Furtehrmore, potential future direction in research and development of
realtime sensor systems are discussed. Therefore, the discussion section provides a brief description
of current developments in biosensing with special emphasis on their technical implementation. In
connection with these developments, the authors focus on different electrochemical approaches to
invasive and non-invasive measurements in vivo.

Isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDH) are metabolic enzymes commonly mutated in human cancers (glioma, acute myeloid leukemia, chondrosarcoma, and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma). These mutated variants of IDH (mIDH) acquire a neomorphic activity namely conversion of α-ketoglutarate to the oncometabolite D-2-hydroxyglutarate involved in tumourigenesis. Thus, mIDH have emerged as highly promising therapeutic targets and several mIDH specific inhibitors have been developed. However, the evaluation of the mIDH status, currently assessed by biopsy, is essential for patient stratification and thus treatment and follow-up. We report herein the development of new radioiodinated and radiofluorinated analogues of olutasidenib (FT-2102) as tools for non-invasive single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of mIDH1 up- and dysregulation in tumours. Non-radiolabelled derivatives 2 and 3 halogenated at position 6 of the quinolinone scaffold were synthesised and tested in vitro for their inhibitory potencies and selectivities in comparison with the lead compound FT-2102. Using a common organotin precursor, (S)-[125I]2 and (S)-[18F]3 were efficiently synthesised by either radioiododemetallation or copper-mediated radiofluorination. Both radiotracers were stable at room temperature in saline or DPBS solution and at 37 °C in mouse serum, allowing future planning of their in vitro and in vivo evaluations in glioma and chondrosarcoma models.

Neutron irradiation-induced embrittlement of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) leads to an increase in the transition temperature (T_0) of the RPV steel and reduces the operating lifetime of nuclear reactors. Fracture mechanics testing of RPV steels before and after neutron irradiation, which reveals the shift in T_0, is often limited by the shortage of irradiated material. To solve this, we tested sub-sized 0.16T C(T) specimens manufactured from already tested SE(B) standard Charpy sized specimens using the Master Curve concept. The transferability of fracture mechanics data from small to standard-sized specimens forms an integral part of this study. To simplify the testing procedure, based on statistical data, we studied the impact of the slow stable crack growth censoring criterion of the ASTM E1921-21 standard on the determination of T_0. We also present a statistically based strategy for an optimized test temperature selection. We found that the results from the small specimens are comparable to the standard specimens. RPV steels containing higher Cu and P contents exhibit a higher increase in T_0 after irradiation. We also found that the stable crack growth-censoring criterion did not influence T_0 significantly. Our results demonstrate the validity of small specimen testing and confirm the role of the impurity elements Cu and P in neutron embrittlement. We anticipate further research linking microstructure to the fracture properties of materials before and after neutron irradiation and the optimization of Master Curve testing using the results from our statistical analysis.

We investigated benefits from raising the ion beam energy during measurements of 10Be with Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) at the 6MV DREAMS (DREsden AMS) facility. Increasing the terminal voltage to ≥ 5MV hardly reduces the yield of the Be2+ charge state after the accelerator if one applies only a thin Ar gas stripper and makes use of an overpopulation of the 2+ charge state with respect to the expected equilibrium charge state yield. As a further stripping to the 4+ charge state is conducted in a 1 μm silicon nitride degrader foil after the analysing magnet, it is desirable to hit this foil with the highest available velocity in order to have optimal stripping of 10Be2+ to the naked ion. The efficiency of 10Be measurements can be improved by ca. 36% if increasing the terminal voltage from 4.5MV to 5.8MV and already by 7.5% if going to 5.0MV.

The detection of low abundances of Cs-135 in environmental samples is of significant interest in different fields of environmental sciences, especially in combination with its shorter-lived sister isotope Cs-137. The method of Ion-Laser InterAction Mass Spectrometry (ILIAMS) for barium separation at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) was investigated and further improved for low abundance cesiumdetection. The difluorides BaF2 and CsF2 differ in their electron detachment energies and make isobar suppression with ILIAMS by more than 7 orders of magnitude possible. By this method, samples with ratios down to the order of Cs-135,137/Cs-133 ≈ 10^(−11) are measurable and the Cs-135/Cs-137 ratios of first environmental samples were determined by AMS.

The main sources of greenhouse gas emissions, accelerating global climate change, are heat and electricity generation. To lower these emissions, an expansion of renewable energy usage is required. Biogas plants, a flexible renewable power source, are one possibility, and are already widely established in the European energy system. This study focuses on the utilisation of raw manure in closed systems to reduce direct CO2 eq. emissions. It is the first to compare manure treatment in different types of small-scale biogas applications and under the impact of increasing temperatures resulting from climate change. The environmental impact in terms of four impact categories is evaluated by means of a life cycle assessment. Two cases are investigated: a biogas plant with either subsequent combustion in a combined heat and power plant or the direct usage of biogas as a simplified and less expensive application. The analysis shows that the first case yields ‑173 kg CO2 eq. per m³ of manure, whereas the simplified one causes 20.9 kg CO2 eq. per m³ of manure. If the first case is scaled with the currently existing number of small-manure plants in Germany, emissions of 464 mil. t CO2 eq. are mitigated per year. With increasing average annual temperatures, higher manure credits are generated and so the emissions of both plant options are reduced to ‑264 and ‑69.5 kg CO2 eq. per m³ of manure, respectively, ascribing the direct biogas usage reductions of GHG emissions. Consequently, both systems have the potential for reducing emissions due to improved manure management and can contribute to mitigating climate change.

The rigorous description of correlated quantum many-body systems constitutes one of the most challenging tasks in contemporary physics and related disciplines. In this context, a particularly useful tool is the concept of effective pair potentials that take into account the effects of the complex many-body medium consistently. In this work, we present extensive, highly accurate \emph{ab initio} path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) results for the effective interaction and the effective force between two electrons in the presence of the uniform electron gas (UEG). This gives us a direct insight into finite-size effects, thereby opening up the possibility for novel domain decompositions and methodological advances. In addition, we present unassailable numerical proof for an effective attraction between two electrons under moderate coupling conditions, without the mediation of an underlying ionic structure. Finally, we compare our exact PIMC results to effective potentials from linear-response theory, and we demonstrate their usefulness for the description of the dynamic structure factor. All PIMC results are made freely available online and can be used as a thorough benchmark for new developments and approximations.

We present extensive new \emph{ab initio} path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) results for the spin-resolved density response of the uniform electron gas (UEG) at warm dense matter conditions. This allows us to unambiguously assess the accuracy of previous theoretical approximations, thereby providing valuable new insights for the future development of dielectric schemes. From a physical perspective, we observe a nontrivial manifestation of an effective electron--electron attraction that emerges in the spin-offdiagonal static density response function at strong coupling, r_s>5. All PIMC results are freely available online and can be used to benchmark new approximations and simulation schemes.

Dipole and quadrupole strength distribution of 204 Pb was investigated via a nuclear resonance fluorescence experiment using bremsstrahlung produced using an electron beam at a kinetic energy of 10.5 MeV at the linear accelerator ELBE. We identified 136 states resonantly excited at energies from 3.6 to 8.4 MeV. The present experimental results were used to investigate the E1 transition probabilities by comparison with predictions from the quasiparticle-phonon model (QPM) with the self-consistent energy-density functional (EDF).

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a non-invasive and cost-effective MRI technique for brain perfusion measurements. While it has
developed into a robust technique for scientific and clinical use, its image processing can still be daunting.
The 2019 Ann Arbor ISMRM ASL working group established that education is one of the main areas that can accelerate the use of
ASL in research and clinical practice. Specifically, the post-acquisition processing of ASL images and their preparation for region-
of-interest or voxel-wise statistical analyses is a topic that has not yet received much educational attention.
This educational review is aimed at medical and technical researchers with an interest in ASL image processing and analysis. We
provide summaries of all typical ASL processing steps on both single-subject and group levels. The readers are assumed to have a
basic understanding of cerebral perfusion (patho)physiology; a basic level of programming or image analysis is not required.
Starting with an introduction of the physiology and MRI technique behind ASL, and how they interact with the image processing,
we present an overview of processing pipelines and explain the specific ASL processing steps. Example video and image
illustrations of ASL studies of different cases, as well as model calculations, help the reader develop an understanding of which
processing steps to check for their own studies. Some of the educational content can be extrapolated to the processing of other
MRI data. We anticipate that this educational review will help accelerate the application of ASL MRI for clinical brain research.

