188 research outputs found
Usability, user experience and mental workload in a mobile Augmented Reality application for digital storytelling in cultural heritage
Augmented Reality (AR) has become an increasingly used technology to support and enhance the enjoyment of cultural heritage. Particularly relevant is its importance for digital storytelling: by framing a portion of a fresco or painting with a smartphone, an AR mobile application can provide contextually relevant information, also in the form of multimedia content, that can help the user to understand the story and meaning behind the images. In this type of application, human factors are of fundamental importance for the effectiveness of the narrative: a mobile AR application must avoid distracting the user’s attention from the content in order to encourage a good level of concentration and immersion. The case study presented in this paper deals with a mobile AR application developed to guide visitors in the interpretation of the frescoes inside the Basilica of Saint Catherina of Alexandria in Galatina. The aim of the study is the analysis of the relations among usability, user experience and mental workload factors in AR-based digital storytelling
Virtual Reality and Spatial Augmented Reality for Social Inclusion: The “Includiamoci” Project
Extended Reality (XR) technology represents an innovative tool to address the challenges of the present, as it allows for experimentation with new solutions in terms of content creation and its fruition by different types of users. The potential to modulate the experience based on the target audience’s needs and the project’s objectives makes XR suitable for creating new accessibility solutions. The “Includiamoci” project was carried out with the aim of creating workshops on social inclusion through the combination of art and technology. Specifically, the experimentation involved ten young people between the ages of 28 and 50, with cognitive disabilities, who participated in Extended Reality workshops and Art Therapy workshops. In the course of these activities, the outputs obtained were two: a virtual museum, populated by the participants’ works, and a digital set design for a theatrical performance. Through two tests, one on user experience (UX) and one on the degree of well-being, the effectiveness of the entire project was evaluated. In conclusion, the project demonstrated how the adopted solutions were appropriate to the objectives, increasing our knowledge of UX for a target audience with specific user needs and using XR in the context of social inclusion
Prevalence and Properties of Dark Matter in Elliptical Galaxies
Given the recently deduced relationship between X-ray temperatures and
stellar velocity dispersions (the "T-sigma relation") in an optically complete
sample of elliptical galaxies (Davis & White 1996), we demonstrate that L>L_*
ellipticals contain substantial amounts of dark matter in general. We present
constraints on the dark matter scale length and on the dark-to-luminous mass
ratio within the optical half-light radius and within the entire galaxy. For
example, we find that minimum values of dark matter core radii scale as r_dm >
4(L_V/3L_*)^{3/4}h^{-1}_80 kpc and that the minimum dark matter mass fraction
is >~20% within one optical effective radius r_e and is >~39-85% within 6r_e,
depending on the stellar density profile and observed value of beta_spec. We
also confirm the prediction of Davis & White (1996) that the dark matter is
characterized by velocity dispersions that are greater than those of the
luminous stars: sigma_dm^2 ~ 1.4-2 sigma_*^2. The T-sigma relation implies a
nearly constant mass-to-light ratio within six half-light radii: M/L_V ~ 25h_80
M_sun/L_V_sun. This conflicts with the simplest extension of CDM theories of
large scale structure formation to galactic scales; we consider a couple of
modifications which can better account for the observed T-sigma relation.Comment: 27 pages AASTeX; 15 PostScript figures; to appear in Ap
A Pressure Anomaly for HII Regions in Irregular Galaxies
The pressures of giant HII regions in 6 dwarf Irregular galaxies are a factor
of ~10 larger than the average pressures of the corresponding galaxy disks,
obtained from the stellar and gaseous column densities. Either the visible HII
regions in these dwarfs are all so young that they are still expanding, or
there is an unexpected source of disk self-gravity that increases the
background pressure. We consider the possibility that the additional
self-gravity comes from disk dark matter, but suggest this is unlikely because
the vertical scale heights inferred for Irregular galaxies are consistent with
the luminous matter alone. Some of the HII region overpressure is probably the
result of local peaks in the gravitational field that come from large gas
concentrations, many of which are observed directly. These peaks also explain
the anomalously low average column density thresholds for star formation that
were found earlier for Irregular galaxies, and they permit the existence of a
cool HI phase as the first step toward dense molecular cores. Many of the HII
regions could also be so strongly over-pressured that they will expand for a
long time. In this case, the observed population would be only 7% of the total,
and the aging HII regions, now too faint to see, should occupy nearly the
entire dwarf galaxy volume. Such prolonged HII region expansion would explain
the origin of the giant HI shells that are seen in these galaxies, and account
for the lack of bright central clusters inside these shells.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, Astrophysical Journal, 540, Sep 10, 2000, in
pres
