Euclid has been launched in July 2023 with the first internal Data Release DR1 planned for December 2024. While Euclid has primarily been optimised for the study of dark matter and dark energy, the wealth of data it will accumulate promises groundbreaking insights into Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), their origins, and their evolution.
In this talk I will show you how Euclid will identify and...
In this talk I will present some of the results from the first 2 years of JWST data. In particular, I will talk about the results from the MIRI GTO high-z team, that I am a part of, concerning intermediate to high redshift galaxies.
The results I will present have been obtained using the combination of several instruments on board of JWST: NIRCam, MIRI, NIRISS, in both imaging and...
La spettroscopia nucleare in Italia è nata agli inizi degli anni ’60 a Napoli, con l’arrivo di Renato Angelo Ricci. Essa ebbe inizio con una intensa attività sperimentale presso il padiglione 19 della Mostra d’Oltremare, mirata alla determinazione di nuovi schemi di decadimento nucleari. La produzione di specie nucleari radioattive veniva effettuata con un fascio di neutroni da 14 MeV,...
Exchange interactions were introduced by W. Heisenberg in 1926 in the context of the quantum mechanics of systems of identical particles, and soon allowed to successfully address numerous problems in atomic, molecular, and condensed matter physics, such as multi-electron atomic spectra, chemical bonds, ferromagnetism, and electron-electron collisions. After the discovery of the neutron in...
Human genetics provides a robust avenue for causal inference, avoiding the pitfalls of reverse causation thanks to the stable nature of the genome. Specifically, Mendelian randomization (MR) can leverage genetic information to assess causal relationships between risk factors and disease outcomes. For example, through MR, researchers have confirmed the detrimental impact of LDL cholesterol in...
In this talk, I will present a novel method for inferring the mass composition of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) from the electromagnetic profile of their air showers. By capturing the main features of the profile in few moments of the distribution, we can use nested sampling algorithms to probe the full shape of the likelihood. Furthermore, I will explore opportunities for enhancing...
The evolution of the trapping horizon of a black hole in the presence of infalling matter can be understood as a backreaction effect. Focusing on low-frequency scalar radiation and spherically symmetric black holes, I will show that a simple closed-form expression for the expansion rate of the horizon can be derived in terms of the initial data for the scalar field on past null infinity. This...
We will briefly summarize some recent results obtained in the Hamiltonian formalism for the Brans-Dicke theory. We will show that these results can be used to address equivalence (if any…) between Jordan and Einstein Frames. Although we will show that there is a mathematical equivalence between these two frames, a pair of examples points out that the two frames do not look to be physically equivalent.
In this talk we will discuss the theory of reduction of phase space, in terms of Poisson geometry, and the open problem of the diagram reductio-quantization in the setting of deformation quantization.
I am the lead scientist for archive and data processing operations at the Chandra X-ray Center. In this talk, I will shortly describe what it is like for an astrophysicist to be working in the operations of a big mission like Chandra and will describe the main traits of my professional development that led me to my current position. I will emphasize opportunities and challenges of this career...
Primordial Black holes with mass of 10^15 g should have been evaporated by now giving potentially access to the physics of the Early Universe. In particular, the presence of PBH could have impacted the process of leptogenesis in different ways depending on the mass and so on the temperature of the PBHs. We present the impact of the non-standard cosmology driven by the presence and the...
Surfaces endowed with three-dimensional (3D) microstructures have captured the interest of the scientific community because of the possibility to introduce intriguing properties that are not present in their planar counterparts. They are extensively used in various fields such as photonics, surface wettability, bio-interfaces, and energy harvesting and storage [1]. Generally, there are two...
We consider the problem of generalized linear estimation on Gaussian mixture data with labels given by a single-index model. Our first result is a sharp asymptotic expression for the test and training errors in the high-dimensional regime. Motivated by the recent stream of results on the Gaussian universality of the test and training errors in generalized linear estimation, we ask ourselves...
Supernova neutrinos have enormous importance for ongoing research in astrophysics, nuclear and particle physics. However, existing simulations of this complex event, although increasingly sophisticated, still do not guarantee with sufficient confidence a reliable description of the emission. In this situation, it seems important to study as accurately as possible the only such event observed...
Volcanic emissions represent a well-known hazard mainly for aviation safety that can be reduced with real time observations and characterization of eruptive activity. Lidar observations allow to perform immediate and accurate detection of volcanic plumes, quantify volcanic ash concentration in atmosphere and characterize optical and microphysical properties of volcanic particles.
From 18 to...
We investigate the possible ultraviolet completion of a subclass of generalized Proca theories up to the second order in the vector field. Technically, this analysis involves deriving the beta functions of the theory and investigating their fixed points and corresponding stability properties.
