Giuseppe Longo

Nicola R. Napolitano

Marcella Marconi

Maurizio Paolillo

Enrichetta Iodice

These are the proceedings of a meeting in honour of Massimo Capaccioli at the occasion of his 70th birthday. The conference aimed at summarizing the results from the main current and past digital sky survey projects and at discussing how these can be used to inspire ongoing projects and better plan the future ones. Over the last decades, digital sky surveys performed with dedicated telescopes and finely-tuned wide-field cameras, have revolutionized astronomy. They have become the main tool to investigate the nearby and far away universe, thus providing new insights in the understanding of the galaxy structure and assembly across time, the dark components of the universe, as well as the history of our own galaxy. They have also opened the time domain leading to a new understanding of the transient phenomena in the universe. By providing public access to top quality data, digital surveys have also changed the everyday practice of astronomers who have become less dependent on direct access to large observing facilities. The full scientific exploitation of these surveys has also triggered significant advances in both space and ground based technology and in the field of multi-object spectroscopy. The various sections of this book are devoted to different relevant aspects of astrophysics in the era of digital sky surveys and include both review and shorter, more focused contributions.

A Meeting to Honour the 70th Birthday of Massimo Capaccioli

The Universe of Digital Sky Surveys

Pierluigi Barrotta

Massimo Negrotti

quale futuro?

Scienza, tecnologia e valori morali

Carlos R. P. Hartmann

Algebraic Coding Theory and Applications

Avvisi ai naviganti e altre perturbazioni

Gennaro Miele

This is a collection of review articles and more specialized papers on the main issues of early universe physics. Both theoretical and experimental fields of research are dealt with.

Proceedings of the International Conference : Sorrento, Italy, 22-27 September 2003

Thinking, Observing and Mining the Universe

Massimo Capaccioli

Emilia Olostro Cirella

L'astronomia a Napoli dal Settecento ai giorni nostri. Storia di un'altra occasione perduta

Francis Bailly

This book identifies the organizing concepts of physical and biological phenomena by an analysis of the foundations of mathematics and physics. Our aim is to propose a dialog between different conceptual universes and thus to provide a unification of phenomena. The role of “order” and symmetries in the foundations of mathematics is linked to the main invariants and principles, among them the geodesic principle (a consequence of symmetries), which govern and confer unity to various physical theories. Moreover, an attempt is made to understand causal structures, a central element of physical intelligibility, in terms of both symmetries and symmetry breakings. A distinction between the principles of (conceptual) construction and of proofs, both in physics and in mathematics, guides most of the work. The importance of mathematical tools is also highlighted to clarify differences in the models for physics and biology that are proposed by continuous and discrete mathematics, such as computational simulations. Since biology is particularly complex and not as well understood at a theoretical level, we propose a “unification by concepts” which in any case should precede mathematization. This constitutes an outline for unification also based on highlighting conceptual differences, complex points of passage and technical irreducibilities of one field to another. Indeed, we suppose here a very common monist point of view, namely the view that living objects are “big bags of molecules”. The main question though is to understand which “theory” can help better understand these bags of molecules. They are, indeed, rather “singular”, from the physical point of view. Technically, we express this singularity through the concept of “extended criticality”, which provides a logical extension of the critical transitions that are known in physics. The presentation is mostly kept at an informal and conceptual level. Contents:Mathematical Concepts and Physical ObjectsIncompleteness and Indetermination in Mathematics and PhysicsSpace and Time from Physics to BiologyInvariances, Symmetries, and Symmetry BreakingsCauses and Symmetries: The Continuum and the Discrete in Mathematical ModelingExtended Criticality: The Physical Singularity of Life PhenomenaRandomness and Determination in the Interplay between the Continuum and the DiscreteConclusion: Unification and Separation of Theories, or the Importance of Negative Results Readership: Graduate students and professionals in the fields of natural sciences, biology, computer science, mathematics, and physics. Keywords:Foundations of Mathematics and of Physics;Epistemology;Theoretical BiologyKey Features:This book is an epistemological reflection carried out by two working scientists, a physicist and a mathematician, who focus on biology. They first address a comparative analysis of the founding principles of their own disciplines. On the grounds of a three-fold blend, they then introduce a unique proposal, which does not passively transfer the paradigms of the first two theoretically well-established disciplines, to suggest a novel theoretical framework for the third discipline

The Physical Singularity of Life

Mathematics and the Natural Sciences

Maël Montévil

This authored monograph introduces a genuinely theoretical approach to biology. Starting point is the investigation of empirical biological scaling including their variability, which is found in the literature, e.g. allometric relationships, fractals, etc. The book then analyzes two different aspects of biological time: first, a supplementary temporal dimension to accommodate proper biological rhythms; secondly, the concepts of protension and retention as a means of local organization of time in living organisms. Moreover, the book investigates the role of symmetry in biology, in view of its ubiquitous importance in physics. In relation with the notion of extended critical transitions, the book proposes that organisms and their evolution can be characterized by continued symmetry changes, which accounts for the irreducibility of their historicity and variability. The authors also introduce the concept of anti-entropy as a measure for the potential of variability, being equally understood as alterations in symmetry. By this, the book provides a mathematical account of Gould's analysis of phenotypic complexity with respect to biological evolution. The target audience primarily comprises researchers interested in new theoretical approaches to biology, from physical, biological or philosophical backgrounds, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students who want to enter this field.

Biological time, Symmetries and Singularities

Perspectives on Organisms

Discover the story of the pioneering hairstylist who obliterated the once-omnipresent hat and transformed the fashion industry through his A-list clients at his iconic 54th Street Salon. Kenneth Battalle, known simply as "Kenneth," started his 50-year career in the early 1950s in New York City and built a loyal client list who swore by his skills, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Princess Margaret, Diana Vreeland, Lucille Ball, and Gloria Vanderbilt. This biography not only celebrates his extraordinary talent but examines his behind-the-scenes life and career struggles, including the disastrous fire that destroyed his salon, and his perseverance moving forward. Through personal memories of those closest to him, including friends, clients, and former employees, the man who created a cult of classic, timeless ladies comes to life. Photos (some never before published), notes, clippings, and original Joe Eula illustrations richly exhibit both his myriad achievements and America's 20th-century high-fashion scene.

Shear Elegance

Kenneth

Giuseppe Longo

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