Research

The last few years have seen an extraordinary growth of interest in complex systems. From physics to biology, from economics to cognitive sciences, a new vocabulary is emerging to describe discoveries about wide-ranging and fundamental phenomena.

Statistical Mechanics has become in the last decades the standard tool to study problems once considered to be out of the reach and the scopes of Physics. It has been in fact applied to the study of the complex behavior of various kinds of systems of areas such as biological and sociological sciences, finance, economy, theory of decisions, networks. In particular several disciplines connected with Engineering are now attracting more and more the interest of physicsts. Granular matter is a remarkable example of these new disciplines. The problem of understanding granular materials is widely recognized as one of the main problems of engineering and industry. A brief list of typical "granular" products comprehends: grains, powders, sands, pills, seeds and similar particulate materials. More generally, granular materials are a very large set of substances used in the industry and in the everyday life: ceramics, fertilizers, cosmetics, food products, paper, conductor pastes, resins, electronics, polymers, suspensions, solid chemicals, construction materials and so on. The international economic impact of particle processing is substantial. The value added by manufacture that involves particulate has been estimated to be a minimum of 80/100 billion/year, which is of the order of the US trade deficit with Japan. The US Dept. of Commerce has estimated the total economic impact of particulate products to be one trillion/year. Despite economic impact, however, insufficient attention is paid to difficulties associated with the processing of particles. An improved understanding of micromechanics of granular media requires an interdisciplinary approach involving both physicists and engineers. Mechanical engineers and geologists have studied Granular Matter for at least two centuries and found several empirical laws describing its behavior. Physicists have joined in more recently and are interested in formulating general laws. For them granular matter is a new type of condensed matter, showing two states: one fluid-like, one solid-like. But there is not yet consensus on the description of these two states. According to P.G. de Gennes Granular matter now is at the level of solid-state physics in 1930. Granular matter also represents an important paradigm for the study of non-equilibrium stationary states. Due to the dissipative nature of the interactions granular gases have to be considered as open systems and therefore concepts from equilibrium thermodynamics cannot be applied, at least in straightforward way. The project we propose focuses on granular fluids. We intend by granular fluid a large number of particles, whose size is larger than a micron, colliding with one another and losing a little energy in each collision. Below one micron thermal agitation is important and Brownian motion can be observed. Above one micron, thermal agitation is negligible. However,if such a system is shaken to keep it in motion, its dynamics resembles that of fluids, in that the grains move randomly. One of the key differences between a granular material and a regular fluid is that the grains of the former lose energy with each collision, while the molecules of the latter do not. Even when the inelasticity of the collisions is small, it can give rise to dramatic effects, including the Maxwell Demon effect and the phenomenon of granular clustering. Experiments and molecular dynamics simulations alike show that granular gases in the absence of gravity do not become homogeneous with time, but instead form dense clusters of stationary particles surrounded by a lower density region of more energetic particles. From a particulate point of view, one can explain these clusters by noting that when a particle enters a region of slightly higher density, it has more collisions, loses more energy, and so is less able to leave that region, thus increasing the local density and making it more likely for the next particle to be captured. Publications by U. Marini Bettolo Marconi

Publications by U. Marini Bettolo Marconi

Original papers

1
U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and M. Conti: Dynamics of vibrofluidized granular gases in periodic structures, Physical Review E 69, 011302 (2004) . pdf
  • 2
    U. M. B. Marconi and A. Puglisi
    Statistical mechanics of granular gases in compartmentalized systems Physical Review E 68, 031306 (2003) .
    pdf

  • 15.  Noise Activated Granular Dynamics
    F. Cecconi, A. Puglisi, U. M. B. Marconi, and A. Vulpiani
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 064301 (2003)
    pdf

  • J. M. Romero-Enrique, L. F. Rull, and U. M. Bettolo Marconi
    Surface and capillary transitions in an associating binary mixture model
    Phys. Rev. E 67, 041502 (2003) PDF

  • J. M. Romero Enrique, I. Rodriguez Ponce, L. F. Rull and Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Complex fluid behavior of strongly asymmetric binary mixtures. Thermodynamic properties of a generalized Lin-Taylor model.
    Molecular Physics 93, 501 (1998). PDF

  • J. M. Romero Enrique, I. Rodriguez Ponce, L. F. Rull y Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi.
    Critical exponents in the Lin-Taylor model of asymmetrical binary mixtures
    Molecular Physics, 95 , 571 (1998). PDF