We demonstrate a new localized excitonic state in patterned monolayer 2D semiconductors. The signature of an exciton associated with that state is observed in the photoluminescence spectrum after electron beam exposure of several 2D semiconductors. The localized state, which is distinguished by non-linear power dependence, survives up to room temperature and is patternable down to 20 nm resolution. We probe the response of the new exciton to the changes of electron beam energy, nanomechanical cleaning, and encapsulation via multiple microscopic, spectroscopic, and computational techniques. All these approaches suggest that the state does not originate from irradiation-induced structural defects or spatially non-uniform strain, as commonly assumed. Instead, we show that it is extrinsic, likely a charge transfer exciton associated with the organic substance deposited onto the 2D semiconductor. By demonstrating that structural defects are not required for the formation of localized excitons. Our work opens new possibilities for further understanding of localized excitons as well as their use in the applications that are sensitive to the presence of defects, e.g. chemical sensing and quantum technologies.

The liquid metal battery (LMB) technology is highly promising for grid scale stationary energy storage. Those batteries consist of two liquid electrodes and a liquid or solid state electrolyte. Due to the possible usage of earth-abundant and inexpensive materials, LMBs are sustainable and eco-friendly. The LMBs in the present study contain a molten salt liquid electrolyte. Since the batteries are fully liquid, fluid flow needs to be considered additionally to electrochemistry and electromagnetic fields. For numerical investigations, coupling of the corresponding fundamental equations as well as the different regions in the battery is needed, which is highly challenging. Besides multiple fluid flow phenomena that are affecting the battery performance positively as well as negatively, species transport in the electrolyte and the cathode has an influence on the cell potential as well.
In the presented talk, a quasi-one-dimensional method to calculate the ionic species distribution and the corresponding overpotentials in a LMB is presented. Since these phenomena are – to the best knowledge of the authors – rarely investigated, fluid flow is neglected for simplicity. The method is based on a simulation that solves current density and potential distribution in the whole battery. This requires modeling of the electrochemical double layer as well as multi-field coupling. Hereby, the finite volume method (FVM) is used and the simulations are performed using the open source tool OpenFOAM. Application cases are Li||Bi and Na||Zn cells (see Figure 1), having slightly differing working concepts. Li||Bi batteries are already investigated to a large extend and most material properties are readily available. Therefore, a validation study of the numerical solver is performed with these LMBs. On the other hand, Na||Zn batteries are even more sustainable and eco-friendly. The authors contribute, among others, to the development of the latter within the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project SOLSTICE.

The abstract submitted to the 241st ECS meeting deals with the principle of liquid metal batteries (LMB), their pros and cons and the occuring flow phenomena in general. A special focus is set on Li||Bi cells as well as on occuring overpotentials when operating the battery. A numerical approach that is used to investigate the cell using the tool OpenFOAM is presented. Further, a validation study is performed and an application case is studied.
Attached, the full abstract can be found.

Polymorphism is observed in the Y3+xRh4Ge13−x series. The decrease of Y-content leads to the transformation of the primitive cubic Y3.6Rh4Ge12.4 [x = 0.6, space group Pm3¯n, a = 8.96095(9) Å], revealing a strongly disordered structure of the Yb3Rh4Sn13 Remeika prototype, into a body-centred cubic structure [La3Rh4Sn13 structure type, space group I4132, a = 17.90876(6) Å] for x = 0.4 and further into a tetragonal arrangement (Lu3Ir4Ge13 structure type, space group I41/amd, a = 17.86453(4) Å, a = 17.91076(6) Å) for the stoichiometric (i.e. x =0)Y3Rh4Ge13. Analogous symmetry lowering is found within the Y3+xIr4Ge13−x series, where the compound with Y-content x = 0.6 is crystallizing with La3Rh4Sn13 structure type [a = 17.90833(8) Å] and the stoichiometric Y3Ir4Ge13 is isostructural with the Rh-analogue [a = 17.89411(9) Å, a = 17.9353(1) Å]. The structural relationships of these derivatives of the Remeika prototype are discussed. Compounds from the Y3+xRh4Ge13−x series are found to be weakly-coupled BCS-like superconductors with Tc = 1.25, 0.43 and 0.6, for x = 0.6, 0.4 and 0, respectively. They also reveal low thermal conductivity (<1.5 W K−1 m−1 in the temperature range 1.8–350 K) and small Seebeck coefficients. The latter are common for metallic systems. Y3Rh4Ge13 undergoes a first-order phase transition at Tf = 177 K, with signatures compatible to a charge density wave scenario. The electronic structure calculations confirm the instability of the idealized Yb3Rh4Sn13-like structural arrangements for Y3Rh4Ge13 and Y3Ir4Ge13.

A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms leading to chronic inflammation of tissues after exposure to different types of nanomaterials is greatly lacking. In the case of lung tissue, repeating events of exposure to metal-oxide or carbon nanomaterials can eventually lead to persistent inflammation and further cardiovascular diseases [1,2]. A similar outcome can occur in periprosthetic tissues suffering severe inflammation from the constant influx of metal wear debris from nearby implant materials [3].
To better understand these adverse outcomes, one needs to dig into the initial events that are formed on a molecular, nanoscale, thus requiring an advanced combination of microscopy techniques. Lately, more and more studies in live science are tackled by correlative microscopy (CM) which implements an optimal combination of complementary and advanced techniques on the same sample to be able to reveal new phenomena.
In our recent studies related to both lung and periprosthetic tissue inflammation, we show the new workflow of advanced microscopies and spectroscopies from which we have gained new structural as well as functional insights (Figure 1) [4,5]. With the combination of super-resolution optical microscopy (STED), hyperspectral and fluorescence lifetime imaging (sp-FLIM), Helium Ion Microscopy (HIM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), and Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) we reveal/present the new mechanisms and impact of nanomaterial interaction with lung epithelium and periprosthetic tissue, which leads to better knowledge and causal relations of the nanotoxicity on such small scales.

References:

1. X. Li, L. Jin, H. Kan, Nature 2019, 570, 437-439.
2. E. Underwood, Science 2017, 355, 342–345.
3. S.B. Goodman, J. Gallo, E. Gibon, M. Takagi, Expert Rev Med Devices 2020, 17, 41–56.
4. H. Kokot, et. al, Advanced Materials, 2020, 32, 2003913-1-15.
5. R. Podlipec, et. al, Materials, 2021, 14, 3048.

In this presentation, an overview of the development of the Computational Multiphase Fluid Dynamics (CMFD) and measurement technology for the multiphase fluid flow in a complex geometry will be presented. With the application of the Euerlian Eulerian method, population balance model, closure models for interfacial force, Algebraic interfacial area density model (AIAD), a Generalized TwO-Phase flow concept (GENTOP) was developed which is able to simulate a multiscale multiphase flow which contains large free surface structure between liquid and vapor, small dispersed bubbles and droplets simultaneously. Simulation and modeling requires also verification and validation from experiment data. Here, an invasive measurement technology (Wire-Mesh Sensors) and two non-invasive technologies (Gamma ray CT, ultra fast X_ray CT) which are able to capture cross-sectional phase distribution will be introduced.

