Procedures of quality control and data analysis of multi-site ground-based observations for the absolute flux calibration of Gaia

The Gaia space mission is a major project for the European astronomical community. As challenging as it is, the processing and analysis of the huge data-flow incoming from Gaia is the subject of thorough study and preparatory work by the DPAC (Data Processing and Analysis Consortium), in charge of all aspects of the Gaia data reduction. This PhD Thesis was carried out in the framework of the DPAC, within the team based in Bologna. The task of the Bologna team is to define the calibration model and to build a grid of spectro-photometric standard stars (SPSS) suitable for the absolute flux calibration of the Gaia G-band photometry and the BP/RP spectrophotometry. Such a flux calibration can be performed by repeatedly observing each SPSS during the life-time of the Gaia mission and by comparing the observed Gaia spectra to the spectra obtained by our ground-based observations. Due to both the different observing sites involved and the huge amount of frames expected (≃100000), it is essential to maintain the maximum homogeneity in data quality, acquisition and treatment, and a particular care has to be used to test the capabilities of each telescope/instrument combination (through the “instrument familiarization plan”), to devise methods to keep under control, and eventually to correct for, the typical instrumental effects that can affect the high precision required for the Gaia SPSS grid (a few % with respect to Vega). I contributed to the ground-based survey of Gaia SPSS in many respects: with the observations, the instrument familiarization plan, the data reduction and analysis activities (both photometry and spectroscopy), and to the maintenance of the data archives. However, the field I was personally responsible for was photometry and in particular relative photometry for the production of short-term light curves. In this context I defined and tested a semi-automated pipeline which allows for the pre-reduction of imaging SPSS data and the production of aperture photometry catalogues ready to be used for further analysis. A series of semi-automated quality control criteria are included in the pipeline at various levels, from pre-reduction, to aperture photometry, to light curves production and analysis.

Magnetic fields around radio galaxies from Faraday rotation measure analysis

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the strength and structure of the magnetized medium surrounding radio galaxies via observations of the Faraday effect. This study is based on an analysis of the polarization properties of radio galaxies selected to have a range of morphologies (elongated tails, or lobes with small axial ratios) and to be located in a variety of environments (from rich cluster core to small group). The targets include famous objects like M84 and M87. A key aspect of this work is the combination of accurate radio imaging with high-quality X-ray data for the gas surrounding the sources. Although the focus of this thesis is primarily observational, I developed analytical models and performed two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations of magnetic fields. The steps of the thesis are: (a) to analyze new and archival observations of Faraday rotation measure (RM) across radio galaxies and (b) to interpret these and existing RM images using sophisticated two and three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations. The approach has been to select a few bright, very extended and highly polarized radio galaxies. This is essential to have high signal-to-noise in polarization over large enough areas to allow computation of spatial statistics such as the structure function (and hence the power spectrum) of rotation measure, which requires a large number of independent measurements. New and archival Very Large Array observations of the target sources have been analyzed in combination with high-quality X-ray data from the Chandra, XMM-Newton and ROSAT satellites. The work has been carried out by making use of: 1) Analytical predictions of the RM structure functions to quantify the RM statistics and to constrain the power spectra of the RM and magnetic field. 2) Two-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations to address the effect of an incomplete sampling of RM distribution and so to determine errors for the power spectra. 3) Methods to combine measurements of RM and depolarization in order to constrain the magnetic-field power spectrum on small scales. 4) Three-dimensional models of the group/cluster environments, including different magnetic field power spectra and gas density distributions. This thesis has shown that the magnetized medium surrounding radio galaxies appears more complicated than was apparent from earlier work. Three distinct types of magnetic-field structure are identified: an isotropic component with large-scale fluctuations, plausibly associated with the intergalactic medium not affected by the presence of a radio source; a well-ordered field draped around the front ends of the radio lobes and a field with small-scale fluctuations in rims of compressed gas surrounding the inner lobes, perhaps associated with a mixing layer.

Statistical analysis and simulation techniques in wall-bounded turbulence

The present work is devoted to the assessment of the energy fluxes physics in the space of scales and physical space of wall-turbulent flows. The generalized Kolmogorov equation will be applied to DNS data of a turbulent channel flow in order to describe the energy fluxes paths from production to dissipation in the augmented space of wall-turbulent flows. This multidimensional description will be shown to be crucial to understand the formation and sustainment of the turbulent fluctuations fed by the energy fluxes coming from the near-wall production region. An unexpected behavior of the energy fluxes comes out from this analysis consisting of spiral-like paths in the combined physical/scale space where the controversial reverse energy cascade plays a central role. The observed behavior conflicts with the classical notion of the Richardson/Kolmogorov energy cascade and may have strong repercussions on both theoretical and modeling approaches to wall-turbulence. To this aim a new relation stating the leading physical processes governing the energy transfer in wall-turbulence is suggested and shown able to capture most of the rich dynamics of the shear dominated region of the flow. Two dynamical processes are identified as driving mechanisms for the fluxes, one in the near wall region and a second one further away from the wall. The former, stronger one is related to the dynamics involved in the near-wall turbulence regeneration cycle. The second suggests an outer self-sustaining mechanism which is asymptotically expected to take place in the log-layer and could explain the debated mixed inner/outer scaling of the near-wall statistics. The same approach is applied for the first time to a filtered velocity field. A generalized Kolmogorov equation specialized for filtered velocity field is derived and discussed. The results will show what effects the subgrid scales have on the resolved motion in both physical and scale space, singling out the prominent role of the filter length compared to the cross-over scale between production dominated scales and inertial range, lc, and the reverse energy cascade region lb. The systematic characterization of the resolved and subgrid physics as function of the filter scale and of the wall-distance will be shown instrumental for a correct use of LES models in the simulation of wall turbulent flows. Taking inspiration from the new relation for the energy transfer in wall turbulence, a new class of LES models will be also proposed. Finally, the generalized Kolmogorov equation specialized for filtered velocity fields will be shown to be an helpful statistical tool for the assessment of LES models and for the development of new ones. As example, some classical purely dissipative eddy viscosity models are analyzed via an a priori procedure.

Fiber beam-columns models with flexure-shear interaction for nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete structures

The aim of this study was to develop a model capable to capture the different contributions which characterize the nonlinear behaviour of reinforced concrete structures. In particular, especially for non slender structures, the contribution to the nonlinear deformation due to bending may be not sufficient to determine the structural response. Two different models characterized by a fibre beam-column element are here proposed. These models can reproduce the flexure-shear interaction in the nonlinear range, with the purpose to improve the analysis in shear-critical structures. The first element discussed is based on flexibility formulation which is associated with the Modified Compression Field Theory as material constitutive law. The other model described in this thesis is based on a three-field variational formulation which is associated with a 3D generalized plastic-damage model as constitutive relationship. The first model proposed in this thesis was developed trying to combine a fibre beamcolumn element based on the flexibility formulation with the MCFT theory as constitutive relationship. The flexibility formulation, in fact, seems to be particularly effective for analysis in the nonlinear field. Just the coupling between the fibre element to model the structure and the shear panel to model the individual fibres allows to describe the nonlinear response associated to flexure and shear, and especially their interaction in the nonlinear field. The model was implemented in an original matlab® computer code, for describing the response of generic structures. The simulations carried out allowed to verify the field of working of the model. Comparisons with available experimental results related to reinforced concrete shears wall were performed in order to validate the model. These results are characterized by the peculiarity of distinguishing the different contributions due to flexure and shear separately. The presented simulations were carried out, in particular, for monotonic loading. The model was tested also through numerical comparisons with other computer programs. Finally it was applied for performing a numerical study on the influence of the nonlinear shear response for non slender reinforced concrete (RC) members. Another approach to the problem has been studied during a period of research at the University of California Berkeley. The beam formulation follows the assumptions of the Timoshenko shear beam theory for the displacement field, and uses a three-field variational formulation in the derivation of the element response. A generalized plasticity model is implemented for structural steel and a 3D plastic-damage model is used for the simulation of concrete. The transverse normal stress is used to satisfy the transverse equilibrium equations of at each control section, this criterion is also used for the condensation of degrees of freedom from the 3D constitutive material to a beam element. In this thesis is presented the beam formulation and the constitutive relationships, different analysis and comparisons are still carrying out between the two model presented.

Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectometry and Chemometric Analysis for the Characterization of Complex Matrices

The present PhD thesis was focused on the development and application of chemical methodology (Py-GC-MS) and data-processing method by multivariate data analysis (chemometrics). The chromatographic and mass spectrometric data obtained with this technique are particularly suitable to be interpreted by chemometric methods such as PCA (Principal Component Analysis) as regards data exploration and SIMCA (Soft Independent Models of Class Analogy) for the classification. As a first approach, some issues related to the field of cultural heritage were discussed with a particular attention to the differentiation of binders used in pictorial field. A marker of egg tempera the phosphoric acid esterified, a pyrolysis product of lecithin, was determined using HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) rather than the TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide) as a derivatizing reagent. The validity of analytical pyrolysis as tool to characterize and classify different types of bacteria was verified. The FAMEs chromatographic profiles represent an important tool for the bacterial identification. Because of the complexity of the chromatograms, it was possible to characterize the bacteria only according to their genus, while the differentiation at the species level has been achieved by means of chemometric analysis. To perform this study, normalized areas peaks relevant to fatty acids were taken into account. Chemometric methods were applied to experimental datasets. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of analytical pyrolysis and chemometric analysis for the rapid characterization of bacterial species. Application to a samples of bacterial (Pseudomonas Mendocina), fungal (Pleorotus ostreatus) and mixed- biofilms was also performed. A comparison with the chromatographic profiles established the possibility to: • Differentiate the bacterial and fungal biofilms according to the (FAMEs) profile. • Characterize the fungal biofilm by means the typical pattern of pyrolytic fragments derived from saccharides present in the cell wall. • Individuate the markers of bacterial and fungal biofilm in the same mixed-biofilm sample.

Numerical analysis of Dielectric Barrier Discharge

A numerical investigation of dielectric barrier discharge aimed to simulate the electro hydro dynamic interaction is presented. A discharge drift diffusive model according to the Townsend avalanche is described and used to duplicate the plasma kinetics of a DBD actuator. The discharge characteristics dependence upon dielectric material and applied voltage are simulated and the EHD force field according to a simplified approach is presented and discussed. The coupling of DBD results with a fluid dynamic code is also shown. Finally, a new non invasive diagnostic technique for EHD interaction based on Schlieren imaging is computationally validated.

Satellite and in situ data integrated analysis to study the upper ocean an coastal environment of the Italian seas

The thesis objectives are to develop new methodologies for study of the space and time variability of Italian upper ocean ecosystem through the combined use of multi-sensors satellite data and in situ observations and to identify the capability and limits of remote sensing observations to monitor the marine state at short and long time scales. Three oceanographic basins have been selected and subjected to different types of analyses. The first region is the Tyrrhenian Sea where a comparative analysis of altimetry and lagrangian measurements was carried out to study the surface circulation. The results allowed to deepen the knowledge of the Tyrrhenian Sea surface dynamics and its variability and to defined the limitations of satellite altimetry measurements to detect small scale marine circulation features. Channel of Sicily study aimed to identify the spatial-temporal variability of phytoplankton biomass and to understand the impact of the upper ocean circulation on the marine ecosystem. An combined analysis of the satellite of long term time series of chlorophyll, Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Level field data was applied. The results allowed to identify the key role of the Atlantic water inflow in modulating the seasonal variability of the phytoplankton biomass in the region. Finally, Italian coastal marine system was studied with the objective to explore the potential capability of Ocean Color data in detecting chlorophyll trend in coastal areas. The most appropriated methodology to detect long term environmental changes was defined through intercomparison of chlorophyll trends detected by in situ and satellite. Then, Italian coastal areas subject to eutrophication problems were identified. This work has demonstrated that satellites data constitute an unique opportunity to define the features and forcing influencing the upper ocean ecosystems dynamics and can be used also to monitor environmental variables capable of influencing phytoplankton productivity.

