Torsion balance experiments: A low-energy frontier of particle physics

We review recent mechanical experiments that test some of the most basic principles of physics including the weak and strong forms of the Equivalence Principle, the gravitational inverse-square law, and Lorentz invariance. The very high sensitivity of these tests allows one to place interesting constraints on string-theory inspired conjectures about new Yukawa forces from the exchange of very light scalar, pseudoscalar or vector particles, large extra dimensions, the chameleon mechanism, non-commutative spacetime geometry, and Planck-scale Lorentz violation.     

Maxwell's demons realized in electronic circuits

We review recent progress in making the former gedanken experiments of Maxwell's demon [1] into real experiments in a lab. In particular, we focus on realizations based on single-electron tunneling in electronic circuits. We first present how stochastic thermodynamics can be investigated in these circuits. Next we review recent experiments on an electron-based Szilard engine. Finally, we report on experiments on single-electron tunneling-based cooling, overviewing the recent realization of a Coulomb gap refrigerator, as well as an autonomous Maxwell's demon.     

Nonlinear phenomena in quantum thermoelectrics and heat

We review recent developments in nonlinear quantum transport through nanostructures and mesoscopic systems driven by thermal gradients or in combination with voltage biases. Low-dimensional conductors are excellent platforms for analyzing both the thermoelectric and heat dynamics beyond the linear response because, due to their small size, a small temperature difference applied across regions gives rise to large thermal biases. We offer a theoretical discussion based on the scattering approach to highlight the differences between the linear and the nonlinear regimes of transport. We discuss recent experiments on quantum dots and molecular junctions subjected to strong temperature differences. Theoretical predictions concerning the Kondo effect and heat rectification proposals are briefly examined. An important issue is the calculation of thermoelectric efficiencies including nonlinearities. Cross Seebeck effects and nonlinear spin filtering arise in superconductors and topological insulators, while mixed noises between charge and heat currents are also considered. Finally, we provide an outlook on the possible future directions of the field.     

Debris flows: Experiments and modelling

Debris flows and debris avalanches are complex, gravity-driven currents of rock, water and sediments that can be highly mobile. This combination of component materials leads to a rich morphology and unusual dynamics, exhibiting features of both granular materials and viscous gravity currents. Although extreme events such as those at Kolka Karmadon in North Ossetia (2002) [1] and Huascarán (1970) [2] strongly motivate us to understand how such high levels of mobility can occur, smaller events are ubiquitous and capable of endangering infrastructure and life, requiring mitigation. Recent progress in modelling debris flows has seen the development of multiphase models that can start to provide clues of the origins of the unique phenomenology of debris flows. However, the spatial and temporal variations that debris flows exhibit make this task challenging and laboratory experiments, where boundary and initial conditions can be controlled and reproduced, are crucial both to validate models and to inspire new modelling approaches. This paper discusses recent laboratory experiments on debris flows and the state of the art in numerical models.     

Cosmogenic neutrinos and gamma rays

We describe the photoproduction interactions of ultrahigh energy protons on the universal photon backgrounds and the production of very high-energy neutrinos and γ-rays in such interactions. We compare the production in propagation in the microwave background to that in the extragalactic background light. The propagation of heavy nuclei is discussed only briefly. We show the extreme models for cosmogenic neutrino production and the limits set on them by different experiments.     

The ACES/PHARAO space mission

Proposed in 1997, the ACES/PHARAO experiment is a space mission in fundamental physics with two atomic clocks on the International Space Station, a network of ultra-stable clocks on the ground, and space-to-ground time transfer systems. The ACES flight instruments are near completion and launch in space is planned for the first half of 2017 for a mission duration of three years. A key element of the satellite payload is a cold-atom clock designed for microgravity environment, PHARAO, operating with laser-cooled cesium atoms. Here we first report on the design and tests of the PHARAO flight model, which is now completed and ready for launch. We then briefly present the status of development of the other instruments of the ACES payload, the Space Hydrogen Maser, the microwave time-transfer system (MWL), and the laser time transfer ELT.     

