Astrophysics of compact objects

The course will introduce the nature of astrophyisical compact objects and their emission, both from a theoretical and observational point of view. The program of the lectures is:
a) Introduction to compact objects: white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.
b) Black holes: general properties. Schwarschild and Kerr metrics
c) Neutron stars. Pulsars: general properties and emission mechanisms.
Pulsars as General Relativity laboratories
 

Evolution of galaxies and AGN at high redshift

Formation and co-evolution of galaxies and AGN. New observations and results. The accretion and star formation history.
The galaxy and AGN luminosity functions.
The super-massive black hole mass function.
Evolution of the black hole mass - bulge scaling relations.
Feedback. The role of radio jets. Merging and interaction.
The large scale structure distribution.

Spectroscopy of Astrophysical Plasmas

Programme:
 
-Spectroscopic Notation, Energy Levels, Transitions: selection rules -Basic Processes, The Ionisation Balance -Line Radiation: Emission -Line Absorption, Dust Extinction, Photoionised Plasmas
 

The double trouble of the missing matter in the Universe

This course is at an intermediate level. The main goal is to discus open issues of the Standard Cosmological Model.
Preferred prerequisite: Introductory course in Cosmology.
Program of the course.
The missing baryons problem. Baryon budget at different cosmic epochs. Observational evidences for missing baryons at the present epoch.
Theoretical interpretations. Observational techniques for searching for missing baryons: state of the art and future perspectives.
The Dark Matter [DM] problem. Observational evidences for DM. Theoretical arguments for DM. Alternative models (MOND theories).
Observational constraints and DM properties. Cosmological abundance. Physical properties of DM particles: Hot vs. Cold. DM candidates.
Direct and indirect detection techniques.

 

Experimental data analysis

Data collection and preparation
* Statistic with one variable and inference
* Data in time
* Geographically distributed data
* Statistic with two variables
* Non parametric statistics and multivariate methods
* Worked examples in Python/R
 

EXTRASOLAR PLANETOLOGY

Description
The discovery of about 4000 extrasolar planets, gives a new start to the astrobiological research,
allowing to go further the Solar System. Moreover, the physical and orbital characteristics of the
new worlds, very different from those of our Solar System, are critical for the classical theory of the
planetary formation. The course aims to describe the experimental techniques for the search and
characterization of extrasolar planets, the statistical and physical results obtained up to now, the
consequences on the astrobiological studies and the search for life in other worlds than Earth. In
particular, the following points will be discussed:
• The techniques exploited to search for extrasolar planets.
• Observing techniques for the characterization of Exoplanet's atmospheres.
• Hints on the planetary formation and the migration theory. Pro and cons of both the core
accretion and disk instability theories.
• Main results obtained in the exoplanets research. Known and unknown things (statistic
properties, metallicity vs formation, orbital properties, mass period and eccentricity
distributions, etc. etc.)
• Giant planets and Brown dwarfs physics. The hot Jupiters topic will deepen.
• Terrestrial and rocky planets physics. The super-Earths.
• The concept of the habitable zone, its definition in the Sun case and its extension to the other
stars.
• The search for life as astrophysical problem.

Physics of planetary ices

Ices in the Solar System
Geophysical techniques for planetary ices investigation
Electrical properties of ices
Subsurface radar on planetary and terrestrial ices
Laboratory measurements on planetary ices

 

Space Weather

According to the European Space Agency, Space weather refers to the environmental conditions in Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere and thermosphere due to the Sun and the solar wind that can influence the functioning and reliability of spaceborne and ground-based systems and services or endanger property or human health. As the several branches of application, the theme is very alive all over the world and carried out by teams representing different competences, such as physics, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, biology and medicine.
The course offers an overview of the physical mechanisms triggering the extreme events to highlight the space weather complexity and to represent the competences necessary to develop effective mitigation and forecasting strategies. Finally, the proposed course intends to highlight the scientific, technological and societal challenges still unsolved, also providing example of vulnerable technologies in the daily life.