Two-phase flows generally occur with various flow regimes, even in fixed geometries. The transition from one regime to another requires careful numerical modeling. In vane-type gas-liquid separators, the transition from bubbly flow to stratified flow is the dominating phenomena. This paper describes the application of a morphology adaptive hybrid multi-field model (OpenFOAM-Hybrid) to predict the complex flow in such vane-type separator, covering different regimes and the corresponding transitions. By means of OpenFOAM-Hybrid, the coexistence of dispersed bubbles and continuous gas core is modelled simultaneously with the same set of equations. The key issue here is the definition of a morphology transition criterion describing the formation of continuous gas out of dispersed gas. Such a transition criterion, based on the local volume fractions of the dispersed and the continuous gas phase, is proposed. It combines coalescence and absorption transfer processes. This model is added to OpenFOAM-Hybrid and validated by predicting both gas bubbles and a continuous gas core as well as transitional regimes in the vane-type separator. The gas core morphology evolution is investigated in detail. OpenFOAM-Hybrid is capable of capturing the gas core dynamics in the vane-type separator and thus proves to be a reliable predictive tool.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) have both been used in nuclear medicine as targets for molecular imaging and therapy of prostate (PCa) and breast cancer (BCa). Three bioconjugate probes, the PSMA specific: [68Ga]Ga-1, ((HBED-CC)-Ahx-Lys-NH-CO-NH Glu or PSMA-11), the GRPR specific: [68Ga]Ga-2, ((HBED-CC)-4-amino-1-carboxymethyl piperidine-[D-Phe6, Sta13]BN(6-14), a bombesin (BN) analogue), and 3 (the BN analogue: 4-amino-1-carboxymethyl piperidine-[(R)-Phe6, Sta13]BN(6-14) connected with the fluorescent dye, BDP-FL), were synthesized and tested in vitro with PCa and BCa cell lines, more specifically, with PCa cells, PC-3 and LNCaP, with BCa cells, T47D, MDA-MB-231, and with the in-house created PSMA-overexpressing PC-3(PSMA), T47D(PSMA), and MDA-MB-231(PSMA). In addition, biomolecular simulations were conducted on the association of 1 and 2 with PSMA and GRPR. The PSMA overexpression resulted in an increase of cell-bound radioligand [68Ga]Ga-1 (PSMA) for PCa and BCa cells and also of [68Ga]Ga-2 (GRPR), especially in those cell lines already expressing GRPR. The results were confirmed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting with a PE-labeled PSMA-specific antibody and the fluorescence tracer 3. The docking calculations and molecular dynamics simulations showed how 1 enters the PSMA funnel region and how pharmacophore Glu-urea-Lys interacts with the arginine patch, the S1', and S1 subpockets by forming hydrogen and van der Waals bonds. The chelating moiety of 1, that is, HBED-CC, forms additional stabilizing hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions in the arene-binding site. Ligand 2 is diving into the GRPR transmembrane (TM) helical cavity, thereby forming hydrogen bonds through its amidated end, water-mediated hydrogen bonds, and π-π interactions. Our results provide valuable information regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in the interactions of 1 and 2 with PSMA and GRPR, which might be useful for the diagnostic imaging and therapy of PCa and BCa.

Lanthanides have become essential for modern life due to their unique chemical, optical and magnetic properties.[1] On the contrary, their versatility causes an accumulation in soils and plants, thus posing a risk for the health of animals and humans. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the transfer and migration behavior of lanthanides into plants is crucial for a reasonable risk assessment.
In this work, suspension cultured cells of Nicotiana tabacum Bright-Yellow 2 (BY-2)[2] have been utilized to investigate the uptake of Eu(III) on a molecular level. The bioassociation of the metal was studied quantitatively by ICP MS upon the exposure to the lanthanide, and qualitatively by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) and chemical microscopy with particular focus on the spatial distribution and intracellular speciation of Eu(III).

[1] J.-C. Bünzli, in Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Wiley Blackwell, 2013, pp. 1-43.
[2] T. Nagata, Y. Nemoto, S. Hasezawa, International review of cytology 1992, 132, 1-30.

Extreme temperatures and pressures were applied to systems based on stabilized zirconia, ZrO2, doped with Ce4+ ions as surrogate for tetravalent Actinides in order to conclude on their long term stability in deep geological underground. Both tetragonal and cubic Yttrium-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) exhibit excellent phase and structural stabilities up to 1150 K. In addition, incorporated guest Ce4+ did not show any increase in their mobility at elevated temperatures. Application of external pressure did not induce any structural or phase changes in cubic YSZ doped with 5 at.% Ce as well. However, a corresponding tetragonal analogue with lower Yttrium content exhibits a 2nd order phase transition towards higher cubic symmetry around 9 GPa. Remarkably, no discharge of the guest Ce4+ ions was observed throughout the transition and further upon increase in pressure. This together with T-dependent data indicates excellent affinity of guest Ce atoms with the host YSZ matrices. The parent YSZ phases are, therefore, promising candidates as host materials for long term underground immobilization for radiotoxic tetravalent elements like U, Th or Pu.

Asymmetric ultrathin magnetic thin films represent intriguing materil platforms, which support emerging fundamentals effects, such as skyrmion and topological [1] Hall effects and fast motion of chiral magnetic non-collinear textures [2], that underlie prospective memory and logic devices based on spin-orbit torques. Such asymmetric stacks can provide strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMI), which is necessary for the sabilization of chiral non-collinear magnetic textures. As the performance of spin-orbitronic devices is determined by the static and dynamic micromagnetic parameters [3], it is crucial to determine all internal micromagnetic parameters for the particular layer combination and sample geometry. In particular, the speed of a domain wall (DW) based racetrack is determined by the DMI constant, $D$, and the DW damping parameter, $\alpha$. The necessity of having strong DMI requires the utilization of ultrathin magnetic (~1 nm) layers, which implies polycrystalinity and compromized structural quality, that substantially enhances the magnetic damping compared to bulk. Accessing this parameters typically requires dynamic experiments, whose interpretations are cumbersome due to the creep regime.
Here, we present the experimental and theoretical investigation of tilted DWs in perpendicularly magnetized asymmetric //CrOx/Co/Pt layer stacks with the surface-induced DMI. We will discuss two possible theoretical mechanism for the appearance of titled DWs: (I) A unidirectional tilt could appear in equilibrium as a result of the competition between the DMI and additional in-plane easy-axis anisotropy, which breaks the symmetry of the magnetic texture and introduce tilts [4]. (II) A static DW tilt could appear due to the spatial variation of magnetic parameters, which introduce pinning centers for DWs [5]. A moving DW can be trapped in a tilted state after the external driving field is off. Based on these theoretical approaches, we perform a statistical analysis of the DW tilt angles obtained in staticts after the external magnetic field used for the sample demagnetization was off. We found that the second approach confirms the experimental observations and allows to determine self-consistently the range of DW damping parameters and DMI constants for the particular layer stack. Using two reference fields, which provide two characteristic tilt angles, allow us to retrieve the range of DMI strength $D \geq 0.8$ mJ/m2 and DW damping parameters $\alpha \geq 0.1$. The upper limit for the DMI constant agrees with an independent transport-based measurement giving $D=0.90 \pm 0.13$ mJ/m2, which further refines our estimate of the damping parameter $\alpha=0.13 \pm 0.02$. Thus, the combination of the proposed method with standard metrological techniques opens up opportunities for the quantification of both static and dynamic micromagnetic parameters based on static measurements of the DW morphology.
[1] N. Nagaosa and Y. Tokura, “Topological properties and dynamics of magnetic skyrmions”, Nat. Nanotechnol. 8, 899 (2013).
[2] A. Fert, N. Reyren, and V. Cros, “Magnetic skyrmions: advances in physics and potential applications”, Nat. Rev. Mater. 2, 17031 (2017).
[3] C. Garg, S.-H. Yang, T. Phung, A. Pushp and S. S. P. Parkin, “Dramatic influence of curvature of nanowire on chiral domain wall velocity”, Sci. Adv. 3, e1602804 (2017).
[4] O. V. Pylypovskyi, V. P. Kravchuk, O. M. Volkov, J. Fassbender, D. D. Sheka and D. Makarov, “Unidirectional tilt of domain walls in equilibrium in biaxial stripes with Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction”, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 53, 395003 (2020).
[5] O. M. Volkov, F. Kronast, C. Abert, E. Se. Oliveros Mata, T. Kosub, P. Makushko, D. Erb, O. V. Pylypovskyi, M.-A. Mawass, D. Sheka, S. Zhou, J. Fassbender and D. Makarov, “Domain-Wall Damping in Ultrathin Nanostripes with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction”, Phys. Rev. Appl. 15, 034038 (2021).

