Seminari 2025

1 Jan 2025, 09:00 → 31 Dec 2025, 11:00 Europe/Rome

412 C (Dipartimento di Fisica - Universita di Ferrara)

Wednesday, 8 January

11:00 → 12:00 Spider-inspired sustainable materials and structure

Spiders often evoke fear and disgust, yet their silks and webs inspire awe and fascination, capturing human curiosity throughout history. From sparking the interest of ancient philosophers to influencing practical innovations, spider silk has long been intertwined with our cultural and scientific evolution.
Nature has perfected spider silk to be produced under environmentally friendly conditions, while also boasting exceptional mechanical and biological properties. For these reasons, spider silks have been extensively studied in recent decades, particularly for their potential applications in fields such as biomedical technology, the textile industry, and soft electronics.
One of the most intriguing aspects of spider silk is its remarkable versatility: spiders are able to produce different types of silk to construct complex, synergistic structures. Each silk type has unique material properties that work together to enhance the overall performance of these structures.
This diversity in silk types and structural functions opens up vast scientific possibilities, making the study of spider silk an area of endless potential. This seminar will explore our latest discoveries regarding spider silk, including its applications and the progress we've made in achieving scalable, eco-friendly artificial production methods that meet industrial demands.

Speaker: Gabriele Greco (Marie-Sklodowska Curie post-doctoral researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science)

Wednesday, 5 February

15:00 → 16:00 Surfing the universe: dall'astronomia antica alle onde gravitazionali

Fin dall'antichità l'osservazione delle stelle e lo studio dell'universo ha affascinato l'umanità. Il progresso della scienza ci ha portato a conoscere meglio i componenti dell'universo, fino a scoprire altri messaggeri oltre alla luce, come i neutrini e le onde gravitazionali. Ripercorreremo la storia delle onde gravitazionali, dalla relatività di Einstein a inizio 1900 fino alla recente rivelazione un secolo dopo.

Speaker: Marco Drago (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

Tuesday, 18 February

11:00 → 12:00 Machine learning and AI: How can it benefit natural sciences?

This talk explores the transformative role of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) in advancing modern science and technology, as confirmed by the Nobel Prize in Physics 2024.
During my presentation, I will give a brief introduction to AI and ML, highlighting how these technologies may benefit innovative, interdisciplinary, and application-oriented research, with focus on gas sensor technologies. I will provide numbers to show the economic profits around the massive market adoption of such technologies, although it is extremely fragmented due to lack of standardization, unsatisfactory data reliability, and the need to find innovative solutions to improve sensor performance and overcome existing limitations. To facilitate understanding and support my arguments, I will suggest practical examples and case studies on the promising use of ML-enhanced gas sensor technologies in different real-world applications, such as early cancer diagnostics, forensics, food quality, and cultural heritage preservation. I will share the challenges encountered, the solutions proposed, and the results achieved. I will conclude with reflections on future perspectives and next steps.

Speaker: Donatella Puglisi (Università di Linkoping (Svezia))

Locandina

Friday, 21 March

15:00 → 16:00 Observing the Universe by looking at matter at the scale of 10^-20 m

Nine years after the first gravitational wave detection, the scientific community is gearing up to develop the next generation of GW detectors that will be able to probe the visible Universe and beyond, down to the Dark Age, when stars had not yet been born. To achieve this goal requires a huge effort to improve the performance of all detector subsystems. The seminar will focus on reducing thermal noise that limits the detector in the frequency band where it is most sensitive. Reducing the dissipation processes within the materials used in the mirrors (and their suspensions) offers the possibility of acquiring unique information about black holes and neutron stars on the other side of the Universe. The status of materials research for the Virgo and LIGO detectors and the prospects for future detectors, such as the Einstein Telescope and the Cosmic Explorer, will be explained. Finally the novel CoMET (Coating Materials for Einstein Telescope) laboratory that is being built under the umbrella of the PNRR - ETIC project will be presented.