Experimental analysis and FE Modeling of Aluminium alloys Microstructural Evolution in Extrusion

Extrusion is a process used to form long products of constant cross section, from simple billets, with a high variety of shapes. Aluminum alloys are the materials most processed in the extrusion industry due to their deformability and the wide field of applications that range from buildings to aerospace and from design to automotive industries. The diverse applications imply different requirements that can be fulfilled by the wide range of alloys and treatments, that is from critical structural application to high quality surface and aesthetical aspect. Whether one or the other is the critical aspect, they both depend directly from microstructure. The extrusion process is moreover marked by high deformations and complex strain gradients making difficult the control of microstructure evolution that is at present not yet fully achieved. Nevertheless the evolution of Finite Element modeling has reached a maturity and can therefore start to be used as a tool for investigation and prediction of microstructure evolution. This thesis will analyze and model the evolution of microstructure throughout the entire extrusion process for 6XXX series aluminum alloys. Core phase of the work was the development of specific tests to investigate the microstructure evolution and validate the model implemented in a commercial FE code. Along with it two essential activities were carried out for a correct calibration of the model beyond the simple research of contour parameters, thus leading to the understanding and control of both code and process. In this direction activities were also conducted on building critical knowhow on the interpretation of microstructure and extrusion phenomena. It is believed, in fact, that the sole analysis of the microstructure evolution regardless of its relevance in the technological aspects of the process would be of little use for the industry as well as ineffective for the interpretation of the results.

Analysis of optimal control problems for the incompressible MHD equations and implementation in a finite element multiphysics code

This thesis deals with the study of optimal control problems for the incompressible Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations. Particular attention to these problems arises from several applications in science and engineering, such as fission nuclear reactors with liquid metal coolant and aluminum casting in metallurgy. In such applications it is of great interest to achieve the control on the fluid state variables through the action of the magnetic Lorentz force. In this thesis we investigate a class of boundary optimal control problems, in which the flow is controlled through the boundary conditions of the magnetic field. Due to their complexity, these problems present various challenges in the definition of an adequate solution approach, both from a theoretical and from a computational point of view. In this thesis we propose a new boundary control approach, based on lifting functions of the boundary conditions, which yields both theoretical and numerical advantages. With the introduction of lifting functions, boundary control problems can be formulated as extended distributed problems. We consider a systematic mathematical formulation of these problems in terms of the minimization of a cost functional constrained by the MHD equations. The existence of a solution to the flow equations and to the optimal control problem are shown. The Lagrange multiplier technique is used to derive an optimality system from which candidate solutions for the control problem can be obtained. In order to achieve the numerical solution of this system, a finite element approximation is considered for the discretization together with an appropriate gradient-type algorithm. A finite element object-oriented library has been developed to obtain a parallel and multigrid computational implementation of the optimality system based on a multiphysics approach. Numerical results of two- and three-dimensional computations show that a possible minimum for the control problem can be computed in a robust and accurate manner.

Advanced spectroscopic techniques and chemometric analysis for atmospheric organic aerosol characterization and source apportionment

Atmospheric aerosol particles directly impact air quality and participate in controlling the climate system. Organic Aerosol (OA) in general accounts for a large fraction (10–90%) of the global submicron (PM1) particulate mass. Chemometric methods for source identification are used in many disciplines, but methods relying on the analysis of NMR datasets are rarely used in atmospheric sciences. This thesis provides an original application of NMR-based chemometric methods to atmospheric OA source apportionment. The method was tested on chemical composition databases obtained from samples collected at different environments in Europe, hence exploring the impact of a great diversity of natural and anthropogenic sources. We focused on sources of water-soluble OA (WSOA), for which NMR analysis provides substantial advantages compared to alternative methods. Different factor analysis techniques are applied independently to NMR datasets from nine field campaigns of the project EUCAARI and allowed the identification of recurrent source contributions to WSOA in European background troposphere: 1) Marine SOA; 2) Aliphatic amines from ground sources (agricultural activities, etc.); 3) Biomass burning POA; 4) Biogenic SOA from terpene oxidation; 5) “Aged” SOAs, including humic-like substances (HULIS); 6) Other factors possibly including contributions from Primary Biological Aerosol Particles, and products of cooking activities. Biomass burning POA accounted for more than 50% of WSOC in winter months. Aged SOA associated with HULIS was predominant (> 75%) during the spring-summer, suggesting that secondary sources and transboundary transport become more important in spring and summer. Complex aerosol measurements carried out, involving several foreign research groups, provided the opportunity to compare source apportionment results obtained by NMR analysis with those provided by more widespread Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometers (AMS) techniques that now provided categorization schemes of OA which are becoming a standard for atmospheric chemists. Results emerging from this thesis partly confirm AMS classification and partly challenge it.