Printing electronics is developing as an on-site fabrication approach to obtaining customized functional devices. [1] In particular, printed devices can be designed to suit
the specifications of each user, e.g. size, location, and functionality. Our research focuses on developing touchless devices that interact via printed magnetic field sensors. Here we will show our approach to fabricating magnetoresistive printable pastes containing magnetosensitive particles embedded in a polymeric binder. The engineering of the printed sensors relies on the properties of the paste fillers, binder, substrate, and processing techniques. The properties of the fillers change the output response of the printed sensors. For example, flake particles showing anisotropic magnetoresistance [2] and giant magnetoresistance [3] have excellent sensitivity below 1 mT making them attractive for wearable and on-skin applications. On the other hand, we studied the capabilities of bismuth-based printed sensors [4] showing non-saturating large magnetoresistance; the output characteristics of these devices made them attractive for wide-range magnetic field sensors. Tuning the mechanical properties of the binder gives special deforming capabilities to
the printed sensors. Polymeric binders used to print our sensors on flexible foils allowed us to laminate our printed systems on objects with complex geometries and even on the
human skin. For instance, we achieved stretchable (100% strain) magnetic field sensors by using a styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer as a binder. We demonstrated
that these printed sensors are functional after bending to 16 µm bending radius. [3] We demonstrated the scalability of printing magnetic field sensors using automatized
dispenser printing and laser sintering. This technique offers large-area, affordable, customized fabrication of flexible fully printed magnetic field sensors with minimal material requirements. [4] Such fabrication capabilities open the path for extended interactive smart surfaces and touchless terminal boards. We foresee further developing flexible printed touchless devices in 2D and even 3D printed [5] fully embedded systems for navigation, gaming, personal dosimeters, and health monitoring.
[1] Y. Khan, et al. Adv. Mater. 32, 1905279 (2020)
[2] E.S. Oliveros Mata, et al. Appl. Phys. A 127, 280 (2021)
[3] M. Ha, et al. Adv. Mater. 33, 2005521 (2021)
[4] E.S. Oliveros‐Mata, E. S., C. Voigt, et al. Adv. Mater. Technol. 2200227 (2022)
[5] E.M. Palmero, et al. IEEE Trans. Magn. 55, 1 (2018)

Soft actuators are coming closer to the capabilities of biological mechanical systems.[1] Biomechanics rely on soft, reconfigurable, and efficient structures that allow the
movement, displacement, and interaction of biological systems with their environment. Among others, magnetic soft actuators excel due to the untethered actuation via
electromagnetic fields.[2] Such electromagnetic actuation can be controlled via permanent magnets or coils. Alternating magnetic fields combined with the smart design
of soft actuators have achieved 100 Hz actuation speeds which are attractive to quickly react and adapt to environmental conditions.[3] Additionally, magnetic origami-like
actuators can be specifically magnetized to achieve more complex shape morphing.[4] To close the loop between the actuation of soft systems and the control of their
movements is needed a suitable sensing unit. Robotic systems are normally integrated with sensing awareness to interact with their surroundings. Flexible sensors
mechanically conformal with soft actuators are still under research development. Here, we show the first adaptation of magnetosensitive skins laminated on magnetically
actuated soft actuators.[5] Ultrathin conformal magnetic field GMR and Hall effect sensors were used to detect the magnetization state, the orientation, and the folding
state of origami-like actuators. The magnetic origami foils were made of NdFeB microparticles in PDMS. We found the best thickness and concentration parameters to
achieve untethered magnetic folds defined on the fly. We demonstrate the synergistic combination of magnetic soft actuators and e-skins allowed self-guided assembly into a
box and boat-like layouts. The assembly process was followed and controlled by the signal recovered from the laminated sensing e-skins. We expect further alike integrations for autonomous remote soft mechatronic systems, where untethered actuation is needed.
[1] A. Miriyev, et al. Nat. Commun. 8, 596 (2017)
[2] S. Wu, et al. Multifunct. Mater. 3, 042003 (2020)
2022 IEEE NAP / Abstract 2
[3] X. Wang, et al. Commun. Matter. 1, 67 (2020)
[4] Y. Kim, et al. Nature. 558, 274 (2018)
[5] M. Ha, et al. Adv. Mater. 33, 2008751 (2021)

Historically, investigation of curvature-induced effects in micromagnetism has started from planar curved ferromagnetic systems, e.g. rings, spirals, curved wires and narrow ribbons. In general, these systems could be considered as quasi one-dimensional magnetic objects, whose parameters change only along the wire while remaining constant in cross section. Thus, in the scope of this chapter much attention is dedicated to the general theoretical toolbox for the description of magnetic effects in flat curved systems without torsion. Here, the theoretical activities on the topic of curvilinear wires are summarized providing a systematic description of various static and dynamic curvature-induced effects in such systems. Also, it is discussed the available methods for the fabrication, characterization, and utilization of flat curved systems for the formation of new artificial chiral nanostructures with defined properties from standard magnetic materials.

In this chapter, we make the very first attempt to apply concepts of curvilinear magnetism to the active research field of magnetic soft actuators and, in particular, magnetic soft robots. Specifically, we describe the interplay between the mechanical and magnetic degrees of freedom in mechanically flexible materials. The discussion starts with the common approach based on the analysis of the balance of magnetic and mechanical forces and torques to describe the actuation behavior and performance of mechanically soft magnetic thin films, wires and ribbons. The framework of curvilinear magnetism is then applied to provide an intuitive physical picture of a complex behavior of actuators possessing a complex magnetic texture.

This chapter gives an overview of the current state of 3D nanofabrication techniques and perspectives of geometry effects in complex-shaped systems. Various nano-architectures are considered, including nanostructured junctions and magnetic nanowire lattices with frustration, wireframe and mesh-like 3D objects, and 3D systems with non-trivial topology and chirality. In addition to the theoretical background, a large section is devoted to novel fabrication techniques relying upon 3D optical lithography and 3D nanoprinting by focused electron and ion beam-induced deposition. Emphasis is on 3D nano-architectures made from materials exhibiting cooperative ground states such as ferromagnetism and superconductivity.

Here, we consider theoretical description and fabrication of thin wires, which are arranged along space curves. Geometry of these nanoarchitectures is characterized by two functions: curvature and torsion, which determine the modification of magnetic responses. The torsion being the key distinguishing parameter from flat curvilinear wires (discussed in Chapter 1) is in the focus of this chapter. The presented analytical approach to address thin wires of circular cross-section (wires) and rectangular cross-section (thin ribbons) deals with the geometry-induced effects stemming from the symmetric and antisymmetric exchange, as well as symmetries of spin-orbit and spin-transfer torques. Using helix- and helicoid-based samples as a case study, we discuss fundamental features in magnetic textures of geometries with twists in three-dimensional space and compare properties of ferromagnetic samples with antiferromagnetic spin chains. The experimental techniques to develop and characterize ferromagnetic nanowires of arbitrary shape at the nanoscale are described.

Magnetic nanostructures represent a reach playground for fundamental research in magnetism but also are applied in different areas including but not limited to magnetic data storage, permanent magnets, medicine, printing technologies and deep brain stimulation. This broad range of applications is enabled by the tunability of the composition of magnetic nanoscaled objects, which can consist of magnetic and non-magnetic heterostructures, possess different types of magnetic ordering and be of different geometrical shape. In this Chapter, we review fundamentals of magnetic phenomena in magnetic nanostructures, address fabrication and characterisation approaches as well as discuss on application scenarios. Considering the recent activities, we introduce also curvilinear nanostructures, strain coupled artificial multiferroics as well as magnetic 2D materials and heterostructures of magnetic materials and topological insulators.

We present a new shallow-water formulation of forced magnetohydrodynamic Ross-
by waves originating in the tachocline of solar-like stars. As a novelty to former descriptions,
we add an external tidal potential to the equations and further include a linear damping law,
allowing us to study wave motions driven by arbitrary tidal forces. The model is applied to the
specific case of our sun, where we consider the action of the tidally dominant planet Jupiter.
We present an explicit analytic solution to this problem, which we finally use to estimate char-
acteristic responding wave amplitudes.

