Modélisation du rayonnement proche infrarouge émis par la haute atmosphère : étude théorique et observationnelle

The nightglow is an atmospheric radiation which occurs at high altitude (around 90 km). It comes from the desexcitation of specific molecules and atoms (OH, Na, O2 and O). It spreads over a wide spectral band, especially in the infrared and propagates to the ground level. The nightglow emission is an important mark for the high atmosphere, as it allows the retrieval of the temperature and many dynamic processes such as atmospheric tides or gravity waves. Its propagation to the ground level allows the illumination of terrestrial scene and therefore the night vision with the use of near infrared cameras. In order to have a better knowledge of the emission fluctuations as a function of time for various scales and at various locations, the work is focused on an observational and theoretical study. The observational study produced large scale climatology with the extraction of nightglow emission from GOMOS data. On the other hand, ground measurements highlighted some dynamical aspects such as tides and gravity waves. To model the nightglow emission, it has been necessary to take into account the chemical reactions of the species available at high altitude, the heating, the photodissociation process and the propagation of the emission to the ground. Selected dynamical processes have been included, such as the molecular and turbulent diffusion, and a tide parameterization. Finally, the results of the model are compared to the satellite and ground observations and sensitivity tests are run to estimate the response of the emission to the various modules of the model.Le rayonnement atmosphérique appelé nightglow est un phénomène se produisant à haute altitude (environ 90 km). Il consiste en l’émission d’un rayonnement suite à la désexcitation de certaines molécules et atomes (OH, Na, O2 et O). Il se répartit sur une large gamme spectrale, en particulier dans l’infrarouge et se propage jusqu’au niveau du sol. Le rayonnement nightglow constitue un marqueur important pour la haute atmosphère, permettant de remonter à la température, mais également à de nombreux phénomènes dynamiques comme les marées atmosphériques ou les ondes de gravité. Sa propagation au niveau du sol permet l’éclairage de scène terrestre et ainsi la vision nocturne à l’aide de caméras proche infrarouge. Afin de mieux connaître les fluctuations de ces émissions en fonction du temps à différentes échelles et en différents lieux sur la planète, la thèse s’est axée sur une étude observationnelle et une étude théorique. L’étude observationnelle a produit une climatologie à grande échelle par l’extraction du rayonnement issu des données de l’instrument GOMOS. Les campagnes de mesures réalisées au sol ont quant à elles mis en avant certains aspects dynamiques importants comme les marées et les ondes de gravité. Pour reproduire le rayonnement nightglow, il a été nécessaire de modéliser les réactions chimiques des nombreuses espèces présentes à haute altitude, le chauffage, la photodissociation de certaines molécules par le rayonnement solaire et la propagation du rayonnement vers le sol. Certains processus dynamiques ont été inclus comme la diffusion moléculaire, la diffusion turbulente et une paramétrisation des marées. Enfin, les résultats du modèle sont comparés aux observations satellitaires ainsi qu’au niveau du sol et des tests de sensibilité sont effectués pour estimer la réponse du rayonnement aux différents modules du modèle

Can downwelling far-infrared radiances over Antarctica be estimated from mid-infrared information?

Far-infrared (FIR: 100cm−1<wavenumber, ν<667 cm−1) radiation emitted by the Earth and its atmosphere plays a key role in the Earth's energy budget. However, because of a lack of spectrally resolved measurements, radiation schemes in climate models suffer from a lack of constraint across this spectral range. Exploiting a method developed to estimate upwelling far-infrared radiation from mid-infrared (MIR: 667cm−1<ν<1400 cm−1) observations, we explore the possibility of inferring zenith FIR downwelling radiances in zenith-looking observation geometry, focusing on clear-sky conditions in Antarctica. The methodology selects a MIR predictor wavenumber for each FIR wavenumber based on the maximum correlation seen between the different spectral ranges. Observations from the REFIR-PAD instrument (Radiation Explorer in the Far Infrared – Prototype for Application and Development) and high-resolution radiance simulations generated from co-located radio soundings are used to develop and assess the method. We highlight the impact of noise on the correlation between MIR and FIR radiances by comparing the observational and theoretical cases. Using the observed values in isolation, between 150 and 360 cm−1, differences between the “true” and “extended” radiances are less than 5 %. However, in spectral bands of low signal, between 360 and 667 cm−1, the impact of instrument noise is strong and increases the differences seen. When the extension of the observed spectra is performed using regression coefficients based on noise-free radiative transfer simulations the results show strong biases, exceeding 100 % where the signal is low. These biases are reduced to just a few percent if the noise in the observations is accounted for in the simulation procedure. Our results imply that while it is feasible to use this type of approach to extend mid-infrared spectral measurements to the far-infrared, the quality of the extension will be strongly dependent on the noise characteristics of the observations. A good knowledge of the atmospheric state associated with the measurements is also required in order to build a representative regression model

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements