Research group:

Nuclear Astrophysics 

Scientific coordinator:

• Dr. Raffaele Buompane (RTDA)

Members:

• Prof. Lucio Gialanella (PO) 
• Prof. Antonio D’Onofrio (PO)
• Prof. Nunzio Itaco (PA)
• Prof. Fabio Marzaioli (PA)

• Prof. Vincenzo Roca (PA – Research Associate)
• Dr.ssa Morales-Gallegos Elia Lizeth (RTDA) 
• Dr. Claudio Santonastaso (PostDoc)
• Dr. Giuseppe Porzio (PhD. Student)
• Dr.ssa Maria Lucia Mitsou (PhD. Student) 

• Dr. Francesco Molitierno (PhD. Student)

Research Keywords:

• Nuclear Astrophysics
• Recoil Mass Separator
• Nuclear Physics
• Radioactive Ion Beam
• Mass spectrometry

ERC Keywords:

• PE2_4  Nuclear astrophysics 
• PE2_3  Nuclear physics

Research Profile:

Nuclear Astrophysics 

The Nuclear Astrophysics group investigates nuclear processes of astrophysical interest. Presently, the group is focused on two projects: ERNA (European Recoil for Nuclear Astrophysics) and ASBeST (A 7-Beryllium electron capture STudy for nuclear and solid state physics).

• The ERNA project is funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN). The project aims to measure charged particle nuclear reactions  that play a crucial role in nucleosynthesis and stellar evolution. Several approaches  are used:

• Measurements of the absolute cross section of radiative capture reactions are performed with the recoil mass separator. The ERNA separator is one of the small number of facilities in the world where online mass separation has been implemented for nuclear astrophysics experiments. Currently, the scientific program with the separator is focused on the 12C(α,γ)16O reaction.

• Cross section measurements with charged particle spectroscopy exploit the GASTLY (GAs-Silicon Two-Layer sYstem) detector array. Reactions of astrophysical interest with charged particles in the exit channel are studied by means of the GASTLY detector array.
• The isotopic composition of meteoritic samples and other terrestrial materials is investigated using Mass Spectrometry (MS). Isotopic ratios are   fingerprints of the astrophysical processes that produced them. Such information provides insight into the chemical evolution of the Solar System and our Galaxy. Measurements are made with conventional MS (IRMS or ICPMS) or AMS, as needed.

Different Research Units (RU) are involved in the ERNA collaboration: University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Department of Mathematics and Physics; University of Naples Federico II, Department of Physics; INFN-Naples; INFN-Rome. Other researchers from the following institutions are involved: Ruhr Universität Bochum (Germany); Institute for Nuclear Research (ATOMKI), Debrecen (Hungary); SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom); Departamento de Física Nuclear, Instituto de Física da Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil).

• The ASBeST project is founded by MUR call PRIN–2020. The project aims to study the 7Be electron capture decay for the first time under controlled conditions by exploiting two novel approaches. On one hand, measurements of the half-life of 7Be ions in different charge states will be performed using an intense 7Be ion beam and accelerator mass spectrometry techniques. On the other, the Stark effect in solids will be produced in Silicon Carbide (SiC) based electronic devices altering 7Be half-life. The results will be used to determine with high precision the nuclear matrix elements of the weak interaction, that will be compared with the outcome of a fully microscopic calculation. In addition, it is worth noting that the change of the 7Be decay rate has been demonstrated to have a significant impact in solar physics and neutrino physics. The project, due to its multidisciplinary nature, will be carried out thanks to the availability of skills and laboratories of high international qualification in the different Research Units: University of Campania-Department of Mathematics and Physics, CNR IMM Bologna, INFN Roma-LNGS, University of Salerno-Department of Engineering.

Current research projects:

1. Project 1 ERNA
   1.  ( link to the webpage of the project https://www.circe.unicampania.it/index.php/repository/ERNA/https://web.infn.it/ERNA/index.php/it/)

2. Project 2 ASBeST
   1. (link to the webpage of the project  https://www.circe.unicampania.it/index.php/repository/asbest)

Recent publications (2020-23):

1. Buompane, R.; Di Leva, A.; Gialanella, L.; Imbriani, G.; Morales-Gallegos, L.; Romoli, M. Recent Achievements of the ERNA Collaboration. Universe 2022, 8 (2), 135. https://doi.org/10.3390/universe8020135.

2. Buompane, R.; Di Leva, A.; Gialanella, L.; D’Onofrio, A.; De Cesare, M.; Duarte, J. G.; Fülöp, Z.; Gasques, L. R.; Gyürky, Gy.; Morales-Gallegos, L.; Marzaioli, F.; Palumbo, G.; Porzio, G.; Rapagnani, D.; Roca, V.; Rogalla, D.; Romoli, M.; Santonastaso, C.; Schürmann, D. Determination of the 7Be ( p , γ ) 8B Cross Section at Astrophysical Energies Using a Radioactive 7Be Ion Beam. Physics Letters B 2022, 824, 136819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2021.136819.

3. Aliotta, M.; Buompane, R.; Couder, M.; Couture, A.; deBoer, R. J.; Formicola, A.; Gialanella, L.; Glorius, J.; Imbriani, G.; Junker, M.; Langer, C.; Lennarz, A.; Litvinov, Y. A.; Liu, W.-P.; Lugaro, M.; Matei, C.; Meisel, Z.; Piersanti, L.; Reifarth, R.; Robertson, D.; Simon, A.; Straniero, O.; Tumino, A.; Wiescher, M.; Xu, Y. The Status and Future of Direct Nuclear Reaction Measurements for Stellar Burning. J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 2022, 49 (1), 010501. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471/ac2b0f.

4. Badalà, A.; La Cognata, M.; Nania, R.; Osipenko, M.; Piantelli, S.; Turrisi, R.; Barion, L.; Capra, S.; Carbone, D.; Carnesecchi, F.; Casula, E. A. R.; Chatterjee, C.; Ciani, G. F.; Depalo, R.; Di Nitto, A.; Fantini, A.; Goasduff, A.; Guardo, G. L.; Kraan, A. C.; Manna, A.; Marsicano, L.; Martorana, N. S.; Morales-Gallegos, L.; Naselli, E.; Scordo, A.; Valdré, S.; Volpe, G.Trends in Particle and Nuclei Identification Techniques in Nuclear Physics Experiments. Riv. Nuovo Cim. 2022, 45 (3), 189–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40766-021-00028-5.

5. Păceşilă, D.; Bishop, S.; Stanciu, I.; Enăchescu, M.; Petre, A. R.; Virgolici, M.; Iancu, D.; Ţugulan, L.; Done, L.; Petraglia, A.; Terrasi, F.; Marzaioli, F.; Porzio, G.; Buompane, R.; Gialanella, L. Ultrasensitive Detection of 244 Pu in Environmental Samples by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 2022, 37 (12), 2581–2588. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2JA00283C.

6. Santonastaso, C.; Buompane, R.; Gialanella, L.; Di Leva, A.; Itaco, N.; Morales-Gallegos, L.; Rapagnani, D.; Neitzert, H. C.; Landi, G. Change in the Be Half-Life in Different Environments. Il Nuovo Cimento C 2021, 44 (203), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1393/ncc/i2021-21075-8.

7. Rapagnani, D.; De Cesare, M.; Buompane, R.; Del Vecchio, A.; Di Leva, A.; D’Onofrio, A.; Porzio, G.; Gialanella, L.Validation of a Novel Technique with Radioactive Implanted Ions for Material Recession Rate Estimate. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 2021, 54 (32), 32LT01. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ac006e.

8. Pantaleo, F. R.; Boeltzig, A.; Best, A.; Perrino, R.; Aliotta, M.; Balibrea-Correa, J.; Barile, F.; Bemmerer, D.; Broggini, C.; Bruno, C. G.; Buompane, R.; Caciolli, A.; Cavanna, F.; Chillery, T.; Ciani, G. F.; et al. LUNA Collaboration. Low-Energy Resonances in the O 18 (p , γ) 19 F Reaction. Phys. Rev. C 2021, 104 (2), 025802. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.104.025802.

9. Terrasi, F.; Marzaioli, F.; Buompane, R.; Passariello, I.; Porzio, G.; Capano, M.; Helama, S.; Oinonen, M.; Nöjd, P.; Uusitalo, J.; Jull, A. J. T.; Panyushkina, I. P.; Baisan, C.; Molnar, M.; Varga, T.; Kovaltsov, G.; Poluianov, S.; Usoskin, I. CAN THE 14 C PRODUCTION IN 1055 CE BE AFFECTED BY SN1054? Radiocarbon 2020, 62 (5), 1403–1418. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.58.

10. Figuera, P.; Maugeri, E. A.; Buompane, R.; Cosentino, L.; Di Leva, A.; Di Pietro, A.; Fisichella, M.; Gialanella, L.; Heinitz, S.; Kivel, N.; Lattuada, M.; Marchetta, C.; Marletta, S.; Mascali, D.; Massara, A.; Schumann, D.; Tudisco, F. Development of an Intense 10Be Radioactive Beam in ‘off-Line Mode’ at the Catania Tandem Accelerator. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment 2020, 972, 164120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164120.

11. Brandi, F.; Labate, L.; Rapagnani, D.; Buompane, R.; Leva, A. D.; Gialanella, L.; Gizzi, L. A. Optical and Spectroscopic Study of a Supersonic Flowing Helium Plasma: Energy Transport in the Afterglow. Sci Rep 2020, 10 (1), 5087. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61988-y.

Scientific coordinator:

• Umberto Dello Iacono

Members:

• Giancarlo Artiano

• Umberto Dello Iacono

• Eva Ferrara Dentice

• Antonio D’Onofrio

• Nunzio Itaco

• Roberta Martino

• Alessio Russo

• Viviana Ventre

ISI WEB Categories:

• Mathematics

• Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications

• Physics, Multidisciplinary

• Multidisciplinary Sciences

• Education & Educational Research

• Education, Scientific Disciplines

SSD:

• MAT 04 - Matematiche Complementari (Didattica della Matematica)

• FIS/08 - Didattica e Storia della Fisica

ERC Categories:

• PE1_6 - Geometry and Global Analysis

• PE1_21 - Application of mathematics in sciences

• SH3_11 - Social aspects of teaching and learning, curriculum studies, education and educational policies

• SH3_14 - Social studies of science and technology

• SH4_1 Cognitive basis of human development and education, developmental disorders; comparative cognition

• SH4_6 Learning, memory; cognition in ageing

• SH4_7 Reasoning, decision-making; intelligence

• SH4_13 Philosophy of science, epistemology, logic

Research Keywords:

• Students’ difficulties and misconceptions

• Problem solving and text comprehension

• Inquiry model and decision making

• Science education in formal and informal contexts

• E-learning

• Visual programming

• Computer-based environments and digital technologies

• Learning interfaces

• Teachers’ professional development

Research Profile:

• Students’ difficulties and misconceptions on symmetries. Visual programming and computer-based environments.

The researchers involved in the research group, in collaboration with researchers from other universities, Ph.D. Students and Research Fellows, investigated students’ difficulties and misconceptions on symmetries, and designed educational activities for students at all school levels, with the aim of overcoming them. The students were introduced to the study of isometries starting from the observation of the aesthetic properties of real-world objects, such as rosettes, ornamental friezes, flooring, and wallpapers. Based on these experiences, didactic activities have been designed and implemented, also exploiting the potential and characteristics of computer-based environments, in particular of the Scratch programming language, which represents a didactically suitable tool as it allows students to interact dynamically with the environment. 

• Learning interfaces

Over recent years research in mathematics education has focused on the design of Vygotskian Computer-Based Learning Activities inspired by the Vygotskian educational model so as to foster the development of students’ competences. These learning activities are usually implemented on e-learning platforms, e.g., Moodle. Despite research highlighted the effectiveness of these products, their dissemination in schools and their use in teaching/learning practice with students is still weak. Considering that the re-design of learning activities requires very experienced users, teachers could encounter several challenges trying to use them autonomously. The main aim of this research is to develop learning interfaces for the engineering of Vygotskian computer-based learning activities, in order to make them accessible and usable by teachers - or trainers - and to promote their wide dissemination in schools.

• Problem solving and text comprehension

Problem solving is an activity that causes difficulties for many students, regardless of school order, often related to the phase of understanding the text of the problem itself. The national indications for the secondary school highlight the need to plan interdisciplinary activities to enhance students’ ability to use natural language to understand texts of various types. In this regard, learning activities were designed and experimented with the aim of improving students’ skills in interpreting a mathematical text. Analysis of the experimentation data shows that designed learning activities seem to be effective in promoting the activation of appropriate solving processes by the students, as well as the production of arguments in support of the given answers. Most students, after working on text comprehension, improved the correctness of their answers and/or produced arguments to support them.

• Inquiry model and decision making

The current historical context requires that the school recognizes as fundamental the equality of educational opportunities and promotes the achievement of appropriate levels of knowledge and skills by all, to ensure to all students high levels of mastery, or at least fully appropriate, of the basic skills in the educational curricula. Therefore, a convergent personalization is fundamental, with respect to which the differentiation of educational paths and the programmed and opportunely diversified technical solutions allow everyone to achieve common educational goals. Thus, from an operational point of view, teaching becomes a decision-making problem. An interesting research question is whether decision theory applied to mathematics teaching/learning can be an effective tool for developing personalized educational strategies for students with SLD. The development of a decision model that considers both the relevant results of research in mathematics education and the hierarchical analytical method of Saaty and the enforcement of this model to a case study made it possible to build a personalized teaching strategy that appeared to be effective.

• How are problem solving processes activated?

Problem solving is one of the required competencies for students in the 21st century.  Metacognition is essential in problem solving because it is instrumental in building an appropriate representation of a given problem and monitoring the solution processes for solving it. Metacognitive experiences have an effect on decisions which students make in learning situations regarding effort allocation, time investment or strategy use. Collaboration can enhance the problem-solving process since the distinct ideas of group members can foster greater creativity and quality of solutions. Students, interacting with each other, explain, argue and debate, and this can foster the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills in students in accordance with a socio-cultural approach. The aim of the research is to investigate how problem solving processes are activated in group work using digital technologies.

• Teaching mathematics with digital tools

In recent years we have witnessed rapid technological and digital changes that inevitably affected mathematics education as well. The aim of this research strand is to understand what teachers mean by digital technologies, especially in this period of digital revolution also amplified by the pandemic, and whether they are trained in the use of digital technologies. This research seems to reveal a belief of teachers, namely, that knowing digital technologies is sufficient to be able to teach mathematics with technologies.

• Mental Imagery in STEM Thought 

What are the origins of scientific concepts? What is the role of mental imagery in discovering and constructing theories? Because these problems go right to the heart of the age-old inquiry of how we construct knowledge through interacting with the world we live in, they have long occupied scientists and philosophers and, more recently, researchers in mathematics and physics education and cognitive psychologists. This research strand aims to investigate to what extent the enhancement of visuospatial skills in university students can favor the development of specific competencies in mathematics and physics, also considering the possible role of personality traits, such as the systematization, of starting visuospatial and intuitive knowledge of mathematics and physics. Several longitudinal studies showed the effectiveness of visuospatial skills enhancement courses in university students of STEM subjects: the enhancement would be able not only to improve visuospatial skills but also to reduce the observed gender differences in these skills and to improve curricular performance.

• Science Education in Formal and Informal Contexts

What role does scientific knowledge play in large-scale science education? This is one of the many questions that we have been pondering over. In 2021, Nobel Prize for Physics Giorgio Parisi raised a serious alarm on the relationship between science and society in Italy. This statement is confirmed by national surveys of science learning at all levels of education. This research strand aims to develop resonate models of teaching and learning STEM disciplines. This means, on one hand, to constitute communities of practice (researchers in physics and mathematics, educators, psychologists, teachers, and families) that share an effective methodology of doing STEM disciplines in formal and informal context and, on the other, to identify significance mediators such as everyday language, socio-cultural contexts experiences and good scientific teaching practices to favorite a scientific dialogue. The involvement of the educating communities represents the main long-term strategy and is essential for a conscious dissemination of science education on a large scale.

• Teachers Education Models

This research strand aims to develop science education models for teachers. STEM disciplines are perceived as difficult as well as not understandable by many students. This idea was born in elementary school and extends through middle and high school. Most students do not voluntarily attend scientific high school or university because they do not feel suited to scientific study. The chain of events described above has other serious consequences for our entire society (gender inequalities and minorities, low participation in public affairs). One way to address this problem is to update the education of prospective and practicing teachers at all grade levels. STEM teachers in Italy prefer to use a teacher-directed approach rather than mixing well different approaches as many literature works suggest. The aim is to propose, at a local and national level, new education courses in which researchers, pre-service and in-service teachers adopt an action-research methodology and the approach of design experiments to develop experimentation materials that can improve scientific teaching practice in schools of all grades.

• Facilitating the learning and teaching of modern physics at high school level

In the last years, the Italian Ministry of Education has been recommending that modern physics should be part of any high school physics curriculum. As well known, however, there are many peculiar obstacles to overcome to comply with those recommendations, namely the lack of mathematical knowledge that is necessary to treat ordinary and partial differential equations in a rigorous way. Also, it has been often remarked that high-school physics reduces to an arid enumeration of laws, a list of fragmentary pieces of information related to each other only by the chronological order of their "discovery". The aim of this line research is to propose the study of dynamical equations of both ordinary and unconventional physical systems as iterative process. This approach wants to foster the connection between phenomena that very often appear in a fragmented way and tries to bypass technical difficulties involved in the rigorous treatment of differential equations. 

Current research projects:

• Liceo Matematico UniCampania (part of the national project Liceo Matematico) (https://www.liceomatematico.it/caserta/) 

• “Comprendere il testo matematico” (Understanding mathematical text), Department of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, in collaboration with CIDI of Potenza

• National education project “Matematica e digitale”, in implementation of a collaboration protocol between the Ministry of Education and the Foundation “I Lincei per la scuola” as part of the PNSD (Piano Nazionale Scuola Digitale) (https://www.linceiscuola.it/corso/b4-matematica-per-la-tecnica-2022-2023/) 

• BrEW Math 01 (Brixen Education Workshop on Storytelling in STEM disciplines at the crossroads of science and humanities,) organized by the MultiLaB of the Faculty of Education of the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano and the PhD program in General Pedagogy, Social Pedagogy, General Education and Disciplinary Education of the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano

• “Il ruolo delle abilità visuo-spaziali nei processi di apprendimento in Matematica e Fisica” (The role of visuo-spatial skills in learning processes in Mathematics and Physics) In collaboration with researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”

• SPAM - Young Minds Section of the European Physical Society, at University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”  

• Oceani in Costruzione, Cambia-Menti  (Percorso con i bambini Oceani in Costruzione) Percorso con i Bambini - Fondo per il Contrasto alla Povertà Educativa Minorile. Coordinated by TRAPARENTESI APS (https://www.traparentesiaps.it/) with Department of Physics - Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II 

• N:OTE. Agenzia per la coesione territoriale. Coordinated by TRAPARENTESI APS (https://www.traparentesiaps.it/ ) with Department of Physics - Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II 

Other research projects (2020-2023) 

• LIME Project (Learning Interface for Mathematics Education) (SSD MAT/04 - ERC SH3_10, SH3_11, PE1_21) (https://www.geogebra.org/m/umcwt4dw) 

• GoAL Project (Groups: overlappings between Algebra and Geometry, Logic and Mathematics Education) -  Macro Area: PE1 Mathematics; Area PE1_1 (Logic and Foundations); PE1_2 (Algebra); PE1_5 (Geometry) 

• “Toward a more efficient teaching in numeracy and literacy: a search for a way to improve student’s capabilities”, cod.  uff.  8  CUP B94F17006170001 

• “From the competence to the performances: improving students’ knowledge and capabilities in literacy and numeracy”, cod. uff. 10 CUP B94F17009650001 (Eva Ferrara Dentice)

Recent publications (2020-23) 

1. Dello Iacono, U. & Spagnolo, C. (accepted). What do teachers think about students’ approach to collaborative problem solving? Comparison among teachers’ beliefs at different school grades. 29th Conference of Mathematical Views (MAVI29), Vercelli (Italy), 19-22 september 2023.

2. Bolondi, G., Dello Iacono, U., La Ferrera, A., & Spagnolo, C. (accepted). Come si attivano i processi di problem solving? Un’esperienza laboratoriale con l’uso di tecnologie digitali. Atti del convegno Incontri con la Matematica XXXVII, Castel San Pietro Terme, 10-12 novembre 2023.

3. Bassi, C., Brunetto, D., & Dello Iacono, U. (accepted). Mathematics teachers’ views towards design: an exploratory study in the Italian context. 29th Conference of Mathematical Views (MAVI29), Vercelli (Italy), 19-22 september 2023.

4. Bassi, C., Brunetto, D., & Dello Iacono, U. (accepted). Designing with digital technologies: the influence of a professional development program on teachers’ beliefs. Conference on Digital Tools in Mathematics Education (CADGME 2023), Catania.

5. Artiano, G., Balzano, E. (in press) Teaching and Learning Physics in Formal and Informal Contexts. Il Nuovo Cimento - Colloquia and Communications in Physics.

6. Amabile, A., Annunziata, A., Artiano, G., Figari, R., & Balzano, E. (in press). An intuitive introduction to the evolution of physical systems. Il Nuovo Cimento.

7. Cocozza, M., Russo, A. (2023). Quanti sono i gruppi di ordine 2023?. Periodico di Matematiche, 99, 77-84.

8. Brunetto, D., & Dello Iacono, U. (in press). Teaching mathematics with digital tools: an Italian high school teachers’ perspective. International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education. 

9. Crisci, R., Dello Iacono, U., & Ferrara Dentice, E. (in press). A computer programming-based digital artifact to introduce axial symmetry in primary school: an instrumental approach, International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education.

10. Ventre, V.; Martino, R.; Castellano, R. and Sarnacchiaro, P. (2023) The analysis of the impact of the framing effect on the choice of financial products: an analytical hierarchical process approach. Annals of Operations Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-022-05142-z 

11. Amabile, A., Annunziata, A., Artiano, G., & Balzano, E. (2022). Experimentation and Research in the Physics Course for the Preparation of Primary School Teachers in Naples. Education Sciences, 12(4), 241. DOI: 10.3390.

12. Annunziata, A., Artiano, G., & Balzano, E. (2022). La Sperimentazione nella Didattica della Fisica a Scienze della Formazione Primaria a Napoli. Giornale di Fisica, VOL. LXIII, PLS-Fisica-FIP. DOI 10.1393

13. Annunziata, A., Artiano, G., & Balzano, E., P. Piccialli (2022). Challenges to Fight Educational Poverty. Scholarly Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. DOI: 10.32474

14. Dello Iacono, U. (2022). Promoting online collaborative learning on moodle platform with the “quick chat” plugin. HUMAN REVIEW. International Humanities Review/Revista Internacional de Humanidades, 11(Monográfico), 1-10. DOI: 10.37467/revhuman.v11.3946

15. Brunetto, D., & Dello Iacono, U. (2022). Teachers’ understanding of digital technology. Proc. of Conference on Digital Tools in Mathematics Education (CADGME 2022), Jerusalem (pp. 87-88).