Antiferromagnetic insulators are a prospective material science platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and non-volatile data storage. A magnetomechanical coupling in antiferromagnets offers vast advantages in the control and manipulation of the primary order parameter yet remains largely unexplored both fundamentally and technologically. Here, we discover a new member in the family of flexoeffects in thin films of technologically relevant antiferromagnetic Cr2O3. We demonstrate that a gradient of mechanical strain can impact the magnetic phase transition resulting in the distribution of the N ́eel temperature along the thickness of a 50-nm-thick film and induces a sizable flexomagnetic coefficient of about 15 μb/nm2 originating from the inhomogeneous reduction of the antiferromagnetic order parameter. The antiferromagnetic ordering in inhomogeneously strained thin films of Cr2O3 can persist up to 100◦ C, rendering Cr2O3 relevant for industrial electronics applications. The presence of a strain gradient in thin films of Cr2O3 may therefore allow for the realization of reconfigurable antiferromagnetic racetracks, magnonic waveguides and magnon crystals. The presence of a strain gradient in ultrathin films of Cr2O3 enables new fundamental research directions on magnetomechanics and thermodynamics of antiferromagnetic solitons, spin waves and artificial spin ice systems in magnetic materials with continuously graded parameters.

In the last years the take-off of three-dimensional nanomagnetism has brought into scene diverse novel non-trivial magnetic textures that could be of interest for spintronic and nanoelectronics applications [1,2]. Particularly, cylindrical nanowires are fascinating building blocks of nanoarchitectures due to its surface curvature that promotes domain walls that are likely to reach the high velocities required for fast recording technologies like the Bloch Point (BP) domain wall [3-6], and non-trivial magnetic configurations like Skyrmion tubes [7-9]. The challenge in several technologies based on these objects is to achieve the fast controlled propagation of domain walls and tailoring magnetic domain structure. In this talk I will review recent developments in spin-polarized current- and field- magnetization processes in cylindrical nanowires [4,5], and present three-dimensional magnetic configurations that are appealing for the development of advanced technologies.

[1] A. Fernandez-Pacheco et al., Three-dimensional nanomagnetism. Nat. Commun. 8, 15756 (2017)
[2] B. Dieny et al., Opportunities and challenges for spintronics in the microelectronics industry. Nat. Electron. 3, 446–459 (2020).
[3] S. Da Col et al., Observation of Bloch-point domain walls in cylindrical magnetic nanowires, Phys. Rev. B, 89, 180405 (2014).
[4] X.-P. Ma et al., Cherenkov-type three-dimensional breakdown behavior of the Bloch-point domain wall motion in the cylindrical nanowire, Appl. Phys. Lett. 117, 062402 (2020).
[4] J.A. Fernandez-Roldan et al., Electric current and field control of vortex structures in cylindrical magnetic nanowires, Phys. Rev. B 102, 024421 (2020).
[5] M. Schöbitz et al., Fast Domain Wall Motion Governed by Topology and Oersted Fields in Cylindrical Magnetic Nanowires. Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 217201 (2019).
[6] J. A. Fernandez-Roldan, C. Bran, R. P. del Real, M. Vazquez and O. Chubykalo-Fesenko. Bloch Point propagation in cylindrical nanowires under spin-polarized currents. (Submitted) (2021)
[7] J. A. Fernandez-Roldan et al, Magnetization pinning in modulated nanowires: from topological protection to the “corkscrew” mechanism, Nanoscale 10, 5923 (2018)
[8] J. Garcia et al, Narrow Segment Driven Multistep Magnetization Reversal Process in Sharp Diameter Modulated Fe67Co33 Nanowires, Nanomaterials 2021, 11(11), 3077 (2021).
[9] E. Berganza et al., Evidence of Skyrmion-Tube Mediated Magnetization Reversal in Modulated Nanowires. Materials 14, 5671 (2021).

Purpose: To compare dose distributions and robustness in treatment plans from eight European centres
in preparation for the European randomized phase-III PROTECT-trial investigating the effect of proton
therapy (PT) versus photon therapy (XT) for oesophageal cancer.
Materials and methods: All centres optimized one PT and one XT nominal plan using delineated 4DCT
scans for four patients receiving 50.4 Gy (RBE) in 28 fractions. Target volume receiving 95% of prescribed
dose (V95%iCTVtotal) should be >99%. Robustness towards setup, range, and respiration was evaluated. The
plans were recalculated on a surveillance 4DCT (sCT) acquired at fraction ten and robustness evaluation
was performed to evaluate the effect of respiration and inter-fractional anatomical changes.
Results: All PT and XT plans complied with V95%iCTVtotal >99% for the nominal plan and V95%iCTVtotal >97%
for all respiratory and robustness scenarios. Lung and heart dose varied considerably between centres for
both modalities. The difference in mean lung dose and mean heart dose between each pair of XT and PT
plans was in median [range] 4.8 Gy [1.1;7.6] and 8.4 Gy [1.9;24.5], respectively. Patients B and C showed
large inter-fractional anatomical changes on sCT. For patient B, the minimum V95%iCTVtotal in the worst-
case robustness scenario was 45% and 94% for XT and PT, respectively. For patient C, the minimum
V95%iCTVtotal was 57% and 72% for XT and PT, respectively. Patient A and D showed minor inter-
fractional changes and the minimum V95%iCTVtotal was >85%.
Conclusion: Large variability in dose to the lungs and heart was observed for both modalities. Inter-
fractional anatomical changes led to larger target dose deterioration for XT than PT plans.

Cylindrical magnetic nanowires are promising materials with prospects to be used in a wide range of applications. The versatility of these nanostructures is based on the tunability of their magnetic properties by the appropriate selection of the composition and morphology. In addition, stochastic behaviour has attracted attention for the development of neuromorphic devices relying on probabilistic magnetization switching. Here, we present a study of the magnetization reversal process in multisegmented CoNi/Cu nanowires. Non-standard 2D magnetic maps, recorded under in-plane magnetic field produces datasets which are correlated with the magnetoresistance measurements and micromagnetic simulations. From this, the contribution of the individual segments to the demagnetization process can be distinguished. The results show that the magnetization reversal in these nanowires does not occur through a single Barkhausen jump but rather by multi-step switching, as individual CoNi segments in the NW undergo magnetization reversal. The existence of vortex states is confirmed by their footprint in the magnetoresistance and 2D MFM maps. In addition, the stochasticity of the magnetization reversal is analysed. On the one hand, we observe different switching fields among the segments due to a slight variation in geometrical parameters or magnetic anisotropy. On the other hand, the stochasticity is observed in a series of repetitions of the magnetization reversal processes for the same NW under the same conditions.

Emergent geometry-driven responses in curvilinear antiferromagnets offer new possibilities to tailor chiral and anisotropic properties of the ground state and non-collinear textures. This includes a possibility to tailor weak ferromagnetism and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction by means of selection of sample’s shape.

Geometry-driven effects in curvilinear magnets provide an effective way to tailor functionality of magnetic nanoarchitectures. Antiferromagnets are perspective materials for novel spintronic devices. In scope of the field of curvilinear magnetism, there is a possibility to tune their chiral, anisotropic and weakly ferromagnetic responses.

Conventional magnetic nanoscale devices are based on planar thin films and straight racetracks hosting magnetic topological solitons. Recent progress in fabrication and characterization methods allows to realise and study of complex-shaped planar and three-dimensional (3D) architectures. In the planar case, boundaries of nanodots lead to the formation of inhomogeneous textures, such as vortices and antivortices. In 3D, the magnetostatic interaction favours a spatially inhomogeneous shape anisotropy, which acts as easy-axis anisotropy along wires or hard axis of anisotropy perpendicular to the film surface. These interactions track the sample geometry and enable curvature-induced symmetry-breaking effects, such as topology-induced magnetization patterning and emergent anisotropic and chiral responses of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) type [1,2].

Curvature-induced magnetic responses can be classified as being local or nonlocal. In ferromagnets, local effects stem from the exchange interaction and DMI. The curvature-induced DMI originates from exchange: it is linear in curvatures and has the symmetry of the interfacial DMI. Its strength can be comparable with typical values of the intrinsic DMI. This is experimentally confirmed by the stabilization of chiral domain walls (CDW) on the apex of a Permalloy parabola-shaped stripe [3]. The strength of the CDW depinning field gives an estimation for the curvature-induced DMI constant and can be tuned by the geometry. In contrast to curvature itself, also curvature gradients offer a possibility to pin CDW, which was studied with an example of a circular indentation with a conic cross-section profile. This geometry supports circular CDWs described by the forced skyrmion equation, where the effective force acts as the stabilizing factor for large-radius skyrmion and skyrmionium states [4].

