Zenithal bistability in a nematic liquid crystal device with a monostable surface condition

The ground-state director configurations in a grating-aligned, zenithally bistable nematic device are calculated in two dimensions using a Q tensor approach. The director profiles generated are well described by a one-dimensional variation of the director across the width of the device, with the distorted region near the grating replaced by an effective surface anchoring energy. This work shows that device bistability can in fact be achieved by using a monostable surface term in the one-dimensional model. This implies that is should be possible to construct a device showing zenithal bistability without the need for a micropatterned surface

Pupil remapping for high contrast astronomy: results from an optical testbed

The direct imaging and characterization of Earth-like planets is among the most sought-after prizes in contemporary astrophysics, however current optical instrumentation delivers insufficient dynamic range to overcome the vast contrast differential between the planet and its host star. New opportunities are offered by coherent single mode fibers, whose technological development has been motivated by the needs of the telecom industry in the near infrared. This paper presents a new vision for an instrument using coherent waveguides to remap the pupil geometry of the telescope. It would (i) inject the full pupil of the telescope into an array of single mode fibers, (ii) rearrange the pupil so fringes can be accurately measured, and (iii) permit image reconstruction so that atmospheric blurring can be totally removed. Here we present a laboratory experiment whose goal was to validate the theoretical concepts underpinning our proposed method. We successfully confirmed that we can retrieve the image of a simulated astrophysical object (in this case a binary star) though a pupil remapping instrument using single mode fibers.Comment: Accepted in Optics Expres

Three-dimensional foam flow resolved by fast X-ray tomographic microscopy

Thanks to ultra fast and high resolution X-ray tomography, we managed to capture the evolution of the local structure of the bubble network of a 3D foam flowing around a sphere. As for the 2D foam flow around a circular obstacle, we observed an axisymmetric velocity field with a recirculation zone, and indications of a negative wake downstream the obstacle. The bubble deformations, quantified by a shape tensor, are smaller than in 2D, due to a purely 3D feature: the azimuthal bubble shape variation. Moreover, we were able to detect plastic rearrangements, characterized by the neighbor-swapping of four bubbles. Their spatial structure suggest that rearrangements are triggered when films faces get smaller than a characteristic area.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Laser Guide Star for Large Segmented-Aperture Space Telescopes, Part I: Implications for Terrestrial Exoplanet Detection and Observatory Stability

Precision wavefront control on future segmented-aperture space telescopes presents significant challenges, particularly in the context of high-contrast exoplanet direct imaging. We present a new wavefront control architecture that translates the ground-based artificial guide star concept to space with a laser source aboard a second spacecraft, formation flying within the telescope field-of-view. We describe the motivating problem of mirror segment motion and develop wavefront sensing requirements as a function of guide star magnitude and segment motion power spectrum. Several sample cases with different values for transmitter power, pointing jitter, and wavelength are presented to illustrate the advantages and challenges of having a non-stellar-magnitude noise limited wavefront sensor for space telescopes. These notional designs allow increased control authority, potentially relaxing spacecraft stability requirements by two orders of magnitude, and increasing terrestrial exoplanet discovery space by allowing high-contrast observations of stars of arbitrary brightness.Comment: Submitted to A

Digging into acceptor splice site prediction : an iterative feature selection approach

Feature selection techniques are often used to reduce data dimensionality, increase classification performance, and gain insight into the processes that generated the data. In this paper, we describe an iterative procedure of feature selection and feature construction steps, improving the classification of acceptor splice sites, an important subtask of gene prediction. We show that acceptor prediction can benefit from feature selection, and describe how feature selection techniques can be used to gain new insights in the classification of acceptor sites. This is illustrated by the identification of a new, biologically motivated feature: the AG-scanning feature. The results described in this paper contribute both to the domain of gene prediction, and to research in feature selection techniques, describing a new wrapper based feature weighting method that aids in knowledge discovery when dealing with complex datasets