16. Crisci, R., Dello Iacono, U., & Ferrara Dentice, E. (2022). Axial symmetry in primary school through computer programming: an instrumental approach. Proc. of Conference on Digital Tools in Mathematics Education (CADGME 2022), Jerusalem (pp. 58-59).

17. Crisci, R., Dello Iacono, U., & Ferrara Dentice, E. (2022). A digital artefact based on visual programming for the learning of axial symmetry in primary school, Twelfth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME12), Feb 2022, Bozen-Bolzano, Italy. hal-03748428

18. Dello Iacono, U. (2022). “Quick chat” plugin:  promoting online collaborative learning on Moodle platform. In D. Caldevilla Domínguez (Ed.) Libro de actas del CUICIID 2022 (Congreso Universitario Internacional sobre la Comunicación en la profesión y en la Universidad de hoy: Contenidos, Investigación, Innovación y Docencia), (p. 553), Editorial: Fórum Internacional de Comunicación y Relaciones públicas (Fórum XXI).

19. Dello Iacono, U. (2022). An e-learning collaborative environment to support the move from argumentation to proof in mathematics. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching (JCMST), 41(2), 29-43.

20. Ventre, V., Dello Iacono, U., Ferrara Dentice, E. & Martino, R. (2022). Models and theories for the choice of teaching strategies in mathematics. Italian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, 48, 125-144. https://ijpam.uniud.it/online_issue/202248/09%20Ventre-Iacono-Dentice-Martino.pdf

21. Dello Iacono, U., Ferrara Dentice, E., Mannillo, C. V., & Vitale, M. L. (2022). Dalla comprensione del testo alla risoluzione del problema: un’esperienza nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado, Didattica della matematica. Dalla ricerca alle pratiche d’aula, (12), pp. 9-21. https://doi.org/10.33683/ddm.22.12.1

22. Dello Iacono, U., D’Onofrio, A., & Russo, A. (a cura di) (2022). Promuovere le competenze di matematica nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado. Collana di Logica Matematica, Algebra e Geometria Alef, Aracne Editrice, ISBN: 9791259946041

23. Ventre, V.; Cruz Rambaud, S. ; Martino, R. and Maturo F. (2022). A behavioral approach to inconsistencies in intertemporal choices with the Analytic Hierarchy Process methodology. Annals of Finance. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10436-022-00419-6 

24. Ventre, V.; Martino, R. (2022). Quantification of Aversion to Uncertainty in Intertemporal Choice through Subjective Perception of Time. Mathematics, 10, 4315. https://doi.org/10.3390/math10224315  ISSN 2227-7390 pp. 1-16 

25. Ventre, V.; Martino, R. and Maturo, F. (2022). Subjective Perception of Time and Decision Inconsistency in Interval Effect. Quality & Quantity, Springer. doi 10.1007/s11135-022-01581-9 pp. 1-15 

26. Ventre, V.; Cruz Rambaud, S.; Martino, R. and Maturo, F. (2022). An analysis of intertemporal inconsistency through the hyperbolic factor. Quality & Quantity, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-022-01352-6, pp. 1-28. 

27. Albano, G., Dello Iacono, U., & Mariotti, M.A. (2021). An E-Learning Innovative Approach for Mathematical Argumentative Thinking. International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, 28(1), pp. 3-14, DOI: 10.1564/tme_v28.4.01.

28. Albano, G., Antonini, S., Coppola, C., Dello Iacono, U., Pierri, A. (2021). ‘Tell me about’ - A logbook of teachers’ changes  from face-to-face to distance mathematics education. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 108(1), 15-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-021-10108-2

29. Annunziata, A., Artiano, G., & Balzano, E. (2021). Educazione scientifica nella scuola primaria. La sperimentazione e la cooperazione nella formazione iniziale e in servizio degli insegnanti. Atti del X Convegno SIRD. Studi e ricerche sui processi di apprendimento e insegnamento e valutazione. ISSN 2612-4971

30. Dello Iacono, U., Pierri, A., & Polo, M. (2021). An online collaborative approach for fostering argumentative thinking in mathematics. International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, 28(3), 153-162. https://doi.org/10.1564/tme_v28.3.05

31. Albano, G., Coppola, C., Dello Iacono, U. (2021). What does ‘Inside Out’ mean in problem-solving?. For the learning of mathematics, 41(2).

32. Dello Iacono, U. (2021). From argumentation to proof in geometry within a collaborative computer-based environment. Digital Experiences in Mathematics Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40751-021-00090-y.

