Solid-state photoswitching molecules: structural design for isomerization in condensed phase

Photoswitching dynamics of common organic photoisomers in solid state are often reduced compared to the solution state due to the close packing of molecules that limits structural changes. The facile solid-state switching of photoisomers has implications in developing novel light-controlled devices such as actuator, field-effect transistor, and photodetector, as well as photon energy storage materials that can be charged by light and release thermal energy upon triggering. Thus, the solid-state photoswitching of organic molecules has been studied in relation to the structural characteristics, and various effective methods to enhance the switching in condensed phases have been developed. This review highlights isomerization dynamics of common photoswitches in solid and then introduces important strategies for facilitating the switching dynamics, including the covalent functionalization methods for small-molecule photoswitches as well as the incorporation of various templates such as porous medium, nanoparticle, and host-guest structure. Furthermore, the solid-state switching of molecules at the interface with inorganic substrates including 2D materials and the microscopy techniques for the characterization will be further described. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd

The 2010 very high energy gamma-ray flare and 10 years of multi-wavelength observations of M 87

The giant radio galaxy M 87 with its proximity (16 Mpc), famous jet, and very massive black hole ((3-6) x 10(9) M-circle dot) provides a unique opportunity to investigate the origin of very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission generated in relativistic outflows and the surroundings of supermassive black holes. M 87 has been established as a VHE gamma-ray emitter since 2006. The VHE gamma-ray emission displays strong variability on timescales as short as a day. In this paper, results from a joint VHE monitoring campaign on M 87 by the MAGIC and VERITAS instruments in 2010 are reported. During the campaign, a flare at VHE was detected triggering further observations at VHE (H.E.S.S.), X-rays (Chandra), and radio (43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array, VLBA). The excellent sampling of the VHE gamma-ray light curve enables one to derive a precise temporal characterization of the flare: the single, isolated flare is well described by a two-sided exponential function with significantly different flux rise and decay times of tau(rise)(d) = (1.69 +/- 0.30) days and tau(decay)(d) = (0.611 +/- 0.080) days, respectively. While the overall variability pattern of the 2010 flare appears somewhat different from that of previous VHE flares in 2005 and 2008, they share very similar timescales (similar to day), peak fluxes (Phi(>0.35 TeV) similar or equal to (1-3) x 10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1)), and VHE spectra. VLBA radio observations of 43 GHz of the inner jet regions indicate no enhanced flux in 2010 in contrast to observations in 2008, where an increase of the radio flux of the innermost core regions coincided with a VHE flare. On the other hand, Chandra X-ray observations taken similar to 3 days after the peak of the VHE gamma-ray emission reveal an enhanced flux from the core (flux increased by factor similar to 2; variability timescale <2 days). The long-term (2001-2010) multi-wavelength (MWL) light curve of M 87, spanning from radio to VHE and including data from Hubble Space Telescope, Liverpool Telescope, Very Large Array, and European VLBI Network, is used to further investigate the origin of the VHE gamma-ray emission. No unique, common MWL signature of the three VHE flares has been identified. In the outer kiloparsec jet region, in particular in HST-1, no enhanced MWL activity was detected in 2008 and 2010, disfavoring it as the origin of the VHE flares during these years. Shortly after two of the three flares (2008 and 2010), the X-ray core was observed to be at a higher flux level than its characteristic range (determined from more than 60 monitoring observations: 2002-2009). In 2005, the strong flux dominance of HST-1 could have suppressed the detection of such a feature. Published models for VHE gamma-ray emission from M 87 are reviewed in the light of the new data

Simultaneous multi-frequency observation of the unknown redshift blazar PG 1553+113 in March-April 2008

© ESO 2010. The MAGIC collaboration would like to thank the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias for the excellent working condition at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos at La Palma. Major support from Germany's Bundesministerium fur Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie and Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Italy's Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) and Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), and Spain's Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion is gratefully acknowledged. The work was also supported by Switzerland's ETH Research grant TH34/043, Poland's Ministertwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyzszego grant N N203 390834, and Germany's Young Investigator Program of the Helmholtz Gemeinschaft. This work was also supported by Georgian National Science Foundation grant GNSF/ST07/4-180. EP acknowledges support from the Italian Space Agency through grants ASI-INAF I/023/05/0 and ASI I/088/06/0. N.M. would like to thank to C.W. Danforth for the private communication regarding the newly estimated redshift of the source.The blazar PG 1553+113 is a well known TeV gamma-ray emitter. In this paper we determine its spectral energy distribution through simultaneous multi-frequency data to study its emission processes. An extensive campaign was carried out between March and April 2008, where optical, X-ray, high-energy (HE) gamma-ray, and very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray data were obtained with the KVA, Abastumani, REM, RossiXTE/ASM, AGILE and MAGIC telescopes, respectively. We combine the data to derive the source's spectral energy distribution and interpret its double-peaked shape within the framework of a synchrotron self-Compton model.Depto. de Estructura de la Materia, Física Térmica y ElectrónicaFac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUESwitzerland's ETHPoland's Ministertwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa WyzszegoHelmholtz GemeinschaftGeorgian National Science FoundationItalian Space Agencypu

