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For both Lévy flight and Lévy walk search processes we analyse the full distribution of first-passage and first-hitting (or first-arrival) times. These are, respectively, the times when the particle moves across a point at some given distance from its initial position for the first time, or when it lands at a given point for the first time. For Lévy motions with their propensity for long relocation events and thus the possibility to jump across a given point in space without actually hitting it ('leapovers'), these two definitions lead to significantly different results. We study the first-passage and first-hitting time distributions as functions of the Lévy stable index, highlighting the different behaviour for the cases when the first absolute moment of the jump length distribution is finite or infinite. In particular we examine the limits of short and long times. Our results will find their application in the mathematical modelling of random search processes as well as computer algorithms., Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe, 785

We have carried out a structural and magnetic characterization of Co8Zn8+y Mn4−y−x Fex by means of bulk techniques, powder neutron scattering and Mössbauer spectroscopy. From our data, we derive the main magnetic parameters and carry out a detailed structural characterization.Weobserve that disorder is present in our samples in various forms and that this seems to be generic for this class of materials. However, the disorder appears to have little impact on the character of the magnetic phases, and thus seems to be of no relevance for the skyrmionic phases established for these types of materials.

Results are presented of high-fidelity scale-resolving simulations of the wake flow exposed to adverse pressure gradient (APG). Specifically, zonal RANS-IDDES computations are performed of the flow model designed and manufactured at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in the framework of a joint German-Russian project “Wake in Adverse Pressure gradient”. The model includes a flat plate as the wake generator and two pairs of thin liner foils creating APG. Results of the computations of mean flow characteristics agree with currently available experimental data and differ from those of the RANS predictions. This suggests the necessity of RANS models improvement which is planned to be done with the use of the combined experimental/numerical database on the mean flow and turbulence statistics of the wake accumulated in the course of the project.

We present a simple layout of a fast cooling system for liquids in sealed containers utilizing the large temperature gradients of cold nitrogen gas. Our system is optimized for about 20 cylindrical containers of 500 cm3, but the setup allows for simple up- and down-scaling as well as the use of arbitrary containers. We have characterized the cooling performance of our system experimentally for temperatures of the liquid in the range from room temperature down to the freezing point at ≈−2 ºC. With our system we achieve container cooling times as low as 3 min, a significant reduction if compared to cooling times with common methods in the range of 8 to 40 min. Modeling of the cooling process proves that convection within the liquid is crucial for quick heat transfer. For the cases studied here, the most important factor limiting the cooling rate is the thermal conductivity of the container material.

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence., The fields of organic electronics and spintronics have the potential to revolutionize the electronics industry. Finding the right materials that can retain their electrical and spin properties when combined is a technological and fundamental challenge. We carry out the study of three archetypal organic molecules in intimate contact with the BiAg2 surface alloy. We show that the BiAg2 alloy is an especially suited substrate due to its inertness as support for molecular films, exhibiting an almost complete absence of substrate-molecular interactions. This is inferred from the persistence of a completely unaltered giant spin-orbit split surface state of the BiAg 2 substrate, and from the absence of significant metallic screening of charged molecular levels in the organic layer. Spin-orbit split states in BiAg2 turn out to be far more robust to organic overlayers than previously thought. © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft., This work is supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MAT2010-21156-C03-01, PIB2010US-00652), by the Basque Government (IT-257-07), and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through the SFB 616 ‘Energy Dissipation at Surfaces’. MCC additionally thanks the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes for support. MCC, JS, CAB and RM would like to thank the DFG for support within the program ‘open access publizieren’.

OA Förderung 2011 In recent years, nonlinear processing with continuous-wave lasers has been demonstrated to be a facile means of rapid nanopatterning of organic monolayers down to the sub-100 nm range. In this study, we report on laser patterning of thiol-based organic monolayers with sub-wavelength resolution. Au-coated silicon substrates are functionalized with 1-hexadecanethiol. Irradiation with a focused beam of an Ar+ laser operating at λ=514 nm allows one to locally remove the monolayer. Subsequently, the patterns are transferred into the Au film via selective etching in a ferri-/ferrocyanide solution. Despite a 1/e2 spot diameter of about 2.8 μm, structures with lateral dimensions down to 250 nm are fabricated. The underlying nonlinear dependence of the patterning process on laser intensity is traced back to the interplay between the laser-induced transient local temperature rise and the thermally activated desorption of the thiol molecules. A simple thermokinetic analysis of the data allows us to determine the effective kinetic parameters. These results complement our previous work on photothermal laser patterning of ultrathin organic coatings, such as silane-based organic monolayers, organo/silicon interfaces and supported membranes. A general introduction to nonlinear laser processing of organic monolayers is presented.