0000000000811709
AUTHOR
Federico Bernardini
The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing
The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final down-selection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supra-nuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m 2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 deg collimated field of view) and a WideFi…
Halloysite nanotubes/pluronic nanocomposites for waterlogged archeological wood: thermal stability and X-ray microtomography
Filling a polymer with halloysite nanotubes is considered a promising strategy to generate nanocomposites with tailored physicochemical properties. We have focused our attention on pluronic block copolymer/halloysite nanocomposites prepared by melt blending. The effect of composition on thermal stability and polymer crystallinity was investigated by thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. Electron microscopy was used to monitor the nanoparticle distribution in the polymeric matrix. The pluronic thermal stability is reduced by the clay nanoparticles. Concerning the polymer crystallinity, it is slightly decreased even if the melting temperature is lowered by halloysite. Furthe…
A reappraisal of the purported gastric pellet with Pterosaurian bones from the Upper Triassic of Italy
A small accumulation of bones from the Norian (Upper Triassic) of the Seazza Brook Valley (Carnic Prealps, Northern Italy) was originally (1989) identified as a gastric pellet made of pterosaur skeletal elements. The specimen has been reported in literature as one of the very few cases of gastric ejecta containing pterosaur bones since then. However, the detailed analysis of the bones preserved in the pellet, their study by X-ray microCT, and the comparison with those of basal pterosaurs do not support a referral to the Pterosauria. Comparison with the osteology of a large sample of Middle-Late Triassic reptiles shows some affinity with the protorosaurians, mainly with Langobardisaurus pand…
Dense matter with eXTP
In this White Paper we present the potential of the Enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) mission for determining the nature of dense matter; neutron star cores host an extreme density regime which cannot be replicated in a terrestrial laboratory. The tightest statistical constraints on the dense matter equation of state will come from pulse profile modelling of accretion-powered pulsars, burst oscillation sources, and rotation-powered pulsars. Additional constraints will derive from spin measurements, burst spectra, and properties of the accretion flows in the vicinity of the neutron star. Under development by an international Consortium led by the Institute of High Energy Physics o…