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Information on the phase structure of strongly interacting matter at high baryon densities can be gained from observations of neutron stars and their detailed analysis. In the present work Bayesian inference methods are used to set constraints on the speed of sound in the interior of neutron stars, based on recent multi-messenger data in combination with limiting conditions from nuclear physics at low densities. Two general parametric representations are introduced for the sound speed $c_s$ in order to examine the independence with respect to choices for the parametrisation of Priors. Credible regions for neutron star properties are analysed, in particular with reference to the quest for possible phase transitions in cold dense matter. The evaluation of Bayes factors implies extreme evidence for a violation of the conformal bound, $c_s^2 \leq 1/3$, inside neutron stars. Given the presently existing data base, it can be concluded that the occurrence of a first-order phase transition in the core of even a two-solar-mass neutron star is unlikely, while a continuous crossover cannot be ruled out. At the same time it is pointed out that the discovery of a superheavy neutron star with a mass $ M \sim 2.3 - 2.4\, M_\odot$ would strengthen evidence for a phase change in the deep interior of the star.

Antibody response following Omicron infection is reported to be less robust than that to other variants. Here we investigated how prior vaccination and/or prior infection modulates that response. Disease severity, antibody responses and immune transcriptomes were characterized in four groups of Omicron-infected outpatients (n=83): unvaccinated/no prior infection, vaccinated/no prior infection, unvaccinated/prior infection and vaccinated/prior infection. The percentage of patients with asymptomatic or mild disease was highest in the vaccinated/no prior infection group (87%) and lowest in the unvaccinated/no prior infection group (47%). Significant anti-Omicron spike antibody levels and neutralizing activity were detected in the vaccinated group immediately after infection but were not present in the unvaccinated/no prior infection group. Within two weeks, antibody levels against Omicron, increased. Omicron neutralizing activity in the vaccinated group exceeded that of the prior infection group. No increase in neutralizing activity in the unvaccinated/no prior infection group was seen. The unvaccinated/prior infection group showed an intermediate response. We then investigated the early transcriptomic response following Omicron infection in these outpatient populations and compared it to that found in unvaccinated hospitalized patients with Alpha infection. Omicron infected patients showed a gradient of transcriptional response dependent upon prior vaccination and infection status that correlated with disease severity. Vaccinated patients showed a significantly blunted interferon response as compared to both unvaccinated Omicron infected outpatients and unvaccinated Alpha infected hospitalized patients typified by the response of specific gene classes such as OAS and IFIT that control anti-viral responses and IFI27, a predictor of disease outcome.

We systematically calculate the radiative corrections of order $\alpha/\pi$ to elastic muon-proton scattering at low momentum transfers. These include vacuum polarization, photon-loop form factors of the muon and the proton, two-photon exchange corrections and soft photon radiation. In particular, we discuss these corrections for the kinematics of the upcomimg AMBER experiment with a $100\,$GeV muon beam energy. It is found that for the ratio to the Born cross section, only the minor terms from the photon-loop form factors of the proton and two-photon exchange depend on the proton structure predetermined by the strong interactions. Since a prominent role among the radiative corrections is played by soft photon radiation, the calculation of the bremsstrahlung process $\mu p \to\mu p \gamma$ should be extended beyond the soft photon approximation and tailored to the specific experimental conditions., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, discussion extended, references added

The fabrication of highly reflective aluminum coatings is still an important part of current research due to their high intrinsic reflectivity in a broad spectral range. By using thin seed layers of Cu, CuO

Fast-spreading variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) energize the COVID-19 pandemic. The B.1.351 variant carrying the escape mutation E484K in the receptor binding domain is of particular concern due to reduced immunological protection following vaccination. Protection can manifest as early as 10 days following immunization with full protection two weeks following the second dose, but the course is not well-characterized for variants. Here, we investigated the immune transcriptome of six elderly individuals (average age 82 yr.) from an old people’s home, who contracted B.1.351, with four having received the first dose of BNT162b eight to 11 days prior to the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. The patients were hospitalized and received dexamethasone treatment. Immune transcriptomes were established from PBMCs approximately 10 and 35 days after the onset of COVID-19 symptomology. RNA-seq revealed a more intensive immune response in vaccinated patients as compared to unvaccinated ones. Specifically, transcription factors linked to the JAK/STAT pathway, interferon stimulated genes, and genes associated with innate antiviral immunity and COVID-19-SARS-CoV-2 infection were highly enriched in vaccinated patients. This rendered the transcriptomes of the older vaccinated group significantly different than older unvaccinated individuals infected at the same institution and more similar to the immune response of younger unvaccinated individuals (ages 48-62) following B.1.351 infection. All individuals in this study whether vaccinated or not were hospitalized due to B.1.351 infection and one vaccinated patient died illustrating that although an enhanced immune response was documented infection it was insufficient to protect from disease. This highlights the need for maintaining physical distancing and prevention measures throughout the time course of vaccination in older adults.

We derive from the subleading contributions to the chiral three-nucleon interaction [published in Phys.~Rev.~C77, 064004 (2008) and Phys.~Rev.~C84, 054001 (2011)] their first-order contributions to the energy per particle of isospin-symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter in an analytical way. For the variety of short-range and long-range terms that constitute the subleading chiral 3N-force the pertinent closed 3-ring, 2-ring, and 1-ring diagrams are evaluated. While 3-ring diagrams vanish by a spin-trace and the results for 2-ring diagrams can be given in terms of elementary functions of the ratio Fermi-momentum over pion mass, one ends up in most cases for the closed 1-ring diagrams with one-parameter integrals. The same treatment is applied to the subsubleading chiral three-nucleon interactions as far as these have been constructed up to now., 24 pages, 2 figures

Summary Background SARS-CoV-2 entry in human cells depends on angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, which can be upregulated by inhibitors of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS). We aimed to test our hypothesis that discontinuation of chronic treatment with ACE-inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) mitigates the course o\f recent-onset COVID-19. Methods ACEI-COVID was a parallel group, randomised, controlled, open-label trial done at 35 centres in Austria and Germany. Patients aged 18 years and older were enrolled if they presented with recent symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and were chronically treated with ACEIs or ARBs. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to discontinuation or continuation of RAS inhibition for 30 days. Primary outcome was the maximum sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score within 30 days, where death was scored with the maximum achievable SOFA score. Secondary endpoints were area under the death-adjusted SOFA score (AUCSOFA), mean SOFA score, admission to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, and death. Analyses were done on a modified intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04353596. Findings Between April 20, 2020, and Jan 20, 2021, 204 patients (median age 75 years [IQR 66–80], 37% females) were randomly assigned to discontinue (n=104) or continue (n=100) RAS inhibition. Within 30 days, eight (8%) of 104 died in the discontinuation group and 12 (12%) of 100 patients died in the continuation group (p=0·42). There was no significant difference in the primary endpoint between the discontinuation and continuation group (median [IQR] maximum SOFA score 0·00 (0·00–2·00) vs 1·00 (0·00–3·00); p=0·12). Discontinuation was associated with a significantly lower AUCSOFA (0·00 [0·00–9·25] vs 3·50 [0·00–23·50]; p=0·040), mean SOFA score (0·00 [0·00–0·31] vs 0·12 [0·00–0·78]; p=0·040), and 30-day SOFA score (0·00 [10–90th percentile, 0·00–1·20] vs 0·00 [0·00–24·00]; p=0·023). At 30 days, 11 (11%) in the discontinuation group and 23 (23%) in the continuation group had signs of organ dysfunction (SOFA score ≥1) or were dead (p=0·017). There were no significant differences for mechanical ventilation (10 (10%) vs 8 (8%), p=0·87) and admission to intensive care unit (20 [19%] vs 18 [18%], p=0·96) between the discontinuation and continuation group. Interpretation Discontinuation of RAS-inhibition in COVID-19 had no significant effect on the maximum severity of COVID-19 but may lead to a faster and better recovery. The decision to continue or discontinue should be made on an individual basis, considering the risk profile, the indication for RAS inhibition, and the availability of alternative therapies and outpatient monitoring options. Funding Austrian Science Fund and German Center for Cardiovascular Research.

The phase structure of baryonic matter is investigated with focus on the role of fluctuations beyond the mean-field approximation. The prototype test case studied is the chiral nucleon-meson model, with added comments on the chiral quark-meson model. Applications to the liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear matter and extensions to dense matter are performed. The role of vacuum fluctuations and thermal excitations is systematically explored. It is pointed out that such fluctuations tend to stabilise the hadronic phase characterised by spontaneously broken chiral symmetry, shifting the chiral restoration transition to very high densities. This stabilisation effect is shown to be further enhanced by additional dynamical fluctuations treated with functional renormalisation group methods., Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures

The $g$-factor and static quadrupole moment of the nuclides $^{135}$Pr, $^{105}$Pd, and $^{187}$Au in the wobbling motion are investigated in the particle-rotor model as functions of the total spin $I$. The $g$-factor of $^{105}\mathrm{Pd}$ increases with increasing $I$, due to the negative gyromagnetic ratio of a neutron valence-neutron. This behavior is in contrast to the decreasing $g$-factor of the other two nuclides, $^{135}$Pr and $^{187}$Au, which feature a valence-proton. The static quadrupole moment $Q$ depends on all three expectation values of the total angular momentum. It is smaller in the yrast band than in the wobbling band for the transverse wobblers $^{135}$Pr and $^{105}$Pd, while larger for the longitudinal wobbler $^{187}$Au., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Fast-spreading variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) energize the COVID-19 pandemic. B.1.1.7 (VOC-202012/01) has become the predominant variant in many countries and a new lineage (VOC-202102/02) harboring the E484K escape mutation in the B.1.1.7 background emerged in February 2021. This variant is of concern due to reduced neutralizing activity by vaccine-elicited antibodies. However, it is not known whether this single amino acid change leads to an altered immune response. Here, we investigate differences in the immune transcriptome in hospitalized patients infected with either B.1.1.7 (n=28) or B.1.1.7+E484K (n=12). RNA-seq conducted on PBMCs isolated within five days after the onset of COVID symptoms demonstrated elevated activation of specific immune pathways, including JAK-STAT signaling, in B.1.1.7+E484K patients as compared to B.1.1.7. Longitudinal transcriptome studies demonstrated a delayed dampening of interferon-activated pathways in B.1.1.7+E484K patients. Prior vaccination with BNT162b vaccine (n=8 one dose; n=1 two doses) reduced the transcriptome inflammatory response to B.1.1.7+E484K infection relative to unvaccinated patients. Lastly, the immune transcriptome of patients infected with additional variants (B.1.258, B.1.1.163 and B.1.7.7) displayed a reduced activation compared to patients infected with B.1.1.7. Acquisition of the E484K substitution in the B.1.1.7 background elicits an altered immune response, which could impact disease progression. Funding: This work was supported by the Intramural Research Programs (IRPs) of National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and utilized the computational resources of the NIH HPC Biowulf cluster (http://hpc.nih.gov). Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no competing financial interests. Ethical Approval: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Office of Research Oversight / Regulatory Affairs, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria (EC numbers: 1064/2021).

SARS-CoV-2 infection ranges from asymptomatic to severe with lingering symptomatology in some. This prompted investigation of whether or not asymptomatic disease results in measurable immune activation post-infection. Immune activation following asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was characterized through a comparative investigation of the immune cell transcriptomes from 43 asymptomatic seropositive and 52 highly exposed seronegative individuals from the same community 4–6 weeks following a superspreading event. Few of the 95 individuals had underlying health issues. One seropositive individual reported Cystic Fibrosis and one individual reported Incontinentia pigmenti. No evidence of immune activation was found in asymptomatic seropositive individuals with the exception of the Cystic Fibrosis patient. There were no statistically significant differences in immune transcriptomes between asymptomatic seropositive and highly exposed seronegative individuals. Four positive controls, mildly symptomatic seropositive individuals whose blood was examined 3 weeks following infection, showed immune activation. Negative controls were four seronegative individuals from neighboring communities without COVID-19. All individuals remained in their usual state of health through a five-month follow-up after sample collection. In summary, whole blood transcriptomes identified individual immune profiles within a community population and showed that asymptomatic infection within a super-spreading event was not associated with enduring immunological activation.

The static quadrupole moments (SQMs) of nuclear chiral doublet bands are investigated for the first time taking the particle-hole configuration $\pi(1h_{11/2}) \otimes \nu(1h_{11/2})^{-1}$ with triaxial deformation parameters in the range $260^\circ \leq \gamma \leq 270^\circ$ as examples. The behavior of the SQM as a function of spin $I$ is illustrated by analyzing the components of the total angular momentum. It is found that in the region of chiral vibrations the SQMs of doublet bands are strongly varying with $I$, whereas in the region of static chirality the SQMs of doublet bands are almost constant. Hence, the measurement of SQMs provides a new criterion for distinguishing the modes of nuclear chirality. Moreover, in the high-spin region the SQMs can be approximated by an analytic formula with a proportionality to $\cos\gamma$ for both doublet bands. This provides a way to extract experimentally the triaxial deformation parameter $\gamma$ for chiral bands from the measured SQMs., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

Three-body forces acting on a $$\varLambda $$ hyperon in a nuclear medium are investigated, with special focus on the so-called hyperon puzzle in neutron stars. The hyperon–nucleon two-body interaction deduced from SU(3) chiral effective field theory is employed at next-to-leading order. Hyperon–nucleon three-body forces are approximated using saturation by decuplet baryons and are transcribed to density-dependent effective two-body interactions. These together are taken as input in a Brueckner–Bethe–Goldstone equation with explicit treatment of the $$\varLambda N\leftrightarrow \varSigma N$$ and $$\varLambda NN\leftrightarrow \varSigma NN$$ coupled channels. Single-particle potentials of a $$\varLambda $$ hyperon in symmetric nuclear matter and neutron matter are calculated. With parameters of the $$\varLambda NN$$ three-body force constrained by hypernuclear phenomenology, extrapolations to high baryon density are performed. By comparison of the $$\varLambda $$ and neutron chemical potentials at densities characteristic of the core of neutron stars it is found that the combined repulsive effects of two- and three-body correlations can make the appearance of $$\varLambda $$ hyperons in neutron stars energetically unfavourable, thus potentially offering a possible answer to a longstanding query.

