Stable Marriage with Multi-Modal Preferences

We introduce a generalized version of the famous Stable Marriage problem, now based on multi-modal preference lists. The central twist herein is to allow each agent to rank its potentially matching counterparts based on more than one "evaluation mode" (e.g., more than one criterion); thus, each agent is equipped with multiple preference lists, each ranking the counterparts in a possibly different way. We introduce and study three natural concepts of stability, investigate their mutual relations and focus on computational complexity aspects with respect to computing stable matchings in these new scenarios. Mostly encountering computational hardness (NP-hardness), we can also spot few islands of tractability and make a surprising connection to the \textsc{Graph Isomorphism} problem

Modelling the relative velocities of isolated pairs of galaxies

We study the comoving relative velocities, v12, of model isolated galaxy pairs at z=0.5. For this purpose, we use the predictions from the GALFORM semi-analytical model of galaxy formation and evolution based on a Lambda cold dark matter cosmology consistent with the results from WMAP7. In real space, we find that isolated pairs of galaxies are predicted to form an angle t with the line-of-sight that is uniformily distributed as expected if the Universe is homogeneous and isotropic. We also find that isolated pairs of galaxies separated by a comoving distance between 1 and 3 Mpc/h are predicted to have =0. For galaxies in this regime, the distribution of the angle t is predicted to change minimally from real to redshift space, with a change smaller than 5% in . However, the distances defining the comoving regime strongly depends on the applied isolation criteria.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, SF2A 2013 Proceedin

Tourism: Who Needs It?

Is tourism economically beneficial? If so, who benefits? How much of the money generated through tourism can be channeled into other projects so desperately needed by the community without harming the local tour market? Will tourism continue to grow forever, or is there an end in sight? The authors discuss how tourism will change in approaching the next century: and how people will change if tourism is to remain such an important economic fact

The Travel Industry: What\u27s in a Name?

The travel and tourism industry is enormous in both size and importance. There can be little doubt that the field is striving to accommodate the diversity of opinion concerning what the industry is and how it can be improved and enlarged even further. Resistance to critiquing long-held beliefs about the industry may inhibit its future. Deconstruction, a postmodern method of analysis, is proposed as one tool with which to engage in reflection upon what the industry is and where it may be headed

ANTARES : Un observatoire du fond de la mer aux confins de l’Univers

Neutrino astronomy is a new and unique method to explore the Universe. It is full of promises, such as improving our knowledge on cosmic accelerators or distinguishing unambiguously between hadronic and electronic acceleration mechanisms of very high energy cosmic rays. In this document the issues of neutrino astronomy are introduced and an overview of current and former neutrino telescopes is given, with a description of the performance results expected from the ANTARES underwater detector. My research path is marked by contributions to the detector calibration and by studies of the trigger system with the development of a new data selection algorithm. The potential for discovery of the ANTARES telescope is then illustrated with two analyses, one dedicated to the research of high-energy neutrinos from gamma ray bursters and the other dedicated to the search for magnetic monopoles. Within this dissertation, I also discuss the opportunity offered by a submarine detector to understand the deep-sea environment. Indeed, ANTARES is a multidisciplinary, permanent marine observatory bringing its brick to the edifice of the global understanding of physical phenomena and biological oceanography in the context of global changes. I illustrate these remarks with studies on marine bioluminescence observed by ANTARES and its connection to the dense water formation originating from the Gulf of Lion.L’astronomie neutrino est une méthode nouvelle et unique d’explorer le cosmos. Ses promesses sont nombreuses, comme celle d’améliorer notre connaissance sur les sites d’accélération des rayons cosmiques de très haute énergie ou encore celle de pouvoir distinguer entre des mécanismes d’accélération d’origine hadronique ou leptonique. Dans ce mémoire j’introduis les enjeux de l’astronomie neutrino, puis je donne un état des lieux des télescopes à neutrinos actuels et passés, avec un bilan des performances attendues par le détecteur sous-marin ANTARES. Mon parcours de recherche est marqué par des contributions à la calibration du détecteur avant sa mise à l’eau, ainsi que par des études sur le système de déclenchement avec le développement d’un nouvel algorithme de sélection de données. J’illustre ensuite le potentiel de découverte du télescope ANTARES par deux analyses, l’une dédiée à la recherche de neutrinos de haute énergie en provenance de sursauts gamma et l’autre consacrée à la recherche de monopoles magnétiques. Au sein de ce mémoire, j’aborde également l’opportunité qu’offre un détecteur sous-marin pour l’étude du milieu profond. En effet, ANTARES constitue également un véritable observatoire du fond de la mer apportant sa brique à l’édifice de la compréhension globale des phénomènes d’océanographie physique ou biologique dans le cadre des changements globaux. J’illustre ces propos avec les études menées sur la bioluminescence marine observée par ANTARES et à ses connexions avec les phénomènes de formation d’eaux denses originaires du Golfe du Lion

