Gli interessati al lancio possono seguire il live broadcast NASA registrandosi a questo link:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nasas-ixpe-mission-registration-200985010577?aff=cc

Tra i tanti comunicati presenti sul web si segnala quello dell’ASI https://www.asi.it/2021/12/pronto-al-decollo-il-telescopio-spaziale-ixpe/ e l’evento post-lancio organizzato dall’ INFN il 13 dicembre e visibile dalle pagine Instagram e FB https://www.facebook.com/IstitutoFisicaNucleare/

Abstract: After the discovery of temperature anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background maps (COBE-DMR, early ’90), Cosmology entered a new era, in which key “predictions” of Inflation could be tested. From then on, an impressive series of experiments, including two dedicated satellite missions (WMAP and Planck) contributed to root CMB Cosmology on a solid experimental ground. In the two decades following the COBE-DMR announcement, and after a 6 order-of-magnitude sensitivity improvement in angular power spectra, linearly polarised anisotropies have been discovered (E-modes, 2003; lensing B-modes, 2014) , thus paving the way towards the search for primordial B-modes, one of the most ambitious targets of Observational Cosmology. Primordial B-modes are linearly polarised large scale CMB anisotropies induced by a background of gravitational waves generated during Inflation, at energy scales ~10^15-10^16 GeV. Primordial B-mode detection, if any, would represent a milestone in our understanding of the Early Universe physics.
Now, thanks to the impressive success of superconducting sensor array deployment in large 100 mK focal planes (adequately multiplexed by SQUID-based low noise electronics), deeper and deeper maps of the CMB polarisation will be delivered in the next decade by ground-based and balloon-borne experiments and, in a complementary way, by the only space-based experiment scheduled today, that is, the JAXA-led LiteBIRD mission.

The complementarity stems from the fact that from ground one can exploit large aperture telescopes, large aberration-free focal planes and a variety of optical configurations suitable to target a number of cosmological observations (from the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect in cluster of galaxies, to lensing B-modes, thus constraining parameters such as the sum of neutrino masses), but with limitations on the accessibility of large angular scales and maximum observational frequencies (typically < 270 GHz) set by Earth’s atmosphere noise and instabilities. Conversely, space operation puts severe constraints on the instrument design, but it offers the chance of an extremely stable environment, where the predominant noise source can be the CMB itself. Since high frequencies (> 300 GHz) and full sky coverage are key ingredients for primordial B-modes search, a space mission will have unique capabilities in this field. LiteBIRD, a mission  explicitly tailored for primordial B-mode discovery, will observe the full sky for 3 years, from 34 to 448 GHz in 15 bands, and it will be operated in the Lagrangian point L2 in the late ’20. In this talk, I will review LiteBIRD science case and I will discuss all the most important features of the mission, including the focal plane cryogenic detector arrays.

 

Abstract e slide disponibili su: https://agenda.infn.it/event/29018/

Il seminario si terrà in presenza nella Sala Galilei (stanza 131) per un numero limitato di persone (32) e via Zoom al seguente indirizzo:

https://infn-it.zoom.us/j/84261721878?pwd=MDZNaGdBUlcvUUJXa2phSHZVZk5sdz09

ID riunione: 842 6172 1878
Passcode: 611379

Abstract:  In recent years, the out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) has emerged as a diagnostic tool for information scrambling and chaos in quantum many-body systems. I will present some exact analytical results for the OTOC, and their long-times averages, for a typical pair of random local operators supported over two regions of a bipartition. I will show that this “bipartite OTOC” is equal to the operator entanglement of the evolution and provide further operational significance to it by showing its intimate connections with average entropy production and scrambling of information at the level of quantum channels.

