The Classical Analogue of CP-violation

The phenomenological features of the mixing in the neutral pseudoscalar mesons K0-K0bar can be illustrated in the classical framework of mechanics and by means of electromagnetic coupled circuits. The time-reversed not-invariant processes and the related phenomenon of CP-nonconservation can be induced by dissipative effects which yield a not vanishing imaginary part for the relevant Hamiltonian. Thus, two coupled dissipative oscillators can resemble the peculiar asymmetries which are so common in the realm of high energy particle physics.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 2 figures available by fa

Investigating the spatial variability of the time-scaling properties in Italian seismicity

International audienceSignificant power-law long-range correlated structures have been identified in the Italian seismicity from 1983 to 2003. We performed the Allan Factor Analysis and the Detrended Fluctuation Analysis on both the full and the aftershock-depleted seismic data, extracted by the INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) instrumental catalog.Our findings suggest that (i) the time-scaling behaviour characterizes mainly the Apennine chain; (ii) the time-correlated behaviour of the seismicity is persistent, and this implies that the dynamics underlying the seismic phenomenology is characterized by the presence of "positive feedback mechanisms"; (iii) significant time correlation is not simply related with the mainshock/aftershock mechanisms

Investigating non-uniform scaling behaviour in temporal fluctuations of seismicity

Scaling behaviour in nonstationary time series can be successfully detected using the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Observational time series often do not show a stable and uniform scaling behaviour, given by the presence of a unique clear scaling region. The deviations from uniform power-law scaling, which suggest the presence of changing dynamics in the system under study, can be identified and quantified using an appropriate instability index. In this framework, the scaling behaviour of the 1981–2007 seismicity in Umbria-Marche (central Italy), which is one of the most seismically active areas in Italy, was investigated. Significant deviations from uniform power-law scaling in the seismic temporal fluctuations were revealed mostly linked with the occurrence of rather large earthquakes or seismic clusters

Fisher Information Analysis of earthquake-related geoelectrical signals

International audienceWe studied the time fluctuations in the dynamics of geoelectrical data, recorded in Tito site, which is located in a seismic area of southern Italy. We used the Fisher Information Measure, which is a powerful tool to investigate complex and nonstationary signals. The time evolution of the Fisher Information Measure calculated for our signal reveals links with the earthquakes occurring in the investigated area

Multifractal variability in geoelectrical signals and correlations with seismicity: a study case in southern Italy

International audienceMultifractal fluctuations in the time dynamics of geoelectrical data, recorded in a seismic area of southern Italy, have been revealed using the Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MF-DFA), which allows to detect multifractality in nonstationary signals. Our findings show that the geoelectrical time series, recorded in the seismic area of southern Apennine Chain (Italy), is multifractal. The time evolution of the multifractality suggests that the multifractal degree increases prior the occurrence of earthquakes. This study aims to propose another approach to investigate the complex dynamics of earthquake-related geoelectrical signals

Analysis the 1978–2008 crustal and sub-crustal earthquake catalog of Vrancea region

The crustal and sub-crustal seismicity that occurred in the Vrancea area from 1978 to 2008 is investigated. Due to quarry blast contamination, the analysis of the crustal seismicity was restricted to events that occurred between 20 km and 60 km, considering sub-crustal events as all those that occurred at depths larger than 60 km. The completeness magnitude was estimated between 2.3 and 2.5 for the crustal seismicity and between 2.9 and 3.1 for the sub-crustal one. The Gutenberg-Richter b-values show clear differences between crustal and sub-crustal seismicity, with values around 0.9 and 1.3–1.4, respectively. The analysis performed in this study represents a preliminary issue for the seismic hazard assessment of surrounding regions like Moldova, for which the earthquakes generated in Vrancea represent an important threat

Vertical dipoles to detect self potential signals in a seismic area of southern Italy: Tito station

International audienceSince 2000 the Institute of Methodologies for the Environmental Analysis (National Council of Research, Tito, Italy) installed a geophysical monitoring network able to detect geoelectric, geochemic and seismometric parameters in seismic areas of southern Italy. During this period a very large data-base of geophysical time series has been organized and it is actually available to assess robust statistical methodologies to identify geophysical anomalous patterns linked with local seismicity. To better understand the influence of rain and cultural noise on geoelectrical signals (Self Potential), during May 2004 we drilled in Tito station a 20 m-depth hole to measure the SP vertical component. The array is characterized by five Pb-PbCl2 electrodes put at different depths. The common electrode is fixed at 20 m. In this work we present some electrical anomalies probably correlated with local seismic activity on vertical dipoles recorded in Tito station

Investigation of the temporal fluctuations of the 1960–2010 seismicity of Caucasus

The time-clustering behaviour of the seismicity of the Caucasus spanning from 1960 to 2010 was investigated. The analysis was performed on the whole and aftershock-depleted catalogues by means of the method of Allan Factor, which permits the identification and quantification of time-clustering in point processes. The whole sequence is featured by two scaling regimes with the scaling exponent at intermediate timescales lower than that at high timescales, and a crossover that could be probably linked with aftershock time activiation. The aftershock-depleted sequence is characterized by higher time-clustering degree and the presence of a periodicity probably correlated with the cyclic earth surface load variations on regional and local scales, e.g. with snow melting in Caucasian mountains and large Enguri dam operations. The obtained results were corroborated by the application of two surrogate methods: the random shuffling and the generation of Poissonian sequences

Principal component analysis of geoelectrical signals measured in the seismically active area of Basilicata Region (southern Italy)

International audienceGeoelectrical fluctuations are the end product of several geophysical phenomena. In particular geoelectrical signals measured in seismically active areas can be attributed to stress and strain changes, associated with earthquakes. The complexity of this problem has suggested the development of advanced statistical methods to investigate the heterogeneous nature of these fluctuations. In this paper we analysed the time dynamics of short-term variability of geoelectrical field measured at Giuliano station, located in Basilicata Region, one of the most seismically active areas of southern Italy. We applied the principal component analysis (PCA). The analysis has shown earthquake precursory patterns in the daily variation of the principal components, revealing that the PCA approach is promising for monitoring seismic areas

Time-clustering analysis of the 1978–2008 sub-crustal seismicity of Vrancea region

The analysis of time-clustering behaviour of the sub-crustal seismicity (depth larger than 60 km) of the Vrancea region has been performed. The time span of the analyzed catalogue is from 1978 to 2008, and only the events with a magnitude of <i>M</i><sub>w</sub> ≥ 3 have been considered. The analysis, carried out on the full and aftershock-depleted catalogues, was performed using the Allan Factor (AF) that allows the identificatiion and quantification of correlated temporal structures in temporal point processes. Our results, whose significance was analysed by means of two methods of generation of surrogate series, reveal the presence of time-clustering behaviour in the temporal distribution of seismicity data of the full catalogue. The analysis performed on the aftershock-depleted catalogue indicates that the time-clustering is associated mainly to the aftershocks generated by the two largest events occurred on 30 August 1986 (<i>M</i><sub>w</sub> = 7.1) and 30 May 1990 (<i>M</i><sub>w</sub> = 6.9)