Adaptive optics in high-contrast imaging

The development of adaptive optics (AO) played a major role in modern astronomy over the last three decades. By compensating for the atmospheric turbulence, these systems enable to reach the diffraction limit on large telescopes. In this review, we will focus on high contrast applications of adaptive optics, namely, imaging the close vicinity of bright stellar objects and revealing regions otherwise hidden within the turbulent halo of the atmosphere to look for objects with a contrast ratio lower than 10^-4 with respect to the central star. Such high-contrast AO-corrected observations have led to fundamental results in our current understanding of planetary formation and evolution as well as stellar evolution. AO systems equipped three generations of instruments, from the first pioneering experiments in the nineties, to the first wave of instruments on 8m-class telescopes in the years 2000, and finally to the extreme AO systems that have recently started operations. Along with high-contrast techniques, AO enables to reveal the circumstellar environment: massive protoplanetary disks featuring spiral arms, gaps or other asymmetries hinting at on-going planet formation, young giant planets shining in thermal emission, or tenuous debris disks and micron-sized dust leftover from collisions in massive asteroid-belt analogs. After introducing the science case and technical requirements, we will review the architecture of standard and extreme AO systems, before presenting a few selected science highlights obtained with recent AO instruments.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figure

Influence of flow confinement on the drag force on a static cylinder

The influence of confinement on the drag force $F$ on a static cylinder in a viscous flow inside a rectangular slit of aperture $h_0$ has been investigated from experimental measurements and numerical simulations. At low enough Reynolds numbers, $F$ varies linearly with the mean velocity and the viscosity, allowing for the precise determination of drag coefficients $\lambda_{||}$ and $\lambda_{\bot}$ corresponding respectively to a mean flow parallel and perpendicular to the cylinder length $L$. In the parallel configuration, the variation of $\lambda_{||}$ with the normalized diameter $\beta = d/h_0$ of the cylinder is close to that for a 2D flow invariant in the direction of the cylinder axis and does not diverge when $\beta = 1$. The variation of $\lambda_{||}$ with the distance from the midplane of the model reflects the parabolic Poiseuille profile between the plates for $\beta \ll 1$ while it remains almost constant for $\beta \sim 1$. In the perpendicular configuration, the value of $\lambda_{\bot}$ is close to that corresponding to a 2D system only if $\beta \ll 1$ and/or if the clearance between the ends of the cylinder and the side walls is very small: in that latter case, $\lambda_{\bot}$ diverges as $\beta \to 1$ due to the blockage of the flow. In other cases, the side flow between the ends of the cylinder and the side walls plays an important part to reduce $\lambda_{\bot}$: a full 3D description of the flow is needed to account for these effects

Efficient injection from large telescopes into single-mode fibres: Enabling the era of ultra-precision astronomy

Photonic technologies offer numerous advantages for astronomical instruments such as spectrographs and interferometers owing to their small footprints and diverse range of functionalities. Operating at the diffraction-limit, it is notoriously difficult to efficiently couple such devices directly with large telescopes. We demonstrate that with careful control of both the non-ideal pupil geometry of a telescope and residual wavefront errors, efficient coupling with single-mode devices can indeed be realised. A fibre injection was built within the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument. Light was coupled into a single-mode fibre operating in the near-IR (J-H bands) which was downstream of the extreme adaptive optics system and the pupil apodising optics. A coupling efficiency of 86% of the theoretical maximum limit was achieved at 1550 nm for a diffraction-limited beam in the laboratory, and was linearly correlated with Strehl ratio. The coupling efficiency was constant to within <30% in the range 1250-1600 nm. Preliminary on-sky data with a Strehl ratio of 60% in the H-band produced a coupling efficiency into a single-mode fibre of ~50%, consistent with expectations. The coupling was >40% for 84% of the time and >50% for 41% of the time. The laboratory results allow us to forecast that extreme adaptive optics levels of correction (Strehl ratio >90% in H-band) would allow coupling of >67% (of the order of coupling to multimode fibres currently). For Strehl ratios <20%, few-port photonic lanterns become a superior choice but the signal-to-noise must be considered. These results illustrate a clear path to efficient on-sky coupling into a single-mode fibre, which could be used to realise modal-noise-free radial velocity machines, very-long-baseline optical/near-IR interferometers and/or simply exploit photonic technologies in future instrument design.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, 1 table, published in A&

Modélisation du comportement des biomasses bactériennes libres et fixées dans les réseaux de distribution d'eau potable