Outline

• Space weather: science or service?
• Weather and climate in the circumterrestrial space
• The Sun, the solar wind, the magnetosphere and the ionosphere
• Space weather applications: how to predict and mitigate the impact on communication and navigation systems
• Space weather programs and services all over the world

 

Time series analysis

1. We will recall the basic principles of applied and numerical Fourier analysis: Fourier series and transform, energy and power spectrum, mutual and autocorrelation and their numerical computation.
2. Impulse and harmonic response of a system.
3. Filtering of a time series.
4. Time series as sampling of a continuous signal.

Inversion methods in geophysics

This course is an introduction to geophysical inversion methods. The course will deal with both the resolution of linear and nonlinear problems using deterministic approaches such as the least squares method, the SVD, and regularization techniques as well as purely probabilistic approaches such as Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. The theory is illustrated through some examples taken from geophysical problems and their solution is discussed by performing inversion algorithms in the classroom.
References Books:
A. Tarantola, Inverse Problem Theory and Methods for Model Parameter Estimation, Siam
M. Bertero and P. Boccacci, Introduction to Inverse Problems in imaging, IoP
W. Menke: Geophysical Data Analysis: Discrete Inverse Theory. Academic Press


 

Communicating Science

• You can’t not communicate (1st law of communication).  But at the same time, communicating efficiently is an ability that needs to be learned and constantly improved.  This is always a must, but most of all in the field of science, where convincing the public (and investors) of the importance of your research is becoming everyday more important.
  This didactic module is an introduction to communication for future researchers, engineers, technicians and any other profession related to science.  We do not intend to train professional communicators but to provide to a PhD student some communicating skills he will need sooner or later in his future work, like talking to an audience, presenting the results of his work to an investor, collaborating with press offices, managing interviews by journalists, writing articles for different media, making a website to spread his results, organizing fund raising activities.
  The module is based on hands-on activities and laboratories , starting from the analysis of science communication Case Studies that will be presented and discussed in italian and/or in english (depending on the content) .
   

Introduction to Spintronics

1. Spin and charge coupled density diffusion equations.
2. Giant Magnetoresistance Effect (GMR)
3. Spin-orbit coupling in metals and semiconductors (Rashba, Dresselhaus, etc.)
4. Extrinsic Spin Hall Effect.
5. Intrinsic Spin  Hall Effect.
6. Graphene and Topological Insulators.

Mode structures and global dispersion relations in magnetized toroidal plasmas

Abstract: Understanding the global structures and dispersion relation of fluctuations in magnetized plasmas
is of fundamental importance for understanding their properties in laboratory and space environments. Equilibrium
magnetic field and plasma non-uniformities play crucial roles in this respect and require proper mathematical 
techniques to be addressed. 
This series of lectures is structured in three parts. (I) Variational methods in plasma physics (lectures i-ii-iii),
addressing the general construction of variational methods, providing simple examples and applications, and
illustrating their use in magnetohydrodynamics. (II) Wave propagation in slowly varying, weakly non-uniform media
(lectures iv-v), discussing the eikonal formulation of wave equations and the wave kinetic equation. (III) Description
of Alfvén waves in toroidal plasmas (lectures vi-vii), dealing with the global eigenvalue problem as well as the
time asymptotic solution and WKB dispersion relation.
 

Active Soft Matter: a continuum physics perspective

Active Soft Matter: a Continuum Physics Perspective
L. Teresi, Dept Mathematics & Physics, University Roma Tre, Italy

Active soft matter is the key constituent of living matter: its striking behavior is the capability of exploiting chemical energy to produce mechanical work, and thus, to move, change shape, and undergo many controlled transformations. As example, the mechanical behavior of cells can be controlled by a network of crosslinked filaments subjected to the action of energy-transducing molecular motors. This system is “out of thermodynamic equilibrium”, and its functioning is based on the conversion of chemical power into mechanical power, together with the unavoidable dissipated power.

