The problem of conventional, low-temperature superconductivity has been regarded as solved since the seminal work of Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer (BCS) more than 50 years ago. However, the theory does not allow accurate predictions of some of the most fundamental properties of a superconductor, including the superconducting energy gap on the Fermi surface. This thesis describes the development and scientific implementation of a new experimental method that puts this old problem into an entirely new light. The nominee has made major contributions to the development and implementation of a new experimental method that enhances the resolution of spectroscopic experiments on dispersive lattice-vibrational excitations (the "glue" responsible for Cooper pairing of electrons in conventional superconductors) by more than two orders of magnitude. Using this method, he has discovered an unexpected relationship between the superconducting energy gap and the geometry of the Fermi surface in the normal state, both of which leave subtle imprints in the lattice vibrations that could not be resolved by conventional spectroscopic methods. He has confirmed this relationship on two elemental superconductors and on a series of metallic alloys. This indicates that a mechanism qualitatively beyond the standard BCS theory determines the magnitude and anisotropy of the superconducting gap.

This book addresses the piezoresistance in p-type 3C-SiC, which it investigates using experimental characterization and theoretical analysis. The gauge factor, the piezoresistive coefficients in two-terminal and four-terminal resistors, the comparison between single crystalline and nanocrystalline SiC, along with the temperature dependence of the piezoresistive effect in p-type 3C-SiC are also discussed. Silicon carbide (SiC) is an excellent material for electronic devices operating at high temperatures, thanks to its large energy band gap, superior mechanical properties and extreme chemical inertness. Among the numerous polytypes of SiC, the cubic single crystal, which is also well known as 3C-SiC, is the most promising platform for microelectromechanical (MEMS) applications, as it can be epitaxially grown on an Si substrate with diameters of up to several hundred millimeters. This feature makes 3C-SiC compatible with the conventional Si-based micro/nano processing and also cuts down the cost of SiC wafers. The investigation into the piezoresistive effect in 3C-SiC is of significant interest for the development of mechanical transducers such as pressure sensors and strain sensors used for controlling combustion and deep well drilling. Although a number of studies have focused on the piezoresistive effect in n-type 3C-SiC, 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC, comparatively little attention has been paid to piezoresistance in p-type 3C-SiC. In addition, the book investigates the piezoresistive effect of top-down fabricated SiC nanowires, revealing a high degree of sensitivity in nanowires employing an innovative nano strain-amplifier. The large gauge factors of the p-type 3C-SiC at both room temperature and high temperatures found here indicate that this polytype could be suitable for the development of mechanical sensing devices operating in harsh environments with high temperatures.

This book discusses group theory investigations of zincblende and wurtzite semiconductors under symmetry-breaking conditions. The text presents the group theory elements required to develop a multitude of symmetry-breaking problems, giving scientists a fast track to bypass the need for recalculating electronic states. The text is not only a valuable resource for speeding up calculations but also illustrates the construction of effective Hamiltonians for a chosen set of electronic states in crystalline semiconductors. Since Hamiltonians have to be invariant under the transformations of the point group, the crystal symmetry determines the multiplet structure of these states in the presence of spin-orbit, crystal-field, or exchange interactions. Symmetry-breaking leads to additional coupling of the states, resulting in shifts and/or splittings of the multiplets. Such interactions may be intrinsic, as in the case of the quasi-particle dispersion, or extrinsic, induced by magnetic, electric, or strain fields. Using a power expansion of the perturbations these interaction terms can be determined in their parameterized form in a unique way. The hierarchic structure of this invariant development allows to estimate the importance of particular symmetry-breaking effects in the Hamiltonian. A number of selected experimental curves are included to illustrate the symmetry-based discussions, which are especially important in optical spectroscopy. This text is written for graduate students and researchers who want to understand and simulate experimental findings reflecting the fine structure of electronic or excitonic states in crystalline semiconductors.