33. Dello Iacono, U., Amorese, T., Cuciniello, M., & Mannillo, C.V. (2021). User-friendly interfaces for Vygotskian computer-based learning activities. Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (JSCI), 19(2), 23-29.

34. Dello Iacono, U., Amorese, T., Cuciniello, M., & Durand, D. (2021).  Moodle plugin to promote students’ interactions for Vygotskian computer-based learning activities. In L. Gómez Chova, A. López Martínez, I. Candel Torres (Eds.) ICERI2021 (International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation 2021) Proceedings, (pp. 2441-2446), IATED Academy. ISBN: 978-84-09-34549-6, ISSN: 2340-1095

35. Ventre, V; Longo, A; Maturo, F. (2021). The role of the communication and information in decision-making problems. DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-61334-1_20. pp.407-419. Algorithms as an approach of applied mathematics - ISBN:978-3-030-61334-1. In STUDIES IN FUZZINESS AND SOFT COMPUTING - ISSN: 1434-9922 vol. 404

36. Albano, G., Dello Iacono, U., & Fiorentino, G.(2020). A Technological Storytelling Approach to Nurture Mathematical Argumentation. In H. Chad Lane, Susan Zvacek and James Uhomoibhi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2020) - Volume 1, (pp. 420-427). ISBN: 978-989-758-417-6.

37. Dello Iacono, U., & Ferrara Dentice, E. (2020). Mathematical walks in search of symmetries: from visualization to conceptualization. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. DOI:10.1080/0020739X.2020.1850897.

38. Albano, G., Arzarello, F. & Dello Iacono, U. (2020). Digital Inquiry Through Games. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 26(3), 577-595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-020-09459-1.

39. Albano, G., Coppola, C., Dello Iacono, U., Fiorentino, G., Pierri, A., & Polo, M. (2020). Technology to enable new paradigms of teaching/learning in mathematics: the digital interactive storytelling case. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 16(1), 65-71. https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1135201.

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42. Dello Iacono, U. (2020). Analisi del testo di un problema e narrazione matematica nella formazione dei futuri docenti di sostegno. L’insegnamento della matematica e delle scienze integrate (IMSI), 43B(1), 33-59.

43. Albano, G., Capobianco, G. & Dello Iacono, U. (2020). An online environment for promoting mathematical argumentation in primary school. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 39(3), 185-206.

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SSD: MAT/08 (Numerical Analysis) and MAT/09 (Operational research)

ERC fields: 

PE - Physical Sciences and Engineering

LS - Life Sciences

ERC subfield:

PE1_21 Application of mathematics in sciences

The research activity is devoted to the design and analysis of numerical methods, algorithms and software for Scientific Computing.

The applications of interest include problems in image processing, finance, agrifood and machine learning.

The research is carried out using the computing environment at DMF which includes:

the high performance Computing System Magic Box 

and the Scientific Computing Laboratory 

Research topics

• Preconditioning of large and sparse saddle-point linear systems arising in nonlinear optimization and PDEs;

• First-order and second-order methods in nonlinear optimization (gradient, proximal gradient, split-Bregman, quasi-Newton, interior point);
• Inverse problems: iterative regularization methods, numerical methods for problems arising in image processing and finance; 
• Multivariate approximation: numerical methods and applications;
• Numerical methods for differential problems and application to the analysis of the evolution of descriptors involved in pattern formation,biological and environmental problems.

The team:

Gerardo Toraldo (Scientific Coordinator), Professor
Rosanna Campagna, Associate Professor
Valentina De Simone, Associate Professor
Serena Crisci, Assistant Professor (RTDA)

PHD student:Zubair Ahmad  

Members:

• Francesca Crispo
• Angelica Pia Di Feola
• Paolo Maremonti
• Giulio Starita
• Alfonsina Tartaglione 
  
  
  
  Keywords:
• Fluid Dynamics
• Navier-Stokes equations: existence, uniqueness, suitable weak solutions, regularity, energy equality,steady flows, boundary data;
• Non-Newtonian power-law models: global regularity, high regularity, extinction properties;
• Elasticity theory: elastic solids; viscoelastic solids; stress relaxation; creep ;
• Diffusion phenomena: singular p-Laplacian system, p(t,x)-Laplacian system, global regularity, high regularity, Burgers equations.

Research Profile:

The Mathematical Physics group at the Department of Mathematics and Physics of University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” has an extensive experience in the analytic theory of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, in Elasticity theory, and Mathematical Models for Continuum Mechanics which has led to a wide literature published in international journals over the years.

• Fluid Dynamics
  
  
  
  Navier-Stokes equations
  
  
  
  The Navier-Stokes equations are a model for the dynamics of an incompressible and viscous fluid. As it is well known this model is one of the most interesting to describe fluid phenomena, and hence one of the most employed in the applications.
  
