The primary focus of my PhD is to quantify the spatial distribution of star-forming environments from optical to radio wavelengths using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Very Large Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Herschel Space Observatory, and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. Towards the end of my PhD study I have developed theoretical models. With these observational and theoretical avenues I have led a series of research projects to (1) quantify the initial spatial structure of pre-stellar cores and proto-stars, (2) test whether massive stars can form in isolation or not, (3) and develop a theoretical model on how young massive clusters form. These research projects have been fruitful as my collaborators and I have shown that pre-stellar cores and stars form in a smooth continuum of surface densities from a few to thousands of stars per pc^2. These two works have important implications on our understanding of what a young stellar cluster is and how star forming environments can evolve to form field star populations or gravitationally bound clusters. In my second study my collaborators and I found evidence for isolated massive star formation in the active star forming region 30 Doradus, in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The result impacts the field of the initial mass function and star formation models. Massive stars forming in isolation is consistent with a stochastically sampled initial mass function. Additionally, the result would put constraints on theoretical models on massive star formation. Continuing my work on massive star forming environments my collaborators and I have developed a theoretical model on how young massive clusters form. From the models we argue that feedback energies can be contained by the gravitational potential well of the massive progenitors. Furthermore, we predict the physical properties the massive cluster progenitors in terms of initial gas mass, radii and flux brightness to enable a search for these objects in Galactic plane surveys and upcoming telescopes. Using the common thread of spatial distribution analysis of star formation I describe my future research plans, which entails studies on extragalactic scales in the conclusion.

This work studies the allocation of bandwidth resources in wireless ad hoc networks. The highest-density clustering algorithm is presented to promote reuse of the spatial channel and a new slot allocation algorithm is proposed to achieve conflict-free scheduling for transmissions. Since the location-dependent contention is an important characteristic of ad hoc networks, in this paper we consider this feature of ad hoc networks to present a new cluster formation algorithm, by increasing the number of simultaneous links to enhance spatial channel reuse. Furthermore, because each cluster has its own scheduler and schedulers operate independently of each other, the transmissions may conflict among the clusters. In this paper, we classify the flows by the locations of their endpoints to prevent this problem. Finally, the proposed mechanism is implemented by simulation and the results reveal that the conflicts can be efficiently avoided without global information and the network throughput is improved without violating fairness.

Darbo objektas: turizmo klasterio formavimas Kuršių nerijoje. Darbo tikslas: išanalizuoti turizmo klasterio formavimo prielaidas Kuršių nerijoje. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Išanalizuoti turizmo svarbą regiono plėtrai. 2. Pateikti klasterių formavimosi prielaidas. 3. Atskleisti klasterių vaidmenį regiono konkurencingumui. 4. Įvertinti turizmo klasterio formavimo(si) Kuršių nerijoje galimybes. 5. Sukurti Kuršių nerijos turizmo klasterio modelį. Tiriamasis klausimas: kokios yra turizmo klasterio formavimo prielaidos Kuršių nerijoje? Hipotezė: rekreacijos plėtros procesai Kuršių nerijoje suformuoja prielaidas atsirasti turizmo klasteriui šiame regione. Svarbiausios išvados: • Siekis tapti produktyvesne ir pelningesne įmone bei turėti ilgalaikę veiklos perspektyvą yra svarbiausia priežastis, kodėl įmonės stengiasi tapti klasterio narėmis. Glaudūs klasterio narių tarpusavio ryšiai padidina atskirų narių veiklos efektyvumą, todėl ir galutinis bendras rezultatas yra didesnis nei tas, kuris būtų, jei kiekvienas narys veiktų atskirai. Klasteriai įvairiais aspektais padeda spręsti kvalifikuotų ir motyvuotų darbuotojų stygiaus ar kitų specializuotų išteklių problemą, sukuria prielaidas koncentruoti narių finansinius išteklius bendriesiems projektams, be to, klasterizuotuose regionuose formuojasi informaciniai tinklai, kuriais sklinda visa įmonėms aktuali tiek formalaus, tiek neformalaus pobūdžio informacija, specializuotos žinios. • Klasteriai regionų konkurencingumą veikia padidindami... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of the study: tourism cluster in the Curonian Spit. The aim of the study: analyze assumptions of tourism cluster in the Curonian Spit. The objectives of the study: 1. To analyze the importance of tourism to the region's development. 2. To present assumptions of cluster formation. 3. To reveal the role of clusters to regional competitiveness. 4. To rate tourism cluster formation opportunities in Curonian spit. 5. To create tourism cluster model of Curonian spit. Research question: what are the preconditions for the emergence of the tourism cluster in Curonian spit? Hypothesis: recreation development processes in Curonian spit forms the preconditions for the emergence of a tourism cluster in the region. Main conclusions: Desire to become more productive and more profitable company and have a long term business perspective is the main reason why companies are trying to become cluster members. The close ties between members of the cluster increases the efficiency of the individual members, so the final total result is greater than that which would be provided by each member alone. Clustering helps to deal with various aspects of qualified and motivated staff shortages or other specialized resources problem. It creates preconditions for members to concentrate financial resources for common projects, by the way in addition to clustered regions forming of the information networks, which is spreading all relevant enterprises in both the formal and informal information... [to full text]

Abstract In this work an experimental study of size varied, neutral, and free metal clusters using synchrotron radiation excited photoelectron spectroscopy was performed. The combined core-level and valence photoelectron spectroscopic investigation indicates metallic properties for nanoscale Rb, K, Sn, and Bi clusters. In the case of Sn the experimental results suggest a metal-to-insulator transition occurring at the studied size range. In addition to the experimental results the technical implementation of the cluster production set-up is presented and jellium-model-based simulations are compared with the experimental results of the Rb and K clusters.

Abstract In this work, evolution of structural properties of anhydrous and hydrated alkali halide clusters are studied using synchrotron radiation based photoelectron spectroscopy. Alkali metal core level spectra of small anhydrous RbCl, RbBr, CsCl and CsBr clusters indicate a NaCl structure. For larger CsBr clusters a structural phase transition to CsCl structure is likely the case. Alkali halide core level spectra of mixed RbBr-water clusters indicate that at dilute concentration the salt is dissolved by the water cluster but ion pairing increases with concentration. Modeling of gas phase cluster formation and electronic structure calculations of core level chemical shifts are used to interpret the experimental spectra.

<p>In this dissertation, the Phase Field Crystal (PFC) Method is used to study a number of problems in which interfaces and elastic effects play important roles in alloys. In particular, the three topics covered in this work are grain boundary thermodynamics in alloys, dislocation-mediated formation of clusters in binary and ternary alloys, and solutal effects in explosive crystallization. Physical phenomena associated with grain boundaries, such as Read-Shockley-like behaviour and Gibbs adsorp- tion theorem, were shown to be accurately captured in both PFC- and XPFC-type models. In fact, a connection between the solute segregation behaviour and physical properties of the system—such as energy of mixing, mismatch, and undercooling—were shown. Also, grain boundary premelting was investigated. It was shown how solute can change the disjoining potential of a grain boundary and a mechanism for hysteresis in grain boundary premelting was discussed. Regarding the phenomenon of cluster formation, a general coexistence approach and a nucleation-like approach were used to describe the mechanism consistently with observations; the process is facilitated by lowering the energy increase associated with it. The final phenomenon studied was explosive crystallization. It was shown that the temperature oscillations due to unsteady motion of an interface could be captured with PFC-type models and that this behaviour leaves patterns, such as solute traces, in the material. The versatility of this PFC formalism was demonstrated by capturing the underlying physics and elucidating the role of misfit strain in altering interface oscillations during explosive crystallization. Finally, it was demonstrated in all projects how PFC model parameters relate to coarse-grained material properties, thereby connecting these phenomena on larger scales to atomistic-scale properties.