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Savino Longo

Publications and source records attributed to Savino Longo.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Feasibility study of a mission to Sedna -- Nuclear propulsion and advanced solar sailing concepts

Exploring the outer reaches of the Solar System presents significant propulsion and mission design challenges. This study assesses the feasibility of a mission to Sedna using two advanced propulsion concepts: the Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) rocket engine, based on D-$^{3}$He thermonuclear fusion, and a solar sail utilizing thermal desorption of its coating for propulsion. Both are evaluated for a one-way Earth-to-Sedna mission; however, due to the different performances the DFD would enable orbit insertion, whereas for the solar sail a flyby is envisioned. The analysis evaluates key mission parameters, including delivered payload capacity, travel time, and potential science return. For the DFD, we assume a 1.6 MW system with constant thrust and specific impulse, while for the solar sail, we consider acceleration via thermal desorption and a gravity-assist maneuver around Jupiter. The mission analysis incorporates four key phases: departure, interplanetary acceleration, interplanetary coasting, and rendezvous. Sedna is expected to pass through the perihelion of its orbit in 2075--2076 and then move again away from the Sun. Considering the distances involved, a mission targeting the object would need to be launched "relatively" soon, especially if using conventional propulsion systems, which could require up to 30 years of deep-space travel. In our study, results indicate that the DFD could reach Sedna in approximately 10 years, with 1.5 years of thrusting, while the solar sail, assisted by Jupiter's gravity, could complete the journey in 7 years. The feasibility of science payload accommodation, power availability, and communication constraints is also considered. These findings provide a comparative foundation for future deep-space mission planning.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2023

Particle propagation and electron transport in gases

In this review, we detail the commonality of mathematical intuitions that underlie three numerical methods used for the quantitative description of electron swarms propagating in a gas under the effect of externally applied electric and/or magnetic fields. These methods can be linked to the integral transport equation, following a common thread much better known in the theory of neutron transport than in the theory of electron transport. First, we discuss the exact solution of the electron transport problem using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. In reality we will progress much further, showing the interpretative role that the diagrams used in quantum theory and quantum field theory can play in the development of MC. Then, we present two methods, the Monte Carlo Flux and the Propagator method, which have been developed at this moment. The first one is based on a modified MC method, while the second shows the advantage of explicitly applying the mathematical idea of propagator to the transport problem.

physics.plasm-ph↗
arXiv2022

Physics reach of a long-lived particle detector at Belle II

We have studied three realistic benchmark geometries for a new far detector GAZELLE to search for long-lived particles at the \superkekb accelerator in Tsukuba, Japan. The new detector would be housed in the same building as Belle II and observe the same $e^+e^-$ collisions. To assess the discovery reach of GAZELLE, we have investigated three new physics models that predict long-lived particles: heavy neutral leptons produced in tau lepton decays, axion-like particles produced in $B$ meson decays, and new scalars produced in association with a dark photon, as motivated by inelastic dark matter. We do not find significant gains in the new physics discovery reach of GAZELLE compared to the Belle II projections for the same final states. The main reasons are the practical limitations on the angular acceptance and size of GAZELLE, effectively making it at most comparable to Belle II, even though backgrounds in the far detector could be reduced to low rates. A far detector for long-lived particles would be well motivated in the case of a discovery by Belle II, since decays inside GAZELLE would facilitate studies of the decay products. Depending on the placement of GAZELLE, searches for light long-lived particles produced in the forward direction or signals of a confining hidden force could also benefit from such a far detector. Our general findings could help guide the design of far detectors at future electron-positron colliders such as the ILC, FCC-ee or CEPC.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2021

The unbiased Diffusion Monte Carlo: a versatile tool for two-electron systems confined in different geometries

Computational codes based on the Diffusion Monte Carlo method can be used to determine the quantum state of two-electron systems confined by external potentials of various nature and geometry. In this work, we show how the application of this technique in its simplest form, that does not employ complex analytic guess functions, allows to obtain satisfactory results and, at the same time, to write programs that are readily adaptable from one type of confinement to another. This adaptability allows an easy exploration of the many possibilities in terms of both geometry and structure of the system. To illustrate these results, we present calculations in the case of two-electron hydrogen-based species (H$_2$ and H$_3^+$) and two different types of confinement, nanotube-like and octahedral crystal-field.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2019

New insights on prebiotic chemistry from plasma kinetics

The famous Miller-Urey experiment, which provides essential information on the prebiotic synthesis of the molecules of life, still has many obscure points. In this paper, we want to suggest a way of possible future progress, which consists in framing the experience of Miller and Urey in the context of the kinetics of ionized gas, or plasma. In this framework, extremely effective and versatile theoretical tools, based on quantum mechanics and chemical kinetics, make it possible to look, in a new way, at the elementary processes that lead to the formation of excited species and ions, at the base of the cascade of subsequent reactions.

