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First black holes collisions at the University of Calabria!
A research group at the University of Calabria, directed by Prof. Servidio and Dr. Claudio Meringolo, developed a new code for the study of Einstein Field equations. The team developed a numerical code named the Spectral-FIltered Numerical Gravity codE (SFINGE) - a pseudo-spectral algorithm, based on a classical (Cartesian) Fourier decomposition, in order to study general relativity problems. The accuracy of the model has been validated through standard testbeds, revealing that the filtered pseudo-spectral technique is among the most accurate approaches. The team has been able to simulate spectacular collisions of multiple black holes, in a variety of configurations and measure the outgoing gravitational radiation.
Meringolo et al., Classical and Quantum Gravity 38, 075027 (2021)
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Shocks & turbulence
Shocks and turbulence are spectacular, ubiquitous phenomena. In this work, we investigate, by kinetic simulations, the interaction between a supercritical shock and fully developed plasma turbulence. We demonstrate how turbulence dramatically changes the phase space transport due to a complex interaction. Two main findings are presented: 1) a paradigm for modeling the shocks, including a natural interaction with surrounding turbulence, and 2) an analysis method, based on coarse-grained kinetic equations, able to characterize (and simplify) the transport processes. These results are relevant for a variety of systems, ranging from the Earth’s bow shock interacting with solar wind turbulence to supernovae explosions propagating through the interstellar turbulent medium.
Trotta et al., PNAS 119, 205101 (2017) 118, e2026764118 (2021)
The velocity space cascade has been observed for the first time in a space plasma!
Plasma turbulence is investigated using unprecedented high-resolution ion velocity distribution measurements by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. This novel observation of a highly structured particle distribution suggests a cascadelike process in velocity space. Complex velocity space structure is investigated using a Hermite transform, revealing, for the first time in observational data, a power-law distribution of moments.
Servidio et al., Physical Review Letters 119, 205101 (2017)
AIDA: Artificial intelligence applied to space!
Imagine waking up in the morning, finding an android that prepares tea and then accompanies you to work. Another is waiting for you in the office and then there is one that answers your e-mails. They behave like us because they have learned to think like us, to act like us, simply by observing and memorizing data. Well, now stop imagining, because everything is already happening. Like in the best movies science fiction on artificial intelligence, our society is now invaded by machines, programmed for understand us, to repeat our actions. Science has been using it for many years but only recently the computing power is making this approach feasible.
AIDA (Artificial Inteligence Data Analysis) is a scientific project funded by the European Community, as part of the Horizon 2020 program (COMPET-4). AIDA has a total cost of 1.5 million euros and involves reserachers form universities and companies in 6 countries (Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, Greece and the USA). This interdisciplinary collaboration will be devoted to artificial intelligence, applied to the analysis of spatial data. At KU Leuven, a team of scientists from the Department of Mathematics will build the "pieces" of this algorithm.
Turbulent jets in the magnetosheath
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The properties of the turbulence that develops in the outflows of magnetic reconnection have been investigated using self-consistent plasma simulations, in three dimensions. We provide a direct comparison of our simulations with reported observations of reconnection events in the magnetotail.
Pucci et al., The Astrophysical Journal 841, 60 (2017)
Explosive particle dispersion in plasma turbulence
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Bunches of particles, that start very close, experience a dramatic departure, similar to the anomalous dispersive processes in classical fluids
Servidio et al., Physical Review Letters 117, 095101 (2016)
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