Publications by authors named "A Barra Caracciolo"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how different shielding strategies affect false positive rates in a neutron detection system for Neutron Capture Enhanced Particle Therapy (NCEPT).
  • A Monte Carlo model was created to simulate the effects of neutron detection and various shielding configurations on a specific phantom setup.
  • Results indicate that while shielding the detector crystal can worsen detection accuracy, adding a thin layer of GdO shield can enhance detection selectivity if boron is present in the detector's printed circuit boards.
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Prompt Gamma Imaging (PGI) is a promising technique for range verification in Particle Therapy. This technique was already tested in clinical environment with a knife-edge-collimator camera for proton treatments but remains relatively unexplored for Carbon Ion Radiation Therapy (CIRT). Previous FLUKA simulations suggested that PG profile shifts could be detected in CIRT with a precision of ∼ 4 mm ([Formula: see text]) for a particle statistic equal to [Formula: see text] C-ions using a 10 × 10 cm camera.

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Mid-crustal magma domains are the source of many basaltic eruptions. Lavas from individual eruptions are often chemically homogeneous, suggesting that they derive from single, well-mixed magma reservoirs. The 2023 to 2024 eruptions at Sundhnúksgígar in the Svartsengi volcanic system in Iceland provide an opportunity to observe the behavior of a mid-crustal magma domain at high spatial and temporal resolution by detailed sampling and geochemical characterization.

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Despite the relevance of the reactions of the prototypical nitrogen-containing six-membered aromatic molecule (N-heterocyclic) of pyridine (CHN) in environmental science, astrochemistry, planetary science, prebiotic chemistry, and materials science, few experimental/theoretical studies exist on the bimolecular reactions involving pyridine and neutral atomic/molecular radicals. We report a combined experimental and theoretical study on the elementary reaction of pyridine with excited nitrogen atoms, N(D), aimed at providing information about the primary reaction products and their branching fractions (BFs). From previous crossed molecular beam (CMB) experiments with mass-spectrometric detection and present synergistic calculations of the reactive potential energy surface (PES) and product BFs we have unveiled the reaction mechanism.

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