Detection chain and electronic readout of the QUBIC instrument

The Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology (QUBIC) Technical Demonstrator (TD) aiming to shows the feasibility of the combination of interferometry and bolometric detection. The electronic readout system is based on an array of 128 NbSi Transition Edge Sensors cooled at 350mK readout with 128 SQUIDs at 1K controlled and amplified by an Application Specific Integrated Circuit at 40K. This readout design allows a 128:1 Time Domain Multiplexing. We report the design and the performance of the detection chain in this paper. The technological demonstrator unwent a campaign of test in the lab. Evaluation of the QUBIC bolometers and readout electronics includes the measurement of I-V curves, time constant and the Noise Equivalent Power. Currently the mean Noise Equivalent Power is ~ 2 x 10⁻¹⁶ W/√Hz

Detection chain and electronic readout of the QUBIC instrument

The Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology (QUBIC) Technical Demonstrator (TD) aiming to shows the feasibility of the combination of interferometry and bolometric detection. The electronic readout system is based on an array of 128 NbSi Transition Edge Sensors cooled at 350mK readout with 128 SQUIDs at 1K controlled and amplified by an Application Specific Integrated Circuit at 40K. This readout design allows a 128:1 Time Domain Multiplexing. We report the design and the performance of the detection chain in this paper. The technological demonstrator unwent a campaign of test in the lab. Evaluation of the QUBIC bolometers and readout electronics includes the measurement of I-V curves, time constant and the Noise Equivalent Power. Currently the mean Noise Equivalent Power is ~ 2 x 10⁻¹⁶ W/√Hz

Nusinersen in patients older than 7 months with spinal muscular atrophy type 1: A cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of nusinersen in patients older than 7 months with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1). METHODS: Patients with SMA1 were treated with nusinersen by intrathecal injections as a part of the Expanded Access Program (EAP; NCT02865109). We evaluated patients before treatment initiation (M0) and at 2 months (M2) and 6 months (M6) after treatment initiation. Survival, respiratory, and nutritional data were collected. Motor function was assessed with the modified Hammersmith Infant Neurologic Examination Part 2 (HINE-2) and physiotherapist scales adjusted to patient age (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Infant Test of Neuromuscular Disorders and the Motor Function Measure 20 or 32). RESULTS: We treated 33 children ranging in age from 8.3 to 113.1 months between December 2016 and May 2017. All patients were alive and were continuing treatment at M6. Median progress on the modified HINE-2 score was 1.5 points after 6 months of treatment (p < 0.001). The need for respiratory support significantly increased over time. There were no statistically significant differences between patients presenting with 2 and those presenting with 3 copies of the survival motor neuron 2 (SMN2) gene. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are in line with the phase 3 study for nusinersen in patients with SMA1 treated before 7 months of age and indicate that patients benefit from nusinersen even at a later stage of the disease. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: NCT02865109. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class IV evidence that for patients with SMA1 who are older than 7 months, nusinersen is beneficial

La grotte du Taillis des Coteaux à Antigny (Vienne) : intérêts d'une séquence originale à la structuration des premiers temps du Magdalénien

The cave of Le Taillis des Coteaux, Antigny (Vienne, France) was discovered in 1998 and excavations began in 2000. The preserved stratigraphy is exceptional as it represents almost the whole Upper Palaeolithic, from the Aurignacian to the Middle Magdalenian, through the Gravettian, Badegoulian and Lower Magdalenian. The latter provides an archaeological assemblage with original typo-technological features evoking the Magdalenian. However, its dating to around 17 000 BP is close to the Badegoulian. The main characteristics of the lithic industry are described, particularly the bladelet production. Its relationship with the Lower Magdalenian is also discussed.La grotte du Taillis des Coteaux à Antigny (Vienne), découverte en 1998 et fouillée depuis 2000, conserve une stratigraphie exceptionnelle comprenant la quasi-totalité du Paléolithique supérieur, depuis l’Aurignacien jusqu’au Magdalénien moyen, en passant par le Gravettien, le Badegoulien et le Magdalénien inférieur. Ce dernier livre un assemblage archéologique aux caractères typotechnologiques originaux, riche en microlamelles à dos, évoquant le Magdalénien, mais dont les datations autour de 17000 BP se rapprochent plutôt du Badegoulien. Cela conduit les auteurs à se demander si le fort investissement dans la production lamellaire serait une spécificité magdalénienne et, par conséquent, un de ses caractères d’identification. En d’autres termes, ces industries à microlamelles à dos portent-elles déjà les caractères du Magdalénien?Soler Ludovic, Schmiti Aurore, Rambaud Delphine, Mistrot Vincent, Liolios Despina, Liard Morgane, Le Brun-Ricalens Foni, Laroulandie Véronique, Houmard Claire, Henry-Gambier Dominique, Guérin Samuel, Griggo Christophe, Berthet Anne-Laure, Langlais Mathieu, Gabilleau Joël, Brou Laurent, Primault Jérôme, Taborin Yvette, Vissac Carole. La grotte du Taillis des Coteaux à Antigny (Vienne) : intérêts d'une séquence originale à la structuration des premiers temps du Magdalénien. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 104, n°4, 2007. pp. 743-758

