Mirko Prato

Bio: Mirko Prato is an academic researcher from Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. The author has contributed to research in topics: Gravitational wave & LIGO. The author has an hindex of 76, co-authored 370 publications receiving 21189 citations. Previous affiliations of Mirko Prato include University of Genoa & California Institute of Technology.

Tuning the Optical Properties of Cesium Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals by Anion Exchange Reactions

Abstract: We demonstrate that, via controlled anion exchange reactions using a range of different halide precursors, we can finely tune the chemical composition and the optical properties of presynthesized colloidal cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs), from green emitting CsPbBr3 to bright emitters in any other region of the visible spectrum, and back, by displacement of Cl– or I– ions and reinsertion of Br– ions. This approach gives access to perovskite semiconductor NCs with both structural and optical qualities comparable to those of directly synthesized NCs. We also show that anion exchange is a dynamic process that takes place in solution between NCs. Therefore, by mixing solutions containing perovskite NCs emitting in different spectral ranges (due to different halide compositions) their mutual fast exchange dynamics leads to homogenization in their composition, resulting in NCs emitting in a narrow spectral region that is intermediate between those of the parent nanoparticles.

The Einstein Telescope: a third-generation gravitational wave observatory

Abstract: Advanced gravitational wave interferometers, currently under realization, will soon permit the detection of gravitational waves from astronomical sources. To open the era of precision gravitational wave astronomy, a further substantial improvement in sensitivity is required. The future space-based Laser Interferometer Space Antenna and the third-generation ground-based observatory Einstein Telescope (ET) promise to achieve the required sensitivity improvements in frequency ranges. The vastly improved sensitivity of the third generation of gravitational wave observatories could permit detailed measurements of the sources' physical parameters and could complement, in a multi-messenger approach, the observation of signals emitted by cosmological sources obtained through other kinds of telescopes. This paper describes the progress of the ET project which is currently in its design study phase.

Predictions for the rates of compact binary coalescences observable by ground-based gravitational-wave detectors

Abstract: We present an up-to-date, comprehensive summary of the rates for all types of compact binary coalescence sources detectable by the initial and advanced versions of the ground-based gravitational-wave detectors LIGO and Virgo. Astrophysical estimates for compact-binary coalescence rates depend on a number of assumptions and unknown model parameters and are still uncertain. The most confident among these estimates are the rate predictions for coalescing binary neutron stars which are based on extrapolations from observed binary pulsars in our galaxy. These yield a likely coalescence rate of 100 Myr−1 per Milky Way Equivalent Galaxy (MWEG), although the rate could plausibly range from 1 Myr−1 MWEG−1 to 1000 Myr−1 MWEG−1 (Kalogera et al 2004 Astrophys. J. 601 L179; Kalogera et al 2004 Astrophys. J. 614 L137 (erratum)). We convert coalescence rates into detection rates based on data from the LIGO S5 and Virgo VSR2 science runs and projected sensitivities for our advanced detectors. Using the detector sensitivities derived from these data, we find a likely detection rate of 0.02 per year for Initial LIGO–Virgo interferometers, with a plausible range between 2 × 10−4 and 0.2 per year. The likely binary neutron–star detection rate for the Advanced LIGO–Virgo network increases to 40 events per year, with a range between 0.4 and 400 per year.

Predictions for the Rates of Compact Binary Coalescences Observable by Ground-based Gravitational-wave Detectors

Abstract: We present an up-to-date, comprehensive summary of the rates for all types of compact binary coalescence sources detectable by the Initial and Advanced versions of the ground-based gravitational-wave detectors LIGO and Virgo Astrophysical estimates for compact-binary coalescence rates depend on a number of assumptions and unknown model parameters, and are still uncertain The most confident among these estimates are the rate predictions for coalescing binary neutron stars which are based on extrapolations from observed binary pulsars in our Galaxy These yield a likely coalescence rate of 100 per Myr per Milky Way Equivalent Galaxy (MWEG), although the rate could plausibly range from 1 per Myr per MWEG to 1000 per Myr per MWEG We convert coalescence rates into detection rates based on data from the LIGO S5 and Virgo VSR2 science runs and projected sensitivities for our Advanced detectors Using the detector sensitivities derived from these data, we find a likely detection rate of 002 per year for Initial LIGO-Virgo interferometers, with a plausible range between 00002 and 02 per year The likely binary neutron-star detection rate for the Advanced LIGO-Virgo network increases to 40 events per year, with a range between 04 and 400 per year

