Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure

We propose the lattice BGK models, as an alternative to lattice gases or the lattice Boltzmann equation, to obtain an efficient numerical scheme for the simulation of fluid dynamics. With a properly chosen equilibrium distribution, the Navier-Stokes equation is obtained from the kinetic BGK equation at the second-order of approximation. Compared to lattice gases, the present model is noise-free, has Galileian invariance and a velocity-independent pressure. It involves a relaxation parameter that influences the stability of the new scheme. Numerical simulations are shown to confirm the speed of sound and the shear viscosity.

We present a model of opinion dynamics in which agents adjust continuous opinions as a result of random binary encounters whenever their difference in opinion is below a given threshold. High thresholds yield convergence of opinions towards an average opinion, whereas low thresholds result in several opinion clusters: members of the same cluster share the same opinion but are no longer influenced by members of other clusters.

TeI, BiSe, and BiTe are helical higher-order topological insulators and propose a realistic experimental setup to detect the hinge states.

We introduce a lattice Boltzmann model for simulating immiscible binary fluids in two dimensions. The model, based on the Boltzmann equation of lattice-gas hydrodynamics, incorporates features of a previously introduced discrete immiscible lattice-gas model. A theoretical value of the surface-tension coefficient is derived and found to be in excellent agreement with values obtained from simulations. The model serves as a numerical method for the simulation of immiscible two-phase flow; a preliminary application illustrates a simulation of flow in a two-dimensional microscopic model of a porous medium. Extension of the model to three dimensions appears straightforward.

Science and technologies based on terahertz frequency electromagnetic radiation (100 GHz-30 THz) have developed rapidly over the last 30 years.For most of the 20th Century, terahertz radiation, then referred to as sub-millimeter wave or far-infrared radiation, was mainly utilized by astronomers and some spectroscopists.Following the development of laser based terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in the 1980s and 1990s the field of THz science and technology expanded rapidly, to the extent that it now touches many areas from fundamental science to 'real world' applications.For example THz radiation is being used to optimize materials for new solar cells, and may also be a key technology for the next generation of airport security scanners.While the field was emerging it was possible to keep track of all new developments, however now the field has grown so much that it is increasingly difficult to follow the diverse range of new discoveries and applications that are appearing.At this point in time, when the field of THz science and technology is moving from an emerging to a more established and interdisciplinary field, it is apt to present a roadmap to help identify the breadth and future directions of the field.The aim of this roadmap is to present a snapshot of the present state of THz science and technology in 2017, and provide an opinion on the challenges and opportunities that the future holds.To be able to achieve this aim, we have invited a group of international experts to write 18 sections that cover most of the key areas of THz science and technology.We hope that The 2017 Roadmap on THz science and technology will prove to be a useful resource by providing a wide ranging introduction to the capabilities of THz radiation for those outside or just entering the field as well as providing perspective and breadth for those who are well established.We also feel that this review should serve as a useful guide for government and funding agencies.

Several recent works have shown that the one-dimensional fully asymmetric exclusion model, which describes a system of particles hopping in a preferred direction with hard core interactions, can be solved exactly in the case of open boundaries. Here the authors present a new approach based on representing the weights of each configuration in the steady state as a product of noncommuting matrices. With this approach the whole solution of the problem is reduced to finding two matrices and two vectors which satisfy very simple algebraic rules. They obtain several explicit forms for these non-commuting matrices which are, in the general case, infinite-dimensional. Their approach allows exact expressions to be derived for the current and density profiles. Finally they discuss briefly two possible generalizations of their results: the problem of partially asymmetric exclusion and the case of a mixture of two kinds of particles.

