Agriculture and forest rodent problems and control in Italy

Rodent pest problems and their control in Italy are reviewed. Two rats, Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus, and the field mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, are often important pests both in rural and forestry areas. Other species, such as voles, Microtus arvalis and Microtus (Pitymys) savii, in orchards and in horticulture, and Sciurus vulgaris and Myoxus (Glis) glis in forestry, sometimes represent serious problems. For each species the kind of damage and control is recorded, and additional considerations are supplied to the public and private organizations responsible for rodent control

On the remarkable relations among PDEs integrable by the inverse spectral transform method, by the method of characteristics and by the Hopf-Cole transformation

We establish deep and remarkable connections among partial differential equations (PDEs) integrable by different methods: the inverse spectral transform method, the method of characteristics and the Hopf-Cole transformation. More concretely, 1) we show that the integrability properties (Lax pair, infinitely-many commuting symmetries, large classes of analytic solutions) of (2+1)-dimensional PDEs integrable by the Inverse Scattering Transform method ($S$-integrable) can be generated by the integrability properties of the (1+1)-dimensional matrix B\"urgers hierarchy, integrable by the matrix Hopf-Cole transformation ($C$-integrable). 2) We show that the integrability properties i) of $S$-integrable PDEs in (1+1)-dimensions, ii) of the multidimensional generalizations of the GL(M,\CC) self-dual Yang Mills equations, and iii) of the multidimensional Calogero equations can be generated by the integrability properties of a recently introduced multidimensional matrix equation solvable by the method of characteristics. To establish the above links, we consider a block Frobenius matrix reduction of the relevant matrix fields, leading to integrable chains of matrix equations for the blocks of such a Frobenius matrix, followed by a systematic elimination procedure of some of these blocks. The construction of large classes of solutions of the soliton equations from solutions of the matrix B\"urgers hierarchy turns out to be intimately related to the construction of solutions in Sato theory. 3) We finally show that suitable generalizations of the block Frobenius matrix reduction of the matrix B\"urgers hierarchy generates PDEs exhibiting integrability properties in common with both $S$- and $C$- integrable equations.Comment: 30 page

Initial-Boundary Value Problems for Linear and Soliton PDEs

Evolution PDEs for dispersive waves are considered in both linear and nonlinear integrable cases, and initial-boundary value problems associated with them are formulated in spectral space. A method of solution is presented, which is based on the elimination of the unknown boundary values by proper restrictions of the functional space and of the spectral variable complex domain. Illustrative examples include the linear Schroedinger equation on compact and semicompact n-dimensional domains and the nonlinear Schroedinger equation on the semiline.Comment: 18 pages, LATEX, submitted to the proccedings of NEEDS 2001 - Special Issue, to be published in the Journal of Theoretical and Mathematical Physic

Dilepton production at HADES: theoretical predictions

Dileptons represent a unique probe for nuclear matter under extreme conditions reached in heavy-ion collisions. They allow to study meson properties, like mass and decay width, at various density and temperature regimes. Present days models allow generally a good description of dilepton spectra in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collision. For the energy regime of a few GeV/nucleon, important discrepancies between theory and experiment, known as the DLS puzzle, have been observed. Various models, including the one developed by the T\"{u}bingen group, have tried to address this problem, but have proven only partially successful. High precision spectra of dilepton emission in heavy-ion reactions at 1 and 2 GeV/nucleon will be released in the near future by the HADES Collaboration at GSI. Here we present the predictions for dilepton spectra in C+C reactions at 1 and 2 GeV/nucleon and investigate up to what degree possible scenarios for the in-medium modification of vector mesons properties are accessible by the HADES experiment.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures; submitted to Phys.Lett.

Low mass dimuons within a hybrid approach

We analyse dilepton emission from hot and dense hadronic matter using a hybrid approach based on the Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) transport model with an intermediate hydrodynamic stage for the description of heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies. Focusing on the enhancement with respect to the contribution from long-lived hadron decays after freeze-out observed at the SPS in the low mass region of the dilepton spectra (often referred to as "the excess"), the relative importance of the emission from the equilibrium and the non-equilibrium stages is discussed.Comment: Proceedings of Hot Quarks 2010, 21-26 June 2010 Las Londe Les Maures; v2: Corrected typos and added a commen

Many-body models for molecular nanomagnets

We present a flexible and effective ab-initio scheme to build many-body models for molecular nanomagnets, and to calculate magnetic exchange couplings and zero-field splittings. It is based on using localized Foster-Boys orbitals as one-electron basis. We apply this scheme to three paradigmatic systems, the antiferromagnetic rings Cr8 and Cr7Ni and the single molecule magnet Fe4. In all cases we identify the essential magnetic interactions and find excellent agreement with experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure