Hyaluronan is a chemical, which can be qualified as essential for vertebrates. It is a part of the extracellular matrix in most of tissues and also a major component of some other tissues. Besides of the mechanical functions this compound is important for many biological processes such as growth of tumor cells. The objective of this thesis was development of carrier systems containing native hyaluronan and hydrophobic drugs. For purposes of this work fluorescence probes (pyrene, prodan, perylene, DPH, mereocynine 540) instead of drugs were used. By using further mentioned sophisticated methods the properties of these systems were studied. The systems were prepared by freeze-drying. The effect of freeze-drying on support of interactions was observed by fluorescence spectrometry (steady-state and time-resolved). The stability of freeze-dried systems was determined by zeta potential, which was measured by electrophoretic light scattering. Cakes obtained by freeze-drying were analyzed by several methods. First one was effluence gas chromatography connected with FT-IR spectrometry. In this method the present of tertiary butyl alcohol in product was observed. The cakes were also analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, which can provide the information about the surface and elemental constitution of the material. The results of this work can shed light on the area of developing of drugs with targeted distribution of active compound.

The deprotonation characteristics of fluorescent probes -naphthol and 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulphonic acid (HPTS) were studied in this diploma thesis, using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Two cationic surfactants, Septonex and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), were studied. These surfactants were measured in the complex with hyaluronan (1.75 MDa, 1 MDa and 300 kDa). Steady-state fluorescence was used for determination of critical aggregation concentration of each surfactant and pKa*. Time-resolved fluorescence decays were used to calculate the average lifetimes and the deprotonation constants of naphthol and HPTS. The measurement with hyaluronan were compared with the polystyrenesulfonate (PSS) – surfactant system. The effect of hydration shell of hyaluronan on hyaluronan – surfactant complex formation results from the comparison of above mentioned systems. Large differences were found in the deprotonation characteristic between surfactants and even between individual molecular weights of hyaluronan. The measurement shows that the hydration shell is located near to the dissociated carboxyl groups of hyaluronan chain, where the interaction with the positively charged surfactants occurs. Furthermore, the aggregation number of Septonex was determined by quenching of pyrene using cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) as a quencher. The aggregation number for 20 mM Septonex solution was determined as a value of 104 molecules. CPC was used for confirmation of the localization of -naphthol in the micelles of CTAB and polymer – CTAB, respectively.

Les matériaux quantiques ont récemment introduit en physique de la matière condensée pour unifier tous les matériaux dans lesquels les fortes corrélations électroniques gouvernent les propriétés physiques du système (e.g. les isolants de Mott) et les matériaux dont les propriétés électroniques sont déterminées par la géométrie de la fonction d’onde (e.g. matériaux de Dirac). Ces matériaux montrent des propriétés émergentes résultantes de l’intrication de différents degrés de libertés : la charge, le spin et le moment orbital, donnant lieu aux propriétés topologiques des électrons. L’étude de ces interactions et des compétitions entre les degrés de liberté pertinents nécessite l’utilisation de techniques pompe-sonde ultra-rapides. Particulièrement, les pulses laser femtosecondes interagissent uniquement avec les électrons pour les placer dans un état hors-équilibre décrit par des distributions de type non Fermi-Dirac. La dynamique subséquente implique de nombreux processus, avec un temps de relaxation relié aux constantes de couplage. De plus, dans les techniques résolues en temps, la lumière peut agir comme un paramètre externe, différent des paramètres thermodynamiques, pour explorer le diagramme de phase. Cela nous donne l’opportunité de stabiliser de nouveaux états inaccessibles par des chemins thermiques quasi-adiabatiques ou de manipuler les propriétés physiques des systèmes.Dans cette thèse, nous avons réalisé différentes expériences dans le but d’étudier les propriétés à l’équilibre et hors équilibre de deux matériaux corrélés: BaCo₁₋ₓNiₓS₂ et (V₁₋ₓMₓ)₂O₃.La première partie de ce projet a été dédiée principalement à l’étude de BaNiS₂, le précurseur métallique de la transition de Mott dans BaCo₁₋ₓNiₓS₂ . En utilisant l’ARPES, nous avons