This book demonstrates the usefulness of NMR spectroscopy for a wide variety of applications in environmental science and technology. The book contains a wealth of information relating to instrumentation, sample preparation, and data interpretation. It is divided into three sections discussing contaminant interaction, solution and condensed phase characterization, and nutrients and natural organic matter characterization. In addition to these in-depth chapters, an introductory overview provides the basic principles of solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Each section also contains a discussion of advances in each area directly attributable to NMR spectroscopy. A final chapter suggests future directions for the deployment of this powerful technology in environmental science.

This book provides an overview of the application of IR spectroscopy in mineralogical investigations, as well as modern trends in the IR spectroscopy of minerals. It includes the most important methodological aspects; characteristic IR bands of different chemical groups and coordination polyhedra; application of IR spectroscopy to the investigation of the crystal chemistry of amphiboles, phyllosilicates, tourmalines etc.; neutral molecules entrapped by microporous minerals; and analysis of hydrogen in nominally anhydrous minerals. About 1600 IR spectra (illustrations as well as a list of wavenumbers) of minerals and some related compounds are accompanied by detailed descriptions of the standard samples used. Each spectrum provides information about the occurrence, appearance, associated minerals, its empirical formula, and unit-cell parameters. The book also provides insights into sample preparation and/or spectrum registration methods. It includes IR spectra of 1020 minerals that were not covered in the book "Infrared spectra of mineral species: Extended library" published in 2014 and written by one of the authors. On average, each page provides information on two minerals/compounds. Subsections correspond to different classes of compounds (silicates, phosphates, arsenates, oxides etc.). About 290 new spectra have been obtained, and the remaining 1310 spectra are taken from most reliable literature sources (published over the last 60 years) and are redrawn in a unified style.

This book reviews the HL-LHC experiments and the fourth-generation photon science experiments, discussing the latest radiation hardening techniques, optimization of device & process parameters using TCAD simulation tools, and the experimental characterization required to develop rad-hard Si detectors for x-ray induced surface damage and bulk damage by hadronic irradiation. Consisting of eleven chapters, it introduces various types of strip and pixel detector designs for the current upgrade, radiation, and dynamic range requirement of the experiments, and presents an overview of radiation detectors, especially Si detectors. It also describes the design of pixel detectors, experiments and characterization of Si detectors. The book is intended for researchers and master's level students with an understanding of radiation detector physics. It provides a concept that uses TCAD simulation to optimize the electrical performance of the devices used in the harsh radiation environment of the colliders and at XFEL.

This thesis reports a major breakthrough in discovering the superconducting mechanism in CeCoIn5, the "hydrogen atom" among heavy fermion compounds. By developing a novel theoretical formalism, the study described herein succeeded in extracting the crucial missing element of superconducting pairing interaction from scanning tunneling spectroscopy experiments. This breakthrough provides a theoretical explanation for a series of puzzling experimental observations, demonstrating that strong magnetic interactions provide the quantum glue for unconventional superconductivity. Additional insight into the complex properties of strongly correlated and topological materials was provided by investigating their non-equilibrium charge and spin transport properties. The findings demonstrate that the interplay of magnetism and disorder with strong correlations or topology leads to complex and novel behavior that can be exploited to create the next generation of spin electronics and quantum computing devices.

This thesis describes a new approach for cell analysis by the rapid developing microfluidic technology. The nominee has made great contributions to develop a new analysis platform which combined microfluidic devices with mass spectrometry to determine the trace compounds secreted by cells. Based on this analysis platform, she studied the specific cell secreting behaviors under controlled microenvironment, of which the secretion compounds were qualified and semi-quantified by mass spectrometry. A novel cell sorting device integrated homogenous porous PDMS membrane was invented to classify cells from real samples based on the size difference. The nominee further studied the signal transmission between different cells, and the signal chemicals were qualitative and quantitative monitored by the analysis platform. This indicates the potential significant application of the new cell analysis platform in medicine screening and early diagnosis.

