Wednesday 3^rd November 2010 - 4:00 P.M.

Università "La Sapienza" Roma - Aula Corbino (Physics Dept., New Building - 2st Floor)

Title: Mach or Higgs? The mechanisms to generate mass

Abstract: The purpose of this work is to show that the gravitational interaction is able to generate mass for all bodies. The condition for this is the existence of an energy distribution represented by the vacuum or the cosmological constant. We review briefly the alternative Higgs mechanism in order to compare both processes.

Wednesday 24^th November 2010 - 4:00 P.M.

Università "La Sapienza" Roma - Aula Corbino (Physics Dept., New Building - 2st Floor)

Title: A low magnetic field magnetar: news and views of an apparent oxymoronass

Abstract: I will review the state of the art of our understanding of soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) and anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs), often addressed as "magnetars". The extreme flaring behavior of these X-ray pulsars have been for a long time believed to be due to their extreme magnetic fields (10^14-15 Gauss). The recent discovery of a low magnetic field magnetar, SGR 0418+5729, prompted many questions on the validity of the magnetar model and on the consequences on the normal pulsar population. I will discuss these implications and how these questions can be addressed by future observations.