We study the dynamics of an overdamped Brownian particle in a thermal bath that contains a dilute solution of active particles.
The particle moves in a harmonic potential and experiences Poisson shot-noise kicks with specified amplitude distribution due to
moving active particles in the bath. From the Fokker-Planck equation for the particle dynamics we derive the stationary solution
for the...
The VULCAMED project, developed under the National Operational Programme “Research and Competitiveness” 2007–2013, aimed to increase the observative capability of strategic relevance research infrastructures in the volcanological research domain. In the frame of the VULCAMED project an innovative lidar system was developed. The lidar was firstly designed to make elastic measurements in the UV...
Silicon photomultipliers are a compelling alternative to PMTs in cryogenic ultra-low background applications, such as in dark matter direct search experiments: with respect to the popular photomultiplier tubes, SiPMs can exhibit better photon detection efficiency, are insensitive to magnetic fields, more compact, and low-voltage powered, cheaper and easier to produce with low radioactive...
Quantum interference is a central resource in many quantum-enhanced tasks, from computation to communication protocols. While it usually occurs between identical input photons, quantum interference can be enabled by projecting the quantum state onto ambiguous properties that render the photons indistinguishable, a process known as a quantum erasing. Structured light, on the other hand, is...
Quantum dots (QDs) are a valuable technology to produce single photon as well as entangled photon pairs with immediate application in quantum technology.
Site-controlled quantum dots grown in pyramidal patterned substrates give access to hundreds of thousand of single photon emitters, with highly uniform emission wavelength on a single sample. Here, we demonstrate a process to increases the...
The reaction 22Ne(α,γ)26Mg is associated with several open questions in nuclear astrophysics and plays a crucial role in constraining stellar models. Among other scenarios, it plays a critical role in the creation of elements heavier than iron. A reliable evaluation of the stellar reaction rate at the energy of astrophysical interest must consider all the possible excited states of the...
In this talk I will present some of the results from the first 2 years of JWST data. In particular, I will talk about the results from the MIRI GTO high-z team, that I am a part of, concerning intermediate to high redshift galaxies.
The results I will present have been obtained using the combination of several instruments on board of JWST: NIRCam, MIRI, NIRISS, in both imaging and...
In this talk I will present some of the results from the first 2 years of JWST data. In particular, I will talk about the results from the MIRI GTO high-z team, that I am a part of, concerning intermediate to high redshift galaxies.
The results I will present have been obtained using the combination of several instruments on board of JWST: NIRCam, MIRI, NIRISS, in both imaging and...
We present a photonic platform capable of generating large-scale quantum walks, corresponding to ultra-long dynamics in a Hilbert space spanned by hundreds of optical modes carrying quantized transverse momentum. The platform uses only three spin-orbit optical metasurfaces, dramatically reducing optical losses and decoherence effects. We demonstrate the potential of this method by...
I will present a multiplicity of science-ready tools based on machine learning to both fast and accurately analyse the data from upcoming large sky surveys and best exploit them for science. As a science case, I'll discuss the measurement of the total mass of galaxies using strong lensing and galaxy dynamics.
I will present a multiplicity of science-ready tools based on machine learning to both fast and accurately analyse the data from upcoming large sky surveys and best exploit them for science. As a science case, I'll discuss the measurement of the total mass of galaxies using strong lensing and galaxy dynamics.
DUNE is an ambitious experimental project with a wide physics program. Its goals include observing neutrino oscillation physics, studying CP violation in the leptonic sector, identification of neutrino mass hierarchy, detecting supernova and solar neutrinos and searching for proton decay. The experiment will use a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) detector with a total fiducial...
SARS-CoV-2 is able to re-structure chromatin organization and alters the epigenomic landscape of the host genome, though the mechanisms that produce such changes are still poorly understood. Here, we investigate with polymer physics chromatin reorganization of the host genome, in space and time upon SARS-CoV-2 viral infection.
We show that re-structuring of A/B compartments is well explained...
Among the various nano-carbon allotropes, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) step up for their mechanical endurance and their optical and electronic properties, trademarks of their quantum nature. SWNTs come in different chiral species, each of them with their distinctive electronic character, providing a rich field to compare theoretical predictions and experimental validations. Despite...
Although Dark matter (DM) is one of the cornerstones of fundamental physics and cosmology, so far it has evaded all the attempts to unveil its nature. A standard way to directly probe DM particles is to search for their scatterings with nucleons in underground detectors. However, in case of DM particles with sub-GeV masses, the direct-detection technique is hampered by the low nucleon recoil...