étudié la structure de bandes électroniques de BaNiS₂ dans toute la zone de Brillouin. L’expérience, combinée avec des calculs théoriques, révèle un nouveau type de cône de Dirac bidimensionel à caractère orbitalaire d et induit par les corrélations. Le croisement des bandes est protégé par les symétries particulières de la structure cristalline. Nous avons aussi mesuré la structure de bandes de l’isolant de Mott BaCoS₂ dans ses phases magnétique et non magnétiques.Dans la seconde partie, nous avons étudié la dynamique électronique hors équilibre de BaNiS₂ et (V₁₋ₓMx)₂O₃. Grâce à des mesures tr-ARPES et tr-Réflectivité, nous avons observé une renormalisation non thermique et ultra-rapide du cône de Dirac dans BaNiS₂. Ce phénomène est purement provoqué par les excitations électroniques et est stabilisé par l’intéraction entre les électrons et les phonons. De plus, en utilisant différentes techniques pompe-sonde (tr-XRD basé sur XFEL et tr-Réflectivité) nous avons aussi exploré des phases hors-équilibre du matériau prototype de Mott-Hubbard (V₁₋ₓMx)₂O₃ appartenant à différentes parties de son diagramme de phase. Nos résultats montrent une phase transitoire non thermique se développant immédiatement après la photoexcitation ultra-rapide et durant quelques picosecondes dans les phases métallique et isolantes. Cette phase transitoire est accompagné par une distorsion structural qui correspond à un durcissement du réseau et est marqué par un “blue shift” du mode phononique A₁g. Nos résultats soulignent l’importance du remplissage des orbitales aussi bien que des effets important des forts couplages électron-réseau sélectifs dans les matériaux fortement corrélés. / Quantum materials is a new term in condensed matter physics that unifies all materials in which strong electronic correlation governs physical properties of the system (e.g. Mott insulators) and materials whose electronic properties are determined by the geometry of the electronic wave function (e.g. Dirac materials). These materials show emergent properties– that is, properties that only appear by intricate interactions among many degrees of freedom, such as charge, spin and orbital, giving rise to topological properties of electrons. The study of these interactions and competitions between the relevant degrees of freedom demands applying ultrafast pump-probe techniques. Particularly, femtosecond laser pulses act only on the electrons and set them to an out-of-equilibrium state inexplicable by the Fermi-Dirac distribution. The ensuing dynamics involves various processes and the rate at which the relaxation occurs is related to the coupling constants. Moreover, in time-resolved pump-probe techniques light can act as an additional external parameter to change of the phase diagram – different from thermodynamic parameters. It gives us the opportunity of stabilizing new states inaccessible by quasi-adiabatic thermal pathways or eventually manipulating the physical properties of the systems.In this thesis, we performed different experiments in order to study the equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium properties of two correlated compounds: BaCo₁₋ₓNiₓS₂ and (V₁₋ₓMₓ)₂O₃.The first part of the project was mainly devoted to the study of BaNiS₂ that is the metallic precursor of the Mott transition in BaCo₁₋ₓNiₓS₂. By applying ARPES, we studied the electronic band structure of BaNiS₂ in its entire Brillouin zone. These results combined with some theoretical calculations give evidence of a novel correlation-induced and two-dimensional Dirac cone with d-orbital character. The band crossing is protected by the specific symmetries of the crystal structure. We also investigated the electronic band structure of the Mott insulator BaCoS₂ in its magnetic and nonmagnetic phases.In the second part, we studied the out-of-equilibrium electron dynamics of BaNiS₂ and (V₁₋ₓMx)₂O₃. By means of tr-ARPES and tr-reflectivity measurements, we observed an ultrafast and non-thermal renormalization of the Dirac cone in BaNiS₂ . This phenomenon is purely provoked by the electronic excitation and is stabilized by the interplay between the electrons and phonons. Moreover, by applying various pump-probe techniques (XFEL-based tr-XRD and tr-Reflectivity) we also explored the out-of-equilibrium phases of the prototype Mott-Hubbard material (V₁₋ₓMx)₂O₃ in different parts of its phase diagram. Our results show a transient non-thermal phase developing immediately after ultrafast photoexcitation and lasting few picoseconds in both metallic and insulating phases. This transient phase is followed by a structural distortion that corresponds to a lattice hardening and is marked by a “blue shift” of the A₁g phonon mode. These results underline the importance of the orbital filling as well as the strong effect of the selective electron-lattice coupling in the strongly correlated materials.