Slide disponibili su: https://agenda.infn.it/event/28881/

Il seminario si terrà in presenza nella Sala Galilei (stanza 131) per un numero limitato di persone (32) e via Zoom al seguente indirizzo:

https://infn-it.zoom.us/j/84261721878?pwd=MDZNaGdBUlcvUUJXa2phSHZVZk5sdz09

ID riunione: 842 6172 1878
Passcode: 611379

Abstract
In the quest for the Lepton Flavour Violation (LFV) the MEG experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) represents the state of the art in the search for the charged LFV μ+ →e+γ decay.
MEG set the most stringent upper limit on the BR(μ+ → e+γ) ≤ 4.2 × 10−13 (90% C.L.), imposing one of the tightest constraints on models predicting LFV-enhancements through new physics beyond the Standard Model. An upgrade of MEG, MEG II, was designed and it recently started the first physics data taking, aiming at reaching a sensitivity level of 6 ×10−14. In order to reconstruct the positron momentum vector a Cylindrical Drift CHamber (CDCH) was built, featuring angular and momentum resolutions at 6.5 mrad and 100 keV/c level. Despite this kind of gas detectors was used since late ’60s, the MEG II drift chamber presents a series of unprecedented peculiarities. CDCH is a 2-meter long, 60 cm in diameter, low-mass, single volume detector with high granularity: 9 layers of 192 drift cells, few mm wide, defined by 12000 wires in a stereo configuration for longitudinal hit localization. The single drift cell is quasi-square with a 20 μm Gold-plated Tungsten sense wire surrounded by 40/50 μm Silver-plated Aluminum field wires.
Given the high wire density (12 wires/cm2), CDCH is the first drift chamber ever designed and built in a modular way. The filling gas mixture is Helium:Isobutane 90:10. The total radiation length is 1.5 × 10−3 X0, thus minimizing the Multiple Coulomb Scattering and allowing for a single-hit resolution < 120 μm. After the assembly phase at INFN Pisa, CDCH was transported to PSI and it has been integrated into the MEG II experimental apparatus since 2018. Aluminum
wire breaking problems arose during the assembly and commissioning. Deep analyses showed that the origin of the breaking phenomenon is the chemical corrosion of the Al core in presence of water condensation on wires from ambient humidity. Keeping the wires volume in an absolutely dry atmosphere proved to be effective to stop the development of corrosion. Anomalous high currents (up to 300 μA) were observed in some sectors during the conditioning period. These were cured through a gas mixture optimization with the addition of up to 2% Oxygen, which was then gradually reduced to a lower content. The commissioning phase lasted for the past three years with continuous improvements both on the hardware and software side. The final lengthening was set and the operational stability was reached in 2020. The complete read out electronics is available for the first time in 2021, allowing a full noise and signal check and the tuning of the reconstruction algorithms. The physics data taking period will take the upcoming three years

Abstract : The discovery of gravitational wave signals from merger events of massive binary-black-hole (BBH) systems have prompted a renewed debate in the scientific community about the interplay between Black Hole phenomenology and Dark Matter searches. On the one hand, Black Holes of primordial origin (PBHs) may have formed in the early Universe and could constitute a significant portion of the elusive dark matter that, according to standard cosmology, makes up the majority of the matter content in the universe. On the other hand, peculiar classes of Black Holes can be studied as “portals” to Dark Matter detection in the Gravitational Wave channel, due to the large density of DM that is expected to be present around them. In the first part of the talk, I will review the most promising multi-messenger avenues towards detection of PBHs. I will first focus on the radio/X-ray band, and present the prospects of discovery for both a hypothetical PBH population and the guaranteed population of astrophysical isolated black holes in our Galaxy, based on the broad-band emission from the interstellar gas that is being accreted onto them. Then, I will turn my attention to the gravitational wave domain, and discuss the merger rate of black-hole binaries. I will present a detailed evaluation of the expected rate from a generic (subdominant) component of PBHs, and analyze the role of future observation at high redshift to identify a primordial component on top of the rate associated to astrophysical BHs. In the final part of my talk, I will turn my attention to the impact of Dark Matter overdensities around Intermediate-Mass Black Holes, and on their impact on the gravitational waveform emitted in presence of an Intermediate-Mass-Ratio inspiral. I will demonstrate that the dephasing effect induced by the presence of the DM is observable in this channel, and the properties of the DM overdensity can be measured by the upcoming LISA observatory.

