arXiv subjects

Marco Giammarchi

Publications and source records attributed to Marco Giammarchi.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Testing Quantum Gravity with Gravitational Waves from the ringdown of binary Black Holes coalescences: A New Frontier in Fundamental Physics

The observation of gravitational waves emitted during the merging phase of compact binary coalescing objects has opened a new field of investigation in fundamental physics. It is now possible to test the predictions of General Relativity with unprecedented precision in the strong gravitational field regime. These initial observations therefore call for further research, as the detection of gravitational waves emitted by coalescing black holes may allow the investigation of the properties of spacetime near the event horizon, also providing valuable information on the structure of these objects. This also opens the possibility of testing predictions from quantum gravity models regarding the presumed quantized structure of black holes, related to the quantization of their surface and, consequently, their entropy. In the future, the considerable amount of data obtained by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration will be followed by observations from next-generation interferometers such as the Einstein Telescope or the Cosmic Explorer. It is therefore of great interest to explore the potential of gravitational wave observations for investigating aspects of quantum gravity, which we will address considering the special case of the ringdown emission following the coalescence of binary black hole systems.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Towards a Study of Low Energy Antiproton Annihilations on Nuclei

A study of antiproton annihilations at rest on thin solid targets is underway at the ASACUSA facility, which now features a dedicated beam line for slow extraction at 250 eV. The experiment will employ new technologies, such as the Timepix4 ASICs coupled to silicon sensors, to measure the total multiplicity, energy, and angular distribution of various prongs produced in thin solid targets. A detection system consisting of seven Timepix4, covering most of the solid angle, is being constructed. A 3D annihilation vertex reconstruction algorithm from particle tracks in the single-plane detectors has been developed using Monte Carlo simulations. The measurements will enable a study of pbar-nucleus interactions, their dependence on nucleus mass and branching ratios. The results will be used to assess and potentially improve various simulation models.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Antiproton annihilation at rest in thin solid targets and comparison with Monte Carlo simulations

The mechanism of antiproton-nucleus annihilation at rest is not fully understood, despite substantial previous experimental and theoretical work. In this study we used slow extracted antiprotons from the ASACUSA apparatus at CERN to measure the charged particle multiplicities and their energy deposits from antiproton annihilations at rest on three different nuclei: carbon, molybdenum and gold. The results are compared with predictions from different models in the simulation tools Geant4 and FLUKA. A model that accounts for all the observed features is still missing, as well as measurements at low energies, to validate such models.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2016

Asymmetric Talbot-Lau interferometry for inertial sensing

We study in detail a peculiar configuration of the Talbot-Lau matter wave interferometer, characterised by unequal distances between the two diffraction gratings and the observation plane. We refer to this apparatus as the "asymmetric Talbot-Lau setup". Particular attention is given to its capabilities as an inertial sensor for particle and atomic beams, also in comparison with the classical moiré deflectometer. The present analysis is motivated by possible experimental applications in the context of antimatter wave interferometry, including the measurement of the gravitational acceleration of antimatter particles. To support our findings, we have performed numerical simulations of realistic particle beams with varying speed distributions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Neutrino Physics with JUNO

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a 20 kton multi-purpose underground liquid scintillator detector, was proposed with the determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy as a primary physics goal. It is also capable of observing neutrinos from terrestrial and extra-terrestrial sources, including supernova burst neutrinos, diffuse supernova neutrino background, geoneutrinos, atmospheric neutrinos, solar neutrinos, as well as exotic searches such as nucleon decays, dark matter, sterile neutrinos, etc. We present the physics motivations and the anticipated performance of the JUNO detector for various proposed measurements. By detecting reactor antineutrinos from two power plants at 53-km distance, JUNO will determine the neutrino mass hierarchy at a 3-4 sigma significance with six years of running. The measurement of antineutrino spectrum will also lead to the precise determination of three out of the six oscillation parameters to an accuracy of better than 1\%. Neutrino burst from a typical core-collapse supernova at 10 kpc would lead to ~5000 inverse-beta-decay events and ~2000 all-flavor neutrino-proton elastic scattering events in JUNO. Detection of DSNB would provide valuable information on the cosmic star-formation rate and the average core-collapsed neutrino energy spectrum. Geo-neutrinos can be detected in JUNO with a rate of ~400 events per year, significantly improving the statistics of existing geoneutrino samples. The JUNO detector is sensitive to several exotic searches, e.g. proton decay via the $p\to K^++\barν$ decay channel. The JUNO detector will provide a unique facility to address many outstanding crucial questions in particle and astrophysics. It holds the great potential for further advancing our quest to understanding the fundamental properties of neutrinos, one of the building blocks of our Universe.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

Matter-wave interferometry: towards antimatter interferometers

Starting from an elementary model and refining it to take into account more realistic effects, we discuss the limitations and advantages of matter-wave interferometry in different configurations. We focus on the possibility to apply this approach to scenarios involving antimatter, such as positrons and positronium atoms. In particular, we investigate the Talbot-Lau interferometer with material gratings and discuss in details the results in view of the possible experimental verification.

quant-ph↗