Planet gaps in the dust layer of 3D proto-planetary disks: Observability with ALMA

Among the numerous known extrasolar planets, only a handful have been imaged directly so far, at large orbital radii and in rather evolved systems. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) will have the capacity to observe these wide planetary systems at a younger age, thus bringing a better understanding of the planet formation process. Here we explore the ability of ALMA to detect the gaps carved by planets on wide orbits.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of IAU Symp. 299: Exploring the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems (Victoria, Canada

Growing dust grains in protoplanetary discs - I. Radial drift with toy growth models

In a series of papers, we present a comprehensive analytic study of the global motion of growing dust grains in protoplanetary discs, addressing both the radial drift and the vertical settling of the particles. Here we study how the radial drift of dust particles is affected by grain growth. In a first step, toy models in which grain growth can either be constant, accelerate or decelerate are introduced. The equations of motion are analytically integrable and therefore the grains dynamics is easy to understand. The radial motion of growing grains is governed by the relative efficiency of the growth and migration processes which is expressed by the dimensionless parameter Lambda, as well as the exponents for the gas surface density and temperature profiles, denoted p and q respectively. When Lambda is of order unity, growth and migration are strongly coupled, providing the most efficient radial drift. For the toy models considered, grains pile up when -p+q+1/2<0. Importantly, we show the existence of a second process which can help discs to retain their solid materials. For accelerating growth, grains end up their migration at a finite radius, thus avoiding being accreted onto the central star.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. v2: typos correcte

Mid-infrared to telecom-band stable supercontinuum generation in hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguides

We demonstrate the generation of a stable supercontinuum in a 1-cm-long hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguide by pumping the wire with 1950 nm picosecond pulses in the anomalous dispersion regime. The supercontinuum extends from 1460 to 2485 nm for a coupled peak power of 28.1 W

Telecom to mid-infrared spanning supercontinuum generation in hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguides using a Thulium doped fiber laser pump source

A 1000 nm wide supercontinuum, spanning from 1470 nm in the telecom band to 2470 nm in the mid-infrared is demonstrated in a 800 nm x 220 nm 1 cm long hydrogenated amorphous silicon strip waveguide. The pump source was a picosecond Thulium doped fiber laser centered at 1950 nm. The real part of the nonlinear parameter of this waveguide at 1950 nm is measured to be 100±10 W -1m-1, while the imaginary part of the nonlinear parameter is measured to be 1.2±0.2 W-1m-1. The supercontinuum is stable over a period of at least several hours, as the hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguides do not degrade when exposed to the high power picosecond pulse train. ©2013 Optical Society of America. © 2013 Optical Society of America.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Implementation of non-invasive prenatal testing by semiconductor sequencing in a genetic laboratory

Objectives: To implement non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for fetal aneuploidies with semiconductor sequencing in an academic cytogenomic laboratory and to evaluate the first 15-month experience on clinical samples. Methods: We validated a NIPT protocol for cell-free fetal DNA sequencing from maternal plasma for the detection of trisomy 13, 18 and 21 on a semiconductor sequencing instrument. Fetal DNA fraction calculation for all samples and several quality parameters were implemented in the workflow. One thousand eighty-one clinical NIPT samples were analysed, following the described protocol. Results: Non-invasive prenatal testing was successfully implemented and validated on 201 normal and 74 aneuploid samples. From 1081 clinical samples, 17 samples showed an abnormal result: 14 trisomy 21 samples, one trisomy 18 and one trisomy 16 were detected. Also a maternal copy number variation on chromosome 13 was observed, which could potentially lead to a false positive trisomy 13 result. One sex discordant result was reported, possibly attributable to a vanishing twin. Moreover, our combined fetal fraction calculation enabled a more reliable risk estimate for trisomy 13, 18 and 21. Conclusions: Non-invasive prenatal testing for trisomy 21, 18 and 13 has a very high specificity and sensitivity. Because of several biological phenomena, diagnostic invasive confirmation of abnormal results remains required

Pourquoi des logatomes dans l'évaluation linguistique de l'aphasie de Broca ?

Autorisation No.2358 : TIPA est la revue du Laboratoire Parole et LangageThe matter of this research is to test the pertinence of the use of the pseudo-words near patients having an aphasia of Broca in order to evaluate a phonological deficit precisely. The results of four patients aphasics at the tasks of repetition and spelling of words or pseudo-words are presented and analyzed statistically. It proves that indeed the phonological deficit is better described with the pseudo-words than with the words.Le propos de cette recherche est de tester la pertinence de l'emploi des logatomes auprès de patients présentant une aphasie de Broca afin d'évaluer précisément un déficit phonologique. Les résultats de quatre patients aphasiques lors de tâches de répétition et de dictée de mots ou de logatomes sont présentés et analysés statistiquement. Il s'avère que le déficit phonologique est mis en évidence plus facilement avec les logatomes qu'avec les mots

3D SPH simulations of grain growth in protoplanetary disks

We present the first results of the treatment of grain growth in our 3D, two-fluid (gas+dust) SPH code describing protoplanetary disks. We implement a scheme able to reproduce the variation of grain sizes caused by a variety of physical processes and test it with the analytical expression of grain growth given by Stepinski & Valageas (1997) in simulations of a typical T Tauri disk around a one solar mass star. The results are in agreement with a turbulent growing process and validate the method. We are now able to simulate the grain growth process in a protoplanetary disk given by a more realistic physical description, currently under development. We discuss the implications of the combined effect of grain growth and dust vertical settling and radial migration on subsequent planetesimal formatio

SPH simulations of grain growth in protoplanetary disks

6 pages, 6 figures, accepted to A&AInternational audienceAims: In order to understand the first stages of planet formation, when tiny grains aggregate to form planetesimals, one needs to simultaneously model grain growth, vertical settling and radial migration of dust in protoplanetary disks. In this study, we implement an analytical prescription for grain growth into a 3D two-phase hydrodynamics code to understand its effects on the dust distribution in disks. Methods: Following the analytic derivation of Stepinski & Valageas (1997), which assumes that grains stick perfectly upon collision, we implement a convenient and fast method of following grain growth in our 3D, two-phase (gas+dust) SPH code. We then follow the evolution of the size and spatial distribution of a dust population in a classical T Tauri star disk. Results: We find that the grains go through various stages of growth due to the complex interplay between gas drag, dust dynamics, and growth. Grains initially grow rapidly as they settle to the mid-plane, then experience a fast radial migration with little growth through the bulk of the disk, and finally pile-up in the inner disk where they grow more efficiently. This results in a bimodal distribution of grain sizes. Using this simple prescription of grain growth, we find that grains reach decimetric sizes in 10^5 years in the inner disk and survive the fast migration phase