Single linear DNA molecules were bound at multiple sites at one extremity to a treated glass cover slip and at the other to a magnetic bead. The DNA was therefore torsionally constrained. A magnetic field was used to rotate the beads and thus to coil and pull the DNA. The stretching force was determined by analysis of the Brownian fluctuations of the bead. Here the elastic behavior of individual lambda DNA molecules over- and underwound by up to 500 turns was studied. A sharp transition was discovered from a low to a high extension state at a force of approximately 0.45 piconewtons for underwound molecules and at a force of approximately 3 piconewtons for overwound ones. These transitions, probably reflecting the formation of alternative structures in stretched coiled DNA molecules, might be relevant for DNA transcription and replication.

Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores. Solo se referencia el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración si hubiere y los autores pertenecientes a la UAM

We present the first cosmology results from large-scale structure using the full 5000 deg 2 of imaging data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Data Release 1.We perform an analysis of large-scale structure combining three two-point correlation functions (3 × 2pt): (i) cosmic shear using 100 million source galaxies, (ii) galaxy clustering, and (iii) the cross-correlation of source galaxy shear with lens galaxy positions, galaxy-galaxy lensing.To achieve the cosmological precision enabled by these measurements has required updates to nearly every part of the analysis from DES Year 1, including the use of two independent galaxy clustering samples, modeling advances, and several novel improvements in the calibration of gravitational shear and photometric redshift inference.The analysis was performed under strict conditions to mitigate confirmation or observer bias; we describe specific changes made to the lens galaxy sample following unblinding of the results and tests of the robustness of our results to this decision.We model the data within the flat ΛCDM and wCDM cosmological models, marginalizing over 25 nuisance parameters.We find consistent cosmological results between the three two-point correlation functions; their combination yields clustering amplitude S 8 ¼ 0.776 þ0.017 -0.017 and matter density Ω m ¼ 0.339

An experimental study of Rayleigh-Bénard convection in helium gas at roughly 5 K is performed in a cell with aspect ratio 1. Data are analysed in a ‘hard turbulence’ region (4 × 107 < Ra < 6 × 1012) in which the Prandtl number remains between 0.65 and 1.5. The main observation is a simple scaling behaviour over this entire range of Ra. However the results are not the same as in previous theories. For example, a classical result gives the dimensionless heat flux, Nu, proportional to $Ra^{\frac{1}{3}}$ while experiment gives an index much closer to $\frac{2}{7}$ . A new scaling theory is described. This new approach suggests scaling indices very close to the observed ones. The new approach is based upon the assumption that the boundary layer remains in existence even though its Rayleigh number is considerably greater than unity and is, in fact, diverging. A stability analysis of the boundary layer is performed which indicates that the boundary layer may be stabilized by the interaction of buoyancy driven effects and a fluctuating wind.

The notion of spectral dimensionality of a self-similar (fractal) structure is recalled, and its value for the family of Sierpinski gaskets derived via a scaling argument. Various random walk properties such as the probability of closed walks and the mean number of visited sites are shown to be governed by this spectral dimension. It is suggested that the number SN of distinct sites visited during an N-step random walk on an infinite cluster at percolation threshold varies asymptotically as : SN ∼ N2/3, in any dimension.

A central question in developmental biology is whether and how mechanical forces serve as cues for cellular behavior and thereby regulate morphogenesis. We found that morphogenesis at the Arabidopsis shoot apex depends on the microtubule cytoskeleton, which in turn is regulated by mechanical stress. A combination of experiments and modeling shows that a feedback loop encompassing tissue morphology, stress patterns, and microtubule-mediated cellular properties is sufficient to account for the coordinated patterns of microtubule arrays observed in epidermal cells, as well as for patterns of apical morphogenesis.

A measure of complexity based on a probabilistic description of physical systems is proposed. This measure incorporates the main features of the intuitive notion of such a magnitude. It can be applied to many physical situations and to different descriptions of a given system. Moreover, the calculation of its value does not require a considerable computational effort in many cases of physical interest. PACS number(s): 05.20.-y, 02.50.+s, 02.70.+d2 On the most basic grounds, an object, a procedure, or system is said to be ”complex ” when it does not match patterns regarded as simple. This sounds rather like an oxymoron but common knowledge tells us what is simple and complex: simplified systems or idealizations are always a starting point to solve scientific problems. The notion of ”complexity ” in physics [1, 2] starts by considering the perfect crystal and the isolated ideal gas as examples of simple models and therefore as systems with zero ”complexity”. Let us briefly recall their main characteristics with ”order”, ”information ” and ”equilibrium”.

The phase diagram of the infinite-range model of spin-glasses exhibits two mixed phases. In these mixed phases, ferromagnetism and spin-glass order coexist, due to freezing of the transverse degrees of freedom or replica symmetry breaking. This may help to interpret a number of recent experimental findings, e.g., in $\mathrm{Au}\mathrm{Fe}$.

It has been observed that the spontaneous-emission lifetime of Rydberg atoms is shortened by a large ratio when these atoms are crossing a high-$Q$ superconducting cavity tuned to resonance with a millimeter-wave transition between adjacent Rydberg states.

In a process called "molecular combining," DNA molecules attached at one end to a solid surface were extended and aligned by a receding air-water interface and left to dry on the surface. Molecular combing was observed to extend the length of the bacteriophage lambda DNA molecule to 21.5 +/- 0.5 micrometers (unextended length, 16.2 micrometers). With the combing process, it was possible to (i) extend a chromosomal Escherichia coli DNA fragment (10(6) base pairs) and (ii) detect a minute quantity of DNA (10(3) molecules). These results open the way for a faster physical mapping of the genome and for the detection of small quantities of target DNA from a population of molecules.

A microscope employing the characteristics of the reflection at the Brewster angle has been built for the study of first-order phase transitions in monolayers and the growth of two-dimensional domains without adding fluorescent impurities. It takes about 2.4 s to constitute an image.

These lecture notes give a short review of methods such as the matrix ansatz, the additivity principle or the macroscopic fluctuation theory, developed recently in the theory of non-equilibrium phenomena. They show how these methods allow us to calculate the fluctuations and large deviations of the density and the current in non-equilibrium steady states of systems like exclusion processes. The properties of these fluctuations and large deviation functions in non-equilibrium steady states (for example, non-Gaussian fluctuations of density or non-convexity of the large deviation function which generalizes the notion of free energy) are compared with those of systems at equilibrium.

Flocking is a typical example of emergent collective behavior, where interactions between individuals produce collective patterns on the large scale. Here we show how a quantitative microscopic theory for directional ordering in a flock can be derived directly from field data. We construct the minimally structured (maximum entropy) model consistent with experimental correlations in large flocks of starlings. The maximum entropy model shows that local, pairwise interactions between birds are sufficient to correctly predict the propagation of order throughout entire flocks of starlings, with no free parameters. We also find that the number of interacting neighbors is independent of flock density, confirming that interactions are ruled by topological rather than metric distance. Finally, by comparing flocks of different sizes, the model correctly accounts for the observed scale invariance of long-range correlations among the fluctuations in flight direction.

We present a quantum description of a planar microcavity photon mode strongly coupled to a semiconductor intersubband transition in presence of a two-dimensional electron gas. We show that, in this kind of system, the vacuum Rabi frequency ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{R}$ can be a significant fraction of the intersubband transition frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{12}$. This regime of ultrastrong light-matter coupling is enhanced for long-wavelength transitions, because for a given doping density, effective mass and number of quantum wells, the ratio ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{R}∕{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{12}$ increases as the square root of the intersubband emission wavelength. We characterize the quantum properties of the ground state (a two-mode squeezed vacuum), which can be tuned in situ by changing the value of ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{R}$, e.g., through an electrostatic gate. We finally point out how the tunability of the polariton quantum vacuum can be exploited to generate correlated photon pairs out of the vacuum via quantum electrodynamics phenomena reminiscent of the dynamical Casimir effect.