physics.plasm-ph↗
arXiv2019

Monte Carlo calculation of the potential energy surface for octahedral confined H$_2^+$

A rich literature has been produced on the quantum states of atoms and molecules confined into infinite potential wells with a specified symmetry. Apart from their interest as basic quantum systems, confined atoms and molecules are useful models for extreme high pressure states of matter, spectroscopically active defects in solid lattices and chemical species in molecular cages. A most important case is that of H$_2^+$ for which little or no results are available in the case of polyhedral confinement. The approach of the authors makes use of the Diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) method. The advantage of this method is that previously developed codes are readily adapted to new, even complex, well geometries and nuclear positions. In this paper the potential energy surface (PES) of H$_2^+$ confined inside an octahedral well is reported for restricted D$_{4h}$ and D$_{3d}$ geometries and different well widths. The results are discussed using the concept of electron compression and the correlation with semi-confined atomic orbitals.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2019

Spherically confined H$_2^+$: $^2Σ_g^+$ and $^2Σ_u^+$ states

The molecular ion H$_2^+$ is studied under strong confinement conditions produced by a spherical barrier centered in the gravity center of the molecule. Results for the potential curves are obtained by diffusion Monte Carlo methods for the ground state (X$^2Σ_g^+$) and the first excited state (A$^2Σ_u^+$), and reported as functions of the internuclear distance d for different values of the confinement radius. Results show that the compressed state corresponding to both $^2Σ_g^+$ and $^2Σ_u^+$ present deep minima in their potential curves, due to the increased space for electron wave-functions when the protons are displaced from the barrier surface.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2019

Quantum states of confined hydrogen plasma species: Monte Carlo calculations

The diffusion Monte Carlo method with symmetry-based state selection is used to calculate the quantum energy states of H$_2^+$ confined into potential barriers of atomic dimensions (a model for these ions in solids). Special solutions are employed permitting one to obtain satisfactory results with rather simple native code. As a test case, $^2Π_u$ and $^2Π_g$ states of H$_2^+$ ions under spherical confinement are considered. The results are interpreted using the correlation of H$_2^+$ states to atomic orbitals of H atoms lying on the confining surface and perturbation calculations. The method is straightforwardly applied to cavities of any shape and different hydrogen plasma species (at least one-electron ones, including H) for future studies with real crystal symmetries.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2019

Confined H(1s) and H(2p) under different geometries

In this paper the Diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) method is applied to the confined hydrogen atom with different confinement geometries. This approach is validated using the much studied spherical and cylindrical confinements and then applied to cubical and squared ones, for which data are not available, as new applications of the method relevant to solid state physics. The energy eigenvalues of the ground state and one low-lying excited state are reported as a function of the characteristic confinement length.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2018

Vibrational Kinetics in Plasma as a Functional Problem: a Flux-Matching Approach

A new approach to calculate the vibrational distribution function of molecules in a medium providing energy for vibrational excitation is proposed and demonstrated. The approach is an improvement of solution methods based on the drift-diffusion Fokker-Planck (FP) equation for a double differentiable function representing the vibrational populations on a continuum internal energy scale. A self-consistent numerical solution avoids approximations used in previous analytical solutions. The dissociation flux, a key parameter in the FP equation, is fixed using the kinetics of molecular dissociation from near-continuum levels, so that the vibrational kinetics becomes a functional problem. The approach is demonstrated for the kinetics of asymmetric stretching of CO2, showing that it represents an alternative, potentially much more efficient in computational terms, to the presently usual state-to-state approach which is based on the kinetics of the populations of individual levels, and gives complementary insight into the dissociation process.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2018

Hadronic vs Electromagnetic Pulse Shape Discrimination in CsI(Tl) for High Energy Physics Experiments

Pulse shape discrimination using CsI(Tl) scintillators to perform neutral hadron particle identification is explored with emphasis towards application at high energy electron-positron collider experiments. Through the analysis of the pulse shape differences between scintillation pulses from photon and hadronic energy deposits using neutron and proton data collected at TRIUMF, it is shown that the pulse shape variations observed for hadrons can be modelled using a third scintillation component for CsI(Tl), in addition to the standard fast and slow components. Techniques for computing the hadronic pulse amplitudes and shape variations are developed and it is shown that the intensity of the additional scintillation component can be computed from the ionization energy loss of the interacting particles. These pulse modelling and simulation methods are integrated with GEANT4 simulation libraries and the predicted pulse shape for CsI(Tl) crystals in a $5 \times 5$ array of $5 \times 5 \times 30 \text{ cm}^3$ crystals is studied for hadronic showers from 0.5 and 1 GeV/c $K_L^0$ and neutron particles. Using a crystal level and cluster level approach for photon vs hadron cluster separation we demonstrate proof-of-concept for neutral hadron detection using CsI(Tl) pulse shape discrimination in high energy electron-positron collider experiments.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2017

