arXiv subjects

Nico Giordano

Publications and source records attributed to Nico Giordano.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

From Field Data to Global Food Systems Intelligence: A Semantic Graph Framework for Sustainable Wheat Production

In response to the growing need for structured, interoperable agricultural data, this paper presents the Sustainable Wheat Production Datahub, a modular, graph-based framework that brings diverse wheat production datasets together into a single, queryable store. Using the Knowledge Acquisition and Representation Methodology (KNARM), with domain experts in the loop, we developed ontologies for nutrient management and disease management, two of the areas that most affect wheat yield and its sustainability, covering practices such as nitrogen fertilization and fungicide-based disease control. The two ontologies are federated, meaning they are maintained as separate but connected modules, joined by a bridging layer of cross-domain links, and together they form the schema of a knowledge graph (KG). We construct this KG by populating the ontologies with data from diverse sources, including field trials, expert knowledge, and environmental descriptors. We validate the ontologies, showing the KG accurately answers practical agronomic questions expressed in SPARQL. We demonstrate that the KG derives facts entailed by the ontologies beyond those explicitly stored, and that a single query can draw across independently sourced datasets. The framework also has practical implications for wheat research and extension programs, since it makes data from different sources easier to find, combine, and reuse. Designed to expand toward the full wheat lifecycle, from farm to table, this work establishes the foundation for a scalable, semantically rich global food systems datahub.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2026

Iron spin crossover in ferropericlase and its effect on lower-mantle thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivity of Earths lower mantle controls heat transfer across the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and strongly influences mantle convection. We report direct measurements of the thermal conductivity of single-crystal ferropericlase (Mg$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$O, $x = 0.09$-0.13), the second most abundant lower-mantle mineral, using optical laser flash and X-ray free-electron laser heating in diamond-anvil cells up to $\sim2200$~K and 130~GPa. These experiments provide the first conductivity data for ferropericlase at simultaneous lower-mantle pressures and temperatures. A marked reduction in conductivity between 60 and 100~GPa at $\sim1700$~K is consistent with the iron spin crossover. Combined with our previous results for Fe- and Fe,Al-bearing bridgmanite, the data define a lower-mantle conductivity profile that increases with pressure to $\sim10$~W\,m$^{-1}$\,K$^{-1}$ near the CMB, constraining mantle heat flux, plume buoyancy, and long-term geodynamic evolution.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2025

Pressure-tuned spin chains in brochantite, Cu$_4$SO$_4$(OH)$_6$

Using high-pressure single-crystal x-ray diffraction combined with thermodynamic measurements and density-functional calculations, we uncover the microscopic magnetic model of the mineral brochantite, Cu$_4$SO$_4$(OH)$_6$, and its evolution upon compression. The formation of antiferromagnetic spin chains with the effective intrachain coupling of $J\simeq 100$\,K is attributed to the occurrence of longer Cu--Cu distances and larger Cu--O--Cu bond angles between the structural chains within the layers of the brochantite structure. These zigzag spin chains are additionally stabilized by ferromagnetic couplings $J_2$ between second neighbors and moderately frustrated by several antiferromagnetic couplings that manifest themselves in the reduced Néel temperature of the material. Pressure tuning of the brochantite structure keeps its monoclinic symmetry unchanged and leads to the growth of antiferromagnetic $J$ with the rate of 3.2\,K/GPa, although this trend is primarily caused by the enhanced ferromagnetic couplings $J_2$. Our results show that the nature of magnetic couplings in brochantite and in other layered Cu$^{2+}$ minerals is controlled by the size of the lattice translation along their structural chains and by the extent of the layer buckling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Tunable Dirac nodal line in orthorhombic RuO$_2$

