Wissenschaftsbezogener Rechtspopulismus/-extremismus: Eine Podiumsdiskussion

Mit dem Begriff wissenschaftsbezogener Rechtspopulismus/-extremismus werden (extrem) rechte Praktiken, Diskurse, Akteur:innen und Organisationen beschrieben, die entweder von außen Bezüge zum Feld der Wissenschaft herzustellen versuchen oder selbst Teil des akademischen Milieus sind. Der hier vorliegende Text ist eine redigierte und stark gekürzte Transkription der Podiumsdiskussion „Wissenschaftsbezogener Rechtspopulismus/-extremismus“. Der Text gliedert sich entlang von drei Schwerpunktsetzungen. Zunächst nehmen wir eine historische Perspektive ein. Anschließend rücken wir das Thema Gender in den Mittelpunkt des Austauschs. Abschließend fokussieren wir hochschulimmanente (extrem) rechte Tendenzen

Clustering of red galaxies around the z=1.53 quasar 3C270.1

In the paradigm of hierarchical galaxy formation, luminous radio galaxies mark mass assembly peaks that should contain clusters of galaxies. Observations of the z=1.53 quasar 3C270.1 with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 3.6-24 micron and with the 6.5-m MMT in the z'- and Y-bands allow detection of potential cluster members via photometric redshifts. Compared with nearby control fields, there is an excess of 11 extremely red objects (EROs) at 1.33 < z_phot < 1.73, consistent with a proto-cluster around the quasar. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 3/4 of the EROs are better fitted with passive elliptical galaxies than withdust-reddened starbursts, and of four sources well-detected on an archival HST snapshot image, all have undisturbed morphologies. However, one ERO, not covered by the HST image, is a double source with 0.8" separation on the z' image and a marginal (2sigma) 24 micron detection indicating a dust-enshrouded starburst. The EROs are more luminous than L* (H = -23.6 AB mag at z=1.5).Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Ap

Fractal diffusion in high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell membranes

© 2018 Author(s). The performance of fuel cells depends largely on the proton diffusion in the proton conducting membrane, the core of a fuel cell. High temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells are based on a polymer membrane swollen with phosphoric acid as the electrolyte, where proton conduction takes place. We studied the proton diffusion in such membranes with neutron scattering techniques which are especially sensitive to the proton contribution. Time of flight spectroscopy and backscattering spectroscopy have been combined to cover a broad dynamic range. In order to selectively observe the diffusion of protons potentially contributing to the ion conductivity, two samples were prepared, where in one of the samples the phosphoric acid was used with hydrogen replaced by deuterium. The scattering data from the two samples were subtracted in a suitable way after measurement. Thereby subdiffusive behavior of the proton diffusion has been observed and interpreted in terms of a model of fractal diffusion. For this purpose, a scattering function for fractal diffusion has been developed. The fractal diffusion dimension dw and the Hausdorff dimension df have been determined on the length scales covered in the neutron scattering experiments

The Sedimentary Carbon-Sulfur-Iron Interplay – A Lesson From East Anglian Salt Marsh Sediments

We explore the dynamics of the subsurface sulfur, iron and carbon cycles in salt marsh sediments from East Anglia, United Kingdom. We report measurements of pore fluid and sediment geochemistry, coupled with results from laboratory sediment incubation experiments, and develop a conceptual model to describe the influence of bioturbation on subsurface redox cycling. In the studied sediments the subsurface environment falls into two broadly defined geochemical patterns – iron-rich sediments or sulfide-rich sediments. Within each sediment type nearly identical pore fluid and solid phase geochemistry (in terms of concentrations of iron, sulfate, sulfide, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and the sulfur and oxygen isotope compositions of sulfate) are observed in sediments that are hundreds of kilometers apart. Strictly iron-rich and strictly sulfide-rich sediments, despite their substantive geochemical differences, are observed within spatial distances of less than five meters. We suggest that this bistable system results from a series of feedback reactions that determine ultimately whether sediments will be sulfide-rich or iron-rich. We suggest that an oxidative cycle in the iron-rich sediment, driven by bioirrigation, allows rapid oxidation of organic matter, and that this irrigation impacts the sediment below the immediate physical depth of bioturbation. This oxidative cycle yields iron-rich sediments with low total organic carbon, dominated by microbial iron reduction and no methane production. In the absence of bioirrigation, sediments in the salt marsh become sulfide-rich with high methane concentrations. Our results suggest that the impact of bioirrigation not only drives recycling of sedimentary material but plays a key role in sedimentary interactions among iron, sulfur and carbon

