Probing light dark sectors via new macroscopic forces

openNew dynamics from light and weakly-coupled sectors beyond the Standard Model may manifest as long- range forces between visible matter particles. Such new forces can be searches for by means of a variety of experimental approaches. In this thesis, we re-examine the calculation of non-relativistic potentials mediated by new light particles coupled to the Standard Model, employing a general parametrization of the new interactions and going beyond the leading order Born approximation. We correct and integrate previous results, and point out as well the presence of new relevant contact terms arising at next-to-leading order in the non-relativistic expansion.New dynamics from light and weakly-coupled sectors beyond the Standard Model may manifest as long- range forces between visible matter particles. Such new forces can be searches for by means of a variety of experimental approaches. In this thesis, we re-examine the calculation of non-relativistic potentials mediated by new light particles coupled to the Standard Model, employing a general parametrization of the new interactions and going beyond the leading order Born approximation. We correct and integrate previous results, and point out as well the presence of new relevant contact terms arising at next-to-leading order in the non-relativistic expansion

Status of the RFQ linac installation and conditioning of the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator

Abstract The Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) linac and 1.6 MW RF power system of the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc) facility in the International Fusion Energy Research Center (IFERC) in Rokkasho (Japan) has been installed and conditioned. During the assembly and tuning process, the RFQ cavity was protected with a temporary tent from the potential deterioration of performance caused by dust. The vacuum in the cavity was improved through the 100 °C baking process of the cavity. The high power test of the 175 MHz RF systems up to 200 kW in CW for each of the eight RF chains was performed for checking its stable output reproducibility in Japan, before connecting 9–3/16 inch coaxial transmission lines from the RF chains to the RF input couplers of the cavity. It was confirmed that the eight RF chains provided the balanced RF power to the single RFQ cavity in-phase using a feedback loop and a synchronization system. The peak power in the cavity achieved 150 kW in the pulsed mode, which corresponds approximately to the required electric field to accelerate proton beam. Such RF conditioning process is ongoing to achieve 600 kW approximately required for deuteron beam commissioning planned in 2018

Reinjection of leachate reverse osmosis concentrate in the landfill body

Analisi sperimentale sul ricircolo del concentrato da osmosi inversa in discarica. Sono state utilizzate sei colonne di laboratorio tre aerobiche e tre anaerobiche, gestite con diversi quantità di concentrato. Sono state monitorate le variazioni chimiche del percolato prodotto e le variazioni idrauliche dei rifiut

Measurement of the Water to Scintillator Charged-Current Cross-Section Ratio for Muon Neutrinos at the T2K Near Detector

The T2K experiment is a 295-km long-baseline neutrino experiment which aims at the measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters. Precise measurements of these parameters require accurate extrapolation of interaction rates from the near detector, ND280, mainly made of scintillator (hydrocarbon), to Super-Kamiokande, the water Cherenkov far detector. Measurements on water and of the water to hydrocarbon ratio, contribute to eliminate the uncertainties arising from carbon/oxygen differences. The cross section on water is obtained by subtraction of event distributions in two almost identical sub-detectors, one of which is equipped with water-filled modules. The measurement is performed by selecting a muon neutrino charged-current sample, in an exposure of 5.80 × 10^(20) protons on target. The water to hydrocarbon cross-section ratio is extracted for good acceptance kinematic regions (only forward muons with momentum higher than 100 MeV), in bins of reconstructed energy, the very quantity used in T2K oscillation analyses, function of the outgoing lepton momentum and polar angle. The integrated ratio is found to be 1.01 ± 2.46%(stat.) ± 1.95%(sys.)

A Kinetic Map of the Homomeric Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel (Kv) Family

The voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels, encoded by 40 genes, repolarize all electrically excitable cells, including plant, cardiac, and neuronal cells. Although these genes were fully sequenced decades ago, a comprehensive kinetic characterization of all Kv channels is still missing, especially near physiological temperature. Here, we present a standardized kinetic map of the 40 homomeric Kv channels systematically characterized at 15, 25, and 35 degrees C. Importantly, the Kv kinetics at 35 degrees C differ significantly from commonly reported kinetics, usually performed at room temperature. We observed voltage-dependent Q(10) for all active Kv channels and inherent heterogeneity in kinetics for some of them. Kinetic properties are consistent across different host cell lines and conserved across mouse, rat, and human. All electrophysiology data from all Kv channels are made available through a public website (Channelpedia). This dataset provides a solid foundation for exploring kinetics of heteromeric channels, roles of auxiliary subunits, kinetic modulation, and for building accurate Kv models

Multi-marker eDNA metabarcoding survey to assess the environmental impact of three offshore gas platforms in the North Adriatic Sea (Italy)

The environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding represents a new promising tool for biomonitoring and environmental impact assessment. One of the main advantages of eDNA metabarcoding, compared to the traditional morphotaxonomy-based methods, is to provide a more holistic biodiversity information that includes inconspicuous morphologically non-identifiable taxa. Here, we use eDNA metabarcoding to survey marine biodiversity in the vicinity of the three offshore gas platforms in North Adriatic Sea (Italy). We isolated eDNA from 576 water and sediment samples collected at 32 sampling sites situated along four axes at increasing distances from the gas platforms. We obtained about 46 million eDNA sequences for 5 markers from nuclear 18S V1V2, 18S V4, 18S 37F and mitochondrial 16S and COI genes that cover a wide diversity of benthic and planktonic eukaryotes. Our results showed some impact of platform activities on benthic and pelagic communities at very close distance (<50 m), while communities for intermediate (125 m, 250 m, 500 m) and reference (1000 m, 2000 m) sites did not show any particular biodiversity changes that could be related to platforms activities. The most significant community change along the distance gradient was obtained with the 18S V1V2 marker targeting benthic eukaryotes, even though other markers showed similar trends, but to a lesser extent. These results were congruent with the AMBI index inferred from the eDNA sequences assigned to benthic macrofauna. We finally explored the relation between various physicochemical parameters, including hydrocarbons, on benthic community in the case of one of the platforms. Our results showed that these communities were not significantly impacted by most of hydrocarbons, but rather by macro-elements and sediment texture

Beam Dynamics of the First Beams for IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ Commissioning

International audienceThe installation of the IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ, MEBT, LEBT, source and beam dump was completed in September 2017. The beam dynamics of the first beams for the IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ commissioning is presented. Moreover, a proposal for the CW RFQ steady state commissioning is shown, with a focus on the beam dynamics challenges of the beam transport after the RFQ