Speaker: Marco Bazzan (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

Thursday, 3 April

14:15 → 15:15 Multi-modal x-ray imaging based on micro-radian scatter: development and applications

X-Ray imaging is 130 years old. However, despite significant innovation in detector development and CT scanners, the underpinning physical principle has not changed since Röntgen’s discovery: features are detected based on their x-ray attenuation difference against the background they’re immersed in. This is the key limitation of x-ray imaging and e.g. the reason why it is considered to have “limited soft tissue sensitivity”, an area where MRI is used instead. The same limitation affects many other application areas, in a sense defining where x-rays can and cannot be used.
However, all x-rays undergo very tiny (microradian) deviations upon traversing a sample, the only exception being those extremely rare samples that are completely homogeneous on the microscopic scale. Conventional x-ray imaging systems are insensitive to this phenomenon: x-rays that have deviated by a few microradians are simply considered “primaries”, i.e. x-rays that have not interacted with the sample. Instead, if properly analysed, these “micro-deviated” x-rays can reveal a lot of information on the sample they have traversed. This allows the detection of features classically considered “x-ray invisible”, redefining x-rays’ areas of applicability.
In this seminar, I will discuss how lab systems can be built that are sensitive to these microscopic deviations and present a series of applications in medicine, security, biology and materials science.

Speaker: Alessandro Olivo (Dept. of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London)

16:00 → 17:00 The LHCb RICH detectors upgrade: from prototyping to operations

During the second LHC long shutdown, the LHCb experiment underwent a major upgrade in order to be able to operate at the instantaneous luminosity of 2 × 10^33 cm^−2 s^−1, reading data at the full LHC bunch crossing rate. The RICH system of LHCb has been completely refurbished installing new photon detectors (Multi-anode Photomultiplier Tubes) equipped with a custom developed readout chain. In order to reduce the unprecedented peak occupancy, the full optics and mechanics of the RICH1 detector has been re-designed to distribute the Cherenkov photons over a larger surface of the photon detectors planes.
In this seminar, the overview of the RICH upgrade programme is described including the design, construction, commissioning and operations phase. The validation of the new detectors and the performance obtained in the first years of physics production is presented. A summary of the possible evolutions of the RICH system is also given.

Speaker: Giovanni Cavallero (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

richSeminar.pdf

Thursday, 10 April

16:00 → 17:00 In the quest of the nature of Light-by-light scattering

With the development of quantum physics, scientists realized that light quanta should interact with each other. This realization led to calculating the theoretical cross section value for this process in the 1930s, which laid the groundwork for quantum field theory [1]. Almost 90 years later, we found the experimental evidence of light-by-light scattering [2]. The strong electromagnetic fields interacting in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions (UPC) allow us to observe such subtle processes. However, the story has not ended yet. The contemporary detectors measure cross section with the high di-photon mass and photon transverse momentum threshold. Beyond these limits, we expect more events of light-by-light scattering. In the low-pt region, we also await observation of different scattering mechanisms: light meson resonances and photon scattering described by VDM-Regge theory [3].

During my talk, I will explain the theoretical background of UPC and the mechanisms of light-by- light scattering. I will compare the theoretical results with data obtained by ATLAS [4] and CMS [5] experiments since the discovery report in 2017. I will also show the predictions for future measurement possible due to ALICE detector upgrades planned for the 2030s [6].
[1] K. Scharnhorst, arXiv:1711.05194 (2023).
[2] ATLAS Collaboration (M. Aaboud et al.), Nature Phys., 13852 (2017).
[3] P. Jucha, M. Kłusek-Gawenda, A. Szczurek, Phys. Rev. D, 109, 014004 (2024).
[4] ATLAS Collaboration (G. Aad et al.), Phys. Rev. Lett., 123(5):052001 (2019).
[5] CMS Collaboration (A. M. Sirunyan), Phys. Lett. B, 797:134826 (2019).
[6] ALICE Collaboration, CERN-LHCC-2022-009, LHCC-I-038, arXiv:2211.02491 (2022).

Speaker: Pavel Jucha (Krakow and Ferrara Universities)

Tuesday, 15 April

11:30 → 12:30 Inflation in metric-affine gravity

Metric-affine gravity provides an interesting alternative to Einstein's General Relativity and a powerful tool for building successful inflationary models. In such a framework, the metric tensor and the affine connection are independent dynamical quantities. We consider here the metric-affine theories containing only the minimal degrees of freedom in the inflationary sector, i.e. the massless graviton and the inflaton. This theory contains the Ricci-like and parity-odd Holst invariants together with non-minimal couplings between the inflaton and the above-mentioned invariants. We show how the aforementioned setup can be used to generate a new class of inflationary attractors or to rescue previously ruled models like natural inflation and symmetry breaking inflation.