In this thesis, the ionization of atoms and small molecules in strong laser fields is experimentally studied using a reaction microscope. The population of autoionizing doubly excited states in the laser fields is proven and a possible connection to the well-known dielectronic recombination processes is discussed. The fundamental process of tunnel ionization in strong laser fields is subject of investigation in a pump-probe experiment with ultrashort laser pulses. A coherent superposition of electronic states in singly charged argon ions is created within the first, and subsequently tunnel-ionized with the second pulse. This gives access to state-selective information about the tunneling process and allows to test common models. Moreover, the ionization of krypton and argon at different wavelengths is studied, from the multiphoton to the tunneling regime. The wavelength-dependent investigations are furthermore extended to molecular hydrogen. In addition to ionization, this system might undergo different dissociative processes. Channel-selective electron momentum distributions are presented and compared to each other.

Simulation of materials at the atomistic level is an important tool in studying microscopic structures and processes. The atomic interactions necessary for the simulations are correctly described by Quantum Mechanics, but the size of systems and the length of processes that can be modelled are still limited. The framework of Gaussian Approximation Potentials that is developed in this thesis allows us to generate interatomic potentials automatically, based on quantum mechanical data. The resulting potentials offer several orders of magnitude faster computations, while maintaining quantum mechanical accuracy. The method has already been successfully applied for semiconductors and metals.

This thesis provides the first successful study of jump diffusion processes in glasses on the atomic scale, utilizing a novel coherent technique. This new method, called atomic-scale X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy or aXPCS, has only recently been proven to be able to capture diffusion processes with atomic resolution in crystal systems. With this new toolkit for studying atomic diffusion in amorphous systems, new insight into basic processes in a wide range of technically relevant materials, like fast ionic conductors, can be obtained.

This thesis addresses the development of a new force spectroscopy tool, correlation force spectroscopy (CFS) for the measurement of the properties of very small volumes of material (molecular to m3) at kHz-MHz frequency range. CFS measures the simultaneous thermal fluctuations of two closely-spaced atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers. CFS then calculates the cross-correlation in the thermal fluctuations that gives the mechanical properties of the matter that spans the gap of the two cantilevers. The book also discusses development of CFS, its advantages over AFM, and its application in single molecule force spectroscopy and micro-rheology.

This book compares and offers a comprehensive overview of nine analytical techniques important in material science and many other branches of science. All these methods are already well adapted to applications in diverse fields such as medical, environmental studies, archaeology, and materials science. This clearly presented reference describes and compares the principles of the methods and the various source and detector types.

This thesis examines various aspects of excess excitation energy dissipation via dynamic changes in molecular structure, vibrational modes and solvation. The computational work is carefully described and the results are compared to experimental data obtained using femtosecond spectroscopy and x-ray scattering. The level of agreement between theory and experiment is impressive and provides both a convincing validation of the method and significant new insights into the chemical dynamics and molecular determinants of the experimental data. Hence, the method presented in the thesis has the potential to become a very important contribution to the rapidly growing field of femtosecond x-ray science, a trend reflected in the several free-electron x-ray lasers (XFELs) currently being built around the world. Light-induced chemical processes are accompanied by molecular motion of electrons and nuclei on the femtosecond time scale. Uncovering these dynamics is central to our understanding of the chemical reaction on a fundamental level. Asmus O. Dohn has implemented a highly efficient QM/MM Direct Dynamics method for predicting the solvation dynamics of transition metal complexes in solution.

Topological insulators are insulating in the bulk, but process metallic states present around its boundary owing to the topological origin of the band structure. The metallic edge or surface states are immune to weak disorder or impurities, and robust against the deformation of the system geometry. This book, the first of its kind on topological insulators, presents a unified description of topological insulators from one to three dimensions based on the modified Dirac equation. A series of solutions of the bound states near the boundary are derived, and the existing conditions of these solutions are described. Topological invariants and their applications to a variety of systems from one-dimensional polyacetalene, to two-dimensional quantum spin Hall effect and p-wave superconductors, and three-dimensional topological insulators and superconductors or superfluids are introduced, helping readers to better understand this fascinating new field.
This book is intended for researchers and graduate students working in the field of topological insulators and related areas.
Shun-Qing Shen is a Professor at the Department of Physics, the University of Hong Kong, China.

The book deals with the theory and practice of all electrophoretic steps leading to proteome analysis, i.e. isoelectric focusing (including immobilized pH gradients), sodium dodecyl sulphate electrophoresis (SADS-PAGE) and finally two-dimensional maps. It is a reasoned collection of all modern, relevant, up-to-date methodologies leading to successful fractionation, analysis and characterization of every polypeptide spot in 2-D map analysis. It includes chapters on the most sophisticated mass spectrometry developments and it helps the reader in navigating through the most important databases in proteome analysis, including step by step tours in selected sites. Yet, this book's unique strength and feature is the fact that it combines not only practice (in common with any other book on this topic) but also theory, by giving a detailed treatment on the most advanced theoretical treatments of steady-state techniques, such as isoelectric focusing and immobilized pH gradients. A lot of this theory is newly developed and presented to the public for the first time. Thus, this book should satisfy not only the needs of every day practitioners, but also the desires of the most advanced theoreticians in the field, who will surely appreciate the novel theories presented here.
Also the methodological section contains several as yet unpublished protocols, correcting some of the existing ones and showing the pitfall and limitations of even well ingrained protocols in proteome analysis, which are here critically re-evaluated for the first time.

Using the nano metric resolution of atomic force microscopy techniques, this work explores the rich fundamental physics and novel functionalities of domain walls in ferroelectric materials, the nano scale interfaces separating regions of differently oriented spontaneous polarization. Due to the local symmetry-breaking caused by the change in polarization, domain walls are found to possess an unexpected lateral piezoelectric response, even when this is symmetry-forbidden in the parent material. This has interesting potential applications in electromechanical devices based on ferroelectric domain patterning. Moreover, electrical conduction is shown to arise at domain walls in otherwise insulating lead zirconate titanate, the first such observation outside of multiferroic bismuth ferrite, due to the tendency of the walls to localize defects. The role of defects is then explored in the theoretical framework of disordered elastic interfaces possessing a characteristic roughness scaling and complex dynamic response. It is shown that the heterogeneous disorder landscape in ferroelectric thin films leads to a breakdown of the usual self-affine roughness, possibly related to strong pinning at individual defects. Finally, the roles of varying environmental conditions and defect densities in domain switching are explored and shown to be adequately modelled as a competition between screening effects and pinning.

This thesis presents a novel single-molecule spectroscopy method that, for the first time, allows the dipole orientations and fluorescence lifetimes of individual molecules to be measured simultaneously. These two parameters are needed to determine the position of individual molecules with nanometer accuracy near a metallic structure. Proof-of-principle experiments demonstrating the value of this new single-molecule localization concept are also presented. Lastly, the book highlights potential applications of the method in biophysics, molecular physics, soft matter and structural biology.

The aim of this edition is to introduce the beginner to the basics of affinity chromatography and provide practical knowledge for the development of affinity separation protocols. Affinity Chromatography: Methods and Protocols, Third Edition guides readers through new state of the art protocols, molecular modelling, and the study of ligand-target interactions. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Affinity Chromatography: Methods and Protocols, Third Edition is designed as a useful resource for those interested in the rapid and quantitative isolation of biomolecules with high purity.

During the past 15 years, there has been remarkable progress in the analysis and manipulation of DNA and its use in nanotechnology. DNA analysis is ubiquitous in molecular biology, medical diagnostics, and forensics. Much of the readout technology is based on fluorescence detection. This volume contains contributions from many experts in the field who present an overview of many aspects of DNA technology. These chapters provide an understanding of the underlying principles and technology, rather than an exhaustive review of the literature. Written in a clear straightforward style, this book is an excellent introduction for any scientist to the use of fluorescence in DNA analysis.