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Mit zeitaufgelöster Massenspektrometrie untersuchen wir die Winkelverteilung von Kohlendioxid-Monomeren bei der Streuung von Kohlendioxid-Clustern an einer Si(111)/Siliciumdioxid-Oberfläche unter Ultrahochvakuum-Bedingungen. Die präsen- tierten Studien decken eine große Breite der Clustergrößen, , 1,000 < N < 200,000 Moleküle pro Partikel, ab. Dabei liegt der Fokus auf dem Einfluss der Ausgangsentropie, die durch eine präzise Einstellung des Ausgangsdruckes und der Düsentemperatur realisiert wurde. Es zeigt sich, daß die Streuverteilung direkt den Expansionspfad widerspiegelt, wodurch eine Unterscheidung zwischen Clustern, die durch eine Expansion auf der gasförmigen oder flüssigen Seite des kritischen Punktes und der metstabilen Phase ent- stehen, ermöglicht wird. Um bei den hohen Teilchendichten eine verlässliche Aussage zu ermöglichen, wurden im Vorfeld die Eigenschaften gepulster Molekularstrahlen untersucht, insbesondere deren Abhängigkeit vom Restgasdruck und den Wechselwirkungen mit Strahlblenden. Hierzu diente die elektronische Anregung eines Helium-Strahls. Die Optimierung der Randbedingungen ermöglicht viel kältere Strahlen, so dass Helium-Cluster sogar bei einer Ausgangstemperatur von T = 410.0 K gefunden werden können. Dieses Ergebnis ist für die Cluster-Forschung, die Molekülspektroskopie und Experimente in der Quantenphysik von Bedeutung. / Employing pulsed high-pressure supersonic jet expansion and a dedicated setup for the experimental investigation of chemical processes occurring between neutral, van der Waals bound clusters and a solid surface, we report on the angular distribution observed for large carbon dioxide clusters scattered off a Si(111)/Silicon Dioxide surface under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Scattered particles are detected using angle and time resolved mass spectrometry. The presented studies cover a broad range of cluster sizes, , 1,000 < N < 200,000 molecules per particle. The focus is on the influence of source entropy, realized by accurately setting stagnation pressure and temperature. This thesis demonstrates a dependence of the angular distribution of scattered carbon dioxide monomers on source conditions: the scattering distribution directly reflects the expansion path, allowing us to distinguish between clusters generated via expansion on the gaseous or on the liquid side of the critical point, and an intermediate regime where the expansion passes the metastable gas-liquid region. To optimize the supersonic beam, on the other hand, we reveal a substantial influence of residual gas pressure and beam–skimmer interactions on beam properties, particularly the minimum attainable translational temperature in a model system. This study contains the systematic investigation of supersonic jet expansions of helium, employing the variable distance between the Even-Lavie valve and different types of skimmers. Utilizing the ultra-high precision time-of-flight measurements of electronically tagged particles, the terminal velocities and the spread of particles allow us to correspondingly obtain much colder beams with the same source conditions. As a result, helium clusters can be found even in the jet expansion from a source temperature of T = 410.0 K. This knowledge is of particular interest to cluster science, molecular spectroscopy, and quantum physics.

No description available.

Les fusions sont un évènement essentiel dans la formation des grandes structures de l’Univers; elles jouent un rôle important dans l’histoire de formation et l’évolution des galaxies. Outre une transformation morphologique, les fusions induisent d’importants sursauts de formation d’étoiles. Ces sursauts sont caractérisés par des Efficacités de Formation Stellaire (EFS) et des Taux de Formation Stellaire Spécifiques (TFSS), i.e., respectivement, des Taux de Formation Stellaire (TFS) par unité de masse gazeuse et des TFS par unité de masse stellaire, plus élevés que ceux des galaxies spirales. A toutes les époques cosmiques, les galaxies à sursaut de formation d’étoiles sont des systèmes particuliers, en dehors de la séquence définie par les galaxies spirales. Nous explorons l’origine du mode de formation stellaire par sursaut, à travers trois systèmes in interaction: Arp 245, Arp 105 et NGC 7252. Nous avons combiné des