Direct observation of vortex motion in high-Tc superconductors by Lorentz microscopy

The behavior of vortices in superconductors, especially how vortices are depinned to start moving is closely related to practical applications of superconductors. However, it has hitherto been difficult to directly observe the motion of vortices especially in high-T_c superconductors. In the present experiments, the vortex motion peculiar to high-T_c superconductors was observed by improving the observation method using Lorentz electron microscopy in our 300 kV field-emission transmission electron microscope.     

Robustness of spatial networks and networks of networks

Many complex networks have recently been recognized to involve significant interdependence between different systems. Motivation comes primarily from infrastructures like power grids and communications networks, but also includes areas such as the human brain and finance. Interdependence implies that when components in one system fail, they lead to failures in the same system or other systems. This can then lead to additional failures finally resulting in a long cascade that can cripple the entire system. Furthermore, many of these networks, in particular infrastructure networks, are embedded in space and thus have unique spatial properties that significantly decrease their resilience to failures. Here we present a review of novel results on interdependent spatial networks and how cascading processes are affected by spatial embedding. We include various aspects of spatial embedding such as cases where dependencies are spatially restricted and localized attacks on nodes contained in some spatial region of the network. In general, we find that spatial networks are more vulnerable when they are interdependent and that they are more likely to undergo abrupt failure transitions than interdependent non-embedded networks. We also present results on recovery in spatial networks, the nature of cascades due to overload failures in these networks, and some examples of percolation features found in real-world traffic networks. Finally, we conclude with an outlook on future possible research directions in this area.     

Statistical Physics Of Opinion Formation: Is it a SPOOF?

We present a short review based on the nonlinear q-voter model about problems and methods raised within statistical physics of opinion formation (SPOOF). We describe relations between models of opinion formation, developed by physicists, and theoretical models of social response, known in social psychology. We draw attention to issues that are interesting for social psychologists and physicists. We show examples of studies directly inspired by social psychology like: “independence vs. anticonformity” or “personality vs. situation”. We summarize the results that have been already obtained and point out what else can be done, also with respect to other models in SPOOF. Finally, we demonstrate several analytical methods useful in SPOOF, such as the concept of effective force and potential, Landau's approach to phase transitions, or mean-field and pair approximations.     

Weighted power counting and Lorentz violating gauge theories. I: General properties

We construct local, unitary gauge theories that violate Lorentz symmetry explicitly at high energies and are renormalizable by weighted power counting. They contain higher space derivatives, which improve the behavior of propagators at large momenta, but no higher time derivatives. We show that the regularity of the gauge-field propagator privileges a particular spacetime breaking, the one into space and time. We then concentrate on the simplest class of models, study four dimensional examples and discuss a number of issues that arise in our approach, such as the low-energy recovery of Lorentz invariance.     

Coarsening in granular systems

We review a few representative examples of granular experiments or models where phase separation, accompanied by domain coarsening, is a relevant phenomenon. We first elucidate the intrinsic non-equilibrium, or athermal, nature of granular media. Thereafter, dilute systems, the so-called “granular gases”, are discussed: idealized kinetic models, such as the gas of inelastic hard spheres in the cooling regime, are the optimal playground to study the slow growth of correlated structures, e.g., shear patterns, vortices, and clusters. In fluidized experiments, liquid–gas or solid–gas separations have been observed. In the case of monolayers of particles, phase coexistence and coarsening appear in several different setups, with mechanical or electrostatic energy input. Phenomenological models describe, even quantitatively, several experimental measures, both for the coarsening dynamics and for the dynamic transition between different granular phases. The origin of the underlying bistability is in general related to negative compressibility from granular hydrodynamics computations, even if the understanding of the mechanism is far from complete. A relevant problem, with important industrial applications, is related to the demixing or segregation of mixtures, for instance in rotating tumblers or on horizontally vibrated plates. Finally, the problem of compaction of highly dense granular materials, which is relevant in many practical situations, is usually described in terms of coarsening dynamics: there, bubbles of misaligned grains evaporate, allowing the coalescence of optimally arranged islands and a progressive reduction of the total occupied volume.     

