Spontaneous patterns in coherently driven polariton microcavities

We consider a polariton microcavity resonantly driven by two external lasers which simultaneously pump both lower and upper polariton branches at normal incidence. In this setup, we study the occurrence of instabilities of the pump-only solutions towards the spontaneous formation of patterns. Their appearance is a consequence of the spontaneous symmetry breaking of translational and rotational invariance due to interaction induced parametric scattering. We observe the evolution between diverse patterns which can be classified as single-pump, where parametric scattering occurs at the same energy as one of the pumps, and as two-pump, where scattering occurs at a different energy. For two-pump instabilities, stripe and chequerboard patterns become the dominant steady-state solutions because cubic parametric scattering processes are forbidden. This contrasts with the single-pump case, where hexagonal patterns are the most common arrangements. We study the possibility of controlling the evolution between different patterns. Our results are obtained within a linear stability analysis and are confirmed by finite size full numerical calculations.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure

How does breakup influence the total fusion of 6,7^{6,7}Li at the Coulomb barrier?

Total (complete + incomplete) fusion excitation functions of $^{6,7}$Li on $^{59}$Co and $^{209}$Bi targets around the Coulomb barrier are obtained using a new continuum discretized coupled channel (CDCC) method of calculating fusion. The relative importance of breakup and bound-state structure effects on total fusion is particularly investigated. The effect of breakup on fusion can be observed in the total fusion excitation function. The breakup enhances the total fusion at energies just around the barrier, whereas it hardly affects the total fusion at energies well above the barrier. The difference between the experimental total fusion cross sections for $^{6,7}$Li on $^{59}$Co is notably caused by breakup, but this is not the case for the $^{209}$Bi target.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

How influential is ballot design in elections?

We exploit an original dataset from a referendum in Peru to study the influence of voting "arrangements" on electoral outcomes. The relative importance of these arrangements (e.g., ballot design) with respect to the fundamentals (e.g., ideology, candidates' quality) has not been measured. After controlling for a comprehensive set of politicians' characteristics, we estimate unbiased ballot order effects making use of the within party variation in outcomes. We estimate a non-linear probability model and we create counterfactuals to conclude that ballot design not only may have changed the electoral results but also has a greater importance than candidates' ideology, education, experience and party affiliation

No temperature fluctuations in the giant HII region H 1013

While collisionally excited lines in HII regions allow one to easily probe the chemical composition of the interstellar medium in galaxies, the possible presence of important temperature fluctuations casts some doubt on the derived abundances. To provide new insights into this question, we have carried out a detailed study of a giant HII region, H 1013, located in the galaxy M101, for which many observational data exist and which has been claimed to harbour temperature fluctuations at a level of t^2 = 0.03-0.06. We have first complemented the already available optical observational datasets with a mid-infrared spectrum obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Combined with optical data, this spectrum provides unprecedented information on the temperature structure of this giant HII region. A preliminary analysis based on empirical temperature diagnostics suggests that temperature fluctuations should be quite weak. We have then performed a detailed modelling using the pyCloudy package based on the photoionization code Cloudy. We have been able to produce photoionization models constrained by the observed Hb surface brightness distribution and by the known properties of the ionizing stellar population than can account for most of the line ratios within their uncertainties. Since the observational constraints are both strong and numerous, this argues against the presence of significant temperature fluctuations in H 1013. The oxygen abundance of our best model is 12 + log O/H = 8.57, as opposed to the values of 8.73 and 8.93 advocated by Esteban et al. (2009) and Bresolin (2007), respectively, based on the significant temperature fluctuations they derived. However, our model is not able to reproduce the intensities of the oxygen recombination lines . This cannot be attributed to observational uncertainties and requires an explanation other than temperature fluctuations.Comment: accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysic

SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates IX. KOI-415 b: a long-period, eccentric transiting brown dwarf to an evolved Sun

We report the discovery of a long-period brown-dwarf transiting companion of the solar-type star KOI-415. The transits were detected by the Kepler space telescope. We conducted Doppler measurements using the SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence. The photometric and spectroscopic signals allow us to characterize a 62.14+-2.69 Mjup, brown-dwarf companion of an evolved 0.94+-0.06 Msun star in a highly eccentric orbit of P = 166.78805+-0.00022 days and e = 0.698+-0.002. The radius of KOI-415 b is 0.79 (-0.07,+0.12) Rjup, a value that is compatible with theoretical predictions for a 10 Gyr, low-metallicity and non-irradiated object.Comment: accepted in A&A Letter

Interplanetary propulsion using inertial fusion

Inertial fusion can be used to power spacecraft within the solar system and beyond. Such spacecraft have the potential for short-duration manned-mission performance exceeding other technologies. We are conducting a study to assess the systems aspects of inertial fusion as applied to such missions, based on the conceptual engine design of Hyde (1983) we describe the required systems for an entirely new spacecraft design called VISTA that is based on the use of DT fuel. We give preliminary design details for the power conversion and power conditioning systems for manned missions to Mars of total duration of about 100 days. Specific mission performance results will be published elsewhere, after the study has been completed

Characterization of the four new transiting planets KOI-188b, KOI-195b, KOI-192b, and KOI-830b

The characterization of four new transiting extrasolar planets is presented here. KOI-188b and KOI-195b are bloated hot Saturns, with orbital periods of 3.8 and 3.2 days, and masses of 0.25 and 0.34 M_Jup. They are located in the low-mass range of known transiting, giant planets. KOI-192b has a similar mass (0.29 M_Jup) but a longer orbital period of 10.3 days. This places it in a domain where only a few planets are known. KOI-830b, finally, with a mass of 1.27 M_Jup and a period of 3.5 days, is a typical hot Jupiter. The four planets have radii of 0.98, 1.09, 1.2, and 1.08 R_Jup, respectively. We detected no significant eccentricity in any of the systems, while the accuracy of our data does not rule out possible moderate eccentricities. The four objects were first identified by the Kepler Team as promising candidates from the photometry of the Kepler satellite. We establish here their planetary nature thanks to the radial velocity follow-up we secured with the HARPS-N spectrograph at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. The combined analyses of the datasets allow us to fully characterize the four planetary systems. These new objects increase the number of well-characterized exoplanets for statistics, and provide new targets for individual follow-up studies. The pre-screening we performed with the SOPHIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence as part of that study also allowed us to conclude that a fifth candidate, KOI-219.01, is not a planet but is instead a false positive.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 6 tables, final version accepted for publication in A&