Large-scale distributions of mid- and far-infrared emission from the center to the halo of M82 revealed with AKARI

The edge-on starburst galaxy M82 exhibits complicated distributions of gaseous materials in its halo, which include ionized superwinds driven by nuclear starbursts, neutral materials entrained by the superwinds, and large-scale neutral streamers probably caused by a past tidal interaction with M81. We investigate detailed distributions of dust grains and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) around M82 to understand their interplay with the gaseous components. We performed mid- (MIR) and far-infrared (FIR) observations of M82 with the Infrared Camera and Far-Infrared Surveyor on board AKARI. We obtain new MIR and FIR images of M82, which reveal both faint extended emission in the halo and very bright emission in the center with signal dynamic ranges as large as five and three orders of magnitude for the MIR and FIR, respectively. We detect MIR and FIR emission in the regions far away from the disk of the galaxy, reflecting the presence of dust and PAHs in the halo of M82. We find that the dust and PAHs are contained in both ionized and neutral gas components, implying that they have been expelled into the halo of M82 by both starbursts and galaxy interaction. In particular, we obtain a tight correlation between the PAH and H$\alpha$ emission, which provides evidence that the PAHs are well mixed in the ionized superwind gas and outflowing from the disk.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Entanglement Entropy, decoherence, and quantum phase transition of a dissipative two-level system

The concept of entanglement entropy appears in multiple contexts, from black hole physics to quantum information theory, where it measures the entanglement of quantum states. We investigate the entanglement entropy in a simple model, the spin-boson model, which describes a qubit (two-level system) interacting with a collection of harmonic oscillators that models the environment responsible for decoherence and dissipation. The entanglement entropy allows to make a precise unification between entanglement of the spin with its environment, decoherence, and quantum phase transitions. We derive exact analytical results which are confirmed by Numerical Renormalization Group arguments both for an ohmic and a subohmic bosonic bath. Those demonstrate that the entanglement entropy obeys universal scalings. We make comparisons with entanglement properties in the quantum Ising model and in the Dicke model. We also emphasize the possibility of measuring this entanglement entropy using charge qubits subject to electromagnetic noise; such measurements would provide an empirical proof of the existence of entanglement entropy.Comment: 38 pages, 8 figures, related to cond-mat/0612095 and arXiv:0705.0957; final version to appear in Annals of Physic

PAH emission variations within the resolved starbursts of NGC253 and NGC1808

(ABRIDGED) We have undertaken a programme of 3 micron narrowband imaging of a sample of nearby template galaxies covering a wide range of metallicity, star formation activity, and nuclear activity. In the present paper we present first results: high spatial resolution images of PAH emission and the adjacent continuum emission from the central regions of the nearby starburst galaxies NGC253 and NGC1808. Globally, the PAH emission is seen to peak on the central starburst regions of both sources. On smaller scales, however, we see no general spatial correlation or anti-correlation between the PAH emission and the location of sites of recent star formation, suggesting that the degree to which PAH emission traces starburst activity is more complicated than previously hypothesized based on results from data with lower spatial resolution. We do find spatial correlations, though, when we consider the PAH-to-continuum ratio, which is low at the positions of known super star clusters in NGC1808 as well as at the position of the IR peak in NGC253. We take this to imply a decrease in the efficiency of PAH emission induced by the star formation, caused by mechanical energy input into the ISM or photoionisation or photodissociation of the PAH molecules. All three hypotheses are discussed. In addition, for the first time we present observations of PAH emission in the superwind of a starbursting system (NGC253), providing strong support that winds are heavily mass-loaded and entrain substantial amounts of ambient ISM. We have also found a plausible connection between observed NaD absorption, H2, and PAHs above the plane of NGC253. This observation has important implications for enriching galaxy halos and possibly the intergalactic medium with small dust grains.Comment: A&A Accepted, for a version with higher quality figures see http://www.eso.org/~ltacconi/PAPER

Influenza A (H10N7) virus causes respiratory tract disease in harbor seals and ferrets