L’application de la photoluminescence suscite un intérêt croissant de la part des chercheurs et ceci dans de nombreux domaines. Dans notre cas, différents complexes à base de lanthanide seront détectés par une méthode spectrophotométrique avancée, la fluorescence résolue en temps. Ces derniers peuvent être ainsi détectés même à l’état de traces au sein des milieux complexes tel que ceux rencontrés dans l’industrie pétrolière (saumures, traces de pétrole, éléments solides en suspension, etc.). L'utilisation de la détection de fluorescence résolue en temps combinée à des complexes de lanthanides a été démontrée comme une stratégie simple et efficace pour éliminer la fluorescence de fond des matrices présentes dans le milieu étudié et fournir un rapport signal sur bruit élevé. Le sujet de cette thèse consiste à répondre avec les outils précédents à différentes problématique existants au sein de l’industrie pétrolière, de l’extraction du pétrole au processus de marquage de différents produits raffinés à des fins commerciales. Dans la première partie du manuscrit décrira différents protocoles capables d’extraire de l’information de différents additifs chimiques employés sur les champs pétrolifères lors de l’extraction de pétrole et de gaz. Les additifs en questions peuvent être des inhibiteurs de dépôts minéraux, des inhibiteurs de corrosion, des polymères viscoélastiques, dans différentes eaux de synthèse et de production issues de différentes plateformes. Les impacts de certains facteurs ont été analysés afin d’améliorer la sensibilité et les performances. Nous démontrerons la possibilité de quantifier avec succès la teneur résiduelle de différents types d'additifs chimiques. L'effet de matrice de l’échantillon a été limité par le développement de deux stratégies d'addition standard. Nous montrerons par ailleurs qu’il est possible de quantifier la présence non seulement d’un additif mais encore, dans certaines situations optimisées, de deux additifs en mélange. Outre la détermination de la concentration en additifs chimiques, nous présenterons également une méthode permettant de déterminer l’anionicité d’un polymère en milieu complexe. Dans la deuxième partie du document, nous détaillerons le développement de complexes de lanthanides utilisés en tant que marqueurs ainsi que la méthode de détection par fluorescence résolue en temps visant à la lutte contre la contrefaçon de différents pétroles bruts et de carburants raffinés. La synthèse et le processus d’incorporation de trois types de marqueurs de photoluminescence et leur stabilité dans différents carburants seront ensuite discutés. Les résultats obtenus démontrent qu’il est possible, à l’aide de cette technologie de marquage, de détecter efficacement les fraudes à la taxe dans les carburants, même à haute dilution. Ces travaux présente potentiellement un fort impact dans les domaines académiques comme industriels. Toutes les études se concentrent sur la mise au point d’une procédure simple, qui fournit une sensibilité élevée permettant de réduire le coût de production et qui repose sur l’emploi du fluorimètre résolu en temps Inibox™ développé pendant ma thèse pour porter sur le terrain les technologies développé au laboratoire / The application of photoluminescence is receiving an increasing interest from researchers coming from many fields. The previous laboratory works introduced a time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) detection method for the quantification of chemicals in complex medium (petroleum, production brine, and synthetic sea water) tagged with lanthanides, the additives form complexes that exhibit specific TRF signal which overcomes autofluorescence of sample and provide a high signal to noise ratio. The subject of this thesis concerns the development of specific methods based on patented technique to answer problematics arising in the oil industry from the extraction of crude product to the distribution of fuels. In the first part of the document, we focus on the monitoring of residual amount of chemical additives such as scale inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, viscoelastic polymers in different synthetic and production waters. The impacts of some key factors were analyzed in order to improve the sensitivity and performance, also proves that under optimized conditions it is possible to quantify simultaneously two products in the same matrix. We successfully quantified various types of chemical additives with satisfying precision. Furthermore, the matrix effect was controlled by the development of two standard addition strategies. In addition to the determination of the concentration of chemical additives, we will also introduce a method to determine the anionicity of a polymer in difficult conditions. In the second part of the manuscript we follow the development of lanthanide complex markers and their detection for anti-counterfeiting on different crude oils and refined fuels. The synthesis, incorporation process and stability of three types of photoluminescence markers in different fuels have been discussed. The obtained results will prove that the technology can be used to detect fraud on fuels. This work has a potential great impact for both the academic and industrial domains. All studies focus on the creation of a simple procedure, with high sensitivity and low cost. All method are relying in the end on a specific field apparatus developed during my thesis to support the exportation of the technologies from the laboratory to the industry: The Inibox™

An advent of powerful sources producing intense and ultrashort laser pulses containing high-energy photons opened up a wide range of possibilities to conduct experiments formerly achievable only through theoretical calculations and models. This thesis provides a complex overview of processes which occur right after arrival of the first photons, through lattice heating, up to resolidification and formation of irreversible changes. Irradiated spots and craters formed in various materials are examined employing a wide range of microscopic and spectroscopic methods which provide a deep insight into laser-induced modifications such as detachment of a graphene layer from SiC substrate or thermally-induced diffusion of tellurium inclusions through CdTe lattice. An increased emphasis is placed on beam characterization utilizing ablation and desorption imprints in suitable solids. A proper knowledge of the beam fluence profile may serve for evaluation of diverse damage thresholds as well as for modelling of the pulse propagation or consequent retrieval of otherwise unmeasurable opacity of warm dense aluminium plasma heated to temperatures exceeding tens of thousands of Kelvins. Moreover, the method of desorption imprints is extended to accurate characterization of pulses delivered at MHz repetition rate....