Detection of very high energy radiation from the BL lacertae object PG 1553+113 with the MAGIC telescope

In 2005 and 2006, the MAGIC telescope observed very high energy gamma-ray emission from the distant BL Lac object PG 1553 + 113. The overall significance of the signal was 8.8 sigma for 18.8 hr of observation time. The light curve shows no significant flux variations on a daily timescale; the flux level during 2005 was, however, significantly higher compared to 2006. The differential energy spectrum between similar to 90 and 500 GeV is well described by a power law with photon index. Gamma = 4.2 +/- 0.3. The combined 2005 and 2006 energy spectrum provides an upper limit of z = 0.74 on the redshift of the object

MAGIC observations of PG 1553+113 during a multiwavelength campaign in July 2006

The active galactic nucleus PG1553+113 was observed by the MAGIC telescope in July 2006 during a multiwavelength campaign, in which telescopes in the optical, X-ray, and very high energies participated. Although the MAGIC data were affected by strong atmospheric absorption (calima), they were analyzed after applying a correction. In 8.5 h, a signal was detected with a significance of 5.0 sigma. The integral flux above 150 GeV was (2.6 +/- 0.9) x 10(-7) ph s(-1) m(-2). By fitting the differential energy spectrum with a power law, a spectral index of -4.1 +/- 0.3 was obtained

Very high energy gamma-ray radiation from the stellar mass black hole binary Cygnus X-1

We report on the results from the observations in the very high energy band ( VHE; GeV) of the black E = 100 g hole X- ray binary ( BHXB) Cygnus X- 1. The observations were performed with the MAGIC telescope, for a total of 40 hr during 26 nights, spanning the period between 2006 June and November. Searches for steady gamma - ray signals yielded no positive result, and upper limits to the integral flux ranging between 1% and 2% of the Crab Nebula flux, depending on the energy, have been established. We also analyzed each observation night independently, obtaining evidence of gamma- ray signals at the 4.0 j significance level ( 3.2 j after trial correction) for 154 minutes of effective on- time ( EOT) on September 24 between 20: 58 and 23: 41 UTC, coinciding with an X- ray flare seen by RXTE, Swift, and INTEGRAL. A search for faster- varying signals within a night resulted in an excess with a significance of 4.9 j ( 4.1 j after trial correction) for 79 minutes EOT between 22: 17 and 23: 41 UTC. The measured excess is compatible with a pointlike source at the position of Cygnus X- 1 and excludes the nearby radio nebula powered by its relativistic jet. The differential energy spectrum is well fitted by an unbroken power law described as dN/(dA dt dE) = ( 2.3 +/- 0.6)* 10 ( E/1TeV). This is the first experimental evidence of VHE emission from a stellar mass black hole and therefore from a confirmed accreting X- ray binary

Observations of Sagittarius A* during the pericenter passage of the G2 object with MAGIC

Context. We present the results of a multi-year monitoring campaign of the Galactic center (GC) with the MAGIC telescopes. These observations were primarily motivated by reports that a putative gas cloud (G2) would be passing in close proximity to the super-massive black hole (SMBH), associated with Sagittarius A*, located at the center of our galaxy. This event was expected to give astronomers a unique chance to study the effect of in-falling matter on the broad-band emission of a SMBH. Aims. We search for potential flaring emission of very-high-energy (VHE; >= 100 GeV) gamma rays from the direction of the SMBH at the GC due to the passage of the G2 object. Using these data we also study the morphology of this complex region. Methods. We observed the GC region with the MAGIC Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes during the period 2012-2015, collecting 67 h of good-quality data. In addition to a search for variability in the flux and spectral shape of the GC gamma-ray source, we use a point-source subtraction technique to remove the known gamma-ray emitters located around the GC in order to reveal the TeV morphology of the extended emission inside that region. Results. No effect of the G2 object on the VHE gamma-ray emission from the GC was detected during the 4 yr observation campaign. We confirm previous measurements of the VHE spectrum of Sagittarius A*, and do not detect any significant variability of the emission from the source. Furthermore, the known VHE gamma-ray emitter at the location of the supernova remnant G0.9+0.1 was detected, as well as the recently discovered VHE source close to the GG radio arc

Very high-energy gamma-ray follow-up program using neutrino triggers from IceCube

We describe and report the status of a neutrino-triggered program in IceCube that generates real-time alerts for gamma-ray follow-up observations by atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes (MAGIC and VERITAS). While IceCube is capable of monitoring the whole sky continuously, high-energy gamma-ray telescopes have restricted fields of view and in general are unlikely to be observing a potential neutrino-flaring source at the time such neutrinos are recorded. The use of neutrino-triggered alerts thus aims at increasing the availability of simultaneous multi-messenger data during potential neutrino flaring activity, which can increase the discovery potential and constrain the phenomenological interpretation of the high-energy emission of selected source classes (e. g. blazars). The requirements of a fast and stable online analysis of potential neutrino signals and its operation are presented, along with first results of the program operating between 14 March 2012 and 31 December 2015