Break-up mechanisms in heavy ion collisions at low energies

We investigate reaction mechanisms occurring in heavy ion collisions at low energy (around 20 MeV/u). In particular, we focus on the competition between fusion and break-up processes (Deep-Inelastic and fragmentation) in semi-peripheral collisions, where the formation of excited systems in various conditions of shape and angular momentum is observed. Adopting a Langevin treatment for the dynamical evolution of the system configuration, described in terms of shape observables such as quadrupole and octupole moments, we derive fusion/fission probabilities, from which one can finally evaluate the corresponding fusion and break-up cross sections. The dependence of the results on shape, angular momentum and excitation energy is discussed.Comment: submitted to Physical Review

Coulomb effects on growth of instabilities in asymmetric nuclear matter

We study the effects of the Coulomb interaction on the growth of unstable modes in asymmetric nuclear matter. In order to compare with previous calculations we use a semiclassical approach based on the linearized Vlasov equation. Moreover, a quantum calculation is performed within the R.P.A.. The Coulomb effects are a slowing down of the growth and the occurrence of a minimal wave vector for the onset of the instabilities. The quantum corrections cause a further decrease of the growth rates.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, 4 ps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. C e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Spinodal decomposition of expanding nuclear matter and multifragmentation

Density fluctuations of expanding nuclear matter are studied within a mean-field model in which fluctuations are generated by an external stochastic field. Fluctuations develop about a mean one-body phase-space density corresponding to a hydrodinamic motion that describes a slow expansion of the system. A fluctuation-dissipation relation suitable for a uniformly expanding medium is obtained and used to constrain the strength of the stochastic field. The distribution of the liquid domains in the spinodal decomposition is derived. Comparison of the related distribution of the fragment size with experimental data on the nuclear multifragmentation is quite satisfactory.Comment: 19 RevTex4 pages, 6 eps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Organization of aerobactin, hemolysin, and antibacterial resistance genes in lactose negative Escherichia coli strains of serotype O4 isolated from children with dhiarrea

Epidemiologically related, non-lactose-fermenting (NLF) Escherichia coli strains of serotype O4 have been isolated at a high frequency from children with diarrhea in Somalia (M. Nicoletti, F. Superti, C. Conti, A. Calconi, and C. Zagaglia, J. Clin. Microbiol. 26:524-529, 1988). In order to define the virulence potential of these strains, we characterized the replication properties of their high-molecular-weight plasmids and studied the genetic locations and organization of the aerobactin (aer) and hemolysin (hly) determinants encoded by 23 NLF O4 E. coli strains. Southern blot hybridizations, mobilization assays of nonconjugative plasmids, and incompatibility-exclusion experiments conducted with a conjugative incompatibility group FI (IncFI) plasmid showed that (i) 20 out of the 23 strains examined harbor a 160- to 180-kb IncFI plasmid that shares homology with the basic replicons RepFIA, RepFIB, and (except for the plasmid of one strain) RepFIC, and 22 strains also contain a 40- to 140-kb IncFII plasmid sharing homology with the RepFIIA replicon; (ii) the IncFI plasmid is nonconjugative and carries antibiotic resistance genes; (iii) the aer system is located on the IncFI plasmids and/or the chromosomes in the three strains not harboring IncFI, and it is found in an inverted orientation; (iv) the hly determinants are located on the chromosome, and their genetic organization is well conserved and closely resembles that of the reference hemolytic plasmid pHly152; and (v) Hly- mutants obtained by transposon insertion mutagenesis are not cytotoxic to HeLa cell monolayers, indicating that hemolysin is responsible for the high cytotoxic activity we have previously reported for these strains. The structural organization of the plasmid-encoded aer operon, together with the finding that those plasmids also carry antibiotic resistance genes, indicates that the IncFI plasmid of the NLF O4 E. coli strains studied more closely resembles aer-encoding virulence IncFI Salmonella R plasmids than E. coli ColV plasmids. The data presented here cannot rule out whether the strains examined are potentially intestinal or extraintestinal pathogens. Nevertheless, the genetic organization of the virulence genes, together with the epidemiological behavior and the wide spectrum of antibiotic resistance of the NLF O4 E. coli strains, indicates that these strains are structured as typical E. coli pathogenic isolates of human origin

Signatures of nematic quantum critical fluctuations in the Raman spectra of lightly doped cuprates

We consider the lightly doped cuprates Y$_{0.97}$Ca$_{0.03}$BaCuO$_{6.05}$ and La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ (with $x=0.02$,0.04), where the presence of a fluctuating nematic state has often been proposed as a precursor of the stripe (or, more generically, charge-density wave) phase, which sets in at higher doping. We phenomenologically assume a quantum critical character for the longitudinal and transverse nematic, and for the charge-ordering fluctuations, and investigate the effects of these fluctuations in Raman spectra. We find that the longitudinal nematic fluctuations peaked at zero transferred momentum account well for the anomalous Raman absorption observed in these systems in the $B_{2g}$ channel, while the absence of such effect in the $B_{1g}$ channel may be due to the overall suppression of Raman response at low frequencies, associated with the pseudogap. While in Y$_{0.97}$Ca$_{0.03}$BaCuO$_{6.05}$ the low-frequency lineshape is fully accounted by longitudinal nematic collective modes alone, in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ also charge-ordering modes with finite characteristic wavevector are needed to reproduce the shoulders observed in the Raman response. This different involvement of the nearly critical modes in the two materials suggests a different evolution of the nematic state at very low doping into the nearly charge-ordered state at higher doping.Comment: 12 pages with 10 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B 201

IL-15 sustains IL-7R-independent ILC2 and ILC3 development

The signals that maintain tissue-resident innate lymphoid cells (ILC) in different microenvironments are incompletely understood. Here we show that IL-7 receptor (IL-7R) is not strictly required for the development of any ILC subset, as residual cells persist in the small intestinal lamina propria (siLP) of adult and neonatal Il7ra(−/−) mice. Il7ra(−/−) ILC2 primarily express an ST2(−) phenotype, but are not inflammatory ILC2. CCR6(+) ILC3, which express higher Bcl-2 than other ILC3, are the most abundant subset in Il7ra(−/−) siLP. All ILC subsets are functionally competent in vitro, and are sufficient to provide enhanced protection to infection with C. rodentium. IL-15 equally sustains wild-type and Il7ra(−/−) ILC survival in vitro and compensates for IL-7R deficiency, as residual ILCs are depleted in mice lacking both molecules. Collectively, these data demonstrate that siLP ILCs are not completely IL-7R dependent, but can persist partially through IL-15 signalling

Studio di potenziali acquiferi mediante indagini geoelettriche nel villaggio di itigi (Singida - Tanzania)

http://www.fe.infn.it/u/mantovani/CV/Proceedings/Colonna_08.pd

Two phase residence time distribution in a modified twin screw extruder

Biomass fractionation is performed with a modified Clextral twin-screw extruder used as a thermo-mechano-chemical reactor. This new process is firstly analyzed. Visual observations, residence time distributions, and global mass balances are used to obtain information about the process phenomena and their coupling. Residence time distributions (RTD) classical models are adopted to represent the experimental plots. The influence of continuous and discrete process parameters upon the RTD of the solid and liquid phases is analyzed

Nuclear fragmentation: sampling the instabilities of binary systems

We derive stability conditions of Asymmetric Nuclear Matter ($ANM$) and discuss the relation to mechanical and chemical instabilities of general two-component systems. We show that the chemical instability may appear as an instability of the system against isoscalar-like rather than isovector-like fluctuations if the interaction between the two constituent species has an attractive character as in the case of $ANM$. This leads to a new kind of liquid-gas phase transition, of interest for fragmentation experiments with radioactive beams.Comment: 4 pages (LATEX), 3 Postscript figures, improved version, added reference

Constraining the Symmetry Energy: A Journey in the Isospin Physics from Coulomb Barrier to Deconfinement

Heavy Ion Collisions (HIC) represent a unique tool to probe the in-medium nuclear interaction in regions away from saturation. In this work we present a selection of reaction observables in dissipative collisions particularly sensitive to the isovector part of the interaction, i.e. to the symmetry term of the nuclear Equation of State (EoS). At low energies the behavior of the symmetry energy around saturation influences dissipation and fragment production mechanisms. We will first discuss the recently observed Dynamical Dipole Radiation, due to a collective neutron-proton oscillation during the charge equilibration in fusion and deep-inelastic collisions. Important Iso-EOS effects are stressed. Reactions induced by unstable 132Sn beams appear to be very promising tools to test the sub-saturation Isovector EoS. New Isospin sensitive observables are also presented for deep-inelastic, fragmentation collisions and Isospin equilibration measurements (Imbalance Ratios). The high density symmetry term can be derived from isospin effects on heavy ion reactions at relativistic energies (few AGeV range), that can even allow a ``direct'' study of the covariant structure of the isovector interaction in the hadron medium. Rather sensitive observables are proposed from collective flows and from pion/kaon production. The possibility of the transition to a mixed hadron-quark phase, at high baryon and isospin density, is finally suggested. Some signatures could come from an expected ``neutron trapping'' effect. The importance of studying violent collisions with radioactive beams from low to relativistic energies is finally stressed.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, Int.Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics in Heavy Ion Reactions and Neutron Stars, Beijing Normal Univ. July 07, to appear in Int.Journ.Modern Physics E (2008