Characterization and limits of a cold atom Sagnac interferometer

We present the full evaluation of a cold atom gyroscope based on atom interferometry. We have performed extensive studies to determine the systematic errors, scale factor and sensitivity. We demonstrate that the acceleration noise can be efficiently removed from the rotation signal allowing to reach the fundamental limit of the quantum projection noise for short term measurements. The technical limits to the long term sensitivity and accuracy have been identified, clearing the way for the next generations of ultra-sensitive atom gyroscopes

Potentialités androgénétiques du palmier dattier Phoenix dactylifera L. et culture in vitro d'anthères

Genetic potentialities if five male date palm genotypes, and in vitro culture of anthers. The experimental results derived from the study of five date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) genotypes indicate that the ability of microspores to divide varies with genotype and culture medium. The highest frequency of microspore division is obtained with the induction medium [Murashige and Skoog (MS 1962) mineral elements, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetique (2,4-D), 2-isopentenylaminopurine (2-IP)] containing activated charcoal. The pollinator T106 was considered as the most efficient genotype in our experimentatio

EHMTI-0266. Validation of a sham manipulative procedure: a new protocol for conducting placebo-control clinical trials in manual therapy

Background: Few manual therapy studies have attempted to conduct placebo-control clinical trials. Thus, quantification of alleged placebo effects consequently becomes difficult. Aim: To investigate and validate a new placebo intervention for spinal manipulative therapy clinical trials, i.e. sham manipulation, and investigate the feasibility of a short de-blinding questionnaire. Method: A single blinded, prospective randomized, placebo-controlled trial with 1 month baseline and 3 months treatment with 12 treatments. 104 participants diagnosed with migraine were equally randomized into 1 of 3 groups: (i) chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (CSMT), (ii) placebo (sham manipulation), (iii) control group (continued usual management). The participants filled in questionnaire on de-blinding after each treatment session. Primary end-point was the rate of successful blinding through de-blinding questionnaires given after each treatment session. Results: 772 out of 840 individual cases were analyzed, only 8.1 % out of all cases missed their appointment. The unadjusted result shows that both the active and placebo group believed they received active treatment with odds ratio (OR) of ≥88.9 and ≥80.0 respectively. Due to strong cluster effect in our data, logistic regression model was used to adjust for repeated measures which showed a significant OR of >10 in both the active and the placebo group. Conclusion: This is the first study to successfully demonstrate a manipulative sham procedure over a full length treatment period, assessing the placebo group with de-blinding questionnaire after each session which thus, could be incorporated in future clinical trials.1 page(s

Étude de l’évolution du littoral de la baie d’El Jadida (Maroc) par photo-interprétation

La baie d’El Jadida se situe sur la façade atlantique du Maroc (entre 33° 15’ 00’’ et 33° 21’ 40’’ de latitude Nord, 8° 18’ 00’’ et 8° 30’ 00’’ de longitude Ouest). Elle constitue un grand système sableux fortement marqué par la dynamique littorale. L’utilisation des photographies aériennes permet de déterminer d’une part, l’évolution du trait de côte à l’embouchure de l’Oum Rbia à long terme (de 1949 à 1996) et d’autre part.de mesurer l’évolution de l’ensemble du littoral de la baie El Jadida à moyen terme (de 1988 à 1997). Les résultats de l’étude diachronique confirment la variabilité spatio-temporelle et l’évolution du littoral de la baie d’El Jadida avec des zones en érosion et d’autres en accumulation. L’analyse des variations des traits de côte, à moyen terme, ne montre pas des modifications importantes. Les seuls changements ont été enregistrés au niveau des unités morphologiques composant ce littoral (plage aérienne, dunes,…). L’évolution du trait de côte à long terme se caractérise par une forte variabilité dans le secteur de l’estuaire de l’Oum Rbia. La période d’érosion la plus importante se situe entre 1949 et 1996 avec un taux de recul de 45 m (1,28 m/an). Durant cette même période, on distingue aussi une variabilité spatiale qui se traduit par l’existence de deux secteurs très différents : le premier est caractérisé par une forte érosion (plage de la rive droite) et le deuxième est favorisé par des accumulations importantes (flèche sableuse de la rive gauche).Mots-clés : baie d’El Jadida, plage, estuaire, trait de côte, évolution morphologique, évolution diachronique, flèche sableuse, Maroc. Study of coastline evolution of the El Jadida bay (Morocco) by photo-interpretationEl Jadida bay, is located on the middle of the Atlantic coast of Morocco (between 33° 15’ 00’’ and 33° 21’ 40’’ North and between 8° 18’ 00’’ and 8° 30’ 00’’ West), constitute a large sandy stock strongly marked by the littoral dynamic. The use of the aerial photographs permit to identify the coast evolution to the Oum Rbia estuary (of 1949 to 1996) and to measure the littoral of the bay El Jadida evolution in medium-term. The results of this diachronic study confirm space and time variability in the littoral of bay evolution with deepening reach’s and others of sedimentation. The coastline variation analysis in medium-term doesn’t give satisfactory results. The only changes were registered at the morphological units of the coast (aerial beach, dunes, ... ). The coastline evolution in the long-term coast is characterized by a strong variability in the Oum Rbia estuary. The period of the most important erosion ranges between 1949 and 1996 with a rate of retreat of 45 m (1.28 m/an). During this period, we can also notice a space variability which results in the existence of two very different sectors: the first is characterized by strong erosion (beach of Right Bank) and the second is characterized by accumulations (sandy arrow of left bank).Keywords : El Jadida bay, estuary, coastline, morphologic evolution, diachronic evolution, sandy arrow, Morocco

Matter-wave laser Interferometric Gravitation Antenna (MIGA): New perspectives for fundamental physics and geosciences

The MIGA project aims at demonstrating precision measurements of gravity with cold atom sensors in a large scale instrument and at studying the associated applications in geosciences and fundamental physics. The first stage of the project (2013-2018) will consist in building a 300-meter long optical cavity to interrogate atom interferometers and will be based at the low noise underground laboratory LSBB in Rustrel, France. The second stage of the project (2018-2023) will be dedicated to science runs and data analyses in order to probe the spatio-temporal structure of the local gravity field of the LSBB region, a site of high hydrological interest. MIGA will also assess future potential applications of atom interferometry to gravitational wave detection in the frequency band $\sim 0.1-10$ Hz hardly covered by future long baseline optical interferometers. This paper presents the main objectives of the project, the status of the construction of the instrument and the motivation for the applications of MIGA in geosciences. Important results on new atom interferometry techniques developed at SYRTE in the context of MIGA and paving the way to precision gravity measurements are also reported.Comment: Proceedings of the 50th Rencontres de Moriond "100 years after GR", La Thuile (Italy), 21-28 March 2015 - 10 pages, 5 figures, 23 references version2: added references, corrected typo

I.C.E.: An Ultra-Cold Atom Source for Long-Baseline Interferometric Inertial Sensors in Reduced Gravity

The accuracy and precision of current atom-interferometric inertialsensors rival state-of-the-art conventional devices using artifact-based test masses . Atomic sensors are well suited for fundamental measurements of gravito-inertial fields. The sensitivity required to test gravitational theories can be achieved by extending the baseline of the interferometer. The I.C.E. (Interf\'erom\'etrie Coh\'erente pour l'Espace) interferometer aims to achieve long interrogation times in compact apparatus via reduced gravity. We have tested a cold-atom source during airplane parabolic flights. We show that this environment is compatible with free-fall interferometric measurements using up to 4 second interrogation time. We present the next-generation apparatus using degenerate gases for low release-velocity atomic sources in space-borne experiments

Low noise amplication of an optically carried microwave signal: application to atom interferometry

In this paper, we report a new scheme to amplify a microwave signal carried on a laser light at $\lambda$=852nm. The amplification is done via a semiconductor tapered amplifier and this scheme is used to drive stimulated Raman transitions in an atom interferometer. Sideband generation in the amplifier, due to self-phase and amplitude modulation, is investigated and characterized. We also demonstrate that the amplifier does not induce any significant phase-noise on the beating signal. Finally, the degradation of the performances of the interferometer due to the amplification process is shown to be negligible

Calibration and sensitivity of the Virgo detector during its second science run

The Virgo detector is a kilometer-length interferometer for gravitational wave detection located near Pisa (Italy). During its second science run (VSR2) in 2009, six months of data were accumulated with a sensitivity close to its design. In this paper, the methods used to determine the parameters for sensitivity estimation and gravitational wave reconstruction are described. The main quantities to be calibrated are the frequency response of the mirror actuation and the sensing of the output power. Focus is also put on their absolute timing. The monitoring of the calibration data as well as the parameter estimation with independent techniques are discussed to provide an estimation of the calibration uncertainties. Finally, the estimation of the Virgo sensitivity in the frequency-domain is described and typical sensitivities measured during VSR2 are shown.Comment: 30 pages, 23 figures, 1 table. Published in Classical and Quantum Gravity (CQG), Corrigendum include