  • R. Pagnani, U. M. Bettolo Marconi, and A. Puglisi
    Driven low density granular mixtures Phys. Rev. E 051304 (2002)
    PDF

  • 3
    U. M. B. Marconi and A. Puglisi
    Steady-state properties of a mean-field model of driven inelastic mixtures
    Phys. Rev. E 66, 011301 (2002)
    PDF

  • 5
    U. M. B. Marconi and A. Puglisi
    Mean-field model of free-cooling inelastic mixtures
    Phys. Rev. E 65, 051305 (2002)
    PDF

  • A. Baldassarri, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, and A. Puglisi
    Cooling of a lattice granular fluid as an ordering process PDF
    Phys. Rev. E 65, 051301 (2002)

  • A. Baldassarri, U. M. B. Marconi, A. Puglisi, and A. Vulpiani
    Driven granular gases with gravity
    Phys. Rev. E 64, 011301 (2001)
    PDF

  • M. Conti and U. Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Groove instability in cellular solidification
    Phys. Rev. E 63, 011502 (2001)
    PDF

  • A. Puglisi, V. Loreto, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, and A. Vulpiani
    Kinetic approach to granular gases
    Phys. Rev. E 59, 5582-5595 (1999)
    PDF

  • A. Puglisi, V. Loreto, U. M. B. Marconi, A. Petri, and A. Vulpiani
    Clustering and Non-Gaussian Behavior in Granular Matter
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 3848-3851 (1998)
    PDF

  • U. M. B. Marconi
    Interface pinning and slow ordering kinetics on infinitely ramified fractal structures
    Phys. Rev. E 57, 1290-1301 (1998)
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  • J. M. Romero-Enrique, I. Rodriguez-Ponce, L. F. Rull, and U. M. B. Marconi
    Comment on Exact Results for the Lower Critical Solution in the Asymmetric Model of an Interacting Binary Mixture
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 3543 (1997)
    PDF

  • U. M. B. Marconi, A. Crisanti, and G. Iori
    Soluble phase field model
    Phys. Rev. E 56, 77-87 (1997)
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  • M. Conti, F. Marinozzi, and U. Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Diffusion-controlled growth of a solid cylinder into its undercoded melt: Instabilities and pattern formation studied with the phase-field model
    Phys. Rev. E 55, 3087-3091 (1997)
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  • U. M. B. Marconi and A. Petri
    Domain growth on self-similar structures
    Phys. Rev. E 55, 1311-1314 (1997)
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  • U. M. B. Marconi and A. Crisanti
    Growth kinetics in a phase field model with continuous symmetry
    Phys. Rev. E 54, 153-162 (1996)
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  • A. M. Somoza, U. M. B. Marconi, and P. Tarazona
    Growth in systems of vesicles and membranes
    Phys. Rev. E 53, 5123-5129 (1996)
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  • F. Marinozzi, M. Conti, and U. M. B. Marconi
    Phase-field model for dendritic growth in a channel
    Phys. Rev. E 53, 5039-5043 (1996)
    PDF

  • U. M. B. Marconi and A. Crisanti
    Diffusion Limited Growth in Systems with Continuous Symmetry
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 2168-2171 (1995)
    PDF

  • M. Falcioni, U. M. B. Marconi, P. M. Ginanneschi, and A. Vulpiani
    Complexity of the Minimum Energy Configurations
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 637-640 (1995)
    PDF

  • A. Crisanti and U. M. B. Marconi
    Effective action method for the Langevin equation
    Phys. Rev. E 51, 4237-4245 (1995)
    PDF

  • U. M. B. Marconi and A. Maritan
    Deflated regime for pressurized ring polymers with long-range interactions
    Phys. Rev. E 47, 3795-3798 (1993)
    PDF

  • M. Falcioni, U. M. B. Marconi, and A. Vulpiani
    Ergodic properties of high-dimensional symplectic maps
    Phys. Rev. A 44, 2263-2270 (1991)
    PDF

  • U. M. B. Marconi and B. L. Gyorffy
    Structure of the liquid-vapor interface: A nonperturbative approach to the theory of interfacial fluctuations
    Phys. Rev. A 41, 6732-6740 (1990)
    PDF

  • U. M. B. Marconi and F. Van Swol
    Microscopic model for hysteresis and phase equilibria of fluids confined between parallel plates
    Phys. Rev. A 39, 4109-4116 (1989)
    PDF

  • U. M. B. Marconi
    Critical adsorption and finite-geometry effects
    Phys. Rev. A 38, 6267-6279 (1988)
    PDF

  • R. Evans and U. M. B. Marconi
    Comment on Simple theory for the critical adsorption of a fluid
    Phys. Rev. A 34, 3504-3507 (1986)
    PDF

  • R. Evans and U. Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Capillary condensation versus prewetting
    Phys. Rev. A 32, 3817-3820 (1985)
    PDF

  • Giulio Costantini, Fabio Cecconi, and Umberto Marini-Bettolo-Marconi
    Transport of a heated granular gas in a washboard potential
    J. Chem. Phys. 125, 204711 (2006) PDF

  • Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi and Pedro Tarazona
    Nonequilibrium inertial dynamics of colloidal systems
    J. Chem. Phys. 124, 164901 (2006)
    PDF
  • Umberto Marini-Bettolo-Marconi, Maurizio Natali, Giulio Costantini, and Fabio Cecconi
    Inelastic Takahashi hard-rod gas
    J. Chem. Phys. 124, 044507 (2006)
    PDF
  • Giulio Costantini, Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi, Galina Kalibaeva, and Giovanni Ciccotti
    The inelastic hard dimer gas: A nonspherical model for granular matter
    J. Chem. Phys. 122, 164505 (2005)
    PDF
  • Fabio Cecconi, Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi, Fabiana Diotallevi, and Andrea Puglisi
    Inelastic hard rods in a periodic potential
    J. Chem. Phys. 121, 5125 (2004) PDF

  • Fabio Cecconi, Fabiana Diotallevi, Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi, and Andrea Puglisi
    6. Fluid-like behavior of a one-dimensional granular gas
    J. Chem. Phys. 120, 35 (2004)
    PDF
  • G. Costantini, C. Cattuto, D. Paolotti and U. Marini Bettolo Marconi,
    Behavior of Granular Mixtures in Shaken Compartmentalized Containers
    Physica A 347, 411 (2005). PDF

  • Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi and Pedro Tarazona
    Dynamic density functional theory of fluids
    J. Chem. Phys. 110, 8032 (1999)
    PDF
  • Aphrodite Papadopoulou, Frank van Swol, and Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi
    8. Pore-end effects on adsorption hysteresis in cylindrical and slitlike pores
    J. Chem. Phys. 97, 6942 (1992)
    PDF
  • Ziming Tan, Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi, Frank van Swol, and Keith E. Gubbins
    Hard-sphere mixtures near a hard wall
    J. Chem. Phys. 90, 3704 (1989) PDF

  • Brian K. Peterson, Keith E. Gubbins, Grant S. Heffelfinger, Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi, and Frank van Swol
    Lennard-Jones fluids in cylindrical pores: Nonlocal theory and computer simulation
    J. Chem. Phys. 88, 6487 (1988) PDF

  • R. Evans and U. Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Phase equilibria and solvation forces for fluids confined between parallel walls
    J. Chem. Phys. 86, 7138 (1987)
    PDF
  • R. Evans, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, and P. Tarazona
    Fluids in narrow pores: Adsorption, capillary condensation, and critical points
    J. Chem. Phys. 84, 2376 (1986)
    PDF
  • Corberi, Federico; Marconi, Umberto Marini Bettolo
    O(N) model for charge density waves
    Physica A Volume: 225, Issue: 3-4, April 1, 1996, pp. 281-293 PDF

  • Conti, Massimo; Marconi, Umberto Marini Bettolo
    Novel Monte-Carlo lattice approach to rapid directional solidification of binary alloys
    Physica A Volume: 277, Issue: 1-2, March 1, 2000, pp. 35-46 PDF

  • Conti, Massimo; Marconi, Umberto Marini Bettolo
    Fingering in slow combustion
    Physica A Volume: 312, Issue: 3-4, September 15, 2002, pp. 381-391 PDF

  • Conti, Massimo; Marconi, Umberto Marini Bettolo
    Interfacial dynamics in rapid solidification processes
    Physica A Volume: 280, Issue: 1-2, May 15, 2000, pp. 148-154 PDF