Searches for the Violation of Pauli Exclusion Principle at LNGS in VIP(-2) experiment
The VIP (Violation of Pauli exclusion principle) experiment and its follow-up
experiment VIP-2 at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) search for
X-rays from Cu atomic states that are prohibited by the Pauli Exclusion
Principle (PEP). The candidate events, if they exist, will originate from the
transition of a orbit electron to the ground state which is already
occupied by two electrons. The present limit on the probability for PEP
violation for electron is 4.7 set by the VIP experiment. With
upgraded detectors for high precision X-ray spectroscopy, the VIP-2 experiment
will improve the sensitivity by two orders of magnitude.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Conference proceedings for oral
presentation at TAUP 2015, Torin
Beyond quantum mechanics? Hunting the 'impossible' atoms (Pauli Exclusion Principle violation and spontaneous collapse of the wave function at test)
The development of mathematically complete and consistent models solving the
so-called "measurement problem", strongly renewed the interest of the
scientific community for the foundations of quantum mechanics, among these the
Dynamical Reduction Models posses the unique characteristic to be
experimentally testable. In the first part of the paper an upper limit on the
reduction rate parameter of such models will be obtained, based on the analysis
of the X-ray spectrum emitted by an isolated slab of germanium and measured by
the IGEX experiment.
The second part of the paper is devoted to present the results of the VIP
(Violation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment and to describe its
recent upgrade. The VIP experiment established a limit on the probability that
the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) is violated by electrons, using the very
clean method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper
Testing the Pauli Exclusion Principle for electrons at LNGS
High-precision experiments have been done to test the Pauli exclusion
principle (PEP) for electrons by searching for anomalous -series X-rays from
a Cu target supplied with electric current. With the highest sensitivity, the
VIP (VIolation of Pauli Exclusion Principle) experiment set an upper limit at
the level of for the probability that an external electron captured
by a Cu atom can make the transition from the 2 state to a 1 state
already occupied by two electrons. In a follow-up experiment at Gran Sasso, we
aim to increase the sensitivity by two orders of magnitude. We show proofs that
the proposed improvement factor is realistic based on the results from recent
performance tests of the detectors we did at Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati
(LNF).Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, conference proceedings on TAUP 201
Application of photon detectors in the VIP2 experiment to test the Pauli Exclusion Principle
The Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) was introduced by the austrian physicist
Wolfgang Pauli in 1925. Since then, several experiments have checked its
validity. From 2006 until 2010, the VIP (VIolation of the Pauli Principle)
experiment took data at the LNGS underground laboratory to test the PEP. This
experiment looked for electronic 2p to 1s transitions in copper, where 2
electrons are in the 1s state before the transition happens. These transitions
violate the PEP. The lack of detection of X-ray photons coming from these
transitions resulted in a preliminary upper limit for the violation of the PEP
of . Currently, the successor experiment VIP2 is under
preparation. The main improvements are, on one side, the use of Silicon Drift
Detectors (SDDs) as X-ray photon detectors. On the other side an active
shielding is implemented, which consists of plastic scintillator bars read by
Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). The employment of these detectors will
improve the upper limit for the violation of the PEP by around 2 orders of
magnitude
VIP 2: Experimental tests of the Pauli Exclusion Principle for electrons
The Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) was famously discovered in 1925 by the
austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli. Since then, it underwent several
experimental tests. Starting in 2006, the VIP (Violation of the Pauli
Principle) experiment looked for 2p to 1s X-ray transitions in copper, where 2
electrons are present in the 1s state before the transition happens. These
transitions violate the PEP, and the lack of detection of the corresponding
X-ray photons lead to a preliminary upper limit for the violation of the PEP of
4.7 * 10^(-29). The follow-up experiment VIP 2 is currently in the testing
phase and will be transported to its final destination, the underground
laboratory of Gran Sasso in Italy, in autumn 2015. Several improvements
compared to its predecessor like the use of new X-ray detectors and active
shielding from background gives rise to a goal for the improvement of the upper
limit of the probability for the violation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle of
2 orders of magnitude
Spontaneously emitted X-rays: an experimental signature of the dynamical reduction models
We present the idea of searching for X-rays as a signature of the mechanism
inducing the spontaneous collapse of the wave function. Such a signal is
predicted by the continuous spontaneous localization theories, which are
solving the "measurement problem" by modifying the Schrodinger equation. We
will show some encouraging preliminary results and discuss future plans and
strategy.Comment: to be published in Foundation of Physics 201
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