The spin transport and dynamics of optically injected spin polarized carri- ers are studied with a high spatial and/or time resolution in semiconductor GaAs-based heterostructures in multiple transport regimes. An unexpectedly long-scale and high-speed spin diffusion transport is observed in a long-lived electron sub-system induced optically at an undoped single GaAs/AlGaAs heterointerface. A diffusion and drift-dominated spin transport is investi- gated using an electrical spin-detection via the inverse spin Hall effect in doped GaAs-based systems at room and low temperatures. It is shown that the inverse spin Hall signal and the spin transport parameters can be con- trolled by a direct application of an electric field or by expanding a depleted zone of a planar pn-junction.

Les décharges en phase gazeuse couplées avec les liquides est une branche relativement nouvelle de la physique des plasmas. Le développement des applications technologiques basées sur les plasmas-liquides dans des domaines tels que la médecine, le traitement de matériaux, la remédiation environnementale, etc., est très prometteur. Cependant, la compréhension de la nature de l’interaction plasma-liquide est indispensable pour pouvoir développer les applications. Dans ce mémoire, composé de trois sections, nous avons étudié l’interaction d’un plasma d’air, généré par une décharge à courant alternatif (AC), et couplé directement avec l’eau. Tout d’abord, une présentation générale des systèmes plasmas-liquides et ses applications pour le traitement des eaux est faite dans le Chapitre 1. Chapitre 2, un article publié dans Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, est une étude de la dynamique spatio-temporelle d’un plasma d’air produit par une décharge AC entre une électrode pointe et la surface de l’eau. Chapitre 3, un article publié dans Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, représente une investigation sur les différents modes de décharges AC en contact avec l’eau et sur l’efficacité de chaque mode pour dégrader un polluant organique modèle (bleue de méthylène). / Gas phase discharges in contact with liquids is a relatively novel research field in plasma physics. Plasma-liquid systems are very promising for various technological applications, such as medicine, solid-state physics, and environmental remediation. However, further development of the applications requires understanding of plasma-liquid interactions. In this thesis, interaction between an air plasma directly coupled in contact with water is studied. This thesis includes three chapters. Chapter 1 presents a general introduction of the plasma-liquid interactions and their applications in water treatment. Chapter 2, an article published in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, is an investigation of the spatial and temporal dynamics of an air plasma produced by AC discharge between a pin electrode and water. Chapter 3, an article published in Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, is an investigation of the various modes produced by an AC-driven air discharge in contact with water. The electrical characteristics of each discharge mode are presented in detail, and variations in water properties (namely water acidity and conductivity) are also discussed. The efficiency of each discharge mode on the degradation rate of methylene blue, a standard pollutant, is also reported.