Jackknife resampling technique on mocks: an alternative method for covariance matrix estimation

We present a fast and robust alternative method to compute covariance matrix in case of cosmology studies. Our method is based on the jackknife resampling applied on simulation mock catalogues. Using a set of 600 BOSS DR11 mock catalogues as a reference, we find that the jackknife technique gives a similar galaxy clustering covariance matrix estimate by requiring a smaller number of mocks. A comparison of convergence rates show that $\sim$7 times fewer simulations are needed to get a similar accuracy on variance. We expect this technique to be applied in any analysis where the number of available N-body simulations is low.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, 2 table

Approximability of Connected Factors

Finding a d-regular spanning subgraph (or d-factor) of a graph is easy by Tutte's reduction to the matching problem. By the same reduction, it is easy to find a minimal or maximal d-factor of a graph. However, if we require that the d-factor is connected, these problems become NP-hard - finding a minimal connected 2-factor is just the traveling salesman problem (TSP). Given a complete graph with edge weights that satisfy the triangle inequality, we consider the problem of finding a minimal connected $d$-factor. We give a 3-approximation for all $d$ and improve this to an (r+1)-approximation for even d, where r is the approximation ratio of the TSP. This yields a 2.5-approximation for even d. The same algorithm yields an (r+1)-approximation for the directed version of the problem, where r is the approximation ratio of the asymmetric TSP. We also show that none of these minimization problems can be approximated better than the corresponding TSP. Finally, for the decision problem of deciding whether a given graph contains a connected d-factor, we extend known hardness results.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of WAOA 201

Search for neutrinos from transient sources with the ANTARES telescope and optical follow-up observations

The ANTARES telescope has the opportunity to detect transient neutrino sources, such as gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae, flares of active nuclei... To enhance the sensitivity to these sources, we have developed a new detection method based on the optical follow-up of "golden" neutrino events such as neutrino doublets coincident in time and space or single neutrinos of very high energy. The ANTARES Collaboration has therefore implemented a very fast on-line reconstruction with a good angular resolution. These characteristics allow to trigger an optical telescope network; since February 2009. ANTARES is sending alert trigger one or two times per month to the two 25 cm robotic telescope of TAROT. This follow-up of such special events would not only give access to the nature of the sources but also improves the sensitivity for transient neutrino sources.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of the 31st ICRC, Lodz, Polan, July 200

Microbiological aspects of methane emission in a ricefield soil from the Camargue (France) : 2. Methanotrophy and related microflora

Les principaux facteurs qui influencent l'activité méthanotrophe du sol (épaisseur du sol, humidité, addition d'engrais et dessiccation) ont été étudiés in vitro sur un sol de rizière de Camargue (France) afin de standardiser une méthode pour estimer l'activité méthanotrophe potentielle (PMA) d'un sol. La possibilité d'énumérer les méthanotrophes du sol a été étudiée et les souches dominantes du sol incubé pendant un mois sous un mélange de 80% air/20% CH4 ont été isolées. La méthanotrophie in vitro est un phénomène quantifiable par unité de surface plutôt que par unité de poids de sol. L'activité maximale (PMA)(1.8 mole m-2 j-1) a été mesurée sur un échantillon à une humidité voisine de la capacité au champ et incubé pendant un mois sous air/CH4. Les consommations de CH4 et d'O2 ainsi que la production de CO2 sont fortement corrélées. La consommation d'O2 liée à l'activité hétérotrophe du sol est négligeable comparée à celle due à l'activité méthanotrophe. L'addition d'engrais à des concentrations utilisées en agriculture est sans effet sur la PMA qui est restée stable pendant deux ans dans le sol conservé à l'état sec. Une très forte contamination rend les étalements sur boites de Pétri inexploitables pour dénombrer les bactéries méthanotrophes du sol. Les populations estimées par MPN sont faibles dans le sol sec (2.5 x 102 g-1) et atteignent 5 x 108 g-1 dans le sol enrichi. La morphologie des souches isolées indique leur appartenance aux bactéries méthanotrophes de type II. (Résumé d'auteur