The study of this kind of active system has been absent from conventional physics; now, it is gaining an important role in both physics, as we need new experiments,  and in mathematics, as we need new models. Above all, stands the will to understand the behavior of living matter.
Here we are interested in the dynamics of active gels, and we develop a model using the perspective of continuum physics: the activation of a polymer network is viewed within the context of a stress-diffusion theory, augmented with the theory of growth and remodeling. We start from the fundamental principles of virtual power and power dissipation, to put forth a theory which describes the state of an active gel with three fields: displacement, solvent content, and ground state. The mathematical model can describe some key features of the dynamics of contraction which is observed on active gels; the results of the model will be compared and contrasted with the observations of actual experiments.
Contents
- The statistical origin of free energy.
- The three pillars of Continuum physics: 1) state variables;  2) balance laws; 3) constitutive prescriptions.
- Swollen states
- Dynamics: time evolutive problems
- The contraction-swelling diagram
- Prototypical example: spherical active-swelling dynamics

References

1. O. J. N. Bertrand, D. K. Fygenson, O. A. Saleh, Active, motor-driven mechanics in a dna gel, PNAS (2012).
2. D. Mizuno, C. Tardin, C. F. Schmidt, F. C. MacKintosh, Nonequilibrium mechanics of active cytoskeletal networks, SCIENCE (2007).
3. M. K. Matthias Schuppler, Felix C. Keber, A. R. Bausch, Boundaries steer the contraction of active gels, NATURE Comm.  (2016).
4. A. Bernheim-Groswasser, N. S. Gov, S. A. Safran, S. Tzlil, Living matter: Mesoscopic active materials, Advanced Materials (2018).
5. F. C. MacKintosh, A. J. Levine, Nonequilibrium mechanics and dynamics of motor- activated gels, PRL  (2008).
6. Y. Ideses, V. Erukhimovitch, R. Brand, D. Jourdain, J. Salmeron, Hernandez, U. Gabinet, S. Safran, K. Kruse, A. Bernheim-Groswasser, Spontaneous buckling of contractile poroelastic actomyosin sheets, NATURE Comm. (2018).
7. M. Curatolo, S. Gabriele, L. Teresi, Swelling and growth: a constitutive framework for active solids, Meccanica (2017).
8. P. J. Flory, J. Rehner, Statistical mechanics of cross-linked polymer networks i. rubberlike elasticity, J Chem Phys  (1943).
9. P. J. Flory, J. Rehner, Statistical mechanics of cross-linked polymer networks ii. swelling, J Chem Phys  (1943).
10. G. H. Koenderink, Z. Dogic, F. Nakamura, P. M. Bendix, F. C. MacKintosh, J. H. Hartwig, T. P. Stossel, D. A. Weitz, An active biopolymer network controlled by molecular motors, PNAS (2009).
11. J. Prost, F. Ju?licher, J-F. Joanny, Active gel physics NARTURE Physics (2015).
12. DiCarlo, S. Quiligotti, Growth and balance, Mechanics Research Communications (2012).

 

Dynamics of liquids and glass transition theories

• Dynamical correlation functions
• Dynamics of liquids and glass transition
• Mode coupling theory of the glassy dynamics
 

Experimental Flavour Physics

• Flavour Physics Lectures   (A. Passeri)
  
  Definition of flavour and flavour physics.
  Flavour and Higgs.
  CKM matrix. Unitarity triangles.
  Flavour physics beyond the Standard Model
  Lepton Flavour Violation.
  Introduction to CP violation.
  CP violation in Kaons. Experimental measurement in NA48 and KLOE.
  Cabibbo angle (Vus) measurement fro charged and neutral kaon decays.
  Rare and very rare kaon decays.
  The GIM mechanism and observation of the charm quark.
  Charmed hadrons lifetimes.
  Leptonic and semileptonic charm decays.
  D meson mixing.
  Charmed mesons decay asymmetries.
  Accelerators and experiments for b physics studies.
  B meson mixing and CP violation.
  Measurement of angles and sides of the b unitarity triangle.
  Experimental measurement of Bd and Bs mixing.
  B hadrons lifetimes
  Search for new physics with B and D mesons decays.
  The leptonic flavour in the Standard Model.
  LFV beyond the SM.
  Mu-> e gamma and the MEG experiment.
  Future prospects: Mu2E proposal
  Tau LFV decays at B factories.
  Electrical dipole moments in physics BSM and their measurement.

