SR-FTIR microscopy for the study of residues on Palaeolithic stone tools: Looking for a methodological protocol

In this paper, we use SR-FTIR microscopy to analyse residues identified on seven lithic artefacts from the Evolved Epigravettian layer 9c2 of the cave site of Grotta Paglicci (Apulia, southern Italy). Synchrotron radiation, thanks to its properties that particularly increase the sensitivity of FTIR microscopy, allows the analysis of samples of microscopic size and the characterisation of even highly degraded compounds, such as the residues of materials worked by Palaeolithic stone tools or complex compounds used for hafting. This pilot study has been carried out in the framework of a project concerning the reconstruction of hunting technologies between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. The preliminary results allowed us to focus on the issues of our methodological approach and to show the potential of the SR-FTIR microscopy for the analysis of residues on lithic implements

InSAR Time Series Analysis of Natural and Anthropogenic Coastal Plain Subsidence: The Case of Sibari (Southern Italy)

We applied the Small Baseline Subset multi-temporal InSAR technique (SBAS) to two SAR datasets acquired from 2003 up to 2013 by Envisat (ESA, European Space Agency) and COSMO-SkyMed (ASI, Italian Space Agency) satellites to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of land subsidence in the Sibari Plain (Southern Italy). Subsidence processes (up to ~20 mm/yr) were investigated comparing geological, hydrogeological, and land use information with interferometric results. We suppose a correlation between subsidence and thickness of the Plio-Quaternary succession suggesting an active role of the isostatic compensation. Furthermore, the active back thrusting in the Corigliano Gulf could trigger a flexural subsidence mechanism even if fault activity and earthquakes do not seem play a role in the present subsidence. In this context, the compaction of Holocene deposits contributes to ground deformation. Despite the rapid urbanization of the area in the last 50 years, we do not consider the intensive groundwater pumping and related water table drop as the main triggering cause of subsidence phenomena, in disagreement with some previous publications. Our interpretation for the deformation fields related to natural and anthropogenic factors would be a comprehensive and exhaustive justification to the complexity of subsidence processes in the Sibari Plain

Polynomial solutions of nonlinear integral equations

We analyze the polynomial solutions of a nonlinear integral equation, generalizing the work of C. Bender and E. Ben-Naim. We show that, in some cases, an orthogonal solution exists and we give its general form in terms of kernel polynomials.Comment: 10 page

Symmetrization process and truncated orthogonal polynomials

We define the family of truncated Laguerre polynomials $P_n(x;z)$, orthogonal with respect to the linear functional $\ell$ defined by $$\langle{\ell,p\rangle}=\int_{0}^zp(x)x^\alpha e^{-x}dx,\qquad\alpha>-1.$$ The connection between $P_n(x;z)$ and the polynomials $S_n(x;z)$ (obtained through the symmetrization process) constitutes a key element in our analysis. As a consequence, several properties of the polynomials $P_n(x;z)$ and $S_n(x;z)$ are studied taking into account the relation between the parameters of the three-term recurrence relations that they satisfy. Asymptotic expansions of these coefficients are given. Discrete Painlev\'e and Painlev\'e equations associated with such coefficients appear in a natural way. An electrostatic interpretation of the zeros of such polynomials as well as the dynamics of the zeros in terms of the parameter $z$ are given

The Lightest Pseudo-Goldstone Boson at Future e+e- Colliders

In a class of models of dynamical symmetry breaking not ruled out by the available data, the lightest neutral pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson P0 contains only down-type techniquarks and charged technileptons. Its mass scale is naturally determined by the b-quark and therefore it is likely to be light. As the presence of pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons in models of dynamical symmetry breaking is a quite general feature, the search of the P0 at colliders is an interesting opportunity of putting limits on or discovering a dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking scenario. In this note we discuss the prospects for discovering and studying the P0 at future e+e- and gamma-gamma colliders.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX (epsfig), Proceedings of the Second ECFA/DESY Study on Physics Studies for a Future Linear Collide