In this work the elastic scattering of two nucleons is calculated in chiral effective field theory at next-to-leading order taking into account the coupled N$\Delta$-, $\Delta$N- and $\Delta\Delta$-channels. To solve the coupled channel scattering equation one needs as input the potentials for all combinations of these initial and final states. Up to next-to leading order these (transition) potentials arise from one-pion exchange, two-pion exchange and contact interactions. For the two-pion exchange we give analytic expressions for the spectral functions derived from all contributing one-loop diagrams. The forms of the contact potentials at leading and next-to-leading order are determined. We perform a fit of the low energy constants, that belong to the $NN \rightarrow NN$ contact potential and contribute up to next-to-leading order to $S$- and $P$-waves of NN scattering only. The influence of the $\Delta$-isobar dynamics entering through the coupled channels is studied in detail., Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures

The $g$-factor and static quadrupole moment for the wobbling mode in the nuclide $^{133}$La are investigated as functions of the spin $I$by employing the particle rotor model. The model can reproduce the available experimental data of $g$-factor and static quadrupole moment. The properties of the $g$-factor and static quadrupole moment as functions of $I$ are interpreted by analyzing the angular momentum geometry of the collective rotor, proton-particle, and total nuclear system. It is demonstrated that the experimental value of the $g$-factor at the bandhead of the yrast band leads to the conclusion that the rotor angular momentum is $R\simeq 2$. Furthermore, the variation of the $g$-factor with the spin $I$ yields the information that the angular momenta of the proton-particle and total nuclear system are oriented parallel to each other. The negative values of the static quadrupole moment over the entire spin region are caused by an alignment of the total angular momentum mainly along the short axis. Static quadrupole moment differences between the wobbling and yrast band originate from a wobbling excitation with respect to the short axis., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

The evolution of microstructure and reflective properties in a La/B4C and LaN/B4C multilayer was studied at elevated temperatures up to 800 °C. It was shown, that the observed opposite period thickness changes in La/B4C and LaN/B4C multilayers during annealing are based on structural modifications and chemical reactions at the interfaces. For T > 400 °C the period thickness of the La/B4C multilayer decreased, while it increased drastically in the LaN/B4C multilayer, which is explained by the formation of LaB6 crystallites and amorphous BN compounds, respectively. These thermally induced processes also lead to reflectivity drops at the wavelength of ~ 6.7 nm for both investigated systems. Even after annealing at 800 °C for 10 h the LaN/B4C multilayer showed an EUV reflectance of 12.6%, with is significantly higher than the La/B4C multilayer (2.3%), pointing up their higher thermal resistance.

The results of a comparative study of Ru-, Mo-, Nb- and Pd- coatings designed for grazing angle applications in the soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum are presented. Optical properties and temporal stability of coatings were investigated using EUV reflectometry at 13.5 nm and grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry (GIXR) with Cu-Kα radiation. Nb- and Mo-coatings showed a strong inclination to surface oxidation at ambient atmosphere leading to reflectivity losses. The Pd coating as a noble transition metal showed the highest oxidation resistance over a period of one year. The best reflective properties at 13.5 nm were achieved by Ru coatings. GIXR simulation results of the time dependent surface oxidation were used to predict the reflective properties of the studied coatings following four months of storage in an ambient atmosphere for a wide spectral range (5.0 nm–40.0 nm).

Three-nucleon (3N) forces are an indispensable ingredient for accurate few-body and many-body nuclear structure and reaction theory calculations. While the direct implementation of chiral 3N forces can be technically very challenging, a simpler approach is given by employing instead a medium-dependent NN interaction V_med that reflects the physics of three-body forces at the two-body normal-ordered approximation. We review the derivation and construction of V_med from the chiral 3N interaction at next-to-next-to-leading order (N2LO), consisting of a long-range $2\pi$-exchange term, a mid-range $1\pi$-exchange component and a short-range contact term. Several applications of V_med to the equation of state of cold nuclear and neutron matter, the nucleon single-particle potential in nuclear matter, and the nuclear quasiparticle interaction are discussed. We also explore differences in using local vs. nonlocal regulating functions on 3N forces and make direct comparisons to exact results at low order in perturbation theory expansions for the equation of state and single-particle potential. We end with a discussion and numerical calculation of the in-medium NN potential V_med from the next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) chiral 3N force, which consists of a series of long-range and short-range terms., Comment: 31 pages, 15 figures, Published in Frontiers in Physics special volume "The Long-Lasting Quest for Nuclear Interactions: The Past, the Present and the Future"