  In spite of this, the 3D mathematical theory of the Navier-Stokes equations is still an open problem, investigated by many specialists of PDEs with great interest in the last decades, also sponsored by the millennium prize.
  
  The chief mathematical question is to understand if the Hadamard principles of well posedness hold. It is known that for all initial data with finite kinetic energy there exists a weak solution to the Navier-Stokes equations, which is defined for all time instant. But the weak formulation is not satisfactory, as a regularity result (as for 2D) is not achieved. That is, we do not know if a weak solution is unique and regular in such a way to be consistent with the laws of continuous mechanics leading to the model.
  
  Hence from a mathematical-physical point view the importance to investigate on the regularity of a weak solution is evident.
  
  The mathematical issue consists in achieving a regularity criterium for weak solutions.
  
  There are several attempts in this sense, all based on scaling invariant metrics. Actually, they work in the case of small data. But among these regularity criteria we can single out the one due to Caffarelli-Kohn-Nirenberg, that works locally in space-time variables connected by the parabolic scaling. Further developments are possible in the wake of this criterium.
  
  Members of the group also analyze issues like existence, uniqueness and regularity for steady solutions to the various boundary value problems (with adherence or slip boundary conditions) governed by Navier-Stokes equations, as well as their Stokes and Oseen linearizations, under different regularity hypotheses on the boundary and on the boundary data. 
  
  
  
  Non-Newtonian power-law models
  
  
  
  There are plenty of experimental studies highlighting for many incompressible fluids, like blood, the viscosity may decrease or increase with increasing shear rates in a suitable range of shear rates.
  
  Hence the Navier-Stokes model is not anymore satisfactory, and these fluids are power-law fluids, characterized by a generalized viscosity that is a power of the share-rate. An increasing or decreasing generalized viscosity describes, respectively, shear thickening fluids (like batter) or shear thinning fluids (like blood, latex paint, lubricants). The industrial, medical, biological and engineering applications of such fluids motivate the growing attention devoted to their mathematical study and brings the importance of mathematical analysis in these applications areas.
  
  Despite their applicative importance and considerable achievements from experimental point of view, the mathematical analysis of the models for these fluids is still far from being complete, and, on the other hand, it is crucial for the validation of the models. While the existence of weak solutions is well understood, the uniqueness and global regularity still have partial contributions.
  
  Members of the group plan to continue the mathematical analysis of these models, in the sense of improvements of uniqueness and regularity results of solutions. Our interest in regularity is directed towards continuity results of the velocity gradient, and high regularity, in the sense of high integrability of the second derivatives, for solutions of boundary and initial boundary value problems. For the nonlinear character of the operator this appears to be a remarkable regularity property.
  
  
• Elasticity theory
  
  
  
  Members of the research group are interested in the study of elastic and viscoelastic bodies.
  
  The interest for elastic solids regards the analysis of the properties of the solutions to the equation of motion by evaluating their extension to unbounded body configurations.
  
  The equilibrium problem for elastic bodies is also analyzed to try and get existence and uniqueness results to the boundary value problems (with displacement, traction and other boundary conditions), besides asymptotic (in space) properties of the solutions to the equilibrium equations. 
  
  The viscoelastic solids are also examined: nonlinear models are developed governing the stress relaxation and creep behavior of bodies with material properties observed in biological tissues. 
  
  
• Diffusion phenomena
  
  
  
  Members of the group are interested in the study of the p-Laplacian system, both in the elliptic and in the parabolic case. As the principal non-linear operator is close to the one for power-law fluids,we mainly study high regularity properties of solutions with the goal of trying to next extend them to the fluid dynamics setting, wondering whether the addition of a new dynamic variable, the pressure, and a new equation arising from the incompressibility of the fluid, allow us to preserve the same properties obtained for solutions to the “corresponding” elliptic or parabolic systems.
  
  We are also involved in studying properties of solutions of p(x) and p(t,x)-Laplacian systems. These issues naturally fit into the framework of the regularity of minimizers of functionals with non-standard growth. We also mention that similar kind of systems govern the steady or unsteady motion of electrorheological fluids.
  
  Further, we consider the Burgers equation with principal operator given by the p-Laplacian.  Classical Burgers equations (with the Laplacian as principal operator) are considered both as a model for various applications and as an approximation of the Navier-Stokes system.
  
  The aim is to test whether in the nonlinear singular case some fundamental results known for the classical Burgers equations, such as the maximum principle, can be reproduced.
  
  
  
  
  
  Recent Publications

Francesca Crispo 

Paolo Maremonti 

Giulio Starita 

Alfonsina Tartaglione