observations JVLA haute résolution de la raie à 21-cm, traçant le gaz Hi diffus, avec des observations GALEX dans l’UV, traçant les jeunes régions de formation d’étoiles. Nous sommes ainsi en mesure de sonder les conditions physiques locales du Milieu InterStellaire (MIS) pour des régions de formation d’étoiles indépendantes, et d’étudier la transformation du gaz atomique en gaz dense dans différents environnements. Le rapport SFR/HI apparaît bien plus élevé dans les régions centrales que dans les régions externes, indiquant une fraction de gaz dense plus élevée (ou une fraction de gaz HI moins élevée) dans les régions centrales. Dans les régions externes des systèmes, i.e., les queues de marées, où le gaz est dans une phase principalement atomique, nous observons des rapports SFR/ HI plus élevés que dans les environnements standards dominés par le HI, i.e., les régions externes des disques de spirales et les galaxies naines. Ainsi, notre analyse révèle que les régions externes de fusions sont caractérisées par des EFS élevées, par comparaison au mode de formation stellaire standard. Observer des fractions de gaz dense élevées dans les systèmes en interaction est en accord avec les prédictions des simulations numériques; ceci résulte d’une augmentation de la turbulence du gaz durant une fusion. La fusion affecte les propriétés de formation stellaire du système probablement à toutes les échelles, depuis les grandes échelles, avec une turbulence augmentant globalement, jusqu’aux petites échelles, avec des modifications possibles de la fonction de masse initiale. A partir d’une simulation numérique haute résolution d’une fusion majeure entre deux galaxies spirales, nous analysons les effets de l’interaction des galaxies sur les propriétés du MIS à l'échelle des amas stellaires. L’accroissement de la turbulence du gaz explique probablement la formation de Super Amas Stellaire dans le système. Notre étude de la relation SFR–HI dans les fusions de galaxies sera complétée par des données HI haute résolution pour d’autres systèmes, et poussée vers des échelles spatiales encore plus petites. / Mergers are known to be essential in the formation of large-scale structures and to have a significant role in the history of galaxy formation and evolution. Besides a morphological transformation, mergers induce important bursts of star formation. These starburst are characterised by high Star Formation Efficiencies (SFEs) and Specific Star Formation Rates, i.e., high Star Formation Rates (SFR) per unit of gas mass and high SFR per unit of stellar mass, respectively, compared to spiral galaxies. At all redshifts, starburst galaxies are outliers of the sequence of star-forming galaxies defined by spiral galaxies. We have investigated the origin of the starburst-mode of star formation, in three local interacting systems: Arp 245, Arp 105 and NGC 7252. We combined high-resolution JVLA observations of the 21-cm line, tracing the HI diffuse gas, with UV GALEX observations, tracing the young star-forming regions. We probe the local physical conditions of the Inter-Stellar Medium (ISM) for independent star-forming regions and explore the atomic-to-dense gas transformation in different environments. The SFR/HI ratio is found to be much higher in central regions, compared to outer regions, showing a higher dense gas fraction (or lower HI gas fraction) in these regions. In the outer regions of the systems, i.e., the tidal tails, where the gas phase is mostly atomic, we find SFR/HI ratios higher than in standard HI-dominated environments, i.e., outer discs of spiral galaxies and dwarf galaxies. Thus, our analysis reveals that the outer regions of mergers are characterised by high SFEs, compared to the standard mode of star formation. The observation of high dense gas fractions in interacting systems is consistent with the predictions of numerical simulations; it results from the increase of the gas turbulence during a merger. The merger is likely to affect the star-forming properties of the system at all spatial scales, from large scales, with a globally enhanced turbulence, to small scales, with possible modifications of the initial mass function. From a high-resolution numerical simulation of the major merger of two spiral galaxies, we analyse the effects of the galaxy interaction on the star forming properties of the ISM at the scale of star clusters. The increase of the gas turbulence is likely able to explain the formation of Super Star Clusters in the system. Our investigation of the SFR-HI relation in galaxy mergers will be complemented by high-resolution HI data for additional systems, and pushed to yet smaller spatial scales.

