Universality of One-Dimensional Fermi Systems,II. The Luttinger Liquid Structure

We complete the proof started in Benfatto et al. (2014) of the universal Luttinger liquid relations for a general model of spinning fermions on a lattice, by making use of the Ward identities due to asymptotically emerging symmetries. This is done by introducing an effective model verifying extra symmetries and by relating its critical exponents to those of the fermion lattice gas by suitable fine tuning of the parameters.     

Surface studies of novel hydrophobic active carbons

The efficient adsorption of toxic organic species from humid airstreams by active carbons is impeded by the competitive adsorption of water vapour which, at low values of p/p^s, occurs at specific (polar) adsorption sites located at the edges of the carbon layer-planes and at in-plane defects. At higher pressures, adsorption in micropores and mesopores also occurs. The concentration of polar adsorption sites therefore determines the hydrophilicity of the carbon structure and their accelerated formation, by exposure to air and water vapour, is also responsible for the ‘ageing’ of active carbons. Overall, the adsorption of water reduces the volume of porosity available for the adsorption of target species and the hydrophilic nature of active carbons is recognized as a major barrier to their effective use in many applications.We present here results for the adsorption of nitrogen, organic and water vapours by a hydrophobic respirator granular active carbon produced by the thermal treatment of a base carbon, to desorb polar oxygen groups, followed by use of a plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) treatment to apply a hydrophobic, fluorine containing, surface nanolayer. We show that at equivalent %RH values the treated carbon adsorbs significantly less water compared to an untreated (control) carbon and that the treatment does not reduce the levels of open porosity or impede the adsorption of a range of organic vapours at ambient temperatures. Preliminary evidence for the presence, after treatment, of constrictions at pore entrances which act as molecular gates is also presented. The treated carbon (after ageing for 6 weeks at 80%RH) is shown to have greater adsorptivity than an untreated base carbon toward hexane present in a humid (80%RH) airstream. This results in a 39% increase in break-through time. These hydrophobic properties persist one year after manufacture. The mechanism leading to the modified water adsorption properties is the partial desorption of polar oxygen sites followed by deposition at the external carbon surfaces of hydrophobic plasma polymer species. This reduces the polar surface free energy of the carbon and hence the amount of water adsorption occurring by the primary mechanism. This in turn retards the diffusion of water molecules into the micropores and leads to lower adsorption volumes at higher pressures.     

Organic pollution in a Ramsar site (Piallassa Baiona, northern Adriatic Sea)

A core collected in the Piallassa Baiona lagoon, a salt-marsh area already studied for Hg contamination related to nearby industrial sites, was analysed for organic micropollutants. Surface sediments show high concentrations of total PCBs (1148 ng g-1), PCDD/Fs (64 ng g-1) and PAHs (4801 ng g-1). According to a sedimentation rate of 0.4 cm y-1, the high increases in total PAH, PCB and PCDD/F concentrations began in the 1960s and peaked in the 1970s, in parallel with the highest Hg concentrations. Instead, the recent contamination, which primarily involves PCBs and PCDD/Fs, has been observed to be unrelated to Hg concentrations. Organic micropollutant concentrations in the sample core were compared with the sediment quality criteria provided by international guidelines, and revealed high toxic potential. This heavy contamination was also confirmed by comparison with similar environments, particularly the Lagoon of Venice. Further investigations are needed to understand better the sources of the recent contamination and to explain the different transfer pathways involved during sedimentation of the "old" material, dumped 20-30 years ago.     

Photonic crystal wires for optical parametric oscillators in isotropic media

We investigate four wave mixing in photonic crystal wire microresonators realized in an isotropic medium. One-dimensional optical parametric oscillators are numerically analyzed by solving Maxwells equations in all dimensions and including material dispersion as well as nonlinear polarization. PACS 42.65.Yj; 42.70.Qs; 42.82.Gw     

NA60 results on thermal dimuons

The NA60 experiment at the CERN SPS has measured muon pairs with unprecedented precision in 158 A GeV In–In collisions. A strong excess of pairs above the known sources is observed in the whole mass region 0.2<M<2.6 GeV. The mass spectrum for M<1 GeV is consistent with a dominant contribution from π ⁺ π ⁻→ρ→μ ⁺ μ ⁻ annihilation. The associated ρ spectral function shows a strong broadening, but essentially no shift in mass. For M>1 GeV, the excess is found to be prompt, not due to enhanced charm production, with pronounced differences to Drell–Yan pairs. The slope parameter T _eff associated with the transverse momentum spectra rises with mass up to the ρ, followed by a sudden decline above. The rise for M<1 GeV is consistent with radial flow of a hadronic emission source. The seeming absence of significant flow for M>1 GeV and its relation to parton–hadron duality is discussed in detail, suggesting a dominantly partonic emission source in this region. A comparison of the data to the present status of theoretical modeling is also contained. The accumulated empirical evidence, including also a Planck-like shape of the mass spectra at low p _T and the lack of polarization, is consistent with a global interpretation of the excess dimuons as thermal radiation. We conclude with first results on ω in-medium effects.     

Optical properties determination at 10.6 μm of thin semiconducting layers

An optical characterization of thin semiconducting multilayers in the infrared range, using a combination ofm-lines and reflection spectroscopy techniques is exposed. Such a method, non-destructive, allows to determine the thickness and the refractive index of each component of a multilayer multimodal planar waveguide.     

First measurement of the rho spectral function in high-energy nuclear collisions

We report on a precision measurement of low-mass muon pairs in 158 AGeV indium-indium collisions at the CERN SPS. A significant excess of pairs is observed above the yield expected from neutral meson decays. The unprecedented sample size of 360,000 dimuons and the good mass resolution of about 2% allow us to isolate the excess by subtraction of the decay sources. The shape of the resulting mass spectrum is consistent with a dominant contribution from pi+pi- -->rho -->mu+mu- annihilation. The associated space-time averaged spectral function shows a strong broadening, but essentially no shift in mass. This may rule out theoretical models linking hadron masses directly to the chiral condensate.