An important portion of the historical built environment, which is characterized by un-reinforced masonry, is particularly vulnerable to collapse in case of earthquakes, as demonstrated by recent ...events. Strategies to target the facades of the most vulnerable buildings need to be tailored for retrofitting and emergency planning. In this research, a novel expeditious vulnerability assessment method, particularly suitable for historical masonry aggregates, is proposed. The method allows assessing the vulnerability index based on information available from external surveys on the building, thus facilitating and speeding up the investigation. If other more precise information (e.g., curbs and tie rods effectiveness) is available, the vulnerability estimation can be improved. The method focuses on out-of-plane mechanisms of the facade, which cause debris to fall on adjacent streets, impeding emergency response. The expeditious method is tailored starting from analytical methods applied on a large sample of historical buildings hit by earthquakes, and validated by means of comparison with kinematic analysis and observed damage state on a relevant case study, Caldarola (Macerata, Central Italy, which was struck by the earthquake in 2016). Results show a good agreement between the proposed method, the kinematic analysis, and the observed damage state of the considered case study, with 75% and 87.5% correspondence, and the method is especially precise for evaluating highly damaged facades.
The electromagnetic propagation of a Bessel-X wave is analyzed on the basis of a vectorial treatment in order to obtain information about the propagation of energy flux and the velocity of the ...energy. Knowledge of these quantities is of great interest since they are connected to the production of localized electromagnetic energy and to the topic of superluminality, respectively. The electric and magnetic fields are obtained in the far-field approximation by considering a realistic situation able to generate a Bessel-X wave. The vectorial treatment confirms the capability of this kind of wave to localize energy, while, quite surprisingly, even if the group velocity is superluminal, the energy velocity is equal to the light speed.
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Aims. A flux-calibrated high-resolution spectrum of the airglow emission is a practical λ-calibration reference for astronomical spectral observations. It is also useful for constraining the ...molecular parameters of the OH molecule and the physical conditions in the upper mesosphere. Methods. We used the data collected during the first technical commissioning of the GIANO spectrograph at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG). The high-resolution (R ≃ 50 000) spectrum simultaneously covers the 0.95–2.4 μm wavelength range. Relative flux calibration is achieved by the simultaneous observation of a spectrophotometric standard star. Results. We derived a list of improved positions and intensities of OH infrared lines. The list includes Λ-split doublets, many of which are spectrally resolved. Compared with previous works, the new results correct errors in the wavelengths of the Q-branch transitions. The relative fluxes of OH lines from different vibrational bands show remarkable deviations from theoretical predictions: the Δv = 3, 4 lines are a factor of 2 and 4 brighter than expected. We also found evidence of a significant fraction (1–4%) of OH molecules with a non-thermal population of high-J levels. Finally, we list wavelengths and fluxes of 153 lines not attributable to OH. Most of these can be associated with O2, while 37 lines in the H band are not identified. The O2 and unidentified lines in the H band account for ≃5% of the total airglow flux in this band.
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Phys. Rev. E, vol. 73, 016606 (2006) The propagation of a Bessel beam (or Bessel-X wave) is analyzed on the basis
of a vectorial treatment. The electric and magnetic fields are obtained by
...considering a realistic situation able to generate that kind of scalar field.
Specifically, we analyze the field due to a ring-shaped aperture over a
metallic screen on which a linearly polarized plane wave impinges. On this
basis, and in the far field approximation, we can obtain information about the
propagation of energy flux and the velocity of the energy.
The propagation of a Bessel beam (or Bessel-X wave) is analyzed on the basis of a vectorial treatment. The electric and magnetic fields are obtained by considering a realistic situation able to ...generate that kind of scalar field. Specifically, we analyze the field due to a ring-shaped aperture over a metallic screen on which a linearly polarized plane wave impinges. On this basis, and in the far field approximation, we can obtain information about the propagation of energy flux and the velocity of the energy.
The inner disk of the Galaxy has a number of young star clusters dominated by red supergiants that are heavily obscured by dust extinction and observable only at infrared wavelengths. These clusters ...are important tracers of the recent star formation and chemical enrichment history in the inner Galaxy. During the technical commissioning and as a first science verification of the GIANO spectrograph at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, we secured high-resolution (R~50,000) near-infrared spectra of three red supergiants in the young Scutum cluster RSGC2. Taking advantage of the full YJHK spectral coverage of GIANO in a single exposure, we were able to identify several tens of atomic and molecular lines suitable for chemical abundance determinations. By means of spectral synthesis and line equivalent width measurements, we obtained abundances of Fe and other iron-peak elements such as V, Cr, Ni, of alpha (O, Mg, Si, Ca and Ti) and other light elements (C, N, Na, Al, K, Sc), and of some s-process elements (Y, Sr). We found iron abundances between half and one third solar and solar-scaled X/Fe abundance patterns of iron-peak, alpha and most of the light elements, consistent with a thin-disk chemistry. We found a depletion of C/Fe and enhancement of N/Fe, consistent with CN burning, and low 12C/13C abundance ratios (between 9 and 11), requiring extra-mixing processes in the stellar interiors during the post-main sequence evolution. Finally, we found a slight Sr/Fe enhancement and a slight Y/Fe depletion (by a factor of <=2), with respect to solar.
A flux-calibrated high resolution spectrum of the airglow emission is a practical lambda-calibration reference for astronomical spectral observations. It is also useful for constraining the molecular ...parameters of the OH molecule and the physical conditions in the upper mesosphere. methods: We use the data collected during the first technical commissioning of the GIANO spectrograph at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG). The high resolution (R~50,000) spectrum simultaneously covers the 0.95-2.4 micron wavelength range. Relative flux calibration is achieved by the simultaneous observation of spectrophotometric standard star. results: We derive a list of improved positions and intensities of OH infrared lines. The list includes Lambda-split doublets many of which are spectrally resolved. Compared to previous works, the new results correct errors in the wavelengths of the Q-branch transitions. The relative fluxes of OH lines from different vibrational bands show remarkable deviations from theoretical predictions: the Deltav=3,4 lines are a factor of 2 and 4 brighter than expected. We also find evidence of a significant fraction (1-4%) of OH molecules with ``non-thermal'' population of high-J levels. Finally we list wavelengths and fluxes of 153 lines not attributable to OH. Most of these can be associated to O2, while 37 lines in the H band are not identified. The O2 and unidentified lines in the H band account for ~5% of the total airglow flux in this band.
The present paper describes main technical features and experimental results of a high spectral resolution sensor that can operate both as a passive and active sensor. The sensor features a high ...spectral resolution detection system (521 channels, up to 0.04-nm spectral resolution) and allows the remote detection of both laser-induced fluorescence of vegetation and reflectance plus solar-induced fluorescence spectra.