Nuclear transfer reactions are the important tool to investigate the nuclear structure. These are also used as an indirect tool in nuclear astrophysics to get the important information on bound and low energy resonance states. Often, at
astrophysical energies direct measurements become difficult due to extremely small cross sections, and therefore indirect measurements in those cases provide alternative ways of study.
In the literature, different frameworks exist for the study of transfer reactions. Modern calculations, such as those involved in the continuum discretized coupled-channel method, are demanding in terms of computer capabilities which further require efficient numerical techniques. In this context, we make use of the combined R-matrix and Lagrange-mesh methods to the transfer reactions. These methods result in efficient and faster computations and as a first step we have applied these methods in the distorted wave Born approximation calculations, which is the simplest and widely used framework of transfer reaction study. In this talk, I shall present results of our calculations for the nucleon and a-transfer, considering some specific transfer reactions. Furthermore, I shall also discuss the sensitivity of transfer cross sections to the bound state wave functions, prior-post equivalence and peripherality of the reaction.

Il seminario si svolgerà in presenza nella sala 131 (Sala Galilei)

IRMA

Innovative Radiation Monitor for contAiners at port custom gates

Il Progetto IRMA ha come obiettivo la realizzazione di un Sistema integrato per individuare la presenza di materiale radioattivo disperso o occultato nei container in transito nelle aree portuali. Le statistiche dell’Agenzia Internazionale dell’Energia Atomica mostrano che ogni anno si verificano nel mondo episodi di trasporto illegale di materiale radioattivo. Anche in Italia si ricordano episodi recenti nei quali del materiale radioattivo non dichiarato è transitato nei porti.

Per ridurre al minimo ogni pericolo, salvaguardare la salute dei lavoratori e limitare i danni economici è necessario intercettare i carichi pericolosi il prima possibile nei varchi doganali portuali. A tale scopo il Progetto sviluppa un portale di nuova generazione che potrà essere montato sulle gru di movimentazione dei container tra nave e banchina ed effettuare scansioni molto precise senza rallentamenti delle operazioni di sbarco. Il Progetto utilizza materiali e tecnologie sviluppati per la ricerca più avanzata in fisica nucleare e strumenti di intelligenza artificiale in linea con le tecnologie di Big Data Analytics di industria 4.0. Il portale sarà interconnesso con il centro di controllo dell’area portuale per una gestione integrata dei dati nella logistica di movimentazione merci.

IRMA è realizzato in ATS da RTS Instruments S.r.l., Else Nuclear S.r.l., Monema S.r.l., Global Service S.r.l., Università di Pisa – Dip. Di Fisica E. Fermi, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni CNIT.

 

http://porirma.df.unipi.it/

Abstract

 The premise of “Galactic Archeology” is that the study of nearby galaxies on a star-by-star basis has implications that extend far beyond the local Universe. In this talk I will discuss the technique of deriving the star formation history (SFH) of a galaxy through the comparison of state-of-the-art synthetic color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) with the observational counterpart. As a first example I will present the SFH of 23 star forming dwarf galaxies between 3 and 12 Mpc using Hubble Space Telescope data from the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS). Approximately half of our galaxies show spatial progression of star formation in the last 60 Myr, and/or very recent diffuse and off-center activity compared to old stars. As a second example I will focus on the SFH of Local Group galaxies, in particular the Small Magellanic Cloud and the “fossil fragment” Liller 1 in the Galactic Bulge.

 

La radioterapia è una potente arma nella cura del cancro, è raccomandata al 50-60% dei pazienti oncologici, e molti di essi vengono guariti. Tuttavia, nonostante gli enormi progressi tecnologici degli ultimi 20 anni, è ancora limitata dalla tossicità indotta dalle radiazioni sui tessuti sani. Se queste tossicità potessero essere ridotte, si potrebbe somministrare una dose maggiore di radiazioni, aprendo così a una possibilità di cura di quei tumori che ancora oggi rimangono incurabili, e ridurre gli effetti collaterali negativi a lungo termine nei pazienti con tumori curabili. Studi preclinici iniziali hanno dimostrato che l’irradiazione a dosi di gran lunga superiori a quelle attualmente utilizzate in contesti clinici, per tempi più brevi di quelli al momento praticati, riduce la tossicità indotta dalle radiazioni mantenendo equivalente l’efficacia nel contrasto al tumore. Questo è noto come effetto FLASH.