Many-body approach to infinite non-periodic systems: application to the surface of semi-infinite jellium

A method to implement the many-body Green function formalism in the GW approximation for infinite non periodic systems is presented. It is suitable to treat systems of known ``asymptotic'' properties which enter as boundary conditions, while the effects of the lower symmetry are restricted to regions of finite volume. For example, it can be applied to surfaces or localized impurities. We illustrate the method with a study of the surface of semi-infinite jellium. We report the dielectric function, the effective potential and the electronic self-energy discussing the effects produced by the screening and by the charge density profile near the surface.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

The return to quiescence of Aql X-1 following the 2010 outburst

Aql X-1 is the most prolific low mass X-ray binary transient hosting a neutron star. In this paper we focus on the return to quiescence following the 2010 outburst of the source. This decay was monitored thanks to 11 pointed observations taken with XMM-Newton, Chandra and Swift. The decay from outburst to quiescence is very fast, with an exponential decay characteristic time scale of ~2 d. Once in quiescence the X-ray flux of Aql X-1 remained constant, with no further signs of variability or decay. The comparison with the only other well-monitored outburst from Aql X-1 (1997) is tail-telling. The luminosities at which the fast decay starts are fully compatible for the two outbursts, hinting at a mechanism intrinsic to the system and possibly related to the neutron star rotation and magnetic field (i.e., the propeller effect). In addition, for both outbursts, the decay profiles are also very similar, likely resulting from the shut-off of the accretion process onto the neutron star surface. Finally, the quiescent neutron star temperatures at the end of the outbursts are well consistent with one another, suggesting a hot neutron star core dominating the thermal balance. Small differences in the quiescent X-ray luminosity among the two outbursts can be attributed to a different level of the power law component.Comment: MNRAS accepted (4 figures and 6 tables

Protected areas as refuges for pest species? The case of wild boar

Abstract Protected areas are often blamed for offering refuge to pest species populations, giving rise to the so-called "reserve effect". Nevertheless, this major conservation side effect has seldom been investigated or verified on a local scale. Along the borders of two protected areas of different size, we modelled wild boar individual likelihood of being either inside or outside the protected areas throughout the year, considering their activity rhythms and resource availability. No evidence of reserve effect was found in the small protected area, yet the percentage of wild boar moving across the border was smaller in the large one. Moreover, although wild boar use of the large protected area resulted to increase in autumn, we showed that this was not the consequence of hunting avoidance. Our results clearly highlighted the importance to verify reserve effect on a local scale with studies based on detailed information on animal spatial behaviour and environmental variables

Search for the H → hh → bbττ and A → Zh→ llττ processes with 8TeV data in CMS

In this presentation I will report on the search for the heavy boson H decaying to a pair of 125GeV SM-like Higgs bosons h using the final state of two τ leptons and two b-jets and the search for a heavy boson A decaying to a SM-like Higgs boson h and a Z boson using the final state of two τ leptons and two leptons ll (ee or μμ). The mass range considered in the analysis extends from mA/H l 250GeV up to mA/H l 350GeV. The analysis is performed on a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of L = 19 .7fb−1 proton-proton collision data collected in 2012 by the CMS experiment at √s = 8TeV

Resistance-based probabilistic design by order statistics for an oil and gas deep-water well casing string affected by wear during kick load

Deep-water wells for oil and gas extraction make structural components, such as casing and tubing, work in extremely harsh environmental conditions that accelerate component degradation and increase failure probability. Therefore, it is important to properly design casing strings under these operative circumstances (Baraldi et al., 2012)