A new test of gravitational redshift using Galileo satellites: The GREAT experiment

We present the result of the analysis of the GREAT (Galileo gravitational Redshift test with Eccentric sATellites) experiment. An elliptic orbit induces a periodic modulation of the fractional frequency difference between a ground clock and the satellite clock, partly due to the gravitational redshift, while the good stability of Galileo clocks allows one to test this periodic modulation to a high level of accuracy. GSAT0201 and GSAT0202, with their large eccentricity and on-board H-maser clocks, are perfect candidates to perform this test. Satellite laser ranging data allows us to partly decorrelate the orbit perturbations from the clock errors. By analyzing several years of Galileo tracking data, we have been able to improve the Gravity probe A test (1976) of the gravitational redshift by a factor of 5.6, providing, to our knowledge, the first reported improvement since more than 40 years.     

Weighted power counting and Lorentz violating gauge theories. II: Classification

We classify the local, polynomial, unitary gauge theories that violate Lorentz symmetry explicitly at high energies and are renormalizable by weighted power counting. We study the structure of such theories and prove that renormalization does not generate higher time derivatives. We work out the conditions to renormalize vertices that are usually non-renormalizable, such as the two scalar-two fermion interactions and the four fermion interactions. A number of four-dimensional examples are presented.     

Testing Relativity with Orbiting Oscillators

Clock-comparison experiments using a satellite platform can give Planck-scale sensitivity to many parameters for Lorentz and CPT violation that are difficult to measure on Earth. A discussion of the theoretical framework for such tests is given, with emphasis on comparisons of output frequencies of atomic clocks and of electromagnetic cavity oscillators.     

Covariant fields: Poincaré group representations and metric structure in the space of quantum states

The representations of the Poincaré group realized over the space of covariant fields transforming according to any irreducible representationD ^(m,n) of the Lorentz group are constructed explicitly with reference to a helicity basis. The representation is indecomposable in the massless case. The form of this representation together with the invariance of two-point Wightman functions of the field (which follows from a weak set of axioms) determines the metric structure in the space of quantum states of the field. This structure is explicitly determined for generalD ^(m,n). Certain particular cases (especially the symmetric traceless tensor field) are discussed in detail. Finally we consider the representation pertaining to massive fields, and examine the passage to the limit of vanishing mass. We present a limiting procedure which leads from the unitary representation of the massive field to the indecomposable non-unitary representation of the massless field.     

The physics of Aeolian sand transport

We give a synthetic overview of the state of art of the physics of sand Aeolian transport. We first present the main ideas developed by Bagnold in the middle of the last century. We then review the recent experimental and theoretical advances made in the field and emphasize that the particle flow rate does not exhibit a cubic dependence with the air friction speed, as predicted by Bagnold, but a quadratic one. Finally, we list important open issues that remain.     

Dynamics of wealth inequality

We study an agent-based model of evolution of wealth distribution in a macroeconomic system. The evolution is driven by multiplicative stochastic fluctuations governed by the law of proportionate growth and interactions between agents. We are mainly interested in interactions increasing wealth inequality, that is, in a local implementation of the accumulated advantage principle. Such interactions destabilise the system. They are confronted in the model with a global regulatory mechanism that reduces wealth inequality. There are different scenarios emerging as a net effect of these two competing mechanisms. When the effect of the global regulation (economic interventionism) is too weak, the system is unstable and it never reaches equilibrium. When the effect is sufficiently strong, the system evolves towards a limiting stationary distribution with a Pareto tail. In between there is a critical phase. In this phase, the system may evolve towards a steady state with a multimodal wealth distribution. The corresponding cumulative density function has a characteristic stairway pattern that reflects the effect of economic stratification. The stairs represent wealth levels of economic classes separated by wealth gaps. As we show, the pattern is typical for macroeconomic systems with a limited economic freedom. One can find such a multimodal pattern in empirical data, for instance, in the highest percentile of wealth distribution for the population in urban areas of China.     

Calcul de l'emission infrarouge de milieux laser CO2

Vibrationally-excited CO₂ present with inverted population emits infrared radiation at 4·26 μm. For an emitter consisting of optically-thick isolated lines, calculations allow determination of the emissivity and radiancy of a homogeneous layer of gas. Infrared emission is a useful tool for measurement of the energy contained in the upper laser level. A very thin layer of cold gas strongly alters the spectral distribution of the intensity and causes the total radiancy to decrease.