Multilevel Analysis in Household Survey: An Application to Health Condition Data

The aim of this thesis is to apply multilevel regression model in context of household surveys. Hierarchical structure in this type of data is characterized by many small groups. In last years comparative and multilevel analysis in the field of perceived health have grown in size. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a multilevel analysis with three level of hierarchy for Physical Component Summary outcome to: evaluate magnitude of within and between variance at each level (individual, household and municipality); explore which covariates affect on perceived physical health at each level; compare model-based and design-based approach in order to establish informativeness of sampling design; estimate a quantile regression for hierarchical data. The target population are the Italian residents aged 18 years and older. Our study shows a high degree of homogeneity within level 1 units belonging from the same group, with an intraclass correlation of 27% in a level-2 null model. Almost all variance is explained by level 1 covariates. In fact, in our model the explanatory variables having more impact on the outcome are disability, unable to work, age and chronic diseases (18 pathologies). An additional analysis are performed by using novel procedure of analysis :"Linear Quantile Mixed Model", named "Multilevel Linear Quantile Regression", estimate. This give us the possibility to describe more generally the conditional distribution of the response through the estimation of its quantiles, while accounting for the dependence among the observations. This has represented a great advantage of our models with respect to classic multilevel regression. The median regression with random effects reveals to be more efficient than the mean regression in representation of the outcome central tendency. A more detailed analysis of the conditional distribution of the response on other quantiles highlighted a differential effect of some covariate along the distribution.

Multidimensional analysis of complex networks

Complex Networks analysis turn out to be a very promising field of research, testified by many research projects and works that span different fields. Those analysis have been usually focused on characterize a single aspect of the system and a study that considers many informative axes along with a network evolve is lacking. We propose a new multidimensional analysis that is able to inspect networks in the two most important dimensions, space and time. To achieve this goal, we studied them singularly and investigated how the variation of the constituting parameters drives changes to the network as a whole. By focusing on space dimension, we characterized spatial alteration in terms of abstraction levels. We proposed a novel algorithm that, by applying a fuzziness function, can reconstruct networks under different level of details. We verified that statistical indicators depend strongly on the granularity with which a system is described and on the class of networks. We keep fixed the space axes and we isolated the dynamics behind networks evolution process. We detected new instincts that trigger social networks utilization and spread the adoption of novel communities. We formalized this enhanced social network evolution by adopting special nodes (called sirens) that, thanks to their ability to attract new links, were able to construct efficient connection patterns. We simulated the dynamics of the system by considering three well-known growth models. Applying this framework to real and synthetic networks, we showed that the sirens, even when used for a limited time span, effectively shrink the time needed to get a network in mature state. In order to provide a concrete context of our findings, we formalized the cost of setting up such enhancement and provided the best combinations of system's parameters, such as number of sirens, time span of utilization and attractiveness.

