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Project start: May 2022 - as soon as possible
Within the FWF START project ELFIS – Electronic Fingerprint Spectroscopy – we examine different molecular species of earth atmospheric relevance by means of visible and near ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy with unprecedented spectral resolution. This allows a detailed analysis of photoinduced chemical reactions like the ones that are triggered by our sun in the atmosphere (e.g. the reaction cycles including nitrous oxides and ozon). The high spectral resolution is enabled by using a novel spectroscopy method called dual comb spectroscopy. It is the combination of two stabilized femtosecond laser sources that are typically emitting in the near infrared region. In order to transfer the radiation into the visible and near ultraviolet, nonlinear processes of frequency up conversion are necessary - and with that high pulse energies are a prerequisite. The goal of this master project is the development of a unique high power fiber amplifier system delivering those highly energetic laser pulses. First spectroscopic experiments in nitrous dioxde, formaldehyde and ammonia will prove its capabilities.
Compensation: 2640 € Contact: Assoc. Prof. Birgitta Schultze-Bernhardt
Contact: bernhardtnoSpam@tugraz.at
The aim of this project is to investigate the surface structure, lattice dynamics, and energy dissipation mechanisms of two-dimensional and layered quantum materials using helium atom scattering. Many unusual thermal and electronic properties of these materials originate at the surface or between individual layers, where lattice vibrations, electronic excitations, and coupling to the substrate govern how energy is transported and relaxed. Temperature-dependent helium scattering measurements will allow us to study changes in surface structure, electron–phonon coupling, and thermal expansion. Building on recent work on intercalated bilayer graphene, the project will explore new systems such as intercalated hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and layered compounds like NiPS₃, where intercalation can create quasi-freestanding layers, modify doping, and provide an ideal platform to study surface vibrational and electronic dissipation channels
Contact: tamtoeglnoSpam@tugraz.at
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The aim of this project is to investigate the motion and interactions of adenine molecules on carbon surfaces. Adenine is one of the nucleobases of DNA, and its dynamics on surfaces such as graphite and graphene remain largely unexplored. Understanding this motion is interesting both from a fundamental perspective—since carbon surfaces are model systems for studying molecular diffusion—and in the context of astrochemistry, where carbon dust grains in space may act as catalytic surfaces for the formation of prebiotic molecules. In this project, adenine will be deposited on exfoliated graphite and its motion will be studied on different length and time scales using neutron quasielastic scattering. Neutron beamtime has already been granted, giving the student the opportunity to participate in experiments at a large-scale research facility. Additional surface preparation and characterisation will be carried out in Graz, and the neutron data will be analysed to identify different types of molecular motion. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations may also be used to compare experiment and theory.
Real-time electronic structure theory, a challenging, yet comparably less advanced subfield of computational chemistry, has gained substantially in interest in recent years due to experimental breakthroughs in the field of ultrafast spectroscopy on the atto- and femtosecond timescale. The theory aims for a realistic description and simulation of electron dynamics, by evolving either the Schrödinger equation or the Dirac equation in cases where relativistic effects become relevant.
By now, for almost all standard methods of computational chemistry there exists a time-dependent (TD) counterpart, for density- as well as wavefunction based methods, although of varying computational practicability and numerical accuracy. In the course of this master thesis, an atomic orbital-based ansatz within the real-time electronic propagation formulation will be applied to the Schrödinger equation for the electronic many-body problem. Starting from a well-known TD-Hartree-Fock framework, it is our goal to implement a cost-efficient TD-Configuration Interaction method based on the Python programming language. Somewhat challenging, but surely exciting as well ;)
Only basic programming skills in Python are required, but advanced knowledge would be highly appreciated. It is highly recommended for the candidate to participate in the lecture "Modelling of Molecular Systems" which will be held in the winter semester. Please get in contact via mail if interested. FWF funding might be available in Summer 2023, but can not be guaranteed yet.
Contact: Ass. Prof. Andreas Hauser andreas.hausernoSpam@tugraz.at
the development of a prototype of a novel optical vector magnetometer by utilising the coherent population trapping phenomenon in the atomic vapour of rubidium. The prototype is based on our scalar magnetometer, the Coupled Dark State Magnetometer. This device was especially designed for scientific space missions and is already on-board of 4 scientific satellites and will be launched to Jupiter in April of 2023.
will include the implementation of a new laser diode and laser current source for the laboratory setup of the Magnetometer Lab at the Institute of Experimental Physics. This setup will be used for the characterisation of the vector magnetometer prototype. This testing will be performed at the Institute of Experimental Physics of TU Graz, the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (located in Graz) as well as the Geomagnetic Conrad Observatory of Geosphere Austria.
for a motivated Master student, who is interested in joining our team.
Contact: Christoph Amtmann (christoph.amtmannnoSpam@tugraz.at) or
Roland Lammegger (roland.lammeggernoSpam@tugraz.at)
Institut für Experimentalphysik Technische Universität Graz Petersgasse 16 8010 Graz Austria schultzenoSpam@tugraz.at wolfgang.ernstnoSpam@tugraz.at andreas.hausernoSpam@tugraz.at markus.kochnoSpam@tugraz.at tamtoeglnoSpam@tugraz.at bernhardtnoSpam@tugraz.at