DNA Technology is an essential reading for all academics, bench scientists, and industry professionals wishing to take advantage of the latest and greatest in this continuously emerging field.

Key Features:
*Comprehensive overview of the complexities of DNA analysis,
*Covers topics of universal interest to a broad field of scientists,
*Accessible utility in presenting state-of-the-art DNA technology,
*Chapters authored by key figures in the field.

The work presented in this thesis established the existence of wobbling at low spin and low deformation in the Z~60, N~76 nuclear region. This opens the region to further searches for wobbling and shows that wobbling is not confined to a particular quasiparticle orbital, spin or deformation. While deformed nuclei usually have axial shape, triaxial shapes have been predicted at low to moderate spins in certain regions of the nuclear chart (e.g. Z~60, N~76 and Z~46, N~66). Observation of one of the fingerprints of triaxiality, chirality and wobbling, guarantees that the nucleus is axially asymmetric. While chirality has been observed in numerous nuclei from many regions of the nuclear chart, wobbling, prior to this work, had only been observed at high spins in super deformed bands in five nuclei confined to the Z~70, N~90 region. Additionally, this dissertation establishes a new interpretation for the wobbling phenomenon. It shows for the first time that the nucleon aligns to the short axis, which explains the decrease in wobbling energies with angular momentum seen on this and all previous wobbling nuclei while still explaining the observed B(E2out)B(E2in) ratios. This is a new phenomenon, which is in contrast to the increase of the wobbling energies predicted by Bohr and Mottelson.

This thesis unites the fields of optical atomic clocks and ultracold molecular science, laying the foundation for optical molecular measurements of unprecedented precision. Building upon optical manipulation techniques developed by the atomic clock community, this work delves into attaining surgical control of molecular quantum states. The thesis develops two experimental observables that one can measure with optical-lattice-trapped ultracold molecules: extremely narrow optical spectra, and angular distributions of photofragments that are ejected when the diatomic molecules are dissociated by laser light pulses. The former allows molecular spectroscopy approaching the level of atomic clocks, leading into molecular metrology and tests of fundamental physics. The latter opens the field of ultracold chemistry through observation of quantum effects such as matter-wave interference of photofragments and tunneling through reaction barriers. The thesis also describes a discovery of a new method of thermometry that can be used near absolute zero temperatures for particles lacking cycling transitions, solving a long-standing experimental problem in atomic and molecular physics.

This book covers the latest developments in capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry for the analysis of therapeutic proteins. The application of capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) coupling technology in the analysis of recombinant therapeutic proteins is detailed thoroughly. Specific topics include recent developments in coupling capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry for the quality control of monoclonal antibody therapeutics, top-down analysis of monoclonal antibody using the CE-MS platform, and detection of host cell protein impurities. Comprehensive characterization of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) by coupling capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry is also covered. This is an ideal book for scientists in the life science and biopharmaceutical industry who are working on characterizing the PTMs of monoclonal antibodies, as well as graduate students and researchers in the separation science and biological mass spectrometry fields.

An up-to-date overview of reflectometers used for optical spectroscopy of various kinds of liquids, ranging from well-known transparent liquids to "pathological" industrial liquids. The book reviews and explains basic materials for anyone wanting to get to know the theory, spectral analysis and modern devices needed for the measurement of refractive index and absorption of liquids. Moreover, the book gives an introduction to reflectivity from optically nonlinear liquids such as liquids containing nanoparticles.

Provides a multidisciplinary introduction to quantum mechanics, solid state physics, advanced devices, and fabrication

Covers wide range of topics in the same style and in the same notation

Most up to date developments in semiconductor physics and nano-engineering

Mathematical derivations are carried through in detail with emphasis on clarity

Timely application areas such as biophotonics, bioelectronics