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.

 

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.

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
 

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.

COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF THE STRUCTURE AND THERMODYNAMICS OF LIQUIDS

1- Introduction to methods of computer simulation: Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics.
 
2- Numerical calculations of free energy and phase transitions from computer simulation.
 
3- Application to the structure and thermodynamics of liquid water.
 

Dynamics of Soft Gels

Polymer gels are very soft elastic materials, and their striking feature of is the capability of exploiting chemical energy to produce mechanical work. 
From the physical point of view, gels are elastic materials swollen by a fluid: their elastic properties are inherited from the polymer network, while their swelling 
properties are related to the migration of the solvent through the network. 
 
Following the pioneering work of J.P. Flory, Nobel prize 1974, we shall present the statistical origin of the free energy for polymer mixtures.
 
Then, basing on the mechano-chemical model of Flory-Rehner energy, we shall 
develop the modern model of stress diffusion, with emphasis on time evolutive processes.
 
Contents
- Polymers clinic
- The statistical origin of free energy
- Continuum physics modeling: 
  1) state variables and
  2) balance laws
  3) constitutive prescriptions
- Swollen states
- Time evolutive problems
 

Dynamics of liquids and glass transition theories

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

Current problems in neutrino physics

- Brief introduction to neutrinos in the Standard Model
- Overview of the most fundamental experiments in neutrino physics
  (neutrino discovery, 2 types of neutrinos, neutrino helicity,
  nu-tau observation)
- Experiments aiming at the direct measurement of neutrino masses
- Majorana neutrinos: searches for the double beta decay
- Neutrino sources and detectors
- Solar neutrinos:
        * the Standard Solar Model
        * experimental results with solar neutrinos
        * interpretation, neutrino oscillations in vacuum and in matter
- Atmospheric neutrinos:
  experimental results and interpretation in terms of oscillations
- Accelerator neutrinos:
  short and long baseline experiments
- Reactor neutrinos
- Perspectives

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)

 

Flavor Physics and CP violation

1. Flavour physics in the Standard Model
   - Flavour and CP symmetries
   - Yukawa interactions
   - Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix and its parameterizations
   - Unitarity Triangle
2. Weak effective Hamitonians
   - Operator basis
     - local operators
     - hadronic matrix elements (basic elements)
   - Wilson coefficients
     - matching
     - renormalization group evolution
   - leading order determination of the Delta F=1 effective Hamiltonian
3. Weak transitions of mesons
   - formalism of neutral meson mixing
   - CP violation in meson mixing and decays
   - K, D and B mesons
4.Phenomenology of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix
   - determination of the CKM parameters
5. Flavour beyond the Standard Model (selected topics)
   - the Delta F=2 effective Hamiltonian beyond the Standard Model
   - effective theories with minimal flavour violation

Resummations in QED and QCD

           Bloch-Nordsieck and Kinoshita-Lee-Nauenberg theorems.

• Soft and collinear effects in QED and resummations.
  Radiative corrections in e+e- annihilation into narrow resonamces (J/Psi, Z, …)
  Introduction of coherent states in QED and QCD. Jet production in e+e- annihilation.
  Pt-distributions in QCD for W,Z,H production.
  Pt-distributions in heavy flavor production.
  K-Factors. Parton distributions around x=1.
  Small-x physics.

Elements of Group Theory and GUT

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

Particle physics beyond the standard model

- Limits of Standard Model and evidences for New Physics
- Supersymmetry
- Models of New Physics at the LHC

 
 

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
   

Inversion methods in geophysics

TBA

Space Weather

TBA

THE MECHANICS OF SEISMIC FAULTING

- Physical processes during seismic faulting
- Constitutive models of faults
- Numerical models to solve the elasto-dynamic equation for faults
- Fault interaction and stress triggering
 
 

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.

Aerosols and Climate - Atmospheric Radiation and Interaction with Aerosols

1. Atmospheric structure and composition
2. Fundamentals of radiative transfer
3. Aerosol-radiation interactions
4. Direct and indirect effects and influence on climate

EARTH MAGNETISM

- Geomagnetic field modelling, fluid core properties and geodynamo
- South Atlantic Anomaly,  known and unknown features
- Lithospheric magnetic field
- External magnetic field and Sun-Earth interaction
 
 

Earth Physics and Environmental Radioactivity

• Radiometric dating methods
• Uncertainties and results of radiometric dating • Atmospheric transport modelling.
• Actinides for Earth's Mantle-Crust Dynamics
 

Physics of planetary ices

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

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

An introduction to Random Processes and Complex Systems

1) Probability, random variables and their distributions
2) Time dependent distributions: Population and bus dynamics
3) Maps, chaos and fractals
4) Transformation and sum of random variables: Moments and cumulants
5) Limit and extremal probability distributions
6) Random walks, recurrences and branching processes
7) Time series, correlation and power spectrum
8) Markov chains
9) The Langevin equation
10) The Fokker Planck equation