The behavior of the collective rotor in the chiral motion of triaxially deformed nuclei is investigated using the particle rotor model by transforming the wave functions from the $K$-representation to the $R$-representation. After examining the energy spectra of the doublet bands and their energy differences as functions of the triaxial deformation, the angular momentum components of the rotor, proton, neutron, and the total system are investigated. Moreover, the probability distributions of the rotor angular momentum ($R$-plots) and their projections onto the three principal axes ($K_R$-plots) are analyzed. The evolution of the chiral mode from a chiral vibration at the low spins to a chiral rotation at high spins is illustrated at triaxial deformations $\gamma=20^\circ$ and $30^\circ$., Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures

For ground- and spaced based applications, Ag coated reflectors are indispensable because of their high reflectivity. The transport, assembling and storage of these reflectors takes a long time, before they are finally commissioned for the actual applications. To endure this period without a decrease of reflectivity, protective coatings with a final layer, which offers a high resistance to aqueous solutions and a low mechanical stress should be used. These criteria were taken into account for the selection of a final layer for a protected Ag-coating, which was applied for reflectors utilized in the CRIRES+- instrument (an IR spectrograph used at the VLT). Reactively sputtered Al2O3, SiO2 and Si3N4 layers were investigated with regard to these criteria. In aqueous (basic) solutions, the investigated Si3N4 layers are more stable than the SiO2 layers, and the SiO2 layers are more stable than the Al2O3 layers. This shows the influence of the intrinsic material properties. The mechanical stress of the sputtered layers depends on the deposition conditions and thus on the selected parameters. A Si3N4 layer with a high resistance to aqueous solutions also offers a low and stable mechanical stress. Therefore, the deposition-parameters which have been used for this layer were applied for sputtering the final layer of the protected Ag-coating for the reflectors.

We study the imaginary parts of the isoscalar electromagnetic and isovector axial form factors of the nucleon close to the $3\pi$-threshold in covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory. At the two-loop level, the contributions arising from leading and next-to-leading order chiral $\pi N$-vertices, as well as pion-induced excitations of virtual $\Delta(1232)$-isobars, are calculated. It is found that the heavy baryon treatment overestimates substantially these $3\pi$-continua. From a phenomenological analysis, that includes the narrow $\omega(783)$-resonance or the broad $a_1$-resonance, one can recognize small windows near threshold, where chiral $3\pi$-dynamics prevails. However, in the case of the isoscalar electromagnetic form factors $G_{E,M}^s(t)$, the radiative correction provided by the $\pi^0\gamma$-intermediate state turns out to be of similar size., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J. A

Highly transparent and conductive Al-doped ZnO/Ag/Al-doped ZnO (AZO/Ag/AZO) multilayers were prepared by industrial inline DC magnetron sputtering on glass substrates at room temperature. With optimized film thicknesses of 37 nm/10 nm/37 nm, an optimized low sheet resistance of only 6 Ω/sq. and high transmittances of T 550 = 87.4% at 550 nm and T 400–800 = 79.9% in the spectral range between 400 nm and 800 nm were reached. Furthermore, an increase of the AZO/Ag/AZO-performance was achieved when a small amount of oxygen was added to the process gas during the AZO deposition which was found to be because of a beneficial adjustment of the AZO dispersion. In this way, owing to both a decreased extinction coefficient as well as a higher refractive index of the AZO film, the maximum transmittance of the AZO/Ag/AZO three-layer structure is further increased ( T 550 = 89.0%) and the bandwidth of the transmittance range is broadened ( T 400–800 = 83.3%). With the adaption of the AZO dispersion a very high Figure-of-Merit (Haacke) Φ 400–800 = 26.2 mΩ − 1 and Φ 550 = 52.9 mΩ − 1 was achieved by industrial inline DC magnetron sputtering process.

The interfaces in La/B 4 C and LaN/B 4 C multilayer mirrors designed for near normal incidence reflection of 6.x nm EUV light were investigated by grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and EUV reflectometry. The thickness and roughness asymmetries of the different interfaces in both studied systems have been identified. A development of interface roughness with an increasing number of bilayers was found by different investigation methods. For near normal incidence, R = 51.1% @ λ = 6.65 nm could be reached with our La/B 4 C multilayer mirrors, whereas R = 58.1% was achieved with LaN/B 4 C multilayers at the same wavelength.

