The OPERA experiment: on the way to the direct observation of νμ→ντ\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau oscillation

OPERA (\emph{O}scillation \emph{P}roject with \emph{E}mulsion t\emph{R}acking \emph{A}pparatus) is a long-baseline neutrino experiment, designed to provide the first direct proof of $\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau$ oscillation in the atmospheric sector using the \emph{C}ERN \emph{N}eutrinos to \emph{G}ran \emph{S}asso (CNGS) $\nu_\mu$ beam. The detector, consisting of a modular target made of lead - nuclear emulsion units complemented by electronic trackers and muon spectrometers, has been conceived to select $\rm{\nu_\tau}$ charged current interactions, among all neutrino flavour events, through the observation of the outcoming tau leptons and subsequent decays. In this paper, the detector, the event analysis chain and the preliminary results from the first OPERA physics run are reported.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of DPF-2009, Detroit, MI, July 2009, eConf C09072

Indagine esplorativa sui problemi e i bisogni delle famiglie di malati oncologici per migliorare l’assistenza, sia domiciliare sia in hospice

The objective of this study is to know what are the main difficulties that caregivers of cancer patients meet during the health care activity. With this aim in mind, an ad hoc questionnaire was built: the QATIP The questionnaire examines the emotions, needs and problems that the caregiver faces in helping a sick person. This study wished to provide initial input for reflection, focusing a proper attention to needs and problems faced by the figure of the caregive

How to Commission, Operate and Maintain a Large Future Accelerator Complex from Far Remote

A study on future large accelerators [1] has considered a facility, which is designed, built and operated by a worldwide collaboration of equal partner institutions, and which is remote from most of these institutions. The full range of operation was considered including commi-ssioning, machine development, maintenance, trouble shooting and repair. Experience from existing accele-rators confirms that most of these activities are already performed 'remotely'. The large high-energy physics ex-periments and astronomy projects, already involve inter-national collaborations of distant institutions. Based on this experience, the prospects for a machine operated remotely from far sites are encouraging. Experts from each laboratory would remain at their home institution but continue to participate in the operation of the machine after construction. Experts are required to be on site only during initial commissioning and for par-ticularly difficult problems. Repairs require an on-site non-expert maintenance crew. Most of the interventions can be made without an expert and many of the rest resolved with remote assistance. There appears to be no technical obstacle to controlling an accelerator from a distance. The major challenge is to solve the complex management and communication problems.Comment: ICALEPCS 2001 abstract ID No. FRBI001 invited talk submitting author F. Willeke 5 pages, 1 figur

Plasma heating in the very early and decay phases of solar flares

In this paper we analyze the energy budgets of two single-loop solar flares under the assumption that non-thermal electrons are the only source of plasma heating during all phases of both events. The flares were observed by the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) on September 20, 2002 and March 17, 2002, respectively. For both investigated flares we derived the energy fluxes contained in non-thermal electron beams from the RHESSI observational data constrained by observed GOES light-curves. We showed that energy delivered by non-thermal electrons was fully sufficient to fulfil the energy budgets of the plasma during the pre-heating and impulsive phases of both flares as well as during the decay phase of one of them. We concluded that in the case of the investigated flares there was no need to use any additional ad-hoc heating mechanisms other than heating by non-thermal electrons.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, The Astrophysical Journal (accepted, March 2011

Thermohydraulics of Quenches and Helium Recovery in the LHC Magnet Strings

In preparation for the Large Hadron Collider project, a 42.5 m-long prototype superconducting magnet string, representing a half-cell of the machine lattice, has been built and operated. A series of tests was performed to assess the thermohydraulics of resistive transitions (quenches) of the superconducting magnets. These measurements provide the necessary foundation for describing the observed evolution of the helium in the cold mass and formulating a mathematical model based on energy conservation. The evolution of helium after a quench simulated with the model reproduces the observations. We then extend the simulations to a full LHC cell, and finally analyse the recovery of helium discharged from the cold mass