The magnetostatic interaction is a source of novel curvature-induced chiral effects, which are essentially nonlocal, in contrast to the conventional DMI [5]. The effect emerges in shells with non-zero mean curvature due to the non-equivalence between the top and bottom surfaces of a geometrically curved shell. It is possible to show that the analysis of nonlocal effects in curvilinear shells can be more intuitive with a split of a conventional volume magnetostatic charge into two terms: (i) tangential 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. In addition to the shape anisotropy (local effect), four additional nonlocal terms appear, determined by the surface curvature. Three of them are zero for any magnetic texture in shells with the geometry of minimal surfaces. The fourth term becomes zero only for the special symmetries of magnetic textures.

The impact of local and nonlocal chiral effects on magnetic textures in curvilinear architectures will be discussed in this presentation.

Spin-orbit phenomena enable new ways to manipulate magnetic ordering in low dimensional magnetism. In this respect, materials with antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling attract significant attention providing higher eigenfrequencies, a rich diversity of material properties and perspectives of spatial scaling due to the absence of significant stray fields. Tailoring the geometry of AFM thin films and nanowires in planar or 3D architectures provides a possibility for changing magnetic responses by means of shape of the magnet [1,2].

In this presentation, we will discuss the recently discovered chiral and anisotropic effects peculiar for curvilinear 1D antiferromagnetic spin chains.

A spin chain arranged along a space curve is a prototypical example of a curvilinear AFM whose shape is characterized by the curvature and torsion. In the absence of intrinsic anisotropy, the dipolar interaction renders the tangential direction as the hard axis of the anisotropy [3]. The competition of this geometry-tracking interaction with the nearest-neighbor exchange leads to the emergence of additional anisotropic and chiral energy terms, whose coefficients are determined by the curvature and torsion. The geometry-induced anisotropy is of easy-axis type and determines the direction of the AFM order parameter within the easy-plane enabled by the dipolar interaction. The geometry-induced inhomogeneous Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) renders the curvilinear spin chain acting as a chiral helimagnet. The latter leads to the geometrically-driven helimagnetic phase transition in helix-shaped AFM spin chains [3].

A local variation of the anisotropy axis can result in the non-collinearity of the neighboring spins in curvilinear spin chains. 1D AFMs exhibit the parity-breaking effect, which forbids exchanging sublattices once they are selected. This leads to the emergent magnetization at non-collinear AFM textures Therefore, in any spin chain arranged along a space curve, there is a weak ferromagnetism proportional to the curvature and torsion of the curve [4].

Spin chains arranged on a planar surface have the only ground state along the binormal direction [3]. In presence of an external magnetic field, their spin-flop state is dependent on geometrical parameters. The spin-reorientation transition is followed by the canted state for small enough rings due to the exchange-driven DMI. Furthermore, we will show that the curvature-induced DMI results in the hybridization of spin wave modes and enables a geometrically-driven local minimum of the low frequency branch, which opens exciting perspectives to study long-lived collective magnon states in AFMs [3]. This positions curvilinear 1D antiferromagnets as a novel platform for the realization of geometrically tunable chiral antiferromagnets for antiferromagnetic spinorbitronics and fundamental discoveries in the formation of coherent magnon condensates in the momentum space.

In this presentation, we will review our activities on the realization of printed magnetic field sensors and magnetic soft robots, which are controlled by highly flexible magnetic field sensors.

In this talk, we will review current activities in the realization of geometrically curved and 3D magnetic thin film and nanowires.

In this presentation, we will focus on the application oriented research related to curvilinear magnetism. We will cover applications of skin conformal magnetic field sensors for human-machine interfaces and soft robotics.

In this talk, we will review our activities on curvilinear magnetism and related application concepts of skin-conformal magnetic field sensors.

In this talk, we will review our activities on the realization of flexible and printed magnetic field sensors.

Conventional magnetic field sensors are fabricated on flat substrates and are rigid. Extending 2D structures into 3D space relying on the flexible electronics approaches allows to enrich conventional or to launch novel functionalities of spintronic-based devices by tailoring geometrical curvature and 3D shape. Here, we will review fundamentals of 3D curved magnetic thin films [1] and primarily focus on their application potential for eMobility, consumer electronics, virtual and augmented reality appliances. The technology platform relies on high-performance magnetoresistive and Hall effect sensors deposited or printed on ultrathin polymeric foils. These skin conformal flexible and printable magnetosensitive elements enable touchless interactivity with our surroundings based on the interaction with magnetic fields [2], which is relevant for electronics skins [3,4], smart wearables [5,6], soft robotics [7] and human-machine interfaces [3-6,8]. In this talk, recent fundamental and technological advancements on flexible magnetoelectronics will be reviewed.

[1] D. Makarov et al., “New Dimension in Magnetism and Superconductivity: 3D and Curvilinear Nanoarchitectures”, Adv. Mater. 34, 2101758 (2022).
[2] G. S. Canon Bermudez et al., “Magnetosensitive E-Skins for Interactive Devices”, Adv. Funct. Mater. 31, 2007788 (2021).
[3] G. S. Canon Bermudez et al., “Electronic-skin compasses for geomagnetic field driven artificial magnetoreception and interactive electronics”, Nature Electronics 1, 589 (2018).
[4] M. Ha et al., “Printable and Stretchable Giant Magnetoresistive Sensors for Highly Compliant and Skin-Conformal Electronics”, Adv. Mater. 33, 2005521 (2021).
[5] P. Makushko et al., “Flexible Magnetoreceptor with Tunable Intrinsic Logic for On-Skin Touchless Human-Machine Interfaces”, Adv. Funct. Mater. 31, 2101089 (2021).
[6] G. S. Canon Bermudez et al., “Magnetosensitive e-skins with directional perception for augmented reality”, Science Advances 4, eaao2623 (2018).
[7] M. Ha et al., “Reconfigurable Magnetic Origami Actuators with On-Board Sensing for Guided Assembly”, Adv. Mater. 33, 2008751 (2021).
[8] J. Ge et al., “A bimodal soft electronic skin for tactile and touchless interaction in real time”, Nature Communications 10, 4405 (2019).

In this presentation, we reviewed our recent activities on the fabrication and characterization of thin film and SPS-sintered Cr2O3 samples for MRAM and domain wall based memory applications.

In this presentation, we reviewed the topic of the cooperation between the HZDR and scia Systems GmbH. The topic concerns realization of flexible and printed magnetic field sensors.

At the DREAMS (DREsden AMS) facility we are implementing a so-called Super-SIMS (SIMS = Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) device, which combines the micron-scale spatial resolution of a commercial SIMS (CAMECA IMS 7f-auto) with the high selectivity through molecule suppression by AMS. We have demonstrated high transmission for major element ions including silicon, fluorine and iodine, however the lack of well characterized calibration materials makes the quantification of trace and ultra-elements difficult. Measurements of P in Si show the linearity of the instrument’s relative sensitivity factor over more than three orders of magnitude, and measurements of the isotopic ratio of bromine in ZnS document the reliability of our approach. The goal of the DREAMS Super-SIMS project is to provide quantitative concentration data of ultra-trace elements in geological samples in the context of resource technology.

The characterization of novel radiotracers toward their metabolic stability is an essential part for their development. While in vitro methods such as liver microsome assays or ex vivo blood or tissue samples provide information on overall stability, little or no information is obtained on cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme and isoform-specific contribution to the metabolic fate of individual radiotracers. Herein, we investigated recently established CYP-overexpressing hepatoblastoma cell lines (HepG2) for their suitability to study the metabolic stability of radiotracers in general and to gain insight into CYP isoform specificity. Wild-type HepG2 and CYP1A2-, CYP2C19-, and CYP3A4-overexpressing HepG2 cells were incubated with radiotracers and metabolic turnover was analyzed. The optimized protocol, covering cell seeding in 96-well plates and analysis of supernatant by radio-thin-layer-chromatography for higher throughput, was transferred to the evaluation of three 18F-labeled celecoxib-derived cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (coxibs). These investigations revealed time-dependent degradation of the intact radiotracers as well as CYP isoform- and substrate-specific differences in their metabolic profiles. HepG2 CYP2C19 proved to be the cell line showing the highest metabolic turnover for each radiotracer studied here. Comparison with human and murine liver microsome assays showed good agreement to the human metabolite profile obtained by the HepG2 cell lines. Therefore, CYP-overexpressing HepG2 cells provide a good complement for assessing the metabolic stability of radiotracers and allow the analysis of the CYP isoform-specific contribution to the overall radiotracer metabolism.