In dieser Dissertation wird zum einen die ultraschnelle Ladungsträgerkinetik in einem Galliumnitrid (GaN)-basierten Übergitter, zum anderen die piezoelektrische Elektron-Phonon-Wechselwirkung kohärenter zonengefalteter Phononen in Galliumarsenid (GaAs)-basierten Übergittern behandelt. Mittels spektral- und zeitaufgelöster Photolumineszenzmessungen an einem n-dotierten GaN/Al0,18Ga0,82N Übergitter mit Parametern ähnlich derer in optoelektronischen Bauelementen wurde die defektbedingte Ladungsträgerkinetik untersucht, die innerhalb von ca. 150 ps durch den Einfang in tiefe, nichtstrahlende Rekombinationszentren beeinflusst wird. Die Untersuchung einer Passivierung mit Siliziumnitrid zur Verhinderung von Degradationseffekten zeigte ein stabiles optisches Langzeitverhalten bei gleichzeitiger Zunahme nichtstrahlender Defekte. Ferner wurde mit spektral aufgelöster Anrege-Abfrage-Spektroskopie eine Einfangkinetik auf einer Zeitskala von 150 - 200 fs in Defektzustände nahe der Übergitterbandkante gemessen, gefolgt von der Abkühlung der Ladungsträger durch Phononemission innerhalb weniger Pikosekunden bei Raumtemperatur und 35 ps bei 5 K. Kohärente zonengefaltete Phononen wurden mit Anrege-Abfrage-Spektroskopie an zwei AlAs/GaAs-Übergittern untersucht, die in [100]-, bzw. [111]-Richtung gewachsen wurden. Dies ermöglicht die (gezielte) Untersuchung der piezoelektrischen Elektron-Phonon-Kopplung, da diese für longitudinal-akustischen Phononen nur in der [111]-Probe existiert. Die Amplitude kohärenter Phononen mit einem Wellenvektor von q=0 in der [111]-Probe fällt verglichen mit denen in der [100]- und der [111]-Probe mit q≠0 signifikant schneller ab. Kohärente Phononen verursachen in der [111]-Probe bei q=0 ein makroskopisches piezoelektrisches Feld, welches Ladungsträger beschleunigt, die durch Reibung kohärente Phononen dämpfen. Bei hohen Ladungsträgerdichten unterdrückt die Abschirmung der induzierten piezoelektrischen Felder diese zusätzliche Dämpfung. / In this dissertation, the ultrafast carrier dynamics in a gallium nitride (GaN)-based superlattice as well as the piezoelectric electron-phonon-coupling of coherent zone-folded phonons in gallium arsenide (GaAs)-based superlattices are addressed. Using spectrally and time-resolved photoluminescence experiments on an exemplary n-doped GaN/Al0.18Ga0.82N superlattice with parameters similar to those in optoelectronic devices, we investigated the defect-related carrier kinetics, that are affected by trapping in saturable nonradiative recombination centers on time scales of ~150 ps. The investigation of a passivation with silicon nitride to prevent degradation effects show a long-term optical stability with a concomitant increase in non-radiative defect densities. Furthermore, spectrally resolved pump-probe spectroscopy was used to measure trapping kinetics into defect states near the conduction band minimum on a time scale of 150 – 200 fs. These kinetics are followed by carrier cooling through phonon emission within a few picoseconds at room temperature and within 35 ps at 5 K. Coherent zone-folded phonons were studied with pump-probe spectroscopy on two AlAs/GaAs superlattices grown in [100] and [111] direction, respectively. This allows the specific investigation of the piezoelectric electron-phonon interaction, since this exists for longitudinal acoustic phonons only in the [111] sample. The amplitude of coherent phonons with a wave vector of q=0 in the [111] sample decays significantly faster than in the [100] and the [111] samples with q≠0. Coherent phonons in the [111] sample cause a macroscopic piezoelectric field to which the photogenerated electron-hole plasma couples. Friction of the accelerated carriers provides the additional damping mechanism. High carrier densities screen the induced piezoelectric field, thus reducing the damping mechanism via the piezoelectric interaction.

Mittels Photolumineszenz(PL)-Spektroskopie werden die Lumineszenzeigenschaften von wurtzitischen MgZnO-Dünnfilmen mit Mg-Konzentrationen im Bereich von 0 ≤ x ≤ 0,35 experimentell untersucht und die gefundenen Zusammenhänge anhand mehrerer im Rahmen dieser Arbeit entwickelter Modelle theoretisch beschrieben. Dabei werden Erklärungen für verschiedene Auswirkungen der Mischkristallunordnung auf die Lumineszenz dieses ternären Mischhalbleiters vorgestellt, welche in der Literatur bisher nicht bzw. nur unvollständig untersucht wurden. Aufgrund der Mischkristallverbreiterung überlagern sich in MgZnO für x > 0,02 die Lumineszenzbeiträge von störstellengebundenen, freien und in Potentialmulden lokalisierten Exzitonen. Sie können daher mittels zeitintegrierter PL nicht spektral getrennt werden. In dieser Arbeit wird gezeigt, dass die verschiedenen Übergänge dennoch durch zeitaufgelöste PL-Messungen unterschieden und identifiziert werden können. Die gemessenen PL-Transienten werden angepasst und die Linienform der Lumineszenzabklingkurven in Abhängigkeit von der PL-Energie analysiert. Die Bewegung der Exzitonen im Mischkristall wird unter Verwendung eines Effektiv-Masse-Modells quantenmechanisch beschrieben und der Einfluss der Mischkristallunordnung auf die optischen Übergänge qualitativ untersucht. Dabei wird insbesondere auf die Mischkristallverbreiterung sowie auf das nichtexponentielle Abklingen der Lumineszenz eingegangen. Daneben wird ein Tunnelmodell vorgestellt, mit welchem die zeitverzögerten PL-Spektren von MgZnO quantitativ reproduziert werden können. Dabei wird die asymmetrische Linienform sowie die zeitabhängige Rotverschiebung des Emissionsmaximums modelliert und die Parameter auf mikroskopische Eigenschaften der Exzitonen zurückgeführt. Außerdem wird die für Mischkristalle typische S-förmige Verschiebung des temperaturabhängigen PL-Maximums durch ein modifiziertes Arrheniusmodell erklärt.

