On Musical Self-Similarity : Intersemiosis as Synecdoche and Analogy

Self-similarity, a concept borrowed from mathematics, is gradually becoming a keyword in musicology. Although a polysemic term, self-similarity often refers to the multi-scalar feature repetition in a set of relationships, and it is commonly valued as an indication for musical ‘coherence’ and ‘consistency’. In this study, Gabriel Pareyon presents a theory of musical meaning formation in the context of intersemiosis, that is, the translation of meaning from one cognitive domain to another cognitive domain (e.g. from mathematics to music, or to speech or graphic forms). From this perspective, the degree of coherence of a musical system relies on a synecdochic intersemiosis: a system of related signs within other comparable and correlated systems. The author analyzes the modalities of such correlations, exploring their general and particular traits, and their operational bounds. Accordingly, the notion of analogy is used as a rich concept through its two definitions quoted by the Classical literature—proportion and paradigm, enormously valuable in establishing measurement, likeness and affinity criteria. At the same time, original arguments by Benoît B. Mandelbrot (1924–2010) are revised, alongside a systematic critique of the literature on the subject. In fact, connecting Charles S. Peirce’s ‘synechism’ with Mandelbrot’s ‘fractality’ is one of the main developments of the present study

Structure and Reactivity of Aromatic Molecules on Metal Single-Crystal Surfaces and at Metal/Organic Interfaces

Low-dimensional carbon-based nanostructures are considered for the fabrication of modern electronic devices. For the realization of such devices, it is of utmost importance to achieve a high control over the structural quality. As a result, the field of on-surface synthesis, which aims at producing well-defined structures from tailor-made molecular precursors, has grown rapidly over the past decade. The reaction most frequently used to conduct on-surface synthesis is the Ullmann coupling reaction. Although a lot of work has already been invested, the fundamental principles determining the outcome of this reaction have not fully been understood to date. One prototypical case for such a situation is the product formation on the basis of precursor molecules that can either form long oligomer chains or macrocycles. This cumulative dissertation thesis contains a number of articles investigating the reaction products of different precursor molecules bearing these characteristics. They are investigated on metal single-crystal surfaces by scanning tunneling microscopy and complementary surface science techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy or angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, accompanied by Monte Carlo simulations. The ring/chain ratio formed by the model system 1,3-dibromoazulene on Cu(111) was studied. By this means new insights on how the ring/chain ratio can be tunedby variation of coverage and temperature were gained based on fundamental physicochemical considerations. An alternative approach to steer the reaction outcome was used by applying a surface template, i.e., a vicinal Ag surface, to exclusively form long, perfectly aligned oligomer chains from the 4,4''-dibromo-1,1':3',1''-terphenyl precursor. Furthermore, the 2,6-dibromoazulene precursor, which can exclusively form chains, was used to generate nanoribbons of the non-alternant graphene allotropes phagraphene and tetra-penta-hepta-graphene on Au(111). The structures of these species have been unambiguously elucidated by non-contact atomic force microscopy experiments carried out in a collaboration project. As a last project, the structural polymorphism of the pure self-assembly of 1,1':3',1'':4'',1'''-quaterphenyl-4,4'''-dicarbonitrile on the Ag(111) surface was investigated. This molecule shows an adsorbate structure containing flat-lying and upright-standing molecules. Such a structure had not been reported so far. Along with the structures formed, the performance of organic-electronic devices is also crucially dependent on the interactions between the substrate and the organic layer itself. To contribute to this field of research, studies on different model systems, i.e., porphyrins, corroles, and the non-alternant aromatic molecule azulene, have been performed in collaboration projects mostly involving synchrotron radiation beamtimes. In addition to the results already published in scientific journals, some unpublished results are part of this thesis. These are the investigation of the 1,3-dibromoazulene precursor on the Ag(111) surface with co-deposited Cu atoms and the successful initial operation of a commercially available atomic layer injection device. The experimental results are supplemented by the development and construction of technical instrumentation, which expands the capabilities of the measurement setup in the laboratory of the Gottfried group in Marburg

Complexity, Emergent Systems and Complex Biological Systems:\ud Complex Systems Theory and Biodynamics. [Edited book by I.C. Baianu, with listed contributors (2011)]

An overview is presented of System dynamics, the study of the behaviour of complex systems, Dynamical system in mathematics Dynamic programming in computer science and control theory, Complex systems biology, Neurodynamics and Psychodynamics.\u

Topics in environmental and physical geodesy

A compilation of mathematical techniques and physical basic knowledge in order to prepare the post graduate students of the subjects of physical geodesy, environmental physics and the visiting students of Erasmus-Socrates projects of the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography of Toulon and the Campus Universitari de la Mediterrania in Vilanova i la Geltru, Barcelona.Postprint (published version

Eigenmode Analysis in Plasmonics: Application to Second Harmonic Generation and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

Eigenmodes are central to the study of resonant phenomena in all areas of physics. However, their use in nano-optics seems to have been hindered and delayed for various reasons. First, due to their small size, the response of nanostructures to a far-field optical excitation is mainly dipolar. Thus, preliminary studies of nanosystems through optical methods meant that only very few eigenmodes of the system were probed, and a complete eigenmode theory was not required. Second, rigorously defining eigenmodes of an open and lossy cavity is far from trivial. Finally, only few geometries allow for an analytical solution of Maxwellâs equations that can be expressed in terms of modes, rendering the use of numerical methods mandatory to study non-trivial shapes. On the other hand, modern spectroscopy techniques based on fast electron excitation, instead of optical excitation, allow going beyond the above-mentioned dipolar regime and enable the observation of high order modes. In addition, the generation of second harmonic light (SHG) by nanoparticles permits revealing higher order modes that weakly couple to planewave far-field probing. Thus, to be able to analyze the data collected with such experimental methods and comprehend them in order to make appropriate nanostructure designs, one needs to develop suitable numerical tools for the computation of eigenmodes. This is the focus of this thesis, where eigenmodes are used throughout to analyze and understand experimental and numerical results. First, different approaches used to define and compute eigenmodes are presented in details together with the surface integral equation method used in this manuscript. The second chapter presents the use of eigenmodes to study the SHG in plasmonic nanostructures. A single mode is used as an SHG source to disentangle the modal contributions from different SHG channels. For three different nanostructures, the dipolar mode gives a pure quadrupolar second harmonic (SH) response. Then, the interplay of dipolar and quadrupolar SH radiations in nanorods of different sizes is revealed through a multipolar analysis, explaining the experimental observation of the flip between forward and backward maximum SH emissions. Finally, the dynamics of the SHG from a silver nanorod generated by short pulses is investigated. By tuning the spectral position and width of the pulses, the dynamics of a single mode is observed, both in the linear and SH responses, and fits extremely well with a harmonic oscillator model. The last chapter presents the utilization of the eigenmodes to interpret electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) measurements. An alternative approach to compute EELS signal is presented, revealing the different paths through which the energy of the electron is dissipated. Instead of computing the work done by the electron against the scattered electric field, the Ohmic and the radiation losses are evaluated. Then, heterodimers with several shapes and compositions are studied. A rich variety of modes is found, due to the additional degree of freedom associated with the different metals. Dolmen shaped nanostructures are also investigated in great details. A rigorous analysis of the eigenmode evolution when the central horizontal nanorod is moved is performed. Finally, we study the EELS for three iterations of a Koch snowflake nanoantenna. The evolution of the modes with the iteration of the fractal is analysed and the modes are linked to the experimental EELS ma