Insight into CO2 dissociation in plasmas from numerical solution of a vibrational diffusion equation

The dissociation of CO2 molecules in plasmas is a subject of enormous importance for fundamental studies and the recent interest in carbon capture and carbon-neutral fuels. The vibrational excitation of the CO2 molecule plays an important role in the process. The complexity of the present state-to-state (STS) models makes it difficult to find out the key parameters. In this paper we propose as an alternative a numerical method based on the diffusion formalism developed in the past for analytical studies. The non-linear Fokker-Planck equation is solved by the time-dependent diffusion Monte Carlo method. Transport quantities are calculated from STS rate coefficients. The asymmetric stretching mode of CO2 is used as a test case. We show that the method reproduces the STS results or a Treanor distribution depending on the choice of the boundary conditions. A positive drift, whose energy onset is determined by the vibrational to translational temperature ratio, brings molecules from mid-energy range to dissociation. The high-energy fall of the distribution is observed even neglecting VT processes which are normally believed to be its cause. Our study explains several puzzling features of previous studies, provides new insights into the control of the dissociation rate and a much sought compression of the required data for modeling.

physics.chem-ph↗
arXiv2016

Radiation Hardness of 30 cm Long CsI(Tl) Crystals

Measurements of the degradation in performance of 30 cm long CsI(Tl) scintillation crystals exposed to 1 MeV photon doses of 2, 10, 35, 100 and 1000 Gy are presented. The light yield, light yield longitudinal non-uniformity, scintillation decay times, energy resolution and timing resolution of a set of spare crystals from the BABAR and Belle experiments are studied as a function of these doses. In addition, a model that describes the plateau observed in the light output loss as a function of dose in terms of increase in concentrations of absorption centres with irradiation is presented.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2013

Non-thermal photons and H2 formation in the early Universe

The cosmological recombination of H and He at z \sim 1000 and the formation of H2 during the dark ages produce a non-thermal photon excess in the Wien tail of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) blackbody spectrum. Here we compute the effect of these photons on the H- photodetachment and H2+ photodissociation processes. We discuss the implications for the chemical evolution of the Universe in the post-recombination epoch, emphasizing how important a detailed account of the full vibrational manifold of H2 and H2+ in the chemical network is. We find that the final abundances of H2, H2+, H3+ and HD are significantly smaller than in previous calculations that neglected the effect of non-thermal photons. The suppression is mainly caused by extra hydrogen recombination photons and could affect the formation rate of first stars. We provide simple analytical approximations for the relevant rate coefficients and briefly discuss the additional effect of dark matter annihilation on the considered reaction rates.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2012

Non-equilibrium H$_2$ formation in the early Universe: energy exchanges, rate coefficients and spectral distortions

Energy exchange processes play a crucial role in the early Universe, affecting the thermal balance and the dynamical evolution of the primordial gas. In the present work we focus on the consequences of a non-thermal distribution of the level populations of H$_2$: first, we determine the excitation temperatures of vibrational transitions and the non-equilibrium heat transfer; second, we compare the modifications to chemical reaction rate coefficients with respect to the values obtained assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium; third, we compute the spectral distortions to the cosmic background radiation generated by the formation of H$_2$ in vibrationally excited levels. We conclude that non-equilibrium processes cannot be ignored in cosmological simulations of the evolution of baryons, although their observational signatures remain below current limits of detection. New fits to the equilibrium and non-equilibrium heat transfer functions are provided.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2011

Vibrational level population of H$_2$ and H$_2^+$ in the early Universe

We formulate a vibrationally resolved kinetics for molecular hydrogen and its cation in the primordial Universe chemistry. Formation, destruction and relaxation processes for each vibrational level are studied and included as chemical pathways of the present model. The fractional abundance of each vibrational level as a function of the redshift is given: a strong deviation from the Boltzmann distribution is found at low $z$. A discussion of the results is provided, also evaluating the effects of relaxation processes on the level populations. Analytical fits for some LTE rate coefficients are given in the Appendix.

astro-ph.CO↗