Peculiar velocities are possibly the most powerful probes of very large-scale mass density fluctuations in the nearby Universe. When coupled with a density field they also can constrain the growth factor of the universe by measuring the proportionality constant between observed velocities and linear theory predicted velocities. In this thesis, I measure a bulk flow of SN within 20,000 km s^1 of 197 +/- 56 km s^1 in direction l = 295 deg +/- 16deg, b = 11deg +/- 14deg , which is consistent with predictions of ΛCDM for large scale mass density fluctuations. Using the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift survey (PSCz) galaxy density field and the SNe peculiar velocities I calculated Ω^55_m σ8 to be 0.40 +/- 0.07 which is in excellent agreement with the results of WMAP7: Ω^55_m σ8 = 0.39 +/-0.04. By combining my measured value of with results from other studies, I measure the growth factor γ to be = 0.621 +/- 0.08 which is consistent with Λ CDM's prediction of 0.55. I conclude by exploring some of the systematic errors that could have affected my measurements of β. I find that when β is measured using a reconstruction method the result can be underestimated by between 7 and 15 %.

Peculiar velocities are possibly the most powerful probes of very large-scale mass density fluctuations in the nearby Universe. When coupled with a density field they also can constrain the growth factor of the universe by measuring the proportionality constant between observed velocities and linear theory predicted velocities. In this thesis, I measure a bulk flow of SN within 20,000 km s^1 of 197 +/- 56 km s^1 in direction l = 295 deg +/- 16deg, b = 11deg +/- 14deg , which is consistent with predictions of ΛCDM for large scale mass density fluctuations. Using the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift survey (PSCz) galaxy density field and the SNe peculiar velocities I calculated Ω^55_m σ8 to be 0.40 +/- 0.07 which is in excellent agreement with the results of WMAP7: Ω^55_m σ8 = 0.39 +/-0.04. By combining my measured value of with results from other studies, I measure the growth factor γ to be = 0.621 +/- 0.08 which is consistent with Λ CDM's prediction of 0.55. I conclude by exploring some of the systematic errors that could have affected my measurements of β. I find that when β is measured using a reconstruction method the result can be underestimated by between 7 and 15 %.

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Micro Hall probe magnetometry has been used to investigate the magnetisation of various electrodeposited microcrystals. Superconducting tin crystals of almost perfect square cuboid shapes exhibit a strong size dependence of the supercooling of the superconducting state and, for the smallest accessible crystals, the crossover to the mesoscopic regime can be readily explored close to their critical temperatures. Experimental results are in good agreement with Ginzburg-Landau simulations using the exact experimental parameters. Electroplating of the tin cores with another material provides unique core-shell structures of either two superconductors (S-S’: tin-lead) or of a superconducting core, covered with a ferromagnetic shell (S-F: tin/lead-nickel). The critical parameters of the tin core in Sn-Pb core-shell crystals are considerably enhanced and superconductivity in the tin core is detected up to 1:16 TSn c . Little-Parks oscillations in the shell can be analysed to reveal the extent of the superconducting sheath and hence can be utilised to measure the range of the proximity effect close to the critical temperature of the shell. In S-F core-shell structures, field cancellation effects govern the overall behaviour. Under certain conditions it was possible to switch the overall magnetic response from para(ferro-)magnetic to diamagnetic and back at finite applied fields. Micromagnetic simulations qualitatively reproduce the experimentally observed effects. Applications for the core-shell structures include magnetic guidance or memory devices.

Aging populations in Europe is a fact and it will affect everything from welfare systems and consumption patterns to the wealth of whole countries. The life expectancy has increased at the same time as the birth rate has decreased which has led to the population growth to cease in many countries. This means that a smaller workforce needs to uphold the nation’s production and provide for the part of the population not working. This study aims to examine the interconnection between the old age dependency ratio and GDP growth in the EU. The question is answered by multiple regressions using panel data from 27 countries in the EU between the years 1960 to 2020. The results show that there is a negative correlation between the old age dependency ratio and GDP growth in the EU and this result is possibly generalisable. An increase of one unit in the old age dependency ratio causes a decrease in the GDP growth by ca. 0,26-0,32 percentage points. This is an effect of economic significance that will have noticeable consequences for the economies within the EU in the foreseeable future. However, this effect is not statistically significant if time fixed effects are included in the model which makes the connection between the old age dependency ratio and GDP growth in the EU questionable. / Åldrande befolkningar i Europa är ett faktum och det påverkar allt från välfärdssystem och konsumtionsmönster till hela länders välstånd. Den förväntade livslängden ökar samtidigt som det föds färre barn och befolkningstillväxten har därmed avstannat i många länder. Det gör att ett allt mindre antal förvärvsarbetande måste upprätthålla landets produktion och försörja den del av befolkningen som inte arbetar. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vilket samband som finns mellan äldreförsörjningskvoten och ekonomisk tillväxt i EU. Frågeställningen besvaras genom ett flertal regressioner som genomförs med paneldata över 27 stycken EU-länder från år 1960-2020. Resultaten visar att det finns ett negativt samband mellan äldreförsörjningskvoten och BNP-tillväxt i EU och att detta resultat antagligen också är generaliserbart. En enhetsökning i äldreförsörjningskvoten ger en genomsnittlig minskning av BNP-tillväxten med ca. 0,26-0,32 procentenheter. Det är en effekt av ekonomisk signifikans som kommer ha kännbara effekter för EU-ländernas ekonomier inom en överskådlig framtid. Emellertid blir effekten inte statistiskt signifikant när tidsfixa effekter inkluderas i modellen vilket innebär att sambandet mellan äldreförsörjningskvoten och BNP-tillväxt i EU kan ifrågasättas.

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit den Untersuchungen zum Einfluss der Züchtungsbedingungen auf die Eigenschaften von multikristallinen (mc) Silizium-Kristallen. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Züchtungsexperimente mit einer gezielten Variation der Züchtungsaufbauten und Züchtungsgeschwindigkeiten. Die gezüchteten Kristalle wurden umfassend charakterisiert im Hinblick auf die Kohlenstoffkonzentration, die Kornstruktur, die Vesetzungsdichte, Verteilung der Ausscheidungen und Ladungsträgerlebensdauer. Zusätzlich wurde die Versetzungsanordnung in Abhängigkeit von der Wachstumsrate bzw. Abkühlrate systematisch untersucht. Als Ergebnis wurde gezeigt, dass die Züchtungsbedingungen die Kohlenstoffkonzentration, die Versetzungsdichte, die Bildung von den Ausscheidungen sowie die Ladungsträgerlebensdauer beeinflussen können, jedoch nicht die Korngröße. Es wurde ein direkter Zusammenhang zwischen Ausscheidungsgebieten und erhöhte Versetzungsdichte beobachtet. Im Rahmen der Arbeit wurde festgestellt, dass die endgültige Versetzungsstruktur sich als Resultat von Gleit- und Erholungsprozessen darstellt.