Searching for supersymmetry using deep learning with the ATLAS detector

Le Modèle Standard de la physique des particules (MS) est une théorie fondamentale de la nature dont la validité a été largement établie par diverses expériences. Par contre, quelques problèmes théoriques et expérimentaux subsistent, ce qui motive la recherche de théories alternatives. La Supersymétrie (SUSY), famille de théories dans laquelle une nouvelle particule est associée à chaque particules du MS, est une des théories ayant les meilleures motivations pour étendre la portée du modèle. Par exemple, plusieurs théories supersymétriques prédisent de nouvelles particules stables et interagissant seulement par la force faible, ce qui pourrait expliquer les observations astronomiques de la matière sombre. La découverte de SUSY représenterait aussi une importante étape dans le chemin vers une théorie unifiée de l'univers. Les recherches de supersymétrie sont au coeur du programme expérimental de la collaboration ATLAS, qui exploite un détecteur de particules installé au Grand Collisioneur de Hadrons (LHC) au CERN à Genève, mais à ce jours aucune preuve en faveur de la supersymétrie n'a été enregistrée par les présentes analyses, largement basées sur des techniques simples et bien comprises. Cette thèse documente l'implémentation d'une nouvelle approche à la recherche de particules basée sur l'apprentissage profond, utilisant seulement les quadri-impulsions comme variables discriminatoires; cette analyse utilise l'ensemble complet de données d'ATLAS enregistré en 2015-2018. Les problèmes de la naturalité du MS et de la matière sombre orientent la recherche vers les partenaires supersymétriques du gluon (le gluino), des quarks de troisième génération (stop et sbottom), ainsi que des bosons de gauge (le neutralino). Plusieurs techniques récentes sont employées, telles que l'utilisation directe des quadri-impulsions reconstruites à partir des données enregistrées par le détecteur ATLAS ainsi que la paramétrisation d'un réseau de neurone avec les masses des particules recherchées, ce qui permet d'atteindre une performance optimale quelle que soit l'hypothèse de masses. Cette méthode améliore la signification statistique par un facteur 85 par rapport au dernier résultat d'ATLAS pour certaines hypothèses de masses, et ce avec la même luminosité. Aucun excès signifif au-delà du Modèle Standard n'est observé. Les masses du gluino en deçà de 2.45 TeV et du neutralino en deça de 1.7 TeV sont exclues à un niveau de confiance de 95%, ce qui étend largement les limites précédentes sur deux modèles de productions de paires de gluinos faisant intervenir des stops et des sbottoms, respectivement.The Standard Model of particle physics (SM) is a fundamental theory of nature whose validity has been extensively confirmed by experiments. However, some theoretical and experimental problems subsist, which motivates searches for alternative theories to supersede it. Supersymmetry (SUSY), which associate new fundamental particles to each SM particle, is one of the best-motivated such theory and could solve some of the biggest outstanding problems with the SM. For example, many SUSY scenarios predict stable neutral particles that could explain observations of dark matter in the universe. The discovery of SUSY would also represent a huge step towards a unified theory of the universe. Searches for SUSY are at the heart of the experimental program of the ATLAS collaboration, which exploits a state-of-the-art particle detector installed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva. The probability to observe many supersymmetric particles went up when the LHC ramped up its collision energy to 13~TeV, the highest ever achieved in laboratory, but so far no evidence for SUSY has been recorded by current searches, which are mostly based on well-known simple techniques such as counting experiments. This thesis documents the implementation of a novel deep learning-based approach using only the four-momenta of selected physics objects, and its application to the search for supersymmetric particles using the full ATLAS 2015-2018 dataset. Motivated by naturalness considerations as well as by the problem of dark matter, the search focuses on finding evidence for supersymmetric partners of the gluon (the gluino), third generation quarks (the stop and the sbottom), and gauge bosons (the neutralino). Many recently introduced physics-specific machine learning developments are employed, such as directly using detector-recorded energies and momenta of produced particles instead of first deriving a restricted set of physically motivated variables and parametrizing the classification model with the masses of the particles searched for, which allows optimal sensitivity for all mass hypothesis. This method improves the statistical significance of the search by up to 85 times that of the previous ATLAS analysis for some mass hypotheses, after accounting for the luminosity difference. No significant excesses above the SM background are recorded. Gluino masses below 2.45 TeV and neutralino masses below 1.7 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level, greatly increasing the previous limit on two simplified models of gluino pair production with off-shell stops and sbottoms, respectively