CT perfusion image processing: analysis of liver tumors

Perfusion CT imaging of the liver has potential to improve evaluation of tumour angiogenesis. Quantitative parameters can be obtained applying mathematical models to Time Attenuation Curve (TAC). However, there are still some difficulties for an accurate quantification of perfusion parameters due, for example, to algorithms employed, to mathematical model, to patient’s weight and cardiac output and to the acquisition system. In this thesis, new parameters and alternative methodologies about liver perfusion CT are presented in order to investigate the cause of variability of this technique. Firstly analysis were made to assess the variability related to the mathematical model used to compute arterial Blood Flow (BFa) values. Results were obtained implementing algorithms based on “ maximum slope method” and “Dual input one compartment model” . Statistical analysis on simulated data demonstrated that the two methods are not interchangeable. Anyway slope method is always applicable in clinical context. Then variability related to TAC processing in the application of slope method is analyzed. Results compared with manual selection allow to identify the best automatic algorithm to compute BFa. The consistency of a Standardized Perfusion Index (SPV) was evaluated and a simplified calibration procedure was proposed. At the end the quantitative value of perfusion map was analyzed. ROI approach and map approach provide related values of BFa and this means that pixel by pixel algorithm give reliable quantitative results. Also in pixel by pixel approach slope method give better results. In conclusion the development of new automatic algorithms for a consistent computation of BFa and the analysis and definition of simplified technique to compute SPV parameter, represent an improvement in the field of liver perfusion CT analysis.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Gas Forced Convection through Microtubes and Micro Heat Exchangers

The last decade has witnessed very fast development in microfabrication technologies. The increasing industrial applications of microfluidic systems call for more intensive and systematic knowledge on this newly emerging field. Especially for gaseous flow and heat transfer at microscale, the applicability of conventional theories developed at macro scale is not yet completely validated; this is mainly due to scarce experimental data available in literature for gas flows. The objective of this thesis is to investigate these unclear elements by analyzing forced convection for gaseous flows through microtubes and micro heat exchangers. Experimental tests have been performed with microtubes having various inner diameters, namely 750 m, 510 m and 170 m, over a wide range of Reynolds number covering the laminar region, the transitional zone and also the onset region of the turbulent regime. The results show that conventional theory is able to predict the flow friction factor when flow compressibility does not appear and the effect of fluid temperature-dependent properties is insignificant. A double-layered microchannel heat exchanger has been designed in order to study experimentally the efficiency of a gas-to-gas micro heat exchanger. This microdevice contains 133 parallel microchannels machined into polished PEEK plates for both the hot side and the cold side. The microchannels are 200 µm high, 200 µm wide and 39.8 mm long. The design of the micro device has been made in order to be able to test different materials as partition foil with flexible thickness. Experimental tests have been carried out for five different partition foils, with various mass flow rates and flow configurations. The experimental results indicate that the thermal performance of the countercurrent and cross flow micro heat exchanger can be strongly influenced by axial conduction in the partition foil separating the hot gas flow and cold gas flow.

Experimental Analysis and Numerical Simulation of Quench in Superconducting HTS Tapes and Coils

The quench characteristics of second generation (2 G) YBCO Coated Conductor (CC) tapes are of fundamental importance for the design and safe operation of superconducting cables and magnets based on this material. Their ability to transport high current densities at high temperature, up to 77 K, and at very high fields, over 20 T, together with the increasing knowledge in their manufacturing, which is reducing their cost, are pushing the use of this innovative material in numerous system applications, from high field magnets for research to motors and generators as well as for cables. The aim of this Ph. D. thesis is the experimental analysis and numerical simulations of quench in superconducting HTS tapes and coils. A measurements facility for the characterization of superconducting tapes and coils was designed, assembled and tested. The facility consist of a cryostat, a cryocooler, a vacuum system, resistive and superconducting current leads and signal feedthrough. Moreover, the data acquisition system and the software for critical current and quench measurements were developed. A 2D model was developed using the finite element code COMSOL Multiphysics R . The problem of modeling the high aspect ratio of the tape is tackled by multiplying the tape thickness by a constant factor, compensating the heat and electrical balance equations by introducing a material anisotropy. The model was then validated both with the results of a 1D quench model based on a non-linear electric circuit coupled to a thermal model of the tape, to literature measurements and to critical current and quench measurements made in the cryogenic facility. Finally the model was extended to the study of coils and windings with the definition of the tape and stack homogenized properties. The procedure allows the definition of a multi-scale hierarchical model, able to simulate the windings with different degrees of detail.