Rediscovering Cova de la Sarsa (València, Spain): a Multidisciplinary Approach to One of the Key Early Neolithic Sites in the Western Mediterranean

Cova de la Sarsa (València, Spain) is one of the most important Neolithic impressed ware culture archaeological sites in the Western Mediterranean. It has been widely referenced since it was excavated in the 1920s, due partly to the relatively early excavation and publication of the site, and partly to the qualitative and quantitative importance of its archaeological remains. Unfortunately, as it was an older excavation and lacked present-day rigorous methodological approaches, this important site has been somewhat relegated to the background in the reviews about the Neolithic at the end of the 20th century. However, during the last few years, both the site itself and its archaeological remains have been the object of new studies that hopefully will return the site to the forefront of discussions about the Mediterranean Neolithic. We here present the most relevant results of the research carried out by our group (i.e., pottery study, radiocarbon dating, and isotope analysis), and contextualize them within the dense research history of the cave and the studies carried out by other colleagues with the purpose of revisiting its materials and increasing the knowledge available from the site. Radiocarbon dates on human remains show that the cave was used during prehistoric times as a funerary space longer than expected, and also sporadically afterwards. The characterization of the pottery assemblage concludes that most materials belong to the Early Neolithic. Isotopic analysis portrays an overall similar diet based on terrestrial C3 resources throughout prehistoric times, with a possible varied dietary protein input between individuals during the Early Neolithic

Two Neolithic structures at the archaeological site of Casa Garrido Nord II (Moixent, Valencia)

Es presenten les restes de cronologia neolítica documentades a les obres de canalització de gas a la vall de Montesa. Concretament, dues sitges del Neolític II de la seqüència regional, aparegudes al jaciment de Casa Garrido Nord, al terme municipal de Moixent. Encara que els materials són poc significatius, es tracta de les primeres estructures de cronologia neolítica, de les quals tenim constància, en què s’ha realitzat una excavació arqueològica sistemàtica a la comarca de la Costera. Paraules clau: Casa Garrido Nord II. Sitja. Neolític II. La Costera. Assentaments en pla.Es presenten les restes de cronologia neolítica documentades a les obres de canalització de gas a la vall de Montesa. Concretament, dues sitges del Neolític II de la seqüència regional, aparegudes al jaciment de Casa Garrido Nord, al terme municipal de Moixent. Encara que els materials són poc significatius, es tracta de les primeres estructures de cronologia neolítica, de les quals tenim constància, en què s’ha realitzat una excavació arqueològica sistemàtica a la comarca de la Costera. Paraules clau: Casa Garrido Nord II. Sitja. Neolític II. La Costera. Assentaments en pla.Herewith we submit the remains of Neolithic chronology found at the gas piping works performed at the Valley of Montesa (Valencia). They are specifically two Neolithic II underground storage places of a regional sequence, which appeared at the Casa Garrido Nord archaeological site, within the Moixent municipal borough (in the province of Valencia). Although the materials are not very meaningful, they represent the first structures of Neolithic chronology known to us, and therefore we have carried out a systematic archaeological excavation in the area of La Costera (Valencia). Key words: Casa Garrido Nord II. Silo. Neolithic II. La Costera. Settlements on flat lands

Tunable coupling engineering between superconducting resonators: from sidebands to effective gauge fields

In this work we show that a tunable coupling between microwave resonators can be engineered by means of simple Josephson junctions circuits, such as dc- and rf-SQUIDs. We show that by controlling the time dependence of the coupling it is possible to switch on and off and modulate the cross-talk, boost the interaction towards the ultrastrong regime, as well as to engineer red and blue sideband couplings, nonlinear photon hopping and classical gauge fields. We discuss how these dynamically tunable superconducting circuits enable key applications in the fields of all optical quantum computing, continuous variable quantum information and quantum simulation - all within the reach of state of the art in circuit-QED experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

On the use of numerical models to predict/mitigate indoor radon levels in highly contaminated areas

The publication of the EURATOM directive BSS 2013/59 [1] has increased considerably the interest on radon studies in all EU countries. Certainly each member state has to establish a national action plan addressing long-term risks from radon exposures in dwellings, buildings with public access and workplaces for any source of radon ingress, whether from soil, building materials or water. The complexity generated by the number of parameters and processes affecting radon generation in the source, transport in source media, entry into dwellings, and its accumulation in the different rooms of the dwelling, makes the development of numerical models a very challenging exercise that might take also into account that the detailed information of the building-soil interface in an existing dwelling is normally not available. A new project funded by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Board (CSN) started in 2020. Its main goal is to establish and validate a numerical tool to predict and mitigate indoor radon levels in new and existing buildings in general, but paying special attention to the case of areas contaminated due to NORM industrial activities. Such a numerical tool might be of interest for Radiation Protection authorities to manage highly contaminated areas. In particular, 2 different numerical modelling strategies will be adapted to real sites and compared. The RAGENA [2] code, which was developed in the late 90s, will be updated with the last findings from experimental studies. This code allows modelling all radon sources and processes affecting radon accumulation indoors from a dynamic point of view in a very simple way, but lacks from spatial resolution. On the other hand, a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model recently developed in Spain [3] numerically solves radon transport equation by finite elements with a good spatial resolution. The project focuses also on the experimental characterization of real sites. In this talk we will introduce the project, discuss the main features of both modelling approaches and describe in more detail the current status of the RAGENA code updating

Experimental characterization and test-beam results of MACACO III Compton camera

The IRIS group at IFIC-Valencia is developing a Compton camera prototype with the aim of applying it in hadron therapy treatment monitoring. Recently, a third version of the prototype MACACO (Medical Applications CompAct COmpton camera) has been built. The system is composed of three Lanthanum (III) bromide scintillator crystals coupled to silicon photomultipliers. To improve its performance for the final application, several detectors are tested, two different silicon photomultipliers (25 and 50 um) have been chosen as possible candidates. The 25 up photodetector provided better performance in therms of dynamic range, energy resolution (5.2/ FWHM at 511 keV) and stability with temperature variations. MACACO III has also been tested in the CNA cyclotron (Seville) with 18 MeV proton beam to produce 4.439 MeV gamma rays. Data have been acquired with a graphite target in five different positions at 2.5 nA nominal beam intensity. Images with 4.439 MeV photons have been reconstructed, demonstrating the system capability to reconstruct images at energies relevant for hadron therapy. Moreover, the system has been able to distinguish 1mm displacements in the target position

Tunable and switchable coupling between two superconducting resonators

Under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 (CC-BY).-- et al.We realize a device allowing for tunable and switchable coupling between two frequency-degenerate superconducting resonators mediated by an artificial atom. For the latter, we utilize a persistent current flux qubit. We characterize the tunable and switchable coupling in the frequency and time domains and find that the coupling between the relevant modes can be varied in a controlled way. Specifically, the coupling can be tuned by adjusting the flux through the qubit loop or by controlling the qubit population via a microwave drive. Our measurements allow us to find parameter regimes for optimal coupler performance and quantify the tunability range.This work is supported by the German Research Foundation through SFB 631, Spanish MINECO FIS2012-36673-C03-02; UPV/EHU UFI 11/55; Basque Government IT472-10; CCQED, PROMISCE, and SCALEQIT EU projects. B.P. acknowledges support from the STC Center for Integrated Quantum Materials, NSF Grant No. DMR-1231319.Peer reviewe

Gamma-ray sources imaging and test-beam results with MACACO III Compton camera

Hadron therapy is a radiotherapy modality which offers a precise energy deposition to the tumors and a dose reduction to healthy tissue as compared to conventional methods. However, methods for real-time monitoring are required to ensure that the radiation dose is deposited on the target. The IRIS group of IFIC-Valencia developed a Compton camera prototype for this purpose, intending to image the Prompt Gammas emitted by the tissue during irradiation. The system detectors are composed of Lanthanum (III) bromide scintillator crystals coupled to silicon photomultipliers. After an initial characterization in the laboratory, in order to assess the system capabilities for future experiments in proton therapy centers, different tests were carried out in two facilities: PARTREC (Groningen, The Netherlands) and the CNA cyclotron (Sevilla, Spain). Characterization studies performed at PARTREC indicated that the detectors linearity was improved with respect to the previous version and an energy resolution of 5.2 % FWHM at 511 keV was achieved. Moreover, the imaging capabilities of the system were evaluated with a line source of 68Ge and a point-like source of 241Am-9Be. Images at 4.439 MeV were obtained from irradiation of a graphite target with an 18 MeV proton beam at CNA, to perform a study of the system potential to detect shifts at different intensities. In this sense, the system was able to distinguish 1 mm variations in the target position at different beam current intensities for measurement times of 1800 and 600 s.</p

Gamma-ray sources imaging and test-beam results with MACACO III Compton camera

Hadron therapy is a radiotherapy modality which offers a precise energy deposition to the tumors and a dose reduction to healthy tissue as compared to conventional methods. However, methods for real-time monitoring are required to ensure that the radiation dose is deposited on the target. The IRIS group of IFIC-Valencia developed a Compton camera prototype for this purpose, intending to image the Prompt Gammas emitted by the tissue during irradiation. The system detectors are composed of Lanthanum (III) bromide scintillator crystals coupled to silicon photomultipliers. After an initial characterization in the laboratory, in order to assess the system capabilities for future experiments in proton therapy centers, different tests were carried out in two facilities: PARTREC (Groningen, The Netherlands) and the CNA cyclotron (Sevilla, Spain). Characterization studies performed at PARTREC indicated that the detectors linearity was improved with respect to the previous version and an energy resolution of 5.2 % FWHM at 511 keV was achieved. Moreover, the imaging capabilities of the system were evaluated with a line source of 68Ge and a point-like source of 241Am-9Be. Images at 4.439 MeV were obtained from irradiation of a graphite target with an 18 MeV proton beam at CNA, to perform a study of the system potential to detect shifts at different intensities. In this sense, the system was able to distinguish 1 mm variations in the target position at different beam current intensities for measurement times of 1800 and 600 s.</p

Gamma-ray sources imaging and test-beam results with MACACO III Compton camera

Hadron therapy is a radiotherapy modality which offers a precise energy deposition to the tumors and a dose reduction to healthy tissue as compared to conventional methods. However, methods for real-time monitoring are required to ensure that the radiation dose is deposited on the target. The IRIS group of IFIC-Valencia developed a Compton camera prototype for this purpose, intending to image the Prompt Gammas emitted by the tissue during irradiation. The system detectors are composed of Lanthanum (III) bromide scintillator crystals coupled to silicon photomultipliers. After an initial characterization in the laboratory, in order to assess the system capabilities for future experiments in proton therapy centers, different tests were carried out in two facilities: PARTREC (Groningen, The Netherlands) and the CNA cyclotron (Sevilla, Spain). Characterization studies performed at PARTREC indicated that the detectors linearity was improved with respect to the previous version and an energy resolution of 5.2 % FWHM at 511 keV was achieved. Moreover, the imaging capabilities of the system were evaluated with a line source of 68Ge and a point-like source of 241Am-9Be. Images at 4.439 MeV were obtained from irradiation of a graphite target with an 18 MeV proton beam at CNA, to perform a study of the system potential to detect shifts at different intensities. In this sense, the system was able to distinguish 1 mm variations in the target position at different beam current intensities for measurement times of 1800 and 600 s.</p