High-density ruthenium (Ru) thin films were deposited using Ru(EtCp)2 (bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium) and oxygen by thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) and compared to magnetron sputtered (MS) Ru coatings. The ALD Ru film growth and surface roughness show a significant temperature dependence. At temperatures below 200 &deg, C, no deposition was observed on silicon and fused silica substrates. With increasing deposition temperature, the nucleation of Ru starts and leads eventually to fully closed, polycrystalline coatings. The formation of blisters starts at temperatures above 275 &deg, C because of poor adhesion properties, which results in a high surface roughness. The optimum deposition temperature is 250 &deg, C in our tool and leads to rather smooth film surfaces, with roughness values of approximately 3 nm. The ALD Ru thin films have similar morphology compared with MS coatings, e.g., hexagonal polycrystalline structure and high density. Discrepancies of the optical properties can be explained by the higher roughness of ALD films compared to MS coatings. To use ALD Ru for optical applications at short wavelengths (&lambda, = 2&ndash, 50 nm), further improvement of their film quality is required.

Time durability and environmental stability of silver-coated glass mirrors improve if silver layer is protected by a transparent thin film coating. The choice of the protecting layer material and of the methods for mirror manufacturing influences the mirror optical and mechanical properties. This work reports on a systematic study of silver mirrors overcoated by silicon oxide, nitride and oxy-nitrides. Variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry was implemented to get an insight on metal-dielectric interface of the coatings. The results have been analyzed considering the coating deposition conditions and physical-chemical properties of the dielectric materials used as protective layers. © 2018 COPYRIGHT SPIE.

The effective field theory (EFT) for triaxially deformed even-even nuclei is generalized to include the vibrational degrees of freedom. The pertinent Hamiltonian is constructed up to next-to-leading order. The leading order part describes the vibrational motion, and the NLO part couples rotations to vibrations. The applicability of the EFT Hamiltonian is examined through the description of the energy spectra of the ground state bands, $\gamma$-bands, and $K=4$ bands in the $^{108, 110, 112}$Ru isotopes. It is found that by taking into account the vibrational degrees of freedom, the deviations for high-spin states in the $\gamma$-band observed in the EFT with only rotational degrees of freedom disappear. This supports the importance of including vibrational degrees of freedom in the EFT formulation for the collective motion of triaxially deformed nuclei., Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

The behavior of the collective rotor in wobbling motion is investigated within the particle-rotor model for the nucleus $^{135}$Pr by transforming the wave functions from the $K$-representation to the $R$-representation. After reproducing the experimental energy spectra and wobbling frequencies, the evolution of the wobbling mode in $^{135}$Pr, from transverse at low spins to longitudinal at high spins, is illustrated by the distributions of the total angular momentum in the intrinsic reference frame (azimuthal plot). Finally, the coupling schemes of the angular momenta of the rotor and the high-$j$ particle for transverse and longitudinal wobbling are obtained from the analysis of the probability distributions of the rotor angular momentum ($R$-plots) and their projections onto the three principal axes ($K_R$-plots)., Comment: 21 pages, 9 pages

We investigate the parity-violating analyzing power in neutron capture on the proton at thermal energies in the framework of chiral effective field theory. By combining this analysis with a previous analysis of parity violation in proton-proton scattering, we are able to extract the size of the weak pion-nucleon coupling constant. The uncertainty is significant and dominated by the experimental error which is expected to be reduced soon., Published version

Spatestens seit der Entdeckung von entspiegelnden Nanostrukturen auf den Augen nachtfliegender Insekten wird eine solche Struktur auch fur die Anwendung auf optischen Oberflachen diskutiert. Auf spritzgegossenen Kunststofflinsen konnen Antireflexstrukturen relativ einfach durch Plasmaatzen erzeugt werden. Dieses Verfahren wurde nun auf im Vakuum aufgedampfte organische Schichten ubertragen. Durch die Kombination organischer Nanostrukturen mit anorganischen Schichten entstehen komplexe Schichtsysteme, die fur die Breitbandentspiegelung von Glaslinsen sehr gut geeignet sind. Inorganic-organic hybrid coatings for antireflection of optical surfaces The application of nanostructures for optical surfaces has been discussed since antireflective nanostructures have been discovered on the eyes of night-flying insects. On injection molded plastic lenses, antireflective nanostructures can easily be produced by plasma etching. The procedure has now been adapted to vacuum evaporated organic layers. Complex coatings composed of inorganic layers and organic nanostructures are especially suitable for realizing broadband antireflection properties on glass lenses.