Speaker: Dr Antonio Racioppi

14:30 → 15:30 The Enrichment of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) and Heavy Metals in the Terrestrial Environment

The measurement of natural radioactivity in the environment from naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) is significant for evaluating the radiological impact of non-nuclear industrial activities. Industries dealing with raw materials containing various concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides often produce large amounts of waste. Coal-fired power plants are widely used worldwide to generate electricity. Coal, residues, and waste produced by combustion contain naturally occurring radionuclides such as 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K and heavy metals such as Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Zn. These radionuclides and heavy metals become enriched in ash fractions during combustion. During high-temperature processes in the furnace, volatile and semi-volatile elements and radionuclides are partially emitted to the environment, resulting in the redistribution of these elements, especially in the surface soil around coal-fired power plants. Metal pollution, which is one of the most important environmental problems for many parts of the world, can enter the food chain, affect the entire ecosystem and pose a risk for human health.
Another major industrial waste product is bauxite residue (red mud), a residue from the Bayer process used in alumina (Al2O3) production from bauxite. The residues contain naturally occurring radionuclides such as 238U, 232Th and 40K and toxic elements such as Al, Cr, Co, Mn and Ni. Due to its high alkalinity and the significant amount of radioactive elements and rare-earth elements (REEs) contents, red mud should be evaluated as an environmental problem. On the other hand, these waste materials may potentially be used as an industrial by-product. When re-using these residues, it is of importance to evaluate the radioactive and toxic elements, chemical composition, and the leaching features of these materials.
This study explores the enrichment and redistribution of NORM and heavy metals in industrial waste materials, highlighting their environmental impact and potential pathways for sustainable management

Speaker: Prof. Banu Yoho (Ege University, Institute of Nuclear Sciences (Izmir, Turkey))

Wednesday, 16 April

14:30 → 15:30 Understanding micro- and nanoplastic dynamics in aquatic ecosystems through nuclear medicine: radiolabelling and imaging (PET)

Currently, ten million tons of plastic waste has entered the Earth’s oceans and seas. Plastic waste generation is expected to triple by 2050. These plastics break down in the ocean into smaller micro-sized particles. Increasing amounts of microplastics pose a significant threat to the global food supply. For example, microplastics impair reproduction in oysters and fish, disrupt weight gain, and cause liver disease. Organisms that feed by filtering large volumes of water, such as sardines, anchovies, and mussels, acquire microplastics at higher rates. This is especially relevant to Mediterranean countries, where a significant amount of the seafood diet consists of sardines and anchovies. To predict the future impact on the world seafood supply, realistic and rigorous microplastic uptake and biotoxicity studies are needed. However, the state-of-the-art method of fluorescent dye labeling is criticized due to potential leakage, contamination, low sensitivity, and requiring the use of unrealistic amounts of microplastics.
We will report on efforts to use highly sensitive radiolabeling, common in nuclear medicine, to reduce the amount of microplastics needed in uptake and biotoxicity studies. This is achieved by the low noise present in radiation measurements, large penetration depth of the high-energy signals, and high efficiency. Strong covalent bonding mitigates leakage concerns. Results will be presented from in-vivo studies involving sardines, anchovies, tillapia, and plankton. Quantitative analysis and imaging are conducted non- destructively by pre-clinical positron-emission-tomography (PET). Additionally, destructive analysis is conducted by biodistribution. The associated detection limits will assess method performance.

Speaker: Prof. Micheal Duncan Yoho (Ege University, Institute of Nuclear Sciences (Izmir, Turkey))

Wednesday, 7 May

15:00 → 16:00 Searching for Light Dark Matter with the NA64/POKER experiment at CERN

One of the most compelling arguments motivating the search for physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) is the need to explain the nature of Dark Matter (DM). Despite an extensive experimental program that combined direct, indirect, and detection at colliders, to date, no conclusive results about DM particle nature have been determined. Among the DM theories, DM particles in the mass range 1 MeV - 1000 MeV (also called Light Dark Matter or LDM) represent a theoretically wellgrounded option if a new DM-SM interaction mechanism is introduced. A simple model introduces a new vector boson, the dark photon (A'), kinetically mixed with the SM photon and coupled to DM. The A' can be produced in interactions of charged particles with matter and decay into LDM pairs.
The NA64 experiment at CERN uses a 100 GeV electron beam hitting an active target (ECAL) to search for missing-energy events. With 10×10¹² electrons on target, no events with missing energy above 50 GeV were observed, allowing NA64 to set leading limits on LDM scenarios.
A positron-based missing-energy search has also been proposed in the POKER (Positron Resonant Annihilation into Dark Matter) project. Using a positron beam enhances LDM production through electron-positron annihilation and provides a clean signal dependent only on the A' mass. Successful tests at 100 GeV and 70 GeV have validated this technique, paving the way for a high-statistics positron program after LS3

Speaker: Andrea Celentano (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)