In this work the transient non-instantaneous polarization, i.e., laser-pulse injected small polarons and self-trapped excitons, is studied in the perovskite-like ferroelectric lithium niobate. The investigations span a time scale from femtoseconds to several hours. It is shown that the established small polaron picture is not able to describe transient absorption and photoluminescence of lithium niobate consistently. Several strong indications are presented demonstrating that the photoluminescence cannot be caused by geminate small polaron annihilation. Instead, the idea of radiatively decaying self-trapped excitons at the origin of the blue-green photoluminescence is revived. Excitons pinned on defect sites are proposed to lead to the already observed long-lived transient absorption in the blue spectral range in Mg- and Fe-doped crystals. Excitons pinned on iron-defects are studied in more detail. Their spectral fingerprint and absorption cross section is determined. Furthermore, it is shown that the occurrence of these pinned STEs can be tailored by chemical treatment of the samples and the experimental parameters such as the pump pulse intensity and photon energy. Based on the new experimental results and reviewing data published in literature, an atomistic picture of hopping and pinning of self-trapped excitons in lithium niobate is proposed. The question is addressed whether small polarons and self-trapped excitons in lithium niobate are coupled species in the sense that oppositely-charged polarons may merge into self-trapped excitons or STEs break into small polaron pairs. Decay kinetics of transient absorption and luminescence assigned to free small polarons and STEs indicate that this is not the case. For a more complete picture the ultrafast time scale is investigated as well. The formation times of small polarons and STEs are determined, which both lie in the range of 200 fs. No indications are found on the (sub)picosecond time scale indicating a coupling of both quasi-particle species either. In order to gain access to the formation of self-trapped excitons a custom-built femtosecond broadband fluorescence upconversion spectrometer is installed. Based on an already existing scheme, it is adapted to the inspection of weakly luminescent solid samples by changing to an all reflective geometry for luminescence collection. To avoid the necessity for an experimentally determined photometric correction of the used setup, an already established calculation method is extended considering the finite spectral bandwidth of the gate pulses. The findings presented here are important not only as fundamental research, but also regarding the technical application of lithium niobate and other similar nonlinear optical crystals. The simultaneous occurrence of both small polarons and self-trapped excitons is a rather rarely described phenomenon. Usually, the optical response of wide band gap oxide dielectrics is associated with only one of these quasi-particle species. This work may therefore be a stimulus to review the existing microscopic models for transient phenomena in other oxide dielectrics, which may help to improve their application in nonlinear optical and electro-optical devices. In this context the ultrafast transient photoluminescence spectroscopy established here for weakly luminescing solid samples may again provide valuable insight. With respect to lithium niobate, the results do not only resolve inconsistencies between the microscopic pictures described in literature, but also provide information regarding the extends to which the propagation of ultrashort laser pulses may be affected by (pinned-)STE absorption. It is shown that tailoring of the long-lived absorption center in the blue spectral range is possible, which may be used to avoid optical damage when high repetition rates are applied. It is important to emphasize that the microscopic model proposed in this work is mainly based on experimental indications. It is the task of further detailed theoretical investigations, e.g., via time-dependent density functional theory, to test whether the proposed model is justified. From an experimental perspective the important question remains whether (pinned-)STEs contribute to a photorefractive effect. In the experimentally easily accessible spectral range no absorption feature of mobile STEs is observed. As a complementary experimental technique, ultrafast holographic spectroscopy may reveal an excitonic contribution to photorefraction and provide further insight to STE transport and pinning phenomena.