The ever-growing demand of wireless traffic poses a challenge for current cellular networks. Each new generation must find new ways to boost the network capacity and spectral efficiency (SE) per device. A pillar of 5G is massive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technology. Through utilizing a large number of antennas at each transmitting node, massive MIMO has the ability to multiplex several user equipments (UEs) on the same time-frequency resources via spatial multiplexing. Looking beyond 5G, cell-free massive MIMO has attracted a lot of attention for its ability to utilize spatial macro diversity and higher resilience to interference. The cell-free architecture is based on a large number of distributed access points (APs) jointly serving the UEs within a coverage area without creating artificial cell boundaries. It provides a promising solution that is focused on delivering uniform service quality throughout the mobile network. The main challenges of the cell-free network architecture lie in the computational complexity for signal processing and the huge fronthaul requirements for information exchange among the APs. In this thesis, we tackle some of the inherent problems of the cell-free network architecture by providing distributed solutions to the power allocation and mobility management problems. We then introduce a new method for characterizing unknown interference in wireless networks. For the problem of power allocation, a distributed learning-based solution that provides a good trade-off between SE performance and applicability for implementation in large-scale networks is developed with reduced fronthaul requirements and computational complexity. The problem is divided in a way that enables each AP (or group of APs) to separately decide on the power coefficients to the UEs based on the locally available information at the AP without exchanging information with the other APs, however, still attempting to achieve a network wide optimization objective.  Regarding mobility management, a handover procedure is devised for updating the serving sets of APs and assigned pilot to each UE in a dynamic scenario considering UE mobility. The algorithm is tailored to reduce the required number of handovers per UE and changes in pilot assignment. Numerical results show that our proposed solution identifies the essential refinements since it can deliver comparable SE to the case when the AP-UE association is completely redone. Finally, we developed a new technique based on a Bayesian approach to model the distribution of the unknown interference arising from scheduling variations in neighbouring cells. The method is shown to provide accurate modelling for the unknown interference power and an effective tool for robust rate allocation in the uplink with a guaranteed target outage performance. / Den ständigt växande efterfrågan på trådlös datatrafik är en stor utmaning för dagens mobilnät. Varje ny nätgeneration måste hitta nya sätt att öka den totala kapaciteten och spektraleffektiviteten (SE) per uppkopplad enhet. En pelare i 5G är massiv-MIMO-teknik (multiple-input-multiple-output). Genom att använda ett stort antal antenner på varje mobilmast har massiv MIMO förmågan att kommunicera med flera användarutrustningar (eng. user equipment, UE) på samma tid/frekvensresurser via så kallad rumslig multiplexing. Om man ser bortom 5G-tekniken så har cellfri massiv-MIMO väckt stort intresse tack vare sin förmåga att utnyttja rumslig makrodiversitet för att förbättra täckningen och uppnå högre motståndskraft mot störningar. Den cellfria arkitekturen bygger på att ha ett stort antal distribuerade accesspunkter (AP) som gemensamt serverar UE:erna inom ett täckningsområde utan att dela upp området konstgjorda celler. Detta är en lovande lösning som är fokuserad på att leverera enhetliga datahastigheter i hela mobilnätet. De största forskningsutmaningarna med den cellfria nätverksarkitekturen ligger i beräkningskomplexiteten för signalbehandling och de enorma kraven på fronthaul-kablarna som möjliggör informationsutbyte mellan AP:erna. I den här avhandlingen löser vi några av de grundläggande utmaningarna med den cellfria nätverksarkitekturen genom att tillhandahålla distribuerade algoritmlösningar på problem relaterade till signaleffektreglering och mobilitetshantering. Vi introducerar sedan en ny metod för att karakterisera okända störningar i trådlösa nätverk. När det gäller signaleffektreglering så utvecklas en distribuerad inlärnings-baserad metod som ger en bra avvägning mellan SE-prestanda och tillämpbarhet för implementering i storskaliga cellfria nätverk med reducerade fronthaulkrav och lägre beräkningskomplexitet. Lösningen är uppdelat på ett sätt som gör det möjligt för varje AP (eller grupp av AP) att separat besluta om effektkoefficienterna relaterade till varje UE baserat på den lokalt tillgängliga informationen vid AP:n utan att utbyta information med de andra AP:erna, men ändå försöka uppnå ett nätverksomfattande optimeringsmål. När det gäller mobilitetshantering utformas en överlämningsprocedur som dynamiskt uppdaterar vilken uppsättning av AP:er som servar en viss UE och vilken pilotsekvens som används när den rör sig över täckningsområdet. Algoritmen är skräddarsydd för att minska antalet överlämningar per UE och förändringar i pilottilldelningen. Numeriska resultat visar att vår föreslagna lösning identifierar de väsentliga förfiningarna eftersom den kan leverera jämförbar SE som när AP-UE-associationen görs om helt och hållet. Slutligen utvecklade vi en ny Bayesiansk metod för att modellera den statistiska fördelningen av de okända störningarna som uppstår på grund av schemaläggningsvariationer i närliggande celler. Metoden har visat sig ge en korrekt modell av den okända störningseffekten och är ett effektivt verktyg för robust SE-allokering i upplänken med en garanterad maximal avbrottsnivå. / <p>QC 20230503</p>