  • Marconi, U. Marini Bettolo; Petri, A.; Vulpiani, A.
    Janssen's law and stress fluctuations in confined dry granular materials
    Physica A Volume: 280, Issue: 3-4, June 1, 2000, pp. 279-288 PDF

  • U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, M. Conti and A. Vulpiani
    Motion of a granular particle on a rough line
    Europhys. Lett. 51 No 6 (15 September 2000) 685-690 PDF

  • A. Baldassarri, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and A. Puglisi
    Influence of correlations on the velocity statistics of scalar granular gases
    Europhys. Lett. 58 No 1 (April 2002) 14-20 PDF

  • Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi, Giulio Costantini and Daniela Paolotti
    Granular gases in compartmentalized systems
    J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17 No 24 (22 June 2005) S2641-S2656 PDF

  • Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi and Pedro Tarazona
    Dynamic density functional theory of fluids
    J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 12 No 8A (28 February 2000) A413-A418 PDF

  • M. Conti, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and A. Crisanti
    A microscopic model for solidification
    Europhys. Lett. 47 No 3 (1 August 1999) 338-344 PDF

  • Phase separation in systems with absorbing states
    Europhys. Lett. 43 No 5 (1 September 1998) 552-557 PDF

  • Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi and Alberto Petri
    Time dependent Ginzburg - Landau model in the absence of translational invariance. Non-conserved order parameter domain growth
    J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 30 No 4 (21 February 1997) 1069-1088 PDF

  • M. Conti, F. Marinozzi and U. Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Domain coarsening via heat diffusion: A numerical study with the phase field model
    Europhys. Lett. 36 No 6 (20 November 1996) 431-436 PDF

  • F Brouers and U M B Marconi
    On the antiferromagnetic phase in the Hubbard model
    J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. 15 No 26 (20 September 1982) L925-L928 PDF

  • Dynamical properties of vibrofluidized granular mixtures
    D. Paolotti, C. Cattuto, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, A. Puglisi
    Granular Matter 5, 75 (2003). PDF

  • Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi, Federico Corberi
    Time dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation for an N-component model of self-assembled fluids
    Europhysics Letters 30, 349 (1995) PDF

  • F. Corberi and U.Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Growth kinetics in the $\Phi^6$ N-component model. Non conserved order parameter
    Modern Physics Letters B, 8, 1115 (1994).

  • F.Corberi, U.Marini.Bettolo Marconi
    Growth Kinetics in the $\Phi ^6$ N-Component Model. Conserved Order Parameter
    Modern Physics Letters B, {\bf 8}, 1125 (1994) PDF

  • D. Dominici, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Effective Action Method for Computing Next to Leading Corrections of $O(N)$ Models
    Physics Letters B 319 171, (1993) PDF

  • U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, A. Puglisi and A. Baldassarri
    Application of simple models to the study of nonequilibrium behavior of inelastic gases.
    Phase Transitions, 77, 863 (2004) PDF

  • A. Baldassarri, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and A. Puglisi
    Kinetics Models of Inelastic Gases}
    Math. Mod. Meth. Appl. S. 12, 965 (2002) PDF

  • A. Baldassarri, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and A. Puglisi
    Velocity fluctuations in cooling granular gases
    in Lecture Notes in Physics ``Granular Gas Dynamics'' edited by T.Poeschel and N. Brilliantov, Springer (2003) PDF

  • Other Papers

    Other Papers

    J. M. Carmona, U. M. B. Marconi, J. J. Ruiz-Lorenzo, and A. Tarancon
    Critical properties of the Ising model on Sierpinski fractals: A finite-size scaling-analysis approach
    Phys. Rev. B 58, 14387-14396 (1998) PDF

  • R. Medina, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, and S. J. Sciutto
    Exact two-particle effective interaction and superconductivity in the two-level Hubbard model
    Phys. Rev. B 39, 4277-4284 (1989) PDF

  • U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and A.Maritan
    Variational approach to the phase diagram of rigid membranes
    International Journal of Modern Physics B , 4615 (1993).

  • U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and Y.C.Zhang
    Novel scaling behavior of directed polymers: disorder distribution with long tails
    Journalof Statistical Physics 61, 885 (1990).

  • M.Bernaschi, L.Biferale, A.Fernandez, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, R.Petronzio and A.Tarancon
    The magnetic critical exponent in the three state three dimensional Potts model
    Physics Letters 240 B, 419 (1990).