Processes involving gas and liquid flows are important for reliable, efficient and safe operation of many industrial applications, such as electricity generation in nuclear power plants. Many different two-phase flow patterns can appear in these systems, with a wide range of scales considering both interfacial and turbulent structures. Stratified flow, i.e. phases being separated with a smooth or wavy interface, is one of the most important regimes for safety analyses.

The present paper presents simulations of an isothermal stratified counter-current flow of air and water in a rectangular channel of the WENKA experiment (Stäbler, T.D, 2007, PhD Thesis, Univ. Stuttgart). The partial flow reversal regime with liquid surface waves was considered. A hybrid two-fluid model, featuring consistent momentum interpolation numerical scheme, partial elimination algorithm to handle strong drag coupling between phases, and interface sharpening method, was used to resolve the air-water interface. The Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) approach with the k-ω SST (Shear Stress Transport) model and interface turbulence damping was used to model the turbulent stratified flow with wavy surface. Simulations were performed with the open source C++ library OpenFOAM. Results are validated with experimental data for the height of liquid surface, profiles of velocity and turbulent kinetic energy, and the amount of reversed liquid flow.

During the last years, open source software (OSS) has become more and more popular in academia and industry. For academia in particular, transparency and reproducibility of results according to the FAIR principles is a fundamental requirement for good scientific work. Beside such considerations, OSS has several advantages over commercial software, e.g. the availability of the source code, transparency and reliability of the implemented algorithms, flexibility for own implementations and developments, long-term availability, independence from commercial interests of software manufactures, license models that allow easy collaborations and much more. However, OSS also has disadvantages, which limits the applicability, e.g., often brief documentation, requires high level programming knowledge, upstream contributions require high coding and software design standard, discussions in the community can be very time consuming, many open source licenses cause conflicts with other commercial software packages or national security aspects, and often a sufficient quality assurance is not available.

State-of-the-art for software developments follow nowadays an agile development strategy, which is based on the release of frequent and small changes instead of a long-term milestone driven development. Those frequent commits (modifications) require a high level of automation, unit and integration tests for quality assurance, version control, code style checking, automated packaging and deployment and automated documentation. Those tools can be utilized for a sustainable and efficient development of OSS.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a highly specialized field and is characterized by a vast complexity of the underlying physics and equation. In this field, OpenFOAM1 established itself as the leading open source software package for numerical simulations that owns today a significant share of the market. The software together with the source code is provided by the OpenFOAM Foundation, which ensures robustness, functionality, usability, extensibility and accessibility of OpenFOAM. However, OpenFOAM yet covers not all functionality required for nuclear safety research, and a lot of research and development work is done in this regard. Three years ago, the German CFD Network for Nuclear Safety Research selected OpenFOAM as reference software for containment and reactor coolant system (RCS) related topics. A key point associated with selection of OSS was the need to establish a coordinator, which ensures efficient and sustainable developments in the long term.

HZDR has a long experience in nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics and multiphase CFD, e.g., we have developed an automated scientific workflow based on Snakemake2. HZDR is also an active contributor to the OpenFOAM Foundation release and member of the German CFD Network for Nuclear Safety Research. As a member of the Helmholtz Society, HZDR has access to the Helmholtz Cloud Services3, which provide an excellent environment for agile software development (Gitlab, Mattermost, a.s.o.). Due to this expertise, HZDR was selected as coordinator and maintainer for the OpenFOAM_RCS4 project, funded by German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. Within the OpenFOAM_RCS project, HZDR will provide a common platform for nuclear safety research with respect to reactor coolant systems in Germany. The platform includes a repository for software code, a repository for restricted simulation setups, version control, automated testing with pipelines, validation tests and reports for new OpenFOAM version, and documentation. A key thing of the project is also the intensive collaboration with the OpenFOAM core developers (including some funding) for discussion of APIs, core maintenance, and future developments of OpenFOAM.

The lecture will present a comprehensive discussion of the pros and cons of OSS with a special focus on OpenFOAM and why this is a good choice as reference software. It will also show one way that is established and further developed within the OpenFOAM_RCS project to work as backend developer of a large OSS software project like OpenFOAM, and how to overcome the limitations and ensure sustainability of the additional developments. The lecture will discuss briefly the status of the OpenFOAM_RCS project and the planned applications for the next years.

Outside the classical domains of magnetohydrodynamics, plasmas and
liquid metals, the action of electromagnetic forces can be observed as
well in electrolytes. The talk will start with examples on the control
of flat plate boundary layers and separated flows and discuss their
effectiveness and efficiency. Stationary as well as periodic Lorentz
forces are thematized in this context and proof to be a versatile tool
for research while high energy demand limits their applicability for
naval applications. Switching the context to electrochemical
processes, where an electrical current is inherently present,
alleviates the question of energy demand and opens-up a large field of
additional topics: Improved mass transfer can be used to increase the
limiting current density and thereby the space-time yield of
processes. Efficiency of water electrolyzers benefits from accelerated
removal of bubbles from the electrodes. Magnetic gradient forces can
assist in the build-up of nano-structured ferromagnetic layers using
comparably cheap electrochemical technology.

Cyclic and acyclic ligands containing the hydroxypyridinone (HOPO) moiety as donor group are known as strong coordinating compounds for a wide variety of metal ions. Based on the diaza-crown[18]ether Kryptofix K22, five different tendentate ligands were prepared using 1,2-HOPO, 1,2,3-HOPO and 2,3-Me-HOPO as additional binding moieties. The diaza-crown ether basic skeleton was furnished with two primary amine functions and subsequently reacted with the respective HOPO acids or the HOPO acid chlorides to obtain the desired HOPO derivatives in two synthesis steps after final deprotection. All compounds were evidenced by NMR and MS analyses.

Accelerator scientists have high demands on photocathodes possessing high quantum efficiency (QE) and long operational lifetime. p-GaN, as a new photocathode type, gained recently more and more interest because of its ability to form a negative electron affinity (NEA) surface. Being activated with a thin layer of cesium, p-GaN:Cs photocathodes promise higher QE and better stability than the known photocathodes.
In our study, p-GaN samples grown on sapphire or silicon were wet chemically cleaned and transferred into an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber, where they underwent a subsequent thermal cleaning. The cleaned p-GaN samples were activated with cesium to obtain p-GaN:Cs photocathodes and their performance was monitored in respect to their quality, especially their QE and storage lifetime. The surface topography and morphology were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in combination with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. We have shown that p-GaN could be efficiently reactivated with cesium for several times.
This paper compares systematically the influence of wet chemical cleaning as well as thermal cleaning at various temperatures on the QE, storage lifetime and surface morphology of p-GaN. As expected, the cleaning influences strongly the cathodes’ quality. We show that high QE and long storage lifetime are achievable at lower cleaning temperatures in our UHV chamber.