Experimental High Energy Physics at Colliders

- Accelerator Physics, Detectors (Lecture 1)

- Reconstruction of Objects (Lecture 2) - Cross Section Measurements (Lecture 3) - Cross Section Measurements (Lecture 3,continued)
- Kinematics, Feynman Diagrams (Lecture 4)
- pdf’s
- MC Generators & Geant

- Electro Weak Physics (Lecture 5)

a) Standard Candles (Low Mass Resonances, W Boson, Z Boson)
- QCD Physics & B Physics(Lecture 6)
- Top Physics (Lecture 7)
- Higgs Physics (Lectures 8, 9)
- Susy Physics (Lecture 10)
- Exotic Physics
- Future Accelerators and Perspectives (Lecture 11)

 

Hadron interactions at high energy

Experimental environment: ISR, SppS, Tevatron, RHIC, LHC.
General characteristics of low momentum-transfer interactions.
Inclusive particle production. Elastic, diffractive, total cross section.
Quantum chromodynamics, quark and gluons, colour factors, a_S(Q²).
Deep inelastic lepton scattering, structure functions and Q² evolution.
Parton density functions, Monte Carlo event generators, parton shower.
Drell–Yan, W and Z production.
Hadronic jets, jet-reconstruction algorithms, event-shape variables.
Inclusive jets, jet-pairs, jet-photon, multi-jet production.
Jet fragmentation function.
Measurements of a_S(Q²).
Relativistic nuclei collisions, the quark-gluon plasma.
General characteristics of AA collisions, signals of plasma formation.
 

Advanced course on the Standard Model

- Part I - Prof. Bonciani (to be defined)

- Part II Flavour physics and lattice QCD - V. Lubicz 6 hour

            • Flavor physics and its motivations
                        • Open questions in the Standard Model
                        • The flavor sector
                        • Flavor physics and New Physics searches
            • Introduction to lattice QCD
                        • The lattice regularization
                        • The lattice QCD action
                        • Monte Carlo simulations and importance sampling
                        • Computation of correlation functions
                        • Systematic errors 
            • Flavor physics on the lattice
                        • The quark masses
                        • The Cabibbo angle and the unitarity test
                        • The unitarity triangle analysis -

- Part III Electroweak physics - G. Degrassi 6 hour (Roma Tre)

• Standard Model Review
  - Definition of the Fermi constant
  - The rho parameter
  - The custodial symmetry
  - Gaugeless limit of the Standard Model
  
  Renormalization of the Standard Model
  - The  Delta r and Delta kappa parameters
  - The Ms bar and On-Shell renormalization schemes
  
  Precision Physics
  - g-2
  - Indirect determination of the top and Higgs masses
  - Theoretical constraints on the Higgs mass
  - Higgs decays and production
   

Elements of Group Theory and GUT

- Grand Unified Theories: SU(5) and SO(10)
- Models of neutrino masses and mixing

ADAPTIVE AND FRACTAL DATA ANALYSIS

- Adaptive time series analysis algorithms: Empirical Mode Decomposition, Ensemble
EMD, time varying filter EMD.
- Algorithms for fractal time series analysis: detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA),
multifractal DFA and the local Hurst exponent.
- Applications: scattered light noise mitigation in the Virgo interferometer,
beryllium-7 time series sampled by the CTBTO.

 

APPLIED NUCLEAR PHYSICS

- Radiometric dating
- Uncertainties and results of radiometric dating 
- Applications: atmospheric transport modelling, nuclear non-proliferation

LIE SYMMETRIES OF DIFFERENTIAL AND DIFFERENCE EQUATIONS

1. Lie symmetries of differential equatios and their extensions and generalizations
2. Lie point symmetries of Difference Equations; their derivation and their applications.
3. From Point Symmetries to Generalized Symmetries for Difference Equations
4. Generalized Symmetries from the Integrability of Difference Equations
5. Formal Symmetries and Integrable Lattice Equations

Python

Acquisire competenze per l'implementazione al calcolatore di programmi ad alto livello nel linguaggio interpretato
Python. Conoscere i costrutti fondamentali di Python e la sua applicazione a casi d'uso legati al calcolo scientifico e
all'elaborazione dei dati.