Pressure evolution of RuO2 is studied using single-crystal x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell, combined with \textit{ab initio} band-structure calculations. The tetragonal rutile structure transforms into the orthorhombic CaCl$_2$-type structure above 13 GPa under quasi-hydrostatic pressure conditions. This second-order transition is ferroelastic in nature and accompanied by tilts of the RuO$_6$ octahedra. Orthorhombic RuO$_2$ is expected to be paramagnetic metal, similar to ambient-pressure RuO$_2$. It shows the increased $t_{2g}-e_g$ crystal-field splitting that is responsible for the pressure-induced color change. It further features the Dirac nodal line that shifts across the Fermi level upon compression.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Structural diversity of molecular nitrogen on approach to polymeric states

Nitrogen represents an archetypal example of material exhibiting a pressure driven transformation from molecular to polymeric state. Detailed investigations of such transformations are challenging because of a large kinetic barrier between molecular and polymeric structures, making the transformation largely dependent on kinetic stimuli. In the case of nitrogen, additional complications occur due to the rich polymorphism in the vicinity of the transition. Here, we report the observation of both molecular (θ) and polymeric (BP) phases, crystallized upon temperature quenching of fluid nitrogen to room temperature at 97-114 GPa. Synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and first-principles theoretical calculations have been used for diagnostics of the phases and determination of their structure and stability. Molecular θ-nitrogen is the most stable among molecular phases bordering the stability field of polymeric phases, partially settling a previously noted discrepancy between theory and experiment concerning the thermodynamic stability limit of molecular phases.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Synthesis and EOS study of orthorhombic (Fe,Ni)$_{7}$(C,Si)$_{3}$ and its importance as a possible constituent of Earth's core

We have synthesized an orthorhombic phase of nickel and silicon doped Fe$_{7}$C$_{3}$ at high-pressure and high temperature using a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. The synthesized material is characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) measurements. High-pressure XRD measurement at room temperature up to around 121 GPa is performed. The anomaly observed in the pressure evolution of unit cell volume around 79 GPa along with a slight elastic softening might be associated with a magnetic transition present in the material. The estimated bulk modulus shows a higher value due to the presence of less compressible nickel in the material. Density at core condition is calculated from the thermal pressure corrected equation of state (EOS), which gives an excellent match with the PREM data.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Superconductivity at 253 K in lanthanum-yttrium ternary hydrides

Polyhydrides offer intriguing perspectives as high-temperature superconductors. Here we report the high-pressure synthesis of a series of lanthanum-yttrium ternary hydrides: cubic hexahydride $(La,Y)H_{6}$ with a critical temperature $T_{C}$ = 237 +/- 5 K and decahydrides $(La,Y)H_{10}$ with a maximum $T_{C}$ ~${253 K}$ and an extrapolated upper critical magnetic field $B_{C2(0)}$ up to ${135 T}$ at 183 GPa. This is one of the first examples of ternary high-$T_{C}$ superconducting hydrides. Our experiments show that a part of the atoms in the structures of recently discovered ${Im3m}$-$YH_{6}$ and ${Fm3m}$-$LaH_{10}$ can be replaced with lanthanum (~70 %) and yttrium (~25 %), respectively, with a formation of unique ternary superhydrides containing incorporated $La@H_{24}$ and $Y@H_{32}$ which are specific for ${Im3m}$-$LaH_{6}$ and ${Fm3m}$-$YH_{10}$. Ternary La-Y hydrides were obtained at pressures of 170-196 GPa via the laser heating of $P6_{3}$${/mmc}$ lanthanum-yttrium alloys in the ammonia borane medium at temperatures above 2000 K. A novel tetragonal $(La,Y)H_{4}$ was discovered as an impurity phase in synthesized cubic $(La,Y)H_{6}$. The current-voltage measurements show that the critical current density $J_{C}$ in $(La,Y)H_{10}$ may exceed $2500 A/mm^{2}$ at 4.2 K, which is comparable with that for commercial superconducting wires such as ${NbTi}$, $Nb_{3}$${Sn}$. Hydrides that are unstable in a pure form may nevertheless be stabilized at relatively low pressures in solid solutions with superhydrides having the same structure.

cond-mat.supr-con↗