A key problem for the long-term safety of nuclear waste repositories is radionuclide migration in the geosphere. The adsorption of radionuclides onto mineral surfaces of the surrounding host rock can provide an important mechanism to retard or prevent migration from the repository to the biosphere. Due to the strong sorption potential of clay minerals, clay rock formations such as the Opalinus Clay are being considered as potential sites for nuclear waste repositories. Phyllosilicates, such as clay minerals or mica, have shown a high affinity for the adsorption of various radionuclides in several experimental studies. In natural environments, mineral surfaces are exposed to reactions (e.g., dissolution) over long periods. These processes can lead to an alteration of the surface nanotopography, thereby affecting the adsorption efficiency. In a recent study, the authors report that the nanotopography of calcite surfaces leads to heterogonous sorption of europium due to differences in the atomic configuration of the adsorption sites [1].
In this study, we investigate the influence of muscovite surface site coordination on the adsorption energy barrier and the resulting overall distribution of radionuclide adsorption on the mineral surface. Numerical methods are applied to study the adsorption of Eu(OH)3 on a muscovite (001) surface with different nanotopographic structures. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations are performed for eleven surface sites present on muscovite to obtain the adsorption energy barriers. The adsorption energy barrier is calculated based on a series of geometry optimizations with increasing Eu–site distance. All site-specific adsorption energy barriers are then implemented in a Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) model developed based on a previous study [2]. Here, larger muscovite surface portions can be simulated with structures such as dissolution etch pits for a more realistic nanotopography. Eu(OH)3 is then adsorbed on the generated muscovite surface considering the adsorption energy barriers obtained from DFT calculations. The distribution of adsorbed Eu(OH)3 and the temporal evolution of the process can be simulated with KMC and linked to the surface structures. This combined numerical approach allows us to show the effects of surface site coordination on radionuclide adsorption reactions and the resulting adsorption heterogeneity on mineral surfaces at larger scales.
References:
[1] T. Yuan, S. Schymura, T. Bollermann, K. Molodtsov, P. Chekhonin, M. Schmidt, T. Stumpf, C. Fischer, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55, 15797–15809. [2] J. Schabernack, I. Kurganskaya, C. Fischer, A. Luttge, Minerals 2021, 11, 468.

K1−xLixTaO3 (x=0.043, 0.08) crystals, characterized by pyroelectric current with calculated spontaneous polarization and zero-field second-harmonic generation, have been studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy, including time-domain terahertz transmission and infrared (IR) reflectivity, and by polarized Raman spectroscopy in the 10–300 K temperature range. This multiexperimental approach has proven the percolative nature of the ferroelectric (FE) transition at low temperatures and demonstrated that the FE phase is inherently inhomogeneous and displays coexistence of FE and relaxor regions. Thanks to the very broad frequency range studied (from 1 Hz to 20 THz), the relevant excitations were identified and fitted in the dielectric response of both crystals: three relaxations, a central mode (CM), and a soft mode (SM) that splits into three components on cooling. Two Cole-Cole relaxations (assigned to flipping of polar nanoregions around the Li+ ions by π/2 and π, in agreement with the known literature), thermally activated below ∼150K, but staying in the gigahertz range at higher temperatures, do not show any frequency anomaly at the FE transition and are therefore related to the non-FE parts of the sample volume. A third thermally activated relaxation of unusually slow dynamics was revealed at low frequencies and preliminary assigned to an expected critical relaxation connected with the percolative nature of the FE phase transition. The IR SM, which undergoes much less softening than in the undoped KTaO3, splits into three components below the FE transition. Two higher-frequency components correspond to the FE volume part of the crystals assigned to the split A1 and E modes due to the cubic-tetragonal transition. The third low-frequency component is assigned to the non-FE (relaxor) volume part. Our assignment was confirmed by modeling the terahertz-IR response of the SM using the Bruggeman model within the effective medium approach. Below the SM response, an additional CM in the 1011Hz range in the whole temperature range is inferred from the fits.

Heat pipes are playing a more important role in many industrial applications, particularly in improving the thermal performance of heat exchangers and increasing energy savings in applications with commercial use. In this paper, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was built to simulate the details of the steam/water two-phase flow and heat transfer phenomena during the operation of a heat pipe. The homogeneous model in ANSYS CFX was used for the simulation. The evaporation, condensation and phase change processes were modelled. The 3D simulations could reproduce the heat and mass transfer processes in comparison with experiments from the literature. Reasonable good agreement was observed between CFD temperature profiles in relation with experimental data.

We report on experimental results on laser-driven proton acceleration using high-intensity laser pulses. We present power law scalings of the maximum proton energy with laser pulse energy and show that the scaling exponent ξ strongly depends on the scale length of the preplasma, which is affected by the temporal intensity contrast. At lower laser intensities, a shortening of the scale length leads to a transition from a square root toward a linear scaling. Above a certain threshold, however, a significant deviation from this scaling is observed. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that, in this case, the electric field accelerating the ions is generated earlier and has a higher amplitude. However, since the acceleration process starts earlier as well, the fastest protons outrun the region of highest field strength, ultimately rendering the acceleration less effective. Our investigations thus point to a principle limitation of the proton energy in the target normal sheath acceleration regime, which would explain why a significant increase of the maximum proton energy above the limit of 100 MeV has not yet been achieved.

In this video, we present experiments of a miscible reactive horizontal displacement in a radial Hele-Shaw cell under modulating gravity levels.Initially, the Hele-Shaw cells are filled with a colorless solution of KSCN, and the injected fluid is a colorless solution of FeNO3. When the two solutions react, a complex ion (FeSCN2+) forms resulting in a red-colored product solution. Due to the direct visualization of the formed product using a white LED light array and a monochrome camera, this chemical system is convenient to study reaction-diffusion-convection fronts [1]. The gravity modulations were achieved aboard the 73rd ESA Parabolic Flight Campaign that took place in October, 2020 in Paderborn, Germany. The parabolic flight allowed for experiments under micro-g, normal-g and hyper-g conditions and the transition between them. These experiments provided detailed insights in a previously investigated [2] buoyancy-driven instability. In particular, the effect of hyper-g and multiaxial acceleration on the pattern formation was revealed. The observation of the system under micro-g confirmed that no instability develops in the absence of buoyancy effects.

[1] A. Tóth, G. Schuszter, N.P. Das, E. Lantos, D. Horváth, A. De Wit, F. Brau, Effects of radial injection and solution thickness on the dynamics of confined A+ B→ C chemical fronts. Phys Chem Chem Phys, 22(18), 2020

[2] F. Haudin, L. A. Riolfo, B. Knaepen, G. M. Homsy, A. De Wit. Experimental study of a buoyancy-driven instability of a miscible horizontal displacement in a Hele-Shaw cell. Phys. Fluids, 26(4), 2014

We studied the impact of He+ irradiation on the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in Ta/Co20Fe60B20/Pt/MgO samples. We found that irradiation of 40 keV He+ ions increases the DMI by approximately 20% for fluences up to 2 × 1016 ions/cm2 before it decreases for higher fluence values. In contrast, the interfacial anisotropy shows a distinctly different fluence dependence. To better understand the impact of the ion irradiation on the Ta and Pt interfaces with the Co20Fe60B20 layer, we carried out Monte-Carlo simulations, which showed an expected increase in disorder at the interfaces. A moderate increase in disorder increases the total number of triplets for the three-site exchange mechanism and consequently increases the DMI. Our results demonstrate the significance of disorder for the total DMI.

To ensure a reliable and long-term safety assessment of high-level radioactive waste disposal, it is essential to study the physico-chemical properties of the radionuclides within spent nuclear fuel as well as their transport behavior expected under conditions of the near- and far-field of a nuclear waste repository. Among the radionuclide inventory, long-lived mobile fission products are of high concern since they can strongly contribute to the total biosphere dose from spent nuclear fuel disposal. The collaborative project VESPA “Chemical Behavior of Long-Lived Fission and Activation Products in the Near Field of a Nuclear Waste Repository and the Possibilities of their Retention - Phase II” aims to investigate the solubility and the immobilization of Tc-99, I-129, Cs-137, and Se-79. In particular, the focus is set on (1) the source term, evaluating, e.g., the I-129 inventory together with the instant release fraction and its speciation; (2) the effect of geochemical conditions in the near-field, i.e. T, p, Eh, pH, on the processes of surface redox-mediation and secondary mineral phase formation; (3) the solution chemistry, determining solubility products, complex formation and activity coefficients of Tc(IV) in presence of anions and small organic molecules, and Se(IV), Se(0), Cs(I) and I(-I) at elevated temperature; and (4) the retention behavior of I, Se and Tc on layered double hydroxides (LDH) and Fe-corrosion products. Finally, safety analysis calculations link the obtained results and provide an enhanced confidence in predictive risk assessments.

The authors acknowledge the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) for the funding (02 E 11607A-D). Further information is given at https://vespa2.grs.de/.