Solution Synthesis Approach to Colloidal Cesium Lead Halide Perovskite Nanoplatelets with Monolayer-Level Thickness Control

Abstract: We report a colloidal synthesis approach to CsPbBr3 nanoplatelets (NPLs). The nucleation and growth of the platelets, which takes place at room temperature, is triggered by the injection of acetone in a mixture of precursors that would remain unreactive otherwise. The low growth temperature enables the control of the plate thickness, which can be precisely tuned from 3 to 5 monolayers. The strong two-dimensional confinement of the carriers at such small vertical sizes is responsible for a narrow PL, strong excitonic absorption, and a blue shift of the optical band gap by more than 0.47 eV compared to that of bulk CsPbBr3. We also show that the composition of the NPLs can be varied all the way to CsPbBr3 or CsPbI3 by anion exchange, with preservation of the size and shape of the starting particles. The blue fluorescent CsPbCl3 NPLs represent a new member of the scarcely populated group of blue-emitting colloidal nanocrystals. The exciton dynamics were found to be independent of the extent of 2D confinement...

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Phd by thesis

Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

GW170817: observation of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star inspiral

Abstract: On August 17, 2017 at 12∶41:04 UTC the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detectors made their first observation of a binary neutron star inspiral. The signal, GW170817, was detected with a combined signal-to-noise ratio of 32.4 and a false-alarm-rate estimate of less than one per 8.0×10^{4} years. We infer the component masses of the binary to be between 0.86 and 2.26 M_{⊙}, in agreement with masses of known neutron stars. Restricting the component spins to the range inferred in binary neutron stars, we find the component masses to be in the range 1.17-1.60 M_{⊙}, with the total mass of the system 2.74_{-0.01}^{+0.04}M_{⊙}. The source was localized within a sky region of 28 deg^{2} (90% probability) and had a luminosity distance of 40_{-14}^{+8} Mpc, the closest and most precisely localized gravitational-wave signal yet. The association with the γ-ray burst GRB 170817A, detected by Fermi-GBM 1.7 s after the coalescence, corroborates the hypothesis of a neutron star merger and provides the first direct evidence of a link between these mergers and short γ-ray bursts. Subsequent identification of transient counterparts across the electromagnetic spectrum in the same location further supports the interpretation of this event as a neutron star merger. This unprecedented joint gravitational and electromagnetic observation provides insight into astrophysics, dense matter, gravitation, and cosmology.

Nanocrystals of Cesium Lead Halide Perovskites (CsPbX3, X = Cl, Br, and I): Novel Optoelectronic Materials Showing Bright Emission with Wide Color Gamut

Abstract: Metal halides perovskites, such as hybrid organic–inorganic CH3NH3PbI3, are newcomer optoelectronic materials that have attracted enormous attention as solution-deposited absorbing layers in solar cells with power conversion efficiencies reaching 20%. Herein we demonstrate a new avenue for halide perovskites by designing highly luminescent perovskite-based colloidal quantum dot materials. We have synthesized monodisperse colloidal nanocubes (4–15 nm edge lengths) of fully inorganic cesium lead halide perovskites (CsPbX3, X = Cl, Br, and I or mixed halide systems Cl/Br and Br/I) using inexpensive commercial precursors. Through compositional modulations and quantum size-effects, the bandgap energies and emission spectra are readily tunable over the entire visible spectral region of 410–700 nm. The photoluminescence of CsPbX3 nanocrystals is characterized by narrow emission line-widths of 12–42 nm, wide color gamut covering up to 140% of the NTSC color standard, high quantum yields of up to 90%, and radiativ...