Quick advances in molecular biology have shed light on the three-dimensional structure of DNA in the cell nucleus, exposing its complex, non-random nature, and its connection to gene regulation. Our challenge is to comprehend the mechanics behind such an intricate genomic architecture and how two or more genomic regions may physically connect with one another. Experiments have shown certain...
Primordial black holes are hypothetical Black Holes generated in the first instants of the Universe life. Focusing on Primordial Black Hole masses in the range $[5\times 10^{14}-5\times 10^{15}]$ g, we point out that the neutrinos emitted by PBHs evaporation can interact through the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering producing an observable signal in multi-ton Dark Matter direct...
The delicate and elusive boundary between quantum and classical computation is a central question in current research, with a focus on identifying uniquely quantum resources that contribute to a quantum advantage. One such resource is so-called magic, which is a measure of the non-Clifford resources needed to prepare a quantum state. Among other relations, it has been shown that the amount of...
Quantum gravity theories predict deformations of black hole solutions relative to their classical counterparts. A model-independent approach was advocated in our work that uses metric deformations parametrised in terms of physical quantities, such as the proper distance. While such a description manifestly preserves the invariance of the space-time under coordinate transformations, concrete...
Quantum gravity is expected to introduce quantum aspects into the description of reference
frames. Here we set the stage for exploring how quantum gravity induced deformations of classical
symmetries could modify the transformation laws among reference frames in an effective regime.
We invoke the quantum group SUq(2) as a description of deformed spatial rotations and interpret
states of a...
Quantum gravity is expected to introduce quantum aspects into the description of reference frames. Here we set the stage for exploring how quantum gravity induced deformations of classical symmetries could modify the transformation laws among reference frames in an effective regime. We invoke the quantum group
SUq(2) as a description of deformed spatial rotations and interpret states of a...
The National Doctorate in Space Science and Technology is a doctoral program spanning across Italy with seven different curricula that cover various scientific fields related to space, ranging from Early Universe Cosmology to medical sciences applied to astronaut health, and even space diplomacy. The DN-SST program began last year with the XXXVIII cycle and up to this point, I am the only...
Presso i Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro dell'Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare è in corso di realizzazione un'innovativa infrastruttura per la fisica nucleare. Il progetto, sotto la sigla SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species), mira a fornire fasci di isotopi radioattivi esotici per studi di fisica nucleare e relative applicazioni. Un'altra parte del progetto, denominata LARAMED...
The forthcoming generation of astrophysical and cosmological surveys are expected to generate an extensive and groundbreaking collection of data. The unmatched quantity and quality of these observations should boost our knowledge of the Universe, especially in regards to the dark sector. The true nature of the dark energy, either gravitational or related to fundamental fields, may therefore be...
Carbon burning is the third stage of stellar evolution
determining
the final destiny of massive stars and of low-mass stars in
close binary systems.
Only stars with a mass larger than a critical value
$M_{up}^* \sim 10 M_\odot$, can ignite C in non-degenerate conditions
and proceed to the next advanced burning stages up to the
formation of a gravitationally unstable iron core.
Various final...
I will give an overview of the work carried on over the last years to determine the gravitational structure of our Mother Galaxy, the Milky Way, especially in relation to its most prominent component, the Dark Matter.
I will also briefly show some examples on how astrophysical uncertainties that hinder such determination affect interpretation of particle dark matter searches, and Beyond the...
We examine the influence of the θ-angle on QCD with nonzero isospin charge and as a function of the number of matter fields. Our investigation delves into the impact on vacuum properties, the pattern of chiral symmetry breaking, and the overall spectrum of the theory. Introducing the CP-violating topological operator adds complexity to the vacuum structure, leading us to unveil novel phases...
I will briefly illustrate my research activities on the physics of two-dimensional materials, with particular emphasis on epithelial tissues which line our bodies and inner organs. Due to their non-equilibrium nature, living epithelial tissues have astonishing properties, including the ability to close wounds while under tension and to greatly stretch before fracturing.
The recent discovery of superconductivity in hole-doped infinite-layer nickelate thin films [1] has sparkled a renewed interest in the condensed matter community.
This is motivated by the possibility to add another puzzle piece to the understanding of unconventional superconductivity, a phenomenon that has not yet been observed in infinite-layer polycrystalline samples[2].
The strain state...
T-cell receptor binding with the pMHC peptide is a fundamental step to activate the killing machinery of the adaptive immune system against pathogens. However, limited data -- due to the high specificity of T-cell receptors -- make the task of binding prediction very challenging. Here we propose to use Large Language Models to sample new peptide-specific T-cell receptor sequences; by...