Avian influenza viruses sporadically cross the species barrier to mammals, including humans, in which they may cause epidemic disease. Recently such an epidemic occurred due to the emergence of avian influenza virus of the subtype H10N7 (Seal/H10N7) in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). This epidemic caused high mortality in seals along the north-west coast of Europe and represented a potential risk for human health. To characterize the spectrum of lesions and to identify the target cells and viral distribution, findings in 16 harbor seals spontaneously infected with Seal/H10N7 are described. The seals had respiratory tract inflammation extending from the nasal cavity to bronchi associated with intralesional virus antigen in respiratory epithelial cells. Virus infection was restricted to the respiratory tract. The fatal outcome of the viral infection in seals was most likely caused by secondary bacterial infections. To investigate the pathogenic potential of H10N7 infection for humans, we inoculated the seal virus intratracheally into six ferrets and performed pathological and virological analyses at 3 and 7 days post inoculation. These experimentally inoculated ferrets displayed mild clinical signs, virus excretion from the pharynx and respiratory tract inflammation extending from bronchi to alveoli that was associated with virus antigen expression exclusively in the respiratory epithelium. Virus was isolated only from the respiratory tract. In conclusion, Seal/H10N7 infection in naturally infected harbor seals and experimentally infected ferrets shows that respiratory epithelial cells are the permissive cells for viral replication. Fatal outcome in seals was caused by secondary bacterial pneumonia similar to that in fatal human cases during influenza pandemics. Productive infection of ferrets indicates that seal/H10N7 may possess a zoonotic potential. This outbreak of LPAI from wild birds to seals demonstrates the risk of such occasions for mammals and thus humans

High-velocity neon line emission from the ULIRG IRAS F00183-7111: revealing the optically obscured base of a nuclear outflow

We report the first mid-IR detection of highly disturbed ionized gas in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy IRAS F00183-7111. The gas, traced by the 12.81um [NeII] and 15.56um [NeIII] lines, spans a velocity range of-3500 to 3000 km/s with respect to systemic velocity. Optical and near-IR spectroscopic studies show no evidence for similarly high velocity gas components in forbidden lines at shorter wavelengths. We interpret this as the result of strong extinction (Av=10-50) on the high-velocity gas, which identifies the base of the outflow traced in 5007A [OIII] as a plausible origin. Unusual excitation conditions are implied by a comparison of the mid-infrared low-excitation neon line emission and the PAH emission for a sample of 56 ULIRGs. For IRAS F00183, the neon/PAH ratio is 8 times higher than the average ratio. Similar mid-infrared kinematic and excitation characteristics are found for only 2 other ULIRGs in our sample: IRAS 12127-1412NE and IRAS 13451+1232. Both sources have an elevated neon/PAH ratio and exhibit pronounced blue wings in their 15.56um [NeIII] line profiles. IRAS 13451 even shows a strongly blue shifted and broad 14.32um [NeV] line. While for IRAS 13451 the observed [NeIII]/[NeII] and [NeV]/[NeII] line ratios indicate exposure of the blue shifted gas to direct radiation from the AGN, for IRAS F00183 and 12127 the neon line ratios are consistent with an origin in fast shocks in a high-density environment, and with an evolutionary scenario in which strongly blue shifted [Ne II] and [Ne III] emission trace the (partial) disruption of the obscuring medium around a buried AGN. The detection of strongly blue shifted [Ne V] emission in IRAS 13451 would then indicate this process to be much further advanced in this ULIRG than in IRAS F00183 and 12127, where this line is undetected.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Degradation Effects at the Porous Transport Layer/Catalyst Layer Interface in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolyzer

The porous transport layer (PTL)/catalyst layer (CL) interface plays a crucial role in the achievement of high performance and efficiency in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). This study investigated the effects of the PTL/CL interface on the degradation of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) during a 4000 h test, comparing the MEAs assembled with uncoated and Ir-coated Ti PTLs. Our results show that compared to an uncoated PTL/CL interface, an optimized interface formed when using a platinum group metal (PGM) coating, i.e., an iridium layer at the PTL/CL interface, and reduced the degradation of the MEA. The agglomeration and formation of voids and cracks could be found for both MEAs after the long-term test, but the incorporation of an Ir coating on the PTL did not affect the morphology change or oxidation of IrOx in the catalyst layer. In addition, our studies suggest that the ionomer loss and restructuring of the anodic MEA can also be reduced by Ir coating of the PTL/CL interface. Optimization of the PTL/CL interface improves the performance and durability of a PEMWE