Projection-based measurement and identification

A recently developed Projection-based Digital Image Correlation (P-DVC) method is here extended to 4D (space and time) displacement field measurement and mechanical identification based on a single radiograph per loading step instead of volumes as in standard DVC methods. Two levels of data reductions are exploited, namely, reduction of the data acquisition (and time) by a factor of 1000 and reduction of the solution space by exploiting model reduction techniques. The analysis of a complete tensile elastoplastic test composed of 127 loading steps performed in 6 minutes is presented. The 4D displacement field as well as the elastoplastic constitutive law are identified. Keywords: Image-based identification, Model reduction, Fast 4D identification, In-situ tomography measurements. INTRODUCTION Identification and validation of increasingly complex mechanical models is a major concern in experimental solid mechanics. The recent developments of computed tomography coupled with in-situ tests provide extremely rich and non-destructive analyses [1]. In the latter cases, the sample was imaged inside a tomograph, either with interrupted mechanical load or with a continuously evolving loading and on-the-fly acquisitions (as ultra-fast X-ray synchrotron tomography, namely, 20 Hz full scan acquisition for the study of crack propagation [2]). Visualization of fast transformations, crack openings, or unsteady behavior become accessible. Combined with full-field measurements, in-situ tests offer a quantitative basis for identifying a broad range of mechanical behavior.Comment: SEM 2019, Jun 2019, Reno, United State

Festuca paniculata meadows in Ticino (Switzerland) and their Alpine environment

Festuca paniculata (L.) Schinz & Thellung locally dominates montane and subalpine meadows of the Alps and other mountains of southern Europe. Vegetation releves were carried out in Switzerland and northern Italy to study the site conditions under which Festuca paniculata meadows occur in this part of the Alps, their species composition and phytosociological status, and their relationship to Festuca paniculata meadows described previously from the French Alps (Centaureo-Festucetum spadiceae) and Austrian Alps (Hypochaerido uniflorae-Festucetum paniculatae). The Swiss meadows were found to have a similar ecology to those in France and Austria. They occur mostly between 1600 and 2100 m a.s.l on steep slopes with southern aspect, generally on crystalline rocks, but sometimes on calcareous rocks if soils have been decalcified. The species composition of the Swiss meadows is closer to the Austrian than to the French communities, and we attribute them to the association Hypochaerido uniflorae-Festucetum paniculatae with the new subassociation polygaletosum chamaebuxi. Climate is probably the main factor separating vegetation units in the Alps: the Centaureo-Festucetum spadiceae occurs where summers are dry, whereas the Hypochaerido uniflorae-Festucetum paniculatae occurs where rainfall is not a limiting factor in summer

Fermi Edge Singularities in Transport through Quantum Dots

We study the Fermi-edge singularity appearing in the current-voltage characteristics for resonant tunneling through a localized level at finite temperature. An explicit expression for the current at low temperature and near the threshold for the tunneling process is presented which allows to coalesce data taken at different temperatures to a single curve. Based on this scaling function for the current we analyze experimental data from a GaAs-AlAs-GaAs tunneling device with embedded InAs quantum dots obtained at low temperatures in high magnetic fields.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

A Replica Inference Approach to Unsupervised Multi-Scale Image Segmentation

We apply a replica inference based Potts model method to unsupervised image segmentation on multiple scales. This approach was inspired by the statistical mechanics problem of "community detection" and its phase diagram. Specifically, the problem is cast as identifying tightly bound clusters ("communities" or "solutes") against a background or "solvent". Within our multiresolution approach, we compute information theory based correlations among multiple solutions ("replicas") of the same graph over a range of resolutions. Significant multiresolution structures are identified by replica correlations as manifest in information theory overlaps. With the aid of these correlations as well as thermodynamic measures, the phase diagram of the corresponding Potts model is analyzed both at zero and finite temperatures. Optimal parameters corresponding to a sensible unsupervised segmentation correspond to the "easy phase" of the Potts model. Our algorithm is fast and shown to be at least as accurate as the best algorithms to date and to be especially suited to the detection of camouflaged images.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figure

Search for cool giant exoplanets around young and nearby stars - VLT/NaCo near-infrared phase-coronagraphic and differential imaging

[Abridged] Context. Spectral differential imaging (SDI) is part of the observing strategy of current and future high-contrast imaging instruments. It aims to reduce the stellar speckles that prevent the detection of cool planets by using in/out methane-band images. It attenuates the signature of off-axis companions to the star, such as angular differential imaging (ADI). However, this attenuation depends on the spectral properties of the low-mass companions we are searching for. The implications of this particularity on estimating the detection limits have been poorly explored so far. Aims. We perform an imaging survey to search for cool (Teff<1000-1300 K) giant planets at separations as close as 5-10 AU. We also aim to assess the sensitivity limits in SDI data taking the photometric bias into account. This will lead to a better view of the SDI performance. Methods. We observed a selected sample of 16 stars (age < 200 Myr, d < 25 pc) with the phase-mask coronagraph, SDI, and ADI modes of VLT/NaCo. Results. We do not detect any companions. As for the sensitivity limits, we argue that the SDI residual noise cannot be converted into mass limits because it represents a differential flux, unlike the case of single-band images. This results in degeneracies for the mass limits, which may be removed with the use of single-band constraints. We instead employ a method of directly determining the mass limits. The survey is sensitive to cool giant planets beyond 10 AU for 65% and 30 AU for 100% of the sample. Conclusions. For close-in separations, the optimal regime for SDI corresponds to SDI flux ratios >2. According to the BT-Settl model, this translates into Teff<800 K. The methods described here can be applied to the data interpretation of SPHERE. We expect better performance with the dual-band imager IRDIS, thanks to more suitable filter characteristics and better image quality.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, version including language editin

Estimation des changements de la ligne de rivage de la zone côtière sablonneuse de Kénitra au Maroc

Les plages du littoral de Kénitra ont connu des modifications au cours de ces quatre dernières décennies. La mise en valeur économique de certaines plages par des aménagements touristiques et l’extraction massive de sables pour les travaux d’aménagements urbains sont à l’origine d’une déstabilisation des échanges transversaux de sédiments. Ils sont accentués par la succession de périodes de sécheresse et par la multiplication de construction de barrages sur le bassin versant du Sebou. Le préambule à une meilleure gestion de ces plages est la compréhension de leur comportement passé vis-à-vis des contraintes naturelles et anthropiques. Cette démarche s’appuie essentiellement sur les missions aériennes de 1963 et de 1993. Le Modèle Numérique de Terrain (MNT), d’une précision de ± 10 cm en altitude issu de ces missions et le suivi du positionnement du trait de côte par un système d’analyse numérique (DSAS), ont permis d’estimer les taux de changement.Mots-clés : Littoral, basin versant de Sebou, Maroc, photographies aériennes,MNT, DSAS

GEANT4 low energy electromagnetic models for electrons and photons

A set of physics processes has been developed in the Geant4 Simulation Toolkit to describe the electromagnetic interactions of photons and electrons with matter down to 250 eV. Preliminary comparisons of the models with experimental data show a satisfactory agreement