Maurer-Cartan Equations and Black Hole Superpotentials in N =8 Supergravity

We retrieve the non-BPS extremal black hole superpotential of N=8, d=4 supergravity by using the Maurer-Cartan equations of the symmetric space E_7(7)/SU(8). This superpotential was recently obtained with different 3- and 4-dimensional techniques. The present derivation is independent on the reduction to d=3.Comment: 1+22 page

"Root" Action for N=4 Supersymmetric Mechanics Theories

We propose to consider the N=4,d=1 supermultiplet with $% (4,4,0) component content as a ``root'' one. We elaborate a new reduction scheme from the ``root'' multiplet to supermultiplets with a smaller number of physical bosons. Starting from the most general sigma-model type action for the ``root'' multiplet, we explicitly demonstrate that the actions for the rest of linear and nonlinear N=4 supermultiplets can be easily obtained by reduction. Within the proposed reduction scheme there is a natural possibility to introduce Fayet-Iliopoulos terms. In the reduced systems, such terms give rise to potential terms, and in some cases also to terms describing the interaction with a magnetic field. We demonstrate that known N=4 superconformal actions, together with their possible interactions, appear as results of the reduction from a free action for the ``root'' supermultiplet. As a byproduct, we also construct an N=4 supersymmetric action for the linear (3,4,1) supermultiplet, containing both an interaction with a Dirac monopole and a harmonic oscillator-type potential, generalized for arbitrary conformally flat metrics.Comment: 12 page

Experimental investigation on a novel approach for laser surface hardening modelling

Laser surface hardening is rapidly growing in industrial applications due to its high flexibility, accuracy, cleanness and energy efficiency. However, the experimental process optimization can be a tricky task due to the number of involved parameters, thus suggesting for alternative approaches such as reliable numerical simulations. Conventional laser hardening models compute the achieved hardness on the basis of microstructure predictions due to carbon diffusion during the process heat thermal cycle. Nevertheless, this approach is very time consuming and not allows to simulate real complex products during laser treatments. To overcome this limitation, a novel simplified approach for laser surface hardening modelling is presented and discussed. The basic assumption consists in neglecting the austenite homogenization due to the short time and the insufficient carbon diffusion during the heating phase of the process. In the present work, this assumption is experimentally verified through nano-hardness measurements on C45 carbon steel samples both laser and oven treated by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique

3D modelling of LASER hardening and tempering of hypo-eutectoid steels

In this paper a mathematical model solved by means of the finite differences method (FDM) for laser surface hardening of complex geometries is presented. The 3-D transient model characterizes a software package named Laser Hardening Simulator (LHS), which makes it possible to predict the extension of the treated area into the mechanical components and thus the hardened depth into the bulk material. The obtained microstructures and the resulting hardness with respect to the laser parameters and to the laser beam path strategy can be determined by considering the quenching and the tempering effects due to the overlapping trajectories. The initial workpiece microstructure is taken into account in the simulation by a digitized photomicrograph of the ferrite-pearlite distribution before the thermal cycle. In order to show the accuracy of the model, experimental trials were conducted on the keyway for spline machined on a hub made of SAE 1043. The domain discretization for the solution of the heat flux problem into the workpiece and for the diffusion of the carbon is carried out by means of a mesh generator strategy implemented into the code

The influence of plasma plume in laser milling for mold manufacturing

The paper refers to the modeling of the plasma plume influence on the shape of the crater obtained by means of nanosecond pulsed laser milling. A transient model of the physical state of the plasma plume is developed according to the laser parameters. Two empirical coefficients are proposed in the model in order to evaluate the plasma plume self-emission energy lost towards the environment and the energy spread from the plasma towards the target surface. These two coefficients, directly correlated to the depth and to the width of the crater, can be experimentally determined, due to the difficulty of their analytical quantification, and they can be used for tuning a complete plasma plume software package for laser milling simulation named LAS (Laser Ablation Simulator) already developed by the authors. In this paper their influence on the crater shape will be proved by means of several simulation runs

Selectively Tunable Luminescence of Perovskite Nanocrystals Embedded in Polymer Matrix Allows Direct Laser Patterning

Cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have gained enormous attention as promising light-emitting and light-converting materials. Most of their applications require embedding NCs in various matrices, which is a challenging task due to their low stability, especially in the case of red-emitting CsPbI3 NCs. In this work, a new approach is proposed allowing the formation of red-emitting perovskite NCs by anion exchange induced directly inside a solid polymer matrix using green-emitting CsPbBr3 NCs as templates and iodododecane as an iodine source. Moreover, a simple and efficient route to photo-assisted termination of the anion exchange reaction in the polymer composite after reaching desired optical properties is demonstrated. The findings allow the authors to pattern a thin composite film with an ultrashort UV laser resulting in a selective generation of green- and red-emitting features with a 15 µm resolution

N=4 supersymmetric mechanics with nonlinear chiral supermultiplet

We construct N=4 supersymmetric mechanics using the N=4 nonlinear chiral supermultiplet. The two bosonic degrees of freedom of this supermultiplet parameterize the sphere S(2) and go into the bosonic components of the standard chiral multiplet when the radius of the sphere goes to infinity. We construct the most general action and demonstrate that the nonlinearity of the supermultiplet results in the deformation of the connection, which couples the fermionic degrees of freedom with the background, and of the bosonic potential. Also a non-zero magnetic field could appear in the system.Comment: 5 page

First Order Description of Black Holes in Moduli Space

We show that the second order field equations characterizing extremal solutions for spherically symmetric, stationary black holes are in fact implied by a system of first order equations given in terms of a prepotential W. This confirms and generalizes the results in [14]. Moreover we prove that the squared prepotential function shares the same properties of a c-function and that it interpolates between M^2_{ADM} and M^2_{BR}, the parameter of the near-horizon Bertotti-Robinson geometry. When the black holes are solutions of extended supergravities we are able to find an explicit expression for the prepotentials, valid at any radial distance from the horizon, which reproduces all the attractors of the four dimensional N>2 theories. Far from the horizon, however, for N-even our ansatz poses a constraint on one of the U-duality invariants for the non-BPS solutions with Z \neq 0. We discuss a possible extension of our considerations to the non extremal case.Comment: Some points clarified, a comment on the interpretation of the prepotential W in terms of c-function added, typos corrected. Version to appear on JHE

The InfraCyrus infrasound sensor

Infrasound sensors are used for a wide range of geophysical applications as the monitoring of volcanic eruptions, the detection of bolides and the recording of infrasounds generated by earthquakes. In 2006 we started the development of cheap infrasound sensors, based on commercial electret microphones. They have been characterized by comparing their response function with existing broadband infrasound sensors. These sensors, called InfraCyrus, have a good response between 1 and 10 Hz, making their application useful for various geophysical purposes. Currently, about a dozen of sensors are deployed in the Neapolitan area showing good performances in the recording of local and regional infrasonic transients