Phase Space Engineering in Optical Microcavities I: Preserving near-field uniformity while inducing far-field directionality

Optical microcavities have received much attention over the last decade from different research fields ranging from fundamental issues of cavity QED to specific applications such as microlasers and bio-sensors. A major issue in the latter applications is the difficulty to obtain directional emission of light in the far-field while keeping high energy densities inside the cavity (i.e. high quality factor). To improve our understanding of these systems, we have studied the annular cavity (a dielectric disk with a circular hole), where the distance cavity-hole centers, d, is used as a parameter to alter the properties of cavity resonances. We present results showing how one can affect the directionality of the far-field while preserving the uniformity (hence the quality factor) of the near-field simply by increasing the value of d. Interestingly, the transition between a uniform near- and far-field to a uniform near- and directional far-field is rather abrupt. We can explain this behavior quite nicely with a simple model, supported by full numerical calculations, and we predict that the effect will also be found in a large class of eigenmodes of the cavity.Comment: 12th International Conference on Transparent Optical Network

S and Q Matrices Reloaded: applications to open, inhomogeneous, and complex cavities

We present a versatile numerical algorithm for computing resonances of open dielectric cavities. The emphasis is on the generality of the system's configuration, i.e. the geometry of the (main) cavity (and possible inclusions) and the internal and external dielectric media (homogeneous and inhomogeneous). The method is based on a scattering formalism to obtain the position and width of the (quasi)-eigenmodes. The core of the method lies in the scattering S-matrix and its associated delay Q-matrix which contain all the relevant information of the corresponding scattering experiment. For instance, the electromagnetic near- and far-fields are readily extracted. The flexibility of the propagation method is displayed for a selected system.Comment: 15th International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (2013

The process of making an aerodynamically efficient car body for the SAE Supermileage competition

In the summer of 2010, a new body shell for the SAE Supermileage car of Laval University was designed. The complete shell design process included, amongst other steps, the generation of a shape through the parametric shape modeling software Unigraphics NX7 and the evaluation of aerodynamic forces acting on the chassis using the open source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software OpenFOAM. The CFD analyses were ran at steady-state using a k-omega-SST turbulence model and roughly 2.5 million cells. An efficient method for evaluating the effect of ambient wind conditions and vehicle trajectory on the track was developed. It considers the proportion of time that the car operates at each combination of velocity and wind yaw angle and computes the overall energy demand of the shell. An iterative process was conducted over a significant number of different shapes, which were generated by joining formula-based guide curves using intersection and tangency conditions. The new shell has a 25 % larger frontal area due to modified design constraints. When aerodynamically compared to the smaller and already highly efficient old vehicle, reductions of 50 % of the negative lift, 15 % of the energy demand when driving forward, and 5 % of the energy demand when turning are achieved by the new design. Also, the drag coefficient is reduced by 20 %. These improvements come from the quasi-NACA profiles on the side and top walls; a reduction of cavities to prevent redundant frontal areas; a short vehicle and smother wheel cover closures; and a thorough study of the nose and tail. This paper describes numerical flow simulations and the changes that were brought to the vehicle body to make it as aerodynamically efficient as possible

Implication des partenaires dans la campagne québécoise de promotion de la santé « Défi Santé 5/30 »

Cette étude porte sur la gestion des partenariats en promotion de la santé et s’inscrit dans une étude de cas du « Défi Santé 5/30 ». Cette campagne québécoise multimédia promouvant de saines habitudes d’alimentation, d’activité physique et de maintien/modification du poids, de douze semaines, s’est déroulée en 2005. Le but de notre article est de : 1) décrire les acteurs de la campagne et leur implication  ; 2) relever l’interaction entre ces acteurs pendant le déroulement du « Défi Santé 5/30 »  ; 3) proposer un paradigme permettant d’identifier les facteurs influençant les relations partenariales. Différents types d’acteurs sont intervenus durant la campagne : un organisme instigateur (gouvernement du Québec), un organisme responsable (ACTI-MENU), un partenaire médiatique principal (Quebecor inc.) et des partenaires financiers, de caution et de relais-terrain (de missions diverses mais reliées à la santé). Les interactions entre organismes et partenaires ont davantage évolué sous le signe de la coopération que de la collaboration ou de la coalescence. Divers facteurs ont influencé les interactions entre les acteurs impliqués dans l’organisation de cette campagne (culturel, éthique, organisationnel/contractuel et de gestion).Our study focuses on the management of partnerships in a heath promotion context and is a part of a case study of the “Défi Santé 5/30”. This 12-week multimedia campaign held in Quebec in 2005 aimed at promoting healthy nutrition, physical activity and weight loss/control habits. The goal of our article is : 1) to describe the actors of the campaign and their involvement ; 2) to depict the interactions amongst these actors as the “Défi Santé 5/30” unfolded ; 3) to present a paradigm allowing the identification of the factors acting on partnership relations. Different types of actors played a role in the campaign : an organization who instigated the campaign (government of Quebec), an organization responsible of the campaign (ACTI-MENU), a main media partner (Quebecor inc.), and financial, moral support and ground-based/relay partners (all health-related but with diverse missions). Interactions between organizations and partners went on in a cooperative more than a collaborative or coalescent way. Diverse factors influenced the interactions amongst the actors involved when the campaign was developed (culture, ethics, organization/contract, and management)

Effects of variation in exercise training load on cognitive performances and neurotrophic biomarkers in patients with coronary artery disease

We used a novel and supervised iso-energetic training, integrating both moderate- and high-intensity aerobic exercises. Our findings indicate that greater variation in training load did not yield cognitive enhancements, although both protocols exhibited positive effects on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. Moreover, this study establishes a clear positive association between short-term and working memory and neurotrophic biomarkers. In addition, the independent predictive value of change in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) on improvement in short-term and working memory highlight the close relationship between neurotrophic markers and cognition. Consequently, our results advocate for exercise training interventions targeting neurotrophic biomarkers to enhance cognitive function among individuals with coronary artery disease

Consensus-based care recommendations for adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1

Purpose of review Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a severe, progressive genetic disease that affects between 1 in 3,000 and 8,000 individuals globally. No evidence-based guideline exists to inform the care of these patients, and most do not have access to multidisciplinary care centers staffed by experienced professionals, creating a clinical care deficit. Recent findings The Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation (MDF) recruited 66 international clinicians experienced in DM1 patient care to develop consensus-based care recommendations. MDF created a 2-step methodology for the project using elements of the Single Text Procedure and the Nominal Group Technique. The process generated a 4-page Quick Reference Guide and a comprehensive, 55-page document that provides clinical care recommendations for 19 discrete body systems and/or care considerations. Summary The resulting recommendations are intended to help standardize and elevate care for this patient population and reduce variability in clinical trial and study environments. Described as “one of the more variable diseases found in medicine,” myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is an autosomal dominant, triplet-repeat expansion disorder that affects somewhere between 1:3,000 and 1:8,000 individuals worldwide.1 There is a modest association between increased repeat expansion and disease severity, as evidenced by the average age of onset and overall morbidity of the condition. An expansion of over 35 repeats typically indicates an unstable and expanding mutation. An expansion of 50 repeats or higher is consistent with a diagnosis of DM1. DM1 is a multisystem and heterogeneous disease characterized by distal weakness, atrophy, and myotonia, as well as symptoms in the heart, brain, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine, and respiratory systems. Symptoms may occur at any age. The severity of the condition varies widely among affected individuals, even among members of the same family. Comprehensive evidence-based guidelines do not currently exist to guide the treatment of DM1 patients. As a result, the international patient community reports varied levels of care and care quality, and difficulty accessing care adequate to manage their symptoms, unless they have access to multidisciplinary neuromuscular clinics. Consensus-based care recommendations can help standardize and improve the quality of care received by DM1 patients and assist clinicians who may not be familiar with the significant variability, range of symptoms, and severity of the disease. Care recommendations can also improve the landscape for clinical trial success by eliminating some of the inconsistencies in patient care to allow more accurate understanding of the benefit of potential therapies

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