Irrig-OH: An Open-Hardware Device for Soil Water Potential Monitoring and Irrigation Management

Sustainability of irrigation practices is an important objective to be pursued in many countries, especially in regions where water scarcity causes strong conflicts among different water uses. The efficient use of irrigation water is a key factor in coping with the food demands of an increasing world population and with the negative effects of climate change on water resource availability in many areas. In this complex context, it is important that farmers can rely on instruments and practices that enable a better management of water at the field scale, whatever the irrigation method they adopt. In this paper, we present an open-hardware device based on the Arduino technology that was developed to allow the continuous monitoring of soil water potential in the root zone for supporting irrigation scheduling at the field scale. The structure of the device is flexible and can be adapted to host different types of sensors. The results, obtained managing irrigation in a peach orchard, show that adoption of the device, together with a simple irrigation scheduling criterion, allowed a significant increase of water use efficiency without causing a reduction of the quantity and quality of crop production

Transient-field G-factor Measurement of the 1st 2+ States In the N = 82 Nuclei Ce-140, Nd-142 and Sm-144

The g-factor of the first 2+ states in three stable N = 82 nuclei, Ce-140, Nd-142 and 144Sm, have been measured using the transient magnetic field technique. The levels under study were Coulomb excited with 110-116 MeV S-32 beams and spin precession after passing a thin polarized iron foil was measured. The field strength has been checked using the first 2+ state in Sm-148 as internal calibration. The obtained values were 0.97 (9), 0.84 (7), 0.76 (11) for Ce-140, Nd-142 and 144Sm, respectively. These remarkably lower values with respect to shell-model predictions in a proton subspace are explained in terms of neutron core excitation by quasiparticle random-phase-approximation calculations

19/2- G-factor In K-39 Using A Transient Field-fusion Reaction Technique

none8The magnetic moment of the 19/2- state in K-39 has been measured by the transient field technique. The state was excited by the inverse reaction C-12(S-32,p-alpha)K-39 and the recoil nucleus traversed a thin Gd foil. Its absolute g factor, g = 0.35(3), was obtained by an internal calibration, which makes use of the magnetic moment of the 15/2+ state in Ca-41 also excited in the same reaction. A mean g factor for the states 3-, 5- in Ar-36, g = 0.52(6), determined in a simultaneous measurement is consistent with the self-conjugate nature of the nucleus, giving further support to the validity of the field calibration. The experimental result agrees with shell-model predictions.noneA. A. PAKOU;F. BRANDOLINI;D. BAZZACCO;P. PAVAN;C. ROSSIALVAREZ;E. MAGLIONE;M. DEPOLI;R. RIBASA. A., Pakou; Brandolini, Franco; D., Bazzacco; Pavan, Pietro; C., Rossialvarez; Maglione, Enrico; M., Depoli; R., Riba

Study of the Mo-Ba partition in 252^{252}Cf spontaneous fission

Measurements of fission fragment yields and neutron multiplicities have been carried out for the Mo-Ba fragment pairs in the spontaneous fission of $^{252}$Cf, using the $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy technique to analyze $\gamma$-$\gamma$-$\gamma$ coincidence data. Prompt $\gamma$-ray multiplicities were also measured as a function of the number of neutrons emitted in the fission process leading to the Mo-Ba partition. We do not observe the enhancement in the yields of events with high neutron emission multiplicity ($\nu$ $_{n}$ $\geq$7) that has been associated to a second fission mode leading to the production of hyperdeformed Ba fragments, as reported in some earlier studies. The average $\gamma$-ray multiplicity is found to be rather weakly dependent on the number of neutrons emitted in the fission process

Fragment dependence of high energy γ\gamma-ray emission in the spontaneous fission of 252^{252}Cf

The high energy $\gamma$-ray emission accompanying the spontaneous fission of $^{252}$Cf has been measured in coincidence with individual fission fragments selected by discrete $\gamma$-ray transitions. The enhancement of the $\gamma$-ray emission probability in the energy range E$_{\gamma}$=3-8 MeV has been observed for the fission fragments in the region of nearly symmetric mass splitting, confirming results reported in previous investigations. The $\gamma$-$\gamma$ coincidence technique employed in the present work clearly demonstrate that the major contribution to this enhancement is caused by the fission channels where one fragment is near to the $N$=82 or $Z$=50 shell closures. The high energy $\gamma$-ray emission probability does not show any significant dependence on the number of neutrons emitted in the fission process, supporting the hypothesis that high energy $\gamma$-rays are mainly emitted from the fragments after the neutron evaporation

Fragment dependence of high energy \u3b3-ray emission in the spontaneous fission of 252Cf

The high energy \u3b3-ray emission accompanying the spontaneous fission of 252Cf has been measured in coincidence with individual fission fragments selected by discrete \u3b3-ray transitions. The enhancement of the \u3b3-ray emission probability in the energy range E\u3b3=3-8 MeV has been observed for the fission fragments in the region of nearly symmetric mass splitting, confirming results reported in previous investigations. The \u3b3-\u3b3 coincidence technique employed in the present work clearly demonstrate that the major contribution to this enhancement is caused by the fission channels where one fragment is near to the N=82 or Z=50 shell closures. The high energy \u3b3-ray emission probability does not show any significant dependence on the number of neutrons emitted in the fission process, supporting the hypothesis that high energy \u3b3-rays are mainly emitted from the fragments after the neutron evaporation

Study of the Mo-Ba partition in 252Cf spontaneous fission

Measurements of fission fragment yields and neutron multiplicities have been carried out for the Mo-Ba fragment pairs in the spontaneous fission of Cf-252; using the gamma-ray spectroscopy technique to analyze gamma-gamma-gamma coincidence data. Prompt gamma-ray multiplicities were also measured as a function of the number of neutrons emitted in the fission process leading to the Mo-Ba partition. We do not observe the enhancement in the yields of events with high neutron emission multiplicity (v(n)greater than or equal to 7) that has been associated to a second fission mode leading to the production of hyperdeformed Ba fragments, as reported in some earlier studies. The average gamma-ray multiplicity is found to be rather weakly dependent on the number of neutrons emitted in the fission process

VARIETY OF COLLECTIVE MOTIONS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 1F7/2 SHELL

AIP CONFERENCE PROCEEDING