High-reflective coatings are indispensable in order to manufacture mirrors with highest possible reflectivity. The maximum reflectivity can be achieved by all-dielectric coatings; however, the spectral bandwidth of these mirrors is limited. For astronomical applications metal based coatings (Al, Au, Ag) are commonly applied, as they allow high reflectivity and at the same time a broad spectral bandwidth.

The third-order particle-hole ring diagrams are evaluated for a NN-contact interaction of the Skyrme type. The pertinent four-loop coefficients in the energy per particle $\bar E(k_f) \sim k_f^{5+2n}$ are reduced to double-integrals over cubic expressions in euclidean polarization functions. Dimensional regularization of divergent integrals is performed by subtracting power-divergences and the validity of this method is checked against the known analytical results at second-order. The complete ${\cal O}(p^2)$ NN-contact interaction is obtained by adding two tensor terms and their third-order ring contributions are also calculated in detail. The third-order ring energy arising from long-range $1\pi$-exchange is computed and it is found that direct and exchange contributions are all attractive. The very large size of the pion-ring energy, $\bar E(k_{f0})\simeq -92\,$MeV at saturation density, is however in no way representative for that of realistic chiral NN-potentials. Moreover, the third-order (particle-particle and hole-hole) ladder diagrams are evaluated with the full ${\cal O}(p^2)$ contact interaction and the simplest three-ring contributions to the isospin-asymmetry energy $A(k_f)\sim k_f^5$ are studied., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures

We compute from chiral two- and three-nucleon interactions the energy per particle of symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter at third-order in perturbation theory including self-consistent second-order single-particle energies. Particular attention is paid to the third-order particle-hole ring diagram, which is often neglected in microscopic calculations of the equation of state. We provide semianalytic expressions for the direct terms from central and tensor model-type interactions that are useful as theoretical benchmarks. We investigate uncertainties arising from the order-by-order convergence in both many-body perturbation theory and the chiral expansion. Including also variations in the resolution scale at which nuclear forces are resolved, we provide new error bands on the equation of state, the isospin-asymmetry energy, and its slope parameter. We find in particular that the inclusion of third-order diagrams reduces the theoretical uncertainty at low densities, while in general the largest error arises from omitted higher-order terms in the chiral expansion of the nuclear forces.

Random effects in the repeatability of refractive index and absorption edge position of tantalum pentoxide layers prepared by plasma-ion-assisted electron-beam evaporation, ion beam sputtering, and magnetron sputtering are investigated and quantified. Standard deviations in refractive index between 4 ∗ 10 -4 and 4 ∗ 10 -3 have been obtained. Here, lowest standard deviations in refractive index close to our detection threshold could be achieved by both ion beam sputtering and plasma-ion-assisted deposition. In relation to the corresponding mean values, the standard deviations in band-edge position and refractive index are of similar order.

We calculate the T-matrices of pseudoscalar meson octet-baryon scattering to one-loop order in SU(3) heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory. The pertinent combinations of low-energy constants are determined by fitting to phase shifts of $\pi N$ and $K N$ scattering and the corresponding data. By using these low-energy constants, we obtain the strong phase shift difference of $\pi \Lambda$ scattering at the $\Xi$ mass, $\delta_P-\delta_S=(8.8 \pm 0.2)$ degrees, in agreement with experimental results. We find that the phase shifts in the $S_{01}$($\pi \Sigma$), $S_{01}$($K \Xi$), $S_{01}$($\overline{K} N$), and $S_{11}$($\overline{K} \Sigma$) waves are so strong that resonances may be generated dynamically in all these channels. We also predict the scattering lengths and make comparisons with the results obtained from the threshold T-matrices in heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory and the method of covariant infrared regularization. The issue of convergence is also discussed in detail., Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, 1 table

A density-dependent effective potential for the baryon-baryon interaction in the presence of the (hyper)nuclear medium is constructed, based on the leading (irreducible) three-baryon forces derived within SU(3) chiral effective field theory. We evaluate the contributions from three classes: contact terms, one-pion exchange and two-pion exchange. In the strangeness-zero sector we recover the known result for the in-medium nucleon-nucleon interaction. Explicit expressions for the Lambda-nucleon in-medium potential in (asymmetric) nuclear matter are presented. Our results are suitable for implementation into calculations of (hyper)nuclear matter. In order to estimate the low-energy constants of the leading three-baryon forces we introduce the decuplet baryons as explicit degrees of freedom and construct the relevant terms in the minimal non-relativistic Lagrangian. With these, the constants are estimated through decuplet saturation. Utilizing this approximation we provide numerical results for the effect of the three-body force in symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter on the Lambda-nucleon interaction. A moderate repulsion that increases with density is found in comparison to the free Lambda-nucleon interaction., Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables

We compute from chiral two- and three-body forces the complete quasiparticle interaction in symmetric nuclear matter up to twice nuclear matter saturation density. Second-order perturbative contributions that account for Pauli-blocking and medium polarization are included, allowing for an exploration of the full set of central and noncentral operator structures permitted by symmetries and the long-wavelength limit. At the Hartree-Fock level, the next-to-next-to-leading order three-nucleon force contributes to all noncentral interactions, and their strengths grow approximately linearly with the nucleon density up that of saturated nuclear matter. Three-body forces are shown to enhance the already strong proton-neutron effective tensor interaction, while the corresponding like-particle tensor force remains small. We also find a large isovector cross-vector interaction but small center-of-mass tensor interactions in the isoscalar and isovector channels. The convergence of the expansion of the noncentral quasiparticle interaction in Landau parameters and Legendre polynomials is studied in detail., Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures

The processing of organic substances by vacuum deposition is opening new possibilities for the properties of optical surfaces. Organic small molecules can be evaporated and deposited like optical thin films. Plasma etching, which has been successfully applied to generate nanostructures on polymer substrates, is now used for obtaining antireflective nanostructures on top of interference stacks on glass. The latest results in achieving excellent antireflective properties for a wide range of light incidence angles were accomplished through multiple etching of polymer substrates and organic layers.

A theoretical model based on the model of elasticity is used to simulate the stress field of several simplified single- and multilayer coatings under indentation load. Based on these results the stresses relevant for the failure of the coating are identified. The influence of different coating parameters like thickness, material choice and layer arrangement is examined. The results of this analysis are considered when designing an antireflective coating with optimized mechanical resilience. A modified coating is deposited and the scratch resistance is compared to an established coating. As indicated by the simulation the optimized coating shows an enhanced scratch resistance.

Optische Monitoringverfahren haben sich im vergangenen Jahrzehnt als unverzichtbarer Bestandteil einer deterministischen Herstellungsstrategie anspruchsvoller optischer Beschichtungen etabliert. Traditionelle Umsetzungen basieren dabei auf der Messung des Transmissionsspektrums oder alternativ des Reflexionsspektrums direkt an der wachsenden Schicht. Im Falle praktisch absorptions- und streufreier Beschichtungen auf transparenten Substraten bieten beide Herangehensweisen grundsatzlich den gleichen Informationsgehalt. Im Falle absorbierender Schichtsysteme sind die Informationen aus dem Transmissionsspektrum und dem Reflexionsspektrum grundsatzlich nicht mehr gleichwertig. In diesem Fall erscheint es sinnvoll, beide Spektren wahrend der Beschichtung gleichzeitig zu registrieren, um ein moglichst vollstandiges Bild vom Status der wachsenden Schicht zu erhalten. Wir stellen die Realisierung eines solchen Aufbaus fur die Prozessverfolgung und -steuerung fur branchenubliche Verdampfungsprozesse vor und demonstrieren die Wirkweise am Beispiel des Wachstums von Aluminiumoxidschichten sowie Aluminiumspiegeln. In situ optical monitoring and process control: Measuring transmittance and reflectance of optical coatings during deposition Optical monitoring techniques havebecome indispensable parts of deterministic preparation strategies for sophisticated optical coatings. Traditional versions of optical broadband monitoring are based on measurements of the transmission spectrum or alternatively the reflection spectrum of the growing film. In the case of practically loss-free samples, both approaches principally deliver equivalent information. In the case of absorbing coatings, the information gained from the different spectra may be no more equivalent. Instead, it may be reasonable to record both spectra simultaneously, in order to get a more complete picture of the status of the growing film. We present a corresponding measurement setup designed for use in typical coating evaporation processes and demonstrate its application to the deposition of alumina coatings as well as aluminum mirrors.

The optical properties of opaque sputtered silver films are investigated and related to their surface morphology. As reference, an evaporated sample produced by thermal flash evaporation has been studied, too. Standard optical and electrical characterizations as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray reflectometry have been carried out with unprotected silver films directly after deposition and reveal strong correlations between the corresponding characterization results. The aging behavior of the normal incidence reflectance has been studied over a time period of 36 weeks. Protected silver mirrors have been prepared by sputtering using silica and alumina as the protective coating. It is shown by model calculations that the main spectral features occurring in the reflectance spectra of as-deposited unprotected coatings, unprotected coatings after aging, and protected coatings can be reproduced assuming a rough silver surface covered by a corresponding ultrathin absorbing interface layer or overlayer.