  • S.~Sciutto, U.~Marini Bettolo Marconi and R.~Medina
    Monte Carlo simulations in fermionic systems: the three band Hubbard model case
    Physica A 171, 139 (1990).

  • D.K.Chaturvedi, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and M.P.Tosi
    Mode coupling theory of charge fluctuations spectrum in a binary ionic liquid.
    Il Nuovo Cimento 57B, 319 (1980).
  • abs:

  • U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and N.H.March
    Relativistic Theory of the binding energies of heavy atomic ions
    International Journal of Quantum Chemistry 20, 693 (1981).
  • abs:
  • R.Evans, P.Tarazona and U.Marini Bettolo Marconi
    On the failure of certain integral equations theories to account for complete wetting at solid-fluid interfaces
    Molecular Physics 50, 993 (1983). PDF

  • U.Marini Bettolo Marconi, J.Wiechen and F.Forstmann
    The structure of size asymmetric electrolytes at charged surfaces
    Chemical Physics Letters 107, 609 (1984).
  • abs:

  • P.Tarazona, U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and R.Evans
    Pairwise correlations at a fluid-fluid interface: influence of a wetting film
    Molecular Physics 54, 1357 (1985).
    PDF

  • R.Evans and U.Marini Bettolo Marconi
    The role of wetting films in capilllary condensation and rise: influence of long-ranged forces
    Chemical Physics Letters 114, 415 (1985).
  • abs:

  • R.Evans,U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and P.Tarazona
    Capillary condensation and adsorption in cylindrical and slit-like pores
    Faraday Transactions II,82, 1763 (1986).
    abs:

  • E.Bruno, U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and R.Evans
    Phase transitions in a confined lattice gas: prewetting and capillary condensation
    Physica A 141, 187 (1987).
    abs:

  • P.Tarazona, R.Evans and U.Marini Bettolo Marconi
    Phase equilibria of fluid interfaces and confined fluids
    Molecular Physics 60, 573 (1987). PDF

  • G.S. Heffelfinger, Z. Tan, K.E. Gubbins, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and F. van Swol
    Fluid mixtures in narrow cylindrical pores: Computer simulation and Theory
    International Journal of Thermophysics 9, 1051 (1988).
    abs:

  • U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and B.L. Gyorffy,
    On the statistical mechanics of interfaces and interfacial fluctuations Physica A159, 221 (1989).
    abs:

  • U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and F. van Swol
    A model of Hysteresis in narrow pores
    Europhysics Letters 8, 531 (1989).
    abs:

  • G.S. Heffelfinger, Z. Tan, K.E. Gubbins, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and F. van Swol,
    Lennard-Jones Mixtures in a Cylindrical Pore. A Comparison of Simulation and Density Functional Theory
    Molecular Simulation 2, 393 (1989).
    abs:

  • A.Fernandez, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and A.Tarancon,
    Phase diagram of the $Z(3)$ spin model in three dimensions
    Physics Letters B 217, 314 (1989).

  • A.Fernandez, U. Marini Bettolo Marconi and A.Tarancon,
    Monte Carlo simulation and Variational study of the phase diagram of the Potts three state model
    Physica A 161, 284 (1989).

  • M.Bernaschi, L.Biferale, A.Fernandez, U.Marini Bettolo Marconi, R.Petronzio and A.Tarancon
    Renormalization Group study of the $d=3$, $q=3$ Potts model
    Physics Letters B 231, 157 (1989).

  • U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and M.M. Telo da Gama
    The crossover between complete wetting and critical adsorption
    Physica A 171, 69 (1991).
  • U.Marini Bettolo Marconi and F. van Swol
    Structure effects and phase equilibria of Lennard-Jones mixtures in a cylindrical pore. A non local density functional theory
    Molecular Physics 72 ,1081 (1991) PDF
  • U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, A. Puglisi and A. Vulpiani
    La forza dei granelli}
    Le Scienze, Agosto 2002
    PDF
  • U. Marini Bettolo Marconi, F.Cecconi and A. Puglisi
    Simple Models for compartmentalized sand}
    ``Traffic and Granular flow 03'' S.P. Hoogendoorn, S.Luding, P.H. Bovy, M. Schreckenberg, D.E. Wolf Editors, Springer 2005, p. 579.