La prolifération bactérienne en réseaux de distribution d'eau potable est un souci majeur des distributeurs d'eau. La complexité des phénomènes impliqués dans la croissance bactérienne en réseaux nécessite une modélisation mathématique pour définir l'impact des différents paramètres de la qualité de l'eau et généraliser ces résultats à l'échelle du réseau de distribution. Une approche déterministe a été choisie pour développer cette modélisation prédictive de la croissance bactérienne dans les systèmes de distribution. Le modèle prend en compte : la croissance de fa biomasse libre et de la biomasse fixée, la consommation en nutriments exprimés par le CODB, l'action bactéricide du chlore sur la flore libre et la dore fixée, la déposition des bactéries en suspension et le détachement des bactéries fixées. Le modèle propose une approche originale pour la modélisation de l'action bactéricide du chlore. Par ailleurs, différentes formulations du détachement ont été testées algébriquement pour définir la modélisation la plus adaptée à notre système d'équations. Ce modèle a été couplé au logiciel de modélisation hydraulique IMCCOI.O développé par la SAFEGE. Utilisant les données hydrauliques et de géométrie générées par PICCOLO, le modèle prédit les numérations bactériennes en chaque noeud et sur chaque arc du réseau de distribution. Utilisant l'interface graphique de PICCOLO, le modèle permet une visualisation de l'évolution de la qualité bactérienne par cartographie. Des simulations ont été réalisées sur de nombreux réseaux présentant des tailles et des niveaux de complexité variables. Le modèle a été validé à partir de campagnes de prélèvements sur sites. Ce modèle permettant de simuler l'évolution de la qualité bactériologique à l'échelle du réseau est un outil unique pour le diagnostic et la gestion qualitative des systèmes de distribution d'eau potable.Of the many causes of distributed water quality deterioration, biological phenomena are undoubtedly the subject of the most study, and are also the most closely monitored because of short-term public health risks. Although high heterotrophic bacterial counts do not necessary constitute a health risk, they are the sign that a particular network is subject to biological disorders which can protect pathogenic species. What is more, the evolution of the bacterial biomass in the network also affects other aspects of distributed water quality, such as tastes and odours, the development macro-invertebrates, the appearance of colour and turbidity and the appearance of biocorrosion phenomena. Qualitative management of distribution networks is therefore to ensure that the quality of the product is kept as constant as possible up to the farthest points of the distribution. With this in mind, it is essential to understand, describe and model the various phenomena which lead to the evolution of water quality during distribution. Mathematical modelling is necessary in order to take ail parameters into account in view of the complexity of the different phenomena involved. A determinist type modelling was developed to predict bacterial variations (viable and total bacteria) during distribution. The model takes into account: - the fate of available nutrients consumed for the growth of suspended and fixed bacteria, - the influence of temperature on bacterial dynamics, - the natural mortality of bacteria by senescence and grazing, - the mortality resulting from the presence of chlorine disinfectant, with a differentiation between the action on free et fixed bacteria,- the impact of different forms of chlorine in water (HCIO/CIO-) dépending on pH on the mortality rate,- the deposition of suspended bacteria and the detachment of fixed bacteria,- the chlorine decay kinetics onder the influence of temperature, hydraulics and pipe materials.The modelling of the fixed biomass as a layer uniformly distributed over the pipe surface, expressed as an équivalent thickness of carbon, has been adopted. By this way, a differentiation between the mathematical expression of the free and that of the fixed biomass was made in the model. This mean it is possible to distinguish between phenomena depending on their locations: reactions in solution, réaction at the water/biofilm surface interface and within the biofiJm.This model proposes also an original approach for chlorine bactericidal action on suspended and fixed biomass. To model the action of chlorine on the fixed biomass and its stronger résistance compared with the free biomass, the diffusion of the chlorine through the boundary layer and the biofilm has been taken into account. This calculation of the average penetration depth of the chlorine front into the biofilm enables the identification of two layers: a chlorinated layer and a layer not attained by the chlorine which provides a material indication of the better resistance of the fixed biomass.As detachment is a key phenomenon in the modelling of bacterial dynamics in distribution Systems, the influence of different formulas of detachment kinetics on the mathematical expression of model variables were determined by soiving model equations.The model has been interfaced with PICCOLO software, the SAFEGE hydraulic calculation model. It is constructed by using hydraulic results previously generated by PICCOLO and a numerical scheme to predict bacterial count at each node and on each link of a network. Installed on a PC type computer, the model uses the graphic interface of PICCOLO and provides an effective and easy way to visualise on a computer screen water quality variations in the network, using a colour code for bacterial count, nutrient concentration and chlorine residual.The first model calibration was done using data from our pipe loop pilot under various operating conditions. The model has been also used to simulate a variety of distribution Systems of different sizes and levels of details and a validation of the model has been carried out by means of measurement campaigns on different distribution Systems.Animating and visualising variations of bacteria counts in distribution system is an unique approach to study the changes in water quality. This tool is helpful to propose strategies for the management of distribution Systems and treatment plants and define the different zones of bacterial regrowth in relation with hydraulic conditions