Formes et dispositions du texte théâtral du symbolisme à aujourd’hui

Comment écrit-on pour le théâtre ? Ou, plus précisément, comment le texte de théâtre investit-il l’espace de la page ? Comment se dispose-t-il sur le papier ? Quelle forme emprunte-t-il ? L’objectif de ce volume collectif est d’étudier la question de la disposition du texte dramatique sur un large empan, de la fin du xixe siècle à aujourd’hui, dans ses multiples enjeux. Cette perspective paraît essentielle pour aborder une période extraordinairement riche du théâtre. En dépassant à ses débuts la traditionnelle opposition du vers et de la prose, elle a permis de définir de nouveaux horizons d’écriture - et donc de lecture et de représentation. Actuellement, comme en écho, on ne compte plus les exemples d’auteurs dramatiques qui exploitent, dans l’édition de leurs œuvres, les possibilités typographiques disponibles avec la généralisation des traitements de texte. L’ouvrage, principalement composé d’études monographiques centrées sur des exemples français, propose un parcours problématisé sur cette riche matière jusque-là peu explorée

PILOT: measuring the FIR astrophysical dust emission

Measuring precisely the faint polarization of the Far-Infrared and sub-millimetre sky is the next observational challenge of modern astronomy. In particular, detection the B-mode polarization from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) shall reveal the inflationary periods in the very early universe. Such measurements will require very high sensitivity and very low instrumental systematic effects. As for measurements of the CMB intensity, sensitive measurements of the CMB polarization will be made difficult by the presence of foreground emission from our own Milky Way, which is orders of magnitude higher than the faint polarized cosmological signal. Such foreground emission will have to be understood very accurately and removed from cosmological measurements. This polarized emission is also interesting in itself, since it brings information relevant to star formation processes, about the orientation of the magnetic field in our Galaxy through the alignment of dust grains. I will first summarize our current knowledge in this field. I will then describe the PILOT balloon-borne experiment project, which is dedicated to measuring precisely the polarization of faint diffuse dust emission in the Far-Infrared in our Galaxy

QUBIC: the Q&U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology. A novel way to look at the polarized Cosmic Microwave Background.

In this paper we describe QUBIC, an experiment that takes up the challenge posed by the detection of primordial gravitational waves with a novel approach, that combines the sensitivity of state-of-the art bolometric detectors with the systematic effects control typical of interferometers. The so-called 'self-calibration' is a technique deeply rooted in the interferometric nature of the instrument and allows us to clean the measured data from instrumental effects. The first module of QUBIC is a dual band instrument (150 GHz and 220 GHz) that will be deployed in Argentina during Fall 2018

Calibration of QUBIC: The Q and U bolometric interferometer for cosmology

International audienceQUBIC (a Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology) is a next generation cosmology experiment designed to detect the B-mode polarisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). A B-mode detection is hard evidence of Inflation in the &Lambda;CDM model. QUBIC aims to accomplish this by combining novel technologies to achieve the sensitivity required to detect the faint B-mode signal. QUBIC uses technologies such as a rotating half-wave plate, cryogenics, interferometric horns with self-calibration switches and transition edge sensor bolometers. A Technical Demonstrator (TD) is currently being calibrated in APC in Paris before observations in Argentina in 2021. As part of the calibration campaign, the spectral response of the TD is measured to test and validate QUBIC's spectro-imaging capability. This poster gives an overview of the methods used to measure the spectral response and a comparison of the instrument data with theoretical predictions and optical simulations

QUBIC-the Q & U bolometric interferometer for cosmology

QUBIC (Q and U bolometric interferometer for cosmology) is an international ground-based experiment dedicated to the measurement of the polarized fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). It is based on bolometric interferometry, an original detection technique which combines the immunity to systematic effects of an interferometer with the sensitivity of low temperature incoherent detectors. QUBIC will be deployed in Argentina, at the Alto Chorrillos mountain site near San Antonio de los Cobres, in the Salta province. The QUBIC detection chain consists of 2048 NbSi transition edge sensors (TESs) cooled to 320 mK. The voltage-biased TESs are read out with time domain multiplexing based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) at 1 K and a novel SiGe application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) at 60 K allowing an unprecedented multiplexing (MUX) factor equal to 128 to be reached. The current QUBIC version is based on a reduced number of detectors (1/4) in order to validate the detection technique. The QUBIC experiment is currently being validated in the lab in Salta (Argentina) before going to the site for observations. This paper presents the main results of the characterization phase with a focus on the detectors and readout system