arXiv subjects

D. Barghini

Publications and source records attributed to D. Barghini.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Snowmass 2021 Letter of Interest: The Probe Of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA)

The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is designed to identify the sources of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) and to observe cosmic neutrinos, both with full-sky coverage. Developed as a NASA Astrophysics Probe-class mission, POEMMA consists of two spacecraft flying in a loose formation at 525 km altitude, 28.5 deg inclination orbits. Each spacecraft hosts a Schmidt telescope with a large collecting area and wide field of view. A novel focal plane is optimized to observe both the UV fluorescence signal from extensive air showers (EASs) and the beamed optical Cherenkov signals from EASs. In POEMMA-stereo fluorescence mode, POEMMA will measure the spectrum, composition, and full-sky distribution of the UHECRs above 20 EeV with high statistics along with remarkable sensitivity to UHE neutrinos. The spacecraft are designed to quickly re-orient to a POEMMA-limb mode to observe neutrino emission from Target-of-Opportunity (ToO) transient astrophysical sources viewed just below the Earth's limb. In this mode, POEMMA will have unique sensitivity to cosmic neutrino tau events above 20 PeV by measuring the upward-moving EASs induced by the decay of the emerging tau leptons following the interactions of neutrino tau inside the Earth.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Possible evidence of induced repetitive magnetic reconnection in a superflare from a young solar-type star

We report the detection of multiple quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) observed during the flaring activity of KIC 8414845, a young, active solar-type star observed by the Kepler mission launched by NASA. We analyzed the QQP signal using a data-driven, nonparametric method called singular spectrum analysis (SSA), which has never been utilized previously for analyzing solar or stellar QPPs. Because it is not based on a prescribed choice of basis functions, SSA is particularly suitable for analyzing nonstationary, nonlinear signals such as those observed in QPPs during major flares. The analysis has revealed that the apparent anharmonic shape of the QPP in this superflare results from a superposition of two intrinsic modes of periods of 49 min and 86 min, which display quasi-harmonic behaviors and different modulation patterns. The two reconstructed signals are consistent with slow-mode transverse and/or longitudinal magnetohydrodynamic oscillations excited in a coronal loop inducing periodic releases of flaring energy in a nearby loop through a mechanism of repetitive reconnection. The peculiar amplitude modulation of the two modes evinced by SSA favors the interpretation of the observed QPP pattern as due to the excitation in a coronal loop of the second harmonic of a standing slow-mode magnetoacoustic oscillation and a global kink oscillation periodically triggering magnetic reconnection in a nearby loop. Concurrent interpretations cannot however be ruled out on the basis of the available data.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

A Case Study of the May 30th, 2017 Italian Fireball

On May 30th, 2017 at about 21h 09m 17s UTC a green bright fireball crossed the sky of north-eastern Italy. The fireball path was observed from some all-sky cameras starting from a mean altitude of $81.1 \pm 0.2$ km (Lat. $44.369^{\circ} \pm 0.002^{\circ}$ N; Long. $11.859^{\circ} \pm 0.002^{\circ}$ E) and extinct at $23.3 \pm 0.2$ km (Lat. $45.246^{\circ} \pm 0.002^{\circ}$ N; Long. $12.046^{\circ} \pm 0.002^{\circ}$ E), between the Italian cities of Venice and Padua. In this paper, on the basis of simple physical models, we will compute the atmospheric trajectory, analize the meteoroid atmospheric dynamics, the dark flight phase (with the strewn field) and compute the best heliocentric orbit of the progenitor body. Search for meteorites on the ground has not produced any results so far.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2019

Mini-EUSO engineering model: tests in open-sky condition

Mini-EUSO is a UV telescope that will look downwards to the Earth's atmosphere onboard the International Space Station. With the design of the ultra-high energy cosmic ray fluorescence detectors belonging to the JEM-EUSO program, it will make the first UV map of the Earth by observing atmospheric phenomena such as transient luminous events, sprites and lightning, as well as meteors and bioluminescence from earth. Diffused light from laser shots from the ground, which mimic the fluorescence light emitted by Nitrogen molecules when extensive air showers pass through the atmosphere, can be used to verify the capability of this kind of detector to observe ultra-high energy cosmic rays. To validate the electronics and the trigger algorithms developed for Mini-EUSO, a scaled down version of the telescope with 1:9 of the original focal surface and a lens of 2.5 cm diameter has been built. Tests of the Mini-EUSO engineering model have been made in laboratory and in open sky condition. In this paper, we report results of observations of the night sky, which include the detection of stars, meteors, a planet and a rocket body reflecting the sunlight. Interesting results of the observation of city lights are also reported.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Three-dimensional reconstruction of CME-driven shock-streamer interaction from radio and EUV observations: a different take on the diagnostics of coronal magnetic fields

On 2014 October 30, a band-splitted type II radio burst associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) occurred over the southeast limb of the Sun. The fast expansion in all directions of the plasma front acted as a piston and drove a spherical fast shock ahead of it, whose outward progression was traced by simultaneous images obtained with the Nançay Radioheliograph (NRH). The geometry of the CME/shock event was recovered through 3D modeling, given the absence of concomitant stereoscopic observations, and assuming that the band-splitted type II burst was emitted at the intersection of the shock surface with two adjacent low-Alfven speed coronal streamers. From the derived spatiotemporal evolution of the standoff distance between shock and CME leading edge, we were finally able to infer the magnetic field strength $B$ in the inner corona. A simple radial profile of the form $B(r) = (12.6 \pm 2.5) r^{-4}$ nicely fits our results, together with previous estimates, in the range $r = 1.1-2.0$ solar radii.

astro-ph.SR↗