Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena Annual Report 2014 On January 27th 2014 the Thuringian Minister for Education and Research, Christoph Matschie, awards the Thuringian Research Prize for Applied Research 2013 to Prof. Dr. Richard Kowarschik (right) together with Dr. Gunther Notni and Dr. Kühmstedt (both Fraunhofer IOF) for fast 3D-shape sensors. Editors: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Paulus Prof. Dr. Thomas Pertsch Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Lotze Dr. Angela Unkroth Directory 1. The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena 3 2. The Development of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy in 2014 5 3. Recently appointed professors 8 3.1. Professor for Theoretical Physics (W3) / Solid State Physics 8 3.2. Professor for Theoretical Physics (W3) / Solid State Optics 9 4. General Information 10 4.1. Contact and Structure of the Faculty 10 4.2. Staff 18 4.3. Publications and Patents 21 4.4. Third -party Funding 23 5. Teaching 24 5.1. Teaching report of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy 24 5.2. Abbe School of Photonics 33 5.2.1. Master's degree program 33 5.2.2. Doctoral program 37 5.3. Compulsory Courses 40 5.4. Optional and special courses 42 5.5. Seminars of the institutes and research groups 45 5.6. Postgraduate Training 46 5.7. Public Saturday Morning Lectures 48 5.8. Physical Colloquia 50 5.9. Physics Day 51 6. Student research projects; Bachelor, Diploma and Master thesis, thesis for the state 52 examination, dissertations 7. Research Activities 64 7.1. Institute of Astrophysics and University Observatory 64 7.2. Institute of Applied Optics 65 7.3. Institute of Applied Physics 70 7.4. Institute of Solid State Physics 81 7.5. Institute of Solid State Theory and Optics 86 7.6. Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research 87 7.7. Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics 97 7.8. Institute of Theoretical Physics 116 7.9. Collaborative Research Center/Transregio 7 „Gravitational Wave Astronomy“ 120 7.10. Research Training Groupe GRK 1523/1 „Quantum- and Gravitational Fields" 121 7.11. Abbe Center of Photonics (ACP) 124 7.12. Research School of Advanced Photon Science of the Helmholtz Institute Jena 129 8. Visible results of the research and teaching activities 131 8.1. Guest professor program of the Abbe School of Photonics 131 8.2. Awards 133 8.2.1. Awards for the best doctoral thesis and Master thesis 133 8.2.2. Prize for exceptional commitment to the benefit of the faculty 135 8.2.3. Teaching Awards 136 1 8.2.4. Performance bonuses 138 8.3. Institute of Astrophysics and University Observatory 139 8.4. Institute of Applied Optics 141 8.5. Institute of Applied Physics 143 8.6. Institute of Solid State Physics 151 8.7. Institut of Solid State Theory and Optics 156 8.8. Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research 159 8.9. Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics 163 8.10. Institute of Theoretical Physics 169 8.11. Research Group - Teaching Methodology in Physics and Astronomy 173 9. International Relationships 175 9.1. Common Publications with international partners 175 9.2. Institute of Astrophysics and University Observatory 176 9.3. Institute of Applied Optics 177 9.4. Institute of Applied Physics 178 9.5. Institute of Solid State Physics 179 9.6. Institut of Solid State Theory and Optics 182 9.7. Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research 183 9.8. Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics 184 9.9. Institute of Theoretical Physics 185 9.10. Research Group - Teaching Methodology in Physics and Astronomy 186 10. Academic Organization and Bodies 187 10.1. Scientific Advisory Board of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy 187 10.2. Institute of Astrophysics and University Observatory 188 10.3. Institute of Applied Optics 189 10.4. Institute of Applied Physics 190 10.5. Institute of Solid State Physics 192 10.6. Institut of Solid State Theory and Optics 195 10.7. Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research 196 10.8. Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics 198 10.9. Institute of Theoretical Physics 198 10.10. Research Group - Teaching Methodology in Physics and Astronomy 200 11. Central Institutions of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy 201 11.1. Branch Library Physics of the Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek (ThULB) 201 11.2. Scientific Workshops of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy 202 11.3. Student Council of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy 207 11.4. Alumni Association of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy 212 12. Outlook 213 2 1. The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena The eye of anyone entering the main building of the Faculty will be caught by a large painting opposite the portal. It depicts Otto von Guericke‘s famous demonstration of the existence of a vacuum. Viewers will be amused by the hardly flattering re- presentation of the clergyman present at the event – a clue to the period of origin of the painting as well as of the building. Just as interesting, though, is the question why Guericke, with the town of Magdeburg (of which he was Mayor) as a back- drop, was honoured in this way in Jena, of all places. Arguably, this relates to the fact that Guericke (who then spelled himself Gericke) studied in Jena from 1621 to 1623, when the alma mater jenensis, just over 60 years old, was still in its budding years. Of course, Gericke did not study physics here, nor even philosophy, but law. A few decades later, Jena’s university (known as the „Salana“ after the nearby Saale river) boasted its first distinguished scientist, Erhard Weigel. Though not a physicist, Weigel was a notable astronomer and mathematician. One of his students was Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Weigel played a crucial role in the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in the protes- tant territories; moreover, he was one of the early educationalists and established a tradition in Jena in this field, too. A man of outstanding importance for Jena and its university was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. First as the Duke of Saxe-Weimar’s chief minister, he was specially charged in 1782 with overseeing the university, which he kept promoting with enduring effect. 200 years ago, on 3 September 1813, Goethe founded the Jena observatory, thus laying the foundations for astronomy as a part of our faculty. Physics owes its status at the Jena University to two personalities of unique and lasting significance: Carl Zeiss and Ernst Abbe. The latter was, and still is Jena‘s most notable physicist. Moreover, by es- tablishing the Carl Zeiss Foundation he safeguarded the continued existence of the university. He personally took over the direction of the observatory, and it was in his time that the Institute of Phys- ics was founded. A Faculty of Physics did not come into being until after World War One. One might assume that the paramount role of optics in Jena would promptly lead to a comparable dominance of optics at the Institute of Physics. Interestingly, this was not the case. From the late 19th century up to the end of the war in 1945, optics indeed acquired great industrial importance, but after Abbe‘s fundamental contributions to the theory of optical imaging and the correction of aberrations, optics largely became a subject of industrial research in the secluded laboratories of the Zeiss company. In 1883, Leonhard Sohnke was made the first director of the Institute of Physics. While he did some work on optical effects, his research efforts were focussed mainly on solid-state physics. His investi- gations into the structure of crystals made him one of the forefathers of present-day solid-state physics in Jena. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, however, the main area of interest was electrical engi- neering (then a very young field), with special emphasis on wireless telecommunications. Max Wien, cousin of Nobel laureate Wilhelm Wien, invented, among other things, the quenched-spark gap, which made possible dependable intercontinental radio links for the first time. Given British control of the submarine cables and the interception practice common even then, this was of vital strategic importance for the ambitions of the German empire. After World War One, the pioneering achievements of the Jena physicists were followed by ad- 3 vancements in the field of short waves. In 1924, Erich Habann invented the magnetron, and Abraham Esau accomplished the first VHF radio communication between Kahla and Jena in 1925. Esau was the supervisor of the doctoral theses of Lothar Rohde and Hermann Schwarz. It may be mentioned in passing that at the same time, Hans Busch discovered electron optics, but the experts in Jena failed to realize its importance. Nevertheless, Jena’s outstanding competence in high-frequency engineering – despite the emigration of notable specialists to the West in divided Germany – paved the way to laser technology and, thus, the rise of optics to the most important field of research at the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy. This competence also gave rise to a flowering of NMR spectroscopy in all of those developments a number of notable theoreticians who taught and did research in Jena were of great importance. Ex- amples are Felix Auerbach, Georg Joos and Friedrich Hund. Schrödinger, too, dwelt at Jena for some time. These, arguably, are the roots of the Faculty’s continuously leading position in the theory of relativity. The NMR department survived at the faculty until after the political upheaval. The development of laser physics was decisively stimulated by Wilhelm Schütz and Paul Görlich.