Open clusters and the structure of the Milky Way

Treballs Finals de Grau de Física, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2020, Tutor: Friedrich AndersOur galaxy contains a large number of stellar open clusters still to be identified and characterized, but thanks to the new Gaia DR2 release, it is possible to identify new ones that are unknown to date and discard earlier reported clusters that turn out to be spurious. The aim of this work is to do a statistical analysis of the spatial and the age distribution as well as the completeness, using the most recent and comprehensive sample of open clusters available today from the Gaia satellite. Using these data and comparing them with old catalogues, we redetermine fundamental parameters of the cluster age function: logTbreak=8.52±0.18 ,α1=−0.61±0.28, α2=−1.82±0.15 for the broken power-law fit and logT∗=8.89±0.15, αT=−0.55±0.10 for the Schechter fit

Nuove osservazioni sulla dedica del sacerdote Moutes ad Adriano da Kestros (Cilicia Tracheia)

Il ritrovamento di una nuova iscrizione da Kestros in Cilicia Tracheia – la dedica di una statua di Adriano da parte di un notabile della città – costituisce lo spunto per la ripresa degli studi sull’insediamento. L’analisi dell’iscrizione all’interno del contesto di rinvenimento consente di individuare ed esaminare aspetti legati a problematiche storico-religiose, offrendo, allo stesso tempo, nuovi elementi di riflessione sull’assetto urbano e la topografia del sito in età imperiale.The retrieval of a new inscription from Kestros, in Rough Cilicia – the dedication of a statue of Hadrian by a city notable – sparks the revival of the studies on the site. The analysis of the inscription, within the context of the finding, allows to identify and examine new aspects related to historical and religious issues, and provides new elements of the urban structure and topography of the site during the imperial age

Super-heavy fermion material as metallic refrigerant for adiabatic demagnetization cooling

Low-temperature refrigeration is of crucial importance in fundamental research of condensed matter physics, as the investigations of fascinating quantum phenomena, such as superconductivity, superfluidity and quantum criticality, often require refrigeration down to very low temperatures. Currently, cryogenic refrigerators with $^3$He gas are widely used for cooling below 1 Kelvin. However, usage of the gas is being increasingly difficult due to the current world-wide shortage. Therefore, it is important to consider alternative methods of refrigeration. Here, we show that a new type of refrigerant, super-heavy electron metal, YbCo$_2$Zn$_{20}$, can be used for adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration, which does not require 3He gas. A number of advantages includes much better metallic thermal conductivity compared to the conventional insulating refrigerants. We also demonstrate that the cooling performance is optimized in Yb$_{1-x}$Sc$_x$Co$_2$Zn$_{20}$ by partial Sc substitution with $x\sim$0.19. The substitution induces chemical pressure which drives the materials close to a zero-field quantum critical point. This leads to an additional enhancement of the magnetocaloric effect in low fields and low temperatures enabling final temperatures well below 100 mK. Such performance has up to now been restricted to insulators. Since nearly a century the same principle of using local magnetic moments has been applied for adiabatic demagnetization cooling. This study opens new possibilities of using itinerant magnetic moments for the cryogen-free refrigeration

Ponza (?). Insula Eumorfiana. S. Pietro. Oratorium / monastère (?)

Fonti letterarie Gregorio Magno, in una lettera del 591 al suddiacono Antemio, menziona un’isola denominata Eumorfiana, dove alcune donne si erano rifugiate nei pressi di un oratorio dedicato a S. Pietro (Greg. M., Reg. I, 48, 3-9): Comperimus autem, in insula quae appellatur Eumorfiana, in qua situm oratorium beati Petri principis apostolorum esse dinoscitur, multos virorum cum mulieribus suis diversorum patrimoniorum illic pro necessitate feritatis barbaricae refugisse. Quod inoportune iud..

Sperlonga. Villa de Tibère. Monastère ?

La villa sul litorale di Sperlonga attribuita all’imperatore Tiberio si sviluppa lungo un’insenatura costiera delimitata a est dal promontorio del Ciannito, sul quale corre il tracciato della via per Formianum montem (Liv. 39, 44), costruita da L. Valerio Flacco nel 184 a.C. (fig. 4). Il complesso, in origine molto più vasto rispetto alle strutture conservate nell’area archeologica prossima al museo, si estendeva verso nord fino alle pendici del monte al di là della moderna via Flacca, a sud ..

Lumbar neuropathic pain of lower limbs treated by spinal infusion of ziconotide a case – report

The Author reports the case of a patient with severe lumbar pain unresponsive to NSAIDs. Initial treatment with tramadol gave poor results and a new protocol with hydromorphone – pregabalin was started. The analgesic response was observed only following high hydromorphone doses, associated with unacceptable side effects. A spinal device for continuous intrathecal infusion was then implanted, in order to administer ziconotide, a new opioid drug. Associated therapy included hydromorphone – pregabalin. At the 4 mcg/die dose ziconotide resulted highly effective (with a VAS reduction pain 6-7 to 2-3) even at 1st day after implantation; in addition at day 10, opioid dose was strongly reduced and pregabalin withdrawn. The treatment was associated with a good tolerability. The encouraging results prompted the Author to test ziconotide in further cases of severe chronic pain

Testing the attitude determination and control of a CubeSat with hardware-in-the-loop

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2014.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-180).This thesis presents a methodology for testing the attitude determination and control of a CubeSat within a constrained environment. This approach first evaluates the concept of operations of the satellite mission, then takes into account the limitations of the test environment, formulates test plans that can validate algorithms with hardware-in-the-loop, and presents a model by which these tests can be evaluated. The Microsized Microwave Atmospheric Satellite (MicroMAS), a dual-spinner 3U CubeSat, is used as a case study to demonstrate both the overall methodology and the validation model. Laboratory experiments were performed with a one-degree-of-freedom rotation test set-up inside of a Helmholtz Cage magnetic field simulator. The theoretical development of the control algorithms and design choices are discussed. A software model of the controller, hardware, and test environment was used to evaluate the results from these experimental tests. The results showed that, using the designed control system, the satellite model is able to successfully detumble itself, achieve a desired angular rotation, and compensate for the momentum introduced by a rotating payload. The test data are analyzed and show that the control system is able to meet the mission pointing requirements of maintaining within 1 degree (3[sigma]) deviation from the nominal LVLH attitude after its slew maneuver, before payload spin-up. During its science operation mode, the tests showed a pointing deviation from nominal attitude of about 2.2 degrees (3[sigma]). The details of the constraints and limitations of the test environment and their impacts are discussed.by Meghan Kathleen Quadrino.S.M

Fondi. S. Magno, loc. Divinité inconnue / monastère

Il monastero di San Magno è ubicato circa quattro chilometri a nord-ovest di Fondi, lungo la moderna via delle Rene, che ricalca il tracciato di una antica viabilità secondaria collegata alla via Appia. Il complesso sorge alle pendici meridionali del monte Casareccio (fig. 4 et 24) nei pressi di una sorgente che alimenta un fiume (fig. 25), occupando una posizione tipica degli insediamenti monastici di fondo valle